After being released from the hospital, Sehun was sent on the next flight to China. None of his belongings were packed to go with him since he wouldn’t remember any of them. The government told him that there would be things needed for his life already waiting for him when he arrived at his apartment. His mother yelled and cried as to why he had to be transferred to China and not stay in South Korea. The doctor explained that with China’s population decreasing more rapidly than Korea’s, he was being taken there where he was more needed.

Like any parent, she cried for hours. The impact of her son getting in a car crash and was no one of them and the reality that he was going to be sent away to perhaps never be seen by her again, was just setting in. Doctors and nurses attempted to reassure Mrs. Oh that her son was in good hands and no harm would come to him. He was in the governments control, meaning there would never be any harm to him. However, it was hard for anyone to deal with to know that someone you love and care about barely remembers you and has no emotion. He was a robot. That’s all that was left.

Sehun was getting his flight information imported in when there was a knock on the door. He looked up from watching the doctor poking him with needles to look over towards the now opening door.

“You have a visitor.”

The nurse gave him a smile and stepped out. Sehun was about to go back to watching the doctor when a boy walked in. Slow blinks came from Sehun, making the security circles twitch as they tried to examine him. It took longer than normal to deem him as safe. Then a name popped up next to his face; Kim Jongin.

“Sehun..”

With the injections done, the doctor moved away and announced he would come back in a few minutes to check him out and show him to the car to the airport. Sehun’s eyes glimmered under the rooms light. A beautiful shade of blue reflected the white lights that surrounded him. They focused on the boy that was moving closer to him. It was easy to tell by the look on his face that there was something wrong.

His tan skin became darker as he stepped under the light to stand in front of Sehun, who sat emotionless looking up at the boy.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Kim Jongin, eighteen years old, born in Seoul, South Korea.”

The boy blinked a few times at the information being spat at him in a monotoned voice. It was obvious he wasn’t prepared for it. There was a moment of silence between the two. A small alert went off within Sehun letting him know that he had to leave soon for the airport.

“I’ll miss you.”

Sehun’s eyes returned up to see the tanned boy looking down at him. There was obvious sadness in his eyes.

“Everyone else is okay. Kyungsoo has a broken leg and Suho has a broken arm. Baekhyun had alcohol poisoning but Chanyeol is looking after him really well. He’s the only one still staying here.”

There was no one that his information center could process. No recognition of Kyungsoo or Suho, not Chanyeol or Baekhyun either. He would have to see them in person or a picture of them for his body to recognize their faces. Sehun kept his eyes on the boy that was running his hand through his hair slowly.

“Where are they sending you?”

“China.”

“That’s.. not so bad. I figured they would send you to the Americas or Europe.”

No nod or agreement was given to Kai. He was left to stand there and let the reality sink in. Other than the basic information his system gave him, he knew nothing about him. No status of their relationship, no memories, no even more personal information could be given to him. His nickname, Kai, wasn’t even known. But it seemed like Kai knew that Sehun couldn’t remember. He just wished he could.

“Sehun, your car is here.”

He stood up, fixing his shirt that had bunched up due to his sitting position. Both of the boys stared at each other for a moment. There was sadness in Kai’s eyes. Barely there, but there was. As Sehun reached the door, he felt a hand tug on his arm.

“Be safe.”

Sehun didn’t look back at Kai but gave him a nod. He waited a second to let the boy let go of him before following the nurse out of the building.

The airplane ride was boring. He was placed in first class due to his new position as government worker. But even then there was nothing to do. The seats were large and comfy, he had entertainment through the roof, and the food was near perfect. Without feelings however, everything was boring. There were no memories to look back on to smile about, no future things to aspire about. He lived in the now and only followed what others told him to do.

A car was waiting for him when he stepped outside. He had no bags or luggage so he skipped the large crowd that was waiting at the baggage claim. All he had was his wallet. The doctor had transferred basic Chinese into his systems. He could read all the signs and understand peoples conversations next to him. There was no confusion and he navigated out of the airport with ease.

The car was nice, perhaps the nicest car he had seen, even in Korea. His parents owned nice cars but the government things were always nicer than anything citizens could buy. The driver greeted him with a bow, opening the door and motioning for him to enter.

“Flight go okay, Mr. Oh?”

“Yes.”

“Welcome to China.”

As a child, his parent would talk about the different countries in the world. How America was big and full of all different kinds of people. How everyone felt at home even though they had different beliefs and color skin. It was somewhere to go that you could fit in, even if you didn’t fit in normally. His mother would tell him about Europe and the big tall things that towered over the city. His father would talk about Africa and the amazing cuisine that he made after he hunted all day. But none of them talked about China. Sehun never asked because he didn’t realize it. He didn’t think he would ever go to China since he had no interest in it. He wanted to go all the places his parents told him about.

China was different than he could have imagined. There were always stories in school about how dirty China was because of their large population. How crowded and stuffy it felt. But the China that was in front of him wasn’t like that at all. It was beautiful. Even without his emotions he knew when something was beautiful and when it wasn’t. It stimulated his senses and made his heart speed up by just a beat.

The city shown in the darkness that was overcoming the sky. Beeps of horns and motorcycles filled the air along with smells of delicious cuisine. Sehun’s eyes scanned the streets, intaking the location of the shops. Many of them had interesting signs filled with bright neon lights and little figures of cats or fish. For a moment his lips parted but they were quickly shut.

It took almost an hour to get through the after dinner rush hour that had taken over the streets. They stopped near the edge of one of the strips that had brighter lights than the others. The driver looked back at him before shutting off the car and stepping out. Sehun waited, taking in the rest of the scenery until his door was opened and he stepped out.

The air hit him gently. There were faint scents of fish and food that he wasn’t familiar with. Bits of gasoline and smoke joined in seconds later. The lights seemed to be brighter than he thought and his eyes squinted.

“This is where you’ll be staying.”

He pointed to a rectangle like structure that looked to be at least thirty stories high. The front of the building wasn’t wide at all. Enough for a door and a window but that was all. Despite the old looking shops surrounding it, the structure looked much newer.

“I’m a big fan of your parents. I have your fathers cookbooks and my wife’s got nearly all your mothers big shoot prints hanging up on our walls.”

Sehun turned to look at the man that was staring at him. He bowed gently and nodded.

“Thank you.”

“Well, welcome home.”

He was handed a key with a small ribbon on the back of it. It was looped so he would be able to hang it up or connect it to other keys he would receive. The driver bowed to him once more before getting back in his car and driving off slowly. Sehun stared at the key for a minute, admiring the red ribbon that shone due to the neon light behind him. A small number was printed on the ribbon as he flipped it over. He recognized it as the number of his apartment.

The inside of the building looked much bigger than it led on from the outside. A desk on the side was monitored by a person sitting behind it. With one look Sehun could see that the person was like him. Blue eyes flashed at him and the woman gave him a bow. The decor was modern, nothing like the old fashioned look of the city around him.

“Hold please!”

Sehun peeked his head out of the elevator, his hand slamming against the door as it began to shut. A boy came running and slipped into the elevator quickly, his hands on his knees and he slipped to the ground slowly.

“Thirty please.”

The boy was out of breath, his hair was frizzed and wind-blown. Sehun watched him for a minute before he looked at the numbers, realizing that thirty was already pressed for him. His hand slowly slipped away from the door and his body rested against the wall. After they rose about five floors, the boy stood up, his panting had subsided and he was fixing his hair in the small mirror that was on the wall.

“Are you just moving in? They were rumors that someone new was moving in, from Korea right?”

Sehun turned and met the boy’s eyes. He waited until his security system cleared the boy before nodding. Small boxes of information popped up, covering the boys face. Sehun blinked to make them go away. The boy in front of him, his systems named him Lu Han, had bigger than normal brown eyes. His cheeks were a bit puffy and there was a small scar on his bottom lip, making them look uneven.

“I’m Lu Han.”

The way he talked made Sehun confused. He was speaking Korean, perfect Korean at that. His hand was held out for him to shake. Sehun stared down at it before turning away.

“Oh, sorry.”

Sehun shook his head, trying to inform the boy that it was nothing to be sorry about. His systems told him to only shake hands with other government officials. It wasn’t Lu Han’s fault. They two stood in silence as the elevator moved up the floors one by one. Occasionally Sehun would look over to see what the other was doing. Once or twice he caught Lu Han doing the same.

When they arrived at the top floor, Sehun motioned for Lu Han to exit first. After the boy stepped out, Sehun followed. He looked at his key and held it in his hand as he read the numbers on the few amount of doors that were in the hallways. It wasn’t until Lu Han stopped that he realized their apartments were next to each other.

“I guess i’ll see you around then, new neighbor.”

Sehun nodded in response, putting his own key in the doorknob. He watched as Lu Han disappeared into his home before doing the same. He flicked the light switch on and saw his new home. There was furniture around the area already and it looked like a home. The door closed behind him and he walked around the living room, admiring the small fake plants that had been put on random surfaces. Everything was different than his parents had taught him.

Despite being far into the future with new technology, things didn’t change as much as people thought. There were always books saying there would be flying cars and teleporters not too far away, but in reality, things weren’t that different. Instead of focusing on those things, there were great improvements in the medical field and trying to create more jobs. The flying cars and teleporters could come later.

Besides the AI’s living within the population, nothing else was much different. New ways of entertainment such as holograms were new and the cars that drove themselves as well, but there still had to be someone in the drivers seat due to safety issues. Preserving life was much more important than fancy new things that would make life easier.

Sehun sunk into the bathtub when the water was warm enough for him. His hands ran through his hair, wetting it and slicking it back some. Small splashes made the water go out of the tub as he reached for the shampoo. His eyes examined the city from the window that was pressed against the tub. Everything could be seen from the height he was at. Speeding cars and balloons that were being let go by children as they got sleepy.

The towels were soft against his pale skin, small patches of red covers his feet from the heat of the water. His hands pulled open the drawers of the dresser to find a full wardrobe folded perfectly for him. He slipped on a pair of silk pajamas that had been shining under the bedroom lights. The closet had been filled with work clothing; suits, dress shirts, dress shoes, everything he would need for his job. There were more than enough clothes to last him two or three months.

He walked around the rest of the house that he hadn’t taken the time to look at. The kitchen had been stocked with different kinds of pots and pans and the fridge stocked with healthy food. An office had a large computer sitting on the desk, the see-through glass shining lightly. Everything had been prepared for him, like the doctor said.

--xx--

The alarm went off at seven in the morning. Sehun got dressed and prepared himself for his first day at work. The information for the safety building had already been transferred for him. It was close enough for him to walk to without trouble. His apartment was situated at the edge of the city, the countryside could be seen from his window. He locked the door after stepping out, pushing on it lightly to make sure it was locked. There was a small commotion coming from the apartment next to him, Lu Han’s apartment. Sehun stared at the door for a moment before turning and walking to the elevator.

“Oh Sehun, Welcome. You’re going to go upstairs and to the right.”

Sehun nodded at the receptionist, bowing lightly and headed up the stairs to follow her directions. The glass door slid open to let him into his department. A small floating sign was against the door, ‘Resident Security Department.’

“Mr. Oh, it’s nice to have you. I’ll show you to your desk.”

Hearing someone calling him Mr. Oh was different for him. He was only eighteen and most people referred to him as Sehun or his dreaded nickname, Thehun, due to his lasting lisp. Though, most people over the age of eighteen worked for the government when they became AI’s, it was just how it worked. Anyone younger was normally put into a homing section that let them live peacefully until they were old enough to work.

There was never any discrimination against the AI’s as to where they could work and where they couldn’t. All their skills were wiped out when they were being prepared. They were given the skills through information when they were assigned a work place. Skills were learned as they went as well. Each AI was made for their job, no matter what it was.

“You’ll be working here. All the information you need is on the document when you first log in. Please make sure to import it all.”

The woman, who was not an AI, smiled at him and bowed goodbye before walking off back to where she came from. Sehun turned and looked at the glass computer that was resting on the desk. He sat down slowly and touched the screen, making it flash on. His reflection was shown through and his eyes lit up a brighter shade of blue as the information shown on the computer was being imported.

His job was to make sure his building of residence was secured. With the large city around and such a high end apartment building, there had been a lot of crime lately. Smaller windows popped up with different information in them. One had his hours of work and the others had higher security systems to import.

Another woman came up to him a few hours later after he had finished getting everything he needed. She explained that he would come back every morning to import more information to be up to date on everything that he needed for his job. Sehun bowed and stood up when she let him know he was able to go home and his duties would officially start the next day according to the hours on his chart. Being free from his duties and it being only ten in the morning, Sehun decided he would go around town.

Many people had wrong information about the AI’s. They believed all they did was their job. However, if someone were to look around in the city, the only way they could tell the person was an AI was by their eyes. They did things normal people did everyday. They had to eat, sleep, drink; everything normal people had to do. In the recent years the scientists had programmed the AI’s to react to certain colors and sounds as a normal person would. They were becoming more and more human.

Sehun weaved his way expertly through the crowds of the city. There were people of all ages. Small children held on to their mother’s hands as she bought the vegetables for that nights dinner. Business men were having smokes outside their buildings before their lunch breaks. The whole city was busy, even during the early morning, much different than the city he was used to.

He felt his stomach begin to grumble as he smelled the food around him. He knew he would have to eat lunch soon. With recipes stored in his memory, Sehun shifted through before finding a suitable lunch that would give him the energy he needed for the rest of the day, well at least until dinner. After gathering all his ingredients, he decided to go back to his apartment and prepare lunch.

There was a different person at the front desk when he walked in. It was a man with dark hair. Sehun watched as his eyes looked up at him, a darker shade of blue reflecting off of his. He knew the AI must have been one of the older models for the color of his eyes were darker than the normal models in his time. Sehun bowed and made his way to the elevator.

As he was putting the key in the doorknob, the door next to him opened. Sehun ignore it and pushed his own door open to go inside.

“Sehun! Oh, you’re home.”

He turned his head to see Lu Han standing behind him, a bright smile on his face.

“Uh, I just made some lunch and I was wondering if you want to come eat with me? My brother was supposed to be home but he said he had to stay later.”

It wasn’t that normal for AI’s to interact with humans unless it was for a job or they were family. Sehun’s security system kicked in and told him no. He shook his head and walked into his apartment.

“Hey, wait!”

Lu Han pushed open the apartment door as it closed on him. Sehun turned to look back at the boy who had his hands running through his light blonde hair.

“I know we just met and all and you’re.. an AI.. but I know you work at the security office. My brother’s always worrying about me and I think he’d feel better if you would just.. watch over me until he gets home?”

The desperate boy had a look in his eyes that looked like one of a kicked puppy. Sehun’s eyes ran over him to make sure he was safe, not having any weapons or anything that could hurt him.

“Please. It’s your job right? Think of it as that.”

Lu Han was right. It was his job, his specialty actually; residence security. While the offices hadn’t given him any specific cases or people to watch over, it wouldn’t hurt to get a jump start on his duties. AI’s were made for work anyways.

The blonde boy’s apartment was almost identical to his. All the rooms were in the same place, same counter tops and wall color. The only thing different was the furniture and decor. Lu Han’s apartment was more home like, instead of modern like Sehun’s was. The couch and carpet were a warm color that made one feel at home. Blankets and text books covered the coffee table along with scribbled pieces of paper scattered around. The carpet looked like it hadn’t been vacuumed in some time and the pillows were in different direction on the couch.

“Sorry for the mess. Summer assignments are a .”

Among all the information boxes that had popped up when the two first encountered each other, there was one that had Lu Han’s education. He was going into his final year of college, a medical student. They did mention about a brother but no information was given.

Sehun watched as Lu Han quickly gathered up his school things and set them on the small table next to the couch. The more he stepped in the apartment, the more he smelled the food that Lu Han had prepared for him and his brother.

“Your brother won’t mind that i’m eating his food?”

The other seemed surprised that Sehun spoke, for it was the first time he had since they met. He laughed and shook his head quickly.

“No, he’ll most likely pick something up or eat at work.”

Sehun nodded and waited for Lu Han to finish clearing off the couch before he had a seat. The couch was much comfier than his own. It was older, obviously by the small tear marks and worn down fabric at the corners, but it seemed bouncier and like it had a lot of history to it. He occupied his time by looking around at the pictures and random objects that were scattered around the living room.

After a couple of minutes, Lu Han returned with two bowls that were steaming. He quickly set them on the coffee table and shook his hands out from the little burns he received. Sehun tilted his head down to look at the bowls of noodles and vegetables that filled up the entire bowl. He was handed a pair of chopsticks and watched as Lu Han began pulling up the food and eating it.

They ate in silence. Sehun didn’t have anything to talk about with the other. He was on duty now with the request from Lu Han. The other seemed to not know what to say either but he kept looking over at him. Once they were almost done, there was a jingling sound at the front door. Sehun stood up, ready to see whoever was entering to make sure they were safe.

“Hey, it’s just my brother.”

Lu Han’s voice was a little shaky, as if he was scared what Sehun would do if he didn’t tell him it was his brother entering.

“Luhan, what did I tell you about leaving the top lock unloc-”

The man that stepped in looked much older than Lu Han himself. He had strong facial features and a much manlier body that was obvious.

“Who are you?”

Sehun didn’t answer and let his security system analyze the new man that was staring at him.

“This is Sehun. He’s our new neighbor.”

“Are you one of them?”

It was clear that the man meant one of the AI’s, for he wouldn’t say it about any human. Once he was cleared of all warnings and declared safe, Sehun nodded and bowed down at a ninety degree angle.

“Oh Sehun. I work for the department of Resident Security. Nice to meet you.”

His analysis had informed him that the person standing in front of him was named Wu Yi Fan. He was twenty two years old and worked at a local department store. Sehun leaned back up and stared at him until he opened his mouth to answer.

“Yeah, it was nice meeting you too now if you’ll excuse us, Lu Han has studying to do.”

Before anyone could say anything else, Sehun bowed once more and made his way out of the door and back to his apartment. Once he was in, he heard Lu Han’s apartment door slam shut. While it was his job to make sure the residence of the apartment building were safe, he wasn’t given any orders yet and decided to stay in his own home and leave the other two to deal with whatever that was happening.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Sehun looked up a few things about security and the crime that had been around his area in the last few months. He cooked himself dumplings for dinner, completing them with ease and perfection.

Days that didn’t involve their jobs, AI’s were rather useless. Sure they could do everything humans did, watch tv, read, play games, anything. But there was no desire to, no want or pleasure to do them. It would just be a way to waste the time until the next day or whenever they had to go to work. AI’s could pretend they’re interested in all the things most humans did, but there was no spark, nothing.

Due to their cold nature, not being able to show any emotion, most humans didn’t want them around unless they were doing their jobs. The discrimination had dwindled down over the years but people were still wary of them. They were powerful beings being controlled by the government that would follow every and any order that was given to them.

When Sehun was nine, there was an outbreak of AI’s that were defying the orders that were given to them. They would override the security systems and use their strength and status to kill innocent people. No one could figure out why they had been acting the way they were. Families that had hired nannies and house keepers were being killed out of nowhere. After they were controlled and all AI’s systems were reset and installed with new block aids that would prevent them from doing it again, people were scared. No one would hire them for a good three years and everyone was slowly starting to get back to using them as they did.

There was a perfectly good reason as to why Lu Han’s brother reacted the way he did. It was a safety feature that all humans had. To protect the ones important to them.

Sehun sat up from the couch and turned down the tv as his phone rang. His hands reached for it and slid the lock to unlock it, pressing the phone against his ear.

“Hello?”

“Sehun?”

“Yes. Who is this?”

There was a bit of silence on the other side of the phone. He sat up more, leaning back against the couch as there were more voices and hushing sounds from the phone.

“It’s Chanyeol.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know anyone by the name of Chanyeol.”

Another bit of silence before there was commotion, like someone was sitting down.

“Oh.. it’s okay. We’re your buddies from back home, well I am. Everyone else is here too.. Kai..” Sehun heard more whispers before the boy named Chanyeol cleared his throat. “Kim Jongin.. I mean. Baekhyun is here and Suho and Kyungsoo too.”

Kim Jongin was someone he recognized. The boy with the tanned skin and plump lips that greeted him before he left. There was still no memory of the others that were being mentioned.

“Are you doing okay?”

“Yes.”

“We miss you, bud. Maybe you can come back and visit us.. even if you don’t remember us.”

Sehun nodded slowly to himself. “Perhaps.” He looked at the time and realized it was almost midnight and he had to get up rather early. “I must go now. It was nice talking to you, Chanyeol.”

All the lights were turned off in his apartment as he slid into his bed. The small candle he had lit before dinner was blown out, making the only light come from the street lights that were shinning through his window. Sleep came over him soon as he passed the less than seven hour mark until he woke.
 

A/N: Heh~