Chapter seven: Decision

Jungwan walked out of his office and softly closed the door behind him, leaving his three customers alone: he had decided to give them some time to think over the solution he had come up with.

He didn't know what to expect at all: the young teenager wanted to have the humanoid by his side no matter what, but his parents - especially his father - seemed to be way more uncertain. As the CEO of the Kang's company, it was obvious that Jungwan wouldn't mind at all if he was allowed to keep the humanoid: Jonghyun would be a great subject for new scientific investigations.

He highly doubted that it would happen though, since his customers looked reluctant to give up on their humanoid. Well... Maybe Mister Kim would come to the conclusion that it was too dangerous, since jeopardising his family's security seemed to be his greatest fear. If so, maybe Jungwan would be able to keep Jonghyun. But for now, he didn't dare to get his hopes up.

Inside the office, everything was quiet, although Kibum wanted to scream and let out his anger; he didn't really know who he was mad at: Jonghyun or Kang Jungwan ? He was mad at the CEO for obvious reasons and somehow, he was angry at the humanoid as well: he still couldn't get over the fact that Jonghyun had volunteered for this sick project. Now, he wanted nothing but find the humanoid and shake him in order to knock some sense in this thick head of his.

His friend wasn't much older than him when he had chosen to give up on his human existence, and now that his emotions were awaking, what if he began to regret this decision ? Jonghyun had been denied the right to experience a real life... This was a painful thought already, and no one could decide that his heart had to be taken out. If someone had to agree to such a decision, it was Jonghyun himself, but maybe his current state of confusion wouldn't enable him to.

"Mom, dad..." the boy finally whispered.

His parents turned to him, expression serious and eyes sad.

"Please... Don't do this to him. Jonghyun..."

"... could be dangerous." Chin Hae cut him off on a calm yet sad tone.

Kibum's throat went dry, so dry that the words he wanted to say came out as a muffled sound, and the teenager stared helplessly at his father, his wide eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Did that mean... that he wanted to get rid of Jonghyun ? His friend, the person he considered as his brother ? Kibum had grown up with the humanoid, he had always been by his side and he couldn't simply let him go. No... Everything but this.

Chin Hae rubbed his temples and closed his eyes, heaving a deep sigh and missing - or purposely ignoring ? - his son's distraught gaze.

"Dad..." Kibum croaked.

The blonde boy hesitated, trying to find the right arguments to convince his father. He couldn't find any. In Chin Hae's eyes, the fact that Jonghyun could put them in danger, even without realising it, was probably enough to keep him away from them and no matter what he could say, Kibum was sure that his father had already made up his mind.

Seven years. He had known Jonghyun for seven years, more than half his life. How... How would he be able to live without him ? How would he be able to live on with all these memories ? Jonghyun had fed him with a little spoon when he was younger and too stubborn to eat by himself, he had put dino band-aids on his scratches, he had saved him from drowning in the sea and had even taught him how to swim properly... Jonghyun was a part of his life, an important one with that. Leaving him behind... It was like a part of his soul would be ripped off.

A broken sob crossed Kibum's sealed lips; his father's eyelids finally fluttered open and he stared at his son in surprise.

"Why are you crying, Bummie ?"

This nickname... Jonghyun used to call him like that too. Everything would remind him of the humanoid and although they hadn't quite literally left his friend yet, Kibum already felt it, he knew that he would never be able to get over him. And trying to forget him would simply be impossible.

The blonde boy sniffled loudly and used the sleeve of his grey hoodie to quickly wipe a salty tear that was running down his pale cheek. He finally managed to stutter:

"Pl... Please, l... let me tell him g... goodbye. Let me see him... A l... last time..."

His teary eyes locked with his father's wide ones and the man slowly shook his head, softly whispering:

"Bummie... When did I say that you wouldn't see him again ?"

The teenager's breathing hitched and he eventually caught sight of the tiny smile spreading on his father's lips.

"W... What ? But I... I thought..." he trailed off, his sadness turning into surprise as his eyes travelled from his dad to his mother.

Did he get this right ? Where they... willing to give a chance to Jonghyun ? For real ? He didn't dare to ask his parents for a confirmation of his thoughts, afraid that it would crush the tiny hopes that were now awaking in his heart.

"If Jonghyun had been a normal humanoid..." Chin Hae began on a low tone. "I don't think that I would have agreed to such a thing, even though it would have been a tough decision to make. But... Now, we know everything. We know that he was a human like you and me and I just... We can't ignore it. Taking his heart out..."

He sighed and Na Yung was the one who finished the sentence for him, speaking with a firm voice:

"It wouldn't make us any better than the people who used humans to carry out their scientific tests. Jonghyun will come back with us, unharmed. He deserves to experience the life he was deprived of."

Kibum opened his mouth but he couldn't bring himself to say anything, he just stood up instead and clumsily ran to his father, blinded by the mixed tears of joy and relief that were now flowing down and that he didn't even bother to hide. He collapsed in his dad's arms and hugged him tightly, whispering endless thank you in his ear while his father gently rubbed his back in soothing motions.

The teenager held his hand out and caught his mother's soft one to squeeze it, smiling at her through his tears. They remained like that for a little while and Kibum closed his eyes, resting his head on his dad's shoulder as the man gently rocked him from side to side at a slow pace, making him feel like a baby again.

"Thank you." the blonde finally said, now grinning. "To the both of you... I'm so happy that Jonghyun will stay with us."

Chin Hae awkwardly cleared his throat and Kibum looked up, his innocent eyes blinking at his father with a hint of curiosity in them.

"I'm sorry to be a party pooper... But I think it might be useful to set a bunch of rules we will all have to comply with."

"Rules ?" the teenager repeated, standing up and frowning already.

His father nodded and said firmly:

"I don't want any of us to stay all alone with Jonghyun, always have someone by your side who will be able to help if he gets aggressive. No playful fights anymore, Kibum. And no hugs."

The teenager in a gasp. He could understand the reason why his father wouldn't want him to throw playful punches at Jonghyun as he had sometimes done it when he was younger; he guessed that it was a rather bad idea to act violent nearby the humanoid, since it could lead him to react in a wrong way, but... No more hugs, really ?!

It... It was going to be hard. Really hard: Kibum loved skinship, be it with his parents, his friends or the humanoid - especially with him: he liked to be around Jonghyun and he had gotten used to hug him whenever he was feeling down - the humanoid had the weird ability to cheer him up even without doing anything - or hold his hand to excitedly drag him somewhere. To sum it up, the teenager couldn't keep his hands to himself.

"But... Dad..." the young boy uttered in a weak attempt of protestation.

Surprisingly, it was Na Yung who took the floor and cut off her son.

"Kibum, darling... I know that you don't want this but try to understand... Jonghyun nearly killed Taemin ! Even though he didn't realise what he was doing, he's strong and we shouldn't forget it. Keeping our distances for now is the best thing to do in order to avoid any dangerous situation and if he loses control again, I don't think you will want to be all alone next to him."

As much as he hated to admit it, the teenager had to agree with her: the humanoid was unable to control himself and no one could tell in advance what his behaviour would be. The blonde boy still hadn't forgotten the blue marks marring Taemin's pale neck. However, he couldn't bring himself to think that Jonghyun could ever hurt him. Maybe he trusted him a bit too much in spite of everything that had happened ?

But if complying with his father's rules meant that Jonghyun could come back home with them, then Kibum would be glad - or at least a bit less reluctant - to do it.

"Okay..." the teenager finally whispered, surrendering to his parents' will and plopping into his chair.

Na Yung and Chin Hae nodded and smiled, relieved that their son had so easily agreed with them: fighting with him was the last thing they wanted to do after that fuss with Jonghyun; all they were craving for at the moment was to go back home and proceed with their peaceful life, although they both knew that nothing would ever be the same: they couldn't ignore their emotionally unstable humanoid, they better had to brace themselves for whatever was yet to come.

Eventually, Na Yung drew Kibum's attention on her again as she stood up and walked toward him. She hugged her son from behind, her arms wrapping themselves around his frail shoulders, and she whispered:

"Bummie, I'd like to apologize to you."

Her son turned his head and looked at her in disbelief, blinking and surprised. Why should she possibly apologize for ? For bringing Jonghyun here ? She didn't have to, it had been the right thing to do.

"I'm sorry for not believing you when you told us about the change in Jonghyun's behaviour. You were right. All this time... He was actually feeling emotions, even though he couldn't understand them. I'm so sorry, Kibum..."

"It... It's nothing. You couldn't know..."

"But we could have trusted you." Chin Hae said, gently ruffling his son's hair.

"Yeah... I guess so." Kibum mumbled.

The young boy tried to play it off but actually, he was more than happy to see his parents realising how wrong they had been. He wasn't mad at them for ignoring his warnings, he understood that it could be hard to believe, but... Okay, fine: right now, he just wanted to stand up and scream told you !

Instead of saying anything, Kibum decided to remind his parents of the reason why they were here and he asked softly:

"Shouldn't we call back Mister Kang ?"

"Sure." Chin answered, nodding.

Na Yung stood up straight and made her way back to her own chair; as she did so, she went past the desk of the CEO and firmly pressed the button the man had told them to push once they would have decided what to do. They immediately got in touch with Jungwan's secretary, whose voice resounded through tiny loudspeakers as her face appeared on a small hologram screen:

"Yes, Miss Kim ?"

"We have come to a decision." Na Yung said. "Could you please send Mister Kang to us ?"

"He will be there in a minute."

The screen immediately disappeared and Kibum's mom had barely sat down when the CEO opened the door and smiled at his customers, heading for his desk and sitting in his own leather swivel chair. He crossed his elegant fingers as he stared at the three people in front of him, waiting for one of them to finally take the floor.

"We will keep Jonghyun as he is." Chin Hae eventually said.

Kibum let out a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding so far, as if hearing this being said out loud had really made him realise that he wasn't going to lose Jonghyun anytime soon.

Jungwan nodded in understanding and smiled, doing a great job at hiding his slight disappointment - it was a real loss for the science, after all - but the only boss was the customer and he didn't have any other choice than agreeing with whatever they had decided.

"Are you sure about this ?" he couldn't help but ask, seeing how serious the matter was.

"Yes." Na Yung said at the same time as her husband, which made them both smile softly.

The other man nodded again and pressed the button on his desk, immediately bossing his secretary around:

"Ask Park Chanhyun to meet us in ten minutes in the great hall. With the humanoid, of course."

He didn't wait for an answer and cut the conversation short, in order to focus on his customers again.

"Before we join Mister Park and Jonghyun... Let's make this clear: if you ever change your mind and decide to get rid of the humanoid, be it for safety matters or anything else, feel free to bring him back here. Don't hesitate."

Kang Jungwan stood up and beckoned the Kim's to do the same; they headed for the door but just as the CEO placed his hand on the doorknob, he halted and turned around.

"A last thing..." he said on a low tone. "Don't mention anything about Jonghyun's past. He won't remember it and I don't think that he needs to know what happened to his family or himself."

"Doesn't he deserve the truth ?" Na Yung protested. "This is his life story."

The man shook his head.

"How would you react if you were told all of a sudden that your family died ?" he asked quietly.

Na Yung remained silent, her hand tightening her grip on her son's shoulder, until she finally whispered:

"I would break down. Or explode..."

"Exactly. And I wouldn't recommend you to do anything that could lead to such a reaction. Jonghyun is unstable and if he hears about his family, I'm not sure that he will be able to keep calm."

Na Yung hesitantly nodded and they eventually left the office, heading for the glass elevator that would bring them down to the first floor. As soon as the doors opened, Kibum caught sight of two waiting figures in the hall and he let out a squeak of excitement when he recognised Jonghyun.

His father's new rules already forgotten, the boy ran forward and didn't pay any attention to his parents' warnings before he threw himself at Jonghyun, tightly wrapping his bony arms around his neck and hiding his face against the humanoid's chest.

How he had missed this ! He didn't even care about the cold of Jonghyun's skin that he could feel even through the humanoid's shirt, he didn't care about his now freezing cheek that was pressed against his torso. It didn't matter that the teenager couldn't hear any heartbeat yet, he knew that it was there, right under his ear, and he was sure that the day would come when he would finally be able to listen to this proof of Jonghyun's human side.

The humanoid automatically returned the hug, slowly placing his hands on the boy's hips and for a moment, Kibum strongly believed that these past two weeks had been nothing but a dream - or a nightmare. Jonghyun was still there and everything would be alright.

The man standing next to them cleared his throat and when he took a step back, the teenager shot him a glare as he stated that it was no one else than Park Chanhyun, the grumpy scientist he had already met before, when they had brought Jonghyun to the firm.

Kibum finally came back to his parents' side - turning a deaf ear to their scolding - and he rolled his eyes when he saw that they had stopped a bit away from Jonghyun. He had told his father that he would comply with his rules, which he had already broken - he didn't have any regret - and keeping that much distance between them wouldn't make it any easier for him.

The blonde boy stared at his friend and looked for tiny changes in his attitude, but he couldn't find any. Jonghyun's face didn't express any special emotion and Kibum realised that he was a little bit disappointed: after their talk with Kang Jungwan, he had assumed that the humanoid would be able to convey his emotions but... Jonghyun didn't really seem happy to see them. He didn't look miserable either, just... Normal. His stare was blank as usual.

The teenager chewed on his bottom lip as he realised that Jonghyun wouldn't be able to express his feelings before a long time. But he would wait for him. He would wait for his dumbfounded face, his amazed gaze, his laugh and his smile, as bright as the one on the picture of his file in Kang Jungwan's office.

"Are you okay ?" Kibum asked the humanoid while his parents were talking with the scientist and the CEO - still glancing at Jonghyun from time to time.

"I don't know."

Oh. Well, that was something new. Usually, the humanoid would say yes but wouldn't understand the true meaning of these words, seeing that he couldn't really feel good nor bad. This time though, it sounded like Jonghyun could finally grasp the words but wasn't able to understand himself anymore.

"Have they found what was wrong with me ?" the humanoid asked. "Am I fixed, now ? They didn't tell me anything..."

Kibum shook his head.

"There was nothing to fix, Jonghyun." he answered with a smile. "Nothing was wrong. You will go back home with us and won't come here ever again."

"Really ?" his friend asked again. "But... What about the wound, then ?"

Kibum felt his blood turn into ice in his veins. A wound ?

"What... What are you talking about ?" he whispered, taken aback.

"The day I arrived here... They took me to a room and had a look at my program and its connections, until they began to argue and Mister Park stabbed me in the back with a blade. And I... I don't know what happened but I... There was... P... Pain ? Inside of me ?"

Jonghyun's tone was unsure, as if he didn't know how to explain this weird sensation, as if he couldn't believe that he was the one who had felt this. And Kibum couldn't believe that no one had told them about it before, reason why he snapped at the scientist, his voice filled with anger:

"Why the hell did you stab him ?! You had no right to do something as cruel as this ! He's wounded ! And why didn't you tell us ?"

"Kibum, language !" Chin Hae mumbled before turning to the CEO with furrowed brows. "I have to agree with my son though. What wound ? I think you should give us an explanation."

"I did mention it." the CEO calmly answered, speaking on a low tone not to be heard by the humanoid who was still a few feet away. "I told you that he reacted to some stimulation... That was the blade, a scalpel. Don't worry, he's fine ! The wound isn't that deep but since Jonghyun's body is still mostly frozen, his skin can't generate new tissues, thus we placed sutures to hold the wound edges together. The stitches are dissolvable and the wound will gradually heal. Nothing to worry about."

Chin Hae snorted. How could they not worry ? In top of an emotionally unstable and potentially dangerous Jonghyun, they would have to deal with a humanoid slowly recovering from a wound. They had every right to be worried.

"If you don't have anything else to say..." Chin Hae said on a cold tone. "I think we should leave. Mister Park, Mister Kang... It was a pleasure to meet you."

Kibum held back a chuckling sound: his father was the king of irony.

"Come on, Jonghyun." Na Yung gently said, motioning for the humanoid to follow them as they walked toward the exit.

Kibum took a deep breath once they walked out of the building, feeling like a burden had finally been removed from his shoulders, and he ran to their car, feeling ecstatic when his parents actually allowed the humanoid to drive. He couldn't wait to be home and call Taemin to tell him about Jonghyun's return.

His friend was a real angel: even after what had happened with the humanoid, the other boy had been really supportive, cheering up Kibum when he was feeling down because of Jonghyun's absence. Taemin wasn't mad at the humanoid, even though he was scared. He didn't really want to come near to him ever again but he knew how important Jonghyun was to the blonde teenager and he had accepted it. He had even asked his friend to keep him informed once they would have met the CEO of the firm.

When they finally arrived in front of their house, Kibum waited for his dad to unlock the front door and he immediately climbed up the stairs, then he headed for his room and slammed the door shut in order to call his best friend. He dialled the boy's phone number and sat on top of his desk, looking through his window at the small garden outside.

"Kibum ?" Taemin's voice finally resounded.

"Hi Taeminnie !"

"Oh, are you back from the firm ? So, how did it go ?"

Kibum smiled as he heard the curiosity in his friend's tone and he quickly answered:

"Jonghyun has come back with us. I was so worried my parents wouldn't allow him to ! But we learnt a lot about him and my dad changed his mind."

"Have they fixed Jonghyun's program ?"

The blonde hesitated for a few seconds. The CEO had told them not to reveal the secret of the humanoids' creation to anyone but... Taemin was his best friend. He trusted him and he was sure that he would never divulge a secret.

"The program wasn't exactly defective..." he finally said. "Taemin, I think you should sit down."

"I'm lying on my bed. Why ? What's wrong ?"

"Don't ever repeat this but... Jonghyun isn't a normal humanoid. He was one of the first ones to be created and they were... They were humans. Jonghyun lost his family in a car crash, they died and he couldn't deal with this pain, so he volunteered to become a humanoid, but... Taemin, the point is that he's turning into a human again ! I mean, kind of, but his emotions have begun to come back, he... Do you imagine ? Emotions !"

Kibum didn't realise that he was growing more and more excited nor that he was talking a bit too loud as he kept on explaining the situation to his friend, telling him everything, from his father's rules to his own hopes to see Jonghyun's smile one day. His hopes that the humanoid would finally consider him as a real friend and love him and his parents back.

He never noticed Jonghyun, hand on the doorknob and frozen at the entrance of the bedroom as he heard the whole conversation, before he quietly stepped back and closed the door.

Hello everyone ! I hope you liked this chapter, I had a hard time writing it but I hope it's alright !

I don't know when I will be able to give you the next chapter, since my exams are coming... I will also do my best to update other stories ^^

Please check out my last one-shot, it's an EXO one with Kaisoo as the main pairing, enjoy ! => We were young

Thank you for reading~ See you next time !