Most of the robots out in society these days are humanoid in form, but it's pretty obvious that they're 'bots. Robotics companies, even the one Taehyun is working in, haven't really bothered with making them look like real humans. The priorities were always efficiency and effectivity, everything else didn't matter. Until now, that is.

"Choi Soobin is our company's latest baby!" Beomgyu says excitedly, walking towards the 'bot that had extricated itself from its own containment capsule. "We're so proud of the work that went into him!"

Soobin was tall, and he looks like he was modelled after a male in his early twenties. Probably around my age. I look to Taehyun, asking for permission to check the 'bot out. He nods, his cherry red hair bouncing with the action.

I walk towards Beomgyu who is busy fussing over Soobin's clothes, trying to flatten out the creases and folds. Up close, the 'bot is even more unbelievable. I was expecting to find some hints or tells that Soobin was a robot but even being this close, it was basically indistinguishable from actual humans. I didn't know if I should be amazed or weirded out.

"What do you think?" Taehyun asks. "He's a wonder, isn't he?"

Soobin just stands there, looking at the room around him.

"It's definitely something," I say, my eyes still glued to the face of this miracle of science standing before me. "I noticed you call it 'he' like it's a real person."

Beomgyu gasps and immediately covers Soobin's ears with his hands.

"Don't say that in front of him!" Beomgyu reprimands me in an angry whisper. "You'll hurt his feelings!"

"F-Feelings...?"

Taehyun swats Beomgyu's hands away from Soobin's ears.

"Don't listen to Gyu. He's just overly dramatic." His assistant gives him a scowl and starts rubbing his hand.

Meanwhile, Soobin is still just standing there, eyes wide, taking in his surroundings. His lips are slightly open, forming a small 'o'. The expression is actually quite endearing, like a child's would be after entering a toy store for the first time.

"Is something wrong with...him?" I ask, almost saying 'it'. "He hasn't said or done anything yet."

"That's actually why we need to hire you to test run him," Taehyun explains. He stands beside Soobin, suddenly looking very short. "His code is incomplete, but we meant for it to be that way."

"I'm not sure I'm following..." I say, a little bit confused.

"He has the basics programmed into him, like language, basic motor skills, et cetera, but his code is going to gradually complete itself as he learns and adapts to his surroundings. We want to find out how well he can integrate into human society."

Tyun's voice then takes on a more serious note. "That means no one else but you can know that he's a robot." He places a hand on Soobin's shoulder. "Once he starts living with you, he'll adapt to things and, hopefully, become more and more like a human being. Think of it as taking care of an infant. Albeit a very tall one."

Soobin's eyes have finally stopped wandering and he's somehow decided that I was the next most interesting thing to look at. His eyes were very expressive for a robot, and it felt like he was going to punch a hole through my head with how intensely he was staring at me. I actually take a few steps back.

"I think he likes you." Taehyun says, eliciting a silent gasp from Gyu. "Even more reason you should take the job, hyung!"

Taehyun gently pulls Soobin by the arm and brings him closer to me.

Bolts, he's really tall!

"Soobin, meet Yeonjun."

The 'bot looks at Taehyun, looks back at me, and raises his hand forward for a handshake.

"Nice to meet you, Yeonjun," he says. His voice is deep but mellow. Whatever audio programming they used on him, it was perfect. I didn't think he'd sound like this but it actually kind of suits him.

"Nice to meet you, too," I say, grabbing the outstretched hand hesitantly. To my shock, I find that they were soft. It definitely felt like a real human's hand. My surprise must have been evident because Taehyun smirks at me.

"Realistic, no?"

"Very much..." I let go of Soobin's hand, ending the handshake.

"So, will you take the job?"

I pause for a second, quickly listing the facts one by one in my head.

1. I am being paid a ridiculous amount of money to
2. Take care of a freakishly tall robo-infant and
3. I have to keep his being a robot a secret from everyone else in the world.

Doesn't sound like a bad deal.

"One question," I say, holding up a finger.

"Shoot."

"If he somehow gets damaged or, you know, breaks... Do I have to pay for it?"

Taehyun's expression turns dark, which scares me. But then he bursts out laughing.

"Bolts, you scared me! I'm being serious!! I'm poor enough as it is!!"

"Oh, hyung, you should have seen your face!" He wipes a tear from his eyes. "You don't have to worry about a thing. As long as you don't break or damage him on purpose, we'll handle any and all costs."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Well, if that's the case..." I scoop Taehyun's hand up for an enthusiastic handshake. "It's a deal!"

"You do know no one makes deals via handshakes anymore, right?" Beomgyu says from behind me. "We have contracts to sign, and you need to fill out a ton of paperwork..."

"I KNEW THAT!" I say, cutting him off.

---

We finish all the paperwork after an hour or so. Taehyun and Beomgyu bombarded me with do's and don't's while I filled out what seemed like an endless amount of papers. Most importantly, I had to give them some personal details like my address and contact number, just in case there was an emergency. They let Soobin come with us to Taehyun's office on a different floor. It turns out Soobin's existence was a very close-kept secret. Most of the other staffers in the building didn't know about him. In a way, having Soobin walk around the building with us was kind of like a test run. Taehyun offered to have Beomgyu drive us home when we were done. I, of course, did not pass up a free ride.

"Is this the right place?" Beomgyu says, stopping outside of a park that's relatively near my apartment building. "Are you sure you don't want me to just drive you directly home?" He unbuckles his seatbelt and turns around to face me and Soobin at the back of the car.

"Yes to both of your questions. I think it'd do Soobin some good to see the surrounding area. He's going to be living here from now on so it's better that he familiarize himself with the place as soon as possible." I watch Soobin gaze outside his window, his hands and face flat on the glass. He really is a giant robo-baby...

"Alright then," Beomgyu exclaims. He gets out of the driver's seat and begins to stretch. I also get out of the car and was halfway out before remembering Soobin. I turn around to see that he hasn't moved from his spot.

"Soobin..ssi?" I say. He turns around at the mention of his name but he still stays seated. This is going to take some getting used to. "We should get out of the car now." Only then did he move to exit the vehicle.

"You're going to do alright." Beomgyu says, apparently watching me. "He'll learn fast. You'll see."

I really hope so.

"Thanks," I say, unsure what else to say or do. "So, uh, I'll make sure to call Taehyun if ever there's any trouble."

"Ah," Beomgyu says all of a sudden. "I almost forgot!" He grabs his bag from inside the car and rummages for something inside. He takes out a round gadget and hands it to me. It's around the same size as my palm and in the middle is a button with a heart sticker on it.

"What's this?" I ask, inspecting the item.

"It's an emergency button!" He says with a smile. "I tinkered with one of our prototype gadgets back at the lab. I made these in case we found a candidate to take care of Soobin. I thought phone calls and messages might not be as reliable compared to a dedicated and direct emergency line."

"What's with the heart sticker on it?"

"Never mind that," he says, brushing off my question. "That EB is connected to three others just like it. Two of them are with Taehyun and me, the third is a spare. Just in case." He fishes out another button from his bag and shows it to me. His has a sticker of a bear on it.

"Okay... so, how do I use this?"

"Press the heart button," he explains.

"Sounds simple enough." I stash the button into my pant pocket for safe keeping.

"Ah, Soobinnie!" I hadn't noticed but Soobin had already walked over to our side of the car and was standing behind me. "Be a good boy to Yeonjun, okay? I'm going to miss you!" Beomgyu proceeds to give Soobin a hug which the robot returns.

Well, at least he knows how to give hugs.

"It's getting late." Beomgyu says after checking his watch. He slips back into his car and rolls the window down. "I really should get going. It was nice meeting you, Yeonjun! And remember, if there's any trouble, anything at all, you know what to do!"

"Yes, I just pre—" I begin to say.

"Press the heart button!"Beomgyu cuts me off and then starts rolling the window back up. "Ciao!"

The car slowly eases back onto the road and then it was out of sight after he turns the first corner.

My neighborhood is pretty chill. There aren't too many cars that go through here, mostly because the people who live in the area can't afford one. This was a detail Taehyun and Beomgyu found soothing since it meant less chances of Soobin getting accidentally hit by a car. Like I'd let that happen!

"Okay, Soobin. Time to walk ho—" I turn around to find that I was alone on the side of the street. I do a quick 360 and find Soobin inside the park, chasing a squirrel together with a little girl.

Definitely a giant robo-baby.