After the dinner party success, Daniel soon joined Leo more often around the company. At first, it seemed to frustrate Doctor Jung, not wanting the robots to get too close with one another. But even he was able to see the difference in Daniel through their connection. Without any added software, Leo’s influence was enough to help Daniel produce his own thought. In the office, if something didn’t sit well with the robot, he wouldn’t immediately push it away now, even going as far as to speak back to one of the staff members who had treated him like a sentient being with no feelings. It surprised everyone around him, and I think even Daniel was shocked too. From that moment, Daniel suddenly had more of a presence in the office and no longer was seen as the invisible character unless they needed something.

It made me proud to know that Leo had spurred this behaviour on.

And when Younha all but jumped me the very next morning, dragging me into her office, I knew there had to be further changes that had blown her mind. Glancing around the room as if there were spies about, she then huddled closer to me, her eyes wide. “Can we talk privately?”

“I don’t think it could get any more private than this, unni.”

She smiled weakly and then grabbed my hands in hers. “Promise me you won’t hate me and have any disrespect for me if I tell you this. I’m still your boss but you cannot get awkward with me, okay? I just have no one else to tell this to.”

“Okay?” I agreed slowly, frowning a little at her precursor. She nodded rapidly and then took in a deep breath.

“He’s changed.”

“I know, I’ve been seeing him in the office and how he spoke with Minjae-”

“No, I mean, oh god how do I announce this? Last night, he initiated it. He never has! And he was so different.”

Oh, so that was what she meant. I wondered why I wasn’t entirely embarrassed to hear of my boss and her Kboy being intimate, but from how close we had gotten in the past few days, it seemed natural and instead I offered for her to continue. Younha’s face relaxed momentarily, although she soon became quite animated.

“It was like he was out of control! Instead of following the usual dialogue and me starting it, Daniel was babbling on about feeling something new inside of him at how he stood up for himself more than once this week, and how Leo had congratulated him for having his own thoughts and believing in them. And then he said how much he had been thinking about me, and suddenly we were…”

We both shared a knowing expression and I nodded. “Was it that overwhelming?”

“I guess because you’ve never been around a Kboy, you don’t know how repetitive everything can be. I get why Sohyun has so many face-ups on hers just so it doesn’t grow stale. And sure they install patches with added features, but we as the owner are always in control. We dictate how fast, how slow, how long-”

“Okay, I understand!” I cut in and she apologised meekly. “This is great news though, right? I mean, you were complaining he was one dimensional. Now he’s got a little more to him.”

“We’re not letting Leo be erased. Let’s present this change to the team. Honestly, if he can influence one Kboy to consider more than what he’s programmed to do, think of how advanced Leo must really be! And we know he won’t do anything to harm the well-being of our bots, so I think it would be a crime to let Leo’s abilities disappear like this. We need to get our hands on another robot to add to our collection.”

Precisely then we watched Sohyun walk past the office, sharing a smile before dragging the girl into the office and shutting the door firmly.

We didn’t have many days left until Leo’s scheduled demise. Gunhee had been keeping us in the loop of the plans, and with Sohyun’s introduction to the team, we now were three robots strong in proof that what Leo was capable of doing could be done so without the loss of what he had learned. And even though the timing was brief, Doyoung responded well to both Leo and Daniel’s interaction.

Okay so maybe they had gotten a little too excited discussing what pizza toppings they would have if they could ever eat, still, it made them more human-like.

And that was what the science team wanted for Kboys.

As Leo and I laid in bed the night before the meeting with Doctor Jung, I felt a small bout of despair. Would it all work? We had all planned everything so well that I really knew we could present our case to the science department well. But Doctor Jung still called the shots. I didn’t own Leo and he did. Knowing this made me uneasy and sleep evaded me, even with Leo’s fingers running through my hair.

“Stop worrying,” he soothed and I sighed. Kissing my forehead, he shifted closer. “We’ll fight him.”

“He’s not a bad person, Leo.”

“He’s not my favourite person either,” he retorted and I turned to see him smile. “You know I don’t think I’ve been this happy before.”

“Well it’s been pretty hectic with all the stuff you’ve been doing, you must feel pretty fulfilled.”

Leo nodded. “Today Daniel told me he looked up the meaning of best friend in depth and has decided I am his. It made me feel really special. To have a best friend. To be a hyung to both him and Doyoung, to have a role in their existence too. It must have been so lonely for them, especially Doyoung. Imagine sitting at home waiting for your owner to come back and play with you for a few hours and then leave again. I couldn’t do it. I have too many desires, too many goals that I want to achieve.”

“Like?” I asked, nestling into his side so he couldn’t see the tears welling in my eyes. He knew they were there though, and I tried to distract myself by kissing his bare chest lightly.

“Seeing the change in Kboys. Helping them understand they don’t have to live so confined. That they have the ability to evolve into someone, not something. To assist the world of humans. To tell humans when they’re wrong, when they’re unfair. To celebrate their successes. And to see many years at your side, developing with the customisation team a way to mature my appearance as you age. AI has so much potential to complete a person’s world, don’t you think?”

“You’ve completed mine,” I managed to say through my tears, reaching up to cup his cheek in my hand. “Leo, I love you.”

“I love you so much; it’s amazing my brain hasn’t fried.”

“Don’t joke about things like that,” I said with a laugh all the same and nestled back into him.

Maybe tomorrow would go better than I hoped. Especially if he spoke just like he had to me. Doctor Jung would have to see Leo now is better than the data they’ve collected. They didn’t need a new start, just the right person to lead them into success.

In some twist of fate, convincing Doctor Jung was easier than I had expected. I had antagonised for so long over his reaction, and he had given in so easily. Perhaps he had wanted to test us all one more time. I started to wonder if his adamant behaviour about me not telling Leo was because he knew he’d find out, and actually challenged us to prove another side to Leo that he had gotten the inkling of during the experiment.

Leo’s placement at Kboys became permanent in the science department. Over the next two months, the strategic plans were constructed, and further tests with other Kboys were implemented. The science team grew, not with humans but with fellow Kboys, even the “broken” Jung Jinyoung was now an asset to the team with his sensitivity and deeper understanding of the heart. And although some might have feared an uprising of Kboys against the humans, they were soon seen to be beings that could relate well and understand the dynamics in power. Leo never pushed any harder than he had to and listened well when required. A new age of robotics was right around the corner.

And as much as it pained me to watch him leave, seeing his excitement of having his first sense of identification to fly on a plane was worth it. Leo was off to New York for his first convention. From New York, he went to London, Dubai, Tokyo and then finally back into my arms in Seoul. It was hard having such a popular boyfriend. He was doing so well though, learning new things about robots that he could bring to Kboys, but also offering the world amazing insight into what it was like to be essentially superhuman. He helped many Kboys that soon started attending his lectures, ringing to let me know when they told him they had jobs or meet-ups with fellow Kboys. It could have had a negative impact on society, but there was a wide acceptance that their feelings had equal placing in our world.

Everything was just too perfect.

And that’s why I wasn’t prepared for the worst.