Sentimental Shower

#037

By the time Yoo Seong-woo had grown accustomed to his life shuttling between Byeolbyeol Animal Hospital and Eden, he could sense the changed atmosphere in Haeya-dong. New types of people were passing through the streets.

Probably half of these strangers had come out of curiosity about Eden’s parties. The other half were likely spies planted by the Ministry of Defense.

A strange tension permeated the air. Haeya-dong was never a peaceful place to begin with. It was just a place where broken lives gathered, with a thick layer of sediment settled in the lower class. Unwelcome guests who didn’t fit in a place that wasn’t peaceful but wasn’t noisy either. They became the new stain on Haeya-dong.

Eden’s people quickly picked up on the changes.

“Haven’t there been more customers at Eden lately?”

Ironically, contrary to the tense atmosphere, Eden’s clientele had increased.

“Isn’t it always bustling there?”

“No. Since they said they’d hold parties, somehow… it seems like people are coming and going more freely…”

People whispered. What would happen to that golden tower?

Eden was Haeya-dong’s landmark. The residents of Haeya-dong both loathed and secretly took pride in that huge, glamorous building. Because it was the only splendid and impressive thing in these streets full of broken power lines and overflowing filth.

Yeon Tae-soo was busy. Yoo Seong-woo knew he was planning something, but he didn’t share the details. He didn’t particularly want to ask either. There was no reason for him, an outsider, to be told about Eden’s affairs.

The fortunate thing was that the injuries he had sustained then had fully healed.

He was curious about why Yeon Tae-soo’s body had such an impressive regeneration rate, but he didn’t ask. It seemed like he didn’t want to talk about it in more detail.

Yoo Seong-woo decided to perform at the party. He planned to wear a mask instead.

The mask he had been carving out of wood for the past few days was for wearing while performing that day. Whenever he had time, he carefully shaped it. Yeon Tae-soo would snatch it from his hands, playing around by putting it on and taking it off his own face.

“I really am a genius. How did I come up with the idea of a mask?”

Yeon Tae-soo praised himself while lying down. Yoo Seong-woo snatched back the half-finished wooden mask rolling in his hands.

“Half of it was my idea, though.”

“But I brought it up first.”

Yeon Tae-soo was right. How about wearing a mask while performing, he had suggested.

A medical mask wouldn’t suit the party. It would raise more suspicion instead. Yeon Tae-soo had suggested the mask to him with that in mind. Of course, he gave other excuses.

“We can’t carelessly reveal our Seong-woo’s face. What if everyone goes blind?”

He was so taken aback by the nonsense coming out of that normal face that he couldn’t even refute it.

On the other hand, he was grateful. That he knew he was reluctant to show his face and was being considerate like this.

By now, Yeon Tae-soo probably knew that his face was identical to Yoo-hyun’s. Yet he hadn’t brought it up.

While he was grateful for the consideration, he didn’t believe it was entirely due to genuine affection for him. After all, distrust was the first thing he learned while on the run.

It was true that Yeon Tae-soo treated him well, but it was probably just to use him. His face was a weakness. A weakness he had given to Yeon Tae-soo in exchange for protection.

Pure goodwill couldn’t exist. Wasn’t Yeon Tae-soo known for being ruthless to his enemies? Was there any reason he would turn a blind eye to deception only for him?

Hiding the guilt that was creeping up again, he fiddled with the mask.

“I’m going to paint this black. Without any patterns.”

“Yeah, no patterns would be good. Mysterious and just right. I don’t like other people making eye contact with you either… Can’t we cover the eye holes too?”

“If you’re fine with me drumming on your back instead of the piano, I’ll cover the eye holes too.”

Yeon Tae-soo laughed loudly. Somehow, when he was with him, it felt like the proportion of nonsense increased.

In truth, he enjoyed chattering with him, spouting such useless words.

When exchanging jokes with Yeon Tae-soo, he felt like a normal person, no longer a fugitive.

Is this how Pinocchio felt when he got a real body? Even knowing it wasn’t his, he couldn’t stop craving this sense of peace.

Above all, the most amazing thing was that when he was with him, the pain was much less.

The terrible headaches that had tormented him constantly had greatly diminished.

What could be the reason? While he could reattach severed human hands, he couldn’t understand the cause of the changes happening in his own body. However, Yoo Seong-woo didn’t try to find the cause.

He was just glad it didn’t hurt. He enjoyed this comfort he was experiencing for the first time in his life.

And he felt sorry towards him.

Because this relationship seemed to benefit only himself.

It was when they fell asleep together in Eden’s room.

It was one dawn when his expectation that he might finally get used to that crude flesh pierced with beads was cruelly shattered.

Unlike humans, he could control his sleep time to some extent. Of course, his body, so similar to humans’, couldn’t go without any sleep at all, but it was better than humans who had to sleep regularly.

However, on days when he mixed bodies with Yeon Tae-soo, he invariably succumbed to fatigue and fell into a deep sleep. It wasn’t just fatigue; it seemed his body couldn’t withstand the aftermath of the sensations that had rushed through him.

It was strange. That he fell asleep not because of malfunction, but simply because he couldn’t overcome his body’s sensations. The muscles feeling fatigue, blood rushing quickly through the body, pupils dilating, and the mind freezing white with those sensations.

Doesn’t it feel like becoming human?

Yoo Seong-woo shifted slightly, feeling his stiff limbs. Right in front of his nose was Yeon Tae-soo’s sleeping face.

Lying on his side, Yeon Tae-soo’s arm embracing him was warm and firm. Even the prosthetic hand touching his back wasn’t cold.

What impulse was it? He raised his hand and brought it to Yeon Tae-soo’s face right in front of him. His fingertips lightly touched the straight line of his forehead.

Careful not to wake him, he moved his fingers with utmost caution. His fingers moved from Yeon Tae-soo’s forehead, following his eyebrows to the side. The seemingly firm eyebrows made his overall impression look thicker and fiercer.

His fingertips brushed past the lean cheekbones and cheeks, then the sharp chin, before reaching near his lips.

The fingers that had been barely touching, almost but not quite reaching his lips, finally gathered courage and gently caressed the boundary of his lower lip.

He had heard Yeon Tae-soo groan in his sleep before.

He couldn’t hear clearly, but he would groan and plead for something. It sounded like he was saying it hurt, or asking to be killed.

Sometimes after groaning like that, he would open his eyes and face him. Because that brief glance looked miserable even to his mechanical eyes, Yoo Seong-woo deliberately turned on his emotion detection function that he had turned off.

‘Resignation’, ‘Acceptance’, ‘Despair’…

Yeon Tae-soo wanted to die.

Even I, a machine, am struggling so hard to live, why do you, a human, want to die?

While trying not to show the sinking feeling, managing his expression, Yeon Tae-soo finally woke up and smiled.

‘Baby, why are you staring like that? Is my face that handsome?’

Seeing the bright blue artificial eye that had been layered with negative emotions just moments ago now gently curve, he felt a warmth inside.

‘Relief’.

Surprisingly, the result of analyzing Yeon Tae-soo’s suddenly changed expression was exactly the same as what he was feeling.

What story do you have? Why do your wounds heal abnormally fast, and why did you end up with a prosthetic hand and artificial eye?

Why have you given up on life?

He wanted to know even a little more about him. He wanted to fill his database with this man.

‘I wish you weren’t in pain either.’

I’m not in pain when I’m with you.

As he was about to remove his hand from Yeon Tae-soo’s lips, swallowing the words lingering in his mouth, suddenly a bright blue star appeared before his eyes. It was Yeon Tae-soo’s artificial eye.

He realized a beat later that his wrist had been grabbed by him.

“You’re awake. I must have woken you. I’m sorr-“

The words he was hurriedly spilling out stopped abruptly. It was because Yeon Tae-soo had kissed him.

Lips parted softly and a tongue entered. A kiss continued, not too stimulating, suitable for morning. Only after their breaths had mingled for a while did Yeon Tae-soo’s lips release him. As if that wasn’t enough, he pressed his lips against his lips and nose tip with smacking sounds before pulling away.

“Wake me up like this from now on.”

His voice, already deep, was even lower and husky, making it seductive.

Instead of answering, Yoo Seong-woo wrapped his arms around his neck. And kissed him again.

Watching the blue star disappear before his eyes, he closed his eyes too.

He had to do something for him. This feeling must be different from the sense of indebtedness that humans often have. It’s just a high-performance machine’s self-protection… Yes, it must be something like a protective measure.

He would have to give him something other than his body for this relationship to continue. This body alone wouldn’t be enough.

‘You’ll get tired of my body before long.’

Considering Yeon Tae-soo’s past actions, there was a high possibility he would soon tire of him. At best, he might last another month. No, it wouldn’t be strange if he was kicked out tomorrow. After all, Yeon Tae-soo was a playboy.

He wanted to be of help to Yeon Tae-soo.

He wanted to stay by his side like that.

It was just for survival. There couldn’t be any other purpose, any emotions. Because he was an android.