[got7] one day, robots will cry (3/7)
Fic: GOT7, JB/Jr., Yugyeom/Bambam
Summary: Jaebum is the owner of an android repair shop. Jinyoung is a prototype that gets abandoned on his front step one night in desperate need of repairs, and also quite possibly the best thing that ever happened to Jaebum.
Rating: PG
Contents: Slice of life with android stuff mixed in.
A/N: Title is from the Cobra Starship song. All pseudoscience stuff is 100% made up, probably illogical, and not based on reality.
Series tag is here. Also on AO3.
When Yugyeom returns from his trip overseas, he brings with him the smallest human Jinyoung’s ever laid eyes on. Bambam, as he’s called, comes over so often that everyone pretty much forgets he doesn’t actually live there, too.
“Bambam’s showing me how to make his specialty,” Yugyeom says proudly when Jinyoung comes down from the attic one day to see them both hanging out in the kitchen. Bambam is wearing an apron and standing on a stepstool in front of the stove as he melts some butter in a frying pan.
Jinyoung blinks. “There’s only samgyupsal and a stick of butter out…?”
“I made this all the time at home,” Bambam explains as he throws some slices of the meat into the pan, and apparently that’s all there is to it. Yugyeom is watching with rapt attention, so Jinyoung might as well stick around out of curiosity if nothing else.
“Gyeommie, the trick is to not flip the meat too much as you’re grilling it, but kind of stir it around so the butter gets spread all over.” Bambam chirps, and Yugyeom nods like he’s just heard the word of God himself.
Jinyoung peers around Yugyeom’s shoulder until Bambam waves his tongs at him, impatient. “Hyung, do you want to try it?”
“Uh… sure.” Jinyoung takes the tongs in his hands as Bambam moves aside. He tries to put some samgyupsal in the pan, but it lands awkwardly, and some of the hot grease in the pan splashes out and hits him on the hand.
“Ow!”
It stings for only a moment. He drops the tongs reflexively, turning away from the stove to look at his hand.
“Hyung, are you okay?!”
Bambam turns off the fire, and Yugyeom rushes downstairs to get Jaebum before Jinyoung can stop him.
“I… I’m fine. Synthetic skin, remember?” Jinyoung tries to laugh, but he can’t bring himself to when Jaebum rushes into the kitchen, his brow furrowed in concern as he takes Jinyoung’s hand in his. It’s obvious there aren’t any burn marks, but Jaebum marches him over to the sink to run his hand under cold water all the same.
“What happened again?”
“Nothing. I’m fine,” he repeats at Jaebum, who stares at him steadily for a few moments before letting out a sigh. He turns the tap off and gives Jinyoung one last look over.
“Your skin must be upgraded compared to the usual stuff, too. Still… be careful.”
He’s frowning, and Jinyoung wonders if he’s upset him. It was only an accident, though…
“It barely splashed me at all,” Jinyoung reassures him. “I’ll let Bambam do the rest just to be safe.”
“Bambam was showing you how?” Jaebum directs his frown at Bambam, who only puts his hands up in feigned innocence. “This is why I’m the only one who should be allowed to grill the meat.”
“But hyuuuung…!” Yugyeom protests loudly. He makes much more of a fuss than Bambam, who only looks somewhat exasperated and hands Jaebum the tongs.
“Hyung, you’re even worse than my actual dad,” he informs him, before dragging Yugyeom off down the hallway, talking about watching the latest episode of some anime they’re following.
Jaebum doesn’t pay them or even Jinyoung any mind, singing quietly to himself as he starts frying the rest of the samgyupsal himself.
Jinyoung stands next to him, glancing at his own hand, but not where the grease splashed it. The place on his wrist where Jaebum held it feels warm, even though he let go a while ago. He doesn’t really know why.
Eventually, he recognizes the song Jaebum’s singing-it’s one of the ones that he likes to play over the speakers in the shop sometimes when he’s working. Jinyoung likes it a lot, too. He sings along with Jaebum, harmonizing the way Youngjae’s been teaching him, and Jaebum stops what he’s doing to stare at Jinyoung.
“You’ve been learning how to sing?” he asks, then smiles. “Ah, Youngjae must have taught you.”
Jinyoung feels himself flush. “I was curious because I always heard you singing. I never thought I could do it, too.”
“Of course you can,” Jaebum says, like it should have been obvious. He nudges Jinyoung with his elbow. “You’re already really good at it, Jinyoungie.”
“Youngjae said I was a natural,” Jinyoung informs him, grinning proudly. But then he remembers what just happened with his hand, and sighs. “Well, maybe it’s just because my voice program is weirdly advanced too, or something…”
“So what if it is? Humans are born with natural talents and tons of them get cybernetic implants nowadays. Besides, it’s not like you asked to have upgrades,” Jaebum shrugs, elbowing Jinyoung again. “I really like your singing. So don’t worry about stuff like that, okay?”
Jinyoung huffs and elbows Jaebum back. “You’re just trying to make me feel better,” he protests, but feels lighter somehow. It’s a strange phenomenon, how talking to Jaebum always makes all his worries seem so much smaller.
“I really mean it. Let’s sing together more often.”
There’s only a hint of a smile on Jaebum’s face as he finishes grilling the meat, laying it all on a plate for the kids to eat later. He cuts off a piece of it before holding it out to Jinyoung with his chopsticks. Jinyoung hesitates for a moment, but when he opens his mouth to eat it Jaebum pulls it away, just out of reach.
“Yah!!” Jinyoung laughs and slaps Jaebum’s arm before Jaebum finally feeds him the samgyupsal, still snickering a little as he does.
It tastes amazing, the taste of the butter making it even richer and more delicious, and Jinyoung can’t help but smile contentedly as he chews it. Jaebum stares at him while he does so, making him feel self-conscious.
“Uh… is something wrong with my face?”
Jaebum smiles and shakes his head. “No, I was just… I haven’t seen your eyes get all crinkly like that. Not for a while, anyway.”
Jinyoung remembers very well the first time Jaebum mentioned his eyes. It’s one of his very first memories, and he treasures it. He’d rather not tell Jaebum that, though, so he scoffs and nudges him with his foot. “It’s only because you keep teasing me.”
“In my defense… you’re fun to tease.” Jaebum nudges him right back, but he becomes quiet and thoughtful again for a moment as he turns on the tap to wash the dishes. He doesn’t have to ask for Jinyoung to stand next to him to help dry them off-it’s one of their little routines, lately.
“You’re not still worried about it, are you?” Jaebum says after a while, as he’s diligently scrubbing the bottom of the frying pan. “That your skin doesn’t burn, I mean.”
Jinyoung hesitates. It does make him feel a little weird, but Jaebum’s the one who told him not to worry about it. He shakes his head. “I’m not worried.”
“Good.” Jaebum smirks at him as he hands over the wet dishes. “If you get down on yourself, I’ll just lecture you until you snap out of it.”
Jinyoung smirks back. “Curse you and your logic, Im Jaebum.”
They keep washing the dishes like that, not talking much, but when Jaebum starts singing again Jinyoung sings along too. The size of the sink makes it necessary for the two of them to stand with their sides basically pressed together, and really Jaebum could probably be going about it just as efficiently by himself. But Jaebum makes room for him anyway, like he always does, and the space he leaves feels like it fits just right.
--
It’s been months since Jinyoung officially started as a resident of J Project Repairs when he discovers that there’s an entire section of the building that he didn’t know about.
He’s sweeping the shop floor one afternoon when he can hear what sounds like a loud conversation coming from somewhere inside the shop.
“Yugyeom? Youngjae? Are you guys home?”
No answer. He can’t figure out where the voices are coming from until he opens a door in a corner of the shop that he always assumed went to a spare closet or something. Instead there’s a staircase leading down to a small hallway, and at the end of that another door which opens into a brightly lit room with wood paneled floors and a wall that’s made entirely of one large mirror.
“What are you guys doing down here?”
“What does it look like, hyung?” Yugyeom says sarcastically from the other side of the room. He and his friend Jackson are standing on a blue padded mat, apparently in the middle of discussing something.
“I’m teaching him some sweet moves!” Jackson says proudly, hands on his hips.
Yugyeom rolls his eyes. “Jackson hyung’s teaching me how to do a flip.”
“A flip…?” Jinyoung is confused. He knows what flip means, but he doesn’t know what entails ‘doing a flip.’
“Yeah! Like this.”
Jackson points to himself, then proceeds to launch his entire body in the air, his feet going over his head for a full 360 degree spin until he lands on his feet again, all in the blink of an eye. It’s by far the strangest thing Jinyoung’s seen anyone do since he woke up, but incredible in a way he can’t describe.
“Cool, right?” Jackson grins. Human or android, Jackson is definitely the most excitable person Jinyoung has met so far, but he likes him. He’s very… straightforward.
“It was really cool. My eyes couldn’t keep up,” Jinyoung nods. “So, Yugyeommie can learn to do that too?”
Yugyeom’s expression is determined. “It’s harder for me since I’m tall, but I’ll get it eventually.”
“That’s our dancing machine!” Jackson throws his arms around Yugyeom, who shakes him off with a vaguely pressed look. “He wants to learn some new moves before he joins me and Mark’s dance crew even though I told him he doesn’t have to.”
“Uh… so you guys are just dancing down here?” Jinyoung tilts his head. With the mats out, it does seem like some type of practice room, but Jaebum’s never mentioned it to him before.
“Yeah, Youngjae hyung and I convinced Jaebum hyung to convert it into a practice studio a while ago, but I dunno if it gets used when we’re at school,” Yugyeom says sheepishly. “Most of the space is for practicing dance, but there’s a room for Youngjae hyung’s keyboard practice too.”
Jinyoung glances around the room again in wonder. “I’ve never gotten to see you guys dance. Can I stay and watch?”
Yugyeom only shifts on his feet a little and hums indecisively, but Jackson practically explodes with enthusiasm.
“That’s a great idea! I think we’ll do even better with an audience.” He rushes over and hits a panel on one of the devices in the corner of the room, and music with a loud, fast beat starts playing.
Jinyoung sits down against the wall and watches both Yugyeom and Jackson start to dance, not to any sort of routine, just moving freely with the rhythm of the song. Even though Yugyeom is an android like Jinyoung, his motions look every bit as natural as Jackson’s, like he’s right at home when he dances, and the odd feeling Jinyoung sometimes gets when he hears Youngjae singing well up inside him again. It’s not that he doesn’t like watching or listening, because he does, and he’s proud of them, but…
“This all looks like fun,” comes a voice from nearby, interrupting Jinyoung’s thoughts.
The door opens and Jaebum comes in, his friend Mark in tow. As soon as Jackson and Yugyeom see Mark, they burst out in a chorus of “Mark hyung is here!” and zoom towards him, covering him in sweaty hugs.
“Heh, nice to see you guys too.” Mark snickers. He’s unsuccessful at wriggling free from both their grasps, but it’s also kind of obvious he isn’t trying too hard.
“What am I, chopped liver?” Jaebum snorts at them, then turns to offer a hand to help Jinyoung to his feet. Jinyoung takes his hand and stands up, but he’s confused.
“I was only going to watch…?”
“You don’t have to watch from there. I’ll show you some moves if you want.” Jaebum smiles, and Jinyoung wonders if he has some type of secret ability to read minds, or at least his mind.
“Can you do a flip?” Jinyoung asks, because that’s the only thing he knows with a name so far.
“That’s Mark and Jackson’s thing. I’m a little different,” Jaebum explains, a grin making its way onto his face as he takes Jinyoung’s hand again and leads him to the other side of the room (though Jinyoung can feel three very unsubtle pairs of eyes following them as they go).
“Okay, show me.” Jinyoung nods enthusiastically, ignoring the giggles from Jackson and Yugyeom.
Jaebum changes the music to a slightly different song, still upbeat but a little more retro-sounding, and he starts to dance too. It’s a lot different than Jackson and Yugyeom’s dancing, not quite as flashy in the beginning, his feet moving side to side as he gets a feel for the music. Suddenly, he drops to the ground and swings his feet in the air before spinning rapidly in place, then moving into a series of complex steps while balancing on one arm. Jinyoung thought Jackson’s flip was incredible, but this is something else entirely.
“Wooo! JB hyung in the hoooouse!” Jackson calls when Jaebum sits down on the floor, out of breath but with the biggest smile Jinyoung’s ever seen on him.
“JB?” Jinyoung peers at him curiously, while Mark and Yugyeom snicker along with Jackson.
“My old b-boy name,” Jaebum glares at the other three, before shrugging at Jinyoung. “I quit when I opened the shop so I’m pretty rusty, but anyway, that’s the sort of dancing I used to do.”
“It’s amazing,” Jinyoung says honestly. “I, uh… I don’t think I could learn how to do that, but… maybe something easier?”
Jaebum shrugs. “I think you could definitely learn it eventually, but first let’s start off with something simple.”
The music changes again, and the five of them spend the rest of the afternoon dancing. Or rather, Jackson and Mark help Yugyeom work on his backflip, and Jaebum stands next to Jinyoung, walking him through some basic dance steps, but Jinyoung gets so absorbed in it he doesn’t notice the time pass by.
When they all drag themselves back up the stairs, exhausted and sweaty, Youngjae and Bambam are sipping tea calmly at the table, a pitcher of iced lemonade and piles of grilled samgyupsal and pickled vegetables and rice ready for them to descend upon. All seven of them cram into the tiny kitchen, talking and eating and laughing as they reach across each other, elbowing each other, nearly knocking glasses over several times.
Jinyoung somehow ends up squished between Jackson and Yugyeom as they both wage war over the same piece of meat, and even though it’s uncomfortable it’s kind of fun, too. His eyes glance upward to meet Jaebum’s across the table, and the secret smile they share feels even newer and more mysterious than the very first time Jinyoung remembers opening his eyes.
(a/n: the part where Jaebum teases Jinyoung with the samgyupsal is a little too real.)
chapter four