"That's not true."
He exhaled. "Everyone's acting weird since Vancouver. Like something's wrong but no one will say what." He stared at his untouched soup. "It's making me crazy."
"Something is wrong," I said carefully. "But it's being handled."
"By who? Griffin?" Minjae's voice dropped lower. "Soo-jin pulled me aside yesterday. Asked if I'd noticed anything unusual. About you or security."
"What did you tell him?"
"Nothing. I said it was all good." He looked miserable. "But he kept asking me questions. Different ways. I think he was waiting for me to say something specific, but I didn't know the right answer."
Taemin was quiet, listening instead of trying to distract us with bad jokes.
"You did the right thing," I said.
"What if not answering made things worse?" He gripped his chopsticks so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "I don't understand what's happening. I hate feeling like I'm going to mess something up without even knowing what's happening."
Jinwoo spoke then, his voice carrying calm authority. "You're not responsible for fixing this."
"Then who is?"
"I am. As our leader." He looked directly at me. "And Rune is managing what he needs to. Your job is to perform. Trust that we'll handle the rest."
Minjae sighed. "Okay, I trust you."
It was a temporary resolution. Jinwoo's jaw was tense. He knew something was wrong.
At 7:58, Soyeon appeared in the doorway. "Briefing in two minutes."
They'd converted Kang's suite into a makeshift command center. Laptop open with security feeds cycling on a secondary monitor. Do-hyun stood by the window with his tablet.
Soo-jin sat near the desk, posture relaxed.
Griffin stood near the door.
I took the seat farthest from Soo-jin.
Kang closed the door. "Let's begin." He sat. "The current approach is working. We'll maintain this posture through LA."
Soo-jin nodded slowly. "Agreed. Though I'd like to propose some adjustments for efficiency." He swiped his tablet. "Current movement windows are generous, creating logistical complications. We're having to compress interview schedules."
He spoke as if we all shared the same goal.
"I'm proposing we reduce flexibility in favor of predictability." He expanded a document, showing color-coded schedules. "Fixed departure times. Pre-approved routes only. No deviation without senior management authorization."
"What does that look like practically?" Jinwoo asked.
"Templated movement. Less chaos, more control. Safer for everyone."
Griffin shifted his weight slightly. "Templated movement creates pattern predictability. If someone's actively watching, routine makes it easier to disrupt."
"But it reduces internal chaos." Soo-jin's tone stayed reasonable. "Standardization means everyone knows where principals should be. Deviations become immediately visible."
"The corridor breach wasn't about flexibility," Griffin said quietly. "It was about unauthorized access."
"We address that through better systems." Soo-jin looked at Kang. "Containment through clarity."
Containment. He'd said it out loud. Griffin pushed for field authority to abort movements if he identified an immediate threat.
