The car ride home was enveloped in a deep silence.
Not a single word passed between my master and me.
The heavy silence, so thick that even breathing was barely audible, tightened around my throat.
I wondered what had happened to the human bot who was sold off to that strange man.
Was the serving robot, kicked mercilessly, still lying on the cold floor?
The blurred lights outside the window quickly streaked past.
The closer we got to home, the deeper the gloom pressing down on me grew.
The helplessness of only being able to watch as the human bot asked for help.
The guilt of having to turn away from the serving robot collapsed on the cold floor.
Those feelings tangled together.
I glanced sideways at my master, quietly seated in the driver’s seat.
His face, scrunched up tightly, looked more unpleasant than ever before.
Maybe it was because I disobeyed his strict orders to stay put and instead shielded the serving robot.
At this rate…
I couldn’t shake off the ominous feeling.
If my master deemed me useless, he might rummage through my memories and sell me off.
“We’ve arrived. Get out.”
“Yes, Master…”
Lost in uneasy thoughts, it seemed we had already reached home.
Just as I nodded and was about to get out of the car, a sharp pain stabbed my heel.
“Ah…”
I remembered the sting in my foot from earlier when walking through the party hall.
The hard shoes I wore for the first time had finally rubbed the soft skin raw.
Though my heel throbbed with each step, it was nothing compared to the aching feeling in my heart.
Limping home while enduring the stabbing pain, suddenly my master grabbed my arm tightly.
“Are you hurt?”
His face was tightly furrowed in concern.
Seeing his displeased expression, I quickly shook my head.
“No, it just feels like my heel is scraped.”
Did he think I got hurt protecting the serving robot?
My master looked very upset.
I hurried to reassure him it wasn’t a serious wound, fearing he’d scold me for unnecessary actions.
Yet his expression didn’t soften.
I shrank back, nervously watching him.
Surely, he wouldn’t discard me just because I had a scratch?
Suddenly, anxiety washed over me.
Over his face, I saw a flicker of the old master’s expression I’d seen just before being abandoned — that distorted look directed at me made my heart sink.
“…Go inside first.”
With a short click of his tongue, he ordered me.
Then he pulled out his smartphone and began dialing somewhere.
Was he really going to abandon me…?
The coldness in his demeanor filled me with dread.
I stared at his back with trembling eyes, then dashed inside the house like I was running away.
“Welcome home, Didi.”
Sofia greeted me as I entered, but I had no energy to respond and immediately ran upstairs to my room.
As soon as I closed the door and threw myself onto the bed, the emotions I’d been holding back broke loose in an instant.
Tears poured out with sorrow.
Just like the day I was first abandoned.
***
I’m going to be abandoned again.
I’m just a useless robot who only gets hurt and can’t do anything properly.
Maybe that was why the old master shut me down — because I was nothing but a useless hindrance.
I buried myself under the blanket and sobbed.
The image of the old master reaching to turn me off kept circling in my mind.
And now, added to that was the image of the new master.
I pressed my lips tightly shut, trying to hold back the tears, but shaky breaths gave away my sobbing.
I’m going to be abandoned again.
But I don’t want to be left behind.
In the midst of this, I remembered the master saying he hates noise.
I was quietly crying, afraid my sobs would leak out the door, when suddenly the door flung open.
I peeked out from under the blanket with just my eyes visible.
“Already asleep?”
My master muttered while looking at the darkened room.
Then he spotted me sniffling under the covers and paused.
***
When my eyes met Master’s, I quickly lowered my head and wiped away my tears.
I didn’t want Master to see my face all smeared with tears.
“Are you crying?”
Master frowned and asked. I couldn’t answer and avoided his gaze.
Without saying a word, I curled up deeper, hugging my knees tightly.
“Does it hurt that much? Your sense of pain should be similar to a human’s.”
Master muttered quietly to himself as he approached me.
Was he going to turn me off?
Resigned, I lowered my head deeply so it would be easier for him to press the power button.
I heard the sound of clothes brushing as Master reached out his arm.
I hugged my trembling knees and squeezed my eyes shut.
I stiffened my body, waiting for the cold sensation on the back of my neck, but Master’s touch wasn’t on the power button.
A warm hand gently wrapped around my foot.
Startled, I opened my eyes and saw Master kneeling beside the bed.
Without a word, he was carefully applying ointment to my heel.
“Master…?”
“Does it hurt?”
“Why ointment…?”
“I heard that the skin structure of human bots is similar to humans, so ointment helps on wounds. Isn’t that right?”
“Ah, no… Yes, that’s right.”
I suddenly recalled the Master making a phone call to someone.
It must have been to Thomas.
When I nodded, Master started applying ointment on my foot again.
He put ointment on my reddened heel, spreading the translucent gel, and even carefully attached a small bandage on top.
Before I knew it, both my feet had bandages.
Awkwardly blinking as I looked between my feet, Master asked me,
“This should heal quickly. Any other injuries?”
“No…”
“Then that’s good.”
“Master.”
After finishing the treatment, Master stood up.
Without realizing it, I instinctively grabbed his wrist.
Looking up at his face as he turned around, I was overwhelmed by complex emotions.
The cold, indifferent gaze he had when watching the human bots at the auction, and this kind, caring way he was treating my wounds—these contrasted sharply, confusing me.
I couldn’t tell which was the real Master, and my head felt overwhelmed.
With an anxious voice, I asked,
“Master, aren’t you going to turn me off?”
“Turn you off? Why would I do that?”
“Because… I’m useless…”
“Stop having such useless thoughts and go to sleep.”
“Yes…”
Was my question so strange?
Master cut me off as if my words weren’t worth hearing, then left the room.
In the end, Master didn’t turn off my power.
The fear that I would be discarded again eased, if only for a moment.
But like calm in the eye of a storm, I didn’t know how long this kindness would last.
The next morning after the charity party dawned.
I had tossed and turned all night but couldn’t fall asleep.
Whenever I closed my eyes briefly, I saw myself at the auction, and the robots I couldn’t help lingered in my mind.
My thoughts were too tangled to rest.
As those thoughts continued, the sun rose.
Realizing it was time to get up, I slowly got out of bed.
“Gasp…”
I was shocked when I entered the bathroom to wash up.
My reflection was a mess.
Puffy swollen eyes from crying, reddened eye rims, and tired skin from lack of sleep.
I hurriedly washed my face and rubbed it, but no matter how much water I used, the swollen eyelids wouldn’t go down.
Giving up on fixing my ugly face, I went downstairs and saw Master sitting on the sofa.
Hesitating, I couldn’t bring myself to approach, but Master noticed my presence and turned his head.
His icy cold, piercing blue gaze cut right through me.
I dared not meet his eyes and quickly looked away.
“If you’re up, come here.”
“Yes…”
Hearing Master’s call, I quietly moved forward.
I sat on the sofa meekly, feeling deflated and timid.
I thought carefully not to upset Master like yesterday and kept my mouth shut, but then he asked,
“Is your ankle okay?”
Master checked my ankle first.
Only then did I remember the heel injury from yesterday.
I hadn’t even thought about it because it didn’t hurt since morning.
“Yes, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“Let me see.”
I obediently lifted my foot, and Master peeled off the bandage to check the wound.
The red raw flesh I’d seen yesterday was now healing little by little.
Maybe because of the ointment Master applied, the wound looked much better than before.
The skin was still a bit red, but the pain was almost gone.
I quietly watched Master as he checked my ankle.
If I could remember something useful, would the Master praise me as being useful?
But even as I desperately tried to recall, I couldn’t find what he wanted.
The old Master mostly spent his time with me but only ever cared for me kindly.
“No scars will be left.”
While I was lost in thought, the Master pulled his hand away from my ankle and said.
For a moment, I almost mistook it for kindness, but I quickly realized the truth.
He was making sure there were no flaws because someday I’d be sold.
This was just a quality check.
My heart ached.
More than my injured ankle, my heart hurt more.
Master looked down at my ankle again, then suddenly seemed to feel emptiness and asked,
“By the way… where’s Sophia?”
Come to think of it, I had felt something missing since coming downstairs.
Normally, Sophia would have been by the Master’s side, but the place where she should have stood was empty.
I looked around for Sophia, but she was nowhere to be found.