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It had all happened so fast — one minute Hyejoo was arguing with her mother over the phone, and the next she was face to face with a woman who looked exactly like her.
The other woman, identical except for Hyejoo’s dyed blue tips, had been standing in the train tracks, her coat and purse left forgotten on the side.
And then the train.
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Now, Hyejoo finds herself in the apartment of the other woman - family photos scattered around her as she waits for the black hair dye to cover her blue tips.
Stealing the identity of your well-off clone isn’t too terribly immoral.
Another woman frequents the recent pictures, long blonde hair and the sense of royalty roll off her as she poses in a long black coat. None of the photos are labelled, though, and Hyejoo digs around some more through the other woman’s memories to connect faces to names.
“Olivia Hye”
The woman’s liscense shows her smiling into the camera, more put together with her hair pulled back into a bun and her makeup done nicely.
“Go Won”
The woman with blonde hair’s the first contact in Olivia Hye’s messages. It seems like they had a fight just before Hyejoo became tangled in all of this mess.
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Olivia Hye: What do you know about Kakao M Industries, Chae?
Go Won: What are you talking about?
Go Won: What's going on with you, Olivia?
Olivia Hye: I can't take this anymore.
Olivia Hye: The lying.
Olivia Hye: The secret phone calls.
Olivia Hye: I just can't do it.
Olivia Hye: I'm sorry.
Go Won: Sorry?
Go Won: Olivia?
Go Won: Olivia, what's going on?
Go Won: You're scaring me.
Go Won: I'm on my way home, please don't do anything stupid.
Go Won: Please.
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If someone’s coming here, Hyejoo’s got to work fast...
She quickly moves the boxes of hair dye to the large trash outside, and steps into the shower, hoping the dye had long enough to set. It’s then, as the water begins to run clear in the bathtub, that she hears the distinct ping of a cellphone.
It’s not Olivia Hye’s phone, and the second time the notification goes off, Hyejoo follows it to a small drawer in the bedroom. This phone isn’t high tech, or current in fashion. It’s a brick, with a small pixelated screen flashing “HYUNJIN”, and a moon charm hanging off of it.
Olivia, where are you?
There’s a second message, this time from someone named Choerry.
Don’t do anything stupid, Olivia. Just ask Go Won about it, calmly.
Obviously, Olivia Hye had not been calm during any of the time leading up Hyejoo’s encounter with her.
The front door opens, and Hyejoo drops the phone back into the drawer, turning off the ringer.
“Olivia?”
Go Won truly does look like a princess, standing in a long black coat with her blonde hair in large curls cascading down her back. She has her phone and keys in her hands, which she drops onto the nearest couch as she rushes over to Hyejoo, who recoils slightly.
“Oli, you scared me. What’s going on?”
“I, uh, took a walk. And then a shower. I needed to clear my head.”
“In the rain?” Go Won scoffs, pushing hair away from her face. “You took a walk in the rain?”
Hyejoo shrugs in noncommitment, and Go Won seems to drop the topic for the moment as she looks at the piles of photos scattered across the floor.
“Oli, what’s going on with you?”
“I just- I got sentimental, and wanted to ground myself.” Hyejoo lied, “The photos helped.”
“Okay.” Go Won says, not looking even half convinced. “I’ll start dinner, then? You clean these up.”
“Sure...” Hyejoo says, watching as Go Won removes her coat and drops it on the couch. “You’ll ruin the couch, leaving the coat on it.”
Go Won smiles, moving the coat to the closet before moving towards the kitchen, kissing Hyejoo on the cheek as she passes. “I’m feeling like having some tofu and rice dumplings tonight.”
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The next morning is chaos, as Go Won speeds through the house, shouting that they’re coffee in the pot before slamming the door and effectively waking Hyejoo.
The next step is to figure out Olivia Hye’s life. How she spends her day. Where she works. But that’s nothing an internet connection can’t fix. Any café in a rich neighborhood will likely have free wifi and maybe a computer for her to borrow.
The only problem is a text, coming through on the second phone with a moon charm.
Hyunjin: 11:00am.
The only location listed in the phone is the contact for Hyunjin, and with three hours until 11:00, Hyejoo makes her way towards the nearest café.
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The search “Olivia Hye” only shows social medias, all of which Hyejoo had gone through the night before while Go Won had been making dinner. But deciding to waste more time, Hyejoo settles with her coffee in front of the café’s computer and begins to dig some more.
Olivia Hye has no friends.
That much is apparent from the lack of photos with other people, or even photos she’s tagged in. Not that Hyejoo’s had much luck making friends either...
In fact, Olivia Hye’s tagged in three photos - two of which are Go Won’s. The last, though, is from user @jin_soul_ie.
The photos of the two girls, standing in front of a banner that reads, “Police Academy Class of 2017”.
oh god-
Olivia Hye is a cop.
Hyejoo closes the computer, and leaves the café - mindless making her way back to Olivia Hye’s car. Which is no longer unoccupied.
Jinsoul sits on the hood of Olivia Hye’s car, an unlit cigarette placed between her lips, and a leather jacket next to her. A cop car’s parked neatly next to Hye’s.
“Skipping work now that you’re suspended?” Jinsoul says, dragging her foot up onto the hood and leaving a dark mud stain on the paint. “Never took you for a quitter, Hye.”
“I just washed that car.” Hyejoo says, stopping a few feet away, far enough to run away at the first sign of trouble.
“A woman was hit by a train last night.” Jinsoul says, tilting her head back. “Funny thing is - she looks exactly like you.”
“Like me?” Hyejoo asks, nervous.
“Got a dead twin sister you don’t know about?” Jinsoul’s staring at Hyejoo now, her eyes intense.
“Perhaps. Key word is that I don’t know.” Hyejoo says, watching Jinsoul slide off the car gracefully onto her feet and drag her jacket off as well, the zipper scraping against the paint. “You going to reimburse for the paint job?”
Jinsoul squints slightly, before shaking her head and walking to her own car.
“I know you’re shaken up, or whatever. But it’s like you’re a completely different person, Olivia. You better come in tomorrow if you want to be reinstated.”
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Hyejoo arrives at Hyunjin’s house ten minutes before 11, sketchily looking around the suburban area as she pulls into the driveway behind a Volkswagon minivan.
The door swings open as she locks the car door, and there she is. Hyejoo, both standing in the doorway in the house and next to Olivia Hye’s car. But this one’s proper - wearing a light pink shirt with mom jeans. Her hair’s pulled back into a ponytail, a simple black headband holding the loose strands out of her face.
Hyejoo swallows, slowly making her way towards the other woman when Hyunjin holds her hand out to stop her.
“What happened to Olivia?”
Hyejoo blinks, though unsuprised she had finally been caught.
“We just saw the news. A woman, believed to be named Hyejoo, was found on the tracks.” Hyunjin says, “The only problem is that she looked funnily dressed like Olivia. So, Hyejoo, what happened?”
“She was already in the tracks when I got there. She- god, she- you-“
Hyunjin’s frown softens as she lowers her palm slightly and motions Hyejoo inside.
“I think there’s some explaining to do, on both sides.”
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Inside of the house, Hyejoo’s led into the living room where - dear god - she’s sitting on the couch. Except that this woman’s hair is dyed purple and in two french braids that fall to her elbows. She’s wearing a graphic tee and black crocs as she types away at a computer.
“This,” Hyunjin says, motioning to the purple haired clone, “is Yerim.”
“Choerry.” The purple haired woman corrects, looking up with a raised eyebrow.
“Choerry.” Hyunjin corrects herself, before turning back to Hyejoo.
“And you are?” Choerry asks.
“Hyejoo.”
“Well, Hyejoo, welcome to the Clone Club.”
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“Clone Club?” Hyejoo asks, letting Hyunjin sit her down on the couch.
“Yeah, the four - well, three - of us are clones. I think. We thought we were triplets, but then we started finding more us, all over the world.” Choerry says, turning her laptop around to show a folder with an image of a crescent moon on it. “This is everything that I’ve found. You might want to go through it. Feel free to add yourself in, Hyunjin says I’m... callous with my facts.”
“That’s because you are.” Hyunjin says, walking towards what appears to be a wine cabinet.
“So... what does this mean?” Hyejoo asks, opening the folder.
“Well, that someone definatly broke moral rules to do an experiment on clones. It also means we don’t know how many of us there are. Or what all of the side effects are.” Choerry says, leaning in to point at a folder labelled “KNOWN SIDE EFFECTS”.
“We can’t have kids.” Hyunjin says. “Genetically. We think they denied us that gene while modifying the eggs.”
“What?”
“I can’t have kids. Neither can Choerry. And trust me, I’ve tried. I’m married - to Heejin,” Hyunjin says with a soft smile, “But our only option left is adoption. I can’t carry a child, and Heejin’s not comfortable carrying.”
“I don’t understand.” Hyejoo says. “I-“
“You what?”
“I have daughter.” Hyejoo says, looking away from Hyunjin as the woman’s face falls onto a pained expression. “Her name’s Yeojin. She- she lives with my mother. That’s why I came back to town. To see her.”
“That’s impossible, Hyejoo.” Choerry insists. “We physically can’t carry.”
“Then how did I?” Hyejoo asks.
“I’d assume someone was the original that we were based off of. Someone had to be the first.” Choerry mumbled, taking her computer back and frantically going through folders. “Maybe you’re the original, Hyejoo.”
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“How old is she?” Hyunjin asks, she’s leaning heavily against the counter, and her eyes look tired.
“Nine.”
“Why don’t you live with them?”
“I’m not... cut out to be a mother.” Hyejoo says, looking back towards Choerry, who’s typing away on her computer. “And I’m not the original, I can’t be.”
“mmm-“ Choerry hums, distant and not listening.
Suddenly, Hyunjin’s in front of Hyejoo, holding a glass of wine towards her.
“I think we could all use a drink.”
Hyejoo accepts the glass and watches as Hyunjin leaves Choerry’s on the table before sitting on the floor.
“Besides us... who do we know exists?” Hyejoo asks after a moment of silence.
Choerry looks up, “Not... many? But enough to know there’s more of us.”
She turns the computer back towards Hyejoo, opening the folder entitled “CLONES”.
- Katja [deceased]
“Katja?” Hyejoo asked, looking up at Choerry, who frowned.
“Katja was the first clone I ever met. She... she found out about all of us when we were seventeen, and she fled England to come here and she found me, and Hyunjin. She made the clone club.”
“She was shot,” Hyunjin said, her wine glass halfway to her face.
“What?”
“We were meeting her in a parking lot, and... and suddenly...”
“She fell, there was a gunshot. Went straight through her head.” Hyunjin said, and her wine glass was empty.
- Danielle [deceased]
- Aryanna [deceased]
- Janika [deceased]
- Choerry [alive]
- Hyunjin [alive]
- Olivia [alive]
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“Who killed them?” Hyejoo asks, her eyes lingering on Olivia Hye’s name.
“We don’t know. Someone who doesn’t want us to be self-aware, probably.” Choerry shrugged, before turning the computer back to herself. “Though, I should probably fix Olivia’s entry.”
“And add in Hyejoo.” Hyunjin mutters, now laying down and staring at the ceiling.
- Olivia [deceased]
- Hyejoo [alive]
“If someone doesn’t want us to know, why make us in the first place? If there’s enough of us to find each other all over the world, how would they keep us from finding each other?” Hyejoo says, pulling her knees up to her chest.
“We think that we might have monitors. People who watch us and report back to whoever made us.” Choerry says. “Someone who’s close to us, and sees us often enough to know what’s going on.”
“So, a family member?” Hyejoo asks, twirling the last of her wine in the glass.
“Maybe. Or a close friend. The problem is that you probably won’t know who.”
Hyejoo’s phone, the one hidden at the bottom of her purse, dings with a message.
Haseul: Are you actually coming to have dinner with your daughter, or are you going to bail on us again?
“Shit.” Hyejoo mutters. “It’s my mom. I have to go.”
“Wait. You have your Clone Phone with you, right?” Choerry says, grabbing Hyejoo’s wrist as she stands.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Just... keep it on you. If anything happens to us, or to you, we can keep in touch with those.” Choerry says, glancing back down at her computer.
“Right.” Hyejoo says, her brow furrowing as she walks to the door. Neither of the two others stop her as she leaves.
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Haseul’s house is a small two story home in the outskirts of the city, where the streets are dirty but safe, though you won’t find the police anywhere nearby. It’s an in-between, not exactly suburban but not urban either - a blend of the two where people like Hyejoo thrive. Haseul already has the front door open when Hyejoo steps out of Olivia He’s car.
“That’s not yours.” She frowns, raising an eyebrow at the local license plate.
“Not exactly.” Hyejoo says, locking the doors and coming to stand in front of the older woman.
“If you’re gonna steal stuff, don’t bring it here. I don’t need the police knocking on my door asking questions again, Hyejoo.” Haseul says quietly before footsteps are heard running down the stairs.
“Mom!”
Yeojin throws herself at Hyejoo, who catches her as Haseul watches with her arms crossed.
“Hey, Froggo.” Hyejoo smiles, hugging the girl tight before pulling away and ruffling her hair. “You’ve defiantly grown since I last saw you.”
“Five inches.” Yeojin says proudly, standing on her toes to seem taller.
“Five whole inches?” Hyejoo laughs. “Watch out, they’ll recruit you for basketball if you keep growing like this.”
“Not with your height genes they won’t.” A voice from the kitchen calls, and Haseul corals everyone into the dining room, where a large bowl of pasta sits in the middle of the table.
“It’s not like you’re tall either, Lippie.” Hyejoo grins as her foster sister plops down across from Yeojin at the table.
“Never claimed to be.” Kim Lip, otherwise known as Lippie, winked at Yeojin cheekily.
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“So what’s the deal with the car?” Lippie asks, putting her feet on the dashboard as she and Hyejoo drive back into the city.
“You’d never believe me.” Hyejoo says, adjusting the temperature.
“Try me.”
“I learned I had a lookalike, and stole her identity after she killed herself.” Hyejoo says.
Lippie laughes, before stopping as Hyejoo sends her a withering glance. “You’re joking.”
Hyejoo shakes her head, pulling to a stop outside of Lip’s apartment building. “I think I might be a clone, Lippie. I- I met more of me. Well, they’re not me. Obviously. But they look exactly like me.”
“We’re foster kids, maybe they’re just your sisters.” Lippie says, her eyebrows furrowing.
“But- there’s more of us. Like, they have photos of women who look just like us all over the world.” Hyejoo says. “They even have a list of the names of those we know of.”
“That’s insane.”
“I know. I don’t want to believe it, but the evidence they have.” Hyejoo trails off, looking out the windshield. “They said they think I’m the original, because of Yeojin.”
“You told them about Yeojin?” Lip asks, concerned.
“Not like location, but the fact that I have a daughter.”
Lip relaxes back into her seat.
“The others can’t have kids. And they think that because I did, that I was somehow the original they were all based off of.” Hyejoo says. “And- and they said we all have monitors, Lip. People who watch us and report back to whoever made us.”
“Jesus.” Lip breathes out. “You have one?”
“I’d assume so.” Hyejoo says. “But I can’t imagine who - I don’t exactly hang out with anyone for longer than necessary.”
“Well, it’s not me.” Lip says.
“Obviously, who’d want a gay disaster artist spying on anyone?” Hyejoo laughs, and the tension of the conversation is broken as Lip attempt to defend herself.
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There’s a woman sitting in front of Olivia Hye’s garage when Hyejoo returns. Her hair’s long and damaged, bleached into a frizzy mess. Her eyes are rimmed with red, as if she hasn’t slept in years. And her face stares back at Hyejoo like a mirror. Another clone.
“You are new.” She says as Hyejoo cautiously steps out of the car. “But, you will not last long.”
“I won’t?”
“No.” The woman says, and stands, revealing a wickedly long knife in her hands. “Where is Hye?”
“She’s... I’m-“
“Where is Hye, spectant vescentur?” The woman asks again.
“She’s dead. Jumped in front of a train. You must have seen it on the news.” Hyejoo says, unable to look away from the knife.
The woman slides the knife into a sheath, carefully, before walking towards Hyejoo. She slides right past her, turning away down the road.
“This is your warning, spectant vescentur. I will find who you are, and I will kill you.” The woman smiles, before pulling up a hood and walking down the street.
anemixus on Chapter 14 Sat 21 Sep 2019 09:06AM UTC
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lovelcce on Chapter 14 Sun 22 Sep 2019 04:01AM UTC
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