My Auto Cloning System

Episode 66: Welcome Home, Bro?

"Sorry, man," he muttered, even though the clone wouldn't remember a thing in his next form.

In less than a second, a new presence joined his mind. A new Number One. Fully healed. Back in action.

"Reporting in," the new clone said, his voice clean and crisp like it hadn't been through hell ten minutes ago.

Then, down the hallway, Number Three barged in through the door, gym bag slung over his shoulder, shirt clinging to his sweaty back like a second skin. He had that weird look—that I-feel-strong-today energy. His hair was damp. Probably hit a public gym nearby.

"Yo," Number Three called out, dropping the bag with a thud. "What's with the alert? Gym TVs were freaking out. Everyone ran out halfway through deadlifts."

Do-hyun turned to him, rubbing the back of his neck. "You missed the memo? South Korea just became ground zero for a monster apocalypse."

Number Three blinked. "No way. Again? Bro, we just recovered from the sewer beast."

"Yeah. Welcome home."

Kim Do-hyun stepped into the old apartment like he used to back in high school—back when life was just school, games, and dodging his mom's flip-flops. He pushed the door open with one foot, still balancing a bag of snacks and emergency ramen packs like some kind of struggling errand boy.

"Mom, I'm home," he said loud enough to echo through the walls.

There was a pause.

Then the voice came from the kitchen, cold as fridge air.

"Oh, hi. Wait, who—who are you?"

Do-hyun just froze in the hallway. He blinked. "Bruh… It's me. Kim Do-hyun."

She poked her head out. Looked him up and down like she was reading a knock-off product label. "You're… Do-hyun? Are you starving, son? You look so… tight around the shoulders. Are you on drugs?"

Before he could even react to that slander, his dad shuffled in, adjusting those thick librarian glasses he'd never changed in twenty years.

He squinted hard. "This… really is Kim Do-hyun. What in the world."

And just then, like the final boss in a family sitcom, his little sister came skipping in—well, not really skipping. She had her hoodie on, chopped her hair short, and was rocking some black cargo pants like she just walked out of a webtoon.

"Ya should've come find your cute little sister first thing after coming home, you know," she said, all smug.

Do-hyun blinked again. "Wait… who the hell are you?"

"Huh? Ya crazy? I'm Chem, you bastard!"

He stared, mouth slightly open. "Bro. Nobody's recognizing me today. Is this some kind of fever dream?"

Behind him, the masked squad of clones entered the living room like a low-budget idol group. All same face. Different vibes. Number Two waved politely. Number Three carried a box of tangerines. Number Four looked like he was already regretting coming.

His mom just froze.

"You can come in, I guess. But who are these masked weirdos?"

"They're not weirdos," Do-hyun said, stepping inside, taking off his shoes. "They're me. My clones. You know… my power."

His mom blinked slowly. "So… your ability is cloning?"

"Yup. Awakened like a month ago."

Silence. Until—

"You're telling me my son is a hunter now?!" She dropped her kitchen towel like it was a courtroom reveal.

The sister was already bouncing around him like a cracked-out puppy. "Wait wait wait! You're a real hunter?! That's so unfair! I wanna awaken too!! Mom, this is so unfair!!"

Dad sat down slowly, eyes still squinting through his glasses. "So now we have a hunter in the family."

Do-hyun scratched the back of his head. "Wasn't tryna hide it anymore. Felt like now's the right time, y'know?"

The mom snapped back into mom-mode immediately. "You tryna die? That sht is dangerous! I didn't raise you for this madness, I—"

"Relax, relax." Do-hyun held up both hands. "That's the whole point. I don't fight. My clones do. I stay behind the scenes. They get hurt. I don't."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You serious?"

"Dead serious."

One of the clones even lifted up his shirt to show the bruises still healing. "I took one for the team last week. He just sat at home eating yogurt."

His sister wheezed. "That's so broken. Can I get one?"

"No."

Anyway. Do-hyun glanced around the apartment. Same layout. Same faded curtains. Same weird auntie statue in the corner.

But this wasn't just a nostalgia trip. He clapped his hands once. "Alright folks, fun time's over. There's a nationwide disaster alert right now. I came to make sure y'all get to a shelter safely."

His mom perked up. "Is it really that serious?"

Do-hyun nodded, face suddenly sharper. "We're looking at a three-month emergency period. Monsters might appear in this region. It's real."

His dad stood up again, this time slower.

"Hmm… but why now? And why so sudden? There's been no warning. No coverage. Feels fishy."

"We were packing a few things," his mom added. "But it's not like we can't stay at home. I have work tomorrow."

That made Do-hyun pause. He looked at his dad, who was now sipping barley tea like this was a casual Tuesday evening. His eyes narrowed a little.

"…Work?" he repeated.

His dad nodded. "I've still got deadlines."

This dude.

Do-hyun sighed, deep and long.

"Appa. You realize monsters could break through portals and shred up this whole neighborhood, right?"

His dad didn't blink.

"And?" he said calmly. "My boss is scarier than any monster."

Do-hyun blinked.

His clones blinked.

The sister just stared.

"…Man, we're screwed."

😩

Kim Do-hyun could tell, just from the way his mom was acting all relaxed with her hands in the rice bucket, that they really didn't get it. Not at all. They still thought this whole thing was just another monster sighting, like the kind that shows up once in a while on the evening news before the sports segment kicks in. A little background noise. Something happening to someone else.

No one here was moving with the urgency of people who'd seen a monster crawl out their sink. Hell, they were still talking about packing boxes and figuring out if the new apartment had a working fan.

He watched them for a second — his sister casually putting forks on the table, humming along to some old idol song like there weren't reports of bodies being found under staircases in Gangnam. Dad hadn't even turned off the TV, man was half-watching some soccer rerun like monsters didn't just wipe a police station two nights ago.

Do-hyun sighed under his breath.

They didn't know.

And maybe that was a good thing.

For now.

He slid his phone out and opened the school app — the notice was right there.

"No delays. All students report as usual."

His jaw tightened. That was it. No warnings. No closure. Not even a "stay safe out there." Just "see you tomorrow." Bro.

Classes weren't canceled.

He still had physics at 7am. That alone said everything about this country. Monsters in the sewer, people dying in their bathtubs — and schools still tryna take attendance like it's any other week.

Do-hyun quietly tapped his screen off and lied straight to his family's face.

"Classes got canceled. I'm staying home today."

Nobody questioned it.

Of course they didn't.

Why would they? He was the calm one. The reliable one. He could say the moon was on fire and his mom would probably just nod and ask if it was gonna affect the laundry.

Number 1 was already in the kitchen, heating up the meat he'd brought earlier. Number 2 was watching over the pot of rice like it was a sacred ritual. Number 3 was setting extra bowls on the table — the clone version of setting up for a funeral.

Mom glanced at the meat and smiled. "Your friends are eating too, right?"

Do-hyun looked over.

That question caught Number 3 mid-pour. He froze with the spoon halfway into the sesame oil.

The clones all perked up. You could see the hope light up in their faces like little starving puppies hearing a treat bag rustle.

But Do-hyun just shrugged.

"Nah. They're just eating rice."

The air in the room shifted. Heavy.

Number 1 blinked, like he didn't hear that right. "Wait, what?"

"Rice," Do-hyun repeated, real flat. "You're not guests."

Mom raised an eyebrow. "Ya'll didn't make enough for them?"

"We did," he said, already sitting. "We just didn't set it on this side."

You could hear Number 2's soul deflate across the table.

Number 3 just quietly slid the sesame oil back like it had never happened. Like he never even dreamed of tasting that meat.

The family side of the table? Full buffet vibes. Side dishes, grilled meat, soft drinks, dipping sauce, even that overpriced garlic mayo they only buy during holidays. The clone side? Two buckets of white rice and a tray of leftover pickled radish someone forgot to throw out last week.

Number 1 stared at the rice like it just told him his parents were fake.

Number 2 didn't speak. He just started eating in silence, eyes dead.

Number 3 mumbled something about "missing slavery."

Mom didn't notice. She was too busy handing out lettuce wraps. "Eat a lot, okay? Feels like forever since we had dinner like this."

His sister looked up from her phone, squinting at the other side of the table.

"You've got, like, three of you now," she said. "Aren't you gonna get fat again?"

Do-hyun took a bite of meat, chewed like he was savoring survival itself.

"Nah. I burn a lot more now."

Dad nodded. "Good. You're young. Metabolism should stay sharp."

Everything felt... weirdly normal. Too normal. Like the calm before something stupid.

And just when Do-hyun was about to say—

"It's been a while since we ate together like this—"

BOOOOOOOOM.