[Daehyun]

I did not know what came over me that night.
That tinge of discomfort when Master told me that he had dinner with Prof Kim had made me pounce on him at the spur of the moment.

But seeing Master looking so vulnerable beneath my grasp snapped something in me.

My eyes traced along his lips and my desire hit its peak, and I dove in to meet his lips.

Having to have had hold back this strange surge everytime when I see Master pursed his lips, bite his lips and especially when he his lips.

But even when I managed to fulfil my strange cravings,

I wanted more.

I wanted Master to react to every one of my touches, drowning me in all the sounds and expressions he produced.

His lips felt so good against mine. I felt chemicals colliding, my conciousness wasn't working and before I knew, I spilled out the words I wish I had taken back.

"I think I'm in love with you."

Since then, I probably wasn't able to make any eye contact with Master.
Maybe he was right. I was reading too much romance novels.

He never said anything about that night after what happened.
He talked as if things were back to normal.
As if that night never happened.
I didn't know what to feel about it.

And the bubbling emotions I've been feeling never went away. As a matter of fact, they just became stronger.

I was in love with Master.

However, there was always this stinging feeling that bit the back of my head when Prof Kim's words rang in my ears.

Robots aren't allowed to have emotions. It's against the law of robotics.

I bit my lip holding anything from spilling out.

"Daehyun!" Master called out. "Dinner is ready!"

I shifted from my seat, placing the book that was wedged between my thighs pages down on the maroon couch, before standing up.

I walked over to the dining table.

I was greeted by a plate of white rice, as usual.
Then another plate of plain rice was placed gently on the table.
I looked up at Master questioningly.
Usually Master would cook me dinner for me to reheat when I got hungry before heading out to his lab.

"Are those two plates of rice for me?" I asked.
Master looked at me amused.
I raised an eyebrow, more confused.

"This one's for me obviously. Don't be so greedy", Master replied, sticking his tongue at me.
He walked back to the stove to retrieve a metallic pot which had the aroma of Japanese curry.

"Yours?" I repeated.
He nodded, heaving the pot of curry in between the two plates of rice.

"But.."
"You complained that I don't spend enough time together. So I'm making up to you for that", he cut in, giving me a quick glance and smile before going back to retrieve two sets of utensils.
I bit my lip again.
I felt like my vascular organ was about to melt somehow.

I stayed silent until he returned. Master came back and handed me a set, which I then replied with a small "thanks".

When the both of us were comfortably seated, he removed the lid of the pot and the aroma of the curry was so tempted.

"Daehyun-ah, you're drooling."

I snapped back, my gaze switching to Master, who was staring at me with a small amused smile.
The back of my hand rubbed against my lips, and I flushed.

Master chuckled, which I thought was the most adorable thing ever, before he instructed me to eat.

I took a spoonful of curry, and let it spread it over my rice freely from the top.

I placed the scoop back, Master taking his first serving right after mine.
I noticed that he preferred to place his curry at the side of his plate instead, accumulating on the side then mixing the rice with it before consuming it.

I took a bite out of mine and the flavour of the curry mixed in with the rice immediately filled my tastebuds.
It was really delicious.

We ate in silence for the most part, but we had talks in between.
I never experienced anything before, so Master talked a lot about his childhood during dinner.
It was the first time I heard him talking so much before.

"... and I would always go and play with his neighbourhood boy a lot when I was younger."
My eyes lit up in curiosity.
"Do you remember his name?"

Master hesitated for a moment, the smile on his face faded off.
He stayed silent for a split second before another small smile replaced his strange expression.
He shook his head. "No, I don't."

I huffed my cheeks, my gaze drifting off onto my empty plate.
"But, I remember how he looked like."
I raised my head, my gaze meeting the twinkle in Master's eyes.

"How did he look like?" The question slipped out of my lips quicker than I could filter out my thoughts.
"Well," he began, his gaze shifting upwards, in deep thought. "He had almond shaped eyes that were pretty huge, an adorable nose and his prominient puffy lips."

I raised an eyebrow and parted my lips to reply at such an obvious description.
There was so much I wanted know.

Master, I'm not stupid.

The person who you were describing was obviously me.

I could see the twinkle in your eyes, the small squeeze of your hands that were clamped against each other, and the small curl of your pink lips when you described him.

As his hands reached out towards me, with a napkin between his danity fingers, reaching for the the side of my lips as he said,
"You have a stain there, Daehyunnie."

I grabbed a hold of his hand, that paused just a millimeter away from my lips.
Electricity surged through my vessels as my pupils dilated.

"I... can get it myself, Master", I replied, taking the napkin gently away from his fingers that slowly released the pressure.

I smiled like I always did,
So did Master.

But I saw a hint of rejection in Master's eyes.
My heart felt like it clenched.

What kind of connection did I have with you as a child?

Do you feel the same way as I do for you?

I didn't understand.

Humans are more complicated than machines.

;
[Youngjae]

Dinner was pleasant until when he realised that he had ended up talking about his childhood friend that was sitting just right before him.

"Junhong told me that you didn't live in Seoul. Where did you used to live, Master?"

He thought for a moment, his spoon twirling subtly.

"I lived pretty near a forest because back then, we all lived in a countryside before I came to Seoul."

"How was it like living in a countryside compared to a city?"

"Quite a vast difference. The air is much clearer and fresher at a countryside than in city. Life is also much more busy and fast-paced here", Youngjae replied, playing around with the uneaten carrots on his plate.

"Then how was it like living like in the countryside ultimately?" The curious robot asked again.
Youngjae thought he'd be annoyed with all Daehyun's continous questions but he was surprised that he wasn't.
In fact, he was even more surprised at the fact that he was willing to answer back.

"Calm, peaceful and relaxed. I was really active as a child, always running around too much and worrying my parents."

Daehyun chuckled. "I could imagine you yelling as a child."

The Professor rolled his eyes playfully, his cheeks flushing a light shade of pink.

"Tell me more about your childhood."

"Active. I mostly played with myself or my brother. My dad was always working. Mum took care of the house matters.

I didn't have much friends because I lived far off the city, and I would always go and play with his neighbourhood boy a lot when I was younger."

The thoughts of the boy started to resurface into Youngjae's memories.

"Do you remember his name?"

"No, I don't", Youngjae lied.

Youngjae felt that Daehyun was better off not knowing his past; not because it was embarrassing but because he didn't want to be reminded of the past.

The tension in Youngjae's heart increased when Daehyun rejected his offer to wipe off the curry stain.
But he managed to force a smile.
So did Daehyun.

Youngjae was the first to stand up from his seat, lifting his plate off the table, and the metallic utensils sliding across the wide surface area.

"Do you still want this?" Youngjae asked, his fingers curled around the pot handle.

Daehyun shook his head, smiling in the process.
The Professor left his plate in the sink, then went to pour out the remaining uneaten curry away in the trash before he started on the dishes.

As he turned back to the sink, he accidentally bumped into the other male, causing Youngjae to yelp in surprise.
Daehyun simply stared at him.

"JUNG DAEHYUN. Could you please not scare me like that?! Geez!"

The humanoid grinned at his master's reaction, apologising at the same time.

He started on washing the dishes while Youngjae continued to scrap off carrot and potato bits.

☆
Youngjae decided to take a shower when he reached his room. Daehyun was following behind him.

"I'm going to shower, Dae. So just stay outside."

Daehyun nodded in acknowledgement before walking over to the bookshelf to raid for another romance novel.

Youngjae sighed when the hot water came into contact with his burningly cold skin.
He felt his tensed muscles relax a little, then a little more.
It felt so good though. The feeling of hot water pattering against his back, trickling down his lower body.

He sat back against the bath tub, letting his eyelids close for a moment, savouring the moment of the wonderful feeling of warm water kissing his skin.

The events during dinner suddenly started to resurface back into his memories, causing Youngjae to flutter his eyes open, biting his lips.

He sighed once more, this time unpleasantly.

The way Daehyun grabbed his wrist suddenly, stopping Youngjae's hands from moving further, and rejecting his offer to help, it somehow made Youngjae's heart clenched a little tighter.

Youngjae pushed the thoughts away, switching off the shower to shampoo himself.

Lathering his brown hair with shampoo, the smell of lavender started to flood the bathroom, diffusing along with the hot steam in the bathroom.
He did the same with the body soap.

Youngjae's hands the shower once more, the hot water hitting his skin again, the shampoo and soap sliding off his skin and hair.

"Five more minutes then I'll get out..", he murmured to himself, his eyes shutting slowly as he slouched back against the wall once more before he out