#092
“Android technology is much better here than in Korea. I looked into that creator, and sure enough, he received his training in India.”
Nikita’s wife said she knew the mentor of the person who created Yoo Seong-woo.
Since android technology was more advanced in India and Southeast Asia than here, Yeon Tae-soo had asked if there might be a way to fix Seong-woo, which yielded unexpected results.
“Could you bring that technician to Korea? I’ll provide any compensation necessary.”
“Well, unfortunately, that technician can’t move. The government is holding him in custody.”
Just when he had hope that Seong-woo might be saved, custody? Yeon Tae-soo wanted to scream but barely maintained his composure. Nikita was also glaring at him as if she wanted to kill him.
“What exactly do you mean by custody?”
“He’s in prison.”
The meaning conveyed by the translator was clear, but Tae-soo hoped he had misheard. Prison? With the increasingly stringent conditions for extraditing criminals between countries, it would take intervention from a head of state to bring him over.
“Is it possible to visit him if I go there?”
“His crimes are so severe that even ordinary people can’t visit him, it seems.”
“…So someone who isn’t ordinary could, you’re saying.”
“Pardon?”
Instead of answering her surprised question, he thanked her for looking into it, passed the call to Nikita, and entered the room.
Yoo Seong-woo was crouched under the bed, doing something. Popo, who had been rolling around nearby, spotted Yeon Tae-soo and stood in front blocking the way, as if to shield the crouched Seong-woo.
Pushing Popo aside with his foot, Tae-soo approached and was startled by what he saw.
“…What are you doing right now?”
“Ah, sir.”
Seong-woo also jumped in surprise, not expecting Tae-soo’s arrival, and straightened up from his crouched position. Something fell to the floor with a thud. It was a syringe.
“That’s…”
He picked up the syringe from the floor. It was the Sentimade he had seen before.
Before Seong-woo could say anything, Tae-soo pulled his arm. It wasn’t forceful or painful, but it was firm. Seong-woo couldn’t resist the gaze that made eye contact and stared calmly.
“Are you in pain somewhere?”
“Ah, no. Just…”
Frantically waving his hands, he seemed flustered but soon relaxed and let out a sigh.
“I’m sorry. It’s become a habit…”
Tae-soo didn’t immediately understand what had become a habit and furrowed his brow. Seeing the twisted eyebrows, Seong-woo looked somewhat frightened. That’s when he realized.
“…Hiding it…”
So he meant hiding things had become a habit.
The syringe rolled out of Tae-soo’s hand and fell to the floor. Popo insensitively came and collected the fallen syringe.
“Ha…”
A feeling of emptiness seemed to crash to the floor along with the syringe. How many times had you hidden your pain from me like this for it to become a habit?
He wanted to know all the past pain that Seong-woo had concealed. Yet he didn’t want to dredge up painful memories.
“Are you angry…?”
The cautious question left him speechless. When he let out a hollow laugh, Seong-woo flinched again. It was even horrific to think how much Seong-woo had been watching his reactions all this time.
He pulled him close and embraced him.
“No. I’m just going crazy.”
Seong-woo was drawn in easily with the gentle embrace, showing how weak he was. Yet his body remained frozen.
Blinking as if he didn’t understand what was happening, Seong-woo awkwardly wrapped his arms around Tae-soo’s shoulders.
“Did the call go well?”
Seong-woo knew that Tae-soo had asked Nikita’s wife to look into the creator. Not knowing how to deliver the bad news, Tae-soo just rubbed his face, but Seong-woo spoke first.
“It doesn’t seem to be good news.”
His face was so calm that Tae-soo wanted to shout instead. Sometimes he felt this way around him. This feeling of wanting to experience emotions on behalf of someone else—what should he call it? Did other people’s love work this way too? Did they want to get angry on behalf of others, feel wronged for them, and experience all negative emotions in their place?
“He’s in custody so it might be difficult to meet him, but who am I? I’m Yeon Tae-soo. Of course I have connections in India too. Just wait a little.”
He tried to speak calmly, but his voice kept rising involuntarily. As expected, Seong-woo seemed to notice his bravado and smiled faintly.
Before Tae-soo could retort, Seong-woo quickly added:
“Even if it doesn’t work out, there must be other methods. We’ll find them.”
Fortunately, there was no sign of resignation or indifference. Tae-soo was grateful for that.
“That’s right. We’ll find more options. I’ve also contacted Southeast Asia, so we should hear something.”
Popo, who had returned, repeatedly bumped against Tae-soo’s legs. Tae-soo lightly kicked Popo away and sat next to Seong-woo on the bed. He casually ignored the warning sound telling him not to kick Popo because it wasn’t a ball.
“Yes. And… actually, regardless of how things turn out, I’m grateful that you looked into it.”
Seong-woo said while stroking Popo, who had approached from the opposite side where Tae-soo sat, as if to soothe it.
“What are you thankful for? I haven’t done anything yet.”
A sigh escaped him. Until now, he had lived like a king, manipulating key figures in politics and business at will. But with Seong-woo, none of that mattered.
“I wonder if I’ve ever felt this inadequate.”
He meant it. He had never felt such helplessness. Seong-woo was a being who fully exposed his inadequacy. When he was around, Tae-soo’s abilities seemed trivial.
Would he feel this empty sense of helplessness if abandoned in space? Such thoughts came to mind while looking at someone smaller and younger than himself.
Whether or not he understood these feelings, Seong-woo smiled bitterly. His face with that bitter smile seemed to indicate he had something to say, so Tae-soo waited quietly while maintaining eye contact.
Seong-woo hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.
“…Sir.”
“Yes?”
“Have you… dated a lot?”
So this was the cute question he had been contemplating and hesitating to ask. Tae-soo suppressed his urge to laugh and tilted his head to the side.
“Why do you ask that suddenly?”
“Well…”
Seong-woo hesitated without even making eye contact. Tae-soo wanted to devour those big, rolling eyes.
“Just… curious…”
“Are you jealous?”
“No, I’m not.”
After answering so abruptly, he blushed from his ears, apparently embarrassed. Now Tae-soo wanted to eat his ears too. The thought that he might actually end up biting his body made him finally avert his gaze.
“I haven’t had many, actually. I had more passing encounters.”
That’s why it was so strange. The constant heartache, the feeling of wanting to cry, the pain—he thought it was the price for hurting him.
But this ticklish feeling was just unfamiliar. It felt more like a gift than a punishment given to him.
“…I see.”
Seong-woo answered slowly. Somehow his expression wasn’t very good. Don’t people usually feel happy when their lover says they don’t have much of a past? Or had he done something wrong again?
The excited feeling of wanting to devour him just moments ago disappeared instantly, replaced by anxiety. He intently followed the blinking of Seong-woo’s long eyelashes as they avoided his gaze.
“‘I see’? That’s it?”
“I was just curious.”
Though he met his gaze and spoke with precise pronunciation, it made Tae-soo even more suspicious.
“I can’t figure out what our Seong-woo is thinking.”
But when he tried to probe deeper, the wariness that immediately appeared in his eyes prevented him from asking more.
He was afraid that if he pushed a little more, Seong-woo might leave again. It felt like having a fragile cookie right in front of him that would crumble if gripped too tightly. It was amusing how he could only fret without being able to eat it or leave it alone.
For whatever reason, he didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. If Seong-woo ran away like before, he truly wouldn’t be able to endure it this time.
So Yeon Tae-soo couldn’t even hold the hand placed next to his on the bed and instead wrung the innocent sheet.
Feeling like an idiot who didn’t know what to say, Tae-soo swallowed a sigh. And surprisingly, it was Seong-woo who reached out to him first.
Seong-woo pulled his shoulder and embraced him. Just as Tae-soo had done for him earlier. Tae-soo obediently crumpled his large frame and nuzzled his face against Seong-woo’s shoulder. Seong-woo’s scent was pleasant. So pleasant that he wondered if an artificially created body should smell this good.
“Why are you so tense?”
“…Because of you, I feel like I’m falling into hell several times a day.”
“You should be careful. No matter how many sins I commit, I wouldn’t be able to follow you there.”
He wasn’t foolish enough to misunderstand that Seong-woo meant he couldn’t follow him to hell because, unlike humans, he had no soul. Pulling away from the embrace, he stared at Seong-woo, who blinked his clear eyes as if he didn’t understand what the problem was.
Those innocent eyes hurt even more. Because it seemed he truly thought that way.
“That’s another reason added to why I shouldn’t die.”
When he spoke with a bitter smile, Seong-woo finally relaxed his face and smiled comfortably.
Even this brief moment was precious to Yeon Tae-soo. If he had known how precious his smiling face was, he would have devoted all his energy to making him smile sooner.
Looking at Tae-soo, Seong-woo had different thoughts.
Someday, he would have to tell Tae-soo. That his feelings weren’t his own, but were created because of him.
That perhaps one of his functions had seduced him. He needed to confess that Tae-soo’s emotions were fake, created by him, but he just couldn’t find the courage.
That was also why he had asked about his dating experience. If Tae-soo had experience with love, wouldn’t he feel the difference between real emotions and artificially created ones?
The more affectionate Tae-soo was toward him, the more shamefully he wanted to receive that affection. Even while knowing it was a greed not permitted to him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
