Early morning of the next day, Piyoon headed to the university's library and the public library just like Jimin suggested. She walked in and out of the library but no one caught her eyes. She even went to her high school and middle school library, although she was kicked out almost immediately for trespassing. Next, she went to church. Not many people were there on a weekday afternoon. Even so, she checked each row of the church only to leave with disappointment. Lastly, she trekked up the hill to the lone tree she liked to sit under but to her luck, no human or animal was up there. Exhausted, she sat down, back against the trunk of the tree, while she thought of more places to go.

The weather was beautiful that day. It was warm with a light breeze, the tree a perfect shade over her body to make her feel a drowsy and before she knew it, she dozed off. After several hours she woke up with a jolt when the sun had already set. Riley had texted her, asking about her whereabouts so Piyoon quickly called him, telling him she was on her way home. 

She headed down the hill and decided to go the long way instead because even though the sun had set, the weather was still nice. She enjoyed her time walking through the city, enjoying the night life which was something she rarely ever does. She even stopped to watch a couple of street performances. There was one magic street performance where he used his Sapphire to help him with the magic. It looked absolutely amazing. She would have put down some change if she had her wallet on her. Leaving the busy place, she continued her way back home.  

There's one reason why she usually doesn't go through the city to go home: she has to go through this dim lit alley. This one was a wide alley with smaller alleys in between. Piyoon started a little jog  because she didn't want to stay there for too long.

Then, she stopped.

There was something there.

She turned around and stared at that one particular alley. Taking out out her phone, she tapped on her Flashlight app and slowly advanced towards it. There he was, with sharp eyes and black hair. He was the one that made her stop.

How do you know it's the one you're looking for? You just know, honestly speaking. Piyoon was confused with this one though. She didn't know if this one was hers. It's the first time she ever felt that way. Her parents never explained her what that feeling is and no books could properly explain it either. In books, it explained the feeling of your heart tugging against your chest but that could be interpreted in many ways. Her heart was beating fast because of the short jog and fear of the alleyway but she wasn't particularly afraid of this one standing there. Other than the fast beating heart, she felt like her feet refused to move away despite her brain telling her it wants to get away. S

he wanted to know what she was feeling so she asked, "Who are you?" 

He stood up and stared at her with piercing eyes. As he stood up she noticed how dirty he was. His clothes were visibly dirty with yellow and brown stains on his grey long sleeve. His face was covered in dirt also and his hair was unruly and greasy. He had a medium build compared to his small face that looked like a maturing boy's. "An abandoned Sapphire," he answered and she felt a pang in her chest.

Sapphires are made to accommodate every single human being on the planet, including the rich and the poor. Not everyone in the world like the idea of Sapphires. A little less than half of the world's population oppose Sapphires. When Sapphires were first created, everyone had one because it was the 'new thing' but as time went by, not many believed in Sapphires. They didn't want man-made things to become a part of their lives. They looked like humans and animals and they weren't even robots. Many believed it defied the 'laws' of religion and that's why they are abandoned. 

It's frightening for the Sapphire because at any moment of anytime, they could die without knowing. Though they are abandoned, they are still attached to their human unless they are registered by another person. They are technically 'Deregistered' and thus labeled as 'abandoned' but they still feel an attraction to their previous human and vice versa. The world itself is also a scary place for them when they are labeled as abandoned because there are many Nappers out there who steal Deregistered Sapphires and keep them on a leash, under their command. No one cares about them because they are already thrown away by their humans.

"Do you feel it?" he asked timidly. She only stared at him, lost in his dark eyes. She didn't understand what he meant. "The attraction between us. Do you feel it?" He waited for an answer but she kept silent. "What does it mean?" he asked. "What does it mean for an abandoned Sapphire to feeling an attraction to someone else?"

He was scared. He was scared of being abandoned. He was scared of humans. Was he necessarily scared of her? No, he wasn't and she knew that because while he was talking, she saw a small glint in its lost eyes.

"Then why don't we find out?" 

Piyoon brought the abandoned Sapphire home. She couldn't leave him there alone. She knew how dangerous it was for him without a human and she knew she felt something although she couldn't pinpoint what it was. Whatever it was, she would definitely not leave him by himself.

"I'm home!" she called out once she opened the door. Riley and Jimin came to the door to greet her like always but they stopped short and stared at the Sapphire. She knew what was going through their head so she said, "I know. He's abandoned."

"Then why did you bring him home?" Jimin yelled, obviously unhappy about the unwelcomed Sapphire.

"Because I felt something. He's not my Sapphire but I still felt something. There is an attraction between me and him. He felt it, too."

"You cannot have two Sapphires. That's against the law," Riley reminded. He was angry but he didn't raise her voice at her. He knew she was gentle and kind so he wasn't angry that she wanted to help. He was angry at the Sapphire. Sapphires are very good at hiding. They wouldn't appear in front of humans and follow them home. The fact that he followed her home angered him because he knew she might be conflicted in finding her own Sapphire.

"He spells 'abandoned' all over," Jimin spat. "A Sapphire isn't Registered anymore once they're abandoned."

"Sorry for intruding," the abandoned Sapphire said suddenly. "I'll be on my way."
 

Piyoon stopped him before he could even turn around. "You can stay here until I find my Sapphire. You can't go back out there. It's dangerous." Riley's brows creased together even more. She looked back to Riley and Jimin. "Until I find my Sapphire, he'll stay with us."

"No way!" the younger yelled. "I don't want an abandoned under this roof!"

"This roof is mine!" Piyoon argued.

"This roof is my human's!" Hurt flashed across her eyes and he unknowingly clenched his hands into fists. He didn't like it when he hurt her feelings because she is the one Taerin loves. He wouldn't dare hurt her loved one but in this situation, he didn't want to hurt Taerin. He knew she wouldn't like the fact that her daughter welcomed in an abandoned Sapphire instead of the one she was destined to be with. "Whatever," he said and walked to his room.

Riley watched as Jimin walked away, knowing exactly how he felt. His feelings weren't far from his own. He thought about Yongil, too but if this was what Piyoon wanted, he'd respect that. He looked at her and the Sapphire. "You must be hungry. I'll warm up the food."

Sapphires don't have to eat. They don't have any BO so they don't have to wash up. They don't even breathe oxygen. They weren't made for all of that. Although they look human, they aren't because Sapphires are made for everyone whether they like it or not so they shouldn't be taking up the resources. They can eat and produce waste but there was no need to. This Sapphire though, he must like to eat. He was looking at Riley warm up the food on the stove the moment they sat down at the dining table.

He sighed and turned to face forward but froze when he met Piyoon's eyes but soon after he relaxed. For some reason, he felt so relaxed just by looking into her eyes. During the commotion a while back he was very tense. He contemplated whether or not he should just leave. He didn't want their relationship to go for the worse because of him but when he looked into her eyes, his tense shoulders drooped and he could finally breathe, metaphorically of course. 

She suddenly held out her hand. He jumped a bit and stared at her open hand. "My name is Piyoon. Nice to meet you." His eyes traveled to his own that was resting on his lap. He didn't want to shake her hand. His hand was dirty and he didn't want her to think he was gross and made a small face which caused her hand curled back, misunderstanding his expression as disgust. At that moment, the Sapphire felt a gentle tug in his chest. It was the first time he ever experienced that. The only time something was felt in that area was when he begged his human not to Deregister him. It was a harsh pounding in his chest, totally different from this one. 

"Wait," he said quickly. He stared at the palm of his hand, inspecting if it was clean enough to touch hers. Then, he wiped it on the side of his jeans and held out his hand. "My name is Jungkook. Your name is pretty." She stared at him in awe. Never in her life had she heard someone tell her name is pretty, aside from her parents. Everyone told her, her name was unique or weird but never pretty. 

Just when they retracted their hands, Riley placed a bowl full of white rice and sides in front of her. "I'll check up on Jimin," he said. "After you're done, wash the dishes and get to bed early, alright?" He glanced at Jungkook. "He'll be sleeping with me tonight." He headed upstairs, leaving the two to themselves. Piyoon sighed, apologetic towards the Sapphire. He didn't do anything wrong yet the others were acting cold towards him. She looked at Jungkook and caught him staring at her hot food. He met her eyes before looking away. She smiled a bit and took a big spoonful before pushing the bowl in front of him. He stared at her with wide eyes. "I lost my appetite. Have it."

"...I can't. I wouldn't dare."

"Please," she said. "I don't want it. Riley will be mad if he saw this in the garbage." He stared at her for a while, still unsure. There was no point in arguing with the human that saved him so he lifted the spoon and timidly took a bite. They were silent while he ate but then Piyoon started talking about herself. Truth to be told, she was dying of curiosity of how he was abandoned and how his human was like but she knew he wouldn't want to talk about that, since it will only bring him pain. So, she talked about herself.

"I'm an only child. I turned 19 yesterday and I found you after a long day of finding my own Sapphire. I was looking forward to meeting my Sapphire today because I don't have any friends and I thought it would fill that void. They're more like acquaintances but we're not close enough to be friends. I don't mind though. I like being independent. That's better to the ears than 'loner.' Oh, and 'anti-social.'" she laughed. "On my free time, I like to take a walk or nap. I don't have a lot of free time nowadays because of tests and assignments in school. I won't have any time for myself in a month during exams." 

She quickly turned her head towards him and that took him by surprise as his eyes grew wide and he chocked on his food. Piyoon quickly grabbed the empty cup on the table and poured him a cup of water. Jungkook jugged it down quickly and coughed a couple more times before he completely calmed down. He looked at her when he heard her giggle. "I didn't know Sapphires could choke on food." She laughed a while more as he watched her with amusement. A small smile crept on to his lips.

Although Sapphires don't produce BO, she told Jungkook to take a shower. The smell wasn't coming from him, but his tattered clothes and bacteria on his body. She didn't even want to wonder how long he was out there for him to accumulate that much dirt and grease. After he was done, he knocked on her door and stepped in. Piyoon spun around in her chair and her lips parted. Under the dirt and soiled clothes, there was a young, handsome boy. She thought his skin actually glowed of youth and his eyes reflected innocence. She thought her dad's clothes would be baggy on him but it fit him just right. He had a bigger build than she thought.

"Is everything alright...?" he asked which snapped her out of her thoughts. She nodded and got up from her office chair. She grabbed the spare blankets and pillow from the floor. When she stood up the items were immediately taken out of her arms into the Sapphire's. She blinked, surprised at how fast he grabbed it from her. She smiled before leading him to Riley's room. She peeked in to see him already asleep in his bed. She looked to the other side to see the other bed empty. He's probably waiting in the living room for mom, she thought. Or he doesn't want to be in the same room as Jungkook. 

Piyoon told him to place the blanket on the middle of the room, where he would be sleeping. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said, touching his arm. There was a small spark between them and she immediately let go. She looked at Jungkook and he smiled before saying, "Goodnight."

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