It’s the year 2050 and technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, exceeding the vision and capabilities of countless scientists from previous decades. Artificial Intelligence is the buzz word on the lips of government officials as well as the everyday citizen. Robots have become part of daily life; delivering mail, performing home cleaning services, automating the task of driving a car and so much more. In this new era, artificially intelligent beings serve the purpose of making human life easier and more pleasurable. Taekwoon is a lonely beta tester, whose primary job is to test run androids before they are shipped out for sale to the public. Taekwoon isn’t the best at social relationships, so he much prefers to spend time with androids who can communicate and interact without judgment or need of social convention. When he is asked to test a new android prototype (Hakyeon), he is amazed at how advanced Hakyeon is. Hakyeon seems unique, learning at a pace more rapid than their predecessors, able to somehow intuit feelings of the user, gradually able to mirror human emotions: anger, sorrow, even love. As Taekwoon continues to “test” Hakyeon, the pair become attached to one another. Every day that goes by with Taekwoon noting the android’s progress, Hakyeon begins to feel more and more..human.

What will happen if/when Taekwoon is asked to return the prototype? Can an evolved android become capable of actual love, or are Hakyeon’s feelings merely a convincing simulation?