I woke up with a bad feeling in my gut.
Namjoon told me that nothing bad will happen, but I am still not fully assured that nothing bad will really happen.
Right now I am in the living room, watching the live broadcasting of my father's press conference about my existence. I wasn't told to come with him, since they said that it is too dangerous for me if I'll go there too and they're saving me up for the next time.
Namjoon is sitting right beside me, watching the live broadcast too. When my father's face first appeared on the screen, I felt very uneasy I didn't notice that I was squirming and fidgeting on the couch. Namjoon held my hand firmly as he looked at me in the eyes, “It's okay. Dad will be okay.”
The way he called my father "dad" put a grin on my face. I hit his shoulder, which made him scowl, “ouch!” “Are we siblings? Why did you call my father, dad?” I nagged.
Namjoon rubbed his shoulder in pain, “Can't I call my father-in-law dad?”
I felt my face warm, “Oh shut up.”
And this idiot beside me grinned like a monkey as he placed his arms around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him as we watched the press conference.
My father was sitting in front of a microphone, Namjoon's father sat beside him, and father's secretary was sitting beside him too. Cameras flashed at them, as the media bombarded my father with questions.
“Why did you develop a very human-like AI and even registered it as your daughter?” someone asked.
“I'm sorry but my daughter is not just an 'it'. She's a person.” My father said, which made the crowd's chatter even more louder.
"You said that you and your wife had a daughter. Did your newborn daughter die that's why you made an AI and your wife couldn't bear the fact that your real human daughter died and is that the cause of your wife's suicide?"
My father's expression tensed.
I heard the crowd saying: "Answer the question!" a lot of times.
My fists are curling up tightly that I didn't notice them shaking uncontrollably already. Namjoon was holding me back.
Mr. Kim spoke up, “Excuse me, but Mrs. Hong's suicide is confidential and is completely unrelated to the topic.”
“But sir, maybe that is the main reason why Mrs. Hong killed herself.”
The crowd muttered louder. The cameras kept on clicking.
My father was looking down, as if he was hiding something below there that he is contemplating wether to show it to the public or not.
After he let out a sigh, my father showed everyone a flashdrive which made the crowd go silent.
“In this flashdrive, are all the evidences that my daughter has a life, and is not an AI.” my father said, and handed out the flashdrive to a staff so it can be shown into the projector.
The projector flashed a picture of my parents way back in their college years. Both of them were wearing some maroon-colored uniform blazer with a white polo inside and a black tie. There was a fancy logo at the side of their uniform. Both of them looked so happy at the picture. I saw my father smile a bit while he was looking at the projected picture.
“That is a picture of me and my wife back when we were in college.” My father said, “That seemed like a normal picture, but that is actually the last photograph that we took together before she died.”
That stirred up confusion among the crowd.
“You're probably confused, but yes. Seok Miran died before she even became Hong Miran. She was found dead in our school, and I can't accept it. I was only able to bring her back by making an artificial body of her and placing the intact neurons and brain inside the body. She then graduated with me and left the university with me.”My father said, and the next slide was shown.
The picture shows my mother lying down inside some sort of machine or what.
“Everyday I'm trying my best to make her have a body very similar to a human being. I never expected that I'll perfect the body. Miran was able to bear a child.”
The next slide was shown, and it was a picture of my mother holding me in her arms.
“That's our daughter.”Father said, “My daughter had a real life, and so as her mother. But since my daughter was developed in an artificial body, her lifespan shouldn't last longer than 18 years. I wanted her to live normally, so I made another very human-like body, and I'm trying to make it better than what I made with Miran. So when my daughter became 18, I placed her consciousness first in a artificial robotic body while I was making her permanent body. I got some human parts that were donated to the hospital, and placed what I can use in the body to make it function like a normal human being.”
My father sighed, “Now you know that my daughter is not an AI. She's a real human being.” then he looked straight at the camera,
“Rajin-ah, I love you.”
And a gunshot noise was all I heard.
Namjoon and I froze on the spot, our eyes were wide as we stared at the television. Cameras continued on flashing. People went chaotic. My father was laying on the floor, his blood spreading around him. Mr. Kim was shouting at the guards to find the sniper, but I guess the killer already left his place minutes ago.
The helpers inside our house were all in panic.
I still cannot believe what just happened.
It was the day of my father's burial. Every friend of mine attended, and so as my father's friends. We have no other relatives, so I'm the only family member of the dead in here.
The sniper was still unidentified, but the police are still investigating on it.
Father's friends were bawling their eyes out, but I didn't. I guess I already let everything out days ago. My eyes are dry.
As the coffin was lowered six feet under the ground, we threw white roses on it as the coffin was covered with ground again.
I heaved out a heavy sigh, as Namjoon placed his arms around me. I looked at him and smiled a bit, and he did the same sad smile too.
Wherever father may be now, I hope he's happily together with mom.
Namjoon and I walked away, and walked towards his car. But a group of media interviewers rushed towards us with their cameras and microohones.
Cameras flashed at me, blinding me with bright light. They bombarded me with questions that even I cannot comprehend.
Namjoon covered me, “Excuse me, don't you have any respect that she just lost her father?” he asked the media with the tone as calm as possible. I patted Namjoon's back, “It's okay, I'll just answer one.” I said. Namjoon looked at me, “Are you sure?” I nodded, “Yes.”
He sighed and moved away, as I stepped forward, “I'll only answer one question.” I announced, and reporters immediately asked multiple questions at the same time. I listened to the question of the reporter nearest to me, so I edged closer to her.
“What do you think you really are? Are you really an AI or a human?”
I let out a smile, as I got the microphone and looked directly at the camera from that reporter's network,
“AI or not, whatever's the case, you'll still throw shit at me because my body was developed non biologically.” I paused, “Justice will be served to my father's death.” I dropped the mic back on the reporter's hand and entered Namjoon's car as other reporters kept on asking me more questions.
Namjoon also entered his car, and he immediately held my hand and smiled, “You know you're human.”
“I know I am.”
•••
hiiiiiiiii thx so much for reading even though the ending sucked ballsacks but anyway thankyouuuuuuuuuuuu!