Sentimental Shower

#022

When the sharp voice rang out, people started to murmur. Even Yeon Tae-soo’s subordinates were quite flustered.

“Shit, a tin can bastard came into my place?”

Anger dripped from Yeon Tae-soo’s voice. It seemed that being an android was a greater sin than stealing money.

The knife that had stopped in front of the man’s nose spun around once and folded to point towards Yeon Tae-soo’s elbow. In that position, Yeon Tae-soo turned to look at Mr. Yoo.

“Mr. Yoo, since you’re here, want to do some work? You’re good with sewing severed fingers, right? Well, you’re a doctor after all.”

His gaze, which had briefly shifted away, returned to the man. The man’s body flinched and shrank, then the light in his eyes flickered again. As Yeon Tae-soo gently rotated his wrist, the knife tip pointed back at the man. His movements were smooth, as if he had handled a knife thousands or tens of thousands of times.

“Even androids bleed profusely just the same. I guess the insides are probably identical to humans, right? That’s why it gives me the creeps. Shit, how can a machine bastard be the same? It doesn’t make sense.”

Every time Yeon Tae-soo spoke, the knife tip waved recklessly.

“Now, don’t worry. We have a doctor here.”

Finally realizing what he was about to do, the man threw himself down and prostrated on the floor.

“W-wait, I, I have something to say. P-please.”

“Shit, speak clearly. Before I stick a screwdriver in your tongue.”

Still prostrated, the man raised his face to look at Yeon Tae-soo. Fear rose like nausea again, but the man swallowed hard and continued speaking.

“I am a security android.”

Yeon Tae-soo’s head tilted to the side, seemingly intrigued.

“I can identify humanoid androids. And…”

His language function seemed to be paralyzed again. He felt his tongue stiffening. If the stress from fear persisted any longer, he would probably shut down. With all the electronic circuits in his brain fried.

“What if there are androids among your people, sir?”

Yeon Tae-soo’s eyes narrowed, and one eyebrow rose fiercely. It was an expression that seemed to show interest overcoming anger.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I can, i-identify them. If you just give me a moment.”

As he said this, the man looked around with just his eyes. Quite a few of Yeon Tae-soo’s subordinates had gathered by now. Burly men in black suits were standing in several layers all the way to the back.

And in front of them, a man wearing a mask.

“A tin can bastard… Are you trying to make a deal with me?”

As soon as he saw the knife tip move, the man raised both hands.

“E-equipment, I need equipment. To, to filter, to identify, to filter them out, I need equipment.”

It was a lie. His function didn’t require any special equipment. As long as his visual function was intact, it was entirely possible. Just like how he had identified that masked man as soon as he saw him.

“The latest models are really indistinguishable. You know that, right?”

The man spoke while trying not to look at the masked man. Hoping that the rumor about Yeon Tae-soo’s intense hatred for androids was true.

“I told you, no machine bastards are allowed in my place. It’s all nonsense.”

His tone was quite firm, making the man think his persuasion had failed.

“But it might come in handy from time to time in the future.”

However, the man felt relieved at the indifferent additional remark.

***

The man, the android, was ‘for now’ locked up in a room, Mr. Yoo guessed. Considering Yeon Tae-soo’s temperament, he thought that was quite restrained.

No, seeing how he had gathered his direct subordinates, who were now in charge of Eden’s security, and hit them one by one, maybe he hadn’t restrained himself much at all.

He should have quietly returned to his room and rested. He had witnessed such a scene because he foolishly came out.

The side profile of Yeon Tae-soo looking down at the android was still vivid in his eyes.

He didn’t know how much Yeon Tae-soo hated androids. He had no way of knowing the cause either. But one thing was certain. He didn’t see androids as people. The look in his eyes when a person looks at another person couldn’t be like that.

They say there’s no reason for hating something, but it was hard to think that such intense hatred had no cause.

But that wasn’t what mattered right now.

‘I can identify humanoid androids.’

That’s what the man had said. Some of the burly men went to look for the equipment where the man had indicated. But Mr. Yoo knew. No equipment was necessary. It might have auxiliary functions, but no special equipment was needed to identify humanoid androids.

How many people would know this fact? At least Yeon Tae-soo clearly didn’t know. If he knew, he wouldn’t have left things like this. Judging from his personality that he had observed so far.

Mr. Yoo got up from his seat and only then realized he had been biting his nails until they bled when he felt pain at his fingertips.

After roughly wiping his bloodied fingertips on his pants, he went out the door.

Although it was dawn, Eden was still bright. No, this might actually be considered daytime here. Those who carry dazzling lights on their backs instead of the sun deliberately ignore the darkness that fills the outside. There’s no chance for darkness to flow into this closed paradise.

As he walked down the corridor, the gazes of the burly men brushed past him. But they were literally just brushing past. Everyone seemed to be in a state of confusion. It was understandable, given that just a few hours ago, a thief—and an android at that, which Yeon Tae-soo hated so much—had been caught and severely punished.

Despite the considerable commotion, Eden was still bustling. Gamblers, each bearing the lights above their heads like constellations, hoped for luck and were indifferent to the amounts of money changing hands on the tables.

Eden was a place as emotionless as it was flashy. That’s why Mr. Yoo thought it resembled Yeon Tae-soo. Beneath all the decorations, it was filled with suffocating indifference.

Holograms floated in the air between tables, broadcasting advertisements. Most were for loan companies. Or things like sexual enhancement drugs. The ads kept flashing garishly in the air, even though the glazed eyes of those addicted to gambling didn’t see them at all.

One of the burly men might have asked where he was going, but fortunately, that didn’t happen. He passed through the 7th-floor corridor where he had been staying and entered the stairwell used by the staff without being stopped.

Unlike the gambling area, the stairwell was dim. In contrast to the guest stairs that led directly from the lobby with their golden railings and open view, he carefully stepped onto the stairs that were quietly abandoned in the darkness, devoid of any decoration.

‘He should be in a room near there.’

He hadn’t fully grasped Eden’s structure. He didn’t have the ability to detect bio-signals either. So there was only one way. He had to find the man by taking advantage of the chaotic atmosphere. If not now, it would be too late.

How long would Yeon Tae-soo keep the man alive? Once the situation was resolved, there would be no chance to encounter the man at all, so this was the last opportunity. The last chance to eliminate the man.

His pace down the stairs gradually quickened. When he first entered through the door, he had been careful not to make noise in case someone else was using the stairwell, but now his impatience took over.

Earlier, he had made eye contact with the man, the android. Although it was just a brief glance, he could read it clearly.

‘He recognized that I’m an android.’

Maybe he even recognized his face. If he was a security android, he might have access to information that ordinary models couldn’t handle.

There had been a time before when he had almost been discovered by a security android.

Back then… yes, back then he didn’t properly understand what it meant to survive.

If efficiency was the only virtue and value of an android, he was clearly a failure. He couldn’t even be efficient in his own survival.

‘I have to kill him.’

Mr. Yoo’s steps quickened even more. The sound of his feet hitting the stairs echoed, but he didn’t hear it. Somewhere, the sound of an iron door opening was heard.

A beat late, he realized the enormity of his presence and stopped abruptly.

And as if on cue, a voice was heard.

“Where are you going, dear?”

It was Yeon Tae-soo’s voice.