JinBot

On Hold

"Hello?"

"Annyeonghaseyo!"

"What?"

I looked at the LoveDoll, completely dumbfounded. Maybe he didn't hear me. Maybe I speak louder.

"HELLO?"

"Annyeonghaseyo!"

"Ok, I think this thing is broken. "

"What makes you think that?"

"Um...maybe the fact that he's speaking gibberish."

"Actually, he's speaking Korean!"

"I'm not even going to ask how you know that...Do you know what he's saying? Or better yet, do you know how I can change the language to English?"

"He said hello. I am not sure how to change the language settings. Maybe it says how in the app."

"Yes! Duh. Just a minute, let me look."'

I grabbed my phone and opened the LoveDoll app. I saw the opening screen, then clicked. I was greeted with very unfamiliar looking text. I scrolled down, but there was just more of the same. I reached the bottom of the page and found a link, which I quickly clicked. It opened my internet browser and took me to page filled with more of that unfamiliar text. I scrolled to the bottom yet again. This time I found a phone number. I wrote it down on a stray piece of paper. Hopefully they could get this straightened out.

"Did you figure it out?"

"No, I can't tell what anything says, but I did find their 800 number, so I'm going to call and see if they can walk me though it."

"Great! Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I'm starving. Would you mind going to grab a pizza? This might take a while."

"Sure thing, friend! I'll be back in no time. I can't wait to meet Jin!"

"Thanks. See you in a little bit."

I waved to JK as he walked out the door. I punched in the numbers and hit the speakerphone button. I placed the phone on the ground and walked to the fridge to grab another cold one. I felt the LoveDoll's eyes on me. I couldn't bring myself to call him Jin just yet. Not when I couldn't even tell if it was functioning properly. I turned to look at it. We locked eyes and the LoveDoll broke into a smile. I'm sure in any other circumstances I would find it charming, but currently I found it creepy. I did an about face and walked to the hall closet. I opened the door, retrieved a thick blanket, and walked over to the LoveDoll. I covered it with the blanket so it couldn't watch me anymore. I didn't know how to turn it off so this was the best solution for the time being.

I returned to my spot on the floor. I sat down just in time to hear some robot speaking to me in yet another language I didn't understand. I waited. Then I heard the most beautiful thing I'd heard all evening.

"For English, press 2."

2! I pushed the number two on my screen a little harder than necessary.

"Thank you for calling LoveStyle Industries. Your call is important to us. Please listen carefully to the following menu options. For billing, press 1. To place an order, press 2. For customer service, press 3. For technical support, press 4. To speak to a representative, press 0. To repeat the menu options, press the pound symbol."