He morosely looked at the ticket in his hand and then looked up, his eyes flitting through the countless number of counters in front of him. There it was – Counter 7, currently on number 1789.

“Great, around 70 to go.”

He laughed in spite of himself. If he wasn’t so picky, he’d be at home, like all his other co-workers, who were probably already unpacking and enjoying the benefits of having their product already. But not him, he wanted a special one – one designed to his specifications. And so here he was, sitting alone in a crowd full of excited customers, sheep.

He cupped his face in his hands. But what good will it do? He wonders. Something that he programmed himself. No matter how much it looks like him, it’ll never be him.

He looked back down at his ticket. Just like this ticket, he’s just getting a consumer product - a number, not a name. No personality, no soul. Even if it’s been modified to fit his needs, it’s just an empty shell of what he really wants.

He gazed out into the milling crowds, his eyes unfocused, wondering what all the other people in the stifling hall came to fulfill by buying one: Friendship? Love? Servitude? Did any of these people have a reason similar to his? But then again, did any one of these people screw up their life as badly as he did?

He was jerked out of his reverie when he saw a man walking quickly – almost to the point of running – towards him, his eyes focused upon him.

The balding, harassed-looking man stopped right in front of him and bent over, puffing breathlessly for a few minutes before mustering an: “Are you…Dr…Cho Kyuhyun?”

“Yes, and you are?”

Bored patrons in the vicinity whipped their heads around and started shamelessly staring at the duo, intent upon what would likely be their only source of entertainment – until they received their product, that is.

“Shim Il-Seung. Production Director. It’s a great honour to meet you, Dr. Cho. Such a great honour.”

He smiled wanly. Honour? What honour?

“Thank you, Mr. Shim. Now can you tell me why you’re here?” Being a seasoned software engineer, he had never been good at socializing. He rarely went outside, having taken full advantage of the internet and what it offers. And so his speech was direct and to the point, intent on receiving the main message without the unnecessary pleasantries. 

“Well, Dr. Cho, because you’re such a distinguished member of the production team, the board of directors felt that you shouldn’t have to wait for your order like all the other plebeians out here. So, if you’ll please follow me, I’ll take you straight to it.”

Kyuhyun nodded mutely before getting up to follow the breathless man amid stony, jealous stares.

He was nervous. No, that was not strong enough. Rather, he was terrified. Terrified that once he sees him, no, that’s wrong, once he sees it, he’ll go insane. He decided that he couldn’t look at it. At least, he couldn’t look at it here, in this impersonal factory, surrounded by thousands of unnamed strangers. He had to act quickly.

“Mr. Shim?”

The director just continued on his quick pace, his huffs and puffs deafening him from the rest of the world.

Kyuhyun spoke louder, “Mr. Shim?”

The man stopped abruptly, whirling around, red in the face, prepared to yell at Kyuhyun before realizing who he was talking to. He forcefully calmed himself down, face turning a shade of puce as he did so.

“Yes, Dr. Cho?” he said in what he probably considered to be a pleasant tone.

Kyuhyun grimaced. “Mr. Shim, I was wondering whether the product is still boxed or is it functional?”

“It’s currently boxed, Dr. Cho, but one of our elite technical workers can set it up for you as quickly as you’d like.”

He made a grab for his phone but Kyuhyun cut through, “That’s not necessary, Mr. Shim. There is one thing that I’d like to request, however. The front of the boxes are transparent, is that correct?”

“If I remember correctly, yes they are, Dr. Cho.”

“Could I request that mine be boxed up completely? I don’t want to see what it looks like.”

“But Dr. Cho, yours was a customized version, wasn’t it? If so, isn’t it better to check to see if it was made to your specifications here at the factory?”

“No!” Kyuhyun almost yelled. He continued, more quietly, “I will do that at home, Mr. Shim. Have it double-boxed immediately.” He looked at other, his eyes blazing.

Mr. Shim swallowed, nervously replying, “Y-Yes, Dr. Cho. I’ll have that done right away, sir.”

Kyuhyun started walking again. Mr. Shim took the hint and followed suit, quickly muttering some instructions to an unknown worker on his phone.

It was as they were going through the double-doors of the hall when Mr. Shim spoke again, “Dr. Cho?”

Kyuhyun glanced over, “Yes?”

“Your product is currently in the process of being packaged according to your specifications. I can take you to it right now, if that’s okay with you? It’ll take about 5 minutes to complete the packaging process and that’s just enough time for us to arrive.”

“That will be fine, Mr. Shim.”

“Please follow me.”

They scurried through several dismal hallways before reaching a dingy elevator, which they took two floors down, then entered into a seemingly unending high-ceiling room lined with shelves laden with countless boxes. A man walked up to the pair as they walked in, wheeling over a large box behind him.

After a quiet, hurried discussion, Mr. Shim turned to Kyuhyun. “Ok, Dr. Cho, this is your product. I’m just going to re-read out your specifications before we get you to sign the papers. Hair – medium brown, cut short, fringe over the left eye. Eyes – brown, almond-shaped, single-eyeli-”

“Shut up!”

“Excuse me, Dr. Cho?”

“I don’t want to hear this. Give me my product so I can go home.” Kyuhyun was furious.

The harassed man looked at Kyuhyun, frustrated. “But Dr. Cho, it’s company policy to make sure that the product meets its owner’s specifications.”

Kyuhyun looked menacing. “Mr. Shim, I work for the company. I don’t give a about this corporate bull. Give me my product. Now.”

Mr. Shim and the factory worker took a step back, clearly afraid of the angry man standing in front of them.

The director relented. “Jun, help him wheel the product to his vehicle.”

The worker jumped, hurriedly running towards the box and setting off behind the retreating form of Kyuhyun.

Mr. Shim tsked, wiping off the accumulated sweat on his brow, then signaling another worker to come over to him. 

“Have product Ryeo87 put on high priority alert. There’s something not quite right with his owner. Have reality enforcement check him out.”

“But sir, he’s a high-level consultant. Doing so might cause problems.”

The harassed man sighed. “It doesn’t matter. I think…” His voiced dropped to a whisper. “I think he’s going insane.”