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Bin watched this human curiously.
They were in another laboratory again. Bin didn’t like it very much. After the short adventure he had been given, he quite missed running around and basking in his freedom.
He said, “Myungjun would likely have allowed me to go outside.”
Dongmin hummed in response as he cut through some metal joints leftover from Minhyuk’s mangled body.
Bin tried to speak again. “Myungjun had allowed me to kiss his cheek. Myungjun was very kind to me.”
“Right.” Dongmin set something aside. Bin watched him.
“Why won’t you look at me?” he asked.
“Why would I want to look at my boyfriend’s cold-blooded killer?” was Dongmin’s retort.
Bin frowned. “I do not have blood. Therefore, I do not believe I can be cold-blooded.” Was he a killer, though? He was not aware of that. He did not think he had killed anyone. The android didn’t count, he decided, because androids were not humans. Or so he had always been told.
Dongmin finally did look at him, glaring with blood-shot eyes. He had been crying a lot since Bin had been brought to his lab. Bin found his tears annoying, though, compared to Myungjun’s.
“May I go and see Myungjun?” he asked, now that he was thinking of his true love. “I have not seen him in thirteen days.”
It had been thirteen days since Dongmin, Jinwoo, and Minhyuk had stormed the hotel in search of Myungjun. Jinwoo had, apparently, set Dongmin up with a tiny laboratory away from everyone. He had given Dongmin the mangled android, too, as well as Bin. Bin didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye to Myungjun, so quick was the process. He found himself missing his favorite human more and more with each passing day, and he longed to see him again.
“I told you already, you may not go and see him,” Dongmin snapped. He then pointed to the corner. “Go into sleep mode until I wake you up.”
Bin didn’t like sleep mode. He didn’t like not being awake to watch the world go by. He said as much. “I hate sleeping. May I stay and watch you, instead?”
“No.”
It was a simple answer, one Bin detested. Still, he supposed Dongmin was his new owner, and he must obey his new owner. So he walked to the corner, as Dongmin requested, and said, “I will shut down until you awaken me, then.” He closed his eyes and turned his system off.
When he was turned on, Dongmin stood in front of him, hands crossed over his chest. Bin blinked a few times and then checked on the date and time.
“Oh,” he said, a bit disappointed. “I have slept for three weeks.”
“Yeah.” Dongmin cleared his throat.
Bin could not find another instance of a time he had slept for so long, not since he gained the ability to track his sleep. He wondered what all had happened in his absence.
“How are you, Dongmin?” he asked. “Have you been able to fix Minhyuk?”
“I can’t...I can’t get the parts I need,” Dongmin said. “I need to create a new body for him, but I’m...I’m in hiding. Jinwoo cannot help me, either, and, honestly, I don’t think Jinwoo wants to help me anymore. I’m shocked he hasn’t given me up.”
Bin wasn’t quite sure where the laboratory was; he had been shut off for the move, and he was not privy to that sort of information. He wished he was. He liked knowing things. He liked knowledge.
Dongmin continued, breaking through Bin’s thoughts. “I want to bring Minhyuk back, though. I have his most important pieces; I just need to create a new body for him.”
“But you cannot get the parts for a new body,” Bin said, moving out of his position. His joints were a bit stiff. He moved them a little bit, bending them in order to loosen up. “I wish I had not slept for so long,” he added, giving Dongmin a smile. “I feel stiff. Myungjun once slept for too long, and he said he felt like an old man. I like that phrase. Myungjun had funny phrases, and he shared them with me often. I miss Myungjun.”
Dongmin shifted. His stance changed. Bin studied him for a few seconds before recognizing the expression on Dongmin’s face.
“Dongmin, are you feeling guilty?”
Dongmin frowned. “I...yes.”
“Why do you feel guilty, Dongmin?”
“Because...look, I can’t get a new body for Minhyuk, but I...I need him to come back. You don’t understand how much I love him, Bin. I want to bring him back. And I have the important stuff, so all I need is a host body.”
Bin gently patted Dongmin’s shoulder. “I understand,” he said. “I know all about love! Myungjun taught me. I am in love with him.”
Dongmin sighed. “I wish they had given you foresight,” he muttered. “Minhyuk had foresight.”
“Wow! You made an impressive specimen. I am sorry I ripped him to pieces.” Yes, apologies were good! Myungjun had taught him that, too. He was pleased with all he had learned from Myungjun.
“Bin,” Dongmin said, sounding quite frustrated. “I...I need you to understand, I don’t...blame you as much as I thought. You are merely an android and you acted to protect someone you love dearly. I can’t be mad at you for those emotions, since I am the one who technically gave them to you.” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “But I need your body.”
“My body?” Bin looked down at himself. “What for?”
“I’m...I’m shutting you down, Bin,” Dongmin replied. “I’m shutting you down, and I’m taking out the important pieces and destroying them. In its place, I will add Minhyuk’s pieces.”
Bin thought that through. He wanted to make sure he understood just what was going on. “You are destroying me? My body will soon be used to host your robot boyfriend?”
Dongmin slowly nodded. He didn’t meet Bin’s gaze.
Bin felt something akin to fear invading his system. He shook his head. “No,” he declared. “I do not want to die. Let me go, instead. I shall find Myungjun and live with him and you can maybe fix Minhyuk some other way.”
“There is no other way,” Dongmin whispered. “And I...I’m sorry, Bin. But this is how I can fix him. I’m so sorry.”
Bin blinked. He wondered if he could fight off Dongmin. He could, right? He had hurt Myungjun, and Dongmin seemed just as easy to beat. He was likely very weak. But if he defeated Dongmin, then what? What could he do as an android with no owner?
As if sensing his desire for a fight, Dongmin stepped back. He leaned over to his laptop and entered in some words. Just like that, Bin’s body froze. He could no longer move it and he stared at Dongmin.
“You have shut my body down?” he asked.
“No,” Dongmin responded. “I’ve taken control of it.”
Bin bit down on his lip. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how death would feel.
“I…” He closed his eyes briefly and thought of the one person who treated him with dignity and respect and love.
“Please, before I am destroyed, I want Myungjun,” he begged.
Dongmin glanced at him and Bin recognized an emotion known as pity . The scientist nodded and grabbed his phone.
“I’ll work on it,” he promised, voice hushed.
Bin hoped Myungjun would figure out a way to get him out of this. Myungjun would , because Myungjun liked him.
Myungjun wouldn’t let him be destroyed.