Unlike the usual blaring chime of Jongin’s alarm clock, the next morning Jongin was awoken much more gracefully and peacefully, with the bright tune of twinkle twinkle little star flooding into the background of his dream. It snuck in, and before long, it was all he could hear and brought him back to consciousness. The blankets were warm and soft against his bare torso as he rolled over onto his back and pried open his eyes, jumping up in shock as he clutched the sheets closer to his body, dumbly trying to conceal himself and protect what was left of his modesty.

He almost thought that he was still dreaming, as the first thing he saw through all the layers of sleep still hazing over his eyes was Baekhyun’s radiant smile shining down at him as he sat perched on the foot of Jongin’s large bed. But upon seeing the disgruntled and startled look on Jongin’s face, Baekhyun’s face immediately fell. “Oh. Did I do something wrong? I thought that it was habitual for humans to wake up at around this time.” He tilted his head to the side. Jongin, having recovered from his initial shock, immediately flopped back down with a groan. Thank god he was wearing pants.

“No, no it’s fine. I was just… surprised,” he managed to mumble before deciding to sit back up, his hair probably sticking up in ever direction unlike Baekhyun’s perfectly smoothed out style.

“Well alright! I’ll leave you to get dressed!” Baekhyun chirped, patting the soft covers twice before quickly springing up to his feet and walking out the door. Jongin looked out the side window to see that the sun had barely peeked up from the blue horizon, and he realized that on any other day, he would've never been caught dead waking up this early, especially when he was supposed to be on vacation. But with a small grunt, the dancer whipped the blankets off himself, flinching slightly at the cold air around him, before tugging a shirt on and walking out the same way Baekhyun had exited.

Even if it was still hours before his cellphone was set to wake him up, Jongin couldn’t find the heart to feel annoyed at the other. It was too early in the morning for him to feel annoyed of course, with no other reason pertaining to the shorter boy.

After pulling on a loose shirt, Jongin stumbled his way down the dim hallway towards the kitchen where Baekhyun was waiting for him, sitting calmly on a chair and gazing idly out the large window to the view of the early sea. Upon Jongin’s entrance, Baekhyun was brought back and looked over to him in expectance. Jongin scratched the back of his head before he cleared his throat and moved over to a nearby cupboard. “So… um, is there anything in particular you want to eat for breakfast or…?”

“Oh no, I don’t need to eat,” Baekhyun shook his head and Jongin made sure to make a mental note. He was sure that the list would only continue to grow as he learned more about his new music box, the hard way, since the instruction manual was ruined thoroughly the first day. But he didn’t mind. In fact, Jongin was kind of excited, after he had gotten over the initial shock, and hoped that maybe, he had found the muse he had been searching for all these months. But Jongin’s thoughts were cut short when he ventured over to the large fridge and opened it to see a familiar cold, barren wasteland.

Ah, that’s right! He had completely forgotten to buy the groceries he needed after he met Baekhyun. Glancing over at the other, still sitting innocently with a small smile painting over his lips whenever a seagull happened to fly by, Jongin didn’t think twice before he called out and asked if Baekhyun wanted to join him on a little outing. He figured that he might as well accustom himself to Baekhyun’s presence if they were going to live under the same roof for the next month. And perhaps, he could also begin to test out Baekhyun’s limits—to see just how good Baekhyun’s humanistic programming really was and just how well he could integrate himself into society, being a robot and all.

This could either go really badly or really well.

“This is the first time I’ve ever been allowed to leave Chanyeol’s old storage room!" Baekhyun exclaimed gleefully before jumping up to his feet and heading out the door in only his pajamas. Jongin shouted after him.

This could either go really badly or really well.

-

Nothing is ever truly perfect in this world. While Baekhyun’s singing might have been one of the closest things to perfection Jongin had ever heard, it was clear that he lacked in many other ways, namely, the common sense department.

On the short trip to the grocery store, somehow, just somehow, Baekhyun had managed to get himself nearly run over three times and bitten by a dog whose personal space he grossly invaded with wide, curious eyes. Jongin lost track of the number of times he had to apologize and the number of excuses he had to make up to explain for Baekhyun’s wild behavior.

“Here, hold onto this,” Jongin held out the tail of his coat to Baekhyun, his tone laced with just a touch of annoyance, “and don’t let go until we reach the grocery store, ok?”

Baekhyun nodded his head and looked towards his feet, clutching the tiny bit of fabric firmly between his fingers. When Jongin looked back to see little Baekhyun following diligently behind him, occasionally and accidentally pulling a bit on his coat tail, his frown couldn’t help but dissipate into a warm and forgiving smile.

-

Safe and sound, with all limbs still attached to their bodies, the two finally arrived at the store. Baekyhun’s eyes widened and glowed in a mix of wonder and amazement at the array of bright sights, smells and sounds around him. Jongin chuckled at his expression before nudging his side. “So you’ve never been here before, right?”

Baekhyun shook his head, eyes still fixed on a large stack of cans displayed beside them. “No, I’ve never actually left Chanyeol’s store before.” Jongin didn’t know why his heart suddenly twinged a little at the way he said those words. “But I have a lot of data previously uploaded into my processor about the human world, like there!” Baekhyun pointed his finger towards the cash register, “that’s where you pay, and there’s the produce aisle with all the fruits and vegetables.” Jongin nodded along, making mental notes all the same. “But I’m not quite sure what that… is…”

Jongin trailed his eyes up towards where Baekhyun was currently pointing to see a giant dog mascot wiggling from side to side near the entrance of the store, advertising a sale on hot dogs. “Come on Baekhyun, let’s go find the milk,” Jongin hurriedly grabbed Baekhyun’s arm and ushered him away.

“But I want to pet it!” Baekhyun pouted.

“No.”

“But it looks so fluffy!”

“Remember what happened last time?

Baekhyun’s pout deepened but nevertheless, he let Jongin lead him away, remembering clearly the way the other dog nearly snapped off his fingers.

At least he had enough common sense of self-preservation.

-

As they ran around the store collecting items off Jongin’s messy grocery list, pushing the little metal shopping cart around, Jongin made sure to keep a close eye on Baekhyun since every time he turned his back, the other would just disappear, leaving a disgruntled and frantic Jongin behind to search for him. In fact, the majority of their trip was spent as a wild goose chase around the maze of the building, and Jongin repeatedly having to tug Baekhyun away with his curious gaze often lingering, and explaining to him the rights and wrongs of social convention. And sometimes, he even found himself saving his music box. Jongin had found himself once in the produce aisle as Baekhyun innocently complimented a woman about her “nice melons.” Needless to say, rapid intervention from Jongin left Baekhyun unscathed from the slap that was coming his way.

Regardless of all the trouble and messes Baekhyun had caused, Jongin couldn’t help but release the bubbles of laughter that were building up within him after they had paid and left the shop. Sure, he had most likely lost ten years of his life, but the fact of the matter was that that was the most fun he had had in a long while, grocery security warning or not. And with Baekhyun apologizing profusely at his side, offering to take some of his heavy bags, and promising to work harder to learn, Jongin thought to himself that maybe, he could get used to living like this.

-

After they had spent the time to put away the groceries they bought, Jongin took the time to seriously sit Baekhyun down and begin to explore his vocal and musical abilities. Truly and entirely, what Baekhyun lacked was made up more than tenfold by his talent with his voice. Jongin learned that he possessed a phenomenal range, and expert skill with any song he saw—he sang with such a clear and unique tone, that Jongin thought to himself that maybe, he could get this to work.

-

Later that night, when the moon had risen and it’s light reflected off the moving surface of the ocean, playing amongst the twinkling reflections of the stars, Baekhyun slowly crept to the living room as Jongin thought he had already went off to sleep. Baekhyun thought he had heard a noise that had roused him from his dormant state and decided to get up to investigate. He didn’t know what he was expecting to find, but a light shining softly from the open living room, along with a wide awake Jongin sitting on the couch with his chin resting on his hands and his eyes trained onto a laptop screen, was not it. He tried to approach quietly, but Jongin noticed his presence immediately and looked up with a surprised expression.

“Oh, you’re up?” Jongin softened, his voice mingling with the music quietly playing in the background of the room. He pressed something on the keyboard and the music stopped. “I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

“Oh no, it’s fine,” Baekhyun waved before he took a step closer and couldn’t help himself but ask, “what are you doing up?”

Jongin looked up in mild interest and fatigue. “I was just watching a few videos of my friend. Here, wanna see?” He patted down the spot on the cushion beside him a few times, which Baekhyun nodded at and sat down gratefully. On the screen, Baekhyun saw a stage with one lone boy standing with a microphone in his hand, the lights and his pose all frozen in place in the video. The boy was slim, but his outfit did a wonderful job of emphasizing his lithe physique, and with a closer look at his bright, shining eyes, and hint of a smirk appearing at his lips, Baekhyun could tell that he was beautiful.

“Who is that?” Baekhyun saw Jongin smile and felt something odd whirr inside him.

"He's Luhan, my best friend. He’s a famous singer, er well, he’s well on his way to becoming one,” Jongin explained with nothing but pride in his voice and his eyes. Baekhyun looked between this apparent Luhan and Jongin before he tilted his head.

“Are you two close?”

“Yeah, we used to train together in the past—that’s how we met,” Jongin chuckled as old memories ran past in his mind. Baekhyun nodded and blinked curiously at the screen once more.

“If you two trained together, then why aren’t you up there with him?”

The bright laughter was suddenly replaced by a long, uncomfortable silence before Jongin cleared his throat and avoided his gaze. “Let’s just say that sometimes, some things just get in the way.”

And before Baekhyun could respond, Jongin reached over and pressed play, filling the room with a flowing melody and the voice of an angel. Jongin smiled, sad and reminiscent at Baekhyun before he attempted to change the subject. “But hey, I made it out pretty well, didn’t I? Listen to the song he’s singing Baekhyun, would you believe that I was the one who wrote it?”

Baekhyun looked up at Jongin’s face in surprise. “Really? You wrote this?” Stars nearly appeared in Baekhyun’s eyes as for Baekhyun’s entire existence, music was it’s very core, and to know that his owner was someone who loved it just as much as he did, he couldn’t help but feel perhaps grateful. Looking at Baekhyun’s amazed expression, Jongin couldn’t help himself but to add in, “I’m also in charge of choreographing the dances he performs.”

“You are truly amazing,” Baekhyun admitted before he turned towards the screen and watched intently. With the truthful way he said it, Jongin found a blush creeping on his cheeks at the compliment.

Silence fell between the two as they both watched Luhan’s performance until the very end when the last note had finished, and Luhan suddenly bust into tears. Jongin was expecting it, but the entranced Baekyhun was caught off guard at the sudden wave of emotion and looked at Jongin in concern. “What happened? That was so amazing and I’m certain he didn’t make any mistake at all.” Confusion was all he could render his voice to portray. Baekhyun’s gaze fell upon Luhan again as he cried with his tears glistening against his pale face.

“It’s because that was his debut stage,” Jongin tried to explain, “Luhan was overflowing with so much emotion, he couldn’t help it. It was a special moment for him, like all his hard work over the grueling years was worth it.” Jongin distinctly remembered that night where after, Luhan had clung to him like a koala and wept all his thankfulness out. The image was so beautiful to Baekhyun, but he didn’t know why, and he couldn’t look away. “That’s what makes Luhan so amazing; no matter what, he always finds a way to put all of his emotions into his performances, and that’s what makes him stand apart from the rest.” No matter how he was offstage, Luhan was sure something on stage, Jongin thought wryly and nearly stuck his tongue out at the image of Luhan.

However, meanwhile, inside of Baekhyun, a million and one things were running through his body as Jongin’s words were processed. According to the other boy, emotion was the pinnacle of a great performance, and Baekhyun believed him, looking at what Luhan had just presented in front of his eyes. But this suddenly left a heavy feeling within his chest. Baekhyun felt inadequate, for even though his sole purpose of creation was to sing, did he ever give anything close to a performance like that? Could he ever feel so much, he could cry? Without knowing any better, Baekyhun turned to the only person he could ask. “Jongin, do you think it’s possible for me?”

“Possible for what?” Jongin peeked his eyebrows in curiosity.

“For me to do what your friend Luhan did—to sing with all of my emotions.”

Jongin blinked as his breath was suddenly cut short. Although it was a simple question, the looming implications nearly suffocated him. It hit Jongin, that all this time, he had been too occupied with other thoughts, as in how human Baekhyun acted or seemed, and not dealing with the fundamental questions he should have been asking all along. Rather than if Baekyhun could look or act human, could he feel human? Jongin knew how it felt to be happy, sad, heartbroken—he knew how it made his mind and his body react in different ways. But what did Baekhyun feel when he smiled? Just what were the limits to his advancements?

Were there limits?

“Is it possible for you to feel emotions?”

Baekyhun himself didn’t have an inkling of an idea about the answer to the pressing question (although he did feel content whenever he was able to please Jongin, and there was always a tingle within him whenever he sang), but without a doubt, Baekhyun felt a deep curiosity within him to find out. 

And little did he know, Jongin was feeling the same way.

Author's Note:

Yo :D Sorry for the late update~

The main story starts now, thank goodness ^ O ^

Mmm I gotta stop posting things at 2AM but ah well