Hongbin sat in the waiting room alone. He stared at the clock the whole time and seconds passed as fast as hours. They wouldn’t let him in the room again, knowing how he would react to anyone laying a hand on her, even if they were trying to save her. Hongbin tried his best to not have a meltdown, but it took every ounce of focus not to. Every thought in his head was about Youngji. He couldn’t live without her. And he couldn’t help feel that this was all his fault. If he hadn’t missed that first meeting…

Hongbin’s phone suddenly buzzed. He took it out of his pocket and held it up to his ear. “What?” he said in a depressed tone. “Hongbin! Hongbin-ah!” the voice responded. It was a male voice. “Who is this?” he asked. “Please, we don’t have much time…meet me outside in the parking lot. I need to tell you something.” It said and hung up. Hongbin looked around, the doctors were trying to save Youngji and they wouldn’t let him back in the room again until they were done, he decided to leave for a couple minutes. He walked outside and into the hospital parking lot, looking around. The he saw him. Jung Taekwoon, leaning on the side of a black van. Hongbin balled his fists and quickly walked over to him. “What.Are.You. Doing.Here?!” he demanded. Taekwoon held up his hands. “Hongbin…you need to hear this.” He said

“That’s what you said last time. What did you do now?! “ Hongbin asked sarcastically, folding his arms.

“Hongbin…there’s something you don’t know about me…”

“And your telling me this now?!”

“It could save Youngji!”

“She’s -“

“I can save her, just give me a chance…”

Hongbin looked skeptical, but he let Taekwoon continue.

“You wanna know the real reason I left the NPA, not just to pursue science, but more than that. After hearing that presentation on robotic surgery…I was just inspired! To think that you could create a functional human being without emotions and to control their thoughts…it’s a revolutionary breakthrough! “He began, “I just had to stay away from any connection to the police force as much as possible. That’s why I’ve even kept my distance from my friends and family…You see it’s illegal to pursue those kind of experimentations…I’ve even set up my own laboratory…”
“What’s the point, because I am really losing my patience with you right now”

Taekwoon sighed. “When my girlfriend left me, I felt like my whole world was crashing. I just couldn’t handle the pain I lived with every day and I knew there was nothing that I could do to bring her back. So I needed to end my pain. And I did…with this” he said and pressed his palm to his neck and pushed some of his hair away. He revealed a small chip sticking out of his neck. Hongbin took a step back. “What…what is that?!” he demanded, his face stricken with horror. “It’s a memory chip, as long as I have this in, I can control the memories I wish to keep as well as the feelings that come with it.”

“How…H-how…”

“It’s amazing what you can do with robotic surgery…my heart has been entirely replaced with a mechanical, full functioning robotic one. So now I can freely live without the burdens of daily life.”

Hongbin stood aghast. “You’re insane!”

“Hongbin, you’re missing the point…if I can perfectly operate on myself and it works…If the doctors can't save Youngji, I can…”

Hongbin pondered the thought, and then shook it aside. There’s no way he’s telling the truth. There’s no way…

“Lee Hongbin!” a voice called

Hongbin turned around to find a nurse outside the building looking for him.

“That’s me” he called back. The nurse gave a sad expression to him and needed him to come inside. Hongbin’s eyes widened and he ran towards the doors, Taekwoon following close behind. He ran through the hospital, sprinting through the hallways until he ended up at Youngji’s room. He stopped and watched as the doctors and nurses exited the room, giving off discontented expressions. The last doctor to come out put his hand on Hongbin’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, we did all we could…” and he left. Hongbin let out an exasperated breath and entered the room. There he saw Youngji surrounded in silence. Her heart rate monitor silenced and her breathing stopped completely. Hongbin sunk to his knees. “아니…아니!!!” he cried burring his face in his hands. He quickly got up and immediately rushed to her side. She remained unresponsive, emotionless, frozen. Hongbin soon gave up and looked back at Youngji with tear stricken eyes. Taekwoon placed his hand on his shoulder and looked down in sadness. At Taekwoons touch, Hongbin turned around. “Don’t.Touch.Me…you did this! You’re the reason Youngji’s dead!!!” He screamed.

“Hongbin, there are many factors that caused her untimely death. And Hongbin I am truly sorry for part I counted for, but please think for a moment. We could still save her. Hongbin if you ever want to see her alive, happy, and breathing again…you need to trust me and act now.” He explained. Hongbin gave another look at Youngji’s cold stricken face, and then tore away because he could not bear it any longer.

“Taekwoon, you promise you can save her…”

“Yes”

Hongbin squeezed his eyes shut and thought for a moment. He didn’t know if it would even work, but something is better than nothing. He had to try. It was their only chance at saving Youngji.

“Alright” he agreed.

“Really?”

“On one condition” he said causing Taekwoon to perk his head in interest.

“In order to perform the surgery on Youngji…You must test it on me first.”