“What do you mean I was the one who picked you up? That doesn’t make sense.” Chaewon argues. She was standing out there for an hour without seeing her.

“It’s true! Why would I ever lie to you, Chae?” Minjoo replies.

“I don’t know, Min! It’s just been a long day. First, I have this strange nightmare. Then, I get random emails from HYVE. Then, I meet my mom and end up having some internal reflection. Then, I went to surprise you at SOOP, and you weren’t there. Then, on the way home, someone sabotages my bus and blows it up!” Chaewon rattles off her entire day, and it leaves Minjoo wide-eyed.

“Wait, you told me a while ago that you’d auditioned for HYVE and got in. That’s what we were celebrating over dinner a while ago, right?” The brunette says which only confuses Chaewon even more.

“You also told me this morning that you got a new number and to block the old one.” Minjoo continues. The more vividly she describes her version of events, the more Chaewon questions if she was the one going crazy.

“And you just believed a message like that out of the blue?” She asks.

“Yah, I’m not that slow, I asked for a picture of you that I hadn’t seen, and you sent the outfit you were wearing when I saw you a while ago. After dinner, you said that you’d visit your mother first, so I should go home on my own, which is why I was surprised to see you here before me.”

“Wait…can you show me the picture I sent you earlier?” Chaewon asks, a chilling feeling starting to arise in her. When Minjoo holds up her phone, Chaewon’s suspicions are confirmed. It was her…well, not her, but the clone she’d left at her mom’s house. All the puzzle pieces seemed to fall into place, the random emails, her clone rushing out the house instead of merging when they met, Minjoo not replying to her texts.

~~~~

“So you’re saying your clone has a mind of her own now?” Minjoo tries to clarify.

“I think it all started back in Daegu when I tried to save you. I’d never sent a clone of myself that far before, and when I was trying to separate you from the lab equipment, I got into your dreams, remember? There must’ve been some kind of internal reaction because ever since then, that one clone has always felt different.” Chaewon explains.

“You think she’s somehow connected to the bus explosion?”

“Maybe…but I’m going to need to find her first. Listen, Min, I’m sorry if I was insinuating anything bad. I know you wouldn’t do anything like that. I was just really stressed from today.”

“It’s okay, Chae. I should’ve noticed it too. There were some odd things I didn't think much of like your hair getting that long in the span of a day. I thought you just got some hair extensions. I also noticed the clothes you were wearing were different from usual. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a tank top before today.” Minjoo says.

“But I looked good, right?” Chaewon jokes to lighten the air, but Minjoo gives her a playful smack on the shoulder while trying to hide her reddening cheeks.

“Yah, we didn’t do anything explicit if that’s what you’re asking.” She says with a laugh.

“Anyway, I think I’ll discuss it with Eunbi-unnie tomorrow morning. It’s been a long day.” Chaewon says before yawning. Minjoo simply nods and goes to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

By the time she gets out, she sees Chaewon lying on her bed, dead asleep. Minjoo shakes her head and walks over to tuck her in, but is surprised when the short-haired girl reaches out and hugs her.

“I’m sorry again, Min…” Chaewon whispers. Minjoo sighs, deciding against breaking free from the embrace and settles in next to her.

~~~~

“You got lucky this time, Kim…” A voice whispers in Chaewon’s head.

“Now that you’re on to me though, I can’t make it easy for you anymore…”

“Yah, who are you?” Chaewon asks. She could feel this was a dream, and yet, something felt real about it too. It looked like she was out in an alley and she could recognize the arms in front of her as hers.

“Oh, you already know. Catch me if you can…” At that, Chaewon loses control of her arms which pick up a hammer from her pocket. She tried her best, but something else was controlling her, and made her swing the hammer towards her face.

Chaewon shrieks as she wakes up in a cold sweat and grabs at her nose to make sure it was in one piece.

“Chae, are you okay? You’ve been fidgeting all night.” Minjoo asks worriedly from beside her.

“Yeah…I think so. I just had a bad dream.” Chaewon says to reassure her, but inside, she knew that this was only the beginning.

~~~~

The next morning…

“Wait, so let me get this straight, you have a rogue clone that you think is trying to take over your life?” Eunbi summarizes.

“Pretty much. I’m still not sure about the motive, but if she was connected to the bus crash yesterday, it’s pretty likely.” Chaewon replies.

“So, what kind of threat do you think she represents? We’re kind of short-staffed at the moment with everyone out of campus right now.”

“I think I have to dig deeper into this situation before I can answer that. This seems like a personal problem that I have to figure out.’ Chaewon tries to reason.

“If she blew up a bus get rid of you, that already makes it an IZ*ONE-level problem because she endangered civilians.” Eunbi counters.

“Okay, you have a point, but you’re going to have to let me try to fix this on my own first. Too many people might just scare her off.”

“Hmm, alright then. Just don’t get in too much trouble. We don’t know what she’s capable of.” Eunbi says.

“What do you mean?” Chaewon asks.

“If she was with Minjoo at the same time you had the accident, she may be able to clone herself too. If she has control over her own clones, that will be a big problem.” Eunbi explains. Chaewon was speechless. She hadn’t even considered that. If she doesn’t get to the bottom of this soon, a lot of the people close to her could be in danger.

“Alright, I’ll head towards my mom’s place after changing my passwords. Privately message the others about the situation and tell them to not contact me unless I give the code word, angel.”

“And how do you know that she can’t read your mind the way you do with your other clones.” Eunbi asks.

“I think the only place we can communicate is through dreams. I got a warning the other night that I would be in trouble yesterday, and another one last night where she taunted me. I tried to connect with her once I woke up, but I haven’t been able to reach her. Maybe she’s been consistently far enough away from me for the past few months that our memories have become independent of one another. I’m still trying to figure out why the dreams work though.”

“You better hope that theories are right then…I’ll wait for your updates.”

~~~~

“Are you sure you don’t need my help, Chae?” Minjoo asks as Chaewon prepares to head off.

“I’m not sure. This is my clone which makes it my responsibility. Also, Eunbi-unnie said we don’t know what this clone is capable of yet, so I want to scout it out first.” Chaewon replies.

“All the more reason for me to come! It’s not like this is my first time heading into a dangerous situation. We’re supposed to be a team, remember?” Minjoo argues.

“Listen, Min. Just try to let me handle this on my own first. Who knows, maybe I can solve this with a talk. If she’s still anything like me, she should still be open to negotiating, right?” Chaewon says.

“Yah, if she’s anything like you, it’ll probably come to fisticuffs first.” Minjoo replies sarcastically.

“I’m serious, Min. I’ll call you if anything goes wrong.” Chaewon replies with finality as she takes her backpack and heads out. Minjoo puffs her cheeks in annoyance before turning invisible and following.

~~~~

“Mom! It’s me, Chaewon!” She calls while ringing the doorbell. After a few seconds, the door unlocks to reveal her mother.

“Oh, darling, I wasn’t expecting you to be back so soon!” She replies cheerfully.

“Wait, what do you mean? Did you not get my texts?” Chaewon asks which causes her mother to look at her confusedly.

“What do you mean? Didn’t you tell me you got a new one and to block the old one because it got hacked?”

“Ugh, not you too.” Chaewon says with an exasperated sigh before asking a follow-up question.

“Did my clone here tell you that?”

“Well, yes. Since you two are connected, I thought you just asked her to pass along a message.” Her mother explains.

“And is that clone here right now?”

“No, she said she had business to attend to today. What kind of mother would I be if I just kept her cooped up in the house all day, right?” At this, Chaewon’s phone vibrates and displays a message from Eunbi.

“You’re going to want to check the news right now…”

“Listen, mom, I’m going to explain everything in a bit, but I gotta check the TV first.” Chaewon says before rushing inside.

~~~~

“Oh my god…” The short-haired girl mutters when she sees what was being reported.

“We’re live here from the HYVE building where there’s a press conference to introduce a new special trainee, Kim Chaewon!” The newscaster says as a young woman who looked almost identical to Chaewon walked into the room.

“It’s an honor to now be training under one of the biggest entertainment companies in the country. I’ve always dreamt about this moment and being able to share my talents with the world!” The clone says.

“Is it true that you have the ability to split yourself into copies or is it just some editing magic for your Youtube videos?” A reporter asks.

“Oh, the rumors are definitely true.” She replies with a smirk before standing up and splitting herself into three and waving at the crowd.

“Uh-oh…” Chaewon says before another reporter asks a question.

“You have another acquaintance in the music industry who debuted recently, any comments on what her alleged powers are?” Chaewon was about to speak when the executive next to her, who was looking at his phone, stepped in.

“I’m sorry, but HYVE doesn’t make comments on the statuses of idols not affiliated with us.” He says before telling the press that the event was over.

“Don’t worry, everyone, if you ever want an exclusive, you can always go directly to me.” The clone says with a wink.

~~~~

“Yah, I’m not that corny, am I?” Chaewon says aloud while covering her eyes.

“I’m still out of the loop, Chaewon-ah. What’s going on? Why is your clone the one debuting to be an idol and not you?” Her mother asks.

“Okay, listen mom. It’s a bit complicated, but in short, the clone that I left here was affected by some experiment when I sent her to Daegu and has a mind of her own now. Yesterday, I’m pretty sure she tried to blow up the bus I was using to go home to be able to take over my life without anyone knowing.” Chaewon explains. Her mother was still a bit confused, but eventually nodded.

“If it’s true she tried to hurt you, then she’s going to be in big trouble when she gets back.”

“Mom, she has the same powers as me, so if anything, you’re the one who’s gonna be in trouble if she finds out you know what she's been up to. I need to stop her before this mess gets even bigger.” Chaewon says before taking out her phone to call Eunbi.

“Yah, Kim Chaewon, this is a huge mess already!” The team leader nags.

“Oh, I know, unnie. I watched the same broadcast as you.”

“You owe me for getting Seunggi-sunbaenim to call HYVE and tell them to keep your clone’s mouth shut about Project IZ*ONE.”

“I know. I know. This is a delicate situation because she could end up yapping about where our secret campus is or the powers of the others. I didn’t call you to get an earful, unnie.” Chaewon says seriously. She already had her mom in the room and didn’t need another one nagging her.

“Okay, Chae. How can we help then?” Eunbi asks.

“Is it possible for Seunggi-sunbaenim to interfere and have her removed from HYVE?”

“We already discussed that possibility. Apparently we can’t because your clone did have a legal tryout where she showcased her talent. Also, if they suddenly removed her after today, it’d cause a scene for HYVE that they don’t want. We can’t even say that she’s impersonating you because you have the same DNA. The cleanest way to deal with this is to apprehend your clone quietly and have you slot into that spot without the public knowing. I know you said you’re not ready to get into this industry, but you kind of have to now.” Eunbi explains.

“Actually, unnie. I didn’t get to tell you this, but I had a talk with my mom, and I decided to give the idol thing a try. The real problem will be finding and containing my clone.” Chaewon couldn’t see it through the phone call, but Eunbi had a big smile when she heard the first part.

I knew I was right!” She thinks to herself before speaking again.

“If she’s trying to take your identity, I don’t think finding her will be an issue. She’ll be coming for you, so maybe you can try setting up a trap.”

“If you’re thinking of using my mom as bait, then that’s a hard no, unnie.” Chaewon replies.

“I meant Minjoo, Chae. Isn’t she with you right now? I haven’t seen her at campus since you left.” At those words, Chaewon pinches the bridge in her nose before turning around and taking a look at the room.

“Min, I know you’re there. Eunbi just outed you.” She says in a disappointed tone which causes an embarrassed Minjoo to reveal herself hiding behind a lamp which surprises Chaewon’s mother.

“Minjoo? What are you doing here? I would’ve prepared some snacks if I knew you were coming! I’ll get some right now actually while you two to plan things out.” She says before rushing to the kitchen. Chaewon’s mom was always fond of the young girl because of what she meant to her daughter and made sure to prepare her favorite food whenever she visited.

“Yah, if you’re invisible, why would you also hide behind-, you know what, nevermind. I have an idea to lure my clone away from the house later.” Says after her mother leaves the room.

“For the record, there are times you do act corny.” Minjoo teases as she walks over.

“Do you want to hear the plan or not?”

“Yes, of course! I didn’t follow you all to be a bystander, you know? I still haven’t heard a ‘thank you’ by the way. Imagine have to do this by your-” Minjoo’s rambling is cut short by Chaewon closing the distance and giving her a kiss.

“You know I just didn’t want you to be in danger, right? The plan that Eunbi-unnie was hinting at could risk you getting hurt, and I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if that happened on my watch.” The short-haired girl says.

“Being in danger comes with the responsibility we have as IZ*ONE. Besides, I know I’ll be fine because I trust you.” Minjoo replies calmly before giving her girlfriend a hug.

“Also, see, you are pretty corny at times.” The younger girl says with a smile.

“You have a point…” Chaewon says before going into the details of the plan she’d come up with.

A/N: Hello again! Back again with another chapter, and while I have the creativity flowing, i might actually finish this story before the week ends. This new short story format is actually pretty helpful because I have to think about less things. In the first two long stories, I had to think about how something in chapter 3 would affect chapter 20, but with this being only 3-4 chapters, everything's more or less planned out. 

Anyway, that's enough rambling. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Likes and comments are always appreciated. It did warm my heart to see people still commenting and viewing my story on all the platforms I posted it on after the long hiatus. Y'all are the best!