If there was ever a time in Jongin’s life when he simultaneously felt like he might vomit from pure excitement and that he might scream from utter confusion, this would be that time.

It took a while for the android to calm down, its giggles still ringing in Jongin’s ears as he sat there dumbfounded by it. The android still looked far too amused for a piece of machine while it sat there on the edge of Jongin’s bed, waiting for Jongin to say something or anything really, because it was starting to get a bit… bored.

“My sensors are telling me that I am experiencing the emotional equivalent to human boredom,” it said after a while, “Will you get off the floor? You look…” it looked as though it were thinking, perhaps attempting to retrieve data before its eyes brightened, “You look silly.”

Jongin blinked at it a few seconds before scrambling off the floor. Everything about this situation, he supposed, was a bit silly. He figured as much since he was still sitting where he had fallen about ten minutes ago in fear and had proceeded to sit there, contemplating in depth about… Well, just about everything. Life, work, technology… Everything spun around in his mind, making him feel dizzy.

“What you said,” Jongin cleared his throat, it came out hoarse and sounded scratchy, “About what you’re called-”

“My name?” The android corrected, “What about it?”

“Name,” Jongin repeated, exasperated, “Yes, your name, it’s-”

“Sehun.”

“No,” Jongin shook his head, “Not… Not that. Your, model number, I guess it was…?”

It blinked and then grinned, “Unit OSH-94. Identification number 00.”

“Yes, that.” Jongin scratched his head as he began to pace in front of the android, “What does…” he took a deep breath, stopping in his tracks as he finally collected his thoughts, “What does OSH-94 stand for?”

“Oh,” It hummed, “That’s easy. Observational Sensory-”

“Humanoid.” Jongin finished for it and it cocked its head to the side.

“How do you know that?” It asked slowly, still smiling.

“What does the 94 stand for?” Jongin countered its question with a question of his own and it flustered.

“I- I don’t…” it scratched its head, somehow looking confused, “I don’t know.”

Jongin sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, “What do you know?”

“A lot of things.” It grinned, gripping the edge of the bed as it thought, “But I do not know your name.” it said cheekily and Jongin frowned.

“Jongin,” he sighed eventually and he watched in amazement at the way that the android’s lips formed a small ‘o’ shape as if it had realized something… Which was weird, because, it’s a machine - it can’t possibly realize things the same way that humans do. And yet the expression on its face said otherwise.

It was like someone had programmed facial quirks that often humans make, even if they don’t realize that they’re making them, specifically for this machine. And Jongin was flabbergasted to say the least, because he and Yifan had been discussing more ways to make their invention seem as human as possible and had dabbled in facial expressions as a mere possibility for the future. But here sat this thing and it was capable of more than Jogin ever thought that the now would ever be able to produce, it was incredible, it was-

“Kim Jongin,” it said then suddenly, shocking both itself and Jongin, “Your name is in my memory bank, embedded within my code… But I have never met you.”

“Nor have I met you,” Jongin said after a moment, “How is this possible?”

It chewed its lip, a seemingly nervous habit that suddenly reminded Jongin of Yifan in many ways, “I do not know.”

Jongin frowned, “That was a rhetorical question, OSH-”

“Sehun,” it corrected with a grin.

“...Sehun.”

“What does ‘rhetorical’ mean?” it asked, with something akin to curiosity filling its eyes.

Surprised by the onset of interest in the android, Jongin floundered for an answer, “It’s when… A rhetorical question, is well, a statement. I asked the question, but it was not looking for an answer.”

“Interesting,” it mumbled, before a pink tongue darted from its mouth to wet its lips, making Jongin twitch, “That is very interesting.” it said again before grinning wide, “Jongin?”

Jongin twitched again, his body almost completely jolting at the sound of his name coming from the android, “Yes?”

“What time is it? I would like to reset my internal clocks.”

“Oh,” Jongin said dumbly before looking at his pocket watch chained to his trousers and tucked away in his pocket, “It is 12:45 in the morning.” he recited and then tucked it away, looking back up at Sehun who appeared a little lost, staring blankly at Jongin until something clicked and it smiled again.

“My time is now readjusted. Which means, I should be tired…” It looked around, “Can I sleep here tonight?”

Jongin nearly snorted in laughter, muffling the noise beneath his hand, “You’re a machine, machines don’t sleep.”

It pouted, “I sleep. I like to sleep, in fact.” it protested and Jongin shook his head, partially amused at the childish behaviour of the android.

“Are you programmed to react this way at a certain time?” Jongin asked in wonder, the entrained tone certainly not going amiss from the robot.

And Jongin watched in absolute astonishment as the thing’s cheeks tinted a colour, more specifically, pink. As if it were... Embarrassed?

“You are teasing me,” It frowned and hid its face behind its hands, “I do like to sleep. Even though I don’t really sleep. I like the state of resting comfortably as much as any normal human might. I am designed to be human-like after all.” it defended before peeking at Jongin between its fingers, “Am I not allowed to enjoy things like you too even if it is simply a reaction to sensors? You react similarly to the sensors in your own body, do you not?”

Jongin gaped and brushed his fingers through his messy fringe, pushing it back from his forehead, “That is different.”

“Not entirely so!” It said, jutting out its bottom lip again in the resemblance of a pout and Jongin could barely contain the smile blooming on his face. It was a smile that made the android smile too. And when it smiled Jongin realized what he was doing and willed the giggly emotion away.

He cleared his throat, “You are talking too much for a thing that is tired.”

“Thing?” It repeated, appalled, “Excuse you! I am an android and I have a gender.”

It was Jongin’s turn to blush now, “I suppose that you have the alikeness of a gender,” he said remembering the accurate detailing beneath its clothing, “But you are a machine, an it.” he explained and its eyebrows furrowed to show Jongin that it was not impressed with what he was saying.

“I am male.” It argued with the pout still adorning its features, “I am not just a copy of a man, I am one.”

Jongin sighed, there seemed to be no getting through to this thing, “Whatever pleases you, I guess.”

“You do not believe me,” it sounded sad, rejected, hurt, “I am a boy, Jongin-ssi. Please, refer to me as a boy from now on. I am not an it. And I am definitely not a girl by any means.”

There was a moment of silence before Jongin groaned in defeat, he was far too tired to argue with him and definitely too mentally exhausted to deal with anything else he planned to surprise him with, “Alright, Sehun.”

Sehun beamed a bright smile, brighter than any other, at the sound of his name, his actual name, “Thank you, Jongin-ssi!” he grinned and then swung his legs up onto the bed, “Shall I sleep here tonight then? I am awfully tired.”

“That is- Ah- My bed,” Jongin said slowly and the android or Sehun or whatever - Jongin was starting to lose his freaking mind - cocked its- his head to the side as if inquiring.

“And…?” Sehun prompted, “There is space for two.”

“I do not think that is a good idea, Sehun,” Jongin sighed, “I don’t think that we will both fit.”

Sehun furrowed his brows again and stared directly at Jongin, studying him intently from head to toe and then he smiled softly, “Your dimensions are a good fit for the space next to me, Jongin-ssi, we can both lay here comfortably without any issue.”

Jongin blinked in shock and felt his body grow hot all over - had that machine just studied him for his measurements?

“You!” he gasped and Sehun pouted, his shoulders dropping.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“You-” Jongin gasped in exasperation as he tried his best to collect himself, “You… You just sleep there. I will take a few blankets and sleep on the floor.”

Sehun shrugged, “Suit yourself, Jongin-ssi.”

Jongin huffed, rubbing his temples - he felt the onset of a headache, “Just call me Jongin.” he sighed.

“Okay,” Sehun giggled, “Just Jongin.” he said and then he giggled again a little louder, probably laughing at his own joke.

Because androids can make jokes.

And they can laugh.

And they can feel tired.

Yes, of course.

They can feel plenty of things, obviously, and Jongin really should have known better.

Jongin sighed to himself, loudly, turning over on the floor to his other side, facing away from the bed to keep the android, Sehun, out of his sight. He fluffed his pillow slightly again and then closed his eyes, wondering if perhaps he had been stuck in some strange dream all night long. Perhaps when he woke up all of this would have just been a dream and maybe he’s really still sleeping at the Academy in his office and Jongdae is seeping a few feet away from him with his head propped on a pile of books.

But maybe that was just wishful thinking on Jongin’s part.

And certainly it was.

Because when Jongin woke up again that morning, he found himself in the arms of something soft and warm, on the floor of his bedroom. A pillow slipping from beneath his head and two blankets covering him, making him feel warm and cozy even though he knew that the floor was cold.

“Kyungsoo?” Jongin croaked sleepily and the responding sound was anything but expected.

“Good morning, Jongin!”

That voice, that surprisingly high pitched voice, it belonged to -

“Sehun!” Jongin squealed surprised, “What are you doing?” he asked as he tried to simultaneously pry himself away and turn to look at the… uh… at him.

“You looked cold,” Sehun said simply, his arms falling away from Jongin’s waist, “I know that hugs can make you feel warm, so I thought I would try that...” he blinked a few times, unsure, “Was I wrong?”

“N-No,” Jongin shook his head, “Not wrong, just… It was unexpected of you.”

“Ah,” Sehun pouted, “It was a surprise you did not like then.”

Jongin almost laughed, “Pardon?”

“When I was back in the laboratory, the scientist often said things like ‘unexpected’ or ‘unforeseen’ when they were talking about me and they always sounded disappointed…” he sighed, “Have I disappointed you?”

“Oh, no!” Jongin reassure him, “You are certainly no disappointment, Sehun, you… You’re rather incredible, if I must say.”

Sehun’s white cheeks turned red almost instantly, “You think so?”

Jongin nodded, “You’re advanced for your time.”

“Thank you, Jongin-ssi…” Sehun said shyly, looking away from Jongin.

Jongin watched in partial amusement as the android, Sehun, flustered shyly before he pulled himself up off the floor. His body ached all over from the hardwood and his neck felt stiff, but he was warm at least. He wondered, where in the world, Sehun could have learned these things. It seemed almost impossible that all of these little quirks could be programmed into a machine such as thing one. It did not compute in Jongin’s mind and he was oh so very curious about Sehun’s inner workings.

After telling Sehun that, no, no he cannot come down for breakfast, because Sehun, you’re an android and androids do not eat, Jongin trudged down the stairs. Sehun had agreed with a slight annoyed tone that he would stay in Jongin’s room on his bed and maybe even read a few books while the other was gone. Jongin had merely rolled his eyes and told Sehun to do whatever he pleases so long as he doesn’t leave the room. Sehun, reluctantly, agreed.

Jongin joined Chanyeol at the breakfast table, looking as if he hadn’t slept a wink. Chanyeol stretched out his back and cracked it with an unforgiving cracking noise that made Jongin shudder. Then the elder proceeded to do the same with his knuckles before picking up the daily newspaper. On the front, there was some story about a recent issue at a local factory where the workers had lost a great portion of their very important, very expensive stock.

“Where is that factory?” Jongin asked, pointing at the front page and Chanyeol shrugged without answering, nodding towards his morning coffee that he had not yet consumed.

Jongin snickered as he poured himself a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice - Kyungsoo’s ability was amazing as ever. He remembered a time when Kyungsoo could barely squeeze an orange hard enough to produce a drop of juice, because he had been so small and weak. It was adorable, then, when he had grown a few years and was finally able to produce half a glass, giving it to Jongin right away to taste it. And Jongin had had to swallow the pulp down, forcing it before he nearly gagged. He hadn’t the heart to tell Kyungsoo, with his wide, wondering eyes, that he hated pulp at the time, but Kyungsoo seemed to have figured it out since.

Chanyeol made the most obnoxious slurping noises as he chugged down his coffee, the steam fogging up his circle-rimmed glasses. He place the mug down with a clinking noise, all that was left in the bottom was a thin layer of sugar, since Chanyeol liked his coffee extra sweet. He stretched out again, legs knocking against the chairs at the other side of the table, yawning and rubbing his eyes as he did so before taking off his glasses and setting them on top of his folded newspaper.

“Morning,” he said finally and Jongin laughed at that a little too loud, a little too awkward, a little too nervous.

Chanyeol shuddered, “Why are you so chipper this morning? It sounded like you were up so late last night after Siwon left and then I heard you grumbling and shouting and some more awfully loud noises that kept me up all night long. So why are you in such a good mood?” he asked in annoyance and Jongin shrugged.

“Overtired, I guess.” he admitted and Chanyeol sighed heavily.

“Siwon came by with the key, didn’t he?” Chanyeol asked as he poured up another mug of coffee from the pot sitting between himself and Jongin, “How did that go?”

Jongin shifted uncomfortably in his chair, trying to come up with an answer, “I mean, it is something that requires fixing. So I suppose it will take a while before I can get it into its proper working condition,” he answered vaguely, but Chanyeol accepted the response.

“Sounds like you have quite a lot of work ahead of you, Jonginnie,” Chanyeol mused as he threw in the old nickname for good measure and Jongin scrunched up his nose to show his dislike, though it was in pure jest.

“So,” Jongin said, tapping the newspaper, “The factory?”

“Ah, yes,” Chanyeol hummed, linking his fingers together, “It is fairly close by. I believe it is towards the city. One of the Byun Factories, I believe, works off of the radar. Not many people are seen coming or going in or out of that place. Quite the secretive location and there is a rumor that they are not a true factory. Regardless, there is a belief that there was a recent breakin and some of their goods were stolen.”

“That sounds… Vague.”

“I agree. They have made no statement about the amount of good lost or stolen, nor have they made any notion to identify a suspect. When one publicly releases news like this for the front page, you would expect better coverage. But, as I said, that particular factory owned by the Byun family has been operating in silence for years.”

“Seems rather odd, though.”

“It is! Truly odd. No one really knows what to be keeping an eye out for, but I would like to assume if the company has actually released a few of these statements, then it is something we ought to know about it. The head of the place as refused to release any words on anything for the longest time, until now. One must wonder what it is that they’re hiding.”

“Curious… But, the Byun family… That must include-”

“Byun Baekhyun,” Chanyeol confirmed taking a long sip of his coffee, “The one and only.”

“Byun Baekhyun,” Jongin hummed, “And he still courts Kyungsoo?” Chanyeol nodded and Jongin hummed again thinking of all the wealth that someone like Baekhyun could provide for his childhood sweetheart.

The two friends fell into silence once more, Chanyeol taking up his newspaper to continue his reading before opening up shoppe for the day and Jongin taking to lazily stirring a cup of tea, losing himself in his thoughts. It was a quiet morning and Jongin wished to apologize for all the racket he had caused, but he could not quite explain himself just yet.

How could he? He could barely wrap his own mind around what was happening. The very existence of Sehun baffled him and challenged everything he thought he knew and understood about the world. He could hardly imagine what sort of reaction Chanyeol or Kyungsoo might have to the android’s capabilities. A sigh escaped him before he caught someone’s eye.

“Oh,” Kyungsoo exclaimed surprised as he entered the dining room, “Jongin, you’re awake.”

“I am,” Jongin said with a smile, “This orange juice is delicious,”

Kyungsoo blushed, “I should make you something to eat,” he mumbled as he turned to leave, but Jongin was quick to grab his wrist.

“You have been avoiding me,” Jongin whispered, quietly enough that Chanyeol could not hear, and Kyungsoo stiffened.

“I did not intend to,” Kyungsoo whispered back, his bottom lip quivering as he turned his sad eyes to look at Jongin, “I do not wish for you to leave, I know I am selfish, but I do not want you to go.”

Jongin opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off suddenly by another, more high pitched, voice. All chirpy and happy and Jongin was ready to shoot him.

“Where is Jongin going?”

Kyungsoo and Chanyeol snapped their heads immediately in the direction of the extra voice. Jongin could barely get a word in for an explanation before Sehun opened that mouth of his again.

“Are you going somewhere, Jongin?”

SIlence filled the room and Sehun stood there, looking confused, as everything stared at him. Chanyeol felt that this face looked familiar… As if he had seen it before, as if he knew this boy from somewhere. And then it clicked. This boy had already been acquainted to himself once before and he certainly knew that this was no mere boy.

Chanyeol blinked, placing the newspaper down on the table, “Jongin,” he said cautiously, “Is that it?”

Kyungsoo gasped, his hands flying to his mouth to cover the shock, but the rate at which his eyes went from wide to wider was an alarming giveaway to his complete surprise. It. He realized that this was the project, the thing that Jongin had spoken of, the thing he had once before seen… But, the horror that befell him was not of the technology the android was capable of, but of the simple fact that it worked. Jongin could leave now, go back to the Academy… Leave Kyungsoo behind again...

Sehun frowned at Jongin and took a deep breath before breaking the silence, “You told them I was an ‘it’?”

Jongin laughed awkwardly, struggling to stand himself up on his two legs, because they suddenly felt like jelly, “Kyungsoo, Chanyeol,” he said softly as if he spoke any louder, his two dear friends might break, “Meet OSH-94. Also known as, Sehun.”

UHHHHHH. I can explain why this is so late. It's this thing called school that is literally eating me alive... TBH the struggle is real and, as sad as it is to say, there's not much of an audience for this fic, so it tends to fall to the back of my mind. I'm going to try a new system though, where I post a new update once every two weeks (I'm thinking every second saturday), but the updates will be shorter (like this one or maybe even smaller) in length. With the new dates system, I'm hoping that I can get back on track and post more regularly. We'll see how this goes! In the meantime, I am very sorry the late update!!! Big thanks to my subs who are still reading, your patience is incredible.
xo, TadaChi

PS: this is way, way unedited, because I don't even have time to do that anymore haha help me ;~;