series: only more human
Only more human (2/3)
2Min | PG-13 | 3375 words
On the outskirts of Seoul lies a government-funded research facility called SM Institution. Various projects and experiments are conducted and observed carefully within the building, one of them being the "Doll" project. Taemin is one of the caretakers assigned to the Doll project, having to take care of the recent model, Minho. Even though he is still a Doll and has some flaws, he is the most human-like model in the entire Institution. But just how human can he get?
Hurray for decently long chapter \o/ Least I managed to update in less than a week, unlike the past where I usually lose motivation to finish series and abandon them to rot in a virtual corner, or something. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this chapter :D
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Taemin plopped down into his office chair, letting out a huge and stressful sigh. He threw the clipboard onto his desk and closed his eyes so that he could clear his mind of the varying questions entering his mind. His trance was awakened by a soft tap on his head.
“You sure you’re okay? You look like you’re going to pass out at any second.” Kibum said, withdrawing his clipboard and retreating back to his own desk that was right across from Taemin’s.
They were currently in the North Sector office in the Projects Department, rows and rows of desks extending from wall to wall to accompany its assigned caretaker. There were four sectors in total, one in every direction, which really said just how large the corporation really was. The room itself was partially occupied, with caretakers scattered about - some busy, some conversing.
“I said I’m fine, didn’t I? In any case, let’s get this over with. Typing up reports is so troublesome.”
“Whatever you say.” Kibum chimed in a sing-song voice.
The area remained calm and quiet, the only noises occupying the space being the rapid typing of the two caretakers. At least with this, Taemin could take his mind off his suspicions and simply continue doing his job, almost pretending to think that he had never heard what he did before. He could simply shrug it off and go on with his life. Go on and continue living and taking care of Minho. Yet the urge inside couldn’t stop pricking at him, wanting, prying for an answer.
Taemin victoriously pressed the submit button, the data typed up and sent to the Research Department. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kibum lean over from his computer and give him a relieved smile.
“Alright, now that that’s over with, let’s grab something to eat!” Kibum exclaimed, hooking Taemin’s neck under his arm and dragging him away to the cafeteria where everyone from every department ate at.
“So, how is your Doll coming along?” Taemin asked, setting down his tray of food onto the steel benched table, the various smells of diverse foods wafting into his nose. Kibum took a seat across from him, setting down his share of food onto the table as well.
“Jonghyun? Well, he’s improving I guess. He still needs to learn about a thing called personal space, and he’s a constant chatterbox. I think he likes the vibration of the voice box, because he just doesn't shut up. Even if his words come out as complete gibberish, he’ll just keep on yapping. The only time where I don’t mind his voice is when he tries to sing. It’s kind of cute when he tries to imitate songs he heard on T.V.” Kibum babbled, stuffing a rice ball into his mouth as he finished his rant. “And you? How’s the most human-like model of a Doll coming along?”
Taemin flinched slightly hearing Minho being brought up, but he compressed the feeling of his heart flipping and replied, “It’s going well. He managed to talk today after weeks of not uttering a word. He could still use a little work on his sense of touch, though.”
“Ugh, you’re so lucky to have a quiet Doll. We should trade Dolls some day.” Kibum mused.
Taemin grinned in amusement at the thought until he spotted a certain someone staring at Kibum as though wanting to burn holes through his back. He nudged at Kibum slightly.
“Hey, he’s looking again. Jinki’s looking at you again.” It was practically high school all over again. Kibum nearly choked on his drink, hearing Taemin say that. He was close to snapping his head around to confirm Taemin’s statement, however Taemin gripped at his arm before he could. “Don’t look, he’ll get suspicious.” He hissed.
Kibum slammed down his drink, a loud bang ringing both of their ears, “The poor thing doesn’t even try to be conspicuous. I mean, I’m flattered, because pft, who doesn’t want a piece of this? But -”
“Oh dear, not this again.” Taemin moaned, slinking down in his seat ever so slightly.
Taemin let the elder rant and belittle the person of interest, already having to hear this every day. He let his mind tune out the noises of the outside and listens to the monotone drone of his insides. The pumping of his blood, the soft thumps of his heartbeat.
The soft thumps of his heartbeat?
He felt his face grow heavy as the thought returned and came to nudge at him once more. What did it really mean, exactly, the fact that Minho had a heartbeat? It could’ve been anything, even his imagination, so what was he fretting over about? It was most likely a mistake, since after all he only got to listen for a couple of seconds. Still, the thought wouldn’t stop itching at him, gnawing at the nerves of his brain.
“Taemin, you agree don’t you? That Jinki actually likes me for who I am. He’s not just after my body, right?” Kibum asked, practically hysterical. He was always like this when Jinki was brought up in the conversation. After a moment’s pause, Kibum huffed, “Okay this time, you cannot be fine. You look like you have the weight of the universe on your shoulders. What’s the matter?”
Taemin sighed, always amazed that Kibum could always see through his facades. He let his chin fall upon his palm as he rested his elbow on the table, mind wondering how to phrase his thoughts.
“What would you do… if you heard a heartbeat inside of Jonghyun?”
Kibum had a slight look of surprise on his face before quickly covering it up with a thoughtful expression, wonder how to reply. “Is this about Minho, by any chance?”
Taemin drew in a breath, as though ready to say something, but simply sighed and nodded hesitantly.
“Well, that’s a good question. There are a lot of things I would think if I heard a heartbeat in Jonghyun,” Kibum said leaning back and forth in his seat. “First off, you shouldn’t get ahead of yourself. You need to decide whether your imagination is playing with you or not. You have to be absolutely sure that you heard what you heard.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, but still…I just can’t shrug off the feeling that’s something’s wrong.”
Kibum bit his lip in thought, contemplating the other possibilities of the situation. A few gentle minutes passed before Kibum snapped his fingers in realization, “The examination!”
“What?”
“Don’t you remember? A week ago, the Research Department took all the Dolls for a detailed examination. Maybe the people over at the Research Department know a little something about Minho.”
A flicker of hope lighted up Taemin’s face, soon beaming to a relieved smile. “That’s a great idea! Thanks Kibum, I owe you one!” With that, Taemin hopped over the bench and sprinted towards the walkways that connected to the Administration Department and from there the remaining departments.
It had probably been a 10-minute walk - no, probably even longer, Taemin dreadfully thought as he barely reached the end of the walkway that led to the Research Department. He’d never had to visit the Research Department in person, usually only communicating with said department via computer. He looked around curiously, wondering what he was supposed to do in order to get some answers.
“Excuse me, sir? Do you need any assistance?” A woman asked. Taemin’s vision snapped to a rather young girl sitting behind a counter. He approached the counter, leaning on it just so, wondering what he should be asking for.
“Hi, I’m Lee Taemin from the Projects Department. I was wondering if I could meet with the researcher who performed the examination on my Doll a week ago.”
“Oh sure, let me just pull that up on my computer here.” The girl said, not forgetting to add an obligatory bright smile like the manual always told them to. Taemin’s eyes wandered while listening to the soft taps of the girl’s fingers typing away, exploring every corner and inch of the Research Department’s administration area. Of course, the way things operate here were probably more uptight and professional, unlike the Projects Department where it was hectic and lively.
“It’s kind of odd, seeing someone from all the way from the Projects Department coming here.” The girl randomly noted. Taemin chuckled softly, eyes locking at the nametag on the girl’s chest, reading Jessica.
“I guess you could say its urgent business.”
“I see,” Jessica said, grinning. “Anyway, the researcher who performed the examination on the Doll, Minho, is Cho Kyuhyun. His office is over at R460, which is that way,” Jessica leaned over the counter, pointing to the hallway on Taemin’s left.
“Alright, thanks for your time.” Taemin nodded, and waved in thanks. Jessica waved back, flashing yet another smile.
The hallway was solemn, the quietness almost eerie to bear. It was completely different than the Projects Department, where caretakers frantically moved about to reach from room to room, discussing with one another their mistakes and their findings. The Projects Department solely relied on teamwork, because it’s what made it the Projects Department. However, the Research Department was different, Taemin noticed as he passed many doors with the same windows as his department. The researchers in them looked dreadfully busy, eyes stern, eyebrows furrowed. They were focused, and most importantly independent. Teamwork could be a factor for the Research Department at times, but mainly it was independent work that made the researchers as efficient as they are.
Taemin stopped in his tracks as he met with a four-way intersection. He recalled that the room was R460, but the problem was that the numbering system was different than the Projects Department. Man, everything is different in this place, Taemin thought.
“Oh, is that you Taemin?” A voice called. Taemin turned to his right to see a man come into his view. As he got closer, he noticed that the man was the head of the Research Department.
“Ah, Eeteuk-sunbae. Nice to see you, it’s been a while.” Taemin bowed in respect, grinning for courtesy.
“Indeed it has! What’s someone from the Projects Department doing here anyway? You did turn in the report like I asked you to, didn’t you?”
“Of course I did. I’m just a little lost. I have an appointment with the researcher in R460, but seeing as the numbering system here is different…”
“Kyuhyun? Well that’s rather random. His office is down there,” Eeteuk said, finger pointing just behind Taemin. “Keep walking straight, and turn right at the first corner. Kyuhyun’s office is the first one you’ll see.”
“Thanks, I’ll be leaving then.”
“It was nice seeing you!” Eeteuk shouted before sprinting off towards his destination in another direction. Taemin waved off into his direction, arm dropping by his side. He soon made his way towards the designated office, steps growing heavy as the distance grew short. There were a lot of things that he wanted to ask Kyuhyun, but would he get his answers?
He softly knocked on the metal door, a clawing sensation of doubt overwhelming his heart. It relaxed as Taemin heard a quiet, “Come in”.
Taemin was met with a rather large lab, scientific equipment scattered about on various tables. There was an examination table along with another table that held various tools. It was a possibility that the detailed check-ups were held in a researcher’s office, Taemin noted. He stepped inside, looking about for the source of the voice. Taking a few more tentative steps inside, he noticed a man hunched over a desk in a corner, pencil scribbling violently across paper.
“Um, excuse m -”
“You must be Lee Taemin from the Projects Department, right?” Kyuhyun said, head still lowered and hand still scribbling. Taemin’s mouth fell only slightly before catching it, wondering how he knew who he was without even looking. As though reading his mind, Kyuhyun spun around to face him, giving him a soft grin, “Jessica over at the front office contacted me before you came. Grab a seat.”
Taemin nodded bashfully, walking towards Kyuhyun’s desk and grabbing a spare chair that was placed next to the desk. “Does this visit have anything to do with Minho?” Kyuhyun asked, resuming his work.
“Are you some sort of psychic?” Taemin asked a loud, his thoughts slipping out of his mouth. Before he could apologize for the random statement, Kyuhyun chuckled, placing his pencil down.
“No, I’m just that smart.” Kyuhyun smirked, “So, tell me what brings you all the way here to the Research Department. It must be pretty important since you came here in person.”
Taemin fidgeted in his seat, thumbs twiddling and feet rubbing against each other. He exhaled his stress away, attempting to place his worries into words.
“Well, I actually have a lot of questions concerning Minho recently. I-it’s pretty hard, putting them into words, but the one thing I noticed is that…” Taemin paused, mouth closing and opening as he tried to remember how to speak again. Kyuhyun nodded at him, waiting. Taemin sighed, “Do you, by any chance, happen to know anything about a heart within Minho?”
He waited for the baffled expression that would grow on Kyuhyun’s face in the next millisecond, but it never came. Instead, it was replaced with a grim expression, concerned almost. Taemin’s anxiety upped ten-fold. Kyuhyun stood up from his seat, pacing in order to select his words carefully. After a minute or so of pacing, Kyuhyun finally stopped in his tracks.
“There’s a lot of ways I could answer that. The fact that you are the caretaker of the most human-like model in the entire institution, should you really be surprised if you did hear a heartbeat?” Kyuhyun stated, leaving Taemin to think the question out. “And you know right? That Dolls are basically the imperfections of the Cloning Project. When a clone fails to grow successfully, it’s the researchers in charge of the Doll Project to give them life, to save them by fixing these imperfections with electronically mediated artificial intelligence. So in a sense, Dolls were once human, and it’s because they were once human that allow them to possess certain human quality traits. Because Minho is one of the most recent models, it means that he - as a clone - was more successful than other Doll while in their Cloning stage. It’s because that he’s a recent model that explains the heartbeat within him…in theory anyway.”
“So you’re saying that all this time, Minho really had a heart?” Taemin wondered, fingers grasping his chin in a contemplative manner. “That’s strange though. I should’ve heard it earlier then, since I’m the one who performs daily checks on him and such.”
“I said it was a theory. In any case, if you really want to know, I put it there.”
“A…heart?”
“If you want to think about it like that, then yes a heart. It’s actually a main control device in which manipulates the circuits within him, and generates energy for Minho to do his daily tasks. The heartbeat noise you hear is the noise of the device pumping electricity throughout Minho’s body. To us researchers, it’s basically a switch to turn him on or off.” Kyuhyun stated, plopping back into his seat and toying with the pencil. Taemin blinked in slight confusion.
“Don’t you think it’s a little ironic, that the most human-like model has an off-switch whereas the other Dolls don’t?”
“Hey, it wasn’t my idea. It was Minho’s.”
“Minho?” Taemin asked, shock practically dripping from his tongue. The fact that Minho could rarely talk was one thing, but the idea that Minho told the researchers to give him an off-switch was another. “W-why would he want to do that?”
Kyuhyun grinned, eyes gazing up towards the ceiling, “You realize that your Doll becomes more human-like every day, right? You may not notice it at first, but you’ll definitely see the changes. Compared from then to now, Minho’s ability to talk has vastly improved. He may not talk around you much, but when he was hooked up during the detailed check-up, he talks like a regular person. Not only that, but his intelligence surpasses those of humans, even scholars, with every day passing. During the examination, he complained of pains in his head, and he felt like that he was short-circuiting and glitching, and immediately requested for an off-switch.”
“But what good does an off-switch do?”
“Short-circuiting and glitching are common symptoms for a breakdown, and most Dolls don’t even survive breakdowns, because trust me, they’re severe. Because of Minho's intelligence, he knew of the outcome, so he requested for an off-switch. If he was showing signs of breaking down, he could be turned off and rebooted once the symptoms were taken care of, instead of dying and being sent to the Storage Department where the rest of the broken down Dolls are stored at.”
Now that Taemin heard of the reasoning, it was a very smart move. Taemin couldn’t help but feel his heart swelling in pride and relief at the same time.
Taemin thanked Kyuhyun, bowing and giving him a grateful handshake. Now that he heard the entire story, he could feel at rest and resume his ordinary life and ordinary duties with Minho.
Taemin sighed, internally complaining about the long walk he made from the Research Department to the Projects Department. His feet and back ached, and all he really wanted to do was to lie down. Preferably next to Minho, of course.
He stood in front of Minho’s room, scanning himself and waiting for the door to open. Taemin stretched his arms, entering the room nonchalantly, “Minho, you here? Sorry I was gone for so long, I was just - Minho!”
Taemin rushed over to Minho, who was currently on his knees and twitching violently. His hands were grasping his head in a pained manner, groans escaping his mouth with every jerk. When Minho’s eyes gazed over Taemin’s frame, he immediately collapsed onto the floor, releasing a strained yelp.
“Minho? Minho! What’s wrong? What’s going on?” Taemin asked frantically, panic surging through every vein in his body. He was shaking out of fear and anxiety. He wanted to help, he wanted to help so badly, but he was so clueless and helpless at the same time.
“Tae…min…hur…ry…” Minho mumbled before shrieking and tumbling over to his side, his twitches becoming full-on seizures.
“Hurry? Hurry what? What do I need to do, Minho? Please tell me!” Taemin nearly shouted, tears already on the verge of falling onto his pale cheeks.
“Please…turn me off…now.”
“But, Minho - I -”
“Turn me off now or I’ll break down! Please…hurry.” Taemin’s eyes widened in shock, mouth agape. The urgency and lucidness in Minho’s voice was enough to convince Taemin into doing what he was told to do.
His lips quivered as he brought Minho into an upright position, feeling the violent jerks and shakes on his very fingertips. Taemin held back a sob as he let one arm slither underneath Minho’s shirt, skin against skin as it desperately searched for the switch. He felt the metal device stitched to Minho’s upper back, a small dial waiting to be turned from ON to OFF.
He closed his eyes as he felt his body move on its own accord, the body that he held in his arms slowly growing limp. It was so unprofessional, letting these pitiful tears slip down his cheeks, and it seemed like they would never stop falling as the silence drew on and on.
“Thank…you…” Minho whispered. Taemin choked on his sobs before gasping as he felt soft, cold lips on his own damp ones. They vanished as soon as they appeared the body now completely limp. Minho was gone.
Taemin rubbed at his eyes as he stumbled for the phone that was attached to the wall. A heavy weight lied in his chest, dragging and slowing him down. He knew that it was only temporary, that Minho was only going to be off for a period of time. Still, some thought wouldn’t stop nudging at him: what if he didn’t make it on time? He silenced himself before he could sob once more.
His heart wept as a part of him was taken with Minho.
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Well I hope I somewhat pleased the OnKey shippers. I haven't written OnKey in years, for the fact that JongKey has completely dominated me, but I decided to be nice and let Onew have a turn with Key. Ofc, I could just do OnJongKey, but my writing soul craves for 2Min :3
Hope this chapter has pleased you guys! This is un-betaed, so if there's any writing errors such as spelling mistakes, improper tenses, grammar disasters, then please let me know. Oh, and GIMME SOME COMMENTS COOKIES?! ♥
2Min | PG-13 | 3375 words
On the outskirts of Seoul lies a government-funded research facility called SM Institution. Various projects and experiments are conducted and observed carefully within the building, one of them being the "Doll" project. Taemin is one of the caretakers assigned to the Doll project, having to take care of the recent model, Minho. Even though he is still a Doll and has some flaws, he is the most human-like model in the entire Institution. But just how human can he get?
Hurray for decently long chapter \o/ Least I managed to update in less than a week, unlike the past where I usually lose motivation to finish series and abandon them to rot in a virtual corner, or something. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this chapter :D
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Taemin plopped down into his office chair, letting out a huge and stressful sigh. He threw the clipboard onto his desk and closed his eyes so that he could clear his mind of the varying questions entering his mind. His trance was awakened by a soft tap on his head.
“You sure you’re okay? You look like you’re going to pass out at any second.” Kibum said, withdrawing his clipboard and retreating back to his own desk that was right across from Taemin’s.
They were currently in the North Sector office in the Projects Department, rows and rows of desks extending from wall to wall to accompany its assigned caretaker. There were four sectors in total, one in every direction, which really said just how large the corporation really was. The room itself was partially occupied, with caretakers scattered about - some busy, some conversing.
“I said I’m fine, didn’t I? In any case, let’s get this over with. Typing up reports is so troublesome.”
“Whatever you say.” Kibum chimed in a sing-song voice.
The area remained calm and quiet, the only noises occupying the space being the rapid typing of the two caretakers. At least with this, Taemin could take his mind off his suspicions and simply continue doing his job, almost pretending to think that he had never heard what he did before. He could simply shrug it off and go on with his life. Go on and continue living and taking care of Minho. Yet the urge inside couldn’t stop pricking at him, wanting, prying for an answer.
Taemin victoriously pressed the submit button, the data typed up and sent to the Research Department. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kibum lean over from his computer and give him a relieved smile.
“Alright, now that that’s over with, let’s grab something to eat!” Kibum exclaimed, hooking Taemin’s neck under his arm and dragging him away to the cafeteria where everyone from every department ate at.
“So, how is your Doll coming along?” Taemin asked, setting down his tray of food onto the steel benched table, the various smells of diverse foods wafting into his nose. Kibum took a seat across from him, setting down his share of food onto the table as well.
“Jonghyun? Well, he’s improving I guess. He still needs to learn about a thing called personal space, and he’s a constant chatterbox. I think he likes the vibration of the voice box, because he just doesn't shut up. Even if his words come out as complete gibberish, he’ll just keep on yapping. The only time where I don’t mind his voice is when he tries to sing. It’s kind of cute when he tries to imitate songs he heard on T.V.” Kibum babbled, stuffing a rice ball into his mouth as he finished his rant. “And you? How’s the most human-like model of a Doll coming along?”
Taemin flinched slightly hearing Minho being brought up, but he compressed the feeling of his heart flipping and replied, “It’s going well. He managed to talk today after weeks of not uttering a word. He could still use a little work on his sense of touch, though.”
“Ugh, you’re so lucky to have a quiet Doll. We should trade Dolls some day.” Kibum mused.
Taemin grinned in amusement at the thought until he spotted a certain someone staring at Kibum as though wanting to burn holes through his back. He nudged at Kibum slightly.
“Hey, he’s looking again. Jinki’s looking at you again.” It was practically high school all over again. Kibum nearly choked on his drink, hearing Taemin say that. He was close to snapping his head around to confirm Taemin’s statement, however Taemin gripped at his arm before he could. “Don’t look, he’ll get suspicious.” He hissed.
Kibum slammed down his drink, a loud bang ringing both of their ears, “The poor thing doesn’t even try to be conspicuous. I mean, I’m flattered, because pft, who doesn’t want a piece of this? But -”
“Oh dear, not this again.” Taemin moaned, slinking down in his seat ever so slightly.
Taemin let the elder rant and belittle the person of interest, already having to hear this every day. He let his mind tune out the noises of the outside and listens to the monotone drone of his insides. The pumping of his blood, the soft thumps of his heartbeat.
The soft thumps of his heartbeat?
He felt his face grow heavy as the thought returned and came to nudge at him once more. What did it really mean, exactly, the fact that Minho had a heartbeat? It could’ve been anything, even his imagination, so what was he fretting over about? It was most likely a mistake, since after all he only got to listen for a couple of seconds. Still, the thought wouldn’t stop itching at him, gnawing at the nerves of his brain.
“Taemin, you agree don’t you? That Jinki actually likes me for who I am. He’s not just after my body, right?” Kibum asked, practically hysterical. He was always like this when Jinki was brought up in the conversation. After a moment’s pause, Kibum huffed, “Okay this time, you cannot be fine. You look like you have the weight of the universe on your shoulders. What’s the matter?”
Taemin sighed, always amazed that Kibum could always see through his facades. He let his chin fall upon his palm as he rested his elbow on the table, mind wondering how to phrase his thoughts.
“What would you do… if you heard a heartbeat inside of Jonghyun?”
Kibum had a slight look of surprise on his face before quickly covering it up with a thoughtful expression, wonder how to reply. “Is this about Minho, by any chance?”
Taemin drew in a breath, as though ready to say something, but simply sighed and nodded hesitantly.
“Well, that’s a good question. There are a lot of things I would think if I heard a heartbeat in Jonghyun,” Kibum said leaning back and forth in his seat. “First off, you shouldn’t get ahead of yourself. You need to decide whether your imagination is playing with you or not. You have to be absolutely sure that you heard what you heard.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, but still…I just can’t shrug off the feeling that’s something’s wrong.”
Kibum bit his lip in thought, contemplating the other possibilities of the situation. A few gentle minutes passed before Kibum snapped his fingers in realization, “The examination!”
“What?”
“Don’t you remember? A week ago, the Research Department took all the Dolls for a detailed examination. Maybe the people over at the Research Department know a little something about Minho.”
A flicker of hope lighted up Taemin’s face, soon beaming to a relieved smile. “That’s a great idea! Thanks Kibum, I owe you one!” With that, Taemin hopped over the bench and sprinted towards the walkways that connected to the Administration Department and from there the remaining departments.
It had probably been a 10-minute walk - no, probably even longer, Taemin dreadfully thought as he barely reached the end of the walkway that led to the Research Department. He’d never had to visit the Research Department in person, usually only communicating with said department via computer. He looked around curiously, wondering what he was supposed to do in order to get some answers.
“Excuse me, sir? Do you need any assistance?” A woman asked. Taemin’s vision snapped to a rather young girl sitting behind a counter. He approached the counter, leaning on it just so, wondering what he should be asking for.
“Hi, I’m Lee Taemin from the Projects Department. I was wondering if I could meet with the researcher who performed the examination on my Doll a week ago.”
“Oh sure, let me just pull that up on my computer here.” The girl said, not forgetting to add an obligatory bright smile like the manual always told them to. Taemin’s eyes wandered while listening to the soft taps of the girl’s fingers typing away, exploring every corner and inch of the Research Department’s administration area. Of course, the way things operate here were probably more uptight and professional, unlike the Projects Department where it was hectic and lively.
“It’s kind of odd, seeing someone from all the way from the Projects Department coming here.” The girl randomly noted. Taemin chuckled softly, eyes locking at the nametag on the girl’s chest, reading Jessica.
“I guess you could say its urgent business.”
“I see,” Jessica said, grinning. “Anyway, the researcher who performed the examination on the Doll, Minho, is Cho Kyuhyun. His office is over at R460, which is that way,” Jessica leaned over the counter, pointing to the hallway on Taemin’s left.
“Alright, thanks for your time.” Taemin nodded, and waved in thanks. Jessica waved back, flashing yet another smile.
The hallway was solemn, the quietness almost eerie to bear. It was completely different than the Projects Department, where caretakers frantically moved about to reach from room to room, discussing with one another their mistakes and their findings. The Projects Department solely relied on teamwork, because it’s what made it the Projects Department. However, the Research Department was different, Taemin noticed as he passed many doors with the same windows as his department. The researchers in them looked dreadfully busy, eyes stern, eyebrows furrowed. They were focused, and most importantly independent. Teamwork could be a factor for the Research Department at times, but mainly it was independent work that made the researchers as efficient as they are.
Taemin stopped in his tracks as he met with a four-way intersection. He recalled that the room was R460, but the problem was that the numbering system was different than the Projects Department. Man, everything is different in this place, Taemin thought.
“Oh, is that you Taemin?” A voice called. Taemin turned to his right to see a man come into his view. As he got closer, he noticed that the man was the head of the Research Department.
“Ah, Eeteuk-sunbae. Nice to see you, it’s been a while.” Taemin bowed in respect, grinning for courtesy.
“Indeed it has! What’s someone from the Projects Department doing here anyway? You did turn in the report like I asked you to, didn’t you?”
“Of course I did. I’m just a little lost. I have an appointment with the researcher in R460, but seeing as the numbering system here is different…”
“Kyuhyun? Well that’s rather random. His office is down there,” Eeteuk said, finger pointing just behind Taemin. “Keep walking straight, and turn right at the first corner. Kyuhyun’s office is the first one you’ll see.”
“Thanks, I’ll be leaving then.”
“It was nice seeing you!” Eeteuk shouted before sprinting off towards his destination in another direction. Taemin waved off into his direction, arm dropping by his side. He soon made his way towards the designated office, steps growing heavy as the distance grew short. There were a lot of things that he wanted to ask Kyuhyun, but would he get his answers?
He softly knocked on the metal door, a clawing sensation of doubt overwhelming his heart. It relaxed as Taemin heard a quiet, “Come in”.
Taemin was met with a rather large lab, scientific equipment scattered about on various tables. There was an examination table along with another table that held various tools. It was a possibility that the detailed check-ups were held in a researcher’s office, Taemin noted. He stepped inside, looking about for the source of the voice. Taking a few more tentative steps inside, he noticed a man hunched over a desk in a corner, pencil scribbling violently across paper.
“Um, excuse m -”
“You must be Lee Taemin from the Projects Department, right?” Kyuhyun said, head still lowered and hand still scribbling. Taemin’s mouth fell only slightly before catching it, wondering how he knew who he was without even looking. As though reading his mind, Kyuhyun spun around to face him, giving him a soft grin, “Jessica over at the front office contacted me before you came. Grab a seat.”
Taemin nodded bashfully, walking towards Kyuhyun’s desk and grabbing a spare chair that was placed next to the desk. “Does this visit have anything to do with Minho?” Kyuhyun asked, resuming his work.
“Are you some sort of psychic?” Taemin asked a loud, his thoughts slipping out of his mouth. Before he could apologize for the random statement, Kyuhyun chuckled, placing his pencil down.
“No, I’m just that smart.” Kyuhyun smirked, “So, tell me what brings you all the way here to the Research Department. It must be pretty important since you came here in person.”
Taemin fidgeted in his seat, thumbs twiddling and feet rubbing against each other. He exhaled his stress away, attempting to place his worries into words.
“Well, I actually have a lot of questions concerning Minho recently. I-it’s pretty hard, putting them into words, but the one thing I noticed is that…” Taemin paused, mouth closing and opening as he tried to remember how to speak again. Kyuhyun nodded at him, waiting. Taemin sighed, “Do you, by any chance, happen to know anything about a heart within Minho?”
He waited for the baffled expression that would grow on Kyuhyun’s face in the next millisecond, but it never came. Instead, it was replaced with a grim expression, concerned almost. Taemin’s anxiety upped ten-fold. Kyuhyun stood up from his seat, pacing in order to select his words carefully. After a minute or so of pacing, Kyuhyun finally stopped in his tracks.
“There’s a lot of ways I could answer that. The fact that you are the caretaker of the most human-like model in the entire institution, should you really be surprised if you did hear a heartbeat?” Kyuhyun stated, leaving Taemin to think the question out. “And you know right? That Dolls are basically the imperfections of the Cloning Project. When a clone fails to grow successfully, it’s the researchers in charge of the Doll Project to give them life, to save them by fixing these imperfections with electronically mediated artificial intelligence. So in a sense, Dolls were once human, and it’s because they were once human that allow them to possess certain human quality traits. Because Minho is one of the most recent models, it means that he - as a clone - was more successful than other Doll while in their Cloning stage. It’s because that he’s a recent model that explains the heartbeat within him…in theory anyway.”
“So you’re saying that all this time, Minho really had a heart?” Taemin wondered, fingers grasping his chin in a contemplative manner. “That’s strange though. I should’ve heard it earlier then, since I’m the one who performs daily checks on him and such.”
“I said it was a theory. In any case, if you really want to know, I put it there.”
“A…heart?”
“If you want to think about it like that, then yes a heart. It’s actually a main control device in which manipulates the circuits within him, and generates energy for Minho to do his daily tasks. The heartbeat noise you hear is the noise of the device pumping electricity throughout Minho’s body. To us researchers, it’s basically a switch to turn him on or off.” Kyuhyun stated, plopping back into his seat and toying with the pencil. Taemin blinked in slight confusion.
“Don’t you think it’s a little ironic, that the most human-like model has an off-switch whereas the other Dolls don’t?”
“Hey, it wasn’t my idea. It was Minho’s.”
“Minho?” Taemin asked, shock practically dripping from his tongue. The fact that Minho could rarely talk was one thing, but the idea that Minho told the researchers to give him an off-switch was another. “W-why would he want to do that?”
Kyuhyun grinned, eyes gazing up towards the ceiling, “You realize that your Doll becomes more human-like every day, right? You may not notice it at first, but you’ll definitely see the changes. Compared from then to now, Minho’s ability to talk has vastly improved. He may not talk around you much, but when he was hooked up during the detailed check-up, he talks like a regular person. Not only that, but his intelligence surpasses those of humans, even scholars, with every day passing. During the examination, he complained of pains in his head, and he felt like that he was short-circuiting and glitching, and immediately requested for an off-switch.”
“But what good does an off-switch do?”
“Short-circuiting and glitching are common symptoms for a breakdown, and most Dolls don’t even survive breakdowns, because trust me, they’re severe. Because of Minho's intelligence, he knew of the outcome, so he requested for an off-switch. If he was showing signs of breaking down, he could be turned off and rebooted once the symptoms were taken care of, instead of dying and being sent to the Storage Department where the rest of the broken down Dolls are stored at.”
Now that Taemin heard of the reasoning, it was a very smart move. Taemin couldn’t help but feel his heart swelling in pride and relief at the same time.
Taemin thanked Kyuhyun, bowing and giving him a grateful handshake. Now that he heard the entire story, he could feel at rest and resume his ordinary life and ordinary duties with Minho.
Taemin sighed, internally complaining about the long walk he made from the Research Department to the Projects Department. His feet and back ached, and all he really wanted to do was to lie down. Preferably next to Minho, of course.
He stood in front of Minho’s room, scanning himself and waiting for the door to open. Taemin stretched his arms, entering the room nonchalantly, “Minho, you here? Sorry I was gone for so long, I was just - Minho!”
Taemin rushed over to Minho, who was currently on his knees and twitching violently. His hands were grasping his head in a pained manner, groans escaping his mouth with every jerk. When Minho’s eyes gazed over Taemin’s frame, he immediately collapsed onto the floor, releasing a strained yelp.
“Minho? Minho! What’s wrong? What’s going on?” Taemin asked frantically, panic surging through every vein in his body. He was shaking out of fear and anxiety. He wanted to help, he wanted to help so badly, but he was so clueless and helpless at the same time.
“Tae…min…hur…ry…” Minho mumbled before shrieking and tumbling over to his side, his twitches becoming full-on seizures.
“Hurry? Hurry what? What do I need to do, Minho? Please tell me!” Taemin nearly shouted, tears already on the verge of falling onto his pale cheeks.
“Please…turn me off…now.”
“But, Minho - I -”
“Turn me off now or I’ll break down! Please…hurry.” Taemin’s eyes widened in shock, mouth agape. The urgency and lucidness in Minho’s voice was enough to convince Taemin into doing what he was told to do.
His lips quivered as he brought Minho into an upright position, feeling the violent jerks and shakes on his very fingertips. Taemin held back a sob as he let one arm slither underneath Minho’s shirt, skin against skin as it desperately searched for the switch. He felt the metal device stitched to Minho’s upper back, a small dial waiting to be turned from ON to OFF.
He closed his eyes as he felt his body move on its own accord, the body that he held in his arms slowly growing limp. It was so unprofessional, letting these pitiful tears slip down his cheeks, and it seemed like they would never stop falling as the silence drew on and on.
“Thank…you…” Minho whispered. Taemin choked on his sobs before gasping as he felt soft, cold lips on his own damp ones. They vanished as soon as they appeared the body now completely limp. Minho was gone.
Taemin rubbed at his eyes as he stumbled for the phone that was attached to the wall. A heavy weight lied in his chest, dragging and slowing him down. He knew that it was only temporary, that Minho was only going to be off for a period of time. Still, some thought wouldn’t stop nudging at him: what if he didn’t make it on time? He silenced himself before he could sob once more.
His heart wept as a part of him was taken with Minho.
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Well I hope I somewhat pleased the OnKey shippers. I haven't written OnKey in years, for the fact that JongKey has completely dominated me, but I decided to be nice and let Onew have a turn with Key. Ofc, I could just do OnJongKey, but my writing soul craves for 2Min :3
Hope this chapter has pleased you guys! This is un-betaed, so if there's any writing errors such as spelling mistakes, improper tenses, grammar disasters, then please let me know. Oh, and GIMME SOME COMMENTS COOKIES?! ♥