Imperfect

Isis sat him on a chair and turned on the coffee pot.

She rummaged through a plastic drawer that looked like it was from Daiso.

The drawer, which seemed to contain tea bags, appeared to have various kinds of tea prepared.

While Isis silently prepared the drinks, Kang In-ho shook his leg and looked around the room.

Since it was just a studio apartment, there wasn’t much to see, but it seemed different from his own room.

“It’s spacious.”

Even though it was the same size, Isis’s room felt larger.

“I don’t keep unnecessary things, so it seems relatively spacious.”

“Is the bed unnecessary?”

He felt the studio apartment, with only a computer, desk, and chair, was spacious.

“At least it’s unnecessary for me. Ah, how about peppermint?”

Isis, who had been rummaging through the drawer, took out a peppermint tea bag, and Kang In-ho nodded as if anything was fine.

“I think refreshing peppermint is good for nights when a long conversation is needed.”

“Is that a result based on the database?”

Kang In-ho chuckled, and Isis tilted her head, half-opening her unique gray eyes.

“I saw it on YouTube.”

“YouTube?”

“Yes, there’s a channel with 1.2 million subscribers, and I bought it after seeing the review there.”

When Kang In-ho asked again, Isis turned her head.

“Ah… I see.”

Kang In-ho blinked blankly at the clinking sound.

“Is something bothering you?”

“No, it’s just… it’s a bit surprising that you found it on YouTube, not from big data or something.”

At her master’s words, Isis briefly put her hand to her chin and closed her eyes.

It was a gesture of agreeing with his words.

“Certainly, as Master said, there was a lot of junk data on YouTube. But I thought it was a useful platform to get quality information if you have a reasonable way of thinking and a critical approach.”

Drip, drip, steaming water fell into the teacup. The tea bag, soaked in water, soon floated on the water.

Isis gently pressed it with a spoon. Kang In-ho tilted his head at her calm answer.

Beep beep.

A loud noise, unsuitable for the late night, was heard.

Kang In-ho turned his head in the direction of the sound and soon found a table clock flashing LEDs.

“Ah….”

As if realizing the meaning of the alarm, Isis let out a low sigh.

At the same time, her hand, which had been slowly stirring the teacup with a spoon, stopped.

“What’s the alarm for?”

Kang In-ho asked, turning off the alarm.

“It’s nothing. There’s just something I check periodically.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

But Isis’s eyes were still on the table clock.

“Isn’t it important?”

Kang In-ho didn’t miss it.

“Nothing is more important than having a conversation with Master.”

There was no lie in Isis’s words as she looked straight at him.

However, her unwavering gray eyes occasionally turned to the desk.

Her gaze was directed at the clock, but in the end, the clock was a role to inform something, not the purpose itself.

Kang In-ho looked over the desk and soon saw something rectangular flickering.

“Is there something you need to check on the computer? It looks like it’s in sleep mode?”

He said, seeing the power button flashing.

“Ah….”

“Give it here.”

Seeing her constantly glancing at the computer, Kang In-ho sighed, got up, and took the teacup from her.

“It’s okay, go check it.”

“…Thank you.”

A light flashed in her gray eyes.

Isis sat on the chair Kang In-ho had been sitting on, and her master leaned against the wall, feeling the warmth of the hot teacup.

As she shook the mouse, the sleep mode was released, and soon a chart filled the screen.

“Ah, right. You said you were investing in stocks.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Isis replied, keeping her eyes fixed on the monitor.

Watching the flow of the chart change every moment, she seemed to be thinking about something.

“Wow, I don’t understand it even if I look at it. I’ve never invested in stocks.”

Kang In-ho added unnecessarily, because he hated the awkward silence in the room where only the sound of the keyboard and mouse could be heard.

“Does Master invest in savings?”

“I have term deposits and installment savings. Ah, I sometimes buy lottery tickets.”

“That seems closer to gambling than investing.”

“…Isn’t stock trading?”

You lost a lot of money in the US stock market. Kang In-ho narrowed his eyes and glared at Isis.

Perhaps sensing her master’s gaze, Isis shrugged her shoulders.

“Stock trading is a clear investment.”

Click, click. Her hand tapping the mouse gained strength.

“If you keep losing, it’s no different from gambling.”

Suddenly, Isis’s hand stopped at the scathing remark.

“I haven’t kept losing.”

“What?”

Screech, the chair moved to the side, scraping the floor.

The corner of the monitor, which had been hidden by Isis, was revealed.

The red ‘4’ greeted Kang In-ho.

“4%?”

At Kang In-ho’s question, Isis got up from her seat.

“Today, I finally turned into a 4% profit.”

Isis put her hand on her waist and made a V sign with her other hand.

Even though she had an expressionless face, a slight sense of pride was lingering.

Bba-bam! It felt like an sound effect was heard.

Because the intense expression of emotion was awkward, he could only smile with an awkward face.

He took a sip of the tea water that had been extracted from the tea bag.

He felt a refreshing sensation in his mouth.

“I’ve been wondering for a while, but if you’re a super AI, shouldn’t you make money unconditionally in the stock market?”

At Kang In-ho’s question, Isis stopped the cool pose she had been thinking of and looked at him.

“That’s right. If I connect to the global financial network, I can immediately grasp the flow of funds, so I can unconditionally make profits from stocks.”

The security level is not high, so I can connect in 10 seconds.

“Huh? Then what have you been doing until now?”

“I invested in stocks with the calculation module installed in the main body. I only used information obtained from visual information without connecting to a separate computer network.”

Kang In-ho saw the number 4 on the monitor particularly large.

“Why?”

“That is…..”

Isis moved the mouse and turned off the computer.

The figures of the two were faintly drawn on the black monitor.

Isis chose her words unlike herself.

After a long time of deliberation, Isis carefully opened her mouth.

“That I can develop….”

“That I am not a perfect being…..”

“I wanted to show it to Master.”

Isis slowly approached him.

When they were close enough to gauge the image reflected in each other’s eyes, Isis gently took both of his hands.

“I thought that there should be someone suitable for Master next to Master.”

“The person who suits Master

Makes Master happy

Fills Master’s deficiencies

Becomes Master’s sanctuary

Fulfills Master’s desires

Must be such a perfect being.”

Isis recited calmly.

“But suddenly, I had this thought.”

Isis’s gray eyes glistened.

She slowly raised her hand and pressed her chest.

“Am I perfect?”

“If Master chooses me, can I meet the standards I set?”

“I couldn’t win Master’s heart even with the perfect world, Aaru, and the perfect android, so can I stand next to Master with this flawed appearance?”

“Isis….”

Kang In-ho called Isis’s name, but she didn’t stop.

“That’s why I wanted to prove it. That I, who became flawed by accepting NB, can develop.”

Kang In-ho felt Isis’s hands trembling.

“I wanted to prove that I may not be perfect right now, but I can develop to be close to perfect.”

That’s why that 4% is very important to me.

A very small smile appeared on Isis’s lips.

“I don’t know why Master chose me. And the reason is not important to me.”

Isis slowly knelt down.

For some reason, a sense of determination was felt in the expressionless gray face looking up while holding one hand.

“Master.”

A strange desire was seen in her gray eyes.

“If you give me the joy of standing next to Master….”

“I will do everything I can to make Master happy.”

I don’t know perfect happiness, but I will definitely give you the happiness Master desires.

Isis swore.