December 24, 2069
Darkness swallowed everything. Not a single glimmer of light remained.
"Babe~ bring me twenty more batteries, please," a sweet female voice called out, followed by the sharp crackle of electricity sparking twice.
Zzzt! Zzzt! "Ahhh!" Yoona yelled, her voice echoing against the four walls. Moments later, So Hyung groaned in disbelief.
"Seriously~~ a hundred energizers? Even if you wake him up, he won't last a week!"
"Wake up, wake up, please~~ open your eyes!" Their voices rose together in desperate harmony. "Abra Kadavra Phew!" The chant ended with a loud thud, cables snapping into place around the dormant android. A generator whirred to life, and Rose's eyes flickered open once more. He found himself in the bedroom of a pink-haired girl. So Hyung's eyes widened as he turned to face him.
"Yoona, look!" So Hyung pointed, urging her to turn away from her computer. She gasped at the sight of Rose scanning the room.
"It worked! I may not be a tech guy, but at least I read enough books," Yoona exclaimed, clinging to her boyfriend's shoulder. "Right, babe?"
"Don't forget, the charger cables is not mine, i have to return them later." So Hyung muttered, while Rose realized his body was bound by fifty cables from head to toe.
"Where am I? And why am I trapped in cables?"
"This is my girlfriend's house. Heh… wait, wait! Is he really a robot? I didn't know robots could ask questions!" So Hyung scratched his head, baffled.
"Don't tell me… no way. The system shouldn't be this advanced yet. I follow the news every day, and androids are only at twenty percent of this level! This one is beyond anything we've seen. Yoona, listen, this is the greatest innovation in the world right now!" He lifted a magnifying glass to Rose's face.
"Hello," Rose said calmly. "Anything you need, sir?"
"And this skin covering… it's not ordinary plastic. What's it called again?" So Hyung rubbed Rose's arm.
Yoona answered for him. "Hyper-polycarbonate layered over dual titanium frames. I checked last night, his outer shell is scarred, like it was cut by carbon steel. Why are you so battered?"
"That's something you don't need to know," Rose replied.
"Is it true you're a killer?" So Hyung asked bluntly.
"No, babe~ he's innocent," Yoona corrected, noting Rose's masculine identity.
"I'm clarified as male," Rose said. "Even if I look feminine, I don't have a woman's body."
"Don't mock him~ he's charming, like a Blythe doll," Yoona said warmly. Rose tugged a cable free from his neck, startling her. So Hyung quickly pulled her close. Rose lowered his gaze to his damaged arm joint.
"I need a screwdriver," he said. So Hyung handed one over, and Rose began repairing himself with practiced skill.
"These batteries will only power me for two days. Without my core energy unit—the heart—I can't recharge from sunlight. In this condition, I'll only burden you."
"Answer me first. Why are you like this? When did you come here? And what about Dr. Takiya? Why did that drone attack us?" So Hyung pressed.
"I arrived in Seoul by train a few days ago. I'm not the killer who murdered Dr. Takiya. He was my creator. That's all I can say. As for the drones, they're from my past life, still haunting me. You shouldn't have brought me here if you don't want trouble," Rose warned, his voice flat.
"So what do we do with you? If we take you to the police, they'll think we're crazy," So Hyung muttered. Yoona, polishing her glasses, noticed a pendant hanging from Rose's neck.
"Do you have a name?"
"R-053. That's the codename Dr. Takiya gave me."
"R053… like Rose! Rosay!" Yoona exclaimed.
"How did you know?" Rose asked.
"Because it resembles the word. And I've decided, you'll stay here for now. When I go shopping with my boyfriend…" She pointed at So Hyung. "Oops…"
"He's an AI. He understands love. That pendant is proof," So Hyung said, while Rose tilted his head curiously.
"Anyway, those drones are probably searching for you right now," Yoona said, rushing to close the curtains.
"You don't know what you're dealing with," Rose stood, ready to leave.
"If you go now, in two days you'll end up in a junkyard. Believe me," Yoona shot back without hesitation. Rose froze, turning his head slowly.
"Danger is closer than you think. Even you might be involved," he said coldly.
"Call me Yoona, Rose~" she snapped, stomping her foot.
"Calm down, babe. Let's step outside and talk," So Hyung soothed, leading her out of the room. Rose remained alone, sitting against the wall, shutting down like a lifeless doll. Later that night, Yoona returned quietly, setting down her jetpack and refueling it beside the bed.
Yoona glanced back at the rigid figure of the android. "Saving energy, aren't you?" she murmured, turning toward the curtains as she slowly unbuttoned her blouse. Click, click.
She froze when she heard the faint stir of machinery, snapping her head back—only to find Rose perfectly still. "Just my imagination…" she whispered, slipping out of her clothes until only her undergarments remained. She sat before the vanity, wiping away her makeup. Rustle, rustle. The sound made her glance at the mirror's reflection, watching for movement in the android's shadow. What she saw startled her: Rose's hand tightened around the pendant at his neck, clutching it as though it held something irreplaceable.
"I thought you were a man, like So Hyung assumed," she said softly.
Rose opened his eyes. "I am only a machine. That is my true nature."
"Robots don't have hearts… isn't that right?" Yoona asked, draping a towel over her shoulders before turning to her computer.
"Most people say the same. Yes," Rose replied.
"Then why did you save me and So Hyung in that alley?" Her voice trembled with curiosity. Rose fell silent. In his mind, fragments of memory replayed: bullets slicing through the air, a woman's body collapsing into the abyss, the world twisting upside down, her spirit rising again into the fragile form gasping for breath on the ground. He knew the answer, but he dared not speak it. "..."
"There must be a reason you're different from the others. You weren't programmed to do that…" Yoona turned back, only to find Rose motionless once more, his systems shut down. "What? Asleep already? I was just about to squeeze the truth out of you. Tomorrow, I'll decide what to do with you. Oh! Maybe you can start by cleaning the house. What do you think?" She tilted her gaze toward the unseen audience.
"Of course~" she nodded with a sly smile. A pink butterfly fluttered against the windowpane before vanishing into the Seoul night. Yet on the wall outside, a black cat watched it intently. Snowflakes drifted down, transforming the smooth ground into a rough, uneven surface. Leaves swirled past whitewashed buildings, dissolving into abandoned ruins painted with graffiti beneath the cold moonlight.
8:21 PM
Yueguang Island
Gunfire rattled through a narrow alley, echoing into the desolate streets. "Wipe them the fuck out! Where's your boss? Nobody's protecting you now, eh?" Shots rang out as masked bandits scattered, dodging bullets fired from the shadows.
Above Yue Guang, chaos reigned. But deep beneath the island lay a hidden paradise—a subterranean club reserved for chosen guests from across the world. Inside, masked revelers indulged in forbidden pleasures. A young man with crimson hair, concealed beneath a wooden talchum mask, approached the guarded entrance.
"Permission to search," the bouncer demanded. The man raised his arms, allowing the inspection of his silver-white suit. "I'm here for the Red Dragon, code 574Y," he said.
"He's waiting in the VIP lounge," the guard replied. Without hesitation, the young man entered the infernal club. Dancers in black bunny suits entertained the crowd, their laughter mingling with moans of indulgence. Disgusted, he quickened his pace until he reached a square chamber. There sat a corpulent figure behind a blood-stained dragon mask, pressing a heated chopstick against the chest of a hooded prisoner.
"I won't do it again, I swearr-ahhh!" The victim's scream pierced the air until his consciousness faded into silence.
"No need to turn away, boy. He's not dead, just faint. At last, you've come…" the masked man sneered. "My son, Da Li Hong." He shoved the prisoner's head to the floor.
Snap! The red-haired youth flicked his fingers, closing the curtain to seal the room in privacy. "I know everything now…"
"What do you mean, Li Hong? Tell me," the man growled.
"You killed Aunt Feng, didn't you?" His fists clenched tight.
"I did not. Feng was a failure. It was part of the system."
The young man tore off his mask, revealing crimson eyes and a familiar face, Cho Jinam, member of the boy band D\8/. "Do you think I enjoy this filthy work? Do you think I'm fucking happy?"
"I'm building power, child. Why are you here? To beg for money? To crawl back for my affection? Your mother never trusted me, she took you away. Look at you now! Even if you're only my adopted son, I gave you wealth. You became a star because of me. Even if your singing and dancing like monkeys were shitting my eyes, I still supported you. I wanted you to become me. But you refused, chasing dreams. I gave you that chance. What more do you want?"
"You can't keep doing this! You corrupt every business and threaten anyone who resists. And Aunt Feng, the one who used to walk with me when this city was still a living place, you chose her death. You didn't even give her a proper funeral!" Jinam's voice rose, trembling with fury.
"Because I never found her fucking body! She exploded when she hit the ground. If I had found the bitch, would you really want to see her guts rotting in a box, you fool? Life begins, and ends. She was caught in the cycle; there was no escaping."
The blood-dragon mask was torn away, revealing the face of Kevin Xu Wen, chairman of TAOS Corporation.
"To be honest, boy," Xu Wen sighed, "I once thought of handing the company to you after I secured my seat in politics. But looking at you now… you're fit for nothing more than a marketing tool."
His son laughed bitterly. "The shit company? Built on the blood of your victims? You did it all for yourself."
"Do you remember when you were a child, walking above ground with your uncle and mother? If I gain the seat, I'll restore this city to what it once was. Even if it costs a hundred lives for the greater good, I'll do it. You must understand, boy! I'm not doing this for you alone, but for millions who fled and long to return home. We will reunite Yueguang again. Didn't your beloved aunt once say that?" Xu Wen narrowed his eyes.
"..." His son clenched his teeth, refusing to answer.
"She said, 'Even if it costs lives.' I am fulfilling her promise. Yet you still defy me. I'm not just building Yueguang's future, I'm building the future everyone desires."
"I won't doubt… but you can't pay for all the lives you've taken. That seat won't guarantee Yueguang a better fate, not in the hands of a son of a bitch like you."
"Thank you for your useless opinion. From now on, get out, and don't ever call me daddy again. You and I are finished."
"Glad you finally understand why I came. My life is finally free."
"Oh, and one more thing, boy~ If you try anything foolish, don't expect anyone to protect you." Xu Wen jabbed a finger at his former son, warning him of the consequences.
"..." Jinam stepped out, slipping the talchum mask back over his face.
"I am the bad guy? Ha! That brat…" Xu Wen chuckled, tossing a black dragon medallion onto the low table. A hologram flickered to life, projecting the faceless figure of another man.
"Well, well, Xuelong, you've lost weight," Xu Wen teased.
"Call me Xuelong, not Hei Long. If I don't shove gunpowder down your throat, you'll never remember," the man snapped.
"Good to see you! I hear you're about to claim a seat in parliament. Dusting off that economic revolution plan again, eh? Perfect. Trade in Hong Kong will flow smoother than ever. Robots replacing workers, brilliant! Oh, and that first-generation green-headed android you pitched… how much was it again?"
Xu Wen shook his head. "It got away. That tin can ain't worth a dime."
"Used and discarded, huh? Shame. From a reformer to a greedy bastard, my father always said greed poisons both others and oneself. That's why I stick to underground. I envy you, though."
Xu Wen smirked. "As if I care."
"I say what I think, that's all. Ha! But fine, keep your androids for your revolution. I only care about expanding my business into space. I hear your company has plenty of airships."
"And your offer?" Xu Wen asked, sipping brandy, twirling a heated chopstick in his glass.
"The Axian tech'. Ten of your airships for my men. Fifty million upfront. Deliver three by tomorrow noon, East Asia time."
Xu Wen laughed. "Still the same money-grubber, Wota[1]. Fine." They raised their wrists, transferring digital currency and erasing the record.
"Excellent. Until next time." The hologram faded, leaving Xu Wen grinning at his upcoming future.
"A life without obstacles is as easy as putting off your jacket." He bit down on a cigar and rose from his luxurious sofa. The floor lifted like an underground elevator, carrying him to the vast hangar where five bodyguards escorted him toward a golden airship, ready to depart from the den of indulgence.
[1] Series B Main Antagonist (The Axian Twins ARC) - Elai Hiat'wota [2nd Round Table member, AKA. The New Leader of Lyre Colony (Year 2072)]