Myungsoo scrutinised every line and every detail of the cyborg’s form. He had seen and heard of these machines often due to its increasing popularity as a dating partner but he had never before seen one up close.

The cyborg’s silky brown bangs framed his forehead in a way that looked so real and natural that it was hard to believe it was actually synthetic hair. His eyes were closed, however Myungsoo imagined them to be big and round, matching his innocent features. Myungsoo’s gaze drifted downward towards the curve of his thin neck, his firm chest, his long fingers brushing against the sides of his thighs, down to his long and slender legs. Myungsoo was so captivated by his beauty that he did not notice the store owner looking over his shoulder.

“Ahh…you have good taste, young man. That’s a gorgeous one right there” he said as he nodded approvingly at Myungsoo.

“I-I-I never said I’m buying one! Don’t just jump to conclusions.” Myungsoo stammered. His eyes shifted around nervously. He felt like he was caught staring at something he should not have.

Get a grip on yourself Myungsoo! Just because you’re ing around does not mean that includes non-humans! he reprimanded himself as he made his way out the door. In his rush, he failed to notice the old man staring at his back with a knowing smile on his face.

When Myungsoo left the store, the sky was already dark. He had not realized the hours he spent in that store. More importantly, he had totally forgotten about the dinner plans he had with Sungyeol until he felt his phone buzzing. “” he muttered, as he looked at the caller ID. Speak of the devil.

“Hello-“

“Yah! Where the hell are you? It’s almost 7:45! We agreed to meet at 7” Sungyeol yelled. Myungsoo winced as he held the phone away from his ear.

“Sorry. I lost track of time.”

“Well, hurry up! I’m introducing you to two of my buddies, remember? Actually, you know one of them. Remember Lee Howon? We were in the same class together in high school. The popular guy that was on the track & field team. Anyway, come quickly!” Sungyeol said, ending the call.

Myungsoo vaguely remembered a person called Lee Howon in his class. He was handsome, had a strong physique, intelligent and an absolute gentleman to girls. Although the guy was very popular, he never had a girlfriend. Instead, he was always with his bestfriend but Myungsoo heard that the friend died in a car accident on the day of their high school graduation. Myungsoo did not know anything more than this as he was not close to Lee Howon unlike Sungyeol who was and still is the “social butterfly” between the two of them.

--

“Myungsoo! Over here!” Myungsoo saw Sungyeol waving at him as he entered the restaurant, still breathless from rushing his way there. He recognized Lee Howon as soon as he saw him. He still had that rugged manliness to him despite the years that passed. Sitting next to him, was someone that looked oddly familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time.

“I’m Lee Howon. You can just call me Howon” he said. He reached out a hand towards Myungsoo who shook it firmly.

“I’m Kim Myungsoo. Just Myungsoo is fine. So, Sungyeol told me we were in the same class. Sorry, I have bad memory”.

“Yes, we were. Don’t worry about it. We never had the chance to become friends back then so it’s understandable if you don’t remember me.” Before Myungsoo could respond, a voice interrupted them.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” the friend nudged Howon. He had the brightest smile that could lift up anybody’s mood. He tugged at Howon’s sleeve impatiently as he glanced at Myungsoo.

“Wait. Aren’t you-“ Myungsoo started but stopped immediately when he noticed the apparent silver eyes of the friend. I swear he looks him…but he can’t be. This guy is a cyborg. Myungsoo thought, perplexed by the uncanny resemblance of this friend to the dead one he occasionally saw with Howon back in high school.

“I’m going to do it myself then. I’m Dongwoo, Howon’s friend. Nice to meet you Myungsoo!” he said with laugh that was pure from the heart. Myungsoo had never seen someone as genuinely happy as Dongwoo which created quite an impression on him.

After the introductions, they took their seats and ordered their food. Sungyeol began talking about how he bumped into Howon at the company he was working in the other day. Howon was recently hired in that company but was working at another department from Sungyeol. Dongwoo was Howon’s housemate and worked in a café near the company. Sungyeol wanted Myungsoo to meet new friends to take his mind off from his current situation and to pull him out of his secluded lifestyle so he planned for them all to have dinner together tonight. But Sungyeol saw that Myungsoo was not paying attention to their conversation at all. Indeed, Myungsoo’s mind wandered off to this afternoon’s encounter with a certain cyborg.

“Is something bothering you?” Sungyeol asked, worried about his friend.

Myungsoo contemplated whether or not he should tell his bestfriend about it and whether he should ask for suggestions from Howon, who seemed to have quite an intimate relationship with Dongwoo from the way they held hands under the table.

Myungsoo waited until Dongwoo left the table to go to the restroom before he said, “I actually have a question for Howon. What is it like…with..um…a cyborg?” he expected Howon to be offended by his question but Howon only smiled, knowing that there are some people who still haven’t accepted the whole idea of dating a machine despite its growing trend.

“At first, it’s weird but once you get used to it, you’ll find that there’s essentially no difference from dating a human. I mean, love can come in any form right? In the end, it’s still love.” Howon smiled warmly as he watched Dongwoo walking towards the table with a matching smile on his face.

--

It has been two weeks since the day Myungsoo walked into the old man’s store of cyborgs and he found himself yet again in front of the store. Conflicted by his emotions and reasoning, his thoughts were cut short when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

“I knew you’d be back” the old man said, standing by the doorway. “Well, don’t just stand there. Come in, come in.”

Myungsoo followed the old man, passing aisles and aisles of cyborgs until they reached the very end of the last aisle. The cyborg looked just as beautiful as when Myungsoo first saw him. Myungsoo brushed his fingers lightly against his face.

Turning towards the old man, he asked, “How much is he?”

The old man just shook his head. “You don’t owe me anything. I’m giving him to you.”

“But I-“

“Just promise me that you’ll treasure him” he said and went to the backroom to find a box to wrap the cyborg in. He returned shortly with a giant box, some tape, and an instruction manual. After placing the cyborg in the box and wrapping it securely, he handed the manual to Myungsoo.

“You can read this at home by yourself but just to let you know some of the basics of a cyborg, they are created to imitate human emotions and they have an internal heater, which is situated in their heart, that matches a human’s body temperature. Basically, you can expect them to act like any other human. The only differences are the color of their eyes and they have a mechanical heart that does not beat”.

He scribbled on a small piece of paper and gave it to Myungsoo. “This is my name and contact number. You can call me if you’re having any trouble. Run along then. Give him all your love”.

--

Myungsoo was extremely frustrated. He had been trying to find the ON switch since the last hour but to no avail. He had searched inside the cyborg’s mouth, tapped his head and even took his clothes off to look for any possible location of the switch but he could not find any. He was starting to feel very impatient.

Sighing, he brushed some of the cyborg’s hair away from his face, admiring his features. He still couldn’t believe his own recklessness for purchasing such a product but decided that it did not matter anymore. He did not have long to live anyway. Suddenly, Myungsoo felt a tiny bump behind the cyborg’s left ear. He clicked on it and heard a whirring sound of gears inside the body. The cyborg’s eyes slowly opened and Myungsoo saw silver eyes staring directly at his own.

“Hello, master. Nice to meet you. I’m Model SJ 930903.”