My Auto Cloning System

Episode 65: A Steak Date and a Nation on Edge

He pocketed the phone and looked back at Min-joo, who was now standing on her tiptoes, peering at his face with mock concern. "You look like you just found out you owe taxes."

"No. Nothing like that," he muttered, shaking his head. "Actually, I owe you dinner. Remember when you dragged me out of that cursed warehouse disaster alive?"

"You mean the time I saved your ungrateful butt with my tiny, adorable hands?" she asked, puffing up her chest.

"Exactly that time," he said. "Let's go eat whatever you want. My treat."

---

😶‍🌫️

Dinner hit the table still sizzling. Thick slices of premium steak, the kind you don't normally see unless you're celebrating a big promotion or a company dinner paid by someone else, lay stacked with roasted garlic, grilled mushrooms, and buttery mashed potatoes on the side. Oh Min-joo looked at the spread like she was halfway between falling in love and passing out. Her fingers fidgeted with the edges of the napkin. "Are you sure about this? This place is crazy expensive."

Kim Do-hyun didn't even flinch. "I already said. The boss is paying."

He raised his glass and toasted to nothing in particular. She watched him for a second before picking up her fork, but her eyes kept drifting toward the menu. The prices were printed without commas. That was how you knew it was one of those places.

Min-joo blinked again. "Like... seriously, just this one plate costs more than my week's allowance."

"Then eat two. I won't stop you."

That earned a tiny laugh from her. She still looked unsure, like the steak might demand a kidney later, but hunger won. She picked up a slice and tasted it, and instantly her whole soul went quiet. Do-hyun noticed. Her shoulders relaxed a little. Her eyebrows unknit. She even mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like wow.

Do-hyun leaned back in his chair, half-smiling. The moment actually felt normal. Like something regular college kids would do. Except, of course, he wasn't really normal anymore. And neither was the world.

Right on cue, the flat-screen TV bolted into the restaurant wall suddenly cut out from its mellow background jazz and lit up in bright red.

[ EMERGENCY ALERT — THIS IS NOT A DRILL ]

The announcer's voice was tense, barely masking panic beneath a trained tone. "A monster portal has breached containment. Repeat, this is a real breach. Emergency personnel are mobilizing. Citizens in all regions of South Korea are advised to prepare immediate food and supply rations. Do not panic. Stay inside when possible. Await further instructions."

The restaurant's chatter died in seconds. Forks paused mid-air. Even the staff froze for a heartbeat.

Do-hyun stared at the screen for a few seconds, then slowly turned his head to Min-joo.

"I guess we're not doing dessert."

Her face looked pale. Not terrified, but not calm either. Just shaken. Ground shaken. The kind of reaction that came from not knowing what to do but knowing you should be doing something. "That thing just said... all of Korea?"

He nodded, slowly standing up. "Yeah. And apparently, that includes here."

He paid the bill without blinking. If they were all about to get attacked by a horde of monsters, what use was money, really?

Meanwhile, at a nearby bar not far from the restaurant, a few of his college friends were in full party mode. Laughter, clinking glasses, loud jokes about professors and how bad one of them had bombed the midterm. But Do-hyun wasn't there. Nam Tae-joon raised his beer lazily and squinted at the entrance.

"Bet you anything that guy ditched us for a girl."

"He better not have, that bastard. We had plans."

But just then, one of the guys pointed out toward the restaurant window across the street.

"Yo. Yo, is that him? It is. That's Do-hyun. Look at his face. Bro, he's smiling. Is that a girl with him?"

"Damn. He did ditch us."

They stormed out the door, not even pretending to play it cool, and crossed the street just in time to catch Do-hyun walking out with Oh Min-joo beside him. The alert was still scrolling on the TV inside.

Nam Tae-joon barked out, "Yo, what are you doing here, you traitor? You ditched us for your girlfriend?"

Do-hyun blinked, then looked over at Min-joo. She was already flushing, her ears turning red, her hands fidgeting.

"What girlfriend? Don't say dumb stuff. She's just my student. I'm her tutor, remember? I owed her a meal. That's it."

He turned to Min-joo. "Don't worry. I got you a takeaway box. Give this to your parents. That steak's too good to waste."

He handed her the neat little paper bag. It had the restaurant's logo embossed in gold.

Min-joo looked down at the box, then up at him again. She blinked.

"Thanks, teacher. Really."

The boys didn't even try to hide it. They were all grinning ear to ear, whispering like idiots.

"Bro, he's smooth. Did you hear that?"

"She's totally into him. Look at that steam. She's turning into a human kettle."

"This guy's a legend. Doesn't even try. Just drops one-liners like a boss."

Do-hyun ignored them. Mostly. He gave Min-joo a slight nod and said, "You shouldn't be walking around with a disaster alert going off. Better head home quick. I'll message you later."

She hesitated, then nodded. It was hard to tell if she was disappointed or just confused by the whole night. But she left.

The guys wanted to hang out some more. Just chill. Talk about girls and grades and maybe get some cheap barbecue. But Do-hyun looked up at the sky, his expression unreadable.

"Not everybody. Go home. Now."

"You serious?"

"You saw the alert. I'm not tryna take chances."

The group groaned, but most of them listened. Most. Not all.

A few other people spilled out of the bar. Some still laughing. Still drinking. Still acting like nothing was wrong.

Do-hyun watched them, narrowing his eyes.

Maybe I'm being too sensitive. Maybe the alert's just a false alarm.

But deep down, something didn't sit right.

And that uneasy feeling refused to leave.

---

😶‍🌫️

As Kim Do-hyun stepped outside, his phone buzzed with a sharp vibration against his thigh. He fished it out, eyes already squinting at the name lighting up on the screen. Han Jin-woo. Not exactly the best timing, but given everything that just happened, he figured it was about to get worse.

He swiped to pick up.

"Hunter, you got the alert, right?"

Do-hyun exhaled. "Yeah, I saw it. You got anything on it?"

Han didn't waste time. "The alert is official. We're under high threat protocol. It'll last for three months minimum."

Do-hyun stopped walking. Three months? He echoed it aloud like he needed to hear it twice.

"Yeah," Han confirmed, voice flat. "Nobody knows exactly when or where the monsters will pop up. We only know that they're strong. Possibly A-rank or higher."

Do-hyun frowned, his fingers tightening around the phone. "If it's that serious, why not put the whole country in lockdown or something? People are out here drinking like it's a holiday."

There was a pause on the other end before Han answered. "Because shutting the country down for three months would kill the economy. You know how it works. They issue the warning, so if anything happens, they can say they did their part. That way the Association can't be blamed for the aftermath."

And just like that, it clicked.

Of course. The government didn't want responsibility. This wasn't about safety. It was about optics. About survival of power, not people.

Han added, more casually now, "Anyway, you should head to a shelter. Hunting Fields will be locked down for the time being."

Do-hyun nodded, then muttered, "Got it."

After hanging up, he tapped into the familiar link in his mind. A subtle warmth surged through his chest as he reached for the presence of his clones. They were all at home. Two of them, anyway. Number One and Number Two.

He closed his eyes for a moment. The image came to him clearly, Number One was lying half-conscious on the couch, chest still wrapped in layers of soaked-through gauze. The stab wound from the Fishman fight hadn't fully healed. Number Two looked much better, though. Bandages still clung to him, but he was at least upright, doing push-ups on the hallway floor.

Do-hyun asked aloud, though the link transmitted the message mentally, "You guys alive in there?"

Number Two didn't hesitate. "Fine, boss. Could probably run a 5K if I had to."

Number One groaned. "I'm not dead. But I feel like I was fed through a meat grinder."

Do-hyun cracked a smile. Same old Number One. But still, he couldn't let a clone keep suffering just because the cooldown hadn't refreshed.

He checked again, instinctively. The familiar timer in the back of his mind hit zero.

Cool.

He raised a hand, just slightly, and the old Number One flickered. His body didn't vanish with a bang or some dramatic effect. It just faded like fog rolling off a window. The pain disappeared with it.