Jongin’s footsteps echoed around the empty halls, his gaze scanning the place as he walked followed by his assistant, and tried not to touch anything. The dirty floor, the dusty tables, he could hear a few dogs barking in the distance, the continuous sound of drops falling to the floor. Everything was just a mess. The lady walking in front of them seemed to not be bothered by any of these things, kind of expected since she was one of the few employees left of the shelter. She guided them towards the back of the building like nothing was happening and Jongin wasn’t sure he liked it.

“You see, Mr. Kim, this facility is going to close soon, and we only have about five left,” she explained like she could hear what he was thinking. They walked down a long hall until they reached a door to what Jongin believed was a warehouse. The lady pulled a set of keys from her back pocket, entering a key and turning it slightly to open the door. When it didn’t budge Jongin thought of suggesting using another key; however it soon made a shrieking noise, opening at just a little force.

He didn’t say anything as they made their way inside, the musty smell soon filling his nostrils. She a light that did nothing to illuminate the area; Jongin managed to sort of see what was inside. A mountain of metal parts, just piled in the middle of the room, greeted him. Metal arms and legs, torsos, heads. More than a sheltered warehouse, it looked like a junkyard.

From time to time Jongin took it upon himself to visit some warehouses, where forgotten and discarded androids were taken. Sometimes they would get re-sold, but there were times when they ended like this, just a bunch of metal deemed useless. Jongin knew otherwise. On his expeditions he would always buy something, usually taking it back to his company and fixing it to sell again at a much higher price. That earned him the nickname of ‘android angel,’ saving what he could and what he couldn’t, then they would look for a different opportunity to be reused.

Androids were a very expensive acquisition, of course, depending on the task they were created to do. His company was dedicated to making them from scratch, and he had the best team in South Korea, making the best androids in the market. However, from a few years on, he decided buying old androids and fixing them to sell once again was also very profitable. Not everyone could afford a brand-new bot, and even when he would sell it for higher than what he bought it for, the price was okay to the general public.

He dedicated himself to visiting places like this, looking for what could still be recycled and putting it to function again.

“The androids are in the back,” she informed, guiding him behind the pile of junk to where five androids were standing, obviously turned off. Some were missing some parts but nothing too tragic that couldn’t be fixed. The first android had bright blonde hair, average height, the nose was well done, but it was missing an arm. Jongin figured that could easily be fixed. “This is model BH4. The software works well. The owners left it here after its arm broke and they didn’t have money for repairs.”

Jongin nodded, giving it another look and then moving on to the next one. This one needed a leg.

“Model YX10, almost the same case. There was also a glitch in its software,” she looked down the list and Jongin nodded once again. They went down a few more until the last one. “Model KS12, really good conditions, however according to the previous owner it’s defective. Apparently the software doesn’t run well.”

Jongin took a look at the bot. Its features were pretty well done, full lips, black hair covering its head. He couldn’t really see the skin details with the poor light, but he was sure it was fine. It looked like a high-quality brand. Jongin turned to his assistant, Jongdae, pointing at the androids.

“Buy them all, and also tell the boys to check this pile and see what can be taken,” he instructed.

“Yes, sir,” Jongdae said, pulling his cellphone and giving instructions as soon as someone picked up on the other end. Jongin made his way back with the lady to settle the paperwork. They moved into a back-office that looked neater than the rest of the building at least. Jongin looked through the papers, signing them and giving Jongdae a copy of them, for him to pay for the bots and the parts.

“When will they be at the lab?” Jongin asked. He wanted to start working on them right away.

“The bots will be there today, the parts more than likely starting tomorrow, after they pick the ones that can be used,” Jongdae responded, walking behind Jongin towards their car.

“Perfect. Cancel the rest of my meetings. I want to inspect the process.”

“No problem, sir.”

And with that Jongin was moving back to his office.

Later that afternoon, Jongin was walking around the halls of Kim Tech, employees greeting him maybe for the third time as they saw him, and Jongin returned the gesture slightly. He usually had a private route to head down to the lab; however, there were times he would use this one, just to keep the employees on their toes. He had received a call about the bots already getting repaired, so he wanted to look at the process. He still had a ton of paperwork waiting for him inside his office, but he could take care of that later.

He had his lab technician check on the androids; according to their recent report two of them could be sent already to get properly repaired. Jongin walked into the lab after typing in the access code on the door. His eyes wandered around until he spotted the bots and the techs working on them, then approached them. Jongin watched as Minseok ran some tests on them, updating their software if needed, running a virus scan, replacing the software also. Androids worked like normal computers technically. Minseok was one of the best technicians in the country. If he couldn’t fix it, then probably nobody else could.

“How is that going?” Jongin asked. Minseok flinched a little, as he was completely focused on his job and was not expecting any visits. He brushed his blonde hair back, glancing at Jongin for a moment before going back to the task in his hands.

“It’s going,” Minseok responded. He pointed at the one he was currently working on. “We gave BH4 a temporary arm and updated its system. KS12 and this one were originally made to be boyfriend bots; YX10 was an idol bot. We could set them all as boyfriend bots.”

“SM is asking for one so if you could get this one as good as new, we could add it to the offer,” Jongin informed. YX10 had a handsome face, so more than likely it would make a popular idol.

“Okay. KS12 had errors and its system was outdated. The outside is almost perfect but it’s still glitchy no matter what I do,” Minseok mentioned. They both turned to look at the bot in question. Now in this light, Jongin could see its features perfectly. It also had a very handsome face. The skin detail was very well done; it could almost pass as human skin, but with the software issue more than likely, he wouldn’t be able to sell it.

Throwing away a bot like this would be such a waste. Especially with such good conditions. Jongin’s eyes were glued to the bot. Somehow to him, out of the rest, this one stood out the most. He could easily deal with a glitch. However, clients wouldn’t be as pleased. 

“That’s fine. Just finish what you can and send it over to my residence. I’ll keep it.” It wasn’t the first time he had done something like this. He had a butler bot back at home that he just couldn’t sell at all, and instead of scrapping it, Jongin decided to take it home himself. So far, he was very satisfied with Sehun.

He had no idea what he would do with a boyfriend bot, but he would figure it out.

“Sure. Do you want me to install any mods, or would you like to do that yourself?” Minseok looked down at the tablet in his hands, checking on the installation in process.

“I’ll do it. We have a lot of downloadable content and mods for boyfriend bots.” He smiled. It could even be fun.

“Yes, sir. Consider it done then.” Minseok went back to work and Jongin decided it was best to not bother him any longer. As he was walking out, he looked over his shoulder at KS12, its eyes closed as he was updated. He would have to get clothes for it and also a name.

It would be fun.

…

Jongin finished a few reports before stretching. It was already very late, and his head was starting to hurt slightly. Looking at the time he noticed it was almost seven. Running Kim Tech was never easy, but it was fun, nevertheless. When he started, he loved the idea of giving people something comparable to a Sim. People could adjust their personality traits, picking from a very large variety; they could download mods or any other official DLC to make their bots more interesting.

At first, he thought it was only going to be a way of entertainment, but it ended up being something way bigger than that.

There were bots working at different businesses, calculating data faster than any human could. Idol bots were used all the time by the entertainment companies, although that was mostly kept in secret. Police bots, boyfriend bots, chef bots… There were so many things they could do that Jongin was always so surprised.

He even had bots as customer service.

It was incredible.

He dropped his papers. He could do them tomorrow. For now, he had a relatively new bot waiting for him at home, ready to be played with. He stretched once again, grabbing his keys and his cellphone, and left his office. He gave Jongdae a nod as he made his way to the elevator and from there down to the underground parking.

Getting home, the first thing that received him was Sehun, giving a polite nod as he opened the door for Jongin. Sehun had been an older model that buyers refused to purchase. Even after lowering the price Jongin just couldn’t sell him at all. Instead, he kept him for his house, and it had been a huge change for him. Humans could sometimes be difficult to handle, but an android would do exactly as requested and expected. That was what Jongin liked the most. He smiled at Sehun as he took off his shoes, giving him his briefcase.

“Good evening, sir. Dinner will be ready in twenty-three minutes exactly, and there is a package waiting in the living room.” Sehun took Jongin’s jacket, folding it softly over his arm. Jongin nodded, giving him a bright smile.

“Thanks, Sehunnie,” he said, heading to the living room immediately, partially excited to test the android and see what Minseok was talking about and partially excited to play with something new.

When he reached the living room, the big wooden box was the first thing to greet him. The command tablet was on the coffee table, as well as an instruction manual that Jongin quickly discarded, grabbing the tablet instead. It wasn’t the first time he had dealt with a boyfriend bot, and he was sure Minseok had already installed their program on the bot, replacing the outdated one from a different company that the android had first.

He moves to open the box, revealing the handsome android standing on its charging platform. It was wearing an all-black uniform, with Kim Tech’s logo at the front and back of the t-shirt. He had to admit this one looked better on bots than the previous white version they had. Of course, they would send the whole set. Jongin went through the commands, turning the bot on. Soon the big eyes fluttered open, looking at the empty space. Jongin guided the bot out of the box. The first thing he had to do was to give it a name.

“Let’s see...” He looked over at the form tab on the tablet, one he had to fill. “What would you like me to call you?” was the first question. He just put in his name, not giving it much thought. He could also change it later. He also skipped the android’s name for now because he couldn’t think of anything yet. The next category was traits. The traits were important because that would basically be the bot’s personality. He had to choose four out of a list of almost a hundred traits. Jongin scrolled down, sighing. He liked this part, but it was somewhat tiring, too.

Flirty, neat, outgoing, introvert, prankster, creative, decision-maker, lazy…

There were so many to choose from. He thought about how his perfect partner would be. Being a boyfriend bot, the android had to be romantic, so he picked that trait. He scrolled down some more, picking good in the kitchen as well. Maybe Sehun could get some help in that department. He picked happy as the third trait, and then picked clingy as the last one just to see how it would affect the bot. He could always cheat to get that removed if he didn’t like it.

Jongin was also aware of a mod that would allow selecting a fifth trait, but he would test that out later.

He finished customizing the bot to his liking, the voice, the way it walked, also giving it access to Wi-Fi just in case, auto-download was enabled, along with a few other features. Siri had been an obsolete tool since bots started using Wi-Fi. Every android had two modes, the standard mode which allowed the user to pre-select every move and everything it did, and then the autonomous mode, where the bot would act on its own. Since Jongin wasn’t going to be around much, the autonomous mode seemed the way to go.

Before he did, though… A name. He had to name it.

Let’s see, KS12…

Kyung… soo?

That sounded right.

He typed in the name, saving all the changes and finally setting the autonomous mode, turning on the android. Jongin observed it, the bot doing nothing for a few seconds, and he thought maybe it wouldn’t respond at all when it finally blinked. It was a slow process but Jongin watched as the android loaded all its settings and data according to what Jongin had input manually.

“Hello, Jongin.” The bot smiled as its synthetic eyes focused on Jongin’s figure. “I am Kyungsoo, model number KS12, boyfriend bot 2018, created to fulfill your every need.” The voice was exactly what Jongin was looking for. He laughed at that opening statement, saying it would fulfill his needs was a little too much.

Jongin didn’t know about all that, but they would see.

“Hi, Kyungsoo. Welcome,” he said. The bot stood silent for a few minutes; now Jongin would see about that software error, more than likely in his programming. Finally, after a moment, the bot looked up at him, their height difference being significant, with a warm smile. The way this bot’s features worked was so realistic; Jongin would give the creators props for that.

“Thank you, Jongin.” Kyungsoo moved, wrapping his arms around Jongin softly. “What can I do for you, my love?”

Jongin laughed. Okay, maybe a boyfriend bot was a little too much. He could install another software and get a different one, but more than likely he would do that later. He patted Kyungsoo’s head gently. “For now, you don’t need to do anything. Let me give you a tour around the house.”

Jongin broke from Kyungsoo’s embrace, turning around to do as he said. The bot instantly linked arms with him, its eyes fixated on Jongin as they walked away. It was interesting how the romantic trait would work. They walked out of the living room, coming face to face with Sehun.

“Master, dinner is served.” Sehun bowed politely before walking back into the kitchen. Jongin felt Kyungsoo’s arm tighten around his.

“Who’s that?” Its bottom lip was sticking out softly, and a frown adorned its face.

“That’s my butler, Sehun, an android also like you,” Jongin explained. He was a little confused at the sudden change of expression.

“Oh,” Kyungsoo didn’t say anything else, avoiding giving Jongin any hints as to what it was thinking. Jongin would have to investigate the traits further later. They walked into the dining area first. Considering the circumstances, he could start here and then show Kyungsoo the rest after dinner.

“This is where I have my meals, except for breakfast and maybe lunch depending on work.” Jongin sat down at the table. Sehun came in quickly, putting a plate filled with Jongin’s usual dinner in front of him. Kyungsoo looked at everything, more than likely inputting the data into its system. Kyungsoo sat down next to him, watching him eat.

Once Jongin was done with dinner, he quickly thanked Sehun before moving to show Kyungsoo the rest of the house. They walked through the kitchen, the living room where they had just been, the game room and his home office, so after they could move upstairs. Jongin explained basically the functions Sehun had, since he was more than likely going to turn Kyungsoo into another butler bot, as he had no use for a boyfriend bot anyways.

Jongin opened the door to Sehun’s room. There was a bed in it that Sehun never used, and his charging platform was standing right next to it. Of course, Sehun had a closet where Jongin kept all of the butler’s clothes. He would have to go shopping for Kyungsoo, too, since it was significantly smaller than Sehun and sharing clothes wouldn’t be convenient.

He then opened the door to a guest room.

“This will more than likely be your room. I need to get you some clothes and we need to bring your platform here.” He looked down at Kyungsoo; the bot was looking around, taking in the space.

“So, I won’t sleep with you?” Kyungsoo’s lower lip was sticking out, looking at him with its giant eyes. Jongin had to remind himself that it was all fake. The silent plead in its voice and its eyes felt so real that he felt so tempted to let the bot sleep with him.

“You won’t,” Jongin confirmed, moving then to show the bot the bathrooms and lastly his own room. He walked inside the neat room, looking like Sehun had been in there recently since there was a lingering scent of the cleaning products he used. He turned around, finding Kyungsoo standing still at the entrance, its stare blank as it looked straight ahead. A few seconds later it blinked a few times and walked inside.

A glitch indeed.

“This is my room. I think this is the last place in the house to see.” He smiled at the bot, the android returning the gesture right after so naturally. It was bright and warm, very well replicated. “Let’s get your platform to your room for today. I’ll get you more clothes tomorrow first thing.” They did as he said, allowing the bot to hang around and adjust as he went back downstairs to answer some emails before going to sleep.

The next day would be busy since Jongin had another shelter visit ahead of him. Jongdae could take care of the clothes issue more than likely, so it would all be covered. He made sure to send Jongdae the detailed instructions for the next day, while also checking his schedule. Suddenly, Jongin heard his door open and close. This had never happened before since Sehun would never bother him while he was in his office, unless it was something demanding or very specific.

Kyungsoo was walking in, looking around as he approached him. This, however, was not what surprised Jongin the most. What had his jaw dropping was the fact that Kyungsoo decided that other chairs were not enough and that his lap was the best option to sit down. The android wrapped its arms around Jongin with a smile, the most loving smile Jongin had received in a long time.

“What are you doing?” he asked the bot. It took a moment for the bot to answer, its eyes getting lost in the distance for a few minutes. It took even longer than before to get the bot to respond, and meanwhile, it was still sitting on Jongin’s lap. It was heavy but not unbearable. He could almost hear the CPU processing information inside the android before it finally reacted.

“I wanted to be with you.” The smile never faded as it said this. Jongin sighed.

“I’m working right now. We can hang out when I’m done.” Jongin was very strict about his schedule. However, there was something in the way the bot was looking back at him that he just couldn’t bring himself to force it off his lap. “Okay, you can stay for a while.”

The android smiled again as Jongin tried to make his way around it to keep working. It wasn’t really that bad. Kyungsoo was playing with his hair as he watched Jongin work. The bot’s hands were soft and its touch in a way soothing. Once he was done, he made the bot leave his lap. His legs were a little numb, but he found out he didn’t care much about it.

Jongin instructed the bot to head to its newly designated bedroom, while he retrieved a light blue t-shirt for it to wear to charge. He thought the color would fit the android more. The uniform it was using was okay, too; however, he couldn’t help treating his androids as humanly possible. Folding the shirt carefully and putting it on the bed, he turned around to look at Kyungsoo.

“I’ll be going to sleep. You can wear this while you charge.” He pointed at the shirt and smiled. “See you in the morning.”

Kyungsoo just stared, and Jongin took that as confirmation. Closing the door behind him, he walked back into his room. A shower was the first thing on his list. After a long day of work he totally deserved a nice warm shower. Despite not being at work, his brain wouldn’t stop going over work information, schedules, visits, things he could do with different androids, new ideas for a new software. He was continuously working, even outside the office. The only moment his brain would shut down was when he was asleep, for which he was very grateful because it wasn’t like he did it on purpose.

The soft sensation of his sheets was a welcoming feeling once he finally made it into his bed, releasing a relieved sigh as soon as it came in contact with his skin and he could wrap himself with it, closing his eyes right after. It wouldn’t take much for him to drift off to sleep, the heavy sleepy feeling hovering over him already. Jongin was almost fully in dreamland when he felt his bed squeak under an extra weight. His eyes fluttered open, searching in the darkness of the room until he finally saw Kyungsoo, wearing the blue shirt Jongin had provided and crawling over to him.

What was this bot even doing?

Kyungsoo hesitated for a moment—or maybe it was the glitch, Jongin wasn’t sure—and then finally laid down next to him, head over Jongin’s chest, one leg over Jongin’s, and one tiny hand resting right on top of Jongin’s stomach. Maybe it was his imagination, but he could’ve sworn he heard the bot sigh, pleased as it closed its eyes.

“What are you doing?” he spoke softly. In theory, he could move, but he didn’t, just lying there as he waited. Kyungsoo didn’t say anything for a moment. In the dark he couldn’t really tell if it was glitching or just processing what to say.

“I don’t like my new room. I like this better.” The bot buried its face against Jongin’s chest as if accentuating its point. To be honest, the weight of the bot felt very human-like in a moment like this.

“When will you charge then?” Jongin asked. The bot extracted a small piece from under its ear, showing it to him, which he could barely see.

“As long as my platform is charged or plugged in, I can charge with this wireless piece from anywhere.” Kyungsoo placed it right back in, wrapping his arms around Jongin once again. Jongin had to remember this was a newer model, and by the looks of it, the company that created Kyungsoo was very advanced. He did not have enough energy to get the bot off of him, so he just let it be. Closing his eyes again and drifting off once more, but all he could think of was clingy boyfriend bots.

…

The next day, Jongin walked into the living room, all dressed up and ready for work. Usually, he would start his morning routine with a workout session and a coffee, but he overslept slightly that morning. Therefore he barely had time to get ready to go to work. He had a few meetings early in the morning, maybe more than he should since he canceled some the day before. He also had another shelter visit, and there was that issue with Kyungsoo’s clothes. Luckily Jongdae already had instructions about this last task.

Regardless, he had a busy day ahead of him.

Grabbing his wallet, briefcase, keys, and phone, Jongin walked into the kitchen, expecting to find Sehun with his coffee done so he could properly start his day. The view that received him was very different from what he expected. Kyungsoo was standing in front of the stove, making something, wearing nothing but a white dress shirt he probably found inside of Jongin’s closet. It was considerably big for the android, so the shirt was sliding off one shoulder, revealing pale and very well-made synthetic skin. More of that skin revealed as Jongin scanned down, his eyes reaching the android’s thighs. Kyungsoo was barefoot in the kitchen, and Jongin couldn’t even begin to understand what was going on.

Maybe as a newer model, Kyungsoo was able to eat. Jongin was aware that 2017 and on models were able to do that. However, they didn’t feel hunger, so Jongin had no idea of what could possibly be happening through the bot’s CPU.  

“What are you doing?” Jongin was even afraid to take a step further into the kitchen. Kyungsoo glanced at him over his shoulder, smiling like he had been doing this since forever, like they had been together for years.

“I was making breakfast for you.” Kyungsoo finished packing it carefully and putting it inside a bag, its lips curving up as the bot admired the result. From Jongin’s perspective, it almost seemed as if the android had a hint of pride in its eyes. “Sehun said you don’t have your breakfast here, so I thought of making it to go.”

Jongin was mesmerized by the incredible amount of detail. He had never seen a boyfriend bot be this expressive; not even newer models handled the traits provided this well, to the point of making their actions seem so… human.

“I hope you like it. It’s my first time cooking.” Kyungsoo pushed the bag towards Jongin, the fingers tapping on it before releasing it. The bot tapped the table before letting go of the bag, perhaps in response to Jongin's silence. The smile slowly faded from Kyungsoo's face as the seconds went by, and its eyes looked away for a second before coming back to Jongin's. It was a combination of all these small things that made Jongin wonder—was it... nervous?

“I’m sure I will,” Jongin finally said, grabbing the bag with his free hand. “Thanks.”

The room went silent after that, Kyungsoo’s smile being the only indicator Jongin had to tell that it was processing. Jongin turned around, ready to leave, when suddenly he felt a hand hold on softly to his sleeve. It was a light touch, not really capable of stopping him, but regardless he stopped and looked back at his android, finding big eyes glued to his own, a lower lip sticking out playfully, and was that a blush?

“Are you not going to give me a goodbye kiss?” Kyungsoo crooned, his grip tightening around the sleeve. It was all so fascinating to Jongin. He wanted to know what made Kyungsoo this different from the bots he produced. The bot was even acting cute for him; it was so refreshing. He thought about dismissing it, but he was also curious about how the bot would react. Or at least that’s what he told himself when he leaned in and pressed his lips to the soft and warm skin of the bot’s cheek. If he didn’t know better, he would say it was like kissing a human, the same feeling under his lips, the same reaction, too.

Kyungsoo pressed its free hand against its cheek, eyes wide open and the soft blush intensifying like it wasn’t expecting the kiss, despite asking for it. Jongin was astonished; he needed to know more.

“I’ll see you after work,” Jongin said with a smile. He ruffled Kyungsoo’s hair and headed out quickly before the bot decided it wanted something else. Jongin was still thinking about it when he got to work, making his way up to his office. The first thing he would do was ask Jongdae to get Kyungsoo’s clothes and then ask Minseok for a small favor.  

…

“KS12, made by Park Technologies. The model actually did pretty well. There are a ton of good reviews,” Minseok mentioned as he went through the information requested by Jongin. “Made in 2018, to be a complete boyfriend bot. Instead of using the traits system, the previous software made the bots input a ton of data, including their owner’s preferences.”

“So they would tell the bot what they liked and that’s what it took as a starting point.” Jongin thought about it for a moment. He thought it was clever, but the trait system worked better for him, instead of overloading the android with information.

“Exactly. It did really well, making over three hundred million dollars in sales,” Minseok scrolled down. “Apparently there were a few cases of overheating and defective bots. Two of them in the United States, one in England, and one here in South Korea, which I’m guessing is the one you have.”

“Kyungsoo,” Jongin said. He was pacing around his office as he heard the information. He would have to look more into Park technologies. Minseok glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, they attempted to fix the issue but were unsuccessful, so the android went from owner to owner until it landed in the shelter you bought it from.”

It was an issue not even his own lab tech could fix. Kyungsoo had to go from hand to hand due to that delay in its system; however, it wasn’t like that bothered Jongin. He could easily live with it. He had fostered androids in worse conditions. The only thing he would have to put up with was with Kyungsoo’s antics, and even that didn’t bother him anymore. He was curious.

“Is it bothering you? I still have access to its software, so I can run a scan on the main computer.” Minseok stood up, tablet still in hand.

“Sure, and please send me the files for Park Technologies,” Jongin requested, and Minseok gave him a short nod before retreating to his lab. It was around noon. Maybe he could squeeze in some lunch before his next shelter visit. His morning was filled with meetings and last-minute tasks, and there was still a lot to do, so he would have to be quick.

Maybe he could just skip lunch and do the shelter visit right away.

Just as he was about to call Jongdae to get the car ready, the door to his office opened, revealing a very unsure looking Jongdae as his head peeked in. Jongin raised an eyebrow, waiting for whatever he had to say.

“Uhh, sir, there is someone here that wants to see you.” Pursing his lips, a confused frown creased Jongdae’s forehead. He glanced over his shoulder briefly before turning back to his boss. “He- Well, it’s allegedly urgent.”

“Let the person in then,” Jongin sighed, one hand rubbing his temples. He was kind of hungry, so the last thing he needed were surprise visitors. Jongdae’s figure was soon replaced with another one of about the same height, but very different in reality. Big eyes and a happy smile looked back at Jongin. “Kyungsoo?”

The android nodded, approaching Jongin around his desk, before pressing a soft kiss against his cheek and placing a bag on top of some papers Jongin had been currently reviewing.

“I cooked something and thought about bringing it to you.” Kyungsoo’s cheeks were a bright pink as he spoke. Jongin was still speechless as to how this was triggered, but he had to remember he was at work and Kyungsoo couldn’t just barge in whenever it felt like doing so.

“How did you get here?” There was no way the bot would have made it on its own.

“Sehun set up a ride for me. I told him I would bring you food.” Kyungsoo tapped softly on the bag again, as if to remind him there was food inside and he should be eating it.

“Kyungsoo, you can’t just come here to bring stuff. I’m a busy person.” He wasn’t quite sure of how to explain this so that the bot could understand. Jongin really hoped that ride was still hanging around so he wouldn’t have to drive the android back.

“But I wanted to do something cute for you.” Once again, that lower lip stuck out and fake eyes glossed over. Just the perfect image of sadness. Jongin grabbed the bag, not believing he was really giving in to a bot. The breakfast it had made was quite good, so Jongin knew he would have no complaints with regards to the food. He just didn’t have time for this.

Why was he unable to resist?

What have you done, Park?

Jongin opened the bag, pulling out the containers with different side dishes and meat. It was a really complete meal and made in decently sized portions, so he wouldn’t have any leftovers. He opened each container as Kyungsoo handed him his chopsticks with a grin. Jongin couldn’t help but laugh as he thanked the android again.

The food was good, so he really had no complaints. Jongin ended up emptying everything on his plate, leaving no trace of the food. He had been very hungry. He usually had lunch meetings at a fancy restaurant, or, as he was about to do today, just skip to keep working. Kyungsoo was sitting down next to him, eyes fixated on Jongin’s every move, smiling brightly as the food disappeared.

“Did you enjoy it?”

“I did, thank you.” Jongin put everything back into the bag. “Was that ride going to wait for you?” Kyungsoo’s smile faded, maybe because it had forgotten about the ride or maybe because this meant it had to leave. Jongin wasn’t sure.

“He left right away.” Kyungsoo grabbed the bag, holding it against its chest.

“Okay, then I’ll have to drop you off on the way. I have a busy afternoon.” Jongin picked up the phone to ask Jongdae to get the car ready, missing Kyungsoo’s displeased expression. The bot was expecting to spend the afternoon with him; however, work was work, and Kyungsoo could also understand that. “We’ll drop him off on the way to the shelter.”

“Can’t I go with you?” 

Jongin looked up at the bot’s face, pout in place and pleading eyes. Everything in this android was made to make him weak. He could not understand how no other human had this power over him, but one single bot did. Jongin bit his lower lip. After the visit he had more work, but he could also drop Kyungsoo off after visiting the shelter, and then he would be able to work in peace. He sighed.

“You can come with us to the shelter, but I’m dropping you off at home after that.”

The android stared for a few minutes, his face completely blank. Jongin still wasn’t used to this glitch since it came and went randomly, but it wasn’t so bad. There was so much more to Kyungsoo than this glitch. Suddenly the android’s face broke into a smile, a happy curve from ear to ear, eyes shining so brightly, and for a second Jongin was glad he decided to let it tag along.

Jongin walked in front, the android following close behind as they exited the office and met Jongdae at the elevator.

“Change of plans,” Jongin informed, feeling the way the bot’s small hand wrapped around his arm. “Kyungsoo is coming with us to the shelter.”

Jongdae seemed visibly surprised about this. Usually, Jongin didn’t like to bring anyone other than his assistant to these visits, since it was easily and quickly done this way. He curiously glanced at the bot happily clinging to his boss’ arm. However, there was nothing he could say against it. “Sure, sir.”

Jongin smiled. Everything was fine.

This shelter was different from the one he got Kyungsoo from. Of course, active shelters would look very different from one that was about to close. There were far more employees around, the place was clean, and there were other customers walking around and taking a look at the bots available. Kyungsoo looked around with a smile, watching all the androids about to be picked and other people filling out forms already.

However, this wasn’t the part Jongin was interested in.

When they made it inside, the owner of the place greeted them, shaking Jongin’s hand.

“Mr. Kim, it’s a pleasure having you here.” The man was as tall as Jongdae maybe, bright blonde hair pushed back.

“Thanks. This is my assistant Kim Jongdae,” Jongin introduced. “And this is my… android, Kyungsoo.” 

The owner shook Jongdae’s hand, ignoring Kyungsoo’s which didn’t go unnoticed by either of them.

“Please follow me.”

They followed him to the back of the shelter, opening a door to a storage room. There were only four androids there. All of them were in poor condition, next to them a pile of metal parts. Kyungsoo’s hand around Jongin’s arm tightened its grip. It was looking around, with a frown on its face. The android looked disturbed.

And to be honest Jongin could relate.

“I’ll buy the parts and I will have my team check the androids to see if they can be saved considering their condition.” He sighed, turning to look at Jongdae. “Have them look around and see what can be used.”

“Yes, sir.” Jongdae bowed slightly, and Jongin followed the owner to his office, where he signed the paperwork required.

“If the bots can be saved, then my assistant will sign the form,” he informed; the other man nodded.

“Those were dropped here a few months ago. They were in such bad shape that we couldn’t display them to be purchased.”

“I’m guessing you checked if they worked, before throwing them back there.” Jongin raised an eyebrow.

“No, they looked so bad that I just assumed they wouldn’t.” The owner shrugged. “They’re just junk, pieces of metal, like the rest of them.” The man glanced at Kyungsoo, who had been sitting next to Jongin.

Jongin’s stare went down a few degrees.

“Give me the paperwork for the bots. I will take them.” Jongin reached out, waiting for the other man to do as requested.

“But what if they don’t work?”

“We will use whatever works in them for a new bot. They will just go to waste here.” Jongin cleared his throat, glancing at his extended hand to let the other man know he was waiting. The owner let out a sigh, giving him the form and waiting for Jongin to fill it out and sign it, then Jongin sent a text to his assistant letting him know they were taking everything and to update the team accordingly. “Thank you for your time.” He stood up, and Kyungsoo stood up with him.

“It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Kim.” The owner offered a hand which Jongin ignored.

“I wish I could say the same.” After saying this, Jongin and Kyungsoo left the man’s office. Jongin had to remember not everybody was nice or cared about androids. He was always surrounded by people who cared so he forgot this detail. They entered the car, waiting for Jongdae to make his way out as well.

Jongin looked down at Kyungsoo, its bottom lip sticking out and a frown ruining its perfect features. Jongin sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

Kyungsoo’s movements were sudden, as if it was snapping out of some sort of trance.

“Nothing. It’s just…” Its voice was low, almost sad. Its fingers fidgeted with the edge of its sweater. “I was thinking that this was me before you bought me. I was just junk. I didn’t mean anything to anyone. What if I have to go back there again? Is this all I will ever be?”

“Okay, let me stop you right there. First of all, no, you’re not junk.” Jongin sighed. Maybe bringing Kyungsoo with him wasn’t such a great idea. “Where you come from doesn’t define who you are. You won’t ever go back to a place like this because you’re with me now. You’re my android now, and even if you glitch out or you overheat or whatever happens… I won’t let you end up like that ever again.”

“You promise?” Kyungsoo turned to look at Jongin, the bot’s eyes almost shining with something that looked like worry. Jongin was so fascinated for a moment that he had to remind himself to respond.

“I promise.”

...

A week later Jongin was sitting in his living room, going over some mods and DLC on the commands tablet, with Kyungsoo sitting right next to him. It was wearing a light blue sweater with dark jeans, part of the clothes he had Jongdae purchase for it. Jongin had noticed that Kyungsoo wore different shades of blue over the last week, and it made him wonder if it had a preference for color too.

The bot was holding a magazine with the latest news of all the downloadable content available, going through it and telling Jongin which ones it wanted to be installed.

“Look at this one, Jonginnie. It says this mod will change my eye color.” The android showed him the magazine, and Jongin glanced at it briefly before looking at Kyungsoo’s face, his eyes specifically, of course ignoring the given nickname. Kyungsoo had taken it upon itself to give Jongin a cute name, and Jongin never bothered to correct it.

“Your eye color is pretty. We don’t need that,” he said as he kept browsing. Kyungsoo’s cheeks turned a pretty pink, and the android smiled, looking down at the magazine again.

“What about this one? It says you can change my voice as you wish. It has more samples than the default state.”

Jongin smiled.

“Kyungsoo, I don’t want to change anything… Let’s just add stuff, okay?” He kept browsing for anything useful. Maybe he could add more traits, to make Kyungsoo’s personality more colorful—not that it wasn’t colorful enough. So far, Kyungsoo had managed to visit him at work four times with food. When Jongin got home, Kyungsoo followed him around, and Jongin hadn’t slept in his own bed once since the android arrived.

Kyungsoo was inserting himself in Jongin’s life very effectively.

Jongin had no complaints, however, even with the delay that had Kyungsoo stopping mid-action a few times, and sometimes for longer than five minutes. The rest of Kyungsoo made that minor flaw seem completely insignificant.

As he said, he didn’t want to change a thing.

“There’s one called ‘naughty whims.’” Kyungsoo frowned. “It doesn’t say much. What is this one about?”

Jongin cleared his throat. They would definitely not be needing that one at all. “That one is for people who wish to have a physical relationship with their androids.”

“Physical? Like… hugs?”

“Like .”

There was a moment of silence between them. Jongin looked up from his tablet just in time to see Kyungsoo’s face turn red all the way to his ears. Jongin didn’t know how they managed to have him react this way. It was still a mystery to him, but he would have been lying if he said he didn’t like it. To be quite honest it was the most adorable thing. Kyungsoo quickly turned the page and kept looking over the rest of the catalog, making Jongin laugh.

“Let’s add a new trait… Do you want something specifically?” Jongin scrolled down the list of traits available to download. He installed the mod to add more traits, opening a fifth space for another one. “There’s also a singing mod that was separated from the Idol pack released last year.”

“It would be nice to be able to sing. I could sing for you before you go to sleep.” Kyungsoo smiled brightly, making a warm fluttery feeling expand inside Jongin’s chest, one that he ignored. “Can I choose the trait myself?”

“Sure.” Jongin handed Kyungsoo the tablet, stretching on his couch. The weekends were usually as hectic as weekdays. Jongin would take care of a lot of work from his home office. However, that weekend he didn’t feel like working. Either way, whenever he tried to work, Kyungsoo would barge in and distract him.

The android required more attention than Jongin ever thought.

“Done,” Kyungsoo said, after confirming the trait and handing the tablet back to Jongin. The bot left his spot next to him on the couch and claimed his favorite spot on Jongin’s lap, smiling down at him as Jongin went over Kyungsoo’s selection. The trait he had chosen was loyal. This made Jongin’s eyebrows knit in the middle of his forehead. Out of all the things he could’ve picked, Kyungsoo chose Loyal?

“Why do you like this one?” Jongin wrapped an arm around his bot, merely as a reflex.

“Not that I need a trait for it, but I like to think that you will be the only one in my eyes.” Kyungsoo gave him his signature warm smile, one of his hands running through Jongin’s hair. “My one and only.” The bot’s eyes seemed to sparkle along with his smile. Jongin then wondered—going from owner to owner, how many times had Kyungsoo said the same thing to other people? How many times had he stared at others the way he was doing with him now?

How many times had Kyungsoo promised to have that person as his only one?

Just thinking about it made Jongin’s stomach sick with a feeling he did not want to identify. Doing so would be rather dangerous for both of them. Despite everything, he had the android now. He bought it. It was his bot now, and he had no intention of getting rid of it anytime soon.

Nor ever.

“Okay then, if that’s what you want, then cool. We’ll go over the rest of the list later.” He smiled, gesturing for Kyungsoo to get off his lap so he could get started on other things.

“You need to pay taxes in order to leave,” Kyungsoo said with a giggle, tapping his cheek with an index finger. It took Jongin a while to realize that the bot wanted him to kiss it, and for a moment he was slightly tempted to do it. However, he had to remember it was just an android, something he had been forgetting lately.

“Come on, Kyungsoo. I have stuff to work on,” he replied. The android looked at him with a frown, a cute pout on his lips, and there was something in his eyes. Worry?

“Jongin, do you like me?” The question took Jongin completely off guard. Like him? As in seriously like him? Like a partner? It was really hard for Jongin to put his thoughts into words, because he didn’t hate the android, of course, but it was just an android, a thing. He wasn’t supposed to be liked like that. Most android-human relationships didn’t really involve feelings; people just liked to pretend.

Kyungsoo suddenly stood up, glaring back at Jongin, maybe because he took too long to answer, maybe because the android already knew how Jongin would answer. The bot looked…mad. Kyungsoo’s face was red again, but Jongin had a feeling it was for a completely different reason. Even his chest was rising and falling heavily. Suddenly, the android stopped moving. Jongin could hear the sound of the CPU working inside Kyungsoo’s head.

Jongin was used to it already. He looked at the time, deciding to open a few emails from his phone while he waited for Kyungsoo to respond. He noticed an email coming from Park Technologies. He had reached out to speak with the CEO, Park Chanyeol, but he had been out of the country and couldn’t meet up with him. As it turned out, Chanyeol had just arrived and was available to meet and discuss the android. Jongin smiled, glancing at the android, before sending a reply to invite the CEO to his house so he could see the bot.

Ten minutes and several emails later, Jongin finally put down his phone, to see Kyungsoo still had not responded. This was odd. Usually, five minutes was the maximum time the android took to fully process. He stood up in front of the bot, touching Kyungsoo’s cheek slightly.

“!” He quickly took his hand back. The bot was burning. He could not even touch it. Jongin started to panic. This had never happened before. It was not supposed to happen. It was supposed to be just a small delay. Jongin reached for the command tablet, turning the bot off manually while checking the system. Nothing seemed to be wrong with it. Maybe he should call Minseok and ask.

That would be the best way to go.

Minseok’s only advice was to wait for the bot to cool off and turn it on again to see if there was any damage and they would check it on Monday. Jongin’s heart was pounding in his chest as he waited, his brain going over several possibilities, all of them involving Kyungsoo not turning on again.

If he had only checked on Kyungsoo earlier… He hoped it wasn’t too late.

A few minutes later, Jongin turned the android on manually again with the tablet. He sighed in relief when he saw the system starting and then android coming back to life. Just a few seconds in and Kyungsoo was blinking again, his eyes looking into Jongin’s and a warm smile on his face.

“Jonginnie,” he said with that cheerful voice of his, and Jongin finally relaxed completely. He ran another scan but it looked like the bot was fine. Jongin then approached him, touching the side of his face slightly just to feel the bot’s temperature and smiling when it seemed just fine. However, he did not expect for Kyungsoo’s cheeks to turn red again as he looked back at him. “Jongin?”

“I was just checking something. It’s fine.” Jongin didn’t understand this sudden need to touch him, to make sure he was okay. He didn’t understand what was going on inside of him and why he was so afraid.

“Want to watch a movie?” Kyungsoo smiled again, that warm sparkle covering his eyes, blush still in place, and Jongin felt weak. His initial plan was to work, but after what he had just gone through, he was afraid to leave Kyungsoo alone and have the same thing happen again.

“Sure.” Jongin returned the gesture, most of Kyungsoo’s smiles were so contagious that he often found himself returning them. “That would be nice.”

He couldn’t understand, but Kyungsoo’s bright smile was totally worth it.

…

“The living room and the terrace are ready. Dinner is in process and so is the tea, sir,” Sehun informed just a couple of nights later. Jongin nodded, thanking his butler bot. Everything had to be in good condition if he was going to have guests over—or to be more specific, one guest.

After exchanging several emails with Park Chanyeol, they had finally agreed on a date to have that meal. Jongin couldn’t wait to hear the process of making such a complicated android like Kyungsoo. Whatever it was, they had done it pretty well and Jongin wanted to know the secret.

Sehun walked away to keep doing his tasks as they waited for the CEO. Jongin had even dressed Kyungsoo accordingly, hoping to introduce the android and show Chanyeol what had him so fascinated. Jongin thought that maybe after finding out what made Kyungsoo so unique he could easily get over it and go back to his regular life.

He was kind of hoping that was the case.

Kyungsoo walked downstairs wearing the wine-red turtleneck and dark pants Jongin had chosen for him. He stood in front of Jongin, waiting for his approval while he scanned Kyungsoo’s figure.

“You look really handsome,” Jongin said with a smile. He had learned that compliments worked well with the android. As expected Kyungsoo flashed a big bright smile, cheeks turning slightly pink.

“Thank you. You look very handsome, too.” 

Jongin had to admit himself that it was nice to be complimented.

They were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. Jongin grabbed Kyungsoo’s hand, pulling the bot over to receive their guest. Jongin waited for Sehun to open the door and let Park Chanyeol in. The man was nothing like Jongin expected. He was tall, even taller than Jongin, bright red curls covering his head. His ears stood out the most, but even then Jongin could tell the man was very attractive. He had a charismatic vibe to him.

“Mr. Park.” Jongin offered a hand that the taller man accepted. “My name is Jongin, as you’re well aware since we’ve been exchanging emails for the past few days.”

“Ah, yes.” The CEO shook Jongin’s hand, giving him a half-smile and an appreciative scan that Jongin did not miss. “It’s nice to finally meet you, and call me Chanyeol, please.”

“Very well.” Jongin smiled. “This is Kyungsoo. I’m sure I mentioned him several times in our emails.” He turned to his bot, who was just curiously looking at them. Jongin gestured for it to take a step forward, which the bot did.

“Oh, yes, I remember it now. It’s a 2018 model but durable.”

“I agree.” Jongin placed a hand over Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “I thought I did not have any use for a boyfriend bot, but it turns out life has been interesting ever since.” 

The taller man laughed, looking down at the android. Chanyeol didn’t look fascinated at all, more than likely because he was the one who brought it to life.

“Dinner is served, sir,” Sehun announced, gaining their attention.

“Thanks, Sehun,” Jongin said, “Shall we?”

“Sure, please lead the way.”

Jongin led them into the dining room where the butler bot had dinner served for them carefully. Chanyeol sat across from Jongin, while Kyungsoo took a spot next to him, a hand holding onto Jongin’s sleeve. The android looked very uneasy and Jongin couldn’t understand why. He couldn’t even understand how he could identify emotions in Kyungsoo, but he could.

Over dinner they discussed the process of creating model KS12. Jongin listened carefully to every detail. However, there wasn’t anything they were doing differently from Kim Tech. Maybe they got some materials from different places, but other than that technically Jongin’s androids should have been just the same. Even the software Park Technologies was using was in a way simpler than the one in Kim Tech.

So, what was it?

What was making Kyungsoo so special?

What made this bot so irresistible?

“I have to say our methods aren’t that different, so I kept wondering what is it about this bot? Why is it so different from regular bots?” Jongin had to ask because he just couldn’t get the grasp of it.

“Different?” Chanyeol glanced at the android for a moment, “As far as I know, other than being extremely high quality, our bots are just like any other.”

Jongin frowned. There was something there that was not clicking for him. “But he is different. He doesn’t respond like any normal bot would.”

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow. “Oh, well… there was a handful of bots that weren’t following the normal behavior pattern. There was one in the country with those qualifications, but I could never get a hold of it to study it.” He observed the android once again. “Wait, is this that one android?”

“Yeah,” Jongin looked at Kyungsoo with a smile that the bot returned. “As far as I know, he is. I bought Kyungsoo from a shelter. I was told that he went from owner to owner due to a flaw.”

Chanyeol’s eyes were wide open as they went between the two. “Oh, well, I’m sorry. If you’d like, I can change it for another model. We don’t make that one anymore, but I can find one that would suit you.” 

Jongin felt Kyungsoo’s grip around his sleeve tighten for a moment.

“Oh, no, don’t worry… He certainly acts differently, and there’s a small delay in his system, but I wouldn’t change him.” He placed a hand over Kyungsoo’s as some sort of comfort. The fact that he was trying to comfort an android was so weird to him, but once he did, he felt the bot relax next to him. “Thanks for the offer though.”

“Sure.”

They moved to have tea on the terrace, which Kyungsoo offered to bring while the two men settled.

“I must say, you two seem to be close,” Chanyeol said, sitting down this time next to Jongin. “Are you one of those bot owners that expect more from their androids?” He laughed, but Jongin could sense the curiosity behind the joke.

“Not at all. It happened that way because of the way he acts, but at the end of the day, he’s still an android.” 

Chanyeol’s stare was intense as he heard Jongin say this.

“I know more about bots than about humans, but if there’s something I know about them, it’s that humans are more suitable for other humans when it comes to personal relationships.”

“Says the one who created a boyfriend bot,” Jongin chuckled.

“They’re made to play with, not for anything serious. Just a big Ken doll.” Chanyeol shrugged. “Except, of course, for those weird people, but we’re not one of them.” As he said this, Chanyeol placed a hand on top of Jongin’s. “Maybe we could repeat this evening some other day.”

Oh.

So he was flirting.

Jongin had noticed something during dinner, but he put that to the back of his mind because he didn’t really know Park. For all he knew, the man could just be that weird. He took a moment to properly analyze the situation. Park Chanyeol was his style—funny, charismatic, smart. They had a lot in common and he was indeed very attractive. Jongin couldn’t lie.

Then why wasn’t he attracted to him at all?

There was nothing pulling him towards Chanyeol, not the slightest bit. Jongin frowned, noticing that just thinking about going out with the taller man made him feel… guilty. He just couldn’t even consider it, and the moment he realized the reason why was the most shocking of his life.

Kyungsoo.

Suddenly a tray was harshly set between them, a not so happy looking Kyungsoo putting the cups down and serving the tea for them. Jongin observed him in silence, not really knowing what to do other than to take his hand from under Chanyeol’s. They waited silently until Kyungsoo was done serving the tea, and Jongin then softly thanked him, to which Kyungsoo did not respond, making his way back inside the house.

Looked like someone was mad, or jealous rather.

Jongin had never considered such a thing. He always thought that Kyungsoo’s reactions had to do with some algorithm, something in his programming, but now that he had talked to Chanyeol about it... Was it possible for a bot to have human emotions?

That sounded very crazy to him, but how else could he explain that when Kyungsoo made a happy expression, he genuinely looked happy. He would smile at the tiniest things; no other bot would do that for him. Sehun had never done that. What if emotions were what was causing that system delay?

Now he couldn’t wait for Chanyeol to leave so he could test that theory.

“So, you haven’t answered me,” Chanyeol said, taking a brief sip of his tea.

“Huh?”

“About going out some other time.” The man smiled and Jongin looked away. He couldn’t feel any more uncomfortable at the moment.

Jongin took a deep breath. “I’m not really interested, but thank you for considering it.”

“I see,” Chanyeol sighed. “Well, can’t blame me for trying. This was fun.” He finished his tea before standing up. “Hope we see each other soon then.”

“Of course.” Jongin smiled, shaking Chanyeol’s hand again and having Sehun walk him outside. As soon as the door was closed, Jongin went to look for Kyungsoo. He didn’t find him anywhere on the first floor, so he walked upstairs. Nothing in Jongin’s room or the bathrooms, but he finally found the bot in his own room, which he had never used since he had been there for anything other than changing his clothes. “Kyungsoo, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Why are you here?”

Kyungsoo didn’t respond.

“Kyungsoo?”

“Do you like him?” Kyungsoo’s words were bitter, and this took Jongin completely off guard.

“What?”

“Of course, you do. I thought that maybe you were starting to like me a little, that if I worked harder you would be interested in me, but I was wrong.” Kyungsoo stood up. He was frowning, pacing around the room. “Why did you even buy me? You should’ve just let me fall apart in that shelter.”

“Don’t say that…” Jongin tried to explain, but he couldn’t say much more before Kyungsoo was talking again—yelling, almost.

“I should’ve known. You never showed any interest. You never wanted to go out on a date. I’m just another thing to you.” 

Jongin tried to touch him, maybe try to calm him down a little. He never thought there would be a time when he would have to calm down an android.

“Leave me alone!” Kyungsoo exclaimed, slapping Jongin’s hand away, and suddenly he wasn’t saying anything else.

He wasn’t moving.

Jongin could hear him processing, Kyungsoo’s eyes staring at the wall as his computer tried to keep up, and Jongin’s heart skipped a beat. He waited for a while, and when the machine finally stopped working at the speed of light, Kyungsoo suddenly closed his eyes and the whole bot shut down. He was still standing, however, Jongin could not hear him process anymore.

What the —

“Kyungsoo?” He reached out, touching the bot’s cheek. He wasn’t as hot as last time, but at the same time his temperature was decreasing. He was completely off. Jongin ran downstairs to retrieve the tablet, coming back into the room to turn Kyungsoo on.

However, the android did nothing.

He didn’t turn back on. He didn’t move.

He didn’t do anything.

Jongin’s heart was racing, almost exploding out of his chest. He felt dizzy, fear taking over for a moment. He reminded himself that he had to remain calm. Maybe if he gave him some time, the bot would come back on all on his own, or maybe he could use the tablet later. He just had to let Kyungsoo rest for a moment. Jongin would try again in the morning, and if it still didn’t work, he would take Kyungsoo to the lab.

His anxiety just increased as the night went on. Kyungsoo had been obviously jealous, upset that he had given away his feelings and received nothing in return, but how was Jongin supposed to know? He had never seen a case of any android having feelings. This was new to him, too.

He couldn’t even deny it anymore. This was human behavior. The insecurity, the jealousy, these were all emotions that only humans could pull off, and now his bot was capable of them, too.

And Jongin had messed that up so bad.

Even going to sleep felt wrong. His bed felt too empty without Kyungsoo’s weight on it, without his head resting on Jongin’s chest. It didn’t feel right anymore, and he had to admit he had gotten used to it in the short period of time Kyungsoo had been there. He had gotten used to his breakfasts and Kyungsoo showing up during lunch to bring him food. He had gotten used to having him on his lap while he worked in his home office. He had gotten used to Kyungsoo’s presence everywhere.

Jongin really wished he wasn’t about to lose any of that.

The next morning, he woke up with his alarm. Usually, Kyungsoo would rise earlier and wake him up before the alarm did so. Jongin sighed as he got out of bed. His first instinct was to go to Kyungsoo’s room and try again. He grabbed the tablet and tried to turn Kyungsoo on again, but the bot still did not respond. Jongin browsed the tablet’s features to see if he could find any issues, but there was nothing found. According to the tablet, the system was running as normal. It was just that his bot would not turn on.

Jongin dialed Jongdae instantly.

“Jongdae, please send a team over. I’m taking Kyungsoo to the lab.” He didn’t wait for a response before hanging up. He noticed that his hands were shaking, and his heart was pounding. He tried to be calm. Minseok would fix it. Whatever it was that was wrong, Minseok could fix it. He could fix almost everything; turning Kyungsoo back on would not be a problem.

But what if he couldn’t?

…

“I can’t,” Minseok said, confirming Jongin’s biggest fear.

“What do you mean you can’t?” He looked between the bot carefully lying in front of them and the monitor screens behind him.

“I can’t turn him on,” Minseok sighed, glancing at his boss. “The hardware is completely fine. It should turn on. Maybe if we reset it, we will have better results.”

“What do you mean by reset?”

“Erasing all the data and restoring it to its default state. Maybe then it will turn back on.” Minseok hated to be the one delivering bad news to him, but he had literally tried everything—scanning the software for viruses, checking to see if the hardware was fine, hacking the computer and trying to force the turn-on command—but nothing worked.

“No! We’re not going to do that.” Jongin was pacing. He could not afford to lose Kyungsoo, not when he had been a jerk and he didn’t get to apologize. Resetting could bring the android back, but there were no guarantees that Kyungsoo would be the same. He would have to find another way.

There had to be another way.

“Just keep him here… I’ll find another way,” Jongin said, trying to convince himself more than anything. “If I can’t find it, then we’ll reset.”

“Okay,” was all Minseok had to say. He really doubted Jongin would be able to find a different solution to this. If the system crashed, resetting would be the best way to go. However, it seemed like Jongin was attached to it, so he would let him be.

Jongin rushed back to his office. He was almost sweating, and his hands were trembling. Whatever he was going to do, it had to be quick. The moment he sat behind his desk, he started to research, looking for other options or other people who might know what to do. He also asked Jongdae to cancel the rest of his meetings for the day and reschedule any shelter visit he had during that week.

Kyungsoo was now the priority.

He wrote emails to several people, including Park Chanyeol, asking for any helpful information that might tell him what to do. All he received were negative responses, and all Chanyeol had to say was:

“It was a defective android from the beginning. Let me know if you want to change it.”

There was no way Jongin was going to change Kyungsoo. He spent the rest of his afternoon trying to look for a way to fix whatever was wrong with Kyungsoo, feeling awful because he had failed to see what was so obvious in front of him. Kyungsoo had never been a regular android. From the moment Jongin set him up and turned him on, Kyungsoo had proven to be different, to have a soul.

From refusing to sleep alone to the continuous lunch breaks, Kyungsoo never did what Jongin told him to do. He acted more like a human than anyone Jongin knew. Even with the autonomous mode, Kyungsoo was supposed to follow a pattern set by his owner. However, he refused to listen to Jongin and did what he thought was best.

He had even given Jongin a nickname, when Jongin didn’t ask for it. The idea of losing that, that spark in the bot’s eyes whenever he saw him, the way he would innocently rest his head on Jongin’s chest every night... It made Jongin’s heart ache.

He felt heavy.

Jongin made one last attempt, reaching out to a known lab in the country. Androids were not really their forte. They specialized in industrial machines, but maybe the solution could come from the place least expected. His head was throbbing, his eyes were killing him, and his heart had no hope. He made his way back into Kim Tech’s lab, which was almost empty. It was past five already, so it was normal. Minseok was the only person hanging around. Their eyes met and Jongin noticed Minseok felt sorry for him.

Jongin felt sorry for himself.

Jongin sat next to the platform where they had Kyungsoo. His beautiful features reminded him of the day he was brought in for the first time. He stared at Kyungsoo’s closed eyes for a moment, his heart breaking slowly.

“Are you going to be okay?” Minseok asked, and he had his bag over his shoulder, ready to head out. Jongin smiled, or tried at least, nodding.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t beat yourself up too much. I’m sure you’ll find a way.” Minseok patted Jongin’s back gently. It was nice of him to say that, but they both knew he didn’t really think that was possible. Either way, Jongin still took it because he wasn’t known for giving up so easily.

“Thanks.”

Minseok then left the lab, leaving him alone with Kyungsoo. Jongin grabbed the tablet, going through the information and trying to turn Kyungsoo on over and over, until he just sighed.

“Listen, I know this was my fault, but I think it’s kind of unfair for you to leave like that without letting me apologize.” He glared half-heartedly at the bot. “How was I supposed to know? You’re an android and you’re not supposed to develop feelings. Yes, I did think you were special, but I thought it was part of your programming.”

He had to be insane. There was no other explanation for him to be sitting there talking about feelings to a shut down android who could not hear him. He had to be even more insane to really fall in love with an android the way he did, but that train was long gone.

“No, I was not interested in Park. I never was. All I wanted from him was information about you. Everything I ever did these past few weeks had to do with you, and, yes, I know I’m horrible at this, but you should’ve known. You should’ve known that I was crazy about you the moment you came to my office and I agreed to let you sit on my lap while I worked. I was crazy about you when I repeatedly let you sleep in my bed or bring lunch to my office. I was crazy about you when I let you turn my life upside down, just as much as I’m crazy about you now.” Jongin took a deep breath. “I’m just… I’m sorry.”

He put the tablet back into place, standing up from his chair, ready to leave the lab as well when he heard a sound. It was very faint, but also very familiar, the sound of a machine starting to work. He turned around in time to see Kyungsoo’s eyes flutter open, staring at the ceiling for a while until all the data was properly loaded, and they finally focused on him.

Jongin felt the air being knocked out of his lungs. His jaw was on the floor, and his eyes were wide open as he watched his android sit up on the platform and turn to him with a smile. It was his smile, that bright and warm smile he had gotten used to seeing every day. Jongin felt his eyes tearing up. He really thought he was never going to see that smile again.

“I was going to stay gone forever.” Kyungsoo stood up, reaching out to wipe away a lonely tear that had rolled down Jongin’s cheek. “I was mad at you for not feeling the same way. I’m glad I was wrong.”

Jongin first reaction when his brain started to properly work was to embrace Kyungsoo, wrapping his arms tightly around the bot and pulling him closer. The warmth, the feeling of his hair under Jongin’s chin and his cheek against his chest, the way Kyungsoo’s fingers traced circles on his back when he hugged him back… All these movements were a combination of codes working together to make every joint and circuit in Kyungsoo move ever so precisely.

But the feeling behind all of that was real.

“Can you say it again?” came Kyungsoo’s voice, melodic and sweet, and Jongin liked that so much. “Please.” 

Jongin didn’t have to ask to know what Kyungsoo wanted to hear, even when he wasn’t very specific about it before. He knew what Kyungsoo needed, and it didn’t matter because he wanted to say it, too.

“I love you.”

And the smile he got in response was the brightest one he had gotten so far. Just one smile out of so many he was excited to receive in the future, too.

The ride back home was different. The rush and gloomy feelings he had before were fading away, and after what he had just gone through, Jongin just wanted to hold Kyungsoo’s hand all the way. He asked him to give him random facts about anything because he needed to hear him talk. He couldn’t wait to tell Minseok the good news.

“Tell me something about you,” Jongin asked just as they drove into their street. He was rewarded with yet another beautiful smile from his bot.

His boyfriend.

“About my model?” Kyungsoo looked at him. There was happiness sparking out of his eyes.

“No, I want to know about you.” Jongin shook his head. He had enough information about the model. He now wanted to know what was inside Kyungsoo’s mind. Jongin parked in their driveway, turning off his car, not letting go of Kyungsoo’s hand just yet.

“Oh.” Kyungsoo froze for a second, making Jongin’s heart skip a beat. However he wasn’t glitching. He was just taken off guard. “I really love to cook for you, I love it when you come back home, I love it when you compliment me, and I love it when you smile at me.”

“Ah, but all of these have to do with me.” Jongin chuckled, bringing Kyungsoo’s hand to his lips, kissing it lightly.

“Yes, because I love you, too.”