He swore that his heart stopped beating.

No way. No way in hell.

His fingers accidentally let go of the red string as he reached down to carefully pinch around the corner of one of the little slips on the floor, looking closely at every detail and just trying to understand how, why, or even if he was looking at what he thought he was.

But no matter how hard he stared, or which way he inspected everything, it was exactly what it looked like, laid out right there in front of him.

The small slips scattered at his feet were photographs - a lot of them. And although they looked as good as new, with no trace of folds at the corners and not a speck of dirt on their surfaces, the subjects of these photos would suggest that years had passed since they'd been taken.

Some of them were of Luhan, grinning in absolute joy; something Jongdae wasn't sure he ever truly saw from him in any of the videos. However, most of them were of Minseok.

But for some strange reason, some reason that Jongdae was just trying so hard to understand as he stared, Minseok's eyes were clearly shining with this gorgeous shade of brown, complemented by sunlight and making him look more gentle and kind than Jongdae had ever seen him before.

But that wasn't all. There was something in these pictures that Jongdae had never seen Minseok do before. Not once.

His lips were curled into the sweet curve of a genuine smile.

Jongdae tightened his fingers around the corners of the photo paper, afraid that if he didn't, he'd drop it back to the floor.

This just didn't make a bit of sense. Not one bit. It was actually starting to make him feel kind of sick, and suddenly, he really needed to sit down.

He backed up, feeling clumsily around for the edge of the bed and dropping down onto it as soon as he found it behind him. He laid the book and the photo he'd picked up beside him before taking a deep breath, cradling his head in the palms of his hands, starting to feel overwhelmed.

Human. All of the pictures pointed inevitably to the fact that at some point, Minseok was a human. Able to smile, able to laugh, able to cry. Able to love.

Jongdae shut the photo back into the back of the journal, not able to look at it any longer though many others were spread across the wooden floor.

The whole thing bore a burning question into his mind: if, at some point, Minseok existed as a human, what had happened to that version of him?

What had happened to the Minseok that could smile all on his own?

His head was just spinning with the thought, and a tiny part of his brain was telling him to simply go ask Minseok just what the hell all of this was and what it meant. But most of him knew that that would be a terrible idea; after all, Minseok might not even know what happened at all, and now that he was learning to deal with emotions such as fear and sadness, to suddenly dump the fact that he used to be human on him would be crushing.

No. Jongdae was not going to do that. Definitely not. He was just going to carry on as if he'd never seen anything. His mission had not changed now that he knew this, even if he now also strived to find out what had happened all that time ago.

He raised himself to his feet, bending over to pick up the many photos spilled out onto the floor, and then sliding them back in between the journal's pages. There. Right back where they were before. Like he'd never seen them at all.

He flopped himself onto the bed, hugging the journal to his chest and staring up at the ceiling.

So, had Luhan known Minseok as a human, and recreated him as a robot? Or was it something more complicated and even more strange than that? He simply couldn't help but wonder.

He shut his eyes, trying not to let his mind wander on all the possibilities right that moment. He'd found out about several crazy things within the past day, and it was really starting to get to his head. In fact, he kind of felt emotionally drained, and was just about ready to pass out.

If he could just understand, maybe things wouldn't be so hard. If he could only understand. That's the last thing that really ran through his mind, the last coherent thing that he thought as he stretched his lips open wide in another exhausted yawn.

If he could only understand...

*****

The next morning, he was not awoken by any sound or sensation in particular, but as fate would have it, he found himself staring, for the second time that week, into bright blue eyes blinking at him from right above his face.

He gasped in shock, and his legs would have rocketed him right smack into the headboard again had Minseok not grabbed his shoulders, calmly remarking, "You'll hit your head again, sir."

He swallowed thickly, taking one hand and wrapping it around a strong arm to gently move it off of him. "Right. Can you not wake me up like that anymore, Minseok? You're gonna give me a heart attack," he complained weakly in exasperation, sighing and sitting up.

"Forgive me, sir. It was how I used to wake Luhan up. He did the laughing thing when I did it, so it became a habit," he explained calmly.

Jongdae's stomach twisted at the mention of that name, and he gulped again. That was when he and Minseok both seemed to realize the slightly strange thing about this scene, considering Jongdae had just woken up.

"What is that?" Minseok asked, pointing to the book that Jongdae still had clutched firmly to his chest.

Oh, .

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing. I just...keep my thoughts in it is all," he blurted out, feigning a stupid smile and holding onto the book even tighter if possible to make sure that there was no way Minseok could ever see what was inside.

The robot simply nodded, incapable of being suspicious, and accepted the answer. "If you say so," he replied. "So, I came this morning to give you a reminder," he added.

Jongdae raised an eyebrow. "Of what?" he asked. He didn't remember asking Minseok to remind him of anything. Then again, he supposed that'd be why he would need reminding in the first place.

"Well, I was under the impression that you were to add my next emotion yesterday, but you never did. I thought that I would ask you, in case you forgot," he explained, and Jongdae sobered up when he realized that Minseok was right.

He knew he'd been forgetting something when they headed out into the forest yesterday. It had just never completely surfaced, and in the end, he'd just forgotten all about it completely.

But this was good. He may be a day later than he'd previously hoped, but working on an emotion would be a good way to lead his mind away from the strange and confusing thoughts those photographs had brought him the night before. To distract him, quite simply.

"You're right. I did forget; thank you, Minseok," he responded gratefully, things now coming back to him one by one. That's right; he'd planned this emotion out beforehand just for the fun of it. It was more of a small detail, really, but he just couldn't help himself, and if it let him get away from his thoughts, it was good enough.

He climbed out of bed, bending down to reach for the string he'd dropped on the floor so he could wrap up the book quickly. Then, he slipped it back into the top dresser drawer where he'd found it, and shut it tight. Minseok couldn't see those pictures. And he wouldn't. Jongdae wouldn't let him.

Wordlessly, they started to walk beside each other, making their way towards the basement with unhurried steps. It was something that was starting to become a routine now, as if they'd been doing it for a longer time than it had actually been.

Jongdae stole a glance over at Minseok, almost tripping over himself as he took too long of a look at his bright blue eyes, and he really did wonder: what was the robot like? As a human. He wore such a joyful smile in all of those pictures, and it initially painted him in Jongdae's own mind as a bright, happy person. But then again, Luhan had also worn a smile full of light in those pictures, one that he'd never quite matched in the videos of him from Minseok's system.

Part of him felt wistful, wishing that perhaps human Minseok was still out there somewhere, and Jongdae could experience him as a true person. But on the other hand, he felt almost guilty for thinking that; it was definitely weird to think about, but he knew that the human Minseok from the past couldn't have been the same as his Minseok.

They looked the same, sounded the same, yes, but he knew they weren't really the same being. He knew that he'd never had to chance to be close to Minseok as a human, and so the being that he loved and cared for was a new personality, one that he was now completing the creation of.

It made him realize that he could never quite finish Luhan's project, his true mission completely, because he had never known the person he was trying to recreate. This Minseok he was finishing belonged partly to Luhan, but also very much to him.

And to be honest, he wasn't really sure if he was happy with that or not.

They reached the very familiar basement, and Minseok walked over to the table routinely, climbing up and lying down flat on his back.

"Alright, I'm giving you a little break this week because I added sadness last time," Jongdae explained as he approached, thankful for the fact that he wouldn't have to get himself organized because he'd already done it beforehand.

"Okay," Minseok replied, still getting a little bit anxious, which Jongdae noticed from the speed of his breathing.

He came forward, lacing their fingers together like always. "Alright, I'm turning you off now," he warned, undoing the top two buttons of Minseok's shirt and pulling the collar of it out of the way. The robot shut his eyes in response, taking one last deep breath before Jongdae pressed the blue button, powering him down.

Okay. It was time to forget all of those thoughts: anything and everything about human Minseok. At least for right now.

He had to focus on doing this right, just like always.

Thankfully, for the most part, this emotion really was a break from some of the more complex ones, for both him and Minseok. It wasn't too complicated, really, except for a part that was a little odd when it came to physical response. It did take him some toying with it to get things to a place where he felt like everything would work correctly when he turned Minseok back on, but that was not unusual, and he found himself finishing up much earlier than he may have expected. Who knew; maybe it was even still light outside. He decided he'd check when they went back upstairs.

Eventually, he just about felt as comfortable as he could get with how the results might turn out, and he grinned in anticipation. He was going to have a little bit of fun with this one.

He reached forward, pressing the darkened blue button, and it began to glow again, Minseok's eyes flicking open not too long after. "How did everything go, sir?" he asked, slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position and taking an idle glance around the room.

"I'm pretty confident, actually," Jongdae returned truthfully, organizing his tools the way they usually sat. "I've just got a good feeling about this one."

"That's good to hear, sir," the robot replied, watching him straighten up the table.

"I think so too. Hey, Minseok," he started, turning back to him, and the other waited expectantly. "You can call me by my name, you know. We know each other well enough for me not to be 'sir' anymore, don't you think?" he asked him, smiling kindly.

Before, Minseok would have simply taken this in stride, asking politely for his name considering that funnily enough, Jongdae had never told him what it was. However, for a reason that only Jongdae knew, there was something quite different that happened in its place.

Minseok's face started to turn red, and he was a little concerned at the fact that he could feel his cheeks rising in temperature. "I...I'm sorry...what is your name?" he asked quietly, and he couldn't figure out why it becoming difficult for him to speak all of a sudden.

"My name is Jongdae. Would you like to call me that instead?" Jongdae asked, absolutely giddy on the inside but trying so hard to be very chilled out and casual about the whole situation. Yes. This is literally exactly what I was going for. True happiness is real.

"Yes, I- I would like that, sir. I mean...Jongdae," Minseok replied, and his face was becoming even hotter by the second. Not to even mention that usually, eye contact was just a natural thing for him, but he couldn't seem to look Jongdae in the face for some reason. "Excuse me for...for that," he mumbled out afterwards, staring at the wall.

"Don't worry about it. You'll have to get used to it; I understand that," Jongdae reassured him. Minseok didn't seem to be very comforted though, still avoiding Jongdae's eyes.

Oh god. He's so cute. What have I done to myself?

"Hey, look at me," he directed gently, placing a hand on either side of his face and guiding him back up to look him in the eyes. Minseok blinked at him, face still blood red. "It's alright," he told him.

Minseok really was trying to respond to him, truly, but there was just something standing in his way, making his thoughts jumble up and his breath get caught in his throat. Gradually and with effort, his breathing became deep as he tried to ward off this unfamiliar feeling, but he still couldn't think coherently. "I'm sorry, J-Jongdae. I can't seem to think of what to say," he apologized. "Perhaps there was an error-"

"No. This is supposed to happen," Jongdae assured him, now allowing himself to smile and looking all too pleased. "You're cute when you're embarrassed," he added as a way of explanation, winking.

Note to self - tone down Minseok's blushing feature at some point this week. I'm afraid his face might start to melt otherwise.

---

SLOW AF UPDATES WOOHOO

But I think this is an okay length. Plus, how'd you like that plot twist thoooo

Well, regardless of my usual lateness, I hope you enjoyed and that everyone has a great rest of their day. See you soon! c: