Key insisted that Minho hurry whilst beckoning him from the door frame. Minho seemed afraid, seeing that he had never stepped foot outside of their small flat. Key groaned, forcing himself to calm his own nerves. 

 

"Come with me, Minho. It's alright. I'll be right next to you the whole time." He beamed a smile at the taller man, interlacing his warm fingers with Minho's artificial ones. His hand squeezed Key's tight and he took a few steps, smiling until Key pulled him along swiftly. 

 

He shook a few loose hairs out of his eyes and laughed, "You're clueless, Minho." 

 

Minho glanced down at their hands nestled close together and he laughed for the first time. Key stopped and his heels to watch the boy muster up a laugh. He wheezed a bit at first, but the more he chuckled, the laugh became recognizable to Key, because it was his own high-pitched voice. Minho was specially programmed with a voice box, set to have a tone deeper than his own. He continued to giggle as Key pressed on, his leather shoes hitting the gravel road outside harder than usual. Minho finally stopped laughing and even wiped invisible tears away from his smiling eyes. 

 

"You're like a parrot!" Key grinned, waving politely to passing neighbors.

 

"Parrot?" Minho questioned, looking to his creator in curiosity."

 

"Parrots are birds that copy everything you say and pick up bad habits from the ones they bond to. I'd say they're a nuisance, but you're not a nuisance to me at all." Key lead Minho up the stairs of a large house and knocked on the door violently. 

 

Taemin cracked the heavy door open, studying the pair on his doorstep before recognizing them. 

 

"Professor Kim! I wasn't expecting...you. I should probably put a shirt on, one moment." Taemin started to close the door but Key pushed his way through with minimal effort.

 

"I have the time nor patience for you niceties, Taemin. We have some problems with Min...the machine." He locked the door behind Minho and followed Taemin down to the basement with his creation trailing close behind. Taemin lead Minho by the shoulders into a chair across the dim room and shined a light into his face. 

 

"I don't see what's wrong off hand, Professor. Is he not sculpted to your liking? It can be redone." Taemin pouted, brushing his fingers over Minho's cheekbones. 

 

Key shook his head, pulling his journal out of his coat pocket, "That's not it. I find him rather handsome, actually...but the malfunction is...I think he can feel emotion. I'm not certain, but here's my log since the day I started him up and...well, read it." Key flopped it into Taemin's impatient hand and ran his fingers through Minho's hair as if to soothe him.

 

Taemin chortled a little at his older's notes, "That's just not possible." 

 

"That's what I had thought at first but I swear sometimes he comprehends emotion! It's the strangest thing. I can't think of a way to prove it to you..." Key set a hand on his hip and tapped his foot nervously. "Kiss him! It sounds odd, but kiss him."

 

Taemin cocked an eyebrow in his Professor's direction, "Pardon me? Professor, I can't do that." 

 

Minho whined, looking up at Key from his chair, "I will not engage romantically with anyone but you, Sir." Taemin pushed his hands to his lips to stifle a laugh. Key's face flushed red from Minho's words.

 

"Professor Kim, correct me if I'm out of line, but did you," he pulled his long hair back, a nervous tick as he struggled to find the right sentence, "sleep with the humanoid?" 

 

Key slapped Taemin's forehead gently and looked at him sternly, "It's hard to explain, but no I didn't." He crossed his arms and glanced at the ceiling, acting childish. 

 

Taemin ran his hand over Minho's cheek again, feeling it with his knuckles, "I never installed anything that would make it capable of comprehending human emotion. It was made to hold more knowledge than you can, a library of sorts...however, I took it upon myself to make him ually functional. I assumed if you were unhappy with him, I could always buy your work on him and sell him to a rich, erse Councilman." Taemin's eyes drifted, falling into Minho's beautifully crafted ones. "But I can see why you would, if you did. I put a lot of love into him. I can't say if it feels or not, but I assume it will never feel pain. Not physically, anyway. Professor, do you think you can break a machine's heart?"

 

Key dwelled on the thought, twirling his fingers in Minho's thick mane again, "I'd rather not have to find that out. I apologize for having been a bother. We should be going. I'll keep you updated on him, but you keep your big mouth quiet at school. Do you understand?" Taemin nodded, putting his hands up in surrender. Key bowed slightly, pulling Minho by the hand and taking his leave. 

 

Minho started to lead into the direction of their flat, as he had already memorized the way but Key yanked him in the opposite direction.

"There's something I want to show you. Hopefully it will help me make sense of things." Minho blinked cluelessly, following his creator. Key involuntarily began to skip as they got closer and closer to their destination. He saw the water dancing gently in it's pool, the waves crashing against the shore, and then his feet felt sand. He lead Minho out just a bit further before sitting laying down in the sand and grinning to himself. Minho crawled over his creator's body, much like Key had done earlier in the day. Without warning, he pushed his lips to Key's groaned, pushing a puff of unexpected smoke into Key's mouth. Key shoved him back gently and propped himself up on his elbows.

 

"What do you think you're doing, Minho?"

 

Minho's eyes sparkled from what Key only assumed was the sun, "I wanted to hear a song and this is what you did when you gave me a song." Key raised an eyebrow, confused by Minho's strange copy-cat actions. 

 

He smiled at the taller boy, laughing slightly, "You would be so easy to fall in love with, Minho...even if you aren't real." He traced a finger over Minho's eyebrow and frowned.

 

"What is falling in love?"