William moved to the living room with Didi.
After he gave him the contact information, Didi excitedly dialed the number right in front of William.
William sat on the sofa, silently watching as Didi, with a pounding heart, pressed the call button.
“Aah, Enoch! Hello!”
As soon as the other party answered, Didi greeted them in a bright voice, as if she had been waiting for this moment.
“It’s Didi, do you remember me?”
A muffled male voice could be heard from the receiver.
William tried to listen in, but since he was sitting just one table away from Didi, he couldn’t make out a single word of their conversation.
***
It felt excessively unfamiliar.
“I heard you said you wanted to meet me… When should I come?”
After exchanging greetings for a while, Didi cautiously asked his question.
Upon hearing the response over the phone, he quietly nodded.
“Yes, I’ll ask my master and contact you again.”
Finishing the call, Didi looked at William with a rare, flushed face.
“Master, they said we can come right now!”
“Right now?”
“So, um, could you possibly take me to that house…? I only stayed there briefly because I got lost, so I don’t know the address….”
William fell silent, staring at Didi.
Didi, who had asked with a cheerful expression, seemed to remember he had been avoiding William, and as their eyes met, his voice gradually faded.
Didi glanced at him nervously and spoke again.
“Master, you must be busy, so you only need to drop me off….”
“What?”
At those words, William’s expression hardened instantly.
How could he expect him to leave Didi alone in a stranger’s house?
Especially when Didi seemed so happy to meet this person—there was no way he could do that.
“No. I can’t let you go alone.”
“Huh? Then…”
“Get ready and come down. I need to meet the owner of that house myself.”
William was determined to follow.
If the owner of that house seemed to have any strange intentions toward Didi, he was ready to take him away immediately.
After a short wait, Didi appeared downstairs, having changed him clothes.
Now that summer had passed and the weather was turning chilly, Didi’s clothes had gotten noticeably thicker.
William paused as he looked at his outfit.
A thick cotton shirt and beige pants.
Clothes he had picked out for him once before.
Back then, he used to wear nothing but drab, mismatched clothes, so he had to help him choose every piece.
But now, he could pick for himself just fine.
And it wasn’t just about clothes.
Didi no longer needed William’s help at all.
Yes.
William had no choice but to admit it.
Didi was no longer someone who needed his touch.
If Didi, who had now perfectly adapted to this new world, ever decided to leave, this time he might disappear forever.
“…Let’s go.”
With Sophia and Eve seeing them off, William stepped out the front door with Didi.
Once in the driver’s seat, he noticed Didi gazing out the window, full of anticipation.
“Are you that excited?”
“Yes. I never thought I’d get to see Enoch again.”
Hearing Didi call another man’s name so familiarly right in front of him, William pursed his lips in displeasure.
It already bothered him that the other party was a Humanbot, and the friendly way he addressed him was even more grating.
All the way to their destination, Didi’s face was filled with excitement.
He seemed genuinely happy just to be going to meet this person.
And yet, he couldn’t even look William in the face, always flustered and eager to run away whenever their eyes met.
As the contrasting moods lingered between them, the car finally arrived in front of a grand mansion.
William got out and looked around.
It was far from the city, and the only sound was the rustling of leaves in the wind.
The strangely quiet atmosphere made him uneasy.
“Master, I’ll knock now.”
As William watched Didi, who was about to knock on the front door with a beaming face, he silently leaned in.
Then, he bit his neck hard.
Not satisfied with just that, he chewed gently and then sucked strongly.
“Ugh!”
Startled by the throbbing pain, Didi quickly pushed him away.
William let himself be pushed back, and saw Didi staring at him with wide, confused eyes.
“Master, what are you…?”
“It’s fine. Let’s go in.”
Only after seeing the vivid red mark left on Didi’s neck did William finally look satisfied.
He knocked on the door in Didi’s place, who was frozen in shock.
After a short wait, a familiar face appeared as the door opened.
“Ah, you’ve arrived.”
“Enoch, it’s been a while.”
It was the Humanbot who had once told them of Didi’s whereabouts.
William checked around the Humanbot as he greeted Didi, but still couldn’t see the owner of the house.
“Would you like to come in? My master is inside.”
Enoch opened the door wider and guided them in.
William followed with Didi into the mansion.
Finally, he would get to meet the owner of this house.
Just what kind of remarkable person was it that even seeing their face was so difficult?
But when William reached the parlor, he was greeted by a child’s bright voice.
“Didi!”
It was a little girl, so small she couldn’t even wrap her arms around Didi’s waist.
Didi smiled radiantly and hugged the girl as she toddled over.
Seeing this, William was dumbfounded.
Damn, had he really let his imagination run wild and gotten jealous over a mere child?
A hollow laugh escaped him.
It seemed Enoch, the Humanbot, was nothing more than a nanny to this little girl.
William realized he had been completely off the mark.
Chuckling to himself, William slumped into a nearby chair and watched Didi laughing with the child.
Here, Didi was genuinely smiling.
Just like he used to, back when he was by his side.
Tapping the table with his finger, William recalled something Didi had said a few days ago.
‘Was it that being a robot was the problem…’
Now, the fact that Didi was a robot no longer mattered to William, but it seemed to still matter to Didi.
No doubt, William’s constant reminders in the past that he was a robot had left a mark on him.
He hadn’t known things would turn out like this.
Looking back, he was filled with regret, but that didn’t mean he was ready to give up on Didi now.
With his heart not yet fully settled, this was his chance.
He needed a plan to win Didi back.
***
“I’ll bring out the tea, then.”
While I was exchanging greetings with Amy after such a long time, I saw Enoch heading toward the kitchen.
I jumped up from my seat to follow him.
“I’ll help too!”
I turned to let my master know I’d be right back, but he was sitting in his chair, lost in deep thought.
Not wanting to disturb him, I quietly closed my mouth and followed Enoch to the kitchen.
As we prepared the tea and waited for the water to boil, Enoch spoke to me.
“Didi, have you been well?”
“Yes, and you and Amy?”
“I’ve been well. My master has been whining every day, saying she misses you.”
Imagining Amy looking for me made me smile unconsciously.
Enoch continued, a little cautiously.
“Didi, did you hear that I contacted your master first?”
“Yes… I heard.”
“You said before that you left home because you were no longer needed by your master… But from what I saw, your master was desperately searching for you. I thought maybe there had been some misunderstanding between you two, so I reached out.”
I lowered my gaze in silence.
Enoch watched me for a moment, then apologized with genuine sincerity in his voice.
“I’m sorry if I meddled where I shouldn’t have.”
“No, it’s okay.”
I shook my head slightly.
I knew he had acted for my sake, so I couldn’t blame him.
“Did you have a good talk with your master?”
“Well…”
I mumbled evasively.
There had been plenty of chances to talk, but I had always avoided my master, never giving us a chance for a real conversation…
I couldn’t bring myself to admit that.