“Alright, all done. Kui Xian. Wake up, Kui Xian.”

I had just taken off the little device that could make me shut him down for a while, and I watched as he silently opened his eyes and sat on the table before looking at me.

“What is that new sound I hear faintly?”

“I added the scientific definition of what a heart is into you, so that you can have heartbeats. And I also made you breathe. This was a bit more difficult because I had to find a way to synchronize it with when you talk, but I managed to do it.”

He seemed to take his time to get himself used to the new sounds, and finally got up after a while. He walked directly to me and hugged me as I opened huge eyes.

“Yah, Kui Xian. What are you doing?”

“Hugging you. You usually ask me to hug you at regular hours during the day, and right now is one of these hours.”

I couldn’t hide my surprise as I hugged him back, loving to hug though he had surprised me. This robot was surprisingly smart. He had noticed that I felt needy of hugs now and then, and he even hugged me by himself after noticing it…

But there was something bugging me.

“Kui Xian. Could you please put your clothes on?”

I had undressed him to add the new systems in his body, so of course he was completely right now. I knew he was not human, he was a robot, but still, this felt a bit weird.

“Yes.”

He broke the hug and went to search for his usual clothes. I handed him new ones.

“The usual ones are being washed right now. You’re not human, so you don’t sweat, but they smelled a bit like heat so I decided to wash them. You can wear these ones instead.”

He looked at the clothes for a moment before taking them and getting dressed. I nodded when he had all of them on.

“These clothes are also perfect on you. You’re very handsome.”

“Thank you.”

I smiled, happy and satisfied that he had remembered. I knew he was a robot, and that this data couldn’t be forgotten so easily compared to what the human brain could forget, but still, I was happy that he had remembered.

“You can just play Starcraft for a while. I’ll be working on the heart. Okay?”

“Yes.”

I surprised myself being disappointed by his answer. I had almost hoped that he would ask if he could be with me while I was working. But, of course he wouldn’t do that. He was a robot.

‘He’s a robot, Zhou Mi, a robot. You created him. He doesn’t have a heart’, I thought. But it was still disappointing to see him simply obey.

I worked for a while, until I fell asleep, face on my desk, in the middle of my papers. When I woke up, I found a blanket on my back. I frowned. Did…

“Zhou Mi. You’re awake.”

I turned to see Kui Xian sitting on the floor, simply staring at me. I frowned again.

“Weren’t you playing Starcraft?”

“Yes, but I think I understand what being ‘bored’ is. I got ‘bored’ of playing all by myself.”

I was surprised. He had been bored? While gaming? Kui Xian, my robot, got bored?

“So you came here and…”

“And I found you sleeping, so I covered you with this. You put data in my system about humans catching cold. I don’t want you to catch cold. You can’t teach me what feelings are if you do.”

Selfish robot. A cold wasn’t that bad, of course, and I was kind of happy that he cared about me, but it made me a bit mad that he cared only because that wouldn’t be good for him if I fell sick. Guess I couldn’t really expect more from a robot. I didn’t tell him to care about me, so he cared about me for his own good.

“Hey, Kui Xian. What was it like to be ‘bored’?”

He seemed thoughtful for a while.

“It was like doing something not interesting and not knowing what else to do to keep yourself busy.”

Something not interesting, huh? So there were things that could catch his interest, then.

“Don’t you like playing Starcraft?”

“If ‘liking’ means that I find it interesting, I do. But I always win. That’s why I got ‘bored’.”

“Then… do you want me to show you new things?”

“That would be interesting. My 4 To memory wouldn’t be useful if I don’t see new things.”

I got up, folded the blanket and put it on the table before taking Kui Xian’s hand.

“Let’s go outside then. I’ll show you what the world looks like. But don’t tell anyone that you’re a robot, okay?”

“Yes.”

I brought him outside. I hadn’t left my laboratory for a while, and the sun made me blink a few times before my eyes got used to the bright light. I could see Kui Xian’s eyes getting used to the light too, and when I felt that he could see correctly I made him follow me without keeping his hand in mine. I showed him a lot of things he knew because of the data I had already put in him when I created him, and he silently accepted the information I gave him. I knew he saved everything in what was working as his brain, in case he could need it later.

I had to stop after a while though. I didn’t do much exercise except brain exercise, and I couldn’t walk much for too long before being tired. My legs hurt, and I sat on a bench, inviting Kui Xian to sit beside me.

“Sit too, Kui Xian.”

“Yes.”

He obeyed, and sat too. I could see his eyes looking everywhere they could look at. From interaction between people to a butterfly flying right in front of him, to a child running happily around with his friends.

“The GPS function you gave me tells me we’re in Seoul, in South Korea.”

“That’s right.”

He stayed silent for a few seconds, before turning to me.

“This is the hour when you would want a hug. Do you want me to hug you?”

I smiled, and shook my head.

“Not here. You can hug me when we’ll be back in my laboratory.”

“Why can’t I hug you here?”

“Because usually women hug men. Seeing a man hug another man can be shocking for other people.”

“But I’m a robot.”

“They don’t know that. Plus, I told you, you’re just like any living being. You’re alive, Kui Xian. We can talk, we can hug. You understand what I tell you. So, of course, you’re alive.”

He didn’t reply, but I assumed he had understood what I wanted to explain. After a while, we simply went back to the laboratory. As soon as we got there, he tilted his head to the side.

“Do you want me to hug you?”

I smiled.

“Yes, please.”

He hugged me, and I could feel him hide his face against my neck. I had seen someone do that today, outside. Surely he had seen it too. I hugged him back and smelled his hair. Of course it didn’t smell anything. Though… there was something. Faint, but it was something. And I was pretty sure it wasn’t something he had brought back from outside.

I closed my eyes as he started to sing again, and I could feel his breathing on my skin. I would definitely give him a heart. I couldn’t let him be like this forever.

“Zhou Mi.”

He had stopped singing.

“Yeah?”

“I think I like hugging too.”

I couldn’t reply anything as he hugged me tighter, still hiding his face against my neck.