#114
As soon as he opened his eyes, Yeon Tae-soo’s recovery accelerated. The doctor said his healing ability was remarkably strong.
“Is it because of the black moonstone?”
As he touched his bandaged chest while talking to himself, the engineer who was watching him shook her head.
“If the black moonstone’s vitality had remained, you should have woken up days ago. You just snapped awake because you wanted to see him.”
In the direction the engineer’s chin pointed stood Yoo Seong-woo. He looked at Yeon Tae-soo with indifferent eyes, neither embarrassed nor contradicting her words. Because he knew that Yeon Tae-soo loved him.
Facing Yoo Seong-woo, from whom he could read no emotion, Yeon Tae-soo smiled wryly.
“That’s right. You’re correct.”
There was an inevitable bitterness in Yeon Tae-soo’s smile, but that was all. He didn’t excessively grieve. He didn’t blame Yoo Seong-woo for losing all his emotions, nor did he fault the engineer who performed the operation. He just smiled bitterly like this.
He could have easily blamed the engineer. But if he considered this the price of his desire for Yoo Seong-woo, he didn’t feel like blaming anyone but himself.
In fact, right now, he was just grateful that Yoo Seong-woo was no longer in pain. Yoo Seong-woo who didn’t smile at him was far more beautiful than Yoo Seong-woo who was dying.
Sunlight spread gently over the hotel garden. While Yeon Tae-soo worked on his tablet sitting on the terrace, Yoo Seong-woo just sat quietly, observing his surroundings. Occasionally, when Popo came over, he would simply throw a ball for it.
He no longer sculpted. Nor did he play the piano or sing. He just remained still. Like a robot waiting for someone’s command.
Yeon Tae-soo occasionally stared at him. For a long time, at Yoo Seong-woo who was looking elsewhere. As if confirming the fact that his gaze, which was neither looking into the distance nor lost in thought, was not directed at him.
“It’s probably a temporary condition.”
The engineer, who had been watching from the side, quietly suggested.
“I know.”
“You seemed like you didn’t.”
Yoo Seong-woo had already risen from his seat and approached Popo, who was rolling around a short distance away, to talk to it. Though the content wasn’t audible, it looked like he was scolding Popo for rolling in the dirt.
Taking his eyes off that scene, he faced the engineer. She was smiling, her wrinkled eyes crinkling.
“But why aren’t you going home? The job is done. I won’t pay you anymore.”
“Don’t be so stingy. Where else would I find such a spectacle in my life? At my age, nearly at death’s door.”
Yeon Tae-soo let out a small sigh. In truth, it was reassuring that she remained even after the job was finished. The engineer had said that Yoo Seong-woo’s treatment was completely done, and whether his emotional functions worked was a separate issue.
In other words, Yoo Seong-woo was now completely healed. But Yeon Tae-soo was still a bit anxious, so he hoped the engineer would stay for a few more days to respond if something unexpected happened.
It was fortunate that she stayed to satisfy her personal curiosity.
Suddenly, he recalled Yoo Seong-woo’s appearance from this morning. He had been quietly staring down at the sculpting knife placed on the table in his room. As if it wasn’t his. As if it was an object he was seeing for the first time. Even though he had loved sculpting so much.
“I know it might not be a temporary condition.”
A gust of wind blew. The winter weather in India was similar to spring weather in the Republic of Korea. Fortunately, it wasn’t cold.
“How did you know?”
Instead of answering the engineer’s question, he turned his gaze back to Yoo Seong-woo. Yoo Seong-woo was wiping Popo’s body with a cloth.
“In your eyes, I must look greedy.”
“There certainly aren’t many owners who care for an android whose lifespan has ended to this extent.”
“That’s because I’m not his owner.”
Yeon Tae-soo had never been his owner, not even once.
“If anything… he might be my owner.”
As he muttered this to himself, the engineer clicked her tongue in disapproval.
“You’re not in your right mind either.”
Yeon Tae-soo smiled bitterly in agreement. If he had been in his right mind, he wouldn’t have come to this city.
And he wouldn’t be in such pain.
“As you said, there’s a possibility his emotions might never fully return.”
He didn’t respond to the engineer’s words. He just quietly stared at Yoo Seong-woo in the distance.
Even from afar, he used to be able to read his expressions, but now he couldn’t read anything.
Even if his emotions never returned, he could still keep him. The emotionless Yoo Seong-woo wouldn’t move on his own, and even if he tried to act like his owner and keep him by his side, Yoo Seong-woo probably wouldn’t refuse.
After the incident, the issue of android abuse had been raised, creating awareness, but android hunting still existed. Moreover, Yoo Seong-woo was already a celebrity. It was impossible to know what might happen to an android without combat functions, especially one whose face was known worldwide, if he wandered alone.
Of course, he knew that Yoo Seong-woo had learned self-defense from Nikita and Xinyan, and that he fought better than average people. When he was determined to hide, even Yeon Tae-soo had difficulty finding him. Still, Yoo Seong-woo remained vulnerable.
Yes, it would be right to consider it protection. It was just about him becoming Yoo Seong-woo’s protector.
Even if he couldn’t be lovers with the emotionless Yoo Seong-woo, he could be his protector.
If that was what it would take to keep him by his side, that’s what he would do.
Yoo Seong-woo, who had been wiping Popo, turned toward him. When Yeon Tae-soo waved his hand, Yoo Seong-woo just nodded slightly. Again, with a face from which nothing could be read.
***
The engineer didn’t know when Yoo Seong-woo’s emotions would return, or if they would return at all. With eyes full of curiosity, she periodically examined Yoo Seong-woo’s body and drew his blood.
At first, Yeon Tae-soo got angry and tried to stop her, but once he became convinced that she wouldn’t harm Yoo Seong-woo, he just monitored without interfering. Of course, on days when she was being so annoying that he thought Yoo Seong-woo must be tired, he firmly told her to stop.
Anyway, she was a benefactor. Regardless of her intentions, she had treated Yoo Seong-woo without accepting payment.
The new microchip, made using the black moonstone that had been in his chest, was firmly established in Yoo Seong-woo’s heart. Originally, this new microchip was supposed to manage Yoo Seong-woo’s emotions, but while its function had no problems, something was somehow blocking the production of emotions, she said.
To Yeon Tae-soo, who complained about how she didn’t know the cause of something she had created, the engineer replied:
‘Even parents don’t know everything about their children, how would I know? If you want to blame someone, blame my disciple who created him.’
In fact, he was more relieved that Yoo Seong-woo was no longer in pain, so he didn’t press the matter further.
Somehow, it felt like they had crossed a huge mountain. And it felt liberating.
Yeon Tae-soo felt like he was standing at the end of the story. It also felt as if a large chapter had been concluded.
That was why he didn’t return to Korea. Because there was nothing left to do.
There was no longer any need to pretend to be normal, or pretend to be crazy, while staying at Eden.
Even though the black moonstone had disappeared, his lost senses hadn’t returned. His world was still black and white, with only Yoo Seong-woo showing color.
Anyway, there was nothing else he wanted to protect besides Yoo Seong-woo. He never had something like a daily life to begin with, and at some point, Yoo Seong-woo had become his home.
This country where they were staying now was bustling, but it was also a good place to blend into the commotion and live inconspicuously. He especially liked that there were no android hunters, as it was android-friendly.
When he mentioned that it wouldn’t be bad to stay longer in India, Kim Ji-heon threatened to submit his resignation. But the response was unexpected.
“Go ahead, resign.”
“…Pardon?”
He was momentarily taken aback, but soon regained his composure.
“How do you plan to run Eden without me?”
Eden was already a company heavily shaped by Kim Ji-heon’s hands. It wasn’t so small or amateurish that it couldn’t function without him, but the presence of a practical manager was more significant than one might think.
“I don’t have to run it.”
“Excuse me?”
Even Kim Ji-heon was astonished at this statement.
“I’ve made enough money. More than I could spend in a lifetime. My lover is here, and it’s a good place for androids to live. I’m thinking of closing Eden and spending the rest of my life here.”
Kim Ji-heon opened and closed his mouth with a shocked expression.
“What’s going on with you? You were like this when you woke up too…”
Yeon Tae-soo just smiled. Disgusted by that smile, Kim Ji-heon left the place first.
In the hotel lobby, Nikita and her wife were just arriving. Kim Ji-heon quickened his pace to greet them.
“You came at the perfect time. Please try to stop our boss.”
“What happened?”
With a deep sigh, he looked at Nikita with a pitiful expression.
“He seems exactly like someone who wants to die.”
The Yeon Tae-soo that Kim Ji-heon saw appeared somewhat nihilistic, but he had never felt that he wanted to die. However, over the past few days, his boss’s appearance seemed as if he had no attachments to the world.
Yeon Tae-soo looked happier than before, but just as much, he looked precarious. Like someone who might leave tomorrow morning, or in just a few hours.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
