But then, Ethan’s smug expression froze.
Sophie walked up to him and–smack–slapped him across the face.
The sound was crisp and sudden.
Everyone, including Ethan himself, was stunned into silence.
“That’s not how it happened,” Sophie said, voice steady. “The 42,000 dollars–he spent it on me when we were together. I just gave it back. And I’m a student his family sponsors. He’s not a gigolo.”
Her tone was calm but clear, leaving no room for misunderstanding.
The mood in the restaurant shifted instantly.
The same people who had mocked me now turned their condemning eyes on Ethan.
Clutching his cheek, he looked around and broke down.
“Sophie… I did this for your own good! How could you turn on me like this? I hate you!”
He flung the rag to the ground and stormed off, red–faced with humiliation.
Sophie didn’t chase him. Instead, she crouched beside me and looked up with a faint smile.
“Julian, this is my act of surrender. What do you think?”
“I know you don’t like Ethan,” she added. “I’ve made my choice. Are you satisfied now?” But less than a week later, her appearance had changed completely.
Dark circles under her eyes, clothes cheap and worn, even carrying a faint, sour odor. Without my support–or my family’s sponsorship–and with Ethan bleeding her dry, she couldn’t handle the pressure.
“It’s not enough,” I said to her calmly. “I want to know why Ethan keeps copying me. Even when he’s broke, he still finds a way to buy everything I buy. Why?”
She glanced around cautiously. “And if I tell you… what will you give me?”
“That depends on how valuable your information is.”
After a moment of hesitation, Sophie leaned in and whispered something to me.
Meanwhile, Ethan, who had stormed off earlier, was lingering near the sidewalk, hoping Sophie would follow him. But she never came.
Eventually, he turned back toward the restaurant–and froze when he saw her crouched by my side, talking to me.
He stood there like he’d been struck by lightning.
If Sophie told me about the system, he would have finished.
would
林命 65%
11:35 Mon, 28 Jul W
“What are you doing?” he roared, rushing over and yanking her aside.
The two of them began shouting at each other in the street, drawing attention.
They split up angrily.
After that day, Ethan grew increasingly paranoid.
“Julian,” he asked one morning, eyes narrowing, “why are you dressed up like that? Where are you going?”
“On a date,” I replied flatly. “Sophie said she’s taking me to a Michelin–starred restaurant.”
As expected, he tailed me again–taking a taxi, crouching by the entrance, watching.
When he saw Sophie arrive for real, his face twisted.
This time, though, he stayed hidden and didn’t confront us.
But after that, he was always there–lurking in the background wherever we went.
The tenth time I caught him spying, I decided it was time to escalate.
While at dinner, I stepped into the restroom and made a deliberately loud phone call near the door.
“Oh, what’s 2 million? If Sophie wants it, just give it to her. She told me Ethan’s secret. That kind of information is worth way more than pocket change.”
“…The reason he keeps imitating me? Yeah, I didn’t expect him to go so far–trying to become me. Pathetic.”
I ended the call and adjusted my lipstick in the mirror.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ethan, hiding near the hallway.
He stormed out after me, knocking over a trash bin and shouting like a madman:
“Bitch! You’re all bitches!”
“Just wait. My plan isn’t over!”
Later that night, my hidden recorder caught a panicked voice.
“System! My imitation index is zero! Can I still become Julian? I just want to live his life! What if I kill him–what if he doesn’t exist anymore?”
[No. Our mission is to imitate the target and harvest their fortune by maintaining perceived similarity. Eliminating the subject nullifies the mission.]
“This won’t work, that won’t work! You said if the mission fails, the system enters self–destruct mode. That means I die, right? What am I supposed to do?!”
11:35 Mon, 28 Jul ti
