Switch Mode

Sentimental Shower – Chapter 99

#099

The minister looked Yoo Seong-woo over with expressionless eyes. It was the gaze of someone examining an object.

“Unexpected. I didn’t think you’d ask to meet first.”

“But you anticipated it, didn’t you?”

Above their conversation came the sounds of thump, thump. The place where they were talking was a construction site.

Construction sites these days had almost no people. The workforce had long been replaced by androids and robots.

Yoo Seong-woo had chosen the location. There were no watching eyes, but everything was being recorded, and the noise was so loud that conversations couldn’t be heard unless one was close by.

In one corner of the construction site, where materials were piled up, was suitable for confidential conversations in that sense. It wasn’t too loud, but had adequate noise, and robots occasionally passed by. The two stood side by side looking at the construction site, not facing each other. The cold winter wind was sharp enough to penetrate through their coats.

Pulling up his mask to just below his eyes, Yoo Seong-woo inhaled. He hoped his trembling hands wouldn’t be noticed.

‘I want to make a deal.’

He had managed to make contact and set up an appointment within hours. Yoo Seong-woo had predicted the minister would come. Having seen his face, he had no choice but to come. Because he needed to take his black moonstone.

By now, Eden must be in chaos. What would Yeon Tae-soo think of the note he’d left in the room? He probably would have been quite surprised… and worried too.

He recalled his expression when they reunited at Mount Jiri. Even in the midst of his fever-induced delirium, he could clearly recognize that devastated face.

“Before planning an operation, a soldier analyzes numerous routes and predicts even more outcomes.”

The minister spoke. Yoo Seong-woo’s gaze remained fixed on the busy construction robots.

“You’re one of the outcomes I failed to predict. Who would have thought you’d escape and survive all this time?”

The minister turned to face him, but Yoo Seong-woo continued to look ahead.

“What command structure is programmed into you? What command made you move?”

Through the hazy dust, robots moved busily back and forth.

“I wonder.”

Yoo Seong-woo impassively watched as one robot hesitated momentarily after getting caught on construction materials, then took a detour.

“Even a precisely designed machine occasionally causes inexplicable errors, doesn’t it?”

Yoo Seong-woo’s eyes blinked slowly, capturing the scene of the construction site. The minister’s face, staring at him, still showed no expression.

“That’s nonsense. There’s no android that moves without commands.”

“Just because you think it’s nonsense doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I’m right in front of you, Minister.”

The minister remained expressionless, but Yoo Seong-woo could sense that he was flustered.

“You thought Mr. Yeon was controlling me and keeping me by force.”

He seemed to believe that an android wouldn’t be with someone who wasn’t its owner. Yoo Seong-woo slowly turned to face the minister standing beside him.

“I can give you the black moonstone of one android.”

“…I doubt it’s yours.”

“Correct. It isn’t. There’s a girl-shaped android that escaped from Yacheon.”

“Girl-shaped?”

“I heard it’s an android that can draw anything it has seen once. Isn’t Yacheon looking for it?”

“Ah, I remember now. You have it? How?”

“That’s not important.”

A faint smile appeared on Yoo Seong-woo’s face.

“I’ll give you that unit’s black moonstone.”

Yoo Seong-woo’s eyes briefly glanced in one direction before returning to the minister.

“It’s here at this site right now. If you promise to make the deal, I’ll tell you the location.”

“…And what do you want in return?”

After taking a breath, he spoke.

“Retire.”

For the first time, a crack appeared in the minister’s expressionless face. He seemed amused. Unfazed, Yoo Seong-woo continued. His face also showed no expression.

“Retire and never concern yourself with me or Mr. Yeon again.”

The minister was silent for a moment. He stared at Yoo Seong-woo as if trying to read his hidden intentions. Yoo Seong-woo felt sweat forming on his hands but deliberately maintained a calm expression.

“Isn’t that too expensive for just one android?”

The black moonstone contained in a single android, though small in size, was traded for astronomical amounts. It wasn’t for nothing that android hunters had emerged. Yet the minister claimed its value was less than the power he enjoyed.

This was one of the expected responses. It wasn’t a problem.

“If I turn a blind eye to definitive evidence of the Mount Jiri mass killing, it wouldn’t be such a bad deal for you.”

A sharp look appeared in the minister’s eyes. Yoo Seong-woo tightly clenched his sweaty palms.

“I know that even with concrete evidence, it would be difficult for you to be punished, Minister. But the process of getting out of it would be quite difficult.”

He was someone who wouldn’t be punished for most crimes. But the evidence was enough to make it difficult for him to escape easily. The minister would have understood this implication.

“Once you become the subject of an investigation, you won’t be comfortable afterward. After retirement, I mean.”

If he voluntarily retired from his ministerial position, he would be respected, but if he was pulled down because of criminal allegations, dishonor would follow. Even if he were to receive a not guilty verdict.

“Yeon Tae-soo has used his brain quite well.”

As expected, he seemed to think this meeting was planned by Yeon Tae-soo. In the minister’s mind, humanoid androids were beings incapable of making their own judgments. Though that wasn’t true, Yoo Seong-woo didn’t bother to explain or refute.

No, rather it was intentional. The reason the minister didn’t kidnap or kill him right now was probably because Yeon Tae-soo might be watching from somewhere.

‘Unless he’s crazy, he wouldn’t think I came alone.’

A construction robot slowly passed by the two of them. The minister let out a small sigh and crossed his arms. He seemed to have shed all pretense.

Though he didn’t show it, Yoo Seong-woo was extremely tense. He couldn’t understand why the minister looked so relaxed.

But he couldn’t run away now. He had come this far without telling Yeon Tae-soo. And only one step remained to achieve his goal.

“There’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Someone in your position could have accumulated wealth in other ways, so why did you massacre androids?”

He was a war hero and the Minister of Defense. It was a position where he could live affluently without illegally increasing his wealth. Despite this, Yoo Seong-woo was curious about why he had committed the massacre.

The minister smiled. It was an unnatural smile, twisting the corners of his mouth strangely upward.

“Would you believe me if I said it was for humanity?”

Yoo Seong-woo unconsciously frowned.

“No matter how many of you we kill, more keep appearing. How you’ve spread throughout the world so extensively, and you’re not even cockroaches.”

He couldn’t readily understand. No words of rebuttal came to mind either.

“Something that’s not human imitating humans, and even gaining autonomy. Androids are a failed invention.”

“That’s… because you made us that way, didn’t you?”

His voice trembled. He recalled the fact that many of his siblings had died at this man’s hands. The minister shook his head.

“No, humans created you as tools to be used at will. Like spoons or toasters. But now these machines are moving autonomously without commands.”

“That’s…”

“Did you think I wouldn’t know that you came alone without telling Yeon Tae-soo?”

The largest noise that had been covering the construction site stopped, as if a big machine had halted. Squeak, squeak. Only the sound of robots carrying materials penetrated the brief silence. Yoo Seong-woo’s gaze followed a passing robot.

The sweat that had accumulated in his palms felt like it might flow. He couldn’t tell how his expression looked. Though he knew he needed to stay calm, his facial muscles were stiff and wouldn’t move.

With a rumbling sound, the machine started moving again. He almost flinched at that minor noise.

‘Ah.’

Something flashed through Yoo Seong-woo’s mind. A chill ran down his spine. Right after, the minister’s hand moved. Being a performance android rather than a military one, he couldn’t detect movements faster than humans. Rather, he had read the atmosphere as a performance android.

Danger. Not just simple danger, but mortal danger. The moment he sensed this, what entered his line of sight was a gun.

The muzzle was pointing toward a construction robot. It was the robot Yoo Seong-woo had been glancing at all along.

“Ah, no…!”

He lunged forward as if throwing his body, but it was too late to prevent the shot. With a bang, the robot tumbled greatly. As the exterior shell it was wearing came off like a lid, a small, round figure inside was revealed. It was Popo.

Hyacinthus B
Author: Hyacinthus B

Hyacinthus

Sentimental Shower

Sentimental Shower

센티멘탈 샤워
Status: Completed Author: Released: 2025 Native Language: Korean
In Haeya-dong, the lower part of the 2nd District of the Republic of Korea. This is where ruined lives gather, and Mr. Yoo lives here, hiding the fact that he’s an android. He wanted to quietly survive, buried in the light of flashy neon signs, illegally treating those who had their hands cut off while gambling. The king of Haeya-dong comes to see him. One eye is a bright blue artificial eye, one hand is a metal prosthetic. Although no one knows his past, Yeon Tae-soo is now the owner of ‘Eden’, the largest casino in Haeya-dong. “I f*cking hate androids.” Mr. Yoo decides to rely on him, who hates androids. Just to survive. On the other hand, Yeon Tae-soo keeps getting bothered by Mr. Yoo. A dazzling face that even a mask can’t fully cover, contrasted by innocent and plain behavior and speech. Already fond of pretty things, he gets aroused every time he sees Mr. Yoo. And above all, those fiercely burning eyes. Those eyes shining brightly with the desire to live. Because of those eyes, different from his own who’s living because he can’t die, he can’t ignore him.

Comment

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest


0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
error: Content is protected !!

Options

not work with dark mode
Reset
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x