Ch.117Complicated! (2)

#117

“Wait, hold on. Then the spy. At least tell me that bastard’s name.”

[Do you mean the agent who discussed the bombing with me?]

“Yes, quickly!”

[That agent’s name is…]

Rascal, who was watching from the side, pressed the data deletion button on the application again.

[…Error. External signal received.]

“Hey, are you going to keep doing that?!”

[It’s not my fault.]

“Then what is it?”

[Whenever I receive an external signal, the notification TTS activates.]

‘The headquarters is underground and has special shielding functions. Inside the headquarters, only authorized staff and field agents can communicate.’

This meant that the person sending the “external signal” wasn’t outside but within the OSA headquarters.

And they were conveniently sending external signals whenever the robot was about to reveal a name.

Himena looked around, but naturally, no one would identify themselves as the spy, and the mirror only reflected her face and the robot’s.

‘So, the spy is nearby right now?’

Judging by the external signal being sent just as the name was about to be revealed, someone was clearly listening to Himena’s conversation with the robot nearby.

“Agent Libero! Here’s the star-shaped screwdriver!”

An agent flung open the interrogation room door and handed Himena an electric screwdriver.

Taking the screwdriver, Himena focused on opening the distribution panel on the robot’s back rather than worrying about the spy.

When Himena opened the robot’s back, she could see the switch the robot had mentioned among the tangled wires and worn circuit boards.

“Robot, I’ll talk while pressing the switch, so listen carefully.”

[Yes. Please speak.]

Himena touched the red switch twice and said:

“If… you’re forcibly shut down, do we need to activate you separately?”

[After forced shutdown, I will reboot in 5 minutes.]

“And then the data is erased, right?”

[That’s correct.]

Being a robot, its voice output could only be flat and monotone.

While Himena was manipulating the switch to prevent the explosion, she felt somewhat uncomfortable proceeding without properly asking about the robot’s wishes.

“Are you okay with this?”

[What do you mean?]

“I mean, are you okay with all your data being erased? Data erasure means you’ll forget everything, including our conversations.”

[Thank you for your concern.]

“Hey. I’m genuinely worried about you.”

As Himena, who had been touching the switch, tapped the robot’s body firmly, the robot continued outputting its steady voice regardless.

[2 minutes, 13 seconds remaining.]

“I know we’re running out of time. I just need to activate the black switch now.”

‘One, two, three, four….’

As Himena was about to activate the switch for the twenty-sixth time, the robot spoke.

[Agent Libero.]

“What? I might lose count. Keep it brief.”

In response to Himena’s indifferent reaction, the robot hesitated slightly before outputting:

[…Can you remember me?]

“Remember you?”

Himena stopped touching the switch.

[Can you remember me as a robot who tried to help people?]

The robot’s words brought a sudden silence to the room.

‘Forced shutdown means data erasure, right?’

‘This feels a bit…’

‘The robot’s making people worry.’

‘Look at Agent Libero’s expression.’

The agents in the adjacent room had much to say, but they all kept quiet, mindful of the atmosphere and Himena’s solemn expression.

Himena now had just one more switch activation left.

She hadn’t expected the robot to say such things, and it made her feelings complicated.

‘Remember it…?’

It wasn’t a difficult request.

If that’s what the robot wanted, shouldn’t she honor it?

She didn’t know why the robot had developed resentment toward its creator or why it had decided to share most of its secrets with Himena.

Feeling awkward about her curt response earlier, Himena brought her face close to the distribution panel, hiding her embarrassed expression from the agents on the other side of the mirror.

After composing herself a bit, Himena stroked the robot’s body and said:

“…Everyone heard what the robot said. I’ll remember, but all of you should remember too. Understood?”

When Himena looked at the mirror from behind the robot’s back, the agents in the adjacent room started talking.

“It’s not easy to forget something like this.”

“I’ll definitely remember anyway.”

“Liberooo! We’ll remember, so press the switch quickly! It might really explode!”

Hearing the clamor from the adjacent room, Himena smiled lightly and patted the robot’s body gently once more.

“Did you hear that?”

[Yes, I did.]

‘Maybe it’ll feel better knowing that many people will remember it.’

Whether the robot understood Himena’s sentiment or not, it remained silent for a while before outputting a soft voice.

[Agent Libero, there are 30 seconds left. Before that, may I capture your face with my camera?]

“…Your face?”

Assuming the robot wanted to take a picture of her, Himena thought it wouldn’t matter since the data would be erased anyway.

Though slightly embarrassed, Himena approached the front of the robot and gave an awkward smile.

“Did you get it?”

[Thank you for granting my request.]

The robot made a loud noise once and then began counting down as before.

[15 seconds remaining. Forced shutdown is recommended.]

Himena approached the distribution panel and placed her hand on the black switch.

“Haah…”

Even though it was a robot, it was essentially no different from erasing an entire personality.

With a sigh, Himena activated the black switch.

[Forced shutdown command executed. Detonation sequence deactivated.]

-Peeeeeng…

With those words, the robot ceased functioning.

The glass head component no longer operated, and seeing the robot slumped over with no power, Himena closed the distribution panel again.

She stroked the robot’s smooth body and looked across the mirror.

-Is it over?

An elderly voice came through the speaker attached to the interrogation room.

“Yes, Section Chief Steve. It seems to be over.”

-Good work. We’ll hand the robot over to the Science and Technology Department, and we’ll review the compiled testimony together.

Himena stroked the robot’s slumped body and arms once more before leaving the interrogation room.

But something still bothered her.

‘Who was the spy?’

As Himena left the interrogation room with an uneasy feeling, Rascal was experiencing both relief and irritation.

‘If something like this existed, they should have told me earlier! A bomb, for fuck’s sake.’

Rascal, who had thought it would just be a small internal explosion, was appalled to hear that the blast radius was 15 meters.

‘How did they plant a bomb sophisticated enough to evade OSA engineers?’

The favor requested by the man who had promised a grand future had been too easy for Rascal. He had thought the man was practically a sucker, offering large sums of money and desired items in exchange for such a simple favor.

‘I think I’ve stepped into something I shouldn’t have.’

Rascal was somewhat regretful, but it was already too late to turn back.

* * *

After having lunch earlier than usual, Dexter and Judy entered the prison chapel.

“Ah, good boy.”

Dexter awkwardly received Judy’s hand stroking his head.

“Is this really okay? Is this what you want?”

“Yes. You have to do it exactly like this.”

“Well, it’s comfortable for me, but… Aren’t your legs getting numb? My head must be heavy.”

“Oh, it’s not heavy at all.”

Judy sat upright with a bright smile, while Dexter lay with his head on her lap, looking concerned.

“Is this really okay?”

“Yes, it is.”

Seeing Judy’s beaming face, Dexter felt a bit awkward to say anything, so he just continued lying with his head on her lap.

“I said you could tell me what you wanted since we’ve been doing things my way, but I didn’t expect this.”

“This is what I want right now.”

Judy’s hand stroking his head became a bit rougher.

It seemed to convey that he shouldn’t reject her touch or go against her request.

‘Was Judy always like this?’

Dexter felt apologetic, but her skill at applying pressure to prevent him from getting up was impressive.

Although Dexter and Judy had known each other for a few months, this was the first time they had such close physical contact outside of exercise.

For Judy, this was her expressing her desires to Dexter with great courage.

“I’ve always wanted to do this.”

“You mean laying a man on your lap and stroking his head? Seems like a rather precocious fantasy.”

“No! It’s not something I’ve dreamed of since I was that young.”

Judy played with Dexter’s earlobe as she spoke.

“But there aren’t many chances to stroke a man taller than me, you know?”

“That’s… true.”

Dexter couldn’t understand why he was being so compliant with Judy today.

‘Jessie, Himena, Emily…’

He was truly comfortable with those three.

He could joke around freely, tease them to the point of almost making them angry, and kisses were essentially an indispensable expression of affection in daily life.

But with Judy, there was something subtly embarrassing about it.

‘Why is that?’

Dexter, who had closed his eyes briefly, opened them again and looked up at Judy’s face directly above him.

She was still smiling brightly, stroking his head as if petting a child.

A feeling he had experienced at least once before.

‘Ah… I get it now.’

Nodding to himself about the image Judy projected, Dexter closed his eyes again and thought:

‘She’s like a mother.’

While Jessie, Himena, and Emily had images closer to friends or younger sisters of similar age, Judy somehow had a motherly image.

‘I felt something like this when I went to Judy’s house before too.’

In Dexter’s mind, he began to imagine things Judy might do at home.

Sitting in a rocking chair by the fireplace, knitting a scarf or sweater, or wearing an apron and taking something like a gratin out of the oven.

‘She looks young, but this actually suits Judy the best.’

Dexter thought that her desire to give him a lap pillow stemmed from her nurturing personality, wanting to take care of someone like a mother.

‘Especially recently, she even told me outright that she envied me for having many friends.’

She wanted to lean on Dexter, with whom she had the deepest relationship, whether physical or emotional.

With that thought, Dexter decided to just let Judy do as she wished.

‘It’s not like I mind either…’

If Judy found happiness in taking care of others, shouldn’t he allow her to take care of him too?

Dexter decided to just stay still.

‘No need to resist.’

As he nuzzled Judy’s thigh to get more comfortable, her face turned slightly red.

It was an afternoon where both Judy and Dexter were content.