June Park didn’t like being noticed.
Which was inconvenient, because today, the entire sophomore class was staring at her like she’d grown a second head.
Actually, she sort of had.
There, standing at the classroom door, was another girl. Same face. Same ponytail. Same nervous half smile.
“Um,” the other girl said. “Hi. I think we’re…related?”
The class gasped.
Someone whispered, “Did June just clone herself for midterms?”
June blinked. “Excuse me?”
Principal Han appeared seconds later, clutching paperwork and looking like she’d aged ten years in ten minutes. “Everyone, this is Jina Park. She’s transferring here starting today. Apparently…” She coughed.
“…they’re twins.”
The room exploded in chatter.
Twins.
June had never had a twin. She’d grown up an only child in a very normal apartment with a very normal mom who’d never once said,
“Oh, by the way, there’s another you out there.”
But there Jina was, smiling awkwardly, holding the exact same pink binder.
Strange Days at Seoul North High
By lunchtime, June had a headache.
Jina, on the other hand, fit in like WiFi.
Teachers adored her. Classmates swarmed her. Even the cafeteria lady gave her extra kimchi.
“Guess she’s the upgrade version of you,” muttered Dani, June’s best friend, between bites of rice.
“Upgrade? She’s not a phone, Dani. She’s…a glitch.”
“Maybe you should report her to tech support.”
June glared. “I’m serious. Something’s off.”
She was right.
That afternoon, her math homework vanished from her locker.
Then her art project. When she went to the computer lab and printed her essay, it was already printed. With her name. Her handwriting.
Jina turned it in first.
The Suspicious Substitute
“Coincidence,” Dani said the next morning.
“Coincidence doesn’t have my handwriting!” June hissed. “She’s copying me!”
During homeroom, June tried to confront her.
“Jina, we need to talk.”
Jina blinked innocently. “Oh! About the essay? I thought we had the same brainwave! Isn’t that amazing?”
“Yeah, brainwave theft is super amazing.”
Jina laughed like it was a compliment.
Then came Mr. Choi’s announcement, “Group science projects are due Monday! Work hard—and no identical submissions, please.”
He looked directly at June.
Everyone did.
The Mystery Deepens
By Friday, half the school thought June and Jina were pulling an elaborate prank.
The other half thought Jina was a clone from a failed government experiment.
June preferred the first theory.
She started investigating unofficially, of course.
Step one: Sneak into the records office.
Step two: Find Jina’s transfer papers.
Step three: Figure out who the heck she actually was.
Dani acted as lookout, whispering updates through a walkie talkie shaped like a cat.
“Coast clear,” Dani said. “Except Mr. Choi’s eating ramen by the photocopier.”
June rummaged through the folders. Nothing about Jina existed before this semester. No address. No family contact. Just a note saying ‘Placed via special recommendation’.
June frowned. “Special recommendation from who?”
The lights then began to flicker.
The Message at Midnight
At 11:37 p.m., her phone buzzed, as it was a Unknown figure.
FROM Jina
Stop looking into things you won’t understand.
June nearly dropped her phone.
“Oh, so now my clone’s threatening me?” she muttered.
But the next morning, Jina smiled as if nothing had happened. “Morning, twin! Ready for science class?”
June forced a smile. “Totally. Ready to unmask a liar.”
The Big Reveal
Science fair day arrived. Posters, volcanoes, and questionable baking soda explosions filled the gym.
June had one goal to expose Jina.
When it was her turn, she pulled the cloth off her project—a DNA comparison study.
Jina’s eyes widened. “You didn’t-”
“Oh, I did,” June said sweetly. “See, I took a strand of my hair. And one from yours. Guess what? They’re not identical.”
The crowd gasped.
Principal Han looked like she might faint. “You…ran genetic tests without permission?”
June shrugged. “Extra credit?”
Jina backed away. “You don’t understand-”
“Oh, I think I do,” June said. “You’re not my twin. You’re-”
“An actor!” shouted a voice.
Everyone turned. Mr. Choi stood by the door, holding a stack of papers. “She’s an actor, hired by a social experiment company! They were testing student behavior in response to identity duplication. Jina’s not real. Well—she’s real real, but not your sister real.”
Jina winced. “Sorry. I was supposed to observe and report. But honestly, this school’s chaos made it impossible to stay undercover.”
The gym erupted in noise.
June folded her arms. “So my life is a sociology project now?”
Mr. Choi smiled sheepishly. “Technically…yes. But your report earned the highest observation engagement ever recorded.”
“Great,” June said flatly. “Can I drop out of my own experiment now?”
One Week Later
Things went (mostly) back to normal.
Jina was gone. Her desk sat empty, except for a note saying
You were right, June. You’re one of a kind. Don’t lose that spark.
June smiled. Maybe being noticed wasn’t so bad—if she was the one writing the ending.
“Hey, Detective Park,” Dani called from behind her. “New case. Someone stole my lunch again.”
June grabbed her notebook. “Finally. Something normal.”
She turned down the hall, ready to investigate.
Somewhere, faintly, her phone buzzed.
From Unknown
Experiment Phase 2 begins next week.
June froze.
Dani blinked. “Uh…you okay?”
June forced a smile. “Totally fine. Just keep an eye out for new transfer students.”