"What is it, Micky?"
James mumbled. Still 70% asleep, frowning and yawning. He squinted at the clock. 2:14 AM. The Emperor immediately tensed, sat up and tried to focus. When his loyal cousin calls at this hour, it usually means something very significant has happened. James was an early bird who woke up at 5:30 AM every morning, so if news couldn't wait even until then, it sure was something extremely urgent.
"You are engaged to Ms. Misha Seo, apparently."
"No, I'm not."
James let out a sigh of relief that it wasn't anything work related. Without thinking much, he hung up and laid down on his bed again.
But once his eyes were closed and his consciousness started to drift away, he came to a sudden realization.
'Wait-, What?!'
The phone rang again and James snatched it up immediately .
"What's going on, Micky?!"
"Check DishPatch news. You have to see it for yourself."
"Stay on the line."
The man, with his hands trembling, flicked through his phone to find the DishPatch News app. His thumb hesitated with instinctual fear, but eventually it tapped on the icon. There it was - right on the first screen as the main news for the infamous celebrity gossip news outlet:
[The Emperor's Engagement: From Dumplings to Diamond Rings?]
"Congratulations, James." Micky's voice was clearly squeezed through a suppressed laughter.
The newly engaged Emperor's mind went blank. The top of the page featured the lobster photo that Misha had taken, with James clearly in the frame, his face illuminated by romantic candlelight. The lobster wasn't a problem. It was very photogenic indeed. A very handsome lobster. The problem was the disaster girl, whose face faintly reflected on the window. That part of the photo was enlarged in a separate display. Nobody could probably tell this was Misha, but at least it was pretty clear that this was a lady.
And the Emperor had never been seen 'dating' anyone before.
Because he never dated anyone in his whole life.
"Are you still there?"
"…"
"James?"
"I'm going to kill her."
"Don't do that to your fiancé."
"SHUT THE HELL UP!"
Meanwhile, somewhere in the far less glamorous part of the city, Misha woke up to the sound of cows moo-ing - her phone's ringtone.
The sleepy girl checked her phone, rubbing her eyes. It was her beloved younger brother.
"Mm… what is it, Joey?"
"Misha, how could you do this to Mom and Dad?!"
"…eh?"
"Dad is furious!"
"Wha- what did I do?!"
"And Mom is knitting a scarf!"
"But it's June! Isn't this too early?"
"That's not the point. Explain yourself, now!"
The confused girl sat up, groaning.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Joey. Did you have a bad dream?"
"No!"
"Do you want me to sing you a lullaby?"
"Stop that. I'm not a kid anymore."
"But you are."
"I'm 21!"
"Not yet."
"Almo- wait, that's not the point. Just explain what's going on, please?"
"Why don't YOU explain to me what's going on… I'm like really confused right now."
Misha checked the time and it was 2:32 AM.
"You should be in bed, Joey. Have you been staying up playing games again?"
"Aw, stop it! So how did this happen? How long have you known this guy?"
"Which guy?"
"James Thorne! The Emperor!"
"Huh? You even congratulated me for becoming a full-time employee here. That was just a few days ago."
"Argh, I mean since when have you been dating James Thorne? Did you know him already before you joined the company? And you just went and got engaged like that? Without asking Mom and Dad?"
The sleepy girl was no longer sleepy. She blinked a few times in darkness.
"Joey."
"Yes?"
"Did you start doing drugs?"
"What the hell?!"
"You can tell your sister. I'll find help for you. It's never too late to stop."
"That's like, seriously messed up, Sis," Joey sighed and continued, "There's no point talking to you anymore. Check the link I'm sending you."
The lovely younger brother hung up, and Misha immediately received message from Joey.
'DishPatch news link?'
Curious, the girl tabbed to open.
Now she felt like SHE was hallucinating.
'I'm engaged? Since when?'
It took a good three seconds to settle in, then she realized what she had done.
The lobster picture.
She posted it on her Delaygram account. She was so mesmerized by the handsome lobster that she completely failed to notice the handsome human on the picture, let alone her own reflection on the window.
Panicking, she opened her social media app, unrealistically hoping that deleting the photo now would somehow solve the situation. There were already thousands of comments and it seemed her post had been shared everywhere.
Misha, ever the kind-spirited girl, doesn't normally get angry.
But this time she was.
She grunted through gritted teeth, her fists trembling.
"The lobster betrayed me."