3. WONYOUNG

Yujin was just about to close the lights, it’s getting late, they still haven’t returned yet. They might be back tomorrow. She was about to close the lights until the doors opened, revealing the eight sisters severely damaged. Yujin couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Different colored wires under their skin, sparks on the torn wires… She couldn’t look at them. It made her feel uncomfortable. 

Are they robots? That explains why they felt heavier than me when Yena engaged in a sword fight with me. And Hitomi… Her eyes and hand movements are faster than those of a human, or those that I've battled with before… Putting everything aside, she ran towards Doctor Kim, she assisted her and helped bring the sisters to the room where she was told to. She supported Wonyoung with her right shoulder, while on her left arm was the sleeping Chaewon. 

The scientist kept on talking, but everything would just pass through her ears.

Yujin was quiet until she finished assisting the scientist. She sat back again in the garden, sipping a cup of tea like she did nights before. 

“She’s an android… She won’t fall for me…” On her face was a forced smile. Tonight’s my last night, it seems. I’ll be reporting tomorrow. She stood up and decided to call it a day.

+++

Yujin woke up early to make sure that she wouldn’t get caught leaving the mansion, on the doorway, there was the Madame. “So, I wasn’t wrong after all. You’re a spy for the police… Right, Ms. Yujin An?” Her hands were trembling, but one was behind her, ready to pull out her knife stuck on her back pocket.

“The assassin who killed the President of Zhang Federation, which made them use an impostor for three years now to keep it a secret. I’m surprised you didn’t use an alias like your infamous Eugene Barton.” Her arms were crossed, she was on her usual midnight dress. 

“You know about it all along… Why didn’t you send an order to your… daughters-no, your androids to have me killed?” 

"Is there a need to do that, young lady? The Police that you trust so much is about to betray you anyway." A chuckle escaped her lips.

“Huh? W-What are you talking about?” Betray? Me? Yujin thought to herself.

"You didn't notice?" Her chuckle turned into a laugh that echoed in the foyer, "They're going to surrender you to the Zhang Federation after they made use of you and the data in your eyes." Yujin couldn't believe what she just heard, there is something in her that wants to believe, and it coexisted with the feeling of distrust since Madame Kwon is a big name and a wanted criminal at that.

“The squad that caught you are known to make most of it all. I've gone into a battle with them once in the past, and I still don't know what became of the person I was with during that one mission." She pulled out a pistol and pointed it towards Yujin, "Now I have an offer, I'll let you off and the secrets of me and this household go out in public, then you end up being sent to the Zhang Federation—or you'll serve this household until your last breath. What do you say?" She can't make up her mind, in the first place, she doesn't even know whether the wanted criminal in front of her is worth believing.

Yujin receives a call, she glances at Madame Kwon who just raises a brow—a signal for her to answer the call.

“Yujin, this is Capt. Lee. Madame Kwon’s girls escaped last night, however, we are sure that we have dealt with heavy damage towards them. We might've even killed one of those girls. How are they? Report as soon as possible, we assure you of your freedom after this mission." The mixture of a familiar voice and static could be heard. 

“Yujin An, where is your answer!?” 

"Captain Lee… Will I be free after this mission?" 

“Yes, you will be free.”

Kwon pulled the trigger, the radio fell on the floor. Kwon immediately picked it up, “I see, you’re still the Captain, Lee Chaeyeon…” 

Yujin could hear the frightened tone of Lee’s voice through the radio.

"I just killed Ms. Yujin An because I don't like snakes in my mansion, are you really giving that assassin her freedom?" 

“Damn, we were just about to get that huge amount of money from the Zhang Fed. Curse you for meddling in our affairs, Madame Kwon.”

“Yujin An, you hear that?” She let out a loud laugh, “So, have you made up your mind?” 

+++

Yujin has decided to work at the mansion until her last breath—at least that's what she chose. Either way, she chooses, she'll never be free anyway. However, she still couldn't bring herself to forget about her feelings for Wonyoung. It's been three months since she chose to stay in Madame Kwon's mansion, and became the person who kept the mansion safe—from those who seek to uncover the secrets and the treasures that Madame Kwon had hidden in the very basement from when she was still a thief.

She uses her skill to kill the intruders who set their foot within the mansion's vicinity. As Madame Kwon sees her, she has the strength of eight people. That’s why she thought she’s the perfect person to work under her. She had no choice but to accept the reality that she would continue to age, while the eight girls she is taking care of—along with Dr. Kim, would never age and would stay young forever. She was still able to maintain a close and friendly relationship with them.

During the nighttime, she still frequents the lounge to play the grand piano with Wonyoung. 

“Milady,” She called her attention as they played the piano together—piano four fingers. To which, the woman responded with a hum.

“I found something in the basement earlier, it’s a violin. It’s still working pretty well.” Yujin stood up and took the violin case. She opened it and took out the violin she carefully dusted earlier.

“How do you play that…?” Wonyoung curiously pointed at the violin, Yujin sighed and smiled at her.

“Despite being almost the same age as me, you’re still like a child.” She let out a chuckle.

Wonyoung threw her a glare, “It’s a joke, my apologies, milady.” Yujin took out pieces of paper from the zipper of the violin case and placed it on the piano’s music stand—Gavotte. 

“It’s a simple song, don’t worry. Listen to me playing it first so you’ll have an idea.” As soon as she picked up the bow from the case and started playing the piece, Wonyoung watched her fill the room with the melody coming from the string instrument she was playing. She can’t help herself but to feel amazed with her performance, strange as it sounds, she feels a strange feeling whenever she looks at the person in front of her eyes right now, as impossible as it may seem, it felt like there was something in her chest—a painful feeling. 

The two of them soon played the piece together, they enjoyed themselves as they had fun being with each other's company. The piece soon came to an end, Yujin placed the violin back in the case.

“Milady, I have something to tell you.” She was walking a few steps closer to her.

“Yes, Ms. Yujin?” She stood up from the chair and turned to look at her.

Yujin took a deep breath, It’s now or never. She sighed, "Milady, I'm sorry but… I wanted to get this feeling out of my chest…" Her hands were balled into fists.

“Milady, I… I like you. No—I mean, I love you. From the moment I saw you for the first time.”  

When she heard those words, she felt somewhat happy. It felt like something was jumping inside her chest.

“I’m sorry that I had to tell you about this, don’t worry… I know. You don’t have to tell me that you will never be able to reciprocate those feelings… Because we’re… We’re different…” That’s right. It came to Wonyoung’s mind as well. I will never be able to return those feelings since I’m a… an android. It felt strange, she felt so happy when the servant told her about her feelings but when she also told her about the reality between the two of them—it felt as if she was torn into pieces. 

They were made by Dr. Kim to be just like human beings—like what Madame Kwon told her to. She can never have a daughter of her own so she had them made like this—being able to feel pain, happiness, sadness, and every emotion. 

They're based on the eight children who were killed during a massacre in an orphanage, those children had their diaries with their photos and other data about them.

“Ms. Yujin… Why does it hurt…” Wonyoung walked towards her, her head was low, trying not to look at her. “Why does it hurt right here?” She was a step away from her when she took her hand and placed it on her chest. Wonyoung raised her head to look at her straight in her eyes.

Tears were flowing on the corners of Wonyoung's eyes. She felt something beating on her chest—A heart…? But that couldn’t possibly…? She remembered Dr. Kim’s words earlier back when she was assisting her.

“I made them look as normal as what the girls their age would be. I designed them to look and feel more like a human. Since that’s what Madame Kwon wishes.” 

All of a sudden, Wonyoung closed the one-step gap between them. She was hugging her tightly, and before Yujin knew it, tears were already traveling down her cheeks. She hugged her back, her left arm on her shoulders, and her right hand on her head as if burying her head further on her chest.

“Is this feeling… Is this the one that they called love in those books… The feeling of not wanting to let go of the person that made you happy a lot of times…” 

With her right hand, she raised her face to look up at her. Yujin closed the gap between their lips with a peck.

“Does this mean…?”

“We can’t let them know about us… This shall be our little secret, Milady.”