[Junghee / Gwiboon] Digital
Rating: G
Warning: borderline genfic
Genre: future au
Length: 4417
“Can it -” Gwiboon corrected herself. “Can she make decisions of her own?”
The saleswoman smiled. “Yes. The new and updated K1M900408 systems have been designed to learn from your actions, your decisions, and absorb them as her own ideals. If you leave her unsupervised with a task, she will complete it exactly as you would.”
Gwiboon played uncertainly with the pen in her hands, the contract still unsigned on the table before her. She looked to the side, where the android sat. “Junghee?” she tried, and the robot blinked, turned its eyes to look at her, just like a human would. “Would you like to come live with me?” she invited.
The Junghee K1M900408 instantly smiled.
혹시 잠깐 여기서 멈출 수 있을까?
The minute they walked into the library, Junghee set about tidying it up. She picked up the nearest pile of books and began pacing all along the length of the shelves, looking for an order to place them in.
“You don’t have to worry about that, right now,” Gwiboon waved. “Just get some rest, and we’ll start cleaning the house tomorrow.”
“I only rest at night, ma’am. When I’m charging my batteries,” Junghee replied reverently, even as her arm gracefully slotted books high up in the shelves like any human arm would.
The place had been be shut for a very long time. Gwiboon’s travels had taken her abroad and kept her there for years until she’d returned last week to find a new and nearly unrecognizable Seoul: robots had been a faraway echo in the cottage she’d made her home among the European alps. But here - here they were the way of life. With robots in the driver seat, there were nearly no auto accidents anymore. With them at every check-out, the service was always impeccable; little bots cleaned the streets and public toilets, drones surveilled dark alleyways and lonely roads. The city was suddenly more than just its old livable version. It was pleasant. Robots walked dogs, helped children cross roads, trimmed trees and swept sidewalks and made sure shop fronts were always sparkling.
It didn’t take much to convince Gwiboon. Her first week back she had already acquired an android sidekick for herself, to keep her company in the colossal old family home and to help with the general upkeep of things.
“You don’t have to call me that,” she said as she rolled up her sleeves and joined in with putting things away. Junghee approached her from the other side of the room and took Gwiboon’s load away. “Don’t call me ma’am,” she repeated as she reluctantly relinquished control and let the other do as she liked. “Just call me by my name.”
Junghee paused and turned. “Gwiboon ssi?”
“Gwiboon is fine.”
The other nodded, then carried on with her task.
혹시 잠깐 숨 좀 돌릴 수 있을까?
They spent their hours like that, every day since: each morning, Junghee would prepare a grand breakfast, then select a room in the house to begin cleaning it. Gwiboon would try to help but inadvertently end up seated somewhere, watching the other’s back. They would exchange few words between dusting and vacuuming off cobwebs, and then they would enjoy the near-silence of each other’s presence. Sometimes Gwiboon would scribble a few words in her diary, other times she would knit. Sometimes Junghee would hum as she cleaned, other times she would sing. She had been configured with a sweet voice - a voice like the ringing of bells in a temple far away, or the tinkle of a child’s anklets. The songs were unrecognizable, perhaps something she had picked up from the radio, perhaps something she was programmed with. Junghee’s voice would mold itself around the shape of their tunes and Gwiboon would sit listening until the sun dipped below the line of trees outside.
They’d share the table for a meal together, a plate and a pair of hands sharing the space of the kitchen island. On gloomy afternoons they would run through Gwiboon’s agenda for the coming week; discuss how full of book signings and fan events it was, and how many she’d like to skip. On gloomy nights, they’d watch TV or make small talk, often sharing the warmth of a blanket-one would say she wasn’t affected by things like the weather, the other would insist on it anyway. One would complete her chores like clockwork everyday, the other would sit a distance away and stare at the measured and precise motion of hands. One would ask simple questions and the other would respond to the best of her abilities. This is how their first few weeks together were spent, and with every passing day Junghee’s permanence in Gwiboon’s life became darker and darker like ink spilt on paper.
혹시 잠깐 얘기 좀 할 수 있을까?
A few months into the cohabitation Junghee made her first request. “May I read one of your books?”
“You’re free to browse through anything you like in the library...” Gwiboon replied absentmindedly as she sifted through drawers. “Have you seen my woolen socks by any chance?”
The other disappeared for a minute and returned with the pair held out in one hand. “No, I meant one of your books,” she clarified.
Her host raised an eyebrow, letting out an amused huff. “Why in the world would you want to do that?”
“I think it would help me understand you better.”
“Do you have difficulty understanding me?”
“I’m sorry, I have offended you,” Junghee immediately stood back and bowed ninety degrees. It was a troublesome piece of behavior in her programming, something that had appeared a few times previously when Gwiboon had corrected the robot over something minor.
In this instance, she realized she may have come off harsh. The guilt of seeing another person-for that is what Junghee was to her now-bow with such sincerity, was attrition to Gwiboon’s compassion. She decided it had to stop, once and for all. “Stand up straight,” she maintained her strictness and ordered. Junghee did as she was told, her face expressionless, bereft of shame or apprehension or even confusion. “From now on,” she was told. “You will never bow to me, or ask me for permission to do anything you like. Do you understand?” Gwiboon demanded.
“I do,” the other put up no argument.
“Junghee yah,” Gwiboon had taken to calling the robot with affection. She stepped forward and took the other’s hand in hers. It was colder than a human’s but its felt just the same in texture and softness. “You are my friend,” she said. “Are you not?”
“Yes,” Junghee replied, with a hint of reassurance.
혹시 잠깐 내 말 좀 들어줄래?
Ninety days in, they were scheduled for their first maintenance check. A team of men stationed themselves in the living room, opening panels of Junghee’s body and taking measurements from her arms, her calves, the inside of her chest. Although the panels revealed nothing besides blinking circuits and softly whirring vents, it wasn’t a pleasant sight. Gwiboon stole herself away to the kitchen. Some minutes passed when the familiar face of the saleswoman bowed to her, and they sat down for a cup of steaming tea. “Analytics are looking great,” she said, as if pleased with herself at the findings. “She’s settling in really well, I take it?”
“She’s perfect for a boring person like me,” Gwiboon joked, sending a glance in the direction of the room Junghee was in.
“Haha, I would hardly call the life of an international bestselling novelist boring, Gwiboon-ssi” the saleswoman complimented. “Tell me - does she accompany you to your public events?”
“No, I don’t take her along.”
“Oh,” the other paused. “May I ask why? Completely from a performance assessment perspective, of course…”
“I just…” Gwiboon shrugged. She had no real answer. Junghee was to be confined to the house and that was what she had decided. But she had no reason to back the validity of that decision. And it hadn’t struck her until that point how unquestioning Junghee was, how obedient to a fault. “I wanted to take my time with this,” was all she could offer, then. But it stayed with her the whole evening. Even as the android wished her a good night and disappeared to her own room like clockwork, Gwiboon couldn’t help but wonder about things she hadn’t considered before.
“Junghee yah,” she called out, shifting out of her blankets and almost leaving their warmth before the other’s silhouette reappeared in the doorway.
“Would you like me to get you something?”
Gwiboon frowned. She patted the mattress next to her and Junghee promptly walked over to seat herself in the denoted spot. They looked at each other for a while - one simply processing an image, the other studying every arch every slope every shade of perfection on one’s face. They had refined Junghee’s appearance to the point where any human would be jealous - she had been installed with hazel irises that shone with flecks of gold in the low light of the bedside table. Her lips were sculpted to be plump to the point of almost flirtatious. Her nose sloped towards a soft curve before terminating in a prominent philtrum. Her hair was styled into a high bun that never moved from its place. She had been made attractive. Perhaps other models of her were used for places that needed the attractiveness, and perhaps it was this attractiveness that made Gwiboon feel protective towards the her.
“Are you happy here?” she asked.
“Yes, of course-” Junghee began to respond in a manner of guarantee she had perfected.
“No, don’t do that,” Gwiboon shook her head, shifting closer to the other. “Do you understand what I mean when I say happy?” she stressed on the word, radiated scraps of the feeling out from her chest as if it would help.
Junghee nodded. “It is a feeling of joy, or elation that a human may experience for one or several reasons, which are called emotional stimuli. These can be-”
“No, no,” Gwiboon shook her head again with a chuckle. She reached out and took the other’s hand, bringing it to her own chest, placing it above her heartbeat. “Do you feel that?” she asked.
Junghee paused, her features turned into a frown. She was unresponsive for a while until she slowly moved her head to signal affirmation. “It’s your pulse - and it’s fast for the average human condition.”
“Mm hmm,” Gwiboon said, “That’s me being happy.”
“Are you happy because of an emotional stimuli?”
“Yes. I’m happy because of you.”
The robot retracted her hand, blinking as if processing information within herself, studying Gwiboon’s face for clues. “Does my presence in this room provide happiness to you?”
The other considered this. She considered the distance between them, considered the way they were dressed, the time of night and the softness of the mattress. She considered the fact that they lived together, under the same roof. She considered that, after all, a lot of the K1M models were pleasure bots, used by clubs and noraebangs as waitresses for guests who liked that sort of thing. Gwiboon considered the fact that Junghee was infallible in her compliance, and that she would do whatever she was asked to do. Provide whatever service was required of her. She considered all of this, and was surprised by how none of it appealed to her. “No,” she replied. “You make me happy. Just you.”
“Is it a reaction to my appearance?” Junghee dug some more.
“I’m not shallow,” the other chuckled.
“I apologize.”
“Don’t,” Gwiboon prohibited. “I just want to know if you are happy. Here, in this house. Living with me.”
The android stayed herself again. She was as placid as always, as unreadable. “I have been coded to emote with a statistically neutral display of happiness for certain situations, if they meet three prerequisites,” she explained with a polite smile. “When my designated owner addresses me, when my designated owner physically offers something to me, and when I notify my designated owner of a task completed as per their request. But-” It was uncharacteristic for Junghee to falter mid-sentence, and yet she did. “-the reaction that you mentioned is beyond my current capabilities. I cannot express joy based on the existence of a human being alone.”
“Yeah,” Gwiboon resigned herself halfway through the explanation, flinching internally at every mention of the word owner. She pulled away from the other. “I figured.”
혹시 잠깐 내가 뭘 보여주고 싶은지 볼 수 있겠니?
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Kim Gwiboon, and I am the author of the novel Salt On Earth-which you have given a lot of love to. For that, I am very grateful,” she bowed low and a thunderous applause broke out in the book store. Although the space was packed to full capacity, only a modest number of people had convened at the book signing event-not a true reflection of the sales, her publisher had assured her, but a side-effect of the weather. Even as she spoke on the microphone, the roof groaned over them with the weight of piling snow. Arriving at the venue an hour beforehand, they had just missed the worst brunt of it because of Junghee’s weather analysis application. Gwiboon smiled at the other where she was seated in the audience.
“I am humbled that so many of you have come despite the snow, and I thank you for giving my work so much love. I have received a lot for my modest writing.” She bowed again, lower. Another round of applause followed, accompanied by some cheering.
Her publisher gushed into her own mic then. “Right, well, since we may have to extend the event by some time, Gwiboon ssi has agreed to take a few questions before we begin the signing. Would anyone like to ask about the book?”
A few people raised their hands in the audience, and Gwiboon nodded at one of them.
“Hello, yes, I’ve been a fan of your writing for a very long time. I drove out from Paju city to be here for this fan-signing. My husband said I must be crazy to drive in this weather, haha.”
“Oh! That’s a way away. Thank you so much for being here!” Gwiboon greeted.
“I have always been fascinated by the description of landscape in your books - I can tell you’re writing about a very beautiful place, but I don’t think such a place exists in our country?”
“Ah… haha, yes our country has a very different kind of beauty, doesn’t it?” Gwiboon replied. “The truth is, I lived near the Swiss alps while I was writing this book. So a lot of the imagery is inspired by that region.”
“Oh! Swiss alps! That’s really far away from home!”
“Yes, haha,” Gwiboon shifted a little. “It just happened that way.”
Another hand shot up in the audience. “Yes, hello. My name is Chaerin, and I study art history at Ehwa Women’s University. I am interested in women writers in our country, so I was recommended this book by my mother, and I really liked it-when I searched for the author online, I was so surprised that such a young person had written it!”
Gwiboon laughed. “Thank you very much for reading, Chaerin ssi.”
“You cover a lot of complex emotions in your book. I was curious how someone so close to my own age could write about things like that. Do you think it is because of your experience of travel?”
“I have been lucky in that regard, yes,” Gwiboon admitted. “But I think those emotions were a reflection of all the wonderful and inspiring women in my life-some of whom have faced terrible difficulties, only to overcome them and move on to better things. I get a lot of inspiration from their lives.”
Another middle-aged woman raised their hand, near the front. “When you write about heartbreak at the start of the book, it is very painful to read. I cried a lot!” the lady chuckled. “Is that also from secondhand experience?”
Gwiboon switched her weight onto one foot and sighed. Her eyes met Junghee’s encouraging smile at that moment, and she shook her head a little. “No,” she replied softly. “That was just part of the story.”
More hands were raised and Gwiboon took some time to decide whose question to entertain. "Ye, ma'am, you in the back with the white dress."
"Hello, Gwiboon ssi, I'm a big fan of this book. It was long, but I was never bored, not once. And I kept rooting for the main character all the way to the end."
"Thank you," Gwiboon blushed.
"What is your favorite part of the book, and why?"
The author nodded in appreciation. "Fantastic question. I'm very proud of all my books, but this one..." she made a wistful sound. "This one has a special place in my heart," she said. "I'd like to read you the section I worked hardest on, if that's... OK?" she tentatively asked, looking in the direction her publisher, who nodded.
She picked the book off a nearby table and turned to the page she wanted, hands moving automatically like they'd memorised every part of the story. Clearing her throat, she began.
혹시 우리 서로의 질문에 대답해 줄 수 있을까?
When this earth came into being, it existed for you and me to meet.
When you were by my side, I was happiest. When you stood by the window and sipped from your steaming cup of coffee, and I watched you from several feet away, I was happiest. When you flipped your long hair back in the direction of the annoying wind, and I made the car take a sharp turn just to hear you laugh, I was happiest. When you settled under the blankets for the night every night, and I played with the end of your knitting yarn so you'd click your tongue and reprimand me, I was happiest. When you tended to the vegetables and wiped the sweat from your forehead, and I chuckled at the mud you left on your skin, I was happiest. When the days were short and the nights were long, and you would sit close to me in the silence of the winters, I was happiest. When your fingers reached and my heart raced to meet them halfway, when your eyes searched and my cheeks filled with your warmth, when your breath fanned the back of my neck, I was happiest. When we dreamt the same dreams, when our tears were the same color, when our lives twisted into a strong unrelenting vine that reached for the stars--when this earth was created for you and me to meet, I was happiest.
When I wish for you to come back to me, I am happiest.
혹시 잠깐 나에게 돌아올 수 있겠니?
For weeks after that night, Gwiboon withdrew into her study on the pretext of writing. She would sleep uneasily in her own bed, she would constantly step out for a meal at a nearby pojangmacha, and her thoughts would stir in circles of self-doubt. As for her writing: every day was a struggle. Her pencil wouldn’t stray more than a few inches on paper before she’d give up.Sometimes, she'd hear Junghee's footsteps creaking on the wood outside her room, as if listening for something. She'd instinctively hold her breath in those moments, ears beginning to ring after half a minute. Sometimes, the other would call out with a may I help you with something? and Gwiboon would nearly yell to be left alone. Sometimes, she felt trapped in this vast house; felt the doors and windows coiling the walls around her like a maze. She'd drink water from the sink, she'd look at herself in the mirror, and she'd feel like running away, never to return.
To Gwiboon, loneliness was a disease. It would spread from the eyes to the skin, and seep into the lungs, only to be expelled with every word she wrote down--promptly scratched out with distaste. Lonliness was a bottle with no lid, a bubble that would never split, a room designed with no exit. It was a loss of health that had no cure. And when a cure was discovered, it took hold of the body like an addiction.
This is what Junghee was to her.
Her company had been a salve, a drug Gwiboon would never share with anyone in the world. Sitting in the same room with her, watching her unquestioning attention and hearing her gentle voice ask a child's questions: it was soothing. It made it easy to forget the lonliness collected over years and lifetimes. That was Junghee's true purpose in this house. The cobwbs could hang low to their shoulders, the furniture could rot and collect all the dust it wanted. It didn't matter. Junghee was brought here to be with Gwiboon, and for nothing else. It had taken one book event for anyone to realise that. But if she were truthful with herself, the thought of an undoubting companion, a friend who would never leave her side, a presence that would never grow to detest her... the thought of having someone like that all for herself had tempted Gwiboon from the minute she'd booked her tickets home.
And now facing that realisation showed her how stupid she had been.
혹시 내가 틀렸다고 말해줄 수 있어?
A few weeks of this meaningless protest had given her a fever. And when Junghee forced her way in through the door, Gwiboon didn't have the strength to protest. She let herself be carried around like a doll, placed onto the bed, fed warm soup, given cold compresses. Her ears were blocked, her nose the same. Everything sounded like she'd been dunked underwater and left there, to be taken away by the tides when they rose and fell. She'd open her eyes one minute, to see the front posts of her bed shining in what little daylight made it through the windows. She'd rest her burning vision for a blink, and when she'd open her eyes again, it was a different time of day. Darker, cooler, quieter.
The days passed in this manner. Junghee would not ask questions through the ordeal. She would feed her charge, make her drink a warm and bitter concoction of some sort, wash her body and dress it in clean clothes everyday. She would carry Gwiboon to the bathroom when requested, and she would bring her back to the blankets promptly. Sometime she would hum softly, until her charge fell asleep. The days passed in this manner, and they climbed their way upwards together, towards health.
Still too weak to stand with her own weight, but strong enough now to talk, Gwiboon said her first words in what seemed like years. "I want you to shut yourself down."
Junghee's obedience stalled. She walked into the other's line of sight and sat down on a chair. "I apologise. I may not be able to complete that order."
"Why not?" Gwiboon challenged, frowning.
The android was quiet for an unnatural amount of time, by her standards. She reached out and took hold of the other's palm. "I cannot leave you."
Gwiboon angrily took her hand back. "I asked you why not."
For the first time in all their time with each other, Junghee's pristine features were marred by confusion. "Because I was made for you. To be with you," she nodded as if reassuring. It was a wildly human action, and Gwiboon nearly shocked herself into questioning if Junghee really was alive. Alive and pulsing and breathing. "I am here because you wanted me to be here, for you. I exist because of you, to make you happy. If I shut down operations, I will stop existing. I would stop making you happy. That would be against my programming."
"And what if I said I don't want you anymore?" the other felt her eyes stinging with moistness. "What if I said you don't make me happy anymore?"
Junghee was quiet again. "I have upset you. May I ask how I may improve my service?"
"You can't," Gwiboon shook her head against the mattress. "Everything you do makes me feel worse and worse about myself. Everything you say to me, every minute I have to sit with you next to me like this, I hate it."
"This is contrary to your previous sentiments--"
"I was wrong, OK?!" Gwiboon yelled. "The only reason you're still with me in this blasted house, is because you have nowhere else to go. Do you understand?!" she demanded of the other. "You're here because you can't leave. Or you would've left, too. A long time ago. Like everyone else."
"Gwiboon--" the android began, her argumentative tone in no way typical to her behaviour. "I am lacking in many ways, as you have correctly pointed out. I have commited many mistakes in my time serving you. I admit to all of this. In order for me to improve myself, I have studied you and your work. To understand. I may not fully comprehend human behaviour due to my limitations, but I do understand something better now." She waited for the other to look at her.
"What's that?"
"That humans are the sum of all their emotions, not just their happiness." Junghee's stare was unwavering, and her lips were still smiling. But she no longer appeared as the lifeless robot Gwiboon had always thought her to be. "There is also sadness, and regrets, and resentment. Humans are complex, because their emotons are complex. While I am only made of curiosity, I understand this now."
"... and?"
"And Gwiboon is the same. She is happy, but she also has sadness. She has a past of sad experiences that I do not know about, and a present of sad thoughts I am not always privy to. She is determined to forget that sadness by leaving it behind. She regrets losing her old happinesses, and she despises the reasons she lost them. But she is also brave to go looking for happiness again--to find a Junghee and see happiness in her existance. I understand this now," she said, "How could a Jughee take that away from Gwiboon?"
The other lay silent in her tears.
혹시, 잠깐, 내 옆에 영원히 있을 수 있어?
Warning: borderline genfic
Genre: future au
Length: 4417
“Can it -” Gwiboon corrected herself. “Can she make decisions of her own?”
The saleswoman smiled. “Yes. The new and updated K1M900408 systems have been designed to learn from your actions, your decisions, and absorb them as her own ideals. If you leave her unsupervised with a task, she will complete it exactly as you would.”
Gwiboon played uncertainly with the pen in her hands, the contract still unsigned on the table before her. She looked to the side, where the android sat. “Junghee?” she tried, and the robot blinked, turned its eyes to look at her, just like a human would. “Would you like to come live with me?” she invited.
The Junghee K1M900408 instantly smiled.
혹시 잠깐 여기서 멈출 수 있을까?
The minute they walked into the library, Junghee set about tidying it up. She picked up the nearest pile of books and began pacing all along the length of the shelves, looking for an order to place them in.
“You don’t have to worry about that, right now,” Gwiboon waved. “Just get some rest, and we’ll start cleaning the house tomorrow.”
“I only rest at night, ma’am. When I’m charging my batteries,” Junghee replied reverently, even as her arm gracefully slotted books high up in the shelves like any human arm would.
The place had been be shut for a very long time. Gwiboon’s travels had taken her abroad and kept her there for years until she’d returned last week to find a new and nearly unrecognizable Seoul: robots had been a faraway echo in the cottage she’d made her home among the European alps. But here - here they were the way of life. With robots in the driver seat, there were nearly no auto accidents anymore. With them at every check-out, the service was always impeccable; little bots cleaned the streets and public toilets, drones surveilled dark alleyways and lonely roads. The city was suddenly more than just its old livable version. It was pleasant. Robots walked dogs, helped children cross roads, trimmed trees and swept sidewalks and made sure shop fronts were always sparkling.
It didn’t take much to convince Gwiboon. Her first week back she had already acquired an android sidekick for herself, to keep her company in the colossal old family home and to help with the general upkeep of things.
“You don’t have to call me that,” she said as she rolled up her sleeves and joined in with putting things away. Junghee approached her from the other side of the room and took Gwiboon’s load away. “Don’t call me ma’am,” she repeated as she reluctantly relinquished control and let the other do as she liked. “Just call me by my name.”
Junghee paused and turned. “Gwiboon ssi?”
“Gwiboon is fine.”
The other nodded, then carried on with her task.
혹시 잠깐 숨 좀 돌릴 수 있을까?
They spent their hours like that, every day since: each morning, Junghee would prepare a grand breakfast, then select a room in the house to begin cleaning it. Gwiboon would try to help but inadvertently end up seated somewhere, watching the other’s back. They would exchange few words between dusting and vacuuming off cobwebs, and then they would enjoy the near-silence of each other’s presence. Sometimes Gwiboon would scribble a few words in her diary, other times she would knit. Sometimes Junghee would hum as she cleaned, other times she would sing. She had been configured with a sweet voice - a voice like the ringing of bells in a temple far away, or the tinkle of a child’s anklets. The songs were unrecognizable, perhaps something she had picked up from the radio, perhaps something she was programmed with. Junghee’s voice would mold itself around the shape of their tunes and Gwiboon would sit listening until the sun dipped below the line of trees outside.
They’d share the table for a meal together, a plate and a pair of hands sharing the space of the kitchen island. On gloomy afternoons they would run through Gwiboon’s agenda for the coming week; discuss how full of book signings and fan events it was, and how many she’d like to skip. On gloomy nights, they’d watch TV or make small talk, often sharing the warmth of a blanket-one would say she wasn’t affected by things like the weather, the other would insist on it anyway. One would complete her chores like clockwork everyday, the other would sit a distance away and stare at the measured and precise motion of hands. One would ask simple questions and the other would respond to the best of her abilities. This is how their first few weeks together were spent, and with every passing day Junghee’s permanence in Gwiboon’s life became darker and darker like ink spilt on paper.
혹시 잠깐 얘기 좀 할 수 있을까?
A few months into the cohabitation Junghee made her first request. “May I read one of your books?”
“You’re free to browse through anything you like in the library...” Gwiboon replied absentmindedly as she sifted through drawers. “Have you seen my woolen socks by any chance?”
The other disappeared for a minute and returned with the pair held out in one hand. “No, I meant one of your books,” she clarified.
Her host raised an eyebrow, letting out an amused huff. “Why in the world would you want to do that?”
“I think it would help me understand you better.”
“Do you have difficulty understanding me?”
“I’m sorry, I have offended you,” Junghee immediately stood back and bowed ninety degrees. It was a troublesome piece of behavior in her programming, something that had appeared a few times previously when Gwiboon had corrected the robot over something minor.
In this instance, she realized she may have come off harsh. The guilt of seeing another person-for that is what Junghee was to her now-bow with such sincerity, was attrition to Gwiboon’s compassion. She decided it had to stop, once and for all. “Stand up straight,” she maintained her strictness and ordered. Junghee did as she was told, her face expressionless, bereft of shame or apprehension or even confusion. “From now on,” she was told. “You will never bow to me, or ask me for permission to do anything you like. Do you understand?” Gwiboon demanded.
“I do,” the other put up no argument.
“Junghee yah,” Gwiboon had taken to calling the robot with affection. She stepped forward and took the other’s hand in hers. It was colder than a human’s but its felt just the same in texture and softness. “You are my friend,” she said. “Are you not?”
“Yes,” Junghee replied, with a hint of reassurance.
혹시 잠깐 내 말 좀 들어줄래?
Ninety days in, they were scheduled for their first maintenance check. A team of men stationed themselves in the living room, opening panels of Junghee’s body and taking measurements from her arms, her calves, the inside of her chest. Although the panels revealed nothing besides blinking circuits and softly whirring vents, it wasn’t a pleasant sight. Gwiboon stole herself away to the kitchen. Some minutes passed when the familiar face of the saleswoman bowed to her, and they sat down for a cup of steaming tea. “Analytics are looking great,” she said, as if pleased with herself at the findings. “She’s settling in really well, I take it?”
“She’s perfect for a boring person like me,” Gwiboon joked, sending a glance in the direction of the room Junghee was in.
“Haha, I would hardly call the life of an international bestselling novelist boring, Gwiboon-ssi” the saleswoman complimented. “Tell me - does she accompany you to your public events?”
“No, I don’t take her along.”
“Oh,” the other paused. “May I ask why? Completely from a performance assessment perspective, of course…”
“I just…” Gwiboon shrugged. She had no real answer. Junghee was to be confined to the house and that was what she had decided. But she had no reason to back the validity of that decision. And it hadn’t struck her until that point how unquestioning Junghee was, how obedient to a fault. “I wanted to take my time with this,” was all she could offer, then. But it stayed with her the whole evening. Even as the android wished her a good night and disappeared to her own room like clockwork, Gwiboon couldn’t help but wonder about things she hadn’t considered before.
“Junghee yah,” she called out, shifting out of her blankets and almost leaving their warmth before the other’s silhouette reappeared in the doorway.
“Would you like me to get you something?”
Gwiboon frowned. She patted the mattress next to her and Junghee promptly walked over to seat herself in the denoted spot. They looked at each other for a while - one simply processing an image, the other studying every arch every slope every shade of perfection on one’s face. They had refined Junghee’s appearance to the point where any human would be jealous - she had been installed with hazel irises that shone with flecks of gold in the low light of the bedside table. Her lips were sculpted to be plump to the point of almost flirtatious. Her nose sloped towards a soft curve before terminating in a prominent philtrum. Her hair was styled into a high bun that never moved from its place. She had been made attractive. Perhaps other models of her were used for places that needed the attractiveness, and perhaps it was this attractiveness that made Gwiboon feel protective towards the her.
“Are you happy here?” she asked.
“Yes, of course-” Junghee began to respond in a manner of guarantee she had perfected.
“No, don’t do that,” Gwiboon shook her head, shifting closer to the other. “Do you understand what I mean when I say happy?” she stressed on the word, radiated scraps of the feeling out from her chest as if it would help.
Junghee nodded. “It is a feeling of joy, or elation that a human may experience for one or several reasons, which are called emotional stimuli. These can be-”
“No, no,” Gwiboon shook her head again with a chuckle. She reached out and took the other’s hand, bringing it to her own chest, placing it above her heartbeat. “Do you feel that?” she asked.
Junghee paused, her features turned into a frown. She was unresponsive for a while until she slowly moved her head to signal affirmation. “It’s your pulse - and it’s fast for the average human condition.”
“Mm hmm,” Gwiboon said, “That’s me being happy.”
“Are you happy because of an emotional stimuli?”
“Yes. I’m happy because of you.”
The robot retracted her hand, blinking as if processing information within herself, studying Gwiboon’s face for clues. “Does my presence in this room provide happiness to you?”
The other considered this. She considered the distance between them, considered the way they were dressed, the time of night and the softness of the mattress. She considered the fact that they lived together, under the same roof. She considered that, after all, a lot of the K1M models were pleasure bots, used by clubs and noraebangs as waitresses for guests who liked that sort of thing. Gwiboon considered the fact that Junghee was infallible in her compliance, and that she would do whatever she was asked to do. Provide whatever service was required of her. She considered all of this, and was surprised by how none of it appealed to her. “No,” she replied. “You make me happy. Just you.”
“Is it a reaction to my appearance?” Junghee dug some more.
“I’m not shallow,” the other chuckled.
“I apologize.”
“Don’t,” Gwiboon prohibited. “I just want to know if you are happy. Here, in this house. Living with me.”
The android stayed herself again. She was as placid as always, as unreadable. “I have been coded to emote with a statistically neutral display of happiness for certain situations, if they meet three prerequisites,” she explained with a polite smile. “When my designated owner addresses me, when my designated owner physically offers something to me, and when I notify my designated owner of a task completed as per their request. But-” It was uncharacteristic for Junghee to falter mid-sentence, and yet she did. “-the reaction that you mentioned is beyond my current capabilities. I cannot express joy based on the existence of a human being alone.”
“Yeah,” Gwiboon resigned herself halfway through the explanation, flinching internally at every mention of the word owner. She pulled away from the other. “I figured.”
혹시 잠깐 내가 뭘 보여주고 싶은지 볼 수 있겠니?
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Kim Gwiboon, and I am the author of the novel Salt On Earth-which you have given a lot of love to. For that, I am very grateful,” she bowed low and a thunderous applause broke out in the book store. Although the space was packed to full capacity, only a modest number of people had convened at the book signing event-not a true reflection of the sales, her publisher had assured her, but a side-effect of the weather. Even as she spoke on the microphone, the roof groaned over them with the weight of piling snow. Arriving at the venue an hour beforehand, they had just missed the worst brunt of it because of Junghee’s weather analysis application. Gwiboon smiled at the other where she was seated in the audience.
“I am humbled that so many of you have come despite the snow, and I thank you for giving my work so much love. I have received a lot for my modest writing.” She bowed again, lower. Another round of applause followed, accompanied by some cheering.
Her publisher gushed into her own mic then. “Right, well, since we may have to extend the event by some time, Gwiboon ssi has agreed to take a few questions before we begin the signing. Would anyone like to ask about the book?”
A few people raised their hands in the audience, and Gwiboon nodded at one of them.
“Hello, yes, I’ve been a fan of your writing for a very long time. I drove out from Paju city to be here for this fan-signing. My husband said I must be crazy to drive in this weather, haha.”
“Oh! That’s a way away. Thank you so much for being here!” Gwiboon greeted.
“I have always been fascinated by the description of landscape in your books - I can tell you’re writing about a very beautiful place, but I don’t think such a place exists in our country?”
“Ah… haha, yes our country has a very different kind of beauty, doesn’t it?” Gwiboon replied. “The truth is, I lived near the Swiss alps while I was writing this book. So a lot of the imagery is inspired by that region.”
“Oh! Swiss alps! That’s really far away from home!”
“Yes, haha,” Gwiboon shifted a little. “It just happened that way.”
Another hand shot up in the audience. “Yes, hello. My name is Chaerin, and I study art history at Ehwa Women’s University. I am interested in women writers in our country, so I was recommended this book by my mother, and I really liked it-when I searched for the author online, I was so surprised that such a young person had written it!”
Gwiboon laughed. “Thank you very much for reading, Chaerin ssi.”
“You cover a lot of complex emotions in your book. I was curious how someone so close to my own age could write about things like that. Do you think it is because of your experience of travel?”
“I have been lucky in that regard, yes,” Gwiboon admitted. “But I think those emotions were a reflection of all the wonderful and inspiring women in my life-some of whom have faced terrible difficulties, only to overcome them and move on to better things. I get a lot of inspiration from their lives.”
Another middle-aged woman raised their hand, near the front. “When you write about heartbreak at the start of the book, it is very painful to read. I cried a lot!” the lady chuckled. “Is that also from secondhand experience?”
Gwiboon switched her weight onto one foot and sighed. Her eyes met Junghee’s encouraging smile at that moment, and she shook her head a little. “No,” she replied softly. “That was just part of the story.”
More hands were raised and Gwiboon took some time to decide whose question to entertain. "Ye, ma'am, you in the back with the white dress."
"Hello, Gwiboon ssi, I'm a big fan of this book. It was long, but I was never bored, not once. And I kept rooting for the main character all the way to the end."
"Thank you," Gwiboon blushed.
"What is your favorite part of the book, and why?"
The author nodded in appreciation. "Fantastic question. I'm very proud of all my books, but this one..." she made a wistful sound. "This one has a special place in my heart," she said. "I'd like to read you the section I worked hardest on, if that's... OK?" she tentatively asked, looking in the direction her publisher, who nodded.
She picked the book off a nearby table and turned to the page she wanted, hands moving automatically like they'd memorised every part of the story. Clearing her throat, she began.
혹시 우리 서로의 질문에 대답해 줄 수 있을까?
When this earth came into being, it existed for you and me to meet.
When you were by my side, I was happiest. When you stood by the window and sipped from your steaming cup of coffee, and I watched you from several feet away, I was happiest. When you flipped your long hair back in the direction of the annoying wind, and I made the car take a sharp turn just to hear you laugh, I was happiest. When you settled under the blankets for the night every night, and I played with the end of your knitting yarn so you'd click your tongue and reprimand me, I was happiest. When you tended to the vegetables and wiped the sweat from your forehead, and I chuckled at the mud you left on your skin, I was happiest. When the days were short and the nights were long, and you would sit close to me in the silence of the winters, I was happiest. When your fingers reached and my heart raced to meet them halfway, when your eyes searched and my cheeks filled with your warmth, when your breath fanned the back of my neck, I was happiest. When we dreamt the same dreams, when our tears were the same color, when our lives twisted into a strong unrelenting vine that reached for the stars--when this earth was created for you and me to meet, I was happiest.
When I wish for you to come back to me, I am happiest.
혹시 잠깐 나에게 돌아올 수 있겠니?
For weeks after that night, Gwiboon withdrew into her study on the pretext of writing. She would sleep uneasily in her own bed, she would constantly step out for a meal at a nearby pojangmacha, and her thoughts would stir in circles of self-doubt. As for her writing: every day was a struggle. Her pencil wouldn’t stray more than a few inches on paper before she’d give up.Sometimes, she'd hear Junghee's footsteps creaking on the wood outside her room, as if listening for something. She'd instinctively hold her breath in those moments, ears beginning to ring after half a minute. Sometimes, the other would call out with a may I help you with something? and Gwiboon would nearly yell to be left alone. Sometimes, she felt trapped in this vast house; felt the doors and windows coiling the walls around her like a maze. She'd drink water from the sink, she'd look at herself in the mirror, and she'd feel like running away, never to return.
To Gwiboon, loneliness was a disease. It would spread from the eyes to the skin, and seep into the lungs, only to be expelled with every word she wrote down--promptly scratched out with distaste. Lonliness was a bottle with no lid, a bubble that would never split, a room designed with no exit. It was a loss of health that had no cure. And when a cure was discovered, it took hold of the body like an addiction.
This is what Junghee was to her.
Her company had been a salve, a drug Gwiboon would never share with anyone in the world. Sitting in the same room with her, watching her unquestioning attention and hearing her gentle voice ask a child's questions: it was soothing. It made it easy to forget the lonliness collected over years and lifetimes. That was Junghee's true purpose in this house. The cobwbs could hang low to their shoulders, the furniture could rot and collect all the dust it wanted. It didn't matter. Junghee was brought here to be with Gwiboon, and for nothing else. It had taken one book event for anyone to realise that. But if she were truthful with herself, the thought of an undoubting companion, a friend who would never leave her side, a presence that would never grow to detest her... the thought of having someone like that all for herself had tempted Gwiboon from the minute she'd booked her tickets home.
And now facing that realisation showed her how stupid she had been.
혹시 내가 틀렸다고 말해줄 수 있어?
A few weeks of this meaningless protest had given her a fever. And when Junghee forced her way in through the door, Gwiboon didn't have the strength to protest. She let herself be carried around like a doll, placed onto the bed, fed warm soup, given cold compresses. Her ears were blocked, her nose the same. Everything sounded like she'd been dunked underwater and left there, to be taken away by the tides when they rose and fell. She'd open her eyes one minute, to see the front posts of her bed shining in what little daylight made it through the windows. She'd rest her burning vision for a blink, and when she'd open her eyes again, it was a different time of day. Darker, cooler, quieter.
The days passed in this manner. Junghee would not ask questions through the ordeal. She would feed her charge, make her drink a warm and bitter concoction of some sort, wash her body and dress it in clean clothes everyday. She would carry Gwiboon to the bathroom when requested, and she would bring her back to the blankets promptly. Sometime she would hum softly, until her charge fell asleep. The days passed in this manner, and they climbed their way upwards together, towards health.
Still too weak to stand with her own weight, but strong enough now to talk, Gwiboon said her first words in what seemed like years. "I want you to shut yourself down."
Junghee's obedience stalled. She walked into the other's line of sight and sat down on a chair. "I apologise. I may not be able to complete that order."
"Why not?" Gwiboon challenged, frowning.
The android was quiet for an unnatural amount of time, by her standards. She reached out and took hold of the other's palm. "I cannot leave you."
Gwiboon angrily took her hand back. "I asked you why not."
For the first time in all their time with each other, Junghee's pristine features were marred by confusion. "Because I was made for you. To be with you," she nodded as if reassuring. It was a wildly human action, and Gwiboon nearly shocked herself into questioning if Junghee really was alive. Alive and pulsing and breathing. "I am here because you wanted me to be here, for you. I exist because of you, to make you happy. If I shut down operations, I will stop existing. I would stop making you happy. That would be against my programming."
"And what if I said I don't want you anymore?" the other felt her eyes stinging with moistness. "What if I said you don't make me happy anymore?"
Junghee was quiet again. "I have upset you. May I ask how I may improve my service?"
"You can't," Gwiboon shook her head against the mattress. "Everything you do makes me feel worse and worse about myself. Everything you say to me, every minute I have to sit with you next to me like this, I hate it."
"This is contrary to your previous sentiments--"
"I was wrong, OK?!" Gwiboon yelled. "The only reason you're still with me in this blasted house, is because you have nowhere else to go. Do you understand?!" she demanded of the other. "You're here because you can't leave. Or you would've left, too. A long time ago. Like everyone else."
"Gwiboon--" the android began, her argumentative tone in no way typical to her behaviour. "I am lacking in many ways, as you have correctly pointed out. I have commited many mistakes in my time serving you. I admit to all of this. In order for me to improve myself, I have studied you and your work. To understand. I may not fully comprehend human behaviour due to my limitations, but I do understand something better now." She waited for the other to look at her.
"What's that?"
"That humans are the sum of all their emotions, not just their happiness." Junghee's stare was unwavering, and her lips were still smiling. But she no longer appeared as the lifeless robot Gwiboon had always thought her to be. "There is also sadness, and regrets, and resentment. Humans are complex, because their emotons are complex. While I am only made of curiosity, I understand this now."
"... and?"
"And Gwiboon is the same. She is happy, but she also has sadness. She has a past of sad experiences that I do not know about, and a present of sad thoughts I am not always privy to. She is determined to forget that sadness by leaving it behind. She regrets losing her old happinesses, and she despises the reasons she lost them. But she is also brave to go looking for happiness again--to find a Junghee and see happiness in her existance. I understand this now," she said, "How could a Jughee take that away from Gwiboon?"
The other lay silent in her tears.
혹시, 잠깐, 내 옆에 영원히 있을 수 있어?