Ethan pointed at the suit I had hung out the night before and asked,
“Is that what you’re wearing tomorrow?”
When I nodded, he frowned, like he wanted to say more but hesitated.
I held back a smirk. “What’s wrong?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “I just think… that suit doesn’t really suit you. Actually, I think this jersey looks better on you.”
He pointed to the cheap jersey I rarely touched.
I glanced at it, then nodded with a straight face.
“You’re right. I’ll wear it tomorrow. Thanks for the advice.”
Relief washed over Ethan’s face, and his eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
The next morning, the moment he saw me in the jersey, he couldn’t hide his grin. But just as we were about to head out, he clutched his stomach.
“Ow… I’m not feeling great. You guys go ahead.”
Liam, Noah, and I exchanged knowing glances, nodded calmly, and pretended to leave- only to slip around the corner and hide.
Sure enough, minutes later, Ethan stepped out of the dorm wearing a nearly identical outfit to mine.
Liam muttered, “Julian, he really went through all this trouble just to copy you?”
“Yeah, and look at the money he’s burned–tattoos, hairstyle, now clothes. For a guy that stingy, he’s going all in.”
I shrugged. “Whatever it is, it’s not anything good.”
“Let’s go change. Time to mess with him.‘
Inside the classroom, Ethan strutted in confidently and sat beside me, dressed in his copycat outfit.
“Julian, my clothes got dirty, so I changed into the same style as yours. You don’t mind, right?”
I didn’t even look at him. “Not at all. Wear what
you like.”
He pressed further, trying to confirm.
“What if I always wear the same clothes as you?”
“That’s your freedom,” I said coolly.
His lips curled into a smug smile.
Then Liam and Noah walked in.
Dressed exactly like us.
Ethan’s face stiffened.
His voice trembled. “Wait… You weren’t wearing that earlier. Why are you-?”
Liam and Noah spoke in unison, forcing straight faces.
“Oh, we accidentally got our clothes dirty. Had to change.”
Then they spun in unison.
“How about it? We match with Julian. Don’t we look good?”
“Yeah, totally our style.”
Ethan’s eyes twitched. His whole body trembled. Then he snapped.
“Look good my ass! Who told you to dress like Julian?! Don’t you get it? Only I can wear the same clothes as him! Only I can copy him!”
His expression twisted with rage, utterly unhinged. Even the other classmates backed away, whispering. A few openly pointed at him.
I sat back and enjoyed the chaos.
After reviewing the last set of surveillance data, a thought had come to me:
If Ethan’s system could only function by imitating me–then what would happen when my traits weren’t just mine anymore, but shared by a whole group?
If the system couldn’t isolate me as the unique source, then Ethan’s mission might just…
fail.
Judging by his meltdown, I was right.
Realizing he’d lost control, Ethan tried to collect himself. He forced deep breaths, hands twitching at his sides.
But then–it got worse.
A few freshmen walked into the room, also wearing jerseys in the same style as mine.
That did it.
Ethan clutched his hair, muttering frantically to himself.
“No… no, this can’t be happening. Why is this happening? The index–how can it read this?”
Then he turned to me, eyes wide with accusation.
“This is your doing, isn’t it? You planned all this!”
I raised an eyebrow and gave him a calm smile.
“What did I do? You’re the one choosing to dress like me. For some reason.”
Caught off guard, his eyes flickered and he quickly looked away.
