“Adopt your own Mingyu today!” the sign outside the store said. Jihoon peered through the large glass windows. It looked like a cafe with people sitting at tables, sipping at espresso drinks, reading books, and playing board games. It all seemed tame enough.

Wind chimes hanging above the door tinkled as Jihoon entered the store, and everyone stopped what they were doing to look at him. Jihoon realized, with an increasing feeling of surrealness, that they all had the same face. Some of their hairstyles were slightly, but it was still unmistakably the same face. Each person had the same glowing tan complexion, identical almond shaped eyes, the same sharp canines and round cheeks in every smile.

“Welcome,” one of them greeted from behind the cafe counter. “My name is Mingyu. Are you here to adopt a Mingyu?”

“Um, sure,” Jihoon said hesitantly.

“First time client?” Mingyu asked politely, and Jihoon nodded.

“My friend told me about this place. He’s been here a few times before, I think.”

“Some people visit several times to spend time with all the different Mingyus before deciding which one they like the most,” Mingyu explained.

“Yeah, that’s what he did. His name’s Yoon Jeonghan.”

Jeonghan had invited Jihoon over to introduce him to his Mingyu, who had cooked them a four course meal. Jihoon had been impressed by how capable and intelligent Jeonghan’s Mingyu was.

“Oh, I remember Jeonghan,” Mingyu said. “He brought home one of our last domestic models.”

“Do you still have any of the...domestic models left?” Jihoon asked. “If there aren’t any more of them like Jeonghan’s, I don’t think I’ll waste my time here.”

He couldn’t help his bluntness, but Mingyu didn’t seem to take offense.

“We have still have one left, don’t worry. I built all of these clones to keep me company,” Mingyu said with a sweeping gesture of his arm. “Well, technically they’re robots, but they were all built in my image.”

Mingyu laughed, a throaty chortle with his head tipped back, and suddenly Jihoon imagined an entire room full of Mingyus, their laughter echoing and amplifying. It was a mildly horrifying image. Still, he could see why Mingyu modeled them after himself. He was an undeniably attractive man.

“But then I met the love of my life, my husband Wonwoo,” Mingyu continued. “I realized that I didn’t need my clones as companions anymore. So I opened this store to help them find new homes.”

“So which is the one like Jeonghan’s?” Jihoon asked impatiently. He was only interested in a companion would be capable and efficient, just like himself.

“Let me introduce you to all of them,” Mingyu suggested. “It’s the typical experience here.”

He escorted Jihoon to a table. Looking around, Jihoon could start to differentiate the Mingyus. The one he had been speaking to, the original Mingyu, had black hair with his bangs slightly parted. This Mingyu called for another Mingyu to join them.

“This is Dumbgyu,” Mingyu said fondly. Clearly it was an affectionate nickname.

Dumbgyu grinned at Jihoon. His sweet smile stretched even wider when Jihoon nodded to him in greeting.

“Why don’t you get us drinks?” Mingyu said to Dumbgyu. “I’ll have an Americano. What would you like, Jihoon?”

“I’ll have tea,” Jihoon said.

“What kind?”

“Earl Grey, please, if you have it.”

“Did you get that, Dumbgyu? Americano for me, Early Grey for Jihoon.”

Dumbgyu nodded eagerly and trotted over to the cafe counter. On the way, he got distracted by another Mingyu with blue hair who said something that made Dumbgyu laugh. He seemed to have the playfulness and attention span of a puppy.

“All of our domestic Mingyus have had barista training,” Mingyu said proudly. “As well as a culinary education. They’re skilled housekeepers, too.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you call that one Dumbgyu?” Jihoon asked.

“They all have nicknames so we can tell them apart. We call him Dumbgyu because he has a bit of an intelligence defect.”

Mingyu saw the wary look on Jihoon’s face and quickly added, “But Dumbgyu is one of the most lovable Mingyus we have. Just look at him.”

Jihoon turned to where Dumbgyu was preparing their drinks behind the cafe counter. He was fanning himself with his hand as he waited for the espresso to trickle out of the machine. And then he accidentally poked himself in the eye with one of this long, elegant fingers. He stared at his hand, as though he felt betrayed.

“Isn’t he adorable?” Mingyu gushed, looking absolutely enamored with his clone.

Definitely not this one, Jihoon thought.

Dumbgyu returned with two white ceramic mugs. He took painstaking care as he set one of the mugs in front of Mingyu. In the process, he accidentally poured the contents of the other mug all over Jihoon’s lap.

“,” Jihoon hissed, standing up quickly.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Mingyu exclaimed, going into a panic. The other Mingyus stopped what they were doing to stare at the spectacle. “I’m so, so sorry. Should I call 911? Maybe you should take your pants off if it’s burning—”

“I’m fine, the water wasn’t hot,” Jihoon said, mopping at his lap with a napkin. “Nobody’s taking their pants off.”

“Dumbgyu, did you forget that you need hot water to make tea again?” Mingyu asked.

Dumbgyu nodded sheepishly and mumbled apologies to them both. Jihoon felt his heart soften a little when he saw the contrite look in Dumbgyu’s puppy eyes, but he quashed the feeling immediately. Jihoon reminded himself what he was here for in the first place.

“Sorry about that,” Mingyu apologized again. “Let me introduce you to another one of our Mingyus, and then I’ll find you something to change into.”

He gestured for another nearby Mingyu to come over, and soon they were joined by someone who Mingyu introduced as Mingew. Before Jihoon had a chance to ask about his nickname, Mingew sneezed in his palm, wiped his hand on his thigh, and then offered Jihoon a handshake. Jihoon accepted it reluctantly, making a mental note to scrub his hands as soon as possible.

“Mingew has already been adopted by one of our long-time clients, Wen Junhui, who’s currently still in China,” Mingyu explained. “I just wanted to introduce you to one of our entertainment models. He’s one of our best, but he has a bit of a….hygiene defect. I’ll leave you two alone to chat for a bit, so excuse me while I find you a clean pair of pants, Jihoon.”

By entertainment model, Jihoon quickly realized that Mingyu was referring to Mingew’s palpable skills as a conversationalist. He had a bright, friendly personality and a charming laugh. And even though Mingew admitted that he didn’t have the practical skills of the domestic models, he seemed to be knowledgeable in many areas. He was b with interesting trivia and witty remarks.

Mingew quickly smoothed things over with Jihoon, who found himself laughing at everything he said, whether it was intentionally funny or not. By the time Mingyu returned with a change of clothes, Jihoon had all but forgotten about the Dumbgyu incident.

That is, until Dumbgyu appeared by Mingyu’s shoulder.

“He wanted to you to the bathroom,” Mingyu explained.

Jihoon was about to insist that he didn’t need any help finding the bathroom, but then he saw the hopeful look in Dumbgyu’s eager brown eyes.

“Alright then,” Jihoon relented. “Show me the way.”

Dumbgyu beamed and gallantly offered Jihoon his elbow. He led Jihoon to the bathroom, seemingly unaware of how many times he accidentally trampled on Jihoon’s toes on the way there. He proudly opened the bathroom door for Jihoon and stood sentry outside while Jihoon changed into a pair of pants that clearly belonged to one of the Mingyus. He had to roll up the cuffs several times so he wouldn’t trip over the hems.

Against all logic, Jihoon found himself feeling a reluctant fondness towards Dumbyu, the sweet, clumsy, impossibly endearing gentle giant.

Another Mingyu was sitting next to the original Mingyu when Jihoon returned to the table. Jihoon thanked Dumbgyu, who gave him a bashful smile before darting away. And then Jihoon took his seat across from the two Mingyus.

The new Mingyu was the only one in the store who had stylishly coiffed blue hair. Even though his face was identical to those of the other Mingyus, he seemed to wear it completely differently. His expression was aloof, almost disdainful. Between his cool demeanor and unique hairstyle, this Mingyu had an alluringly chic aura. Jihoon was intrigued.

“Hello, my name is Mjngy,” he said, offering Jihoon his cool, smooth hand.

“Um, pardon?” Jihoon said.

“Mjngy. M-J-N-G-Y,” Mjngy said. “Somebody made a typo when they made my birth certificate.”

He shot Mingyu a withering look.

“Accidents happen, am I right?” Mingyu chuckled awkwardly.

“Mjngy isn’t even a real name!” Mjngy protested. “You need vowels for a name! Were you even trying?”

“Who needs vowels when you have friends?” Mingyu said.

Mjngy just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, refusing to speak. Jihoon stared, completely dumbfounded.

“Mjngy is another one of our entertainment models,” Mingyu explained. Then he lowered his voice and whispered, “But he has a slight personality defect.”

“I’m sitting right next to you, and I can hear every word you’re saying,” Mjngy pointed out.

Mingyu sighed. Mjngy could be incredibly charming if he tried. After all, he was built and trained as an entertainment model. But he was just never in the mood to be friendly. Mingyu introduced Mjngy to every client that walked through the door, but none of them seem to impress Mjngy. He was impenetrable.

Maybe some other day, Mingyu decided as he dismissed Mjngy. Maybe one day the right person would find Mjngy. To Mingyu, the most important thing was for his Mingyus to be happy with the people who adopted them. He and Mjngy would both just have to be patient for a little while longer.

“Do you think you’re up to meeting one more Mingyu?” Mingyu asked.

“Sure,” Jihoon said, though he might have already had his heart set on a certain gentle giant.

“This is Mingnew,” Mingyu said when another Mingyu took a seat next to him.

“Mingew?” Jihoon asked cautiously.

“No, no, Mingnew,” Mingyu corrected. “He’s a new model. He has both domestic skills and entertainment talent.”

“And what’s his defect?”

“He has none,” Mingyu said proudly.

Jihoon studied Mingnew’s appearance as they began talking. He had black hair styled just like Mingyu’s. There was something about him that seemed like he was an upgrade from the rest. He had Mjngy’s suaveness, Mingew’s agreeable personality, and—according to Mingyu—the culinary skill of Jeonghan’s Mingyu. Basically, he was perfect.

It was finally time for Jihoon to make a decision. He had all the Mingyus lined up before him. It came down to making a decision between Dumbgyu, Mingnew, and Mjngy. All logic was telling Jihoon that Mingnew was the easy, obvious choice.

But after seeing Dumbgyu and Mingnew side by side, Jihoon realized what Mingnew was missing. Mingnew was too perfect. Dumbgyu was rough around the edges, but that was part of his charm. He was unpredictable and entertaining in his own way. He might have spilled water in Jihoon’s lap, and treaded on his toes, and he might not even know how to make tea, but he looked at Jihoon in a way that nobody else had ever looked at him before.

Yes, Jihoon had come with someone like Jeonghan’s Mingyu in mind. And yes, Mingnew had more than exceeded that expectation. But Jeonghan liked having someone to take care of him. Jihoon didn’t necessarily need that.

Dumbgyu chewed on his lip nervously, unable to look Jihoon in the eye as he made his decision. He couldn’t bear watching as yet another client inevitably rejected him once again.

And then he felt a pair of arms circling around his waist. He looked down in surprise and found Jihoon smiling up at him.

“Me?” Dumbgyu asked, his heart swelling.

“Yes, you,” Jihoon confirmed with a smile.

Mingnew tried not to take it personally when Jihoon left with Dumbgyu.

“Don’t worry, some day the right person will come along for both of you,” Mingyu assured them.

The promise seemed to lift Mingnew’s spirits. If Mjngy cared either way, he didn’t let it show.

Soon enough, a man named Minghao came by the store, and Mingyu introduced him to the remaining two Mingyus. He took to Mingnew right away. Most people were intimidated by Mingnew’s combination of disarming good looks and overwhelming perfection. But Minghao wasn’t afraid of teasing him or flirting with him like he was just a regular guy.

Mingnew wasn’t used to being treated that way. People always took him too seriously, so he didn’t mind being made fun of for once. He liked it. He liked Minghao.

And then there was just Mjngy left. He stubbornly held onto the belief that nobody would want him, which just made him end up pushing everyone away. Mingyu didn’t know what to do, so he went to his husband for help. As always, Wonwoo had a crazy idea up his sleeve.

“Mjngy, this is Wnww,” Mingyu said, introducing him to a man who looked exactly like Wonwoo.

Mjngy was reserved, carefully guarded at first, but he gradually warmed up to Wnww. Together, they decided that having vowelless names wasn’t so bad after all. Eventually, Mjngy began to understand why Mingyu loved Wonwoo so much.

Mingyu closed the Mingyu store and then re-opened it as a real cafe with Mjngy and Wnww as full-time employees. Often, he would see familiar faces: Jeonghan, Jihoon, Junhui, and Minghao, almost always accompanied by people who looked exactly like Mingyu.

What warmed Mingyu’s heart the most was seeing Mjngy and Wnww happy together.

One day, Mingyu overheard Mjngy say, “I don’t need any vowels to say that w blng tgther.”

“Um, you probably do,” Wnww replied.