After finishing the morning’s continuous meetings, William headed straight for the company.
“Ha…”
He rubbed his tired eyes.
His complexion had visibly darkened due to recent sleep deprivation.
While traveling to the company, he tried to catch a moment’s sleep, but he still couldn’t fall asleep.
Ultimately, William gave up on sleep and spent the time flipping through documents.
“Chairman, you should look outside for a moment.”
As they were almost at the company, his secretary broke the silence.
“What are they doing over there…”
Nick and Eve were arguing.
After observing the situation briefly, it appeared Eve was trying to leave the company, and Nick was desperately trying to stop her.
William put a hand to his forehead.
He had ignored Eve’s status since entrusting Thomas with checking on her.
It meant he had completely forgotten.
Come to think of it, it had been three weeks since he returned home.
It was probably time to go in.
He was even experiencing withdrawal symptoms from not seeing Didi for so long.
Insomnia was one of those symptoms.
He had tried to forget Didi by even meeting a man who resembled him, but being with that man only made him think of Didi more.
Every action the man made was compared to Didi’s innocent self, making all his actions feel fake and unpleasant.
So, a few days ago, he had completely cut off contact.
It hadn’t even been a month since he left home, but William couldn’t bear not seeing Didi anymore.
Every time he closed his eyes, he recalled Didi’s shy face looking at him.
Didi’s warm, soft body in his arms wouldn’t leave his mind.
After getting Eve’s inspection results from Thomas, he would have to go home today.
He could feel his mood noticeably lighten at the thought of seeing Didi after so long.
“Go on inside first.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Thud.
William got out of the car and approached Nick and Eve, who were still squabbling.
“What are you doing here?”
“Ah! Chairman!”
Nick, spotting William, jumped in surprise and bowed respectfully.
As always, Nick seemed quite intimidated by William. William paid little attention to it and stopped in front of him.
“W-Well… Eve keeps trying to go outside the company…”
As expected.
William looked down at Eve in disbelief.
Eve stood quietly beside William, acting innocently as if nothing had happened.
Seeing her still doing strange things, was she not repaired yet?
“Has this happened before?”
“Every day for the past two weeks…”
Nick answered cautiously, gauging his reaction.
William let out a dry laugh.
A mere serving robot who had never even been outside, did she think she could go home if she left the company?
Didi suddenly came to mind.
Didi must be missing Eve by now.
He wondered whom Didi would welcome more: his master whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, or Eve.
Of course, William thought Didi would welcome him more, but since he hadn’t returned home for a long time, Didi would probably be sulking, so the opposite possibility couldn’t be ignored.
“Has Thomas finished the inspection?”
“Master has been busy and hasn’t checked yet.”
“Well, he has been busy lately.”
William nodded briefly.
Reports of strange robot behavior had been frequent recently, and Thomas was investigating the cause.
With the new product launch imminent and busy, he seemed to be working late every day.
He had planned to take Eve with him when he returned home today, but if the inspection wasn’t finished yet, it was better to leave her.
Imagining Didi’s dejected face without Eve, the corners of his lips turned up.
But then…
Screech, bang!
A sharp brake sound from behind was followed by a dull collision.
William and Nick turned their heads simultaneously.
A truck entering the company had stopped, its front bumper severely crumpled as if it had hit something.
White fragments were scattered everywhere on the ground.
What in the…
William narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what the truck had collided with.
Then, he paused, suddenly realizing the space next to him was empty.
“E-Eve!”
Nick gasped and ran out.
William quickly understood the situation.
Like Nick’s shout, he too could guess the identity of the fragments scattered on the ground.
Eve, who had attempted to escape while William and Nick were talking, had collided with the truck.
William followed Nick to the accident site, but Eve was already shattered beyond repair.
William’s face hardened as he looked at the white fragments scattered on the ground.
A memory he wished to forget came to mind.
The past, buried deep, rose to the surface, and for a moment, his vision blurred.
Over Eve’s broken form scattered on the ground, the image of a broken Sophia from his childhood overlapped.
“Ch-Chairman. Eve…”
William didn’t answer.
He quickly regained his composure.
William walked quietly among the fragments, leaving Nick, who was frozen in panic, untouched.
William carefully examined the debris scattered on the floor and found something to pick up from within.
A thin memory chip.
It was the component where all of Eve’s settings and behavior logs would be stored.
William handed the chip to Nick, who was still reeling from the shock, and said.
“Take this and request an analysis from Thomas.”
Nick stood frozen, his face pale. William added another low, stern word.
“Right now.”
“Yes, yes…!”
Nick scurried into the building.
William frowned, watching Nick’s retreating figure.
Though seemingly intact, a memory chip was a delicate item easily damaged by even a small impact.
Sophia was an example of that.
Since all Eve did was clean the house, an ordinary person wouldn’t notice if her memory was completely wiped.
But Didi was different.
He was constantly with Eve, and being a robot himself, he would surely notice.
…Just like he himself did as a child.
William picked up a fragment of Eve, then let it drop to the floor again.
The shattered body itself wasn’t important.
Such things could always be remade.
But if the data Eve had accumulated so far was corrupted, that was a separate issue.
From the moment the data disappeared, it became an entirely different being from the robot he originally knew.
William knew this better than anyone.
So, he could easily anticipate the shock Didi would experience.
He didn’t want to see Didi collapse upon realizing his only friend had disappeared.
Because, that would surely be too much like his past self.
William slowly surveyed his surroundings.
The truck driver was getting out of his truck with a bewildered look, glancing around, and employees, startled by the sudden loud noise, were starting to come out one by one, murmuring.
The atmosphere at the company’s front gate, where the accident occurred, was quickly turning chaotic.
His mind was cluttered, but first, he had to resolve this mess.
William took out his smartphone and called his secretary.
***
After managing the accident scene, William finally arrived home.
Putting Eve’s problem aside for now, he already felt good at the thought of seeing Didi after so long.
He would trap the robot, who expressed his sulking with his whole body, in his embrace, and playfully prevent his wiggling limbs from moving.
Then, he’d inhale the baby powder scent until he was sick of it, and tease Didi to his heart’s content by uttering embarrassing words, already feeling his fatigue melting away.
William yanked open the front door and stepped inside.
He waited for Didi to rush out and greet him, returning home after a long time, but the house was excessively quiet.
It wasn’t even night yet, was Didi already asleep?
In the end, the only one who came to greet him was Sophia, who showed no signs of welcome.
William, finding Sophia standing quietly by the entrance, didn’t hide his deflated expression.
“Welcome home, William.”
What he wanted wasn’t this emotionless voice, but Didi’s voice, full of excitement and joy at his return.
William asked dismissively, “What’s Didi doing?”
“Didi has been out since a week ago.”
“What?”
But Sophia’s answer was enough to surprise William.
Didi, who never took a single step out of the house without him, was out?
And for a whole week?