Metals clanged against each other in the middle of the night. Minseok thought he had dreamt the noises in his head. But after tossing and turning around in his bed, he opened his eyes and realized that it wasn’t a dream at all.

But there was something different about the noise, Minseok noticed. It wasn’t the usual machines that he had heard before. This one sounded much more quietly than the old ones he had heard before. It sounded like new smooth metals clanging against each other. They sounded soft compared to the ones which clanged around noisily and hissed steams. But Minseok’s ears had grown sensitive over the years, even the softest sound could wake him up.

He sat up from his bed and walked towards the window. He peered through the curtains carefully. He made sure that he didn’t make a sound. He pulled back the curtains as quietly as possible. There, under the moonlight stood three machines.

No, they’re not machines, Minseok thought to himself. They looked just like humans. But as he looked closer, he noticed something strange about them. And the sound of metals clanging came from them.

Okay, they’re definitely made of metals, Minseok confirmed. But still, it was still a bizarre to him because they looked too much like humans. It wasn’t anything that he had seen before. They don’t look like robots but yet they were. Minseok peered in closer to see what those strange creatures were.

He heard soft chattering and hushed whispers. It was as if the machines were communicating among themselves; which robots never do. They only followed orders. They never had a mind of their own.

Maybe those do, Minseok thought in horror. They talked and moved around like humans do. And all of them were wearing modern clothes just like humans. Their hair looked real too. Minseok wondered if he had mistaken them as machines. But when they turned around, he heard the creak of the hinges within their bodies. It was not loud enough for any ordinary people to hear, but it was loud enough for Minseok.

He watched as the eyes of the machines shone and reflected lights as they moved around, as if searching for something. Minseok quickly closed his windows and hid out of sight. He felt a tingle ran down his spine. He had thought that it was all over, so what were those machines doing here?

“I have to warn the others,” he whispered as he grabbed his jacket and slipped out of the front door.