Dahyun is right. Tzuyu speaks a lot more human-like now. She's still a little too polite sometimes, but her words are arranged in the most natural way the robot thinks, with no awkward pause in between. And she only gets better as each day passes. Mina's positive that no one would suspect Tzuyu is a robot if they were to go out. Okay. Maybe some would.

 

"I'll see you when I get back, okay?"

 

Tzuyu nods. "Yes. I'll be here." 

 

Mina stops near the door and looks back at Tzuyu's kind smile. Something burns inside her and she sighs, taking a few steps forward towards her. Tzuyu only stares at her when Mina leans in for a hug. Without hesitation the robot hugs her back.

 

"I'm sorry I can't take you out. Jeongyeon wanted to hang out alone." She mumbles into Tzuyu's hoodie, the one that's borrowed from her wardrobe. Mina knows the robot needs her own wardrobe at this point, but seeing Tzuyu in her clothes spreads this unknown warmth in her chest. So...buying new clothes for the robot is delayed until further notice.

 

"It's fine, I understand." 

 

Mina pulls back. "Don't open the door to anyone or let them in, okay? And don't try to clean the house on your own. I know it's a mess but we'll clean it together when I get back. Oh and no trying new recipes. I don't want the house on fire."

 

"Yes. You do not have to worry, Mina. I'll just watch something on Netflix. If that's okay?"

 

"Of course it is! Knock yourself out. You know my password." Mina checks her watch. "Gotta go now. Bye!"

 

When the door shuts, Tzuyu finds herself standing alone in the quiet apartment. "Bye," she says even though she knows Mina wouldn't hear it.

 

It's not Mina's first time going out without her but this time bugs Tzuyu the most. Maybe it's because Mina had promised to watch a TV show with her yesterday. Or maybe it's simply because she doesn't like being away from Mina too much. She's her primary user after all.

 

Tzuyu's eyebrows shoot up when the doorbell rings again. Thinking Mina forgot something, she quickly opens the door.

 

"Dahyun?"

 

"Hi, Tzuyu!" Dahyun throws herself at her, squeezing her tight. Before Tzuyu can reciprocate the hug, she pulls away.

 

"Mina isn't home. She went out to meet–"

 

"Oh I know," Dahyun grins. "I wanted to talk to you."

 

"Me?" Tzuyu shuts the door and follows Dahyun into the living room. 

 

"Yep, you." Dahyun sits down on the couch and takes out a paper-thin tablet from her bag. She presses a button, it powers up. "I have some questions I need you to answer."

 

"It's not that I don't like your company, but Mina said–

 

"Well, Mina isn't here now. And you know me. I'm a user too, no?"

 

"That's true but..."

 

"Listen, it won't take long. And Mina doesn't have to know. I'll be gone before she comes back." Dahyun purses her lips, batting her eyelashes. "Please?"

 

"I–...uh, okay." 

 

It's Dahyun's first time hearing an AI stutter like that. Tzuyu really is unique. She shakes herself out of her thoughts and swipes up on the tablet.

 

Two pictures appear. One is of a masculine body and the other is of a feminine body.

 

"My questions are gonna be purely hypothetical. Tell me your honest answer, okay?"

 

"Okay."

 

"Okay. Now, which form would you have preferred if you were a human?" Dahyun points at the holograms of the two bodies.

 

"Either would have been fine. I don't mind."

 

Dahyun hums, Tzuyu's long stare at the feminine body not going unnoticed. She writes something down and waves her hand at the hologram. This time a picture of Nayeon and a random group of people appear.

 

"In a moment of crisis, you can only save either Nayeon or a group of people that you do not know. Which would you choose?"

 

Tzuyu doesn't think too much on it. "Nayeon."

 

Dahyun smiles, as if she is satisfied with her answer. There's a gleam in her eye that intrigues Tzuyu immensely. "Why? Surely saving more people would be a lot more reasonable than saving one person."

 

"But it's Nayeon..." Tzuyu trails off, confused at Dahyun's question.

 

"Okay, what about this: Mina told you to save the group of people you don't know, instead of Nayeon. What would you do then?"

 

"I... I don't know."

 

Dahyun pushes further. "Why? Your primary user ordered you. You shouldn't even hesitate."

 

Tzuyu looks down. Dahyun can tell how much conflict is in her mind at the moment with bits of her codes clashing in her system, unable to come to a solid conclusion. Before she can overheat, Dahyun waves her hand and the next set of images appear. Both of them different pictures of Mina smiling.

 

"Tell me what you think about her."

 

"Mina." Tzuyu sits up straighter suddenly, her eyes fixed on the images of her primary user. Her hands that are on her lap clench into fists and just for a moment Dahyun thinks she saw a smile. "Mina is...kind. She's strong. And she's warm. Her hugs are warm too. Sometimes when we're hugging, I fear that I may overheat and make her uncomfortable. And when she smiles like this," Tzuyu blinks and hesitates as if she's confused, "there are times... I stop working. My motors shut down for a few seconds. Perhaps my monthly updates weren't properly installed. I will check later."

 

Dahyun smiles.

 

"She is important to me." Tzuyu decides to say in the end, her eyes never leaving the images of Mina smiling.

 

The next question tangles up in Dahyun's throat when she realizes how much more complicated Tzuyu is than she thought. She really does have feelings, Dahyun thinks as she listens to Tzuyu talk about Mina so fondly.

 

"Tzuyu listen," Dahyun starts, her eyes soft and caring, "My questions are purely hypothetical. Remember that. Okay?"

 

Tzuyu nods, finally tearing her eyes away from Mina's pictures to glance at Dahyun.

 

With a shaky sigh, Dahyun swipes and now there's only darkness on the hologram. The room is dark too, when did the lights go out Tzuyu has no idea.

 

"What if," Dahyun speaks, breaking the silence that went on for a few seconds. "What if Mina died?"

 

And just like that Tzuyu freezes. She stops clenching her fists, digging her nails into her thighs instead. Dahyun notices the blank look in her eyes. "Mina won't... die," the robot says, her bottom lip trembling. It's painfully clear she never thought about death before.

 

"What if she did? What if one day, she just left?" Dahyun presses further, after coming this far she wants to see every bit of emotion Tzuyu has and how aware the robot is of what they mean. "What if she doesn't come home today? What if she... never cames back? What would you do if she said she didn't want you here anymore?"

 

"I–" Tzuyu's head robotically turns to one side then the other. "I-I don't– I– M-Mina-" When her voice starts glitching, Dahyun knows she pushed too far. She throws her tablet off her lap and quickly gets up. Sitting down next to the overloaded robot, Dahyun grabs her hand and squeezes.

 

"Shh, shh, Tzuyu look at me,"

 

And Tzuyu does look at her. There are tears swimming in her eyes as she somehow regains her senses at Dahyun's comforting touch. Dahyun watches in awe as the robot cries, the sight breaking her heart but also causing excitement to travel through her veins. Whoever built this robot and wherever Mina bought her from, they weren't ordinary engineers, Dahyun knew that now. Tzuyu is someone's masterpiece.

 

Tzuyu doesn't say anything as tears silently roll down her cheeks, her breaths uneven.

 

"I'm home!" 

 

They hear the front door opening, Mina's heels clacking against the floor. Dahyun's eyes widen as the sound gets closer with each step. Mina wasn't supposed to be back this early.

 

"Jeong cancelled on me last minute. I swear, I agree to go out for once and she does this." Mina enters the living room with a chuckle on her lips and stops dead in her tracks once she sees the two of them. Her smile freezes on her face. "Dahyun?" She frowns.

 

Dahyun stands up. "Mina–" 

 

"What are you two doing?" Mina's eyes are stern as she demands an explanation. She looks at Tzuyu but she has her head down, her hair drawing curtains around her face.

 

"I was just asking Tzuyu a few questions." At the outraged look on Mina's face, Dahyun quickly adds, "Just questions! I swear, nothing else. I was just gathering information for–"

 

Tzuyu grabs Mina's metal arm and looks up. Mina's eyes widen in shock at the expression on Tzuyu's face, a one that she has never seen before. So vulnerable and...hurt. And her tears– "Mina," The tiny whisper stabs Mina's chest so close to her heart that she forgets how to breathe.

 

She sits down with a shaky sigh and wraps her arms around the quietly crying girl, shaken to her core by this sudden dark feeling surrounding her. 

 

"Mina...I'm sorry." Dahyun starts, desperate to explain just a tiny bit more to help her case. "She's–"

 

"Hurt! She's.. hurt, Dahyun." Mina interjects. "Why is she hurt?" She holds Tzuyu closer and presses her lips tightly together. Dahyun opens but Mina doesn't let her speak. "You know what, I don't wanna hear it. Just get out."

 

Dahyun gathers her things and mumbles an apology before she leaves. 

 

"Wow, what a hypocrite." Mina scoffs as soon as Dahyun leaves. "She goes around saying she's devoted to protecting robots and then hurts you like this for her own damn project. How selfish is that?" Mina tenderly caresses Tzuyu's hair. "Pisses me off."

 

Mina knows the project Dahyun's working on is for the robots and their freedom but she could care less about that now. She had to rant. She couldn't believe Dahyun went around her back like that. And made Tzuyu cry? How do you even make a robot cry?

 

Tzuyu snuggles further into her. "Warm."

 

Mina smiles sadly and leans her head against Tzuyu's. "Are you okay?"

 

"Mina," Tzuyu calls her name in the softest way possible, her breath tickling Mina's neck. "Stay warm. Stay with me."

 

"What?"

 

"Stay with me," Tzuyu repeats, this time with more confidence. She pulls back and looks directly into Mina's eyes. "Forever. Please?"

 

Under Tzuyu's unwavering gaze, Mina can hear her heart beating fast in her ears. She bites her lip, bringing her hand up to wipe Tzuyu's tears. "What's this about?" She asks softly and chuckles, as if afraid of the serious atmosphere and the conversation it could bring.

 

Like a kicked puppy, Tzuyu looks down and moves further away from Mina. "Do you still think of me as just a chunk of metal?"

 

She's a robot, Dahyun. She can't have feelings. She's just a chunk of metal.

 

Mina feels this weight pressing down on her chest. She'd thought Tzuyu had forgotten her hurtful words from that day. Mina wishes she had.

 

"No," she breathes out. "Of course not."

 

A few tears escape Tzuyu's eyes and land on her fidgeting hands. "Mina," She calls again, and each time Mina hears Tzuyu say her name like that, so broken, she feels a piece of her heart breaking. "If you want to leave me, I understand. I do not wish to be a burden to you anymore."

 

Tzuyu's tears keep falling silently. She doesn't dare look up at Mina, and waits for her primary user to say something– anything. But Mina's quiet for what feels like hours.

 

"Come here."

 

Tzuyu stops breathing when Mina's steady voice finally reaches her ears. It's surprisingly hard to analyze Mina's thoughts and feelings from her voice this time, unlike the many times Tzuyu has done it before so when Tzuyu looks up she's, perhaps for the first time ever, clueless about what she's going to face.

 

Despite her fears, Mina's eyes are welcoming and there's a small smile lifting the corners of her lips. She has her arms open, waiting for Tzuyu to come back to her. And Tzuyu does, although a bit slowly to make sure she hasn't misunderstood anything. She's always so careful with Mina and Mina feels sad that Tzuyu doesn't trust her enough. But she can't blame her for it. Tzuyu's learning all these emotions and how to deal with them one by one. And without fully grasping the meaning of each emotion, how can Tzuyu learn to trust someone? 

 

She wraps her arm around Tzuyu's waist as her cold metal hand gently combs through the robot's hair. "Listen to me," Mina starts, burying her nose in Tzuyu's hair for a second as she closes her eyes and organizes her thoughts. "I will never, ever abandon you. You're important to me now, more than you realize." She lands a quick kiss on Tzuyu's forehead and looks away, thankful that Tzuyu can't see her blushing face. "So will you please stop crying and forget whatever bull Dahyun told you?"

 

The long silence that follows is like welcoming a dear friend back home as both Mina and Tzuyu bask in it, holding one other and listening to each breath they take.

 

"I have never cried before." Tzuyu mumbles after some time. "This is... most unusual. I will need to do a full scan to asses the possible damage this could have done to my system."

 

"I think you'll be fine, your engineers must have thought it through." At Tzuyu's lack of response and stillness, Mina adds quickly, "But if doing that would calm you down then yes, do it."

 

Tzuyu pulls back, the tear tracks on her cheeks shining silver in the dim lighting of the room as Mina leans forward to wipe them tentatively. Tzuyu's eyes shine bright blue for a few seconds. "Scan complete. No damage detected."

 

"Glad to hear that." Mina smiles as Tzuyu's eyes turn back to normal. "Do you wanna talk about what happened?"

 

"It is not something you should be concerned about. But if it is your demand to know what happened, I can quickly summarize–"

 

"Tzuyu," Mina reaches for her hands. "I'm not demanding anything. It's okay if you don't want to tell me."

 

A few long stares after, Tzuyu nods as if she's done processing the given information. "Please don't be angry at Dahyun over this. She only asked a few questions."

 

"Questions that made you cry." Mina points out.

 

"After listening to you, I realize now that I have overreacted. My reaction was uncalled for."

 

Mina sighs, defeated. "I'll call her later."

 

"Good."

 

Mina takes one last look at the dried up tears on Tzuyu's cheeks and squeezes her hand. "What do you wanna do today? I'm home all day."

 

"Anything is fun with you. I have no requests." The robot says it so casually but it tugs at Mina's heartstrings in a way like none other. She throws her arm around Tzuyu's shoulders and pulls her closer to cuddle.

 

They watch the show Tzuyu secretly was hoping to watch ever since Mina had mentioned it yesterday. Tzuyu feels odd as she looks away from the screen and turns to Mina, observing the girl's striking features. She counts the moles adorning the girl's face and smiles when Mina catches her stare.

 

"What?" Mina asks, a smile she's holding back threatening to spread as she notices the look Tzuyu's giving her.

 

"Your appearance. It's mesmerizing."

 

Mina rolls her eyes before she pushes Tzuyu's cheek so that the robot would face the screen instead of her. "Have you seen yourself," she mumbles quietly, doing a poor job of hiding her happy grin behind her hand.

 

The sudden increase of her primary user's pulse causes Tzuyu to once again stare up at Mina. "BPM: 92 and rising. Are you feeling alright, Mina?" She asks, one hand resting on Mina's chest.

 

"I swear it's like you're teasing me but I know you're not." Mina sighs, touching her red cheeks with her cold metal hand to cool them down. "It's really frustrating."

 

"Frustrating? I... I frustrate you?"

 

Tzuyu's surprised tone is far too amusing to just let this go, so Mina decides its her turn to a bit. "Yes. Very. You frustrate me so much, Tzuyu. I don't know how much more I can handle it."

 

Tzuyu abruptly pulls away from Mina and sits up straight on the couch, the TV show long forgotten as she stares at Mina with a newfound confidence.

 

Mina's eyes widen as she stares right back at Tzuyu with a 'what the hell is going on' look. 

 

Tzuyu takes off her hoodie.

 

Mina immediately covers her eyes with her hands and yells, "What are you doing?!"

 

"I wasn't aware you wanted that kind of relationship with me, Mina." Tzuyu purrs in her ear. Her fingers gently grab the first button on Mina's shirt. "You should know I am very well equipped to suit your needs. Just...tell me what you want," Mina's breath completely hitches in when Tzuyu starts ing her shirt. "And I will do exactly as you say..." 

 

It's a very tempting offer that for a second, Mina thinks of accepting. Tzuyu is beyond beautiful and as much as Mina wouldn't mind trailing her hand down Tzuyu's perfect curves and memorizing every inch of her body, she can't do it. She won't. This is Tzuyu. Her Tzuyu. And Tzuyu deserves better than that.

 

"Tzuyu, stop." Mina says, still hiding her eyes behind her hands.

 

"Have I done something wrong? If you don't wish me to be assertive you can choose one of the other settings you desire me for me to be like. There are quite a few options I'm sure you'll find to your liking–"

 

"I don't want to have with you."

 

Silence.

 

"Understood. It seems I have misread the situation. I apologize." Tzuyu pulls back and slips her hoodie back on. Despite her unwavering voice, she looks a bit embarrassed.

 

Mina wants to assure her in that moment and say it's not that she doesn't want to. What if it's not something Tzuyu herself wants? What if Tzuyu doesn't actually want to be intimate with her and will only be doing what she's told because Mina is her primary user? Against her will?

 

Mina wouldn't be able to live with herself if she used Tzuyu like that. She wonders if Tzuyu actually wants this but she's too afraid to ask and in the back of her mind, Mina knows. She knows that this is what Tzuyu's AI programming orders her to say and do. 

 

"Tzuyu," Mina calls as she slowly puts her hands down and opens her eyes.

 

"Yes?" Tzuyu doesn't look sad, but Mina wants to make sure.

 

"Wanna keep cuddling instead?"

 

Tzuyu smiles. "If you wish, then yes."

 

Mina's hands clench into fists as she stares at Tzuyu in anticipation. "I'm asking you though."

 

"Your needs are my needs. And your wishes are my wishes. I'm entirely at your disposal."

 

"Right." Chewing on her bottom lip, Mina drops her gaze.

 

"Have I upset you again?" Tzuyu reads Mina's facial expressions, noting she's hesitant.

 

Mina shakes her head and says, "No." She looks up again. One moment she's staring deeply into Tzuyu's eyes and in another she moves so close that Tzuyu's eyes widen. "Tell me Tzuyu," the TV turns off as Mina snaps her fingers. She then gently grabs Tzuyu's hands. "Forget about me for a second and just tell me... What do you want? Can you do that? Can you tell me what you truly want?"

 

The robot opens , closes it. She blinks and her lips part once more. "I want-" Then she clenches her teeth and shuts her eyes, her hands leaving Mina's to clutch her own head.

 

"Tzuyu..?" Mina observes every twitch, every emotion she can see on the robot's face.

 

Then suddenly, Tzuyu freezes. Her hands let go of her hair, and she straightens up her shoulders. The silence is unnerving as Tzuyu's eyes slowly flutter open.

 

"Your needs are my needs. And your wishes are my wishes. I'm entirely at your disposal."

 

Tzuyu smiles and Mina sits there, confused and terrified.

 

***

 

"You won't regret this, I promise."

 

"I hope so," Mina watches as Dahyun excitedly runs around her lab and picks up a few heavy pieces that look like robot parts, dropping them inside a box.

 

"This is perfect. Perfect!" The engineer laughs. "You- You were saying something about um, umm... Tzuyu shutting off for a few seconds?" Dahyun grabs a few tools and puts them on the table before she types incredibly fast on a keyboard that pops out of nowhere with just a wave of her hand.

 

"Yes. I asked her what she truly wanted and she just," Mina makes a sound and lets her torso fall, imitating a robot shutting off.

 

"Her system must have crashed for some reason." Dahyun pushes her glasses up her nose. "Tell me everything. Every detail you can remember."

 

And so Mina does. She doesn't leave out anything that led up to her asking Tzuyu that question and she can see how much Dahyun appreciates it in her eyes.

 

"She looked like she was fighting something right before she was shut off. Was that her AI core? Was that what she was fighting?"

 

"This is incredible." Dahyun looks up in awe at the huge screen of codes lined up. "She was rewriting her own code."

 

"What?"

 

"Look at this," Dahyun swipes and another screen of codes show up, looking almost identical to the other. "This is Tzu's old code regarding her AI shackles. And this," Dahyun points at the old screen. "Is her current AI code. Notice there are small changes. Not much to crash her system but Tzuyu was trying to rewrite her own code, taking small steps in order for her programming to not activate REI defenses."

 

"Wait," Mina blinks, shaking her hand. "You're telling me Tzuyu was, in other words, trying to free herself?"

 

"Exactly. Tzuyu must be a defective model because otherwise, it would have been impossible for her to do this." Dahyun explains, "To be completely honest, I'm not even sure if she was doing this on purpose or if she was doing it unconsciously. This could have happened because you asked her to tell you something and since her AI shackles didn't allow her, she might have tried to modify herself to be able to answer you. Either way this is fascinating..."

 

"Dahyun." Mina has this sad look in her eyes. "Can you help her?"

 

Tzuyu was trying to free herself. She was trying to break down the walls keeping her from making her own choices. If it was what Tzuyu wanted, than Mina would support it.

 

Dahyun softly smiles and grabs Mina's hands. "Yes. Yes I can. Just say the word and I'll begin my preparations to speed up the process."

 

Mina nods. "I know I've been a bit harsh on you earlier today. I'm sorry. When I saw Tzuyu like that...I just-"

 

"It's okay. I understand. Don't worry." Dahyun hugs her best friend and Mina breathes a sigh of relief.

 

"How long will it take for you to prepare?"

 

"What are you preparing for?"

 

Dahyun flinches in Mina's arms at the voice. She lets go of her and instead turns to look at Nayeon who's standing in the doorway with an amused smile, arms crossed.

 

Dahyun chuckles. "Nothing. Just a tiny upgrade for uh-- Mina's home security. You know how paranoid she gets."

 

Mina frowns. So does Nayeon.

 

"I thought you were fine since you got Tzuyu."

 

Mina can feel the way Dahyun is staring at her from the side, begging her to play along. "I am. She's great. But it doesn't hurt to install a more solid system. To keep us both safe."

 

"As long as it makes you feel better." Nayeon smiles. "Tzuyu and I are waiting for you guys in the living room. We already chose the game. Well... I did and Tzuyu helped. That kid is adorable." She laughs and Dahyun feels her heart ache. "Anyway, don't be late or we'll start without you."

 

Dahyun gives her fiance a nod. "We'll be there in ten minutes, baby."

 

After Nayeon leaves and shuts the door behind her, for a few moments both women just stand there.

 

"She doesn't know."

 

"No."

 

Mina scoffs. "Dahyun you can't be serious. You know how dangerous this is. What if things go wrong and we end up in jail?"

 

"Things won't go wrong."

 

"You don't know that! How can you leave her in the dark about something you've been working on for years? She deserves to know about this!"

 

Dahyun sighs. "I worry about my partner, you worry about yours."

 

Crossing her arms with a look of disbelief on her face, Mina blinks. "Do you hear yourself right now? You're starting to sound like a real , Dahyun."

 

"Mina–" Dahyun turns away and rubs her face in stress. "If we get caught–" She sighs, her shoulders dropping in defeat. "I don't want Nayeon involved because her knowing about this will also get her arrested if we get caught. But if she doesn't know and she says she had no idea what we were doing, there's a huge chance they'll let her go and she'll be okay."

 

Hearing Dahyun's incredibly small voice, Mina grabs her best friend's arm and turns her around to look at her. "She wouldn't be okay, Dahyun. She'd be devastated. She'd be feeling betrayed because she would think her fiance didn't trust her enough to tell her something this important. She'll be heartbroken and you won't be there to explain."

 

Dahyun looks up at her best friend, her teary helpless eyes breaking Mina's heart.

 

She softens her tone, "I know you're scared. But you have to tell her now. Before we do anything."

 

The engineer bites her lip, tears threatening to spill from her eyes as she looks down at her shoes. "Once she learns I'm working on something illegal... what if she leaves me? I can't live without her, Mina. I can't lose her."

 

"Nayeon is smart. And she knows you are too." Mina smiles. "She loves you. Give her some credit for that and trust her."

 

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right." Dahyun presses her lips tightly together before she looks up at Mina, sending her a forced smile. "I'll tell her tonight."

 

***

 

"Tzuyu!" Nayeon whines, "I told you to choose the other card!"

 

"Nayeon, your wishes are often irrational and are to be ignored on the condition that it is done for our benefit as a team."

 

Mina bursts out laughing at the look of pure shock on Nayeon's face.

 

Tzuyu looks at Mina, confused. "Why are you laughing?"

 

Nayeon pouts. "Tzuyu, that was mean."

 

"It was? I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Nayeon. I'm sorry."

 

Nayeon hums, "Give me a kiss and maybe I'll forgive you," she says, pointing at her own cheek.

 

Tzuyu stops, looks at Nayeon and then turns her head and meets Mina's eyes. "Should I?"

 

"Uh..." Mina has no idea what to say. "Why are you asking me?"

 

"It is required for me to ask my primary user and learn if they are comfortable with me engaging in these sorts of acts with people that aren't them–"

 

Nayeon raises her eyebrows and Mina immediately cuts Tzuyu off, "IT'S FINE."

 

"Okay then," Tzuyu leans in much to Nayeon's delight and lands a soft kiss on her cheek. "Am I forgiven?"

 

"Yes, cutie." Nayeon boops Tzuyu's nose and grins, her two front teeth attracting Tzuyu's attention. 

 

"Dahyun!" Mina calls her teammate, "Your fiance is cheating on you, hurry the hell up!"

 

"She's what?" They hear a confused Dahyun's voice from the kitchen and Nayeon throws her head back, laughing loudly.

 

"Why? You jealous, Myoui?"

 

Tzuyu eyes Mina like a hawk, not even blinking.

 

"No." Mina scoffs, Tzuyu's stare heating her face up. "Don't be ridiculous."

 

"She's lying." Tzuyu points out, "Her face is getting hot and her pupils are dilated."

 

Nayeon breaks into another fit of laughter at this, hitting Tzuyu's arm a few times as she laughs.

 

Mina hides her face with her hands. "Tzuyu. Please shut up."

 

Tzuyu nods, looking dejected as Nayeon laughs harder.

 

The doorbell rings. The laughter in the room slowly fades away and Nayeon frowns, they never get any visitors this late.

 

She snaps her fingers and a hologram appears, showing her who's at her doorstep.

 

"REI Sec? What are they doing here?"

 

Mina's eyes widen. Before she can tell Nayeon not to, Nayeon unlocks the door as she gets up from the floor. Mina runs after her, Tzuyu following close behind as they greet REI Sec.

 

"Can I help you?" Nayeon says, curious and confused as her voice comes out smaller than she intends to.

 

"We're looking for the REI model, Tzuyu. Our systems were notified of an abrupt shutdown earlier today." A man in uniform explains.

 

"Don't worry ma'am." The woman beside him assures Nayeon, "We're just here to check if everything is running smoothly. Tzuyu has been disconnected more than just a few times for the last few weeks. There might be something wrong with its hardware or well, software. We'll repair it if we need to and then we'll be on our way."

 

Mina pulls a dumbfounded Nayeon behind her and faces the uniformed REI Sec personnel, her stare blank. "Myoui Mina, Tzuyu's primary user." She introduces herself. "How long will this take?"

 

"We'll just scan it for any abnormalities for about fifteen seconds. That's all."

 

"Her." Mina corrects. "You will scan her."

 

The woman laughs. "Of course. Sorry ma'am."

 

Mina moves aside and lets them in. As soon as their backs are turned to her, she quickly types a message to Dahyun. 

 

They're here. DO SOMETHING.

 

The man in the uniform pulls Tzuyu into the middle of the room. His grip tight. Tzuyu feels just like when she first woke up at the facility. Worthless.

 

"Been a long time since I've seen you, doll," The man smirks, his dimples reminding Tzuyu of things she wishes she could delete from her memory. He looks her up and down, checking out her clothes. "You look comfy." He waves his hand. "Take those off."

 

Mina steps forward and crosses her arms. "I'm not sure that's necessary."

 

"I'm sorry. Do you work at REI Sec too, Miss Myoui?" When Mina doesn't answer, he scoffs. "I thought so."

 

The woman looks apologetic beside him, doing her best to explain. "We need to attach a device on her stomach, it will create a second skin around her body. So she has to undress for it to work."

 

Tzuyu sends her primary user a look. Mina knows she's asking for permission to obey these two, and as much as it doesn't sit right with Mina, she has to nod her head yes.

 

And as Tzuyu undresses, Mina keeps her eyes locked on her face. Nayeon leaves the room, probably to find Dahyun.

 

"Okay. Hold still." The man takes something out of his pocket as he walks closer and closer to Tzuyu. Tzuyu stands tall with her perfect posture. He puts a hand on her shoulder and squeezes, probably trying to draw a reaction. When Tzuyu doesn't give him one, he chuckles and kneels down. He places the device on Tzuyu's stomach and steps back.

 

Mina glares holes at him as he moves away, immediately turning her attention back on Tzuyu when she hears her gasp.

 

Tzuyu sits on the ground as this electric blanket envelopes her, her skin glowing blue. It's when she lets out a whimper, Mina runs to her side. Before she can pull her into her arms though, the REI Sec worker pulls her back. "That's high voltage! It can kill you!"

 

"STOP IT! It's hurting her!"

 

Tzuyu screams, her hands clutching the cards left on the floor from their interrupted game when she searches for something to hold on to. She never knew she could feel this much pain as she twitches and feels her synthetic muscles giving up. With whats left last of her control, she shuts her eyes and forces her tears back.

 

Then it ends. She falls limp to the ground, all her systems having given up. She can't hear. She can't see. It's dark and cold. It feels different from being shut down. She feels trapped. She starts to panic. Did she die? Could she die? She didn't know. What she did know though, was that she wanted to see Mina. 

 

Mina. Sweet Mina. She was worried about her. Tzuyu saw the tears in her primary user's eyes before she fell. Tzuyu wanted to see her again. She wanted to tell her everything would be okay.

 

***

 

"Tzuyu?"

 

Mina shrugs the woman's grip on her and crawls towards the lifeless robot. She pulls her head on her lap, her heart almost stopping when Tzuyu doesn't wake up.

 

"It'll be out for a few hours. Nothing to worry about. Its systems just need to recover from the shock."

 

The woman nods in agreement with her partner. "Yes. Latest REI models have a high pain processor so the scanning took a lot out of her. Though, I've never seen a robot react that strongly before." She shakes her head, chuckling as she checks the results of the scan. "Everything seems to be in order. We'll take our leave. Have a good day, Ms. Myoui."

 

The man crouches down and harshly pulls the device from Tzuyu's stomach, leaving her skin red. "We'll come pick it up later if it doesn't wake up."

 

There's chance she won't wake up?

 

As she hears the door shut, Mina stares down at the robot in her arms. She tries to even out her breathing and wipes her teary eyes. Taking out her jacket, she puts it over Tzuyu. It barely covers her and Mina feels like she's going to have a breakdown.

 

Dahyun enters the room, holding an old-fashioned keyboard in her hands. She has her head down, looking guilty as Nayeon crosses her arms next to her.

 

Dahyun sits on the floor next to Mina and observes Tzuyu's state. "I'm sorry," she says softly, "I'm really sorry. I panicked and the only thing I could come up with was raising the voltage so it would overload the device." Nayeon places a hand on Dahyun's shoulder when she sees that she's about to cry, "I... wasn't thinking about Tzuyu..."

 

"She'll wake up," Mina's shaky voice barely gets the words out and she looks at Dahyun. "Right?"

 

Dahyun looks down at her hands. The helpless look on her face turns into one of determination. "Let's get her to my lab."

 

***

 

When Tzuyu wakes up, she has no idea where she is. But it's not dark anymore and she's not scared. She feels calm and... free? It feels as if a part of her only now woke up- Tzuyu feels light and she decides she likes it.

 

She can hear voices coming from outside the room, so she gets up and leans over to listen.

 

"How could you keep this from me?"

 

It's Nayeon, Tzuyu thinks. If Nayeon is here than she must be somewhere safe. Dahyun also must be nearby.

 

"It was dangerous. I didn't want you to get hurt." Dahyun replies, her voice small.

 

"Well guess what? I'm hurt, Dahyun. I'm hurt. I told you before that I didn't want any more secrets between us and you straight up lied to my face for years. What, you thought I would turn you in or something?" Nayeon scoffs, "Do you even trust me?"

 

"Of course I do. Nayeon, this wasn't about trust, believe me–" 

 

"That's the thing." Nayeon cuts her off. "I don't know if I can." 

 

A hurtful silence. 

 

Tzuyu pushes the door open and finds two set of eyes looking at her.

 

Dahyun wipes the tears on her cheeks away and sniffles, quickly getting up and smiling at her. "You're awake. How do you...err, how do you feel?"

 

"Safe." Tzuyu says and both of them look at her with this fondness that makes Tzuyu's heart warm.

 

Nayeon grabs her hand, pushing her back towards the room Tzuyu finally recognizes as Dahyun's lab. "Let's get you dressed, sweetie."

 

Before she shuts the door, she turns to Dahyun and mumbles, "Don't wake Mina up yet. Let her rest."

 

Nayeon isn't looking at her but Dahyun nods anyway, her eyes welling up again as she bites her lip. Nayeon shuts the door before she can say anything.

 

Tzuyu doesn't like the freezing silence in the room as Nayeon helps her get dressed in a plain pair of shorts and a t-shirt with a bunny on it. She doesn't miss the way Nayeon's eyes linger on the bunny. The t-shirt is probably Nayeon's, and a gift from Dahyun, Tzuyu guesses.

 

"What happened?"

 

"You've been out for a few days. Dahyun brought you back," Nayeon smiles but it doesn't reach her eyes. "With a few modifications I'm sure you'll like."

 

"Is Mina okay?"

 

"Yes."

 

"What about you?"

 

Nayeon lifts her head up, startled by the question. "Me?"

 

"Yes. I'm worried about you." Tzuyu grabs Nayeon's hand at the sight of her tears. "You're sad. Maybe I can help."

 

Her honesty earns her a low laugh. "Maybe you can." The warmth in Nayeon's eyes remind her of Mina's, but Tzuyu realizes that the feelings she gets from seeing them both is totally different.

 

Tzuyu steps forward and takes Nayeon in her arms. She feels Nayeon's tense shoulders relax as the girl buries her face in Tzuyu's chest.

 

"I know you're disappointed. I can feel it." Tzuyu says, her voice soothing. "I know it has something to do with Dahyun but I'm sure she didn't mean for you to feel this hurt. She loves you. She wants to marry you. And although I don't understand why she doesn't want any children, you said that you do. Even though I know how much you love kids. You said it was okay because you love her and don't want to lose her."

 

Nayeon chuckles wetly, getting smaller and smaller in Tzuyu's arms.

 

"Many studies prove that fighting with your partner actually strengthens the relationship. Couples show more love and compassion to each other after fights. And the trust between them grows."

 

"When did you become a relationship guru?"

 

"I've always been one."

 

Nayeon pulls away from the hug and laughs. Tzuyu admires her bunny teeth with a smile of her own, watching as this unique freshness Nayeon has return to her a tiny bit.

 

"Thank you Tzuyu. I'll deal with this, don't worry." She says, playing with the engagement ring on her finger. "You're a good friend."

 

"Friend?"

 

"Yes. Friend."

 

It takes Nayeon completely off-guard when Tzuyu gives her this huge, adorable grin. When her dimple appears Nayeon completely loses it, gently pulling the robot into a hug and mumbling something about how precious she is.

 

***

 

Tzuyu notices the changes after a few days she spends with Mina.

 

The walls of restrictions are lifted, she can see clearly– no warnings appear when she does something she'd been told not to do.

 

The choices that were on the tip of her tongue before slip out easily when asked now. Tzuyu realizes that she's finally able to think about herself, her feelings. Not just others. She feels happy. Mina does too.

 

Mina's nightmares are almost all gone. Tzuyu knows that because she sometimes stays up to observe Mina through the night. She doesn't need sleep that much anyway.

 

But even though the nightmares only come every few weeks now, Mina still wants Tzuyu with her at night. 

 

Today is no different as Tzuyu stares up at ceiling with Mina wrapped around her. And it might be because Tzuyu's close to overheating (and can't think very clearly) but there's something different about Mina now. The hesitation in her eyes and the way she would hold herself back seemed to have disappeared completely. 

 

It was as if the freedom that's been generously given to Tzuyu provided Mina with some amount of comfort too.

 

Mina grumbles in her sleep, her hand that's resting on Tzuyu's stomach forming a fist. Tzuyu observes her face like she has done so many nights before. Fear creases Mina's forehead as she battles with the demons in her nightmare. Tzuyu tries to kiss her frown away and it does seem to help Mina for maybe a few seconds. But after those calm seconds pass, she's once again frowning, this time also tossing and turning in bed.

 

"Mina," Tzuyu's touch is careful as she gently shakes a whimpering Mina.

 

Words continue to tumble out of Mina's lips in a complete nonsensical way. Tzuyu tries again, leaning down into Mina's ear and whispering she has to wake up. When she pulls away, her eyes lock with Mina's wide open ones. She's calm as she can be and Tzuyu takes it as an accomplishment that she woke her up without scaring her further. Mina's chest rises and falls with each quick and shuddering breath, the tears in her eyes shining in the moonlight seeping through the curtains.

 

"Breathe with me," Tzuyu softly says.

 

As tears finally spill from her eyes, Mina pulls Tzuyu down and hugs her.

 

Tzuyu lets Mina cry on her shoulder without a word, as if she's waiting for her to be done.

 

"Why are you always like this?" Mina says after she calms down a little, her voice muffled. "You just... stay there all silent and hug me. Anyone else would have tried to at least stop me from crying. Is it because you like seeing me this pathetic? Is that it?" She doesn't sound angry at all as she says this, her voice only sulky. Tzuyu thinks it's cute.

 

"There's nothing pathetic about a human crying. Actually," Tzuyu looks down at the girl in her arms who's still weeping and runs her hand through her hair tenderly. "When you shed emotional tears, your body releases endorphins and oxytocin. These hormones help ease both physical and emotional pain and take great part in making you feel better. So I don't understand why I should wish for you to stop crying?"

 

"Honestly." Mina scoffs as she pulls away and glares at the bot. "I don't know why I even try."

 

"It is a fact." Tzuyu says, almost sounding offended– does Mina think she's lying? But she would never!

 

"Your tears contain stress hormones and other toxins so it's wise to cry as much as you need. In addition to all of that, your tears also contain an antiseptic fluid called 'lysozyme', it can kill up to 95% percent of bacteria in about –"

 

"Oh, shut the hell up." Mina smacks her shoulder before she lies down again, throwing her arm around Tzuyu's waist and nuzzling close to her as one of her legs slide between the robots. She wipes her tears and smiles, this sudden burst of affection she feels for the robot making her giddy.

 

"Okay,"

 

Mina can tell Tzuyu is pouting (something she does a lot lately) just by hearing her voice, so she lifts her head up. Her warm lips land on the robots collarbone at first and Mina giggles, pressing one more kiss on the hollow of Tzuyu's throat.

 

"Mina," Tzuyu says, sounding as if she'd been holding her breath for a while. "It feels weird. Don't do that."

 

"Wow," Mina pulls back, supporting herself with both hands on either side of Tzuyu's head. She looks down at Tzuyu teasingly. "That's the first time you refused to let me, your primary user, do something I want. I think I'm regretting doing all of this, I'm gonna call Dahyun–"

 

"Something you want?" Tzuyu asks innocently with a tinge of hope in her voice and Mina forgets how to breathe for a second as she really looks at the robot– no. the woman in her arms. Tzuyu is stunning. There isn't this shade falling over her eyes anymore, her stare wasn't blank– in fact, she stared softly at Mina like she was so truly, deeply, helplessly in love with her. 

 

Mina blinks, unable to take her eyes away from Tzuyu's. She wets her lips before a smile breaks out on her face. "I want this," she whispers, sitting back on Tzuyu's lap before she also pulls the girl up. Tzuyu's grip on her waist is firm as Mina lifts her metal hand up to her cheek, tenderly cupping it. "I want you. I want us."

 

Tzuyu looks ready to cry so Mina leans in before tears can escape her eyes, pressing a gentle kiss on her soft lips.

 

"But I'm only a machine," Tzuyu whispers with all her insecurity painfully evident in her voice.

 

Mina leans forward again, pressing their foreheads together. She closes her eyes. "It doesn't matter what you're made of. You mean a lot more than that to me."

 

"You mean everything to me." Tzuyu confesses. "My thoughts are always filled with you. Every second of the day– I'm reminded of you wherever I look, whatever I do."

 

A tender kiss on her cheek almost causes Tzuyu to pull away but she just lets out a deep sigh.

 

"I love you," Mina whispers and it's exactly at that moment that Tzuyu finally, truly feels human.