Higher and higher,

the pride that we always boast

Farther and farther,

we eventually get lost

01.

Kim YuHwan was proud of himself. Pride swelled up from his chest, and boasted it did. The lights from the ceiling was illuminating the whole room. His eyes altered and scanned through every person in this room.

He knew all of them. Maybe not all their faces, but he knew all of their names. Names, and titles. Kim YuHwan, of course, remembered all of it. All because he needed to.

The music from the holo-band came to an end. Song, his secretary nodded, asking him to come forward and YuHwan stood up. Everyone in the room noticed his movement and they stopped the feast they were having. Nothing could be more important than this.

The man stepped up to the stage and gave his bow, before he walked to the centre of the stage and properly stood behind the levitating circle. A bright red circle that would be invisible to most eyes but YuHwan could see it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor to gather all together today, as an advance celebration for the 80 years of our beloved nation," He started, "and I, Kim YuHwan would like for everyone of us to have a great night, like always in here."

Kim YuHwan proceed to read the script that was shown on the hologram screen in front of him. None of the guests could see it, since a barrier was placed in between the stage and the rest of the ballroom. The barrier was also invisible, but you could caught on it if you look at a certain angle. Kim YuHwan made sure that none of his guest would know the fatal point of the barrier, of course.

"Our nation, became the first nation to do a revolution against the upcoming apocalypse of humanity and we, only we, managed to break through it." His smile came out a lot more natural than it did when it was his rehearsal time.

All of the people in the ballroom clapped. Some did unconsciously as they continued to do other things, some did with shoulders up high, while some did out of respect. The man did not care about anything. He was too proud to care about how the others would react to.

He then continue reading the script and somehow figured out along the way that the world was changing. YuHwan was not one to complain about that.

Chatters thrown from one to another after his speech came to an end, and he grabbed the chance to fix his demeanor. He needed to try his best to look noble. That would at least made people realize he stood here for a reason.

Actually, he shouldn't be worried about that. Nearing the ceremony of the 80 years memoriam of the day the nation was built, Kim YuHwan and all of his shadows were ready to prove how great they are. Ready, for another great revolution to be made.

"Mister Kim," Kim YuHwan recognized the voice from his in-ear as his personal secretary's. And he also figured out in less than a second of what was happening, "we have a slight problem."

Huh. He should've just became a fortune teller.

The smile on his face didn't fade just yet. He tried his best to keep it straight and thin, not too bright but maybe, somewhat assuring. The man glanced at his left and spotted his secretary at the corner of the room, in front of the door that will led them to the private area of the building.

"We couldn't operate E-56."

Out of all the people working for this business, Yuhwan was the one who expected this to happen the most. Didn't mean he would like for it to actually happen. He gave a curt nod in Song's direction before he cleared his throat to garnered the distracted guests and it successfully did. All pair of eyes were on him, ready to follow every move he'd do and every words he'd say.

"Our honorable guests, the diner is coming to an end very soon, and to celebrate what our ancestors did for every each of us now," Ah. They're going for the plan B, of course. Kim YuHwan was fortunately a good actor, and somewhat trustful looking behind his glassy smile, "We'd like to present a little gift in the memory of what happened 80 years ago."

"80 years was a long time, though it felt like a blink of an eye," Song's gaze wavered and YuHwan knew that the secretary wanted him to fasten up his speech and came to a certain room. Kim YuHwan didn't knew why though. And also, he could always decide for himself.

"But for us, 80 years was a generous time given by the God to make ourselves a heaven on earth and save our self. And so, we shall, always remember our history, and our great ancestors."

The crowd was clapping, all in unison. Ha, noble people. YuHwan looked on his left yet again, only to see that his secretary was nowhere. He was an impatient man and YuHwan could only sighed softly.

"Everyone, have a great night, and enjoy yourself in our pleasure." The lights dimmed until it was all dark and Kim YuHwan hurried off the stage as the screen finally played the movie he was talking about.

The deer-like man slipped out from the room easily, with the barrier restricting anyone to see him. He found himself in the hall he had seen every day, but more than unusual, it was dark. Did Song not turn the lights on?

He tried to wave his hand up in the air but to no luck, the lights were dead. Did someone cut off the electricity? No. How could one person knew about the system the government had so secretly made?

"Song," To no avail, his secretary didn't answer him.

Unlike a coward, he walked straight, knowing clearly the path ahead of him. He turned to his right and there, he could clearly see the door of that room; the door that was slightly open.

Oh. So, Song was there.

"Song Li," YuHwan was ready to rant over to his secretary. After all, they were close enough to do a rather improper talk such as those, "How dare you come here and leave me all alone-"

He stopped. Was stopped by no one, not Song Li, no one.

No one was there. Not even his most prized possession - the nation's revolution key.

02.

"Your name is Baek. And you need to run with me. Now."

Her stare on the mirror intensified. And it lasted for a few seconds until she broke it with a sigh and her gaze softened up.

The current water sound was distracting so she held her hands up above the sink, and the water stop flowing from the hose.

No matter how much she practiced her line, the short girl believed that she'd forget it when she could finally face him. Ah. That was if she could really get to him.

She took her breath slowly and pulled her mask over her nose. Why was she doing this again? She thought to herself. The back of her mind knew the answer pretty well, so she didn't bother to answer it.

The petite girl dusted off her clothes, the formal white shirt and maroon suit, along with the pants that have matching color with her suit, of course. She looked neat, though definitely less noble than the usual with the black mask covering half of her face and the red wig covering her real hair.

Exiting the empty restroom, she found herself in the hallway that looked deserted. None of the guards were there. It seemed like everyone's guards were also inside the ballroom, preventing any fault that could happen at the important ceremony.

Oh. They just didn't know their biggest accident would happen right with her.

The moment she stepped a foot in the ballroom, she kind of regret it. The whole plan seemed so difficult now, knowing just how much security the government had put for this special event. It was already a fortunate thing that she could even went inside the building, but now how was she supposed to do it?

The faces she saw was all familiar, she could recognized the faces that she saw years ago instantly and some of them, she could recognized them from the TV.

Of course, the one she was most familiar with was the man standing on the centre of the stage. Well, everyone knew him too.

Kim YuHwan, he is. The man in his thirties was the current 'Minister' in the control of their nation. He was born a genius in such a shallow world, resulting him to be one of the biggest factor of the nation's fast development in the past few years. Not only that, he was definitely the most respected figure in every part of the nation.

She met him once and he was definitely more than all glorious, his presence itself was already defeating for her.

The girl walked up to the front, but slowly as a lot of people who didn't get seats were standing and it was packed. She couldn't walk that fast either in her heels.

A few guards stared at her suspiciously but she knew better than anyone to not seemed nervous, so she just walked with her shoulders high, and chin up, bursting confidence.

Now, she only needed to get to the front corner of the room. She needed to get behind that door, though no one could probably see the door. She too, could not but she knew there was one that was perfectly hidden within the walls.

She was almost there when someone held her back. The girl turned around and saw an unknown man that was dressed in all black. The guards. She flinched.

"Who are you?"

The girl took a look at her surroundings before she eventually spotted a certain person, one that could covered her identity without that person knowing.

"I am Mr. Nam KiJoon's assistant. He's that man over-" She was about to point at the old man she was talking about but the guards already went back to his original position after hearing half of her answer.

Well, that's better.

She took this as her chance and glides over until she was just in front of the barrier. Of course there would be a barrier, though she's not where it's really placed.

She spotted another familiar figure right in front of the door. Kim YuHwan's secretary. How was she supposed to get past the man?

She looked around for a blink of second but when she looked at her front, the man had already disappeared. Did he went in?

Not to waste any more time, she held her card in front of her chest before she walked forward and the run, when she knew Kim YuHwan was still distracted before she slipped behind the door as it said,

Kim Taeyeon, access granted.

03.

A walk straight through the hallway, and turning right once had led her to a door made from glass. She tried to knock it but to no avail, no sound was made.

Indeed. Their security had been really tight. Taeyeon was sure that the door in front of her was bulletproof and still, it was made out of hologram.

She held her card in front of the door, but instead of opening it, a holo-screen popped out in front of her face.

Ah. Password. She didn't came here unprepared. She had made a lot of guess when it came to the password and she was sure of it. The date of Kim YuHwan's first speech, the day her friend disappeared from her sight.

Taeyeon punched the numbers in and much to her luck, the door opened right after.

No one was there. Weird, she thought. Where's Kim YuHwan's secretary?

The room was empty, beside the bed in the middle of the room. There, laid a person as if it was dead. Skin pale blue under the bright light that was placed right above the body.

Nothing else was there.

Taeyeon pulled out the gun from her suit, and positioned herself. What if all of this was a trap to get her?

What if Kim YuHwan knew someone was going to take away his masterpiece?

Odd it was. Taeyeon already reached the centre of the room, right beside the bed, but still, nothing was coming to get her.

Good though.

She diverted her attention to the body and a gasp escaped her lips the moment her eyes laid on it.

How could it be?

Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes. She chose to just close it. How can this thing in front of her had the exact same appearance as her friend?

"Baek..."

It was uncontrollable. The memories that flooded her thoughts the moment she saw him. Him, in one way or another.

Taeyeon was sure she'd cry right there and then, if not for a voice joining her, "What is Baek?"

Her eyes shot open in an instant. She looked at him and realized that the guy had his eyes open now, full opened and his face showed confusion.

He sound exactly like him.

How in the world is this possible?.

"What is Baek?" The guy asked again and his fragile and pale hand reached out to hold hers, though of course her instinct acted first and she jumped back a few steps from him.

"W-what?" Her voice came out squeaky but he didn't catch that apparently.

The guy sat up and Taeyeon was about to aimed her gun at him but he stopped right after. The guy was groaning in pain the next second. He touched his forehead and winced at the same time. Was he not ready to be operated?

She was worried, period.

What if he maltifunctioned all of a sudden and she couldn't bring him out of this place?

Her train of thoughts was put to a stop when he suddenly looked up at her and muttered, "Someone is approaching us."

Taeyeon, of course, if that isn’t obvious, could not hear anything nor did she.

The glint in his eyes read out the fact that he was anticipating of what her decision would be, or as if he was expecting her to act rashly. He was trying to look through her.

"Run." It's not even a statement, she was telling him to run.

Ridiculous. Even for her, it felt like her shoes were stuck on the cold marble floor.

It was stupid but what she didn't expect is for him to actually approach her and grab her hand, before he dragged her across the room before he stopped in front of the only window in the room.

"A piece of advice, there's no place to run. Jump."

Her eyes widened at his suggestion. Was he crazy? How could he easily tell her to jump off a building when they're on like, the 7th floor?

"Are you crazy? This is the 7th floor-"

"Song?" The sound was so tiny, since the only thing that let them hear is the small gap she left on the door (because she knew there might be a turn back event at some point) but she could hear it clearly.

That'd definitely be Kim YuHwan. She recognized his gentle voice in an instant.

The guy beside her once again gestured her to jump and somehow, without a doubt and with the help of frustration and devastation, Taeyeon closed her eyes and with a swift movement, jumped out of the window.

She fell quick, and the wind hitting on her back wasn't exactly the nicest thing to feel.

And then it stopped. Nothing came. Not even the pain that she expected to hit her fast when she was on the ground. Or maybe, she still hadn't touch it yet.

Her predictions came true the moment she opened her eyes. Finding yourself up in the air in the height of at least two building storeys ain't the best thing, once again so she shouted once.

And that's also when she realized, someone was holding her hand up from above. Was it- "Are you okay?

It was definitely him. Wait, was he above her? Wait- was he the one holding her now? More than anything, were they not yet falling? She was freaking out and was on her full panic mode- did he expected her to answer?

Trying to look up above turns out not to be a good solution for her. She could barely make out what's happening up there except the fact that someone was holding onto the windowsill for their dear life. That would be him, definitely.

Twice. Twice she had a reality check.

He was not a human like her.

"I'll drop you in 5 seconds. Don't freak out if you don't want to get hurt."

Her brain, proceeded way too slow for her liking. After 5 seconds passed, she was already free falling with a rather unconscious mind - had her soul finally left body?

Taeyeon closed her eyes and assured herself that she won't die in the short amount of time. The fall was slow, way too slow as if she was actually carried by the arms of the wind.

She didn't die.

It felt so surreal when her foot touched the ground. Her wobbly knees gave up and she fell to the ground the exact same second he fell beside her.

Though, of course, his body supported him freely. Taeyeon didn't want to know how.

A hand appeared in front of her face and she looked up. There he stood, and all the waves of nostalgia surfed right into her memories.

How.

"Come on! Do you want to get caught or-" His voice was blocked off from her ears. She was in doubt - doubt of whether she'd still take him away.

Maybe the man in front of her was the same guy who could always tell what's on her mind and not a masterpiece one human created. That's all she could think when he said, "Take me away. Just take me to wherever you want to go."

Taeyeon hated herself for thinking that she needed to save him, after all.

04.

"Baek... is that my name?"

They were sitting, facing each other, separated by the table in between the two of them. The dim light made the whole thing seemed gloomier but Taeyeon was not even sure of what to say.

He's different, she thought. He's not him. Not the guy from 5 years ago, not the guy she had known inside and out perfectly. Not even the real holder of that precious nickname.

But somehow, they matched way too perfectly and though she stood on the ground with a disbelief, it was real.

"Yeah, it's your name." She answered simply.

Well, or maybe she could test it out this way.

Taeyeon wondered when would she able to give up on him completely. The truth she had been searching for years was buried a lot deeper than she thought it did yet like a dog, she never stopped digging that one hole.

She could find it now. With him. She believed she could.

"It's nice." He said and then added, "Baek is a nice name."

Taeyeon could only manage to stutter out a 'yes'.

The rest of the dinner was an awkward situation filled with anonymous silence.

How were they put in this situation? The past hours passed by in a speed of light. Too hard for her to sort out all the crazy things that had been happening in her life.

Crazy. The path that she chose, huh.

Earlier, after they managed to get into the back of the building, Baek - oh, it's official, she's just going to call him Baek anyway - had dragged her away the moment she agreed on him running away with her. Well, that was her purpose too - before she knew that the she was put in was an absolute craziness.

There seemed to be something more, more of what inside his mind. His expression when she was about to decide whether to take him or not was absolutely heart wrenching.

He had told her to take him away. No, not telling her. He was pleading. It was a request from him. And something about him made her agree on what he wanted. So, both of them escaped with his help - his sense of navigation was a gift send by God - and they went to where she parked her car.

She parked her car down the road and after he told her there's no other way out other than climbing, Taeyeon and Baek climbed up the wall - mostly with his help - and they succesfully left the building as they both ran toward the end of the street.

Baek, more than she expected to, was very quick on adapting to the wondrous technology of this century. Seemed like Kim YuHwan was not lying at all when he said this guy who was sitting on her passenger seat was going to be the next key for revolution.

He did not even flinch at the hologram driving panel, nor did he actually jump when the automatic voice assistance when they entered her house. Though, he seemed rather amazed at the building's luxury.

"Is this where you live?" He asked but he was not expecting an answer from her. His eyes were trailing all over the room.

"It's a really nice place."

Taeyeon could not argue with him. It was her hidden place, the resort that she bought with someone's name around 2 years ago. Placed at the edge of the city, near the secluded area of the forest, it was rarely spotted by people.

That's the reason she bought it actually. To hide from people's prying eyes.

Unlike her flat in the heart of the city, this place was decorated with lots of antique stuff and ornaments. Most people threw out stuff from the past since it's already old and the new products from the recent years were definitely better but Taeyeon thought this is the only way to remind herself she's still a human.

Nothing inside the resort was from a hologram, or maybe like the recent products, was a shapeshifting item. The only thing that has high technology was the security - and it was surely needed.

"Yeah, you're going to spend every day here now so I'm glad you like it. I'm sorry I can't bring you to my place though."

Baek absolutely didn't seem to mind it at all. He just smiled and easily, he stated, "Because you need to hide me."

Taeyeon had been confused. Confused, and amused. He caught on it very well. "You're so smart, you know, for the level of the first ever android to be created, I honestly didn't think you'd be this... intelligent."

Baek had shrugged it off earlier though it was noticable how his smile sunken a bit the moment she said 'android'. And that was one of the things that still lingered around her mind. What if he was her friend?

Ridiculous thought. How can her friend become an android?

Her train of thoughts were put to a stop as a clinking sound was heard. Baek had put down both his spoon and fork. Right. They were having a diner. She must have been out of it for a quite few minutes.

"I haven't said this yet to you because I didn't get the chance to," He started and Taeyeon looked up at him. "But thank you. For doing what I ask you to."

She raised her eyebrow, "For taking you to wherever I go?" She must have sound like she's ridiculed. She felt odd though.

Baek nodded simply. He stood up and almost left the room before he added, "And just, for saving me."

05.

Days passed as time flew very quickly. The town was on alert all the time, but Taeyeon didn't even show the slightest hint of panic.

Police had shown up at everyone's doorstep, including hers at one fine afternoon. It was unavoidable as she lived in a prestigious apartment. She was bounded to get investigated.

The exit and entrance were both heavily guarded with the special forces. What amused her was the fact that Kim YuHwan, the minister, had told the people that they were expecting an alliance of breaking through the government with the anniversary right under their nose.

Taeyeon called it bull.

Of course, the only reason the special forces were even put in the front line was because the loss of Kim YuHwan's treasure. The treasure that he so boasted everywhere.

Baek didn't understand. What could an android like him even do? Sure, he knew how intelligent he was compared to human, but what was so special with it?

"I'm going to work!" The holler across the room startled him a bit. The android jumped from his seat before he ran to the living room where Taeyeon was gathering her stuffs.

"Are you coming back late at night again?"

Taeyeon stopped searching her bag for one moment to face him, "Yes, unfortunately. You do know what you should do if someone come over when I'm gone right?"

Baek nodded his head.

Over the days, Taeyeon had told him a lot of things. And for sure, if he still wants to be 'saved' he needed to do it.

"If someone come over and it's not you, I should pretend like no one is here and hide under the bed and then, turn myself off." He said. Taeyeon gave him two thumbs up.

"Don't mess up the house for me," She said for the last time and ruffled his hair before she disappeared behind the metal door.

There was never a need for him to do all of those until now. No one came. Maybe because the place was way too deserted for anyone to notice that there's a ing resort out in the middle of a secluded area.

The work she had was a secret but he was a part of it, that's for sure.

Whenever she'd return from work, Baek would pretend like he was asleep though there was never a need to do it. She'd carry a box filled with tools and before he could even proceed what was going on, she'd turn him off. And the next scene he had was the morning after.

There was no memories that filled the time lapse. It was nothing. No feelings, no emotions, it was just completely... blank.

Though after many nights of the repetation, he got it. It was the same thing the people did with him before. She was trying to figure him out, maybe about his system, maybe of what he was created from, maybe she was trying to break him apart.

No.

She was saving him. She was trying to fix him. Or maybe it was what he had hoped for.

Something about him made him cling onto her. There was a connection between them. Baek was sure of that. What was the connection, he didn't know.

Was he related to her? Did he have any sort of past? How could that be possible when all the things he remembered was his days on that cold room?

What made her different with those people who had created him though? Baek was never much grateful nor thankful for his existence, for the fact that some people took their time to create him.

Was it the fact that it's her? And the way she treated him like... he held something for her. So even if she still fixed him, still doing the same things like those people, he was okay with that.

In the end, he was a mere android.

And that was always on his mind whenever he asked himself the question of his own existence.

That night too, she was home only when the hands of the clock had already past one. Rustling of her feet, and then the sound of her opening the refrigator, before closing it again. He can hear it clearly even when he's in his room, which was placed at the back of the house.

Pretending to sleep was not a hard thing to do. The moment there was a knock on the door, Baek shifted slightly before he completely closed his eyes.

Whether Taeyeon believed him or not, it was none of his business.

She came inside, he had left it unlocked on purpose and she knew it. Of course, Taeyeon also knew that he was not sleeping and he could sense her presence perfectly.

That apparently didn't stop her from approaching him and then it was a lost signal.

She turned him off.

And then she'd begin opening him from his back. The supposed bones, vessels with blood flowing, the supposed skin was not there and instead, it was metal, wires that were connected to each other, it was plastic.

He was only an android.

And Taeyeon cried to herself every night, whenever she saw him like this. She cared for him. And she wanted her friend.

06.

The town was all pink, pink and light orange with a sense of pastel colors even from up there. It seemed that spring had come earlier than what people had forecasted in the daily morning news. Rain, fell more seldom than the previous year - what a buzz, the word is changing way too much. The only way she could know that it was almost spring was the fact that cherry blossom tree had grown.

The clear glass walls allowed her to see the city landscape from above and it was pretty satisfying for her. She had always likes high places. Maybe it's the adrenaline that always rushed through her body when she stood at the edge of the floor and imagining how she could fall if she got knocked over. Or maybe, it was because she was mentally unstable - herself always trying to look for death and all.

"Who are you watching?"

Thoughts could become the reality. She spun around way too fast, her body losing its balance. The click of high heels against the floor as she stumbled was the only sound that reached his ears.

He was fast, fast enough to run and grab her by the waist - pulling her closer enough for him to hold her securely - before her back could even touch the glass and made any of the scenarios she had always like to think about happened for real.

Not like she would fall even so. Taeyeon knew very well that the glass was at least bulletproof. It could definitely hold against her weight. She's light, just saying.

"Oh my god, Taeyeon Kim," Oh, here comes his scolding, "Can you stop standing at the edge for my sake?"

He lets go of her as soon as she steadied herself. Huh. Very amusing of him. There was literally no kind of hetero cliché in their relationship. Unbelievable.

"No. I can't and I won't. Also, in case you're still curious, I'm just watching the city."

The look in his eyes reflected the displeased feeling he probably had. He was never intrigued with the things she liked. Either he deemed it a bore, or he said it was a waste of time. Taeyeon just called him 'a man with no kind of sense' for not liking sight-seeing - like what she was just doing earlier - and shooting.

"Or maybe stop wearing 10 cm heels." He suggested but this time, it was her who gave a disapproving look.

"First thing first, it is my choice-" "And I'm only suggesting-" She glared at him and he was silent once again.

"Second of all, Junho gave me this." She replied curtly this time and his frown was deeper than before.

"Junho? You mean, that who was so obsessed with you?" He asked. Taeyeon didn't know if he was truly concerned or it was pure disgust at the mention of her ex.

"Technically I never met him again since 2 months ago so I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, yeah? I met him 2 weeks ago, and he was following you!"

"You see the wrong person."

"It is not possible for me to forget that head's face." At this point, none of them were backing down. The guy was never the cold headed one and unless it was clear that she didn't like it, he would not back down.

And Taeyeon was used to never lose.

"Junho is a nice guy. Unless that one time he almost-" "And that's where my opinion stands."

She didn't like how he sounds so concerned about her. Sure, they were best friends for around 7 years already - he was her one and only friend since high school if she didn't count all those people who were friends with her for the status - but that didn't mean they had the rights to interfere for things like this.

He had never once cared about her.

"Stop acting like you care about me." She snapped at him and walked forward.

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