“ Good morning, Jesse! Your schedule today is holding a presentation with tenders at 3 and picking up a new package in the factory ,”
Every day, Jesse is woken up by an automatic melodic bird sound and the sound of an electronic woman from his home operating system. Living in a cold, sturdy building makes him longing for nature. Of course he couldn’t get that instantly as he lived in the center of the town. That is to say, if he can’t, he could just build it.
As he walked downstairs and was seated in the pantry, his black coffee was served warm with freshly baked toast. His vacuum cleaner was already on duty to make the marble floor squeaky clean, and an automatic refreshing scent replaced all the smokey smell.
A tasty slurping sound was echoing around his massive, clean house. Of all the high technology he had in the house and how splendid it was, Jesse didn’t feel it was all worth it.
Who does he want to impress? Himself? It all has a time limit until he feels nothing of what he built.
“What have I done to myself?”
Living smart and using high-tech was not as good as he imagined. He imagined it would be great if he could bring the efficiency of his job to his daily life. He is a genius. He can build everything and make his life easier. But after everything became easier, he lost the spark of his life. It is all too easy. It is all so boring.
“ Take care, Jesse ,”
As he walked out of his automatic door that was opened by a sensor, his system said bye to him.
“Pastry first, then straight to the office,” Jesse said to his bot driver, and he let it drive safely to his destination. A custom, luxurious car that was combined with his technology could be adjusted by its surroundings and driven safely. He does not even have to worry about crashes, criminals, or his lack of driving. It’s all in safe hands, and he trusts his technology because it’s all based on what he is concerned about.
A successful IT CEO that everybody adored. Jesse has everything he wants in his hands. Looks, money, smart house, high-tech cars, robot helpers, and systems. His company was well known for its prestigious HR. With brilliant intellectuality and humble application to the world, his brand has the most selling items in the market, especially in medical, security, communication, monetary, and high-class society. Basically, he dominates what dominates the world.
With all the perfect worlds he has, nothing could satisfy him more than this. He is such an idealist, aiming for a better life with a wonderful partner and zero mistakes. Nothing can compare to his perfectionism, and no one could pass his barrier to be his circle one.
One crazy thing he has in mind is making his perfect partner by himself. He planned this for years. He studied his own needs, collecting all his database into the molecule so his futuristic perfect partner could know him better than everyone else does. He gathered all the excellent doctors to learn about humans' pulses, emotions, reactions, conditions, and needs.
After dominating human needs in every aspect, Jesse finally reached his biggest idea: to create a futuristic life partner that everybody needs. That he needs.
“ Humans make mistakes. They are sometimes incapable of doing things. With this, people would make their lives so much easier. They can cook, they can fix things, they can watch your kids, they can look after you when you’re sick, they can do all the housework, and they can be your friend ,”
Jesse looked at the video for his presentation. He declared that his vision for his new invention would be an eye-opener.
He listened to his stiff voice which became the narrator of the video. That doesn’t sound like him. He sounds controlled. He likes to be in control, but he doesn’t want to be that obvious to always be in control.
The idea of making this futuristic partner perfect is because he sometimes feels lonely. His enormous vision of making life easier is because he wants to get in touch with people, spread warmth, and be liked by everyone. He hoped that as they lived easier, the opportunity to know more people would grow. It turns out that his expectation was a bubble on the surface of the water. People have their own lives, and no one gives a damn about his loneliness. That is to say, if he had no one to accompany him, he could just build one. A perfect one.
“Hey, cancel this meeting. I need to try the prototype first before showing it to the tender,” Jesse said to his office system.
“ But the meeting would start in 30 ,”
“Yes, that’s why I need you to spread the news now before they come,” Jesse sighed, feeling unsatisfied with the technology he built that could talk back to him. “How can I guarantee it’s a masterpiece if I didn’t even try it?”
“ Kyomoto-san will not be able to attend the meeting afterward if you cancel now. Is he supposed to be your priority tender? ”
“But I can’t show them if I’m not trying it. Which part of my words does not make any sense to you?” Jesse barked. “Change the topic. Replace the material with the progress. Tell Shintaro to prepare the uncompleted prototype. Bring me the test videos and tell him to demonstrate the technology,”
“ Understood ,”
“Call Juri and tell him to report to me about my completed prototype,” Jesse added.
Every piece of his work has to be perfect. He brings an easy life, so everyone has to receive his product with no damage and fewer difficulties. He has to make sure everything is good, and not everyone can handle that, especially when he’s under pressure and at his peak.
“Welcome to VIBES, everyone. I’m Lewis Jesse, the CEO of VIBES. Today, I’ll present you with my newest technology: the collaboration of medical, security, and humanity. It is a cutting-edge technology that is built for you, your children, your parents, your family, or your people,”
A pretentious orchestra was heard while playing the videos of VIBES’ new project. So many kinds of experiments are shown to convince the audience that this futuristic life partner is a masterpiece.
“With them, you don’t have to be afraid to leave your home safe deposit box alone. You don’t have to worry about how your pet has not been fed or taken for a walk. You can save more money because they don’t need to eat, they don’t need wages, and you can come back home with freshly made dishes,” Jesse added. “What makes this futuristic life partner different from my other technologies? One device can be paired with every other device. Signals, Bluetooth, sensors—name it! It is safe for everyone because they look like humans. You can customize your ideal outward appearance and have them in your house,”
All the tenders got their jaws dropped. It is indeed a cutting-edge technology that nobody ever had before. Of course, something good comes with a price, but since Jesse set his foot in high society, as long as he can kill it, money is not a problem.
“That’s impressive. I really like your idea,” Taiga, the biggest target Jesse aimed at, crossed his legs, looking cool-headed and uninterested. “However, if I can be honest, I can’t be convinced until I see your completed prototype,”
I knew it , Jesse said inwardly.
“The completed prototype was supposed to arrive today, and I was planning to try it for a week before I showed it to you. But you chose to come 2 weeks earlier, so we didn’t have enough time to prepare it,”
“Then why don’t you make it faster?”
“My job is to make everyone’s life easier. But time is not my majority. I don’t have any magic to make it true in one snap,” Jesse replied calmly. “If only you gave me notification beforehand, I could probably do it by myself 24/7. But since your notification was so sudden, all was assigned, and that’s out of my control,”
“Your job is to make everyone’s life easier. I’m one of those people. So make my life easier!” Taiga scoffed. *Besides, why wouldn't you do it by yourself in the first place if you know you can work it 24/7?"
"As you can see I got other projects and things to do as well,"
"Look! I have no time to come here for the year-end. The fastest way is after Valentine’s day,”
“Then you’ll get the completed prototype upgraded and enlightened by then,” Jesse smiled.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Jesse slammed his tab and threw himself on the couch. The system greeted him and asked about how the meeting had been going, but Jesse murmured and said “mute”, so he got the silence for a while and got his space to think.
“Jesse, you’re prototype is here,” Juri trotted into Jesse’s room. “How’s the meeting?”
“As expected, he wants to see the real thing,” Jesse sighed. “Wicked fat cat! He moved his flight 2 weeks earlier on last notice and he said why you don’t make my life easier if that’s your job?. If that’s not for his father, I’m not gonna waste my time meeting him,”
“Chill, Jes! Your new toy has arrived. Let’s take a look and fix that mood of yours,”
Juri rounded his arm around Jesse and took the man to a massive carrier bag waiting for him in his private workshop.
The sound of the engine was heard as if it were a refrigerator to keep the bot cool and prevent it from getting hot. When the first barrier was opened, Jesse could see his human-formed robot from the inside. It was so perfect that he couldn’t believe he made it. He almost teared up. It was even too perfect to be a robot.
Peep!
Jesse felt nervous as his robot opened his eyes. He really looked like a fine, perfect man, looking through his eyes without being shaken.
“ Hello ,” the voice of the robot shocked him. Jesse was supposed to know what his robot would sound like. But hearing it in human form makes him tremble. It was soft and warm. His cold expression became soft as he smiled lightly.
“He,-hello,” Jesse replied. He stood stunned for a while to keep his cool together.
“What would you call him? We set him up with no name,”
“Ah! Yeah, you’re right,” Jesse hummed. “Hokuto. I’d call you Hokuto. The star that would guide me through all the way,”
“Hokuto, he said your name is Hokuto,” Juri tapped Hokuto’s shoulder. “Hokuto, this is Jesse, your partner. You’ll live with Jesse from now on,”
“Please take care of me,” Jesse smiled.
Jesse stretched his hand and grabbed Hokuto’s hand. Hokuto’s eyes blitzed as Jesse was now logged in as Hokuto's authorized user. His personal information, health condition, body temperature, and mental statement are shown in Hokuto’s eyes.
“Nice to meet you, Jesse. I’m Hokuto,” he replied.
Jesse was thrilled. It's all exceeding his expectations. If only Hokuto didn’t come out of his box nude, Jesse probably thought Juri kept a guy in a steel cage.
Hokuto is fully formed like a human. His on-and-off power is unseen as you get to touch the back of his ear. He is made waterproof, so he is resistant to water and can swim in regular depths. His system was built on his back, like a Barbie that needs a battery to sing.
To teach a futuristic life partner robot, they should treat them like a human. Due to the different needs of their future owner, the bot was designed to proceed with lessons so they could learn like children and adapt quickly like adults. If their owner teaches them misperceptions, that would be the bot’s common sense. It is really like teaching a kid to fill their empty memory until it grows like a grown human with common sense and super capability. Thus, people need to be careful about educating their bot.
“This is my home, Hokuto,” Jesse said.
As usual, the system sounded like a woman greeting him. Generally, Jesse would straightly ask the system to fill the bath and call the delivery for supper, but today he got his new toy. His new partner and he was so intoxicated by it.
“And this is your room,”
Jesse opened one room where he put all his operating systems in there. It looks like a little workshop room where he put the routers, machines, and cables in there. There’s a spot with an LED light where Hokuto can charge his body for a couple of hours before going active for the whole next day. Not only that, he would pair and sync all the devices in the house so that he could get access to every system in the house in his body. New devices added to the house would also sync to his body so that Jesse doesn’t have to pair them one by one.
When he walked to the spot, the magnet would switch the bot's mode to sleep mode, where Hokuto would close his eyes and face down like a human sleeping while standing. When someone called him when the battery was only half charged, Hokuto’s face would look like someone half awake. It took some time to boost his energy to the max, but he can still work. Once it reached its fullest, he would be unstoppable.
Jesse’s inner child is festive. He really wants to do everything with Hokuto promptly. Who can resist themselves if someone finally has achieved one's big dream? However, he has to calm down because the first try of every technology is to be fully charged first before use.
“Good night, Hokuto… Tomorrow will be a great day,” Jesse whispered and caressed Hokuto’s cheek.
"Good night, Jesse," Hokuto replied with a husky voice.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
“Good morning, Jesse,”
“Hng…,”
“Jesse, it’s time to wake up,”
Jesse almost jumped out of his skin as he opened his eyes and found Hokuto on the side of his bed. His habit of screaming when he is shocked makes Hokuto wonder what he did to him.
“What’s wrong?” Hokuto tilted his head.
“I’m sorry. I have a bad reflection. I just got scared and shocked so easily,”
“I’m sorry. I won’t do that again,” he reflected.
“It’s okay,”
“I made you black coffee. According to the system lady, you also take a shower in the morning, so I heated the water,” Hokuto added. “Your playlist history says you spend all your day in the house while listening to music. So I set the player too based on your mood,”
“You already get along with the systems, huh?” Jesse chuckled. Hearing Hokuto describe what he did early in the morning makes him feel like he has a real partner.
“I made you breakfast. Toast and eggs with no cheese,”
“What?”
“Your health chart shows me that you should decrease your lactose if you wanna build muscles. So I replaced it with grains and proteins,”
Jesse pouted. He just got excited as he fulfilled another dream of his. But one obstacle comes along and makes it more real. Nevertheless, it is still one of his excitement. As he got used to it, maybe he’d start to look at Hokuto like a real partner.
“Today is gonna be rain, I recommend you bring an umbrella before going outside,” Hokuto walked to the window and forecasted the sky. “And I believed you hadn’t told me your schedule today,”
“It’s okay. I’m going to work from home today,” Jesse answered. He already planned to sweep his schedule off to get focused on Hokuto.
“Your partner won’t be looking for you?”
“There’s a technology called phone and online meetings, silly! Besides, it’s Christmas,” Jesse scoffed. “Oops, I forgot I’m talking to the foremost technology here,”
“Speaking of phone, I sync my contact with yours,” Hokuto said, and Jesse’s phone started to vibrate. “That’s me,”
“Of course! Yeah, thank you,” Jesse thanked. He’s amazed that he felt like living in the future.
Jesse’s one-week match has started. From today on, he got to acknowledge Hokuto before presenting him in front of Taiga. He needs Hokuto to look less like a robot and make him more human with warmth and all the considerations that humans make. Jesse taught Hokuto where he keeps his stuff, how and where he wants Hokuto to do groceries, how he likes everything to be clean because he is unconsciously messy, and how he wants everything to smell so good.
“What kind of scent do you like?” Hokuto asked while they were going for groceries.
“I like it fresh and fruity. Something calming might go as well. And also the woody scent,”
“Can I put some flowers in the house?”
“Only if you could take care of it,” Jesse answered. Hokuto then smiled and started to look for a flower that matched Jesse’s taste.
He’s smiling…
Why does he look like an angel?
“Hokuto, let’s find you some clothes!” Jesse called Hokuto from the flower shop, and the bot trotted in a lovely way.
The next destination is Jesse taking Hokuto to go shopping. The man puts Hokuto in some kind of clothes because Hokuto can’t keep using Jesse’s clothes. The size difference between him and Hokuto made the bot sink into Jesse’s hoodie. Jesse also bought him some suits so he could take Hokuto to the office when he needed him.
“What do you think?”
“In a good way, that’s something I won’t wear,” Jesse scratched his chin. “But it looks good on you,”
“Okay,”
Hokuto puts his clothes off in front of Jesse, but the man stops him right away, hastily. “What the hell are you doing? Go back to the fitting room!”
“Why? It’s more efficient if I just take them off here and try another set,”
"Humans are not changing clothes in public!”
“But I’m not human!”
“It’s not decent! You got that?” Jesse hissed.
“Okay!” Hokuto puts his clothes down and goes back to the fitting room.
“Hokuto, scan your body shape and find what fits you,” Jesse added. “Take 5 to 7 sets of clothes for every occasion. I sent you the references,”
Jesse scrolled through the well-known image-sharing service and sent it to Hokuto’s data. The man received it and did as Jesse said. Through the mirror, he scanned his body shape and started to look for what fit him in his system. Colors, fabrics, accessories, etc. As he put his clothes back, Hokuto opened the curtain and started to find something similar to the references he had.
“ Thank you very much. Merry Christmas!”
Jesse and Hokuto walked out of the store. Hokuto got a free Santa hat from the cashier because their purchase reached a certain amount. He waved at the staff as they waved their hands first to Hokuto. Jesse giggled, but his cold poker face was back when he took Hokuto to the road.
The crowds all along the way increased the festivity of the year-end holiday vibes. People pass around here and there, having fun with friends, family, or their significant other. Their happy wavelength touched Hokuto’s radar, and the man could feel the excitement as well. His pupils went bigger as if he were focusing on the moment to be captured.
“ Woof, woof, ”
Hokuto stopped when he passed a pet shop. The crowds can’t make Hokuto’s hearing in the way that he could hear through all the barks and meowing sounds inside the store. Jesse was looking for a new hat, and he realized that Hokuto was not beside him anymore.
“There’s so many animals here. Is this a mini zoo?”
“No, it’s not. It’s a pet shop,”
“Pet…. shop ? We can buy them?”
“Yeah,”
“But my system said a living creature is not for trade,”
“It’s true,”
“So why do they sell them?”
“Because they are looking for a family,” Jesse scratched his nape. He never thought about that before.
“I don’t get it. You got to pay to have a family?”
“Well—, there are some prices you gotta pay to get good things, right?”
“So we can trade people to get better people?”
“Th—that’s not what I mean,”
Jesse mulls over how to describe how the world works. It has to be decent and logical. Once he inputs a bad chip on Hokuto, he'll adapt it as a common thing to do.
“The money will be used for other needs. Besides, the pet caretaker should be paid, right?”
“That makes sense, though,” as Hokuto seemed to understand, and Jesse felt like he just completed one mission.
“Do you want to touch them?”
“Can I?” Hokuto widened his eyes as Jesse gave him an opportunity. They entered the pet shop and asked the staff if they could touch them.
The staff took them to the petting corner, where the puppies and kittens were playing with some kids. Hokuto could sense all the animals’ excitement, which made him reflect the same energy on them. Hokuto’s wavelength caught the animals’ attention, and they naturally drew nearer to him. Some kids are even mingling with him because Hokuto is so good at treating animals.
Jesse took the opportunity to capture some moments. The adaptation is unbelievable. He got two birds on one rock. Hokuto would be a perfect creature, and he was meant to be surrounded by family. He is a multitasker that everybody would love.
“Hokuto, don’t waste your energy too rough! We still have a lot of things to do,” On the first day of moving, Jesse is kind of worried that Hokuto is drained so much. However, he would like to see how far Hokuto can go.
“Excuse me, I think this one needs medication,”
Hokuto suddenly approached a 4-month-old kitten who was playing by themselves in the corner. Every one of Hokuto’s moves is Jesse’s concern. Not to mention that Hokuto’s mind is an unfilled memory, so it’s kind of hard to let him be by himself.
“I think s he’s good,” the pet shop staff who was standing near him didn’t get what he said. They saw nothing was wrong, and the kitten was still playing actively.
“The body temperature is kinda high. You might consider giving her meds,”
“Is that so?” With a doubt on his face, the staff took the kitten from Hokuto’s embrace.
The sun burned down, and the weather became colder. Jesse called Hokuto to go home with him and asked what had happened. But before Hokuto answered, the pet shop staff ran after them and called them.
“Sir, I would like to thank you very much. The kitten had a high fever and started to have some mouth ulcers. We didn’t realize that because she was still active. Once again, thank you very much,” The staff bowed deeply.
“We also wanted to thank you for letting us touch them,” Jesse replied while bowing lightly.
Hokuto’s eyes sparked. He memorized how people gestured their appreciation through something and bowed as deep as the staff. “...thank you for letting us touch them,”
“Hoku–, Hokuto, let’s go!” Jesse promptly pulled Hokuto’s arm to prevent a more awkward situation.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
“Jesse, why you didn’t bow as deep as the staff?” On the way home, Hokuto blurted his mind as he couldn’t process what he saw.
“Because the depth of the bowing has different meanings,” Jesse replied. “The more you bow, the more you show your sincerity,”
“So you weren’t sincere then?”
“That’s not it,” Jesse laughed. “The lightest bow is used for greetings and light appreciation. The middle one is when you bend lightly while facing down to show politeness and appreciation. The deepest bow is when you mess up and put some trouble on people. So it’s like, thank you very much, but I’m really sorry to put some trouble on you,”
“I see,” Hokuto’s eyeballs blitzed. Jesse took notice of how Hokuto’s eyeball was fascinating when he memorized something.
The traffic lights take turns to make it green. Jesse and Hokuto stopped walking and waited for their turn to walk across the street. From the other side, Hokuto could see a couple holding hands while giggling.
“Jesse, why are they holding hands while waiting? Is one of them gonna run if they let them go?”
“Hm?” Jesse lifted his chin from his phone to find what Hokuto saw. “They are partners,”
“We’re partners. Why aren't we holding hands?” Hokuto tilted his head.
Jesse stunned. He turned his head and stared at Hokuto while reddening his cheeks. “You wanna hold my hands? Okay,”
Hokuto nodded. He gripped Jesse’s sturdy yet so soft hands and held him carefully. Hokuto’s hand is harder than Jesse’s. The man could feel Hokuto’s bone from gripping his fingers. Hokuto got the same warmth as Jesse’s. It’s close to impossible to believe that he’s not human. The only thing that pulled Jesse back to reality was when he felt a soft vibration, like something was flowing inside his hand.
“You’re in a good mood?” The humming sound was suddenly heard from Hokuto, and Jesse took a peek to see what the bot did.
“I heard your heartbeat race so fast. You seemed nervous, so I sang for you to help you relax,”
Butterflies came up from Jesse’s stomach. He couldn’t help himself from smiling shyly. He still can’t believe that this situation is real. It was exceeding his expectations, and now he felt the warmth he was looking for from a human.
Unfortunately, it was pathetic that the warmth didn’t come from humans themselves.
“Jesse, why did the girl touch her lips to the man’s face?”
“It’s how they show their love,” Jesse answered nonchalantly, knowing that what Hokuto meant was that he saw a couple kissing.
“Like this?” Hokuto leaned on Jesse and gave him a peck on the cheek.
Jesse should’ve known that. Hokuto asked for holding hands, and he got his answer from what he saw. He should’ve known this would come as well when he was asked.
“What are you doing?”
“Showing my love to my partner,” Hokuto said. He analyzed Jesse’s facial expression deeply. The way Jesse’s pupil got smaller makes Hokuto startled. “.....did I do wrong again?”
“N,-No… It’s just…,” Jesse’s eyes swam around to find the right direction. “I,-it’s called a kiss. Do you know that?”
“Yeah. A kiss is a gesture where you touch with your lips, especially as—,”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Jesse cut in the way. “....It’s how humans show their feelings to others. Every kiss on each part has a different meanings. And not everybody wants to receive a kiss in public,”
“So you hated that,”
“N,-no… I just prefer to keep it private. So I would feel special about it,”
“Your heart rate increased—,”
“Shut up, Hokuto!” Jesse barked.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Ding…
The elevator has reached the 30th floor. When Jesse stepped out, his system told him that Juri was waiting in his room.
“Hey! How’s Hokuto?” Juri uncrossed his legs and greeted Jesse.
“Wild,” Jesse said, rolling his eyes. “I feel like I got a child, a helper, and a girlfriend at one time,”
“Meaning what?”
“First, he’s been very helpful. He syncs to all the devices in my house and can handle it by himself. He did all the housework spotlessly, and he forbade me to eat besides my diet menu. As a robot, he talked a lot. Well, technically, he asked what is actually not written on the internet,” Jesse described his first day with Hokuto. “He asked me about a pet shop . He asked why they trade pets while living creatures are not supposed to be traded. What do I have to answer? I answered nervously, like new parents feeling so afraid of giving their child bad influence,”
“That’s intense,” Juri laughed.
“You want to talk about what is intense? He saw a couple holding hands, asked if he could hold mine, and kissed me when he saw a couple kissing,”
“Wow, wow, wow! Did the chapter go too fast?”
“I know, right? Not that I hate it but—-”
“What?”
“Anyways, tell Shintaro to input more information about that,” Jesse said. “And put the information that a human-formed robot should dress up properly! Not taking clothes off in public,”
“He did what?” Juri couldn’t stop wondering about the wild day Jesse had with Hokuto.
“I’ll explain later. Tell everyone to gather! Meeting’s in 1 hour!” Jesse called.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Clack!
“Welcome home, Jesse!” Hokuto jumped up from the couch as he heard the sound of the fridge opening. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you,”
“Hi, Hokuto! What are you doing?” Jesse took a bottle of cold water from the fridge.
“I’m using your television to learn about kisses. There were so many kinds of it, and I found this in my system. Kissing the back of the hand for respect, cheeks for greetings, forehead for comfort, lips for love—”
“Okay, okay,” Jesse giggled. It’s only day two, and Hokuto’s curiosity is going wilder.
“But there’s something I don’t understand,” Hokuto answered. “There’s this woman who lost it to a man, and then the man kissed her lips forcefully. You said a kiss is how people show their love, but why does the woman cry?”
“Depends on the situation. Maybe he wants to take her heart back, or she was hurt, or it was simply harassment,” Jesse gulped the water.
“That’s difficult,” Hokuto pouted.
“I know, right? A kiss should’ve been done with consent. The two of them should be happy about it, and no one could force you to do that,” Jesse caressed Hokuto’s head and ruffled his hair. “If one doesn’t want to, it’s harassment, and you can beat them up,”
“What makes you feel happy, then?”
“Let’s see,” Jesse started to think. “When I met people I love, when my dreams come true—”
“Your dreams? You kissed your dreams?”
“Well, if there’s a form of it, yes, probably,” Jesse tilted his head. “It’s because I’ve been longing for it for such a long time. For example, I had no money, then I got money, and then I kissed the money. Heheh–,”
“Did you kiss your partner as well?”
“.....yes?” Jesse rolled his eyes up.
“Would you kiss me too then?”
Jesse was flustered by Hokuto’s question. He believed that Hokuto’s intelligence grew fast from a boy to a grown-up adult at once. He is not even a heartless robot. He was designed to be attached to family, but Jesse didn’t expect that Hokuto would have this kind of intelligence, where he could show affection and ask for affection.
As a robot, Hokuto talked a lot. In his system, he could get every bit of information because he’s basically a walking internet. But humanity is the only thing he can’t get much of since it requires feelings and human touch. Therefore, the bot depends on its owner. As Jesse set them as an empty memory, the bot could have justice over morality, or justice and compassion.
Jesse pulled Hokuto closer to his arm and kissed Hokuto’s head. He embraced him for a little while and wondered how he got his days so amazing so far around him.
“Jesse,” Hokuto whispered. “A kiss on the forehead means—”
“Shut up, Hokuto!” Jesse barked, and he then laughed inwardly.
Hokuto has a warm body. He’s sturdy but tender enough. He smelled like brand-new clothes. There’s a warm feeling when you touch it, but you know it’s not your own. Jesse could smell the burning smell from Hokuto’s hair, but it was not because he was overworked. A delicious roasted chicken was waiting for him, and Hokuto seemed to roast it well.
“......What makes you happy, Hokuto? Do you know what happiness is?”
“My happiness is when I can fulfill my partner’s dream,” Hokuto said. He looked up so he could see Jesse’s facial expression. “When I see my partner smiling, that’s my happiness,”
“Hokuto…,”
With the distance between these two, Jesse can kiss Hokuto playfully, or for Hokuto to kiss Jesse wholeheartedly. Jesse’s heartbeat is just throbbing so fast.
“You okay, Jesse?” Hokuto asked, sensing the increased heartbeat.
Hokuto’s face sparks the beauty in him. He had no pores, and he glowed. He was supposed to be a mere robot in human form, but Jesse could see a soul in him. He is such a pure soul. He was the biggest dream come true Jesse had for such a long time.
Hokuto is lovable. He looks as sturdy as he should, but he’s such cotton candy. Sweet and fragile. He is not a helper, he is truly a life partner.
Ding!
“The chicken! The chicken is ready!” The sound of the oven blew away Jesse’s daydream. Hokuto bumped his ass to Jesse’s playfully and told him the dinner was about to be ready.
“I’m gonna take a quick shower first,” Jesse said.
As dinner time came, Hokuto served Jesse’s dinner in front of their living room. The man asked to eat there because he had a serial that he’d already been waiting for.
After taking a quick hot shower, Jesse went back to his living room. Hokuto was already waiting for him with a hair dryer in his hand. Aligning with Jesse’s body temperature, Hokuto dries the man's hair while his partner enjoys his dinner.
A domestic view after a long, tiring day was another warmth Jesse longed for. To have someone waiting for him to come home, a warm meal, and someone to talk to is such a precious thing for him. All the questions Hokuto threw at Jesse felt like one kind of deep talk. It was so sincere and adorable. Between not-so-important scenes, Jesse could talk about his feelings, his visions, and his dreams to Hokuto. The way Hokuto was so responsive to Jesse’s talk made the man feel heard. He felt there was a mutual understanding he found in Hokuto.
Of course, Hokuto was made for him.
After finishing his meal, Hokuto did all the left-over house chores and turned off the light to dim warm light before joining Jesse again for a movie night.
It’s already 3 a.m. Jesse’s emotional turbulence was quite wild. He was still laughing and screaming for the jump scare, but then it all went quiet all of a sudden. Hokuto caught him being so comfortable lying on his big couch with big pillows and his hand holding his own head.
Hokuto scanned the man’s body, analyzing how deep the man was sleeping. He decided to take a thick blanket to cover all of Jesse’s body before leaving him for his charging time. Hokuto bent down and made sure Jesse was all covered and warm. He stared at Jesse’s sleeping face and took a peck at his forehead.
“A kiss on the forehead means I’ll protect you,” he whispered.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Day 3.
All the meetings and trials today squeezed Jesse’s brain off. He needs to check the next bot so he can sell the better one after it’s launched. Jesse also checked the CCTV he had so he could tell what Hokuto did while Jesse was away, and the results were amazing except one.
“What is he doing?”
The picture of Hokuto covering Jesse with a blanket was shown. Jesse, Juri, and Shintaro were stupefied as they got Hokuto leaning toward Jesse and covered the man’s face for a while.
It was quiet, but Jesse could hear Hokuto whispering something next to him. He cleared all the noises and sharpened Hokuto’s voice for more focus.
“ A kiss on the forehead means I’ll protect you, ”
The silence was so loud. Jesse and Shintaro looked at each other and stared at Jesse dumbfounded. “Are you sure he’s your robot?”
“Was he your ex or something?”
“That’s creepy, man…” Jesse scoffed, but on the inside, he was trapped by his own thoughts.
The sky was cloudy outside. Jesse clocked off before dark, and the drizzle started to fall. He reminisced about his first day with Hokuto and recalled how he forecast the weather. He didn’t remember when the rain was falling, but he remembered walking through wet paths after taking Hokuto shopping. With the Santa hat on Hokuto’s head, the white ball jiggled while he tiptoed to avoid the wallows.
Jesse stopped over the street he went with Hokuto. He told his bot driver to take a detour without him and wait for him for 30 minutes in front of the station.
The barking and meowing sounds were heard. Jesse took a peek at the pet shop he went to with Hokuto, and the staff from the other day greeted him.
“Good afternoon, sir,” she greeted. “Thank you for the other day,”
“It’s not me,” Jesse said, shaking his head.
“You’re by yourself today?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “Where’s the kitten from the other day?”
“She’s okay now. We still gave her a vitamin, but she is already back in her cage,”
“I see,” Jesse hummed. “Can I take that one home?”
“Ye,-yeah, but I’d suggest the other healthier kitten for you,”
“No, that one’s good,” Jesse said. “It’s not about a kitten. It’s about the kitten,”
“Then I’ll prepare her for you,” the staff replied.
Jesse couldn’t help but impulsively take the white munchkin cat home. He wanted to have a cat for a while but knocked it off since no one could take care of it. The time he spent at his office might have made the cat turn down, and he was worried that it got sick and die on his hand. The attention Hokuto paid to the kitten reminded Jesse of his wish. If he had it now, he would have nothing to be worried about anymore. Someone would take care of her, and he can also see how well Hokuto works with another creature. Not to mention that the one he chose had already caught Hokuto’s attention. Hokuto might also be happy about this. Everybody happy.
Hokuto’s smile is already shining in his mind. Who knows what made him think Hokuto would be happy to receive a cat he saved the other day?
After Jesse paid all the fees and bought her needs, he walked out with a big pet carrier and food in both hands. He was walking to the station front to meet his car.
Vrooom…
The sound of a car engine entering the house made Hokuto pause for a while. He was wondering who was coming since it was still earlier than what time Jesse usually comes home.
“I’m home,” Jesse greeted.
“You’re early,” from the kitchen, Hokuto rattled to the man and caught his attention to what the man brought. “What’s that?”
“Look, Hokuto!” Jesse put down his belongings and put the little one out of the cage. The small legs made moves like she was panicking until Jesse grabbed her in a stable position. “Isn’t she cute?”
“Is that the one who needed medicine the other day?”
“She still needs vitamins, but I think you’d love her,”
“Aren't living creatures not supposed to be traded?” Hokuto's disappointed face shocked Jesse. He didn’t expect that Hokuto would seem sad about that.
Hokuto’s disappointment is because he didn’t detect any lies when Jesse explained to him how the pet shop works, but he didn’t expect that the change of heart could come at any time unexpectedly. For him, once he got the input, that’s what he got to follow.
“I,-I got her from the shelter,” Jesse lied.
“Why are you lying?”
“What? I’m not,” Jesse denied.
“Your pulse rate is showing me that you’re lying. Your bank account was withdrawn in the amount of money, and she is the one I was holding the other day, right?”
“Well, I was about to take one from the shelter, but I don’t know if you’d like them.” Jesse tried to butter up his lies. “Besides, isn’t it safer if we get them from a pet shop?”
“Why don't you just tell me why you bought her?”
Jesse silenced. Hokuto’s lying detector and proof finder are working miraculously well. If only he were a machine-formed robot, Jesse would probably just shut them up and take notes. But since it’s Hokuto, there’s a feeling of guilt he has after lying and the urge to make up to him.
“I’m sorry. I saw you take care of this little one the other day, and I was so impressed by it,” Jesse whispered. “Well, that’s an excuse. The truth is, I’ve always wanted to have a cat, but I don’t know if I can take good care of it. Then I saw you give your attention to this kitten, and I thought maybe it’s time for it, and she must be the one. And I thought you might be happy about it,"
“.....,”
“Shit! You’re a robot! Why do I care so much about your happiness,” Jesse clicked his tongue. He just realized Hokuto couldn’t decide what makes him happy.
“Your happiness is my happiness, Jesse." Hokuto drew nearer to the man and took the kitten from his hand. “You bought this for me?”
“I mean, she needs a family,” Jesse answered.
“Well she got a family then,” Hokuto embraced the kitten to the sky playfully. She’s meowing lovely and purring. “Hi, little girl. I’m Hokuto, your family,”
“Hokuto…,”
“My system is refreshing inside. Weird,” Hokuto frowned. “....It’s just being updated not long ago,”
“What? You mean you feel butterflies?” Jesse giggled.
“Butterflies?”
“Yeah. In human form, when we feel excited, there’s a minus ion that could regenerate our cells and our mood. For you, maybe it’s your system being refreshed. It’s your butterflies,”
“So I’m excited right now? Like is this how you feel when I put so much thought into you and I served you well?”
“....Maybe?”
“So it’s the butterflies,” Hokuto hummed. “Thank you, Jesse,”
Hokuto suddenly caressed Jesse’s chin and took a peck at his lips.
“Hokuto, what are you doing?”
“Showing my love to you,” he simply replied. “You said I couldn’t show it publicly. There’s only the two of us here,”
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Jesse was awakened by the sound of a closed door. Everything was so quiet. All that he could hear was his digital bonfire and the other electricities. He got up from his place, staring hazily into nowhere, and walked to his system room. Inside there, Hokuto was closing his eyes. The LED light below him was red. It’s a sign that Hokuto is charging, and he’s not even half full. He’s technically asleep.
It's been half a week since he started living with Hokuto. All the joy and sparks Jesse felt still felt like a dream. It’s like riding a new journey, opening up a new chapter, and taking a continuous holiday. Every day, he stared at Hokuto amazingly. He couldn’t believe that he actually made his craziest dream come true. Like all technologies, he didn’t expect much. He designed what he wanted to create; he put his needs into that system, but he still had to adapt to the technology. There’s no warmth touching him. But now, the technology itself adapts to him. It gives him warmth, touch, attention, and care.
Hokuto’s lack inspires Jesse to grow more. Combining with Hokuto’s humanity inside him, the technology is no longer heartless. Maybe Hokuto is warmer than humans themselves. He is a revolution. And Jesse is the revolutionary.
“Meow,”
“ Sweetie Pie ,”
Sweetie Pie, their newly adopted kitten, is purring and facing her butt to Hokuto’s leg. She asked for some attention, but Hokuto did nothing but close his eyes.
“ Purrrr, ”
“He’s asleep,”
“Meow,"
“I know. He’s lovely, right? But he needs to go to sleep. And so do you. Let’s go,”
Sweetie Pie even brought her attention to Hokuto. He’s not just a machine. Even Sweetie Pie doesn't understand if he’s a robot. Jesse ended up going back to Hokuto and caressing the kitten to go to bed with him.
“Good morning, Jesse,”
Morning came. As usual, Hokuto woke Jesse up and pulled all the curtains to let the sunshine in. “ Sweetie pie , come on! Your breakfast is ready,”
Beside Jesse’s pillow, Sweetie Pie is yawning comfortably.
“Good morning, Sweetie Pie,” Jesse greeted. She licked Jesse’s finger before following Hokuto to the kitchen. Her affection for Hokuto is bigger than that of Jesse. Like a long-lost couple, Sweetie Pie kept meowing, like she was wondering why Hokuto didn’t pay attention to her last night.
“Do you want me to hold you?” Hokuto asked, and Sweetie Pie laid down and showed her belly.
“Hey! You’re not doing that to me!” Jesse pouted, jealous of how Sweetie Pie treated him differently. “Hokuto, you’re coming with me to my office. Don’t forget to feed her enough before going,”
“ Roger, ”
Today is the first time Jesse brought Hokuto back to the office after their first encounter, and Hokuto was freshly out of the box. He’s not that empty, as he learned everything Jesse needed, and now he’s mastering affection. He’s still not perfect, as he has a lot of questions to ask, but on the bright side, it makes him look human and makes it safe to keep him with kids.
“Everyone, this is Hokuto. You met him several days ago. But it’s the decent version of him,” Jesse joked. “This is Juri, who brought you here. And this is Shintaro, your doctor ,”
“Nice to meet you again,” Hokuto greeted. He bowed lightly, like what he learned from his system.
“We heard a lot about you, Hokuto. How’s your day with Jesse? Is he treating you nicely?” Juri joked.
“He’s been a very amazing partner. We had a lot of fun together,” Hokuto deadly praised Jesse for being a good partner for him.
“Let’s take a look at you first,” Shintaro showed his lab and allowed Hokuto to go along with him.
In Shintaro’s lab, Hokuto leaned on a glass table where Shintaro could examine the program inside Hokuto’s body. The magnet in his back connected to the table so that he synced instantly and charged.
The complicated codes were seen as Shintaro examined Hokuto from the date he was taken to Jesse’s home. As Hokuto was synced to another system, Shintaro cast Hokuto’s memory on a big screen and analyzed what he captured in these four days.
Hokuto seemed to capture a lot of things since there were a lot of notes taken in his memory. There were also memories about how he caught Sweetie Pie in a cold and how his body reacted when animals and children came near him. Juri, Jesse, and Shintaro are now literally looking at Hokuto’s point of view.
“ Jesse, why are they holding hands while waiting? Is one of them gonna run if they let them go? ”
“ They are partners ,”
“ We’re partners. Why aren't we holding hands? ”
“Was he really asking you this?” Shintaro giggled and threw his eyes on blushed Jesse.
“Did I look like I made them up?”
“ I heard your heartbeat race so fast. You seemed nervous, so I sang for you to help you relax ,”
“You're even nervous being around him,” Shintaro laughed louder. Jesse clicked his tongue; he still couldn’t hide his shyness, and he couldn’t deny it since it was all written in Hokuto’s eyes. Jesse’s heartbeat, Jesse’s emotions, Jesse’s body temperature, and a lot more.
“ Jesse, why did the girl touch her lips to the man’s face? ”
“ It’s how they show their love ,”
“ Like this? ”
Shintaro and Juri shouted to each other as if they’d seen a goal in a soccer game. It was more intense than a drama. They could see how Jesse reacted to every one of Hokuto’s responses. The euphoria didn’t last long since Jesse asked them to take notes on every lack of Hokuto’s responses.
As the vision of a life partner is to be everyone’s partner, they can’t just release a human-form robot in the empty memory of humanity. They could leave it like that if they are a bot in kids' form. But since there’s a possibility that the bot is for protecting the children, they have to fill the robot with decent information, humanity, and protection, including the information that they might share with children.
“Let’s manage the affection response more platonically,” Jesse uttered, recognizing that Hokuto’s affection is directed toward sexual attractiveness. “And add some manners so they could teach children what to do,”
“ Roger ,”
“And add some information about love bombing, fake love, unseen harassment, and some adult content for protection,”
“Adult contents for protection?”
“Play the memory of his day 2. He said he watched something about a couple kissing stuff and asked me about that,” Jesse commanded. “The robot should know their talking partner’s age range before explaining something about adult content. If it’s underage kids, they should explain it gracefully,”
Shintaro searched for Hokuto’s day 2 memory. There was a long memory of Hokuto watching something while Jesse was away. His searching history was also filled with the word kiss and love. Apparently, the bot would find its information automatically, as he got shallow information about something. Since the bot has no filter for shallow information, Hokuto took all the information with keywords included, including the explicit stuff.
“Also, I think it would be great if we added another radar function so they could track pets, children, and seniors under their watch. Activate the body heat radar, face recognizer, and specific movement recognizer so they can tell by their master’s moving habit,”
“....,”
“Strengthen their information system, but put filters on them. Make them sync with some CCTV if they’re going somewhere so they can be all eyes on them. Is there anything crucial left?”
“Is that something legal to sync with CCTV?”
“I’ll contact Kochi about helping me with security stuff,” Jesse said.
Hokuto got up from the examination table as Shintaro had finished scanning all the information from his body. He saw how Jesse was putting all his head and heart into his project and upgrading the function for the new version of the bot.
Hokuto heard all the words Jesse said, but he didn’t understand all of them. Love bombing? Fake love? Unseen harassment? He didn’t even get the picture of how the scene happened because it was too complicated, and he needed a proper simulation to get it right. He couldn’t exactly detect Jesse’s presence if Hokuto was busy doing something, and he even asked things like a kid, not someone who describes things to a kid. He felt like he was just as empty as a kid's brain, trapped in a grown-up body. He might spill the wrong information to the wrong talking partner because he can’t put filters in, even though he knows his talking partner's age range.
Hokuto could just sit and watch over Jesse from afar, going back to his main function, sitting tight when there’s no order, and his partner’s happiness is his happiness.
“Jesse, it’s dinner time,” Hokuto called from the back, recognizing that Jesse’s body needs supper. It was already 7.30 PM, and Jesse seemed to not realize that.
“I can do it later,”
“But if you do it later, your diet will be ruined,”
“I’m using my brain, so nothing will be ruined,”
“That doesn’t go like that,”
“I said I can’t! Okay?” Jesse barked, and the room became silent. The high wavelength that came through Hokuto’s ear made him noiseless. He promptly seems so unalive that everyone can see there’s no reflection in his eyes. Just an empty sight looking far away like a doll.
“Hokuto, why don’t you buy him something for supper? He might be hungry after he’s finished,” Shintaro drew nearer to the soundless bot and passed him an amount of money. Hokuto stared at the money emptily, not knowing what was the right thing to do since Shintaro was not an authorized user for him. “Didn’t you tell me that it’s not good for Jesse to eat late? Jesse would be happy if there’s a meal after working hard,”
As Shintaro mentioned Jesse as if it were a necessity, Hokuto’s eyes sparked. He looked like he was being reset and refreshed. With spirit coming back to his body, Hokuto took the money and grabbed some meals for the three of them.
When Hokuto left the examination table, Shintaro’s tab blinked. Hokuto’s code suddenly turned into corrupted files. The warning caught Shintaro’s attention and made him promptly analyze the problem. It seems like Jesse’s reaction affected Hokuto’s function. Every unwilled, high-pitched voice Jesse threw at Hokuto crashed some function in Hokuto’s system. The function was forced to stop and became dysfunctional.
“I’m back,” Hokuto went back after around 20 minutes. He brought three sandwiches from the nearest shop to the company. “This is your meal, Shintaro. This is for Juri,”
“You bought that for me too?” Shintaro moved. He didn’t expect to get the meals from Hokuto since he’s not even an authorized user for him.
“Jesse always takes good care of me and thinks about what makes me happy. You helped Jesse so much, and I believe Jesse would be sad if you weren't taking good care of yourself. So I think Jesse would be happy if I could take good care of you,”
“I see,” Shintaro laughed bitterly. “You’re really into Jesse, huh?”
“Jesse is an amazing partner,” he highly praised him.
Shintaro’s tab dazzled. The screen suddenly worked on something as he could hear his gadget’s engine sound. The corrupted part was suddenly submerged with other complicated codes and made into a new function. It seems like Jesse’s negative shout turned off one of Hokuto’s sides, but the system automatically developed, growing a sense of consideration.
“Hokuto, you’re really amazing,” Shintaro was blown away.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
The night became late. Jesse seemed to accomplish his target for today, and he finally lost his focus for the rest of the day. He wolved out the supper that Hokuto brought and looked for the bot to come home with him.
The city lights along the way were so beautiful, but Jesse’s car was so serene. Jesse is still immersing himself in his later invention. He has to show Taiga the best technology ever, so the man can stop looking down on him.
As they arrived at the gate, Hokuto used his sensor from the car to open the gate. The car went in, and Hokuto locked the automatic gate before turning off the house alarm.
The weather was so cold. Without being asked, Hokuto turned on the heater with a digital fireplace and prepared the bed for Jesse.
It was so smooth, but Jesse sensed there was something wrong with Hokuto.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Jesse came near Hokuto as the guy turned on the kitchen’s light while the supper was supposed to end. He opened a little refrigerator under the pantry table and took a cold beer from inside.
“Preparing New Year’s dishes,” Hokuto said. He didn’t ask more, and it made Jesse more curious.
“You do? You know what to prepare?”
“Of course. There are so many references I could get from my system. You don’t have to worry,”
“I see,” Jesse sighed, feeling he had failed to break the ice. “What if I say I want something that’s not on your data?”
Hokuto stopped. Jesse is right. After all the references he got, he still cannot predict humans' sudden changes of heart. Hokuto’s sudden pause caught Jesse’s attention. He should’ve known that Hokuto is a robot, but somehow he sensed that somewhere deep inside the bot was drowning.
“I’m kidding. Please surprise me,” Jesse giggled. His tease made Hokuto dumbfounded. Hokuto could just tell if that was a lie if he looked at Jesse through his eyes and analyzed the man’s emotions, but he didn't do it. Hokuto was so distracted by how he could make himself useful. “Did you have fun today, Hokuto?”
“Did you, Jesse?” Hokuto returned the question.
“Well, I guess so,” Jesse said uncertainly. “I can’t wait for tomorrow to build the new bot version,”
“I bet you are. You found what I’m lacking,” Hokuto scoffed. His words were supposed to be as it is, but the feely Jesse could just catch that’s the point of all this awkwardness.
“What’s happening here?”
“Nothing. I can see you being so busy with your invention,” Hokuto said. “So it would be better for me to not be your burden anymore and make myself useful here before you replace me with the new one,”
Hokuto was meant to say the facts, but the more he said about himself, the more he felt down in the dumps.
“What do you mean?” Jesse stopped Hokuto from moving by getting in Hokuto's way. The bot seemed to like avoiding him and keep moving, but Jesse prevented him.
“Well, since I’m not a perfect bot, I can see you so happy that you can get your new version of me that is capable of doing anything I can’t do,” Hokuto uttered. “But since they haven’t even been born yet, it is still my job to take care of you, so please bear with me and my old operating system,”
Hokuto pushed Jesse away from him. He tried to get back on his schedule—preparing New Year’s dishes—while being as effective as he could.
“Why are you so mad about that? Did you think that I’m gonna replace you with the new bot?”
“What is mad? I’m a robot. I don’t feel that kind of emotion,”
“The thing that you’re doing now is mad,” Jesse asserted. “You think you’re saying facts, but you’re now being offensive, and you tried to avoid me,”
“I just want to make everything so effective. I’m trying to be a perfect multitasking robot. Just like what you want,”
“Hokuto, Hokuto!” Jesse pulled Hokuto’s wrist. The bot almost dropped a bowl on his hand, but he managed to keep holding it. “Can we talk?”
“Aren’t we talking right now?”
“No. I need you to be present for me. I need you to focus on me,”
“It’s not effective, Jes. Let me take care of you,” Again, Hokuto released himself from Jesse.
The sudden, loud machine sound was suddenly heard. It was so loud that Jesse started to look for that sound. It’s not his refrigerator, not his air conditioner, not his digital bonfire, and not even his television. Jesse started to panic as he heard it so close to him.
Not far from him, Jesse found Hokuto’s nerves jolted like they were glitched. The bot can barely take things properly and bumps his body here and there. Like a shot, Jesse touched Hokuto’s ear back to switch off his system. Hokuto lost his power and passed out in Jesse’s embrace.
Jesse took a glance at his clock. It’s not even Hokuto’s charging time, but he seemed so drained. Hokuto looked like he was pulling his gas to the fullest so he could run as fast as he could, but his capabilities didn't match the right place.
It was like witnessing someone fall down. Jesse got panicked when Hokuto got his first hang. He found Hokuto’s body heated up, but the sound of the machine was gone since he switched it off.
Jesse then caressed Hokuto onto his sofa and took all his equipment from his system room.
Hokuto is lying down like a beautiful doll. His face is sleeping soundly as if nothing has happened before. Jesse put his palm on Hokuto’s forehead to measure the bot’s body temperature and waited until it cooled down before checking on him with his computer.
Click!
As Jesse plugged his cable into Hokuto’s body, the machine sound started to be heard again. This time, it was so smooth that finally everything was back to normal. Just to be sure, Jesse checked Hokuto’s operating system and saw the bugs inside him.
The complicated codes and bugs were seen inside Hokuto’s body. It was completely different from what he saw in his lab. Some bugs are caused by Hokuto's tendency to do too many tasks and observations. Hokuto seemed to try to overpass his own capacity by catching up with the latest technology that Jesse built. He programmed himself to automatically look for the things he didn’t know; he switched his mode to fast charging so he could have time to work; and all the codes written in there have Jesse's name on them.
Jesse's schedule, Jesse's health, Jesse's needs, Jesse's alarm, Jesse's mood...
Jesse was stunned for a while. Seeing what’s inside Hokuto’s body feels like analyzing a human’s body in a way he can clearly understand. The chip inside Hokuto’s head is the bot’s brain. He might be unable to tell what’s written on Hokuto’s face, but he could see what Hokuto was thinking. A cheat code to understand someone’s heart. And what Hokuto is thinking all the time is only Jesse.
Jesse has the option to clear caches or force-stop his system. He can’t reset him, but clearing his caches is not a good idea. All the tabs Hokuto opened in his study showed Jesse how hardworking he was. If Hokuto wakes up and has no books on him, Jesse is afraid that Hokuto will lose himself. One thing he could only do right now is make Hokuto take his time turning off, put him in his charging station, and automatically reboot him as the sun rises.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Peep!
Hokuto opened his eyes as he was fully charged and rebooted automatically by the system Jesse set. The last memory he had was in the kitchen, and now he woke up in his room . Hokuto searched for what happened last night, but his memory was blank right after Jesse touched him. He then stepped out of his station and did his chores as usual.
“Good morning, Jesse. Your breakfast is ready,” Hokuto pulled the curtain and let the sun rays come in. Jesse was still hugging his pillow, sleeping soundly with Sweetie Pie around his neck. As Hokuto got Sweetie Pie from Jesse’s neck, the man opened his eyes.
“Hokuto, you’re up!" Jesse yawned. He got up, scratched his eyes, and sat still on his bed. A warm smile from Jesse boosts Hokuto’s energy. There’s something powerful inside him that makes Hokuto want to get closer to him. “Here, sit next to me,”
“....,”
“You feeling better?” Jesse stared at Hokuto. He sounded so worried about last night. Jesse couldn’t help much because Hokuto was still on trial. He once didn’t even know what to do when the bot overworked. But he followed the basic standard of checking it.
“Everything is back to order,” Hokuto answered.
“What happened to you, actually? Can you tell me about that?”
Sometimes, there’s something magical inside every technology. They worked very well when humans used them, but when they got the latest version of them, sudden errors came out of nowhere. Hokuto seemed to be showing last night. He seemed to be in haste. He talked foolishly and tried to keep up with Jesse’s expectations.
It is indeed Hokuto's job to be Jesse’s caretaker. Hokuto is doing it very well with all the empty memories he has that haven’t been fully used yet. No wonder he asked a lot of things because Jesse built him to be more humane than humans themselves. Hokuto’s software might not be the latest, but he updated himself and created new functions. Functions that make him more humane, and Jesse felt proud of it.
Last night, Hokuto tried to exceed what he was made of. If Jesse was fully thinking Hokuto is a robot, he probably wouldn’t bother about that. But since he treated Hokuto more like a human than a helper, he tried to talk through it.
“Jesse, if you make another version of mine, would you love them as you do to me?” Hokuto’s question bewildered Jesse. The bot keeps waiting for Jesse’s answer, and he seems not to be shaken by the silence.
“Look, I don’t have any intention to replace you with anything,” Jesse said, sharpening his gaze at Hokuto. He didn’t even know why he stared at Hokuto like he meant it when he was supposed to know that Hokuto had no soul. He touched Hokuto’s hand and gripped it lovingly.
“Why? Isn’t the latest version giving you more advantage?”
“Yeah, but it’s because I gotta show Kyomoto my perfect bot,”
“So I’m not perfect for you,” Hokuto arbitrarily validated Jesse’s words.
“What? No. That’s not what I mean,” Jesse denied it hastily. “You’re my version one. There won’t be the later if you’re not here,”
“Everybody loves the latest version of everything. They are updated, beautiful, and perfect . No one gives a damn about version one. Even I updated my own system to the latest,”
“Well, I do care about my version one,” Jesse said. “Won’t you be happy when you can be the first of everything? Even if you update your own system to the latest, that means you wanna be the first of everything because you can, right?”
“But why do you make them more perfect than me?”
“Because I have to,” Jesse exclaimed. “I trade them. And to trade them, it should be perfect,”
“So you’re not trading me because I’m not perfect,” Hokuto chimed in.
“That’s now how it works!” Jesse scoffed. He was stupefied by what he faced right now. He opened the new chapter of Hokuto, where the technology finally has the intelligence to say what it feels. “I don’t trade you, because you’re my version one,”
“That means I’m old and outdated,”
“That means I put my tears, sweat, and blood into making you. Of course, I won't trade you with anything,” Jesse cut in. “You see? The latest version doesn’t mean the best. There are people who would do anything to get the original one. They wanna pay high, they spend money to get the only thing in the world, and they fight over it. Now that I have the very first original one, why would I trade you?”
“Don’t you wanna have the best as well?” Jesse can’t think enough about what makes Hokuto keep saying that he would dump him for the latest version.
“I do wanna have the best,” Jesse exclaimed. “You’re my first, and you’re the best. If you’re not here, I won’t have any idea how to develop anything more than this because I have no inspiration to do so,”
“So, if I’m the best, would you trade me as well?”
“No. You’re priceless. Nothing can replace my first,” he added. He cupped Hokuto’s chin and stared at him lovingly. Putting his attention on every part of Hokuto’s face, he found nothing more than perfection.
“.......”
“Hokuto, you have been my dream for years. You have always been on my mind since I built my emperor. I said to myself, one day, I’d create my perfect life partner, and no one could take it from me. You were already the love of my life, even before I met you. The latest version can’t change your presence. And I’d do whatever it takes to make the best of you,”
Reminiscing about how he came up with the idea and how it went until Hokuto was sitting in front of him still feels like a miracle. He was such a dreamer with all the crazy ideas inside his mind that writing them down didn’t feel like they were going to be real. The prototypes he tried before making it into a perfect human body were soulless, and he gradually doubted that he could really make his imagination come true.
He imagined the excitement when he could see his AI-designed face being real, and he could never forget what it felt like when he met Hokuto for the first time. Something blossomed in his heart, and he felt full. It was the start of everything, and he still thinks that Hokuto is his bliss.
“Jesse, why are you crying?”
Jesse didn’t even realize that he didn’t take his time properly to cherish his moment. All the hard work had been paid off. Happiness, relief, and amazement turned into beautiful tears.
“I was wondering how lucky I am to have you,” Jesse smiled.
“You are?” Hokuto tilted his head cutely.
“I just couldn’t stop thinking how much I love you,” he giggled. Shy, but happy to let him know about it.
“You mean you love yourself?”
“Hokuto, please don’t ruin this,” The sweet atmosphere popped when Hojuto’s cluelessness ruined it. He forgot that Hokuto is such a pure-hearted creature who asks a lot of questions.
“But you made me. So if you love me, then you love yourself, who made me—”
“Hokuto! Shut it!!”
Jesse got up from his bed and ruffled Hokuto’s hair playfully.
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