Chapter One: Saturday
Steel Heart
Saturday mornings for ordinary people would be getting up from their fluffy bed, going to their kitchen to prepare a sumptuous breakfast and eat it on their porch while reading the newspaper or for some, listening to songs that will give them energy to start the day.
but Han Sanghee is an ordinary person no more.
She opens her eyes and wakes up like all human beings do, but in a different setting. They call her bed a capsule; still has her own fluffy mattress in it but her so called bed in general is considered as a machine. Her pillow's like made of memory foam, but it glows a faint neon green when she lies her head on it. That's the only thing she likes about her "bed", the pillows. Not only it is comfortable, but it gives her energy.
She gets up on a sitting position and pressed a button at the side, a small LED monitor showing out of nowhere. The monitor flew from somewhere up there and stopped right in front of her face. It lit up, saying the usual welcome message that she's been listening for the past four years. She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh.
This is that only time she wished she was back on being a normal human being again. But then, if that was the case, she would be rotting underground already.
The monitor scanned her eyes, then beeped three times. It showed that she's perfectly fine and good to go. Happy that her routine number 1 is done, she got out of the capsule and went to clean herself inside her bathroom. She came out wearing a white silk-like dress. She opened her closet and got her favorite cream-colored oxfords before hopping out of her room.
"CV5HE3 has awakened. I repeat, CV5HE3 has awakened. Please make sure Oracle is informed." an old looking man said on his radio before returning it back to one of his pockets. He looks up and sees her hopping on the hallway. "Woke up from the right side of the bed today, Sanghee?" he asked.
Sanghee saw who the voice was from and she immediately smiled. She bowed to him and nodded. "Yes, Kim ahjusshi. I hope my good vibes last for the whole day..." she looks around one more time then faced him again. "Have you seen him?"
He nodded, telling her that he might be working at one of the laboratories downstairs. She mouthed him a thanks before running for the elevator. She almost slipped when she reached the door and pressing the down arrow button. Her vision became fuzzy so she shook the feeling, another of her glitches every morning. She lightly hit her temples before going inside the elevator. The door was about to close when suddenly an arm stopped it.
A short haired guy entered, wearing his black leather jacket. He greeted her and asked about her day to which she replied. She looked at him from head to toe and pointed at his jacket. "Going on a date I guess? Your jacket looks good~". The guy smiled, fixing his jacket as if he's showing it off. "Jihyun gave it to me. Isn't it pretty?"
Sanghee snorted and playfully hit his shoulder, to which she winced. The guy laughed at him and shook his head in amusement. "For a cyborg, you are slightly dumdum Sanghee-yah..." "Cut it out, Wonshik. I totally forgot you're Mister Metal Shoulders now..."
"Hey! I told you to call me by nickname..."
"Ravi? Oh please, Wonshik." she paused, giving emphasis to his real name. "What is so delightful about you?"
The elevator door opens, the two of them walking out side by side. "I'd rather call you by your model number." she joked, earning a pout from her friend. He bid him goodbye, telling her that he'll try to bring his girlfriend over after their movie date. "Yes you should! I haven't seen Jihyunnie in ages..."
".....but the two of you spent half of the day together last week."
"But that was last week... please tell her to visit me often!" she smiled at him, and pushes him to the electronic door. She fixed her hair and dress and went to the other side of the building. For the past four years shes been staying here, she still couldn't find the wing where all the laboratories are.
If ordinary people lives in houses, apartment, dormitories and condominiums, Sanghee calls her new home The Infirmary. Its like her home plus a hospital in one, since she can't be treated in a normal hospital anymore if ever she gets "sick" or gets into a accident. The establishment was built somewhere in the heart of Seoul during the early 2000's. Only the people who works and stays here only knows that this kind of establishment exists. For a normal eye, the building is just an architectural design, well, with a really nice coffee shop as a facade.
She stood in front of the door, eyes in par of the scanner. She pressed the button and moved closer to the detector. It beeped and flashed a green light, then the door opened. She smiled and went inside where she found him so immersed on his laptop. She tip toed until she reached the back of his chair and surprised him. "I'm here!!!" she said, grabbing his shoulders to which the later jumped.
He looked at her with his piercing gaze and sighed. He brushed his hair with his hand and turned back again. "Don't do that again, Sanghee-yah. I almost threw my laptop to the window..." She mouthed a quick sorry before seating on the chair right beside him. "That's so many paper works. What's that for?" her eyes scanning the pile of papers on his table.
"For you..." he answered, not even looking up at her and just continued typing away.
"Taekwoon sunbae---"
"We've talked about this, right? You need these things in order for you to last longer.." he finally turned his office chair to face her. "It'll give you a better eyesight..."
"But you're just going to waste money on me--" she stopped talking when she felt her eyes go fuzzy again. She almost stumbled if not for Taekwoon holding her in place. "This is what I'm talking about...." he muttered. "Did you plug the dextrose of blue fluid on your capsule before hibernating yesterday?" he asked.
Oops. Han Sanghee strike two.
Silence.
"I knew you didn't." he let out a frustrated growl, lowered his head before looking up to the ceiling, blew a cherry, eyes closed. "Of all the things you could forget, Han Sanghee..." he said, gaze piercing straight to her orbs as if he's trying to rip her off. "And you tell me that you don't need upgrades?" he stood up, his hands gripping on to her small wrist.
He sat her down on one of the operating tables, left for a few minutes only to return wheeling the blue dextrose on a stand. "I'm going to open you up, okay?" she nodded, giving her left arm to him.He got his tools out of nowhere and turned the monitor on. Sanghee observed how he puts the white patches with wirings on her arm. He gets a screwdriver and unscrews her wrist, revealing the inner part of her "cyborg" arm.
He looks up at her and sees her eyes furrowed. "Does it hurt?" he softened.
The girl shakes his head and smiled. "My left arm and eyesight are made of machines already. I don't feel anything..."
He nodded, understanding what she's trying to convey. He got the hose and inserted it on one of the holes, blue fluid rushing in. The got an electrical tape and put it in place so it won't come off. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. She got the towel neatly folded right beside her and started dabbing it on his sweaty forehead. Taekwoon, surprised by her sudden movement, almost flinched.
"It's my way of saying thank you, sunbae..." she explained, still wiping his face. He was about to say something when another presence entered the room.
Cha Hakyeon stood by the door, smiling. "You two should really date..." he smiled and walked up to them. Sanghee immediately put down her right hand and hid it on her back.
Taekwoon cleared his throat, stood up and walked to his table. "What are you doing here?". Hakyeon totally ignored his best friend's question when he saw her hooked up with a hose.
He immediately sat across the table and held her face. "Omo omo! Is our Sanghee sick?! Has Taekwoon been torturing you??"
He immediately sat across the table and held her face. "Omo omo! Is our Sanghee sick?! Has Taekwoon been torturing you??"
Sanghee froze on her spot, trying to hide her now flushed cheeks. She squirmed under his touch, looking down. "I'm fine, Hakyeon s-sunbae.."
"Are you sure? Is your eye sight already fixed?" He asked but Taekwoon answered for her. "Obviously not. That's why she's hooked up with an IV right now.." Hakyeon hissed at him, then looked back at her again. He noticed her outfit and smiled. "You look good on your dreess, Hee-yah..."
She looked up, smile plastered on her face. "Really???" he smiled and nodded. "You should dress like that more often.." She nodded to him before hopping off the table, grabbing the stand and started pushing it. "I'm going to my room first..." she bid them goodbye before walking out of the room. Hakyeon noticed his friend still staring at the now closed door.
He suddenly nudged him with his arm, getting Taekwoon's attention again. "You care for her too much. Chill! She's just going up to her room..." Hakyeon said then stood up to grab something to drink from the mini bar. "Sanghee is really cute though..." he leaned by the wall and drank from his own can of beer. "The moment my schedule is cleared, I'm going to take her to the movies...". Taekwoon suddenly slammed the folder on his table, making Hakyeon surprised. "Woah! Okay okay! I won't! She's all yours, man..."
Taekwoon gave him an amused smile. "I don't like her... Stop saying nonsense, Hakyeon-ah..." he went back on his laptop and continued to where he stopped working on.
"Your actions tells me otherwise, Jung Taekwoon..."
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"So? How'd your movie date go?" Sanghee sat down at one of the chairs encircling the round table. Her good friend Jihyun has called her over the phone, telling she would like to see her after her movie date with Wonshik is done. Excited, Sanghee decided to show up, not really caring if she still has to push around the dextrose stand with her.
Jihyun came back with a tray of three different slices of cakes plus sweet potato lattes. She sat down beside her boyfriend and smiled. "It was fine...." she then turned to Wonshik who was busy eating the cake. "Until someone decided to doze off while we were watching." she stared blankly at him. He stopped eating and defended himself. "Hey, I said sorry okay? Can we not go back to that one again, please?"
She let out a laugh, then pointed at her cyborg friend. "Are you sure you're a cyborg? You tend to sleep A LOT, Wonshik-ah..." "Jeez, Sanghee. I don't know if you're a cyborg or a demon, to be quite honest..." the guy said, getting another plate of the cake and started eating again. "Yah~ this one is good! Is it your new creation?" he turned to Jihyun, who's proudly smiling because of the compliment.
"Yeah. My friend who attends culinary school gave me this recipe as a present..." She stood up and grabbed another slice and gave it to Sanghee. "Try it, Hee-yah! It's really good!". Sanghee declined with a sad smile. "As much as I want to eat everything that's on this table, I can't. Taekwoon sunbae's going to kill me..."
"Are you fasting again---" before she could even finish her sentence, Sanghee pointed at the dextrose stand beside her, making Jihyun nod in understanding the situation. "I see, I see. Until when though?" "Just for tonight. I could start eating again lunch time tomorrow..." she sighed and played with the dessert fork. She sat beside her and gave her a quick hug. "It'll be over soon, don't worry!"
"You can always take a small bite though. I'm sure Taekwoon hyung wouldn't mind..." Wonshik said, his mouth full of cake. Jihyun smacked his arm and almost hit him on the shoulder when she remembered that it would hurt her because, well, metal shoulders. "Stop being a bad influence, Kim Wonshik..." "I am not!!"
"Wonshik is right actually..." the couple stopped arguing and looked right in front of them. Sanghee was already holding up her fork and slicing a bit of the cake. "It wouldn't hurt to taste this delicious food over here..." she was about to put the fork inside and taste the sweetness of the cake when a hand suddenly stopped hers. She looked up and saw Taekwoon staring at her. "Either you eat that or I give you another bag of that tomorrow morning..." he said, pointing to the dextrose hanging on the rolling stand.
She frowned, putting the fork down and crossing her arms. "I just wanted a bite..." she muttered under her breath. Taekwoon heard that and felt a pang of guilt in his heart. He doesn't want her to feel down. He ruffled her hair and sat down, turning her chair to face him. "I'll buy you a whole cake tomorrow when you're better. How about that?"
"You spoil him too much, Hyung..." Wonshik blurted out. Taekwoon threw one of the chair pillows to him, to which Jihyun laughed. "Serves you right, Kim Wonshik..." she stood up to get Taekwoon something to drink. "Why is everyone being so mean to me right now?" the poor guy said, pushing the plate away from him. "Ask Jaehwan to buy you a cake too..." Taekwoon tried not to laugh when he said that.
"Jaehwan oppa's not going to buy him a cake because he's a pain in the !" Jihyun shouted all the way from the counter. "Hey! you're my girlfriend! You're supposed to be on my side!" Wonshik stood up, probably going to follow her to the counter. Taekwoon just shook his head and looked at Sanghee, who's looking up at the now halfway done bag of blue fluid.
"Taekwoon-ah! Sanghee-yah!" the both of them turned around to see Hakyeon waving at them. "Are you feeling okay now?" he asked the girl, and she nodded. Wonshik and Jihyun returned and greeted him as well. "What brings you here, Hakyeon hyung?" he asked. The oldest hyung explained that he went here to fetch Taekwoon because they're going out to have some fun away from work.
Hakyeon walked to where Sanghee was seated and put a hand on her shoulder. "You should come too! I know its been boring inside the infirmary..."
Sanghee stood up and blurted out a quick "No! I'm okay! Really!" startling the rest of the gang inside the cafe. She looked at them one by one, realizing that there was actually nothing to be defensive about.
Except that there is actually a reason that is none other than, Cha Hakyeon.
"A--and beside-es..." she stuttered. "Sunbae won't allow me to go right? (she gives him a quick glance before facing Hakyeon again) I'm still on 'medication'" "I was actually considering Hakyeon's--" before Taekwoon could even finish what he's saying, Sanghee pushed both of the two guys towards the exit of the establishment. "You guys need some time away from work...." she was able to kick them out of the cafe, bidding them goodbye.
"Have fun you two!" she waved at them. Taekwoon wasn't moving from his spot, still gazing at her until Hakyeon wrapped his arm around his shoulder and decided to drag him along. Before she could even turn back, Hakyeon turned around and gave her a small wave. She blushed, waving back at him in return. She closed the door and went back inside the cafe, only to find Wonshik and Jihyun staring at her, smiles plastered on their faces.
"Is there something on my face?" she asked.
"Yeah, there is...." Jihyun giggled before gathering all the used plates from the table.
Huh? she thought.
"Your face is screaming Lovestruck.." Wonshik added.
End.
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How was it? I hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter!! :) Thank you for taking time to read this ^^ <3
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