Chapter 3: Too Human for a Machine

After changing into my new clothes, I mumbled to myself as I looked at my reflection.

“It’s too big…”

I had already felt it before putting them on, but the clothes were way too big.

Although it was warm, the sweater left one of my shoulders exposed, and the pants kept slipping down unless I held them up.

The length was excessively long, and I had to fold the cuffs several times.

“It’s too big…”

Without a mirror, I couldn’t even check how odd I must have looked.

In the end, holding up the slipping pants, I left the room.

As soon as I stepped outside, I made eye contact with my owner, who had been waiting for me.

“Look, it’s too big, right?”

I mumbled, holding onto my waist like I was making an excuse, and my owner suddenly burst out laughing.

I couldn’t lift my head in embarrassment as I fidgeted with the hem of my clothes.

Gradually, the sound of my owner’s laughter subsided.

“Really big? Come on, let me see.”

“Ah!”

While I was looking at the folded cuffs, my owner suddenly grabbed my hand that was holding onto the waistband, and I lost grip of the pants.

Before I could even react, they had already fallen all the way to the floor.

“Please, don’t look, owner!”

Startled, I shouted, stumbling over my words.

My owner, amused by my bright red face, laughed even harder.

I quickly lowered my head in embarrassment and hurriedly pulled the pants back up.

“Ah, damn… are all human-bots like this?”

My owner couldn’t stop laughing, chuckling for quite some time.

I stood there, my face burning, unable to lift my head for a while.

In the end, I changed into the thin pajamas I had originally been wearing.

However, I threw a thick coat over it, but it was as large as if I were wrapped in a blanket.

“So cute.”

“It must look weird…”

I felt small and awkward, but my owner patted my head lightly, assuring me it was fine.

In that moment, memories of my previous owner resurfaced.

They used to gently pat my head like this too…

For a moment, it felt like I was transported back to the past.

Smiling softly, I lifted my head slightly.

But the person standing in front of me was not the kind and familiar face of my previous owner, but rather my new owner, still unfamiliar to me.

“If you’re ready, let’s go.”

“Yes.”

I nodded quietly and followed my owner outside.

Once again, we rode in the car, speeding down the road.

It wasn’t long before large buildings began to appear in my line of sight.

It hadn’t been that long since we left the house, but before I knew it, the car had stopped in front of a grand skyscraper.

Just before entering the parking lot, I noticed the name “Spenic” on the building.

“This is…?”

It was a familiar name.

It was the company founded by my previous owner, and the manufacturing company where I was created.

However, it was completely different from the image in my memory.

In my memories, Spenic had been a modest laboratory, but the building before me looked like a huge castle.

What had happened while I was shut down?

A lot had clearly changed over time.

“Why are we here, owner?”

“You’re here for a check-up.”

A check-up? I looked down at myself. My skin was smooth, without a single scratch.

“But I’m perfectly fine.”

“You’ve been powered off for a long time, so something must have malfunctioned somewhere. You’re a robot, after all.”

Nodding at my owner’s words, I agreed.

My body did feel somewhat dull. I had thought it was just because I had just been turned on, but as my owner said, there might really be something wrong somewhere.

As we entered the building, people passing by greeted my owner with a bow.

But my owner just walked past them without saying a word.

I hurriedly followed behind, bowing my head in greeting, like a doll.

My owner walked quickly with long strides.

To keep up with him, I had to move swiftly, and there wasn’t much time to properly look around the changed building.

“Welcome! This is Mr. Thomas’s laboratory.”

When we arrived at the room, the door opened to reveal complete chaos.

Papers and various parts were scattered across the desk, and strangely shaped robots were running around busily.

One of the robots noticed us and greeted us with a cute voice, which matched its round, cute appearance.

Since I’m usually shy, I timidly bowed my head and greeted the robot.

While I was exchanging greetings with the robot, my owner, who had been looking around the lab, suddenly called out loudly.

“Thomas!”

As my owner called out, footsteps could be heard coming from another room connected to the messy one.

There was a rattling sound, and soon, a man appeared.

The round-glassed man seemed to be the owner of the disorganized room.

As soon as the man saw me, his eyes lit up, and he quickly walked over to me.

Then, without warning, he stuck his face close to mine and quickly started speaking.

“You’re here? This is the robot I was talking about earlier. Wow… it really looks like a person. What’s its name?”

“Didi…”

“Didi? Did William name it?”

“No…”

When I said my name, the man’s expression changed strangely.

The man, named Thomas, kept getting closer and observing me, so I panicked and hid behind my owner.

“This one looks even more like a person than the other human bots. Is it the robot the previous chairman kept?”

“Yeah. I brought it from the mansion.”

“Wow, rich people are different. Can I look around for a bit?”

“Go ahead.”

As soon as Thomas received my owner’s permission, he began to inspect me, touching me here and there.

I froze from the sudden touch.

He lifted my arm, tilted my head from side to side, and kept examining me.

He even touched my eyelashes, opened my mouth, and even lifted my clothes, which made me feel more and more embarrassed.

“Master…”

Flustered, I glanced at my owner for help.

“What? Master?”

I called out to my owner, but the answer came from an unexpected place.

Thomas blinked and repeated what I had said, then gave my owner a strange look.

My owner, with his arms crossed, remained silent.

I gave my owner another pleading glance, hoping he would stop Thomas’s hands.

After a while, my owner finally spoke.

“Save the inspection for later. What about the parts?”

“I looked as soon as I got the contact, but most of the parts are too old, so there’s nothing left. We might need to remake everything after checking today.”

“When will it be ready?”

“Um… probably in a week, maybe two weeks.”

“One week.”

“Ugh… Got it.”

It seems like overtime is confirmed for the time being.

Thomas muttered to himself, sighing deeply.

He grumbled as he grabbed my hand and led me further into the room.

My owner followed us.

The room we entered was much tidier than the previous space.

In the center was a large bed-like examination table, and around it were various strange machines.

Some looked so sharp they were intimidating, and others were so grotesque it was hard to look at them.

I started to feel a little scared.

I tightly held Thomas’s hand.

“You can lie down there. Oh, take your clothes off.”

“What?”

I was taken aback by the sudden request to take off my clothes.

In front of my owner…?

I hesitated for a long time, then my owner asked me.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“Ah, no… It’s nothing.”

Since I now served a new owner, I knew I had to listen carefully.

I should do well this time.

She didn’t seem like she would be abandoned.

I clenched my fists and gathered my courage, but as I was about to get on the examination table, the fear still rushed in.

I thought about how I wished my owner would stay with me, and placed my hands on top of my clothes.

Overcoming the discomfort, I slowly took off my outerwear and shirt.

Hesitating, I also lowered my pants.

Could it be… do I need to take everything off?

“Do I need to take off my underwear too…?”

“No. That’s fine. Want to lie down?”

“Yes.”

Relieved, I nodded and lay down on the table.

The cold air touching my bare skin made me shiver.

Thomas started to touch my body, making clicking sounds, and in an instant, my body opened up.

I gasped in surprise, but Thomas didn’t care and started reaching inside, touching various things.

My stomach churned.

Every time Thomas moved his hand, the sensations in my body disappeared and then returned.

At the same time, I felt my previously heavy body starting to feel lighter.

Of course, the sensation of him rummaging through my insides was frightening, but I could bear it because my new owner, who looked so much like my previous one, was next to me.

I kept my eyes locked with my owner and endured the anxiety.

“Mm… The circuits are old; it looks like I need to replace them… Huh? What’s this?”

Thomas continued muttering to himself.

As I heard his voice, full of interest, my anxiety grew even more.

Was it because my body was open?

I could almost hear my heartbeat thundering in my ears.