Junhong's eyes flashed open. Yun-Ki stood before him once again, weight pressed onto her left leg, with a frustrated smirk. His ears perked to the sound of her tapping foot.

 

“Hello Yun-Ki noona.” She rolled her eyes and Junhong wondered at what he had done wrong. “Is everything okay?” Junhong unplugged himself from the pod as he spoke and the woman before him stood up straight and waved her hand, ushering him out of the charger.

 

“Everything is fine Junhong, hurry up.” He stepped out, wavering slightly on his rigid legs before she pulled on his shoulder and stood him with his back against the far wall. “Now, you see all this?” She pointed around the room to all Minhyeon’s belongings and Junhong nodded. “I know you tidied it last week but I need you to really clean the room and bring all the stuff up into the lounge room where I can sort through it. And then I want you to work out how to get that pod out of the cupboard.” She stared at him until he gave her another nod. She groaned under her breath and Junhong was still dumbfounded by her vexation. She stood there with her hand pressed against the wall. “Well? Get started.” Yun-Ki trudged out the door.

 

Junhong stared around at the dark room. He looked to the windows, covered by the still ragged curtains. They were riddled with holes and tears, time and lack of care contributing to their deterioration. With a quick swipe from each hand he pulled them open, brightening the room considerably.

 

His eyes scanned around again. Junhong catalogued each item for a second time, comparing them to when he last went through the room. Everything was the same except for a few boxes that he guessed the stuff was meant to be put in. There was a strange sensation on the top of Junhong’s head and he felt a spark in the back of his neck that surged down and tingled his legs. He looked up as a drop of water splashed into his eye. He blinked quickly. He felt odd, glad he guessed it was called, that his eyes were waterproof. It took him a moment to adjust, the sensors in his eyes registering the sensation of the water. He stepped away and examined the damp circle on the roof, taking note to mention it to Yun-Ki while his mind filled up with information as to what it was and how structural damage like it could occur.

 

He picked up several of the things closest to him and placed them in one of the boxes until it was full. To anyone else it would have been heavy but he lifted it easily onto the bed and began to fill another, lingering on the clock before he placed it carefully inside. He thought of the saying: “Quick, like a band aid.” Junhong guessed that being quick was important with the task he’d been given, although he knew mourning was a lengthy process - one he couldn’t tell if he was a part of or not.

 

“Junhong!” The voice bounced through the house, muffled but saved by Junhong’s heightened hearing. His eyes fluttered as he recognised the request for his presence. His noona never spoke to him quietly unless she was mad and it made Junhong sigh. He knew sighing was the right reaction but it felt foreign since even breathing wasn’t necessary for his functions. He didn’t consider it longer, hurriedly stepping onto the landing just after he picked up one of the boxes, remembering she wanted them.

 

“Oh!” The force that met his body pushed him to stumble back a step and he held the box tight enough for nothing to fall out. His eyes snapped up and he caught sight of a young woman leaving the room across from Minhyeon’s. She laughed awkwardly, putting an arm to his shoulder. “Sorry. I wasn’t looking, are you okay?” Junhong nodded vigorously, considering more the girl’s condition as she had struck a full titanium-steel alloy robot.

 

“Are you?” He didn’t quite understand how she looked taken aback by his ringing voice that was filled with what he knew people called concern. She laughed again, nodding with a smile and all of it made the corner of Junhong’s lips tug upwards.

 

“JUNHONG!” The roar from the kitchen made them both jump and the woman looked frightened.

 

“Uh, is that you?” Her cheeks dimpled when she smiled again and Junhong nodded shyly although he wasn’t sure why. “Junhong, that’s nice.” She touched his arm lightly as she bounced from a giggle. “Oh!” She leaned in and Junhong assumed he was meant to as well. “If you ever want to get away from her,” she jerked head towards the stairs, “just come knock on my door and I’ll take you out.” She gave him a final warm look before trotting down the stairs, waving as she exited the front door.

 

Junhong’s wave was delayed by another shout and he blinked as his own name with several curses fell harshly onto his ears once more. “Coming noona!” He hopped up the steps, two at a time, pulling back quickly to only bump Yun-Ki’s stomach with the box where she stood at the top of the staircase. She wore a scowl that could have frightened the energy out of him but he stood tall and calm as she stared into his glass eyes.

 

“You need to be quicker, robot.” She snatched the box out of his hands and waved him off to get the rest of the stuff. He shook his head as he loped back down to the room, getting rid of the unpleasant feelings that rose in him with the sight of his noona. Yun-Ki was his owner now; she was the one he had to listen to, as long as what he did was right.

 

When he brought the second box up she had already created three piles with the first lot of belongings. Only two things sat together on the coffee table while the rest sat on either side of the box on the floor. She noticed his questioning look and pointed to the things on the polished wood. “This is trash, this is to sell and this is stuff to keep.” She moved her finger as she spoke. The only things she was keeping were the clock and that desk lamp that Minhyeon had beside the bed. A pang filled Junhong’s chest and he started to feel something wrong about the situation. Someone shouldn’t have been able to be thrown away so easily and only stored in their practicality. Minhyeon had been a real person but Yun-Ki treated him like he had only gone to live somewhere else with new stuff.

 

“With the next lot of stuff can you bring up the linen and things like that? I’ll need you to wash it so that everything is clean for when I rent it out.” She didn’t look at him as she begun to rummage through the next box, handing him the empty one as she added more to the garbage pile. He filed up and down the stairs, bringing box after box of items until the room was striped aside from the furniture.

 

“Uh, Junhong? Throw this out now.” She pushed one of the boxes towards him, maintaining her position on the floor to go through the sell-ables. He nodded and made his way right down to the front door. He twisted the knob with some difficulty beneath the cardboard but it swung open quickly enough. The outside air bit at his silicone casing, the nervous-system-like sensors just below telling him how cold it was – 17 degrees Celsius to be precise. The rubbish bin stank when he lifted the lid, wishing the belongings goodbye as he dumped them in swiftly.

 

He stepped back in to the raucous sound of Yun-Ki’s vile voice once more. His information filled his mind with the sing-song tunes of voices deemed beautiful and his noona’s was far below the standard of those that rung silently through his ears. “Junhong! I’ve got a manicure appointment.” Yun-Ki shouted from the bathroom as she readied herself inside when he got near. “I want you to clean the kitchen and throw out the rest of the trash okay? Oh and clean the floor to!” Junhong answered quickly and surely, obeying her orders like he was programmed to do. As long as he was given a task, he had to fulfil it according to the morality rules that occupied every aspect of his coded consciousness. If his system deemed it wrong then he was more than obliged to decline.

 

Before Yun-Ki left, she checked the weather on the TV, dropping the remote onto the sofa and leaving the forecast running. The small man on the television was predicting light rain and winds with snow in some of the higher altitude areas. Junhong knew it would be another month or so and the weather would warm up again, saying goodbye to frozen rain and greeting sunshine.

 

Junhong decided cleaning the kitchen would be the best thing first. He knew that flies would begin to infest the house if he didn’t clean it quickly. Luckily his noona had bought extra-long gloves for him to wear as he washed the dishes in the sink. He finished quickly, one of the perks of being a robot. But his electronic list of chores was still a bit longer than one would consider being able to relax and he prepared the solution to clean the floors with.

 

Junhong spent a hardy few hours scrubbing the floor and fulfilling the list of jobs before he knew he needed to mop the polished wood to remove the last motes of dirt.

 

His joints felt overworked and Junhong took a moment to sit. 

 

“What the hell are you doing?!” The boy-bot froze and stood to spot Yun-Ki at the top of the stairs, staring with agape. “I told you to clean, not mope about!”

 

Junhong’s clear voice jingled through the room . “I'm sorry noona.” Yun-Ki growled and stormed over to shut off the TV. Junhong pulled his head back when she moved in close to him.

 

“Get. To. Work.” She emphasised each word with the utmost ferocity and Junhong had no ability to go against it. He scurried around to get back to cleaning the floor as Yun-Ki flopped onto the couch, flicking to a crime show. He didn’t feel contempt towards his noona but he felt a tingle of something negative when she laughed at the means of a man’s demise on the television. He felt it worsen when he realised the show was a documentary.

 

He heard the door shut and from his spot in the room, he could see that it was the woman as she trudged forlornly up the stairs, waving gently to him when she noticed he’d spotted her. He waved back as he continued to mop at the wooden flooring, marvelling at the sheen created by the water-soap concoction.

 

“I’m done now noona. I’m going to go charge.” When the whole floor shone, he packed away the mop and bucket, careful to avoid the still wet patches.

 

“Yeah, whatever.” She began flicking channels when the documentary became too serious for her and Junhong moved back down to his charging station. Before he walked into the bedroom, he looked over his shoulder at the closed door opposite his. His knuckles rapped on the white wood and a muffled ‘coming’ greeted him.

 

“Oh! Junhong.” She smiled widely and moved back to signal he should enter. When he got inside, it was déjà vu? Yes, that’s what it was called. It was a mirrored version of Minhyeon’s room but much brighter with white walls and open curtains. The couch was white beneath the window with blue and red pillows that looked quite comfortable. She gestured for him to sit and when he did, he realised that it was also her bed, and images of fold out sofas filled his mind.

 

"So what brings you to my corner of the house?" She sat opposite him on one of the matching single seats.

 

"Uh, you said..." He suddenly felt unsure about himself. She had said he could come to her but maybe she hadn't meant so soon.

 

"Ah, of course." She leant forward with her hands on her knees.

 

"Noona?" She was taken aback by the address but she didn't object when he was obviously younger. She nodded in reply. "What's your name?"

 

"Oh! I'm so sorry! My name is Sohee." Junhong's gaze lingered on her lips. He couldn't tell when she would stop smiling but he didn't want her to. She was the golden ratio, he could tell, and he much preferred looking at her genuine smile than Yun-Ki's snide one.

 

He shuffled himself across the two seater when Sohee came to sit beside him. She placed a hand on his clothed shoulder and gave him a warm lingering look. "Have you ever thought of getting a different job? I mean, you even live here. She's harsh on you but you still stay." Worry and concern lit up her eyes but it was an emotion he hadn't seen anyone but Minhyeon carry. She had assumed that what he was doing for Yun-Ki was voluntary, but the only payment he recieved was not being trashed with the rest of Minhyeon's things.

 

"I can't leave, Sohee noona." He cocked his head when she blushed at her name being spoken in such a sweet voice.

 

"And why's that?" Her hand rubbed his arm, from shoulder to elbow and back again.

 

"Because..." He hung his head, he wasn't really supposed to tell anyone what he was and he was completely unable to go against his noona's orders. He had to stay because Yun-Ki told him to, not that he had anywhere else to go either. Sohee's hand slipped down to his and she jumped a little.

 

"Oh!" Junhong realised that she had a habit of saying that. "You're so cold! Well, not cold but you're certainly not the right temperature." Sohee pressed the back of her hand to Junhong's forehead but his temperature was the same all across his body - a cool 30 degrees Celsius. His body had a cooling system that allowed him to remain at that temperature, other than when charging when it rose only to 32.

 

"It's fine Sohee noona. My temperature is just right. If it was any higher my functions would over heat."

 

"It is so not- wait, functions?" Her speech was replaced by an incredulous stare and Junhong realised he was too far in to obey Yun-Ki's order.

 

His voice box struggled to get the simple declaration out and passed his overriding command system that desperately tried to keep the words from escaping him. "I-I'm......a robot." He smiled hurriedly as her jaw dropped, waving his hands in front of him. "Ah but don't tell noona I said that!" She nodded dazedly.