The feeling of a cool towel against his right temple and the force of his own blood-laden coughs pulled Joonmyeon out of a thick, all-encompassing darkness.

Chen stood up and backed away instinctively, crudely dropping the sopping wet washcloth on Joonmyeon’s face. Joonmyeon felt like someone had run into him with a freight train. The moon glowed white, intense and cool in the winter evening. Joonmyeon felt like there was a fissure in the room despite Chen’s smile. The scientist and his android were in the master bedroom of Joonmyeon’s flat. The windows lining the walls allowed the duo a stellar view of glimmering Apgujeong. Even at night, ruby, sapphire, and topaz lights set the city ablaze. Joonmyeon looked over at Chen and felt his heart involuntarily rip, old wounds from the previous week being reopened.

If I talk, he won’t understand me.

Lab Coat wouldn’t understand even if I did talk to him.

Why should they be able to play God with us?!

I don’t want to be something that Lab Coat can just brag about!      

If those are what you call blessings, I wish I never had them.

I don’t feel like he created me…         

He’s nothing but…a Lab Coat…to me.

“Stay the hell away from me, Chen!” Joonmyeon felt his throat go raw because of the tearful shriek, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Blood trickled from his mouth and a staccato spray of crimson stained his white bed sheets. He ignored Chen’s wounded expression. “What were you doing, anyway?!”

Chen didn’t respond. Joonmyeon laughed sardonically and glanced at a tray with soup, containers of hot and cold water, and a daisy in a vase on the small bedside table. “Of course you won’t answer me. Why would you? I’m only an ignorant Lab Coat to you, after all!”

“Y-you heard that?” Chen bit his lower lip but maintained eye contact with Joonmyeon, his creator. The person who gave him life. His God.

“I’m not an idiot, Chen. Of course I heard! My colleague heard, too. We both heard you make a fool out of me! You don’t feel like I’m your creator? How could you even bring yourself to say that?!”

“I…I—”

“Don’t feed me any bull, Chen,” Joonmyeon exclaimed as he stood up suddenly. The room swam and the floor seemed closer than it should and suddenly Chen towered over him but he couldn’t bring himself to care. “You said yourself that I neglected to give you the capacity to realize that you’re a creation. Well, here it is. You’re an android; a synthetic, man-made machine! Two organizations are out to destroy your kind and make sure things like you are never made again!” Blood stained Joonmyeon’s bottom teeth as he desperately argued his case. “But I created you because I love you,” Joonmyeon pleaded desperately, “You’re my crowning achievement, Chen!”

“I’m only a direct reflection on you? I don’t matter more to you?!”

“Yes! I’m your creator. I love you so much not only as an android, but as a companion. Chen, I’m not trying to degrade you—”

“But you have! I’m yours and that’s all I ever will be! I’m your crowning achievement, I’m your best creation, and I was your disappointment when I didn’t talk! You constructed me with such advanced technology, yet you still treat me like you would an outdated microwave or video game console! I know what a sunset is! I can get around without you doing the same thing every day! I can read newspapers published in Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, and English! Yet you’re still so condescending to me! You constructed me to be more advanced than a human being, so why are you treating me like I’m some rust covered failure?!”

Joonmyeon lifted his head slightly to get a good look at Chen’s face. Chen was on his knees, his brows furrowed and his expression dejected. “I’m…I’m better than any machine! My eyes are even a human color! You haven’t even acknowledged the small things about me! Why won’t you acknowledge your accomplishments in making me? Just say it once! Say that you’re proud of me! I don’t need your love; keep it! Just tell me that you don’t regret making me!”

Joonmyeon grabbed for Chen’s hand. He craved the feeling of inhumanly cold and smooth skin under his calloused palms. Chen fluidly stood up and stared down at Joonmyeon’s prostrate form. The scientist didn’t even notice that he couldn’t move. Chen lifted Joonmyeon off of the cold hardwood floor and placed him on his mattress, pulling the crimson stained comforters over the scientist’s rigid body. Joonmyeon felt his body seize up before warm crimson stained his white bed shirt and comforters. With trembling hands, Joonmyeon wiped blood from his chin and lips, giving Chen an unconvincing smile. It was supposed to be reassuring, but it only made Chen frown in concern.

“I didn’t mean to yell at you. Not in your condition. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s alright, Chen. You…have a point. Actually, you have many valid points. I…I’ll try harder to treat you better. Forgive your ignorant creator.”

“You’re infirmed. Please rest. I’m going to purchase some more medication.” Chen walked out of the bedroom and headed for the entrance of the flat, directing, “Try to replenish your strength by eating the soup. It’s really just hot broth, but please see if you can keep it down.”

Joonmyeon couldn’t keep anything down. When Chen returned later that evening, the upper half of Joonmyeon’s comforter was a chilling shade of red.

Ever since Joonmyeon was small, he wanted to be a scientist, researcher, or engineer. He loved the idea of creating a new world with his own hands. His mother and father kept him out of public schools and sent him to only the most advanced private institutions. When Joonmyeon couldn’t keep up with his classmates academically, they hired personalized tutors to instruct him. Joonmyeon was home schooled for a while by many different professors: Choi Siwon, Kim Jongwoon, and Lee Donghae were the most memorable instructors Joonmyeon could remember. By the time he entered high school, he had no trouble maintaining the number one position in his graduating class. He didn’t attend school half of the time. He started to accompany his father to his place of employment. It was the first contact Joonmyeon ever had with EXO Laboratories. Little did he know that in seven years, he would be heading the research and construction projects at Enterprising Xenia Operations.

Joonmyeon learned of his ultimate fate when his mother and father perished. He was told at the reading of his parent’s wills that he was to receive full authority of EXO and all of its affiliate companies and production plants. A letter written by his mother also divulged the password for a collection of data files kept in the EXO registry. A week after the funeral of Mr. and Mrs. Kim, Joonmyeon accessed EXO’s databanks. First, he gathered documents detailing the group Exo of 2013. They were apparently researchers and scientists performing as idols in South Korea. They compiled various physical measurements, racial demographics, and intellectual data. The leaders Kim “Suho” Joonmyeon and Wu “Kris” Yifan opted for having multiple DNA samples taken from them so that their research could be continued long after their death. A few other members also got DNA samples extracted from them. By the year 2015, Byun Baekhyun, Do “D.O.” Kyungsoo, Kim “Xiumin” Minseok, and Huang “Tao” Zitao all had their DNA stored in EXO’s registry. The DNA of the remaining members had been stored in a separate registry labeled “Frame Drafts.” The DNA Joonmyeon’s registry was found in was simply labeled “Duplicate.”

Apparently, Joonmyeon was one out of two dozen clones of the last surviving Suho clone of 2068. The Suho clone of 2068 was the last surviving clone of the original circa 2013 Suho. Joonmyeon was the only one that survived. The others died off; the majority of deaths recorded included biological factors such as cancers or deterioration of organs. In short, the survival rate for any future cloning trials of Suho would be 1:24. Joonmyeon was the 25^th clone of Suho circa 2068 and he was the only one that survived past his fifteenth birthday. Originally, his time of death was calculated to be a week or so before his fifth birthday. He was weak and his brain seemed to have a sort of deficiency. With the correct dosage of vitamins, Joonmyeon lived to see 26. However, he had resolved himself to not see anything beyond that. He wasn’t surprised when he suddenly started to become ill.

His illness started when he first met Kyungsoo and Baekhyun, fellow clones of the 2013 scientists-slash-Korean idols. At first, it manifested itself as a cold and went away within one to two weeks. However, he began to sustain migraines that left him unable to see or stand for minutes at a time when he first began constructing Chen in his first year of high school. These symptoms only worsened as production on Chen continued. During the android’s production, Joonmyeon learned of the myriad of failed reconstructions of Chen, Chanyeol, Sehun, and other idols. Past models of Chen had fallen into lakes, fried their circuits by staring into the sun, or gotten captured and manually dismantled by members of Demo. Over time, Joonmyeon’s father began to store the corpses of Chen in EXO’s laboratory, right underneath the holding pod where Chen was finally born.

Joonmyeon found himself at that very spot, leaning on an oak cane for support.

Baekhyun lent Chanyeol to the feeble scientist for a few hours so that Joonmyeon could uncover the gravesite of his most prized creation. Chen…despite the android feeling unappreciated, Joonmyeon loved him very much. Joonmyeon himself was an experiment; a trial test that just happened to make it through the wringer. He understood Chen, he just needed to understand the extent of Chen’s feelings. So he had Chanyeol lift the cultivation pod that Chen had been in just months before. Below the pod, in a damp, six foot deep crypt, were countless models of Chen. Stripped of clothing, deactivated, and dismantled, they filled three feet of the six foot trench. They all had the gunmetal blue eyes of every other android. They smiled up at Joonmyeon and Chanyeol blankly. The sunset’s rust colored rays felt cold against Joonmyeon’s back.

“Joonmyeon…what is all of this?”

“Chen’s corpses, Chanyeol. You most likely have yours stashed here somewhere, too. This…this is sick. Just how many times has Chen been…a failure? Does he even remember?”

“Not unless he was programmed to. I know that out of all of us, Kai remembers the most. He’s told many stories about our demolition and restoration. I’ve forgotten most of them. Maybe Chen doesn’t remember because he’s a much more advanced model. But, I’m sure that he’s heard the scientists talking about other failed trial models while he was in the cultivation chamber.”

Joonmyeon pressed his palm against his mouth upon feeling the familiar surge of grotesque warmth pushing at the zenith of his throat.

The blood spilled from in between his fingers and stained the cheeks of the failed Chen models deep crimson.

The rust colored sunset waned and gave way to complete darkness.

Only the hum of machines broke the silence.

Joonmyeon experimentally inhaled. Upon not feeling his throat fill with coagulated blood, stomach acid, and worn esophagus tissue, he exhaled and looked up at Chen. The android’s warm brown eyes focused on his as the two meandered through Yangjaecheon Park. Well, Joonmyeon was paralyzed from the waist down; he wasn’t really doing much of the walking. Chen pushed his wheelchair, keeping him in the shade of the trees as the first heat of spring plagued Gangnam. Joonmyeon liked being near the water, so Chen made it a priority to keep him near the riverbank. Even though winter had passed not too long ago, the silver light of the sun that so reflected that dismal season still chose to illuminate the earth. The trees were just beginning to boast their new waxy green buds and the flowers that slept the winter away rose from the small tufts of snow left behind and began to bloom. The scene was beautiful; Joonmyeon looked up at Chen to gauge the level of awe-inspired reverence on his face. To the scientist’s relief, Chen smiled fondly at each flower and even reached up to pluck an apple blossom from a low-hanging branch. He tucked the delicate bloom into Joonmyeon’s dull black hair and continued to wheel him along the riverbank.

The two eventually settled underneath a shady apple tree right on the river. Chen withdrew a basket from the underside of Joonmyeon’s wheelchair and opened it, laying a spread of sandwiches and fruity drinks down on a red and white checkered blanket. He also placed a white daisy in a small glass vase and set it down right next to Joonmyeon’s health tonic. The brown sludge was chock-full of vitamins and replenishing electrolytes; Chen and Baekhyun had developed the drink themselves. Joonmyeon never kept a drop of it down; crimson mixed with brown wasn’t a pretty color. Chen poured Joonmyeon a thermos cup full of the tonic and gave him a rice ball. Joonmyeon smiled at his pride and joy and took a bite of the rice ball. He couldn’t taste it. He vomited, a mixture of rice and blood falling into the grass.

“So…there’s no way to prevent this from happening?” Chen held the cup of tonic up to Joonmyeon’s lips and tipped the mixture into Joonmyeon’s mouth. The scientist made a show of swallowing his nauseated expression away. “At least you kept that down for more than a few seconds.”

“It seems that I can’t do anything about it. Clones are never as good as the originals.” Joonmyeon smiled and turned to the side to vomit the tonic out along with a small amount of blood. “Unfortunately, I’m deteriorating from the inside. It’s a much more painful process.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, Chen, don’t apologize. I’ve had more fun with you in these few months than I’ve ever had in my twenty-six years of living.”

It was true. Joonmyeon and Chen went to concerts, always went out for dinner despite Joonmyeon not really eating, sang at Noraebang, tried out for a spot in an idol group and got unanimously rejected, jumped in a public water fountain, went to every football game they could, participated in a galbi eating contest which Chen won, and even traveled to Russia and America. In America, Chen tracked down Tiffany and apologized for his behavior, effectively reconciling with the young android. Joonmyeon and Chen had grown closer as well; after divulging to Chen his origin and his eventual death, Chen took a more proactive role in coming a companion and assistant to Joonmyeon. Chen also seemed more comfortable in knowing that Joonmyeon was a creation. An organic creation, but still a creation none the less.

“I’m proud of you, Chen,” Joonmyeon started. He paused, coughed, and continued, “I know that I never used to say it, but I’m very proud of you. You’re intelligent, a good singer, a great listener, a stellar caretaker…” Chen’s brown eyes seemed to widen with each compliment. Joonmyeon chuckled and added, “And you’re perfect to me. And I was a fool to not notice it before. I love you, Chen. Every moment I spend with you is a reminder of why I created you. I will never regret the day I took you home with me. The most I would ever regret is myself.”

“Never do that, Joonmyeon. We’ve had our difficulties, but I love you…Father.”

As Chen smiles and tips a tiny bit more tonic into Joonmyeon’s mouth, thin rays of gold break through the silver and shine upon the scientist and his greatest creation.

“I’m going out! Try not to burn down the flat while I’m gone.”

“I would never, Chen! You know me better than that!”

“Do I?”

Chen wrapped a red muffler around his neck despite it clashing with his blue Letterman jacket. The sound of snow crunching underneath heavy winter boots was the only noise on the dark one-way residential street. Chen was on a mission; he needed to visit someone before it got too late.

The past year had passed without too much incident. Joonmyeon died. Kyungsoo and Yifan didn’t survive much longer after their head scientist’s demise. All of them broke down from the inside-out. Blood everywhere; Chen and Lu Han usually had to mop up the mess. The mops were stained red from the exposed contact with blood. Without their creators to house them, Chen, Sehun, and Lu Han moved into a flat together. PDALLM’s legal and legislative powers were slowly yet surely diminished, making it safe once again for androids to own homes and businesses without fear of being dismantled. The radical group Demo lost financial strength and supporters, so the streets were safe for machines…for now. Chanyeol, Taemin, and Kai managed to debut in an idol group. No records were left from the 2013 Exo with the exception of what was in the EXO database. Young girls fawned over the baby faced androids with multiple talents. Chen couldn’t help but laugh when he thought about it; he had wanted to actually pursue singing when he was with Joonmyeon. However, his passion for it died when Joonmyeon heaved his lifeblood into a bucket in the hospital.

Chen took a tram to Sinsa where he would find the home of the person he sought. Chi Byunhi, the woman that Chen spent countless hours “talking” to in his green youth, was now a constant variable in Chen’s routine. Byunhi lived in a small home in a Westernized cul-de-sac. Its lack of steep stairs made it easier for her to maneuver and carry on with her day. Chen made sure that Byunhi was comfortable, safe, and happy. She was pregnant, after all.

When Chen arrived at the doorstep of Byunhi’s home, the female welcomed him inside with a bright smile. Full dark brown curls framed her oval face and her eye smile pronounced the glow that impending motherhood gave her. She invited Chen to sit inside at the island in the kitchen. She already had a cup of hot chocolate waiting for him.

The two engaged in effortless small talk. They complained about the weather, spoke about Kai, Chanyeol, and Taemin’s musical career, swapped some recipes, teased Sehun and Lu Han’s extremely close relationship, and addressed some matters pertaining to EXO. Chen headed the organization now since there was nobody in the current government to disallow androids from participating in scientific projects. Chen overlooked the production of new androids and the cultivation of clones. The clones’ origins were, of course, from the 2013 Exo group. Chen wouldn’t give up until he made the perfect replication of his beloved creator. He believed that he finally put together enough resources and found a suitable enough host for a clone to develop just right.

“This is my crowning achievement right here,” Chen fondly cooed as he Byunhi’s rotund belly. “I’ll make sure Joonmyeon survives to see thirty-six.”

“When he seems stable, will you undergo the cloning of everyone else?”

Chen looked up at Byunhi and smiles, nodding as if the answer were simple. “Of course. I won’t stop until the clones of my creator’s creators live to see one hundred.”

“That might take a while. Are you sure you can do it?”

Chen looks out of the window and stares at the moon. Its silver light brings the taste of green tea ice cream to his palette. The android looks down at Byunhi’s belly and pats it with finality.

“That was what I was programmed to do. Live, and be human for both our sakes. Not even a thousand years will stop me.”

I promise.

Fin.