Both Doyoung and Jaehyun looked up at the two in shock. Jaehyun scanned Kun thoroughly in disbelief. Brown hair, fair skin, normal facial features, ordinary clothing… 

Everything about him seemed realistic and he was astonished by how different Kun was from his own robot. From appearance to behaviour, there was nothing common about the two apart from their artificiality. 

Doyoung’s bright orange hair looked unique in a crowd of people whose hair colours were simply boring black and monotonous mahogany. His flawless skin sparked the jealousy of many teenage girls, who glared at the pair with pure envy as they walked towards the café. Instead of a human, Doyoung’s delicate and childish facial features reminded Jaehyun of a rabbit with a permanent smile on his face. 

Jaehyun broke out of his reverie when he heard the said robot speak. 

“Wow, you’re not lying…” he mumbled. “I have performed a deep scan and my system couldn’t sense a heartbeat or measure the speed of your blood.”

Kun smiled sheepishly and responded in completely fluent Korean. “I see that your functions are more advanced now. NCT Model C, which is me, was one of the company’s first ever products. They’ve come far in the past two years.” 

Jaehyun listened to the conversation with amazement. How in the world did he learn Korean so fluently in such a short time? He could barely speak it when I last saw him.

“Korean was already programmed into my system before I arrived at Sicheng’s house, even though the preferred language was set as Chinese. I pretended not to know it to seem less suspicious.” Kun explained, and he continued before Jaehyun could ask another question. 

“Don’t worry, Jaehyun. I’m not a mind reader or anything. You said it out loud.” 

Jaehyun cursed.

While the two pairs remained seated at the same table, there were then two completely different conversations going on - one between the robots, and the other between the owners.
 

Looking at Kun is like looking at an ordinary human, Doyoung thought as he inspected the other nudging his human boyfriend for attention. He has an identity, a personality and a significant other…

“Are you alright? Is your battery low?” the orange-haired robot heard the other ask worriedly, and he quickly snapped out of his trance.

“I’m fine, I was wondering how you seem so… real. If I didn’t have such an advanced system, I wouldn’t be able to detect anything unrealistic.”

Kun let out a small laugh, reaching out to clasp Doyoung’s hands in his. “Doyoungie, I was created two years ago. I heard that this is only your third or fourth day here… It took me two months to become familiar with human actions and thoughts, and that’s only because my Sicheng helped me a lot. It would’ve taken twice as long if I was doing it alone.”

Doyoung thought about it for a second, “Four months? I have a very long way to go.” He whispered to himself. 

“You’re a much newer and smarter robot, I’m sure that you’ll learn everything in a quicker time.” Kun reassured him. 

The newer robot mentally cursed himself for unintentionally thinking out loud. 

“Besides, Jaehyun will take care of everything. He seems to care about you a lot, right?” 

Doyoung looked over at Jaehyun silently conversing with Sicheng. Even while the two talked, Sicheng’s eyes wandered towards Kun to exchange affectionate glances and hold hands under the table. His eyes remained fixated on Jaehyun for the majority of the time, waiting for the other to at least acknowledge his presence. 

To the robot’s disappointment, Jaehyun didn’t spare him a single glance. He turned back around to answer the curious Kun. 

“Jaehyunnie doesn’t like me,” he started off bitterly. “He shouts a lot, calls me useless every day and doesn’t think of me as boyfriend, let alone an ideal one…” his voice then switched to a lighter tone. “But he gave me a warm home, a name that he was originally against but agreed to because I liked it, the best clothes that he could find…”

Doyoung looked up to find Kun’s robotic eyes being filled with sadness and sorrow. 

“Jaehyunnie already gave me everything that I need, and so I’m going to try my hardest to make him love me at least half as much as I love him.” 

The other robot made a move to stop him. “Don’t say this, he wanted you to be there. He made the decision to order you… Living with a robot is a difficult thing to get used to, so give him some time.”

Doyoung considered Kun’s words; although he knew that the chances of Jaehyun accepting him and learning to confide his love were nonexistent, the scenario was so perfect and wonderful that he couldn’t help but desperately wish for its occurrence. 

“You seem to know a lot about this, Kun,” he continued. “Has Sicheng-ssi always been so good to you?”

“Sicheng is an amazing person,” the other replied as he once again ran his fingers across his partner’s hand. “He has been kind to me ever since my activation, but it was only after a few days that he said ‘I will love you from this moment onwards and right until the end of my time’.”

The orange-haired robot silently wished for Jaehyun to do the same; his hopes faltered with every empty and unrequited glance that he threw in his direction.
 

They were all surprised to see that within only a few hours, the large puddles of rain formed yesterday were protected by a thin layer of ice and the pavement areas that were yet to be stepped on had been covered in white fluff. 

February was the final month of winter, though it was a rarity to see snowflakes on the streets of Seoul during that time. 

The weather was especially cruel that year; everyone they passed on the streets was either bundled up in thick jackets or shivering from the cold, robots included. 

“Winwinnie!” the older one called his boyfriend, voice shuddering. “Can we go somewhere warm? I feel like all the particles inside me will freeze from this cold!” 

Before Sicheng could respond, Jaehyun interrupted. “You’re cold?” When the other nodded, he continued. “I didn’t think robots would get cold.” 

“That’s because cold temperatures reduce the energy and movement of the particles. There is less electricity transferred to the system and it’s all primarily used up for the main functions. Because of that, even though our bodies aren’t real and we don’t have a circulatory system, we end up feeling similar to humans in those circumstances.” Kun explained in detail. 

Jaehyun sent an angry glare in Doyoung’s direction while the other smiled shyly and looked down. 

“I-I’m sorry for lying, I didn’t want to burden you because you didn’t have any spare clothes for me…” 

Looking at the other, Jaehyun felt bad. He accepted his apology with a single nod. 

The orange-haired robot continued to shiver as the snowflakes hit his artificial skin covered by nothing but a short-sleeved white t-shirt made of thin fabric, while the others - including Kun - wore thick winter coats and scarves. 

Sicheng noticed Doyoung’s discomfort. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around the other’s shoulders, then sent a dozen of deathly stares in Jaehyun’s direction. 

“Jung Jaehyun, you complete !” He said in Chinese. “How can you let him go out in a t-shirt when it’s so cold outside? We’re going shopping with Doyoung right now, I don’t give a about your plans.” 

The victim of Sicheng’s curses stared blankly at the other, embarrassed by the stares they received from other pedestrians and confused by the language he spoke in. 

“All I got from that was my name,” he said honestly, and looked at Kun for help. “Translate please?” 

“Long story short, he called you an and said we’re going shopping.” Kun replied nonchalantly. 

“Oh…”

Sicheng turned around to face his robot boyfriend while trying to warm up the other’s. “Don’t forget to tell him that he’s paying for everything!” 

The other sighed, “Start bidding farewell to your wallet.”
 

Doyoung realised that shopping centres were gigantic as soon as Kun dragged him through the entrance of one. Everywhere he looked, people entered a store or exited it with more shopping bags than they could carry. He heard Jaehyun speak somewhere behind him, though it was inaudible through the sound of hundreds of people. 

He felt Kun’s arm lean on his shoulder. “Where should we go first?”

The other robot looked around in confusion; to him, everything looked the same.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “This is my first time seeing something like this… It’s only the second time that I left Jaehyunnie’s house.”

Kun thought for a second before pointing to a store to their right. “We’ll go in there first, then! Come on!” He grabbed the other robot’s arm and dragged him. 

“W-Wait!” Doyoung interrupted and Kun stopped to look at him. “It looks really expensive… I don’t want Jaehyunnie to waste his money on me.” 

“It’s okay, he’s rich!” Sicheng shouted from behind them, then groaned when Jaehyun elbowed him in the ribs to stop him from speaking. 

Kun shrugged and pulled Doyoung through the entrance anyway. 

They went to the sector with casual clothes first since both Sicheng and Kun claimed that ‘his shirt was at least two sizes larger than it should be’ and that ‘his jeans were so loose they were falling off his ’. While Doyoung stood awkwardly in the corner of the store - trying to avoid the ever-so-nice shopping assistant that offered her help at least twice already - Kun looked through all kinds of clothing, occasionally glancing at his companion to decide whether the clothes would suit him or not.

The orange-haired robot was called over by the other after approximately one hour of waiting, and immediately got at least thirty different articles of clothing tossed into his previously empty arms. 

“The changing rooms are over there,” he pointed in the direction of several cubicles. “Let’s go and see how many of these actually fit you.”
 

Robots must have an excellent fashion sense, Doyoung decided after trying on different combinations of clothes. The majority fitted perfectly and all of them seemed to match.

He came out of the changing rooms with half of the clothes in his hands, and ran up to Kun who was busy begging his boyfriend for a new t-shirt that he found. 

“Kun!” he shouted, and the other waved him over. “Only those fit me. Can you help me choose two or three things to buy?” 

“They all fit you?” he asked and when Doyoung nodded, he proceeded to the checkouts. “You’re buying all of them. You literally have nothing to wear.” 

Doyoung grabbed one pair of jeans and looked at the price tag. 

₩140,000. 

“No, I can’t,” he protested. “It’s too expensive. Even if you say he’s rich, I don’t want Jaehyunnie to shout at me for having to spend so much on me when he never wanted me in the first place.” 

“Try asking him right now. He will surely agree, I don’t think he wants to get cursed out by Sicheng twice in one day.” 

“A-Alright, I’ll ask him…” Doyoung answered, finding Jaehyun looking at sweaters and pullover hoodies. 

“Don’t forget to act cute! He’ll give in easily then.” Kun winked at him. Doyoung grimaced. 

How can pile of nothing but metal and colourful wires screwed together act cute?

The robot sighed, eyes averting from Kun - who was busy swiping Jaehyun’s black credit card left and right - to the owner of said card. He carefully approached him, hiding the pair of jeans behind his back with one hand and tapping Jaehyun’s shoulder with the other. 

Jaehyun sighed. “What do you want now? Are you finally done?”

“A-Almost. Jaehyunnie…” Doyoung blushed, showing him the torn black jeans. “Would you buy these for me? You know I have nothing to wear…” He asked cutely.

Jaehyun raised his eyebrows. He grabbed the jeans from Doyoung’s hands, inspected the price tag and threw them in the robot’s face before pushing him away as he barged past him. 

“I’m not going to waste 140,000 won on a stupid robot. And don’t call me Jaehyunnie in public; act like you don’t know me at all.”

Doyoung quickly regained his balance and picked up the jeans that fell to the floor after landing on his face. He placed them back on the shelf where they belonged and walked back to Kun, who was currently waiting near the exit with at least five shopping bags in his hands. 

“Jaehyunnie called me a stupid waste of money.” The orange-haired robot murmured with tears building up in his eyes. Kun quickly dropped the bags and wiped his tears away. 

“He doesn’t mean it, Doyoung-ah. Like I said, it’s an unusual situation and he needs to get used to it,” He answered. “Don’t be sad, my Sicheng behaved strangely at the beginning too.”

“No, Jaehyunnie despises me.” Doyoung sighed and looked at the other in desperation. “How could we have a relationship as good as yours?” 

Kun motioned for Jaehyun to come closer and whispered into his ear. 

Doyoung’s cheeks reddened and he covered his mouth to stop himself from gasping in shock.
 

Several stores and purchases later, when Jaehyun finally stepped into his apartment, the dark sky was illuminated by small, shining stars and the streets of Seoul were brightened by street lights. He slid off his shoes and walked towards the sofa, throwing himself on the pillows and sighing in happiness. 

Doyoung walked in a minute later with all the shopping bags. He locked the door and left the new clothes near the shelves, then sat next to Jaehyun and watched as his eyes fluttered shut from exhaustion. 

He waited several minutes until the other’s breaths softened and his eyes no longer blinked but constantly remained closed. 

“Thank you for today, Jaehyunnie. I love you a lot,” he mumbled, leaning on Jaehyun’s shoulders and carefully placing his head near his neck. He placed a small kiss on the other’s neck and felt his own system recharging as his eyes closed after stealing one last glance at the peacefully sleeping Jung Jaehyun. 

He felt his body suddenly slide off the sofa and onto the hard parquet flooring while his cheek stung lightly. 

Jaehyun shot him an irritated glare before massaging his aching hand and rapidly walking into his room, slamming the door. Doyoung winced. 

He pulled himself up onto the sofa and covered his face with a pillow, then switched off his system and allowed the battery to recharge.
 

When Sicheng re-entered his bedroom, Kun was already waiting for him under the bedsheets. He quickly dried off his hair with a damp towel and slid under the duvet to join him. The two nuzzled each other warmly and the robot placed a small kiss on his boyfriend’s cheek.

“Thank you,” he said. Sicheng looked at him in confusion and chuckled lightly. 

“What are you thanking me for? I haven’t done anything today.” 

“I’m thankful for your love. I saw how much Doyoung suffered because of Jaehyun and it really hurt my heart to see it.” 

Sicheng hugged his boyfriend tighter and ran one hand through his soft hair. “I’ll do my best to make Jaehyun realise how stupid he is. I got quite attached to him after one day, so I don’t understand how that can be so heartless.” 

Kun nodded energetically in agreement.

And while one robot felt the warm kisses and the pleasant embrace of his loving boyfriend, the other was seeking comfort in the bitter cold of his boyfriend’s leather couch. 

A / N : upvote if you feel like kicking jaehyun's in the pit (ง •̀_•́)ง  (why am i making this cute little thing a villain? no idea)
i never thought i'd update this quickly since my cat decided to escape but i, the profesional patrol, managed to find him within a day! (✿ ◕‿◕ ✿)
by the way, my exam results day is getting closer and i'm about 10203% certain that i failed at least 2 exams... time to prepare my gravestone. if i don't update, you'll know why.

aff member sekigan / 2000-2016 
failed her entire family by learning k-pop lyrics instead of maths formulae

// hope you've enjoyed the chapter; see you soon! ✿