Artificial Love || Minho

27 || Heartbreak

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I open the door, already knowing it would be okay, and see Jisung sleeping on top of a gigantic file of work. I turn and see Chan on the other side of the room, who beckons me over. "Is this the blueprints due for Tuesday?" He inspected them.

"Yep," I sighed. "That was the only one, right?"

He nods, rolling it back up and putting it away. "Good work. I wouldn't really expect anything less, though."

I chuckle, bowing to the senior before turning on my heels to leave.

Thanking about it, I didn't really have anything other matters to attend, so I figured it would be a good time to-

"Ah, wait! Hwamin."

A voice interrupts my thought, me immediately spinning around to face Chan, who had suddenly called out to me. Tilting my head, I go back to him. I suddenly notice Lee Know sitting at an empty desk, but from the looks of it, it doesn't belong to anybody, so I let him do it.

Peers at where I was looking, putting a hand over his forehead. "Oh, Jisung, can you and Lee know exit the room for a second? I need to talk to her privately." He asks, and I see the squirrel bounce up immediately. "Yes sir!" He says, taking Lee know by the hand as they walk out together.

He hasn't changed at all, has he? I laugh in disbelief, before turning back to chan. "What was it you want to tell me?"

Chan stalls, a look of what looked like guiltiness flashing over his eyes. "Hwamin-ah." He says, taking a sip of coffee, before continuing. "I need to address to you something. Or, confirm."

The room was silent, chan taking a deep breath, as if unsure whether to let his words fall. "...You don't, or, you aren't, attracted-attracted to Lee know, right?" The question escapes his lips quickly and briskly, almost hesitant in a way. "I need to confirm this with you."

A sudden uneasiness comes forth to me, lumps forming in throat as I feel my hands grow sweaty.

I felt something.

It wasn't strong, or an overbearing weight. But it was there, and it was grasping onto me enough for my subconscious acknowledgment.

A pang.

A pang in my heart.

I didn't have any words, nor could I open my mouth to even speak. I didn't know how to answer, I being too scared of how Chan will react if I told him the truth.

So many words came bubbling up in my throat, and it takes all I have in me to swallow them down.

"Hwamin, here's what I can tell you." Chan sighs. "Love.. Between Human and Android can never work. It's why the specific emotion was never programmed into the android system. There are so many flaws, so many heartbreaking factors. Do you know how long 107's battery life is?"

"Huh? How long?" I ask him, my hands in my lap clenching into fists.

He pauses, before answering. "200 years."

"But, that's like double the lifespan of a normal android!"

"I know." Chan says, sighing. "That's the advantage of the technology we don't have, which is why we need to know more about him."

Of course.

You and I have merely been job partners.

"But Hwamin." He states to me firmly, in which I listen to intently. "Work is work."