“She’s probably charging somewhere again. It takes Sophia half a day to fully recharge. She won’t be around today, so don’t wait for her.”
“Yes….”
My master answered indifferently.
When I nodded and replied softly, my master said he had to get ready for work and went up to the room on the second floor.
I didn’t follow him but sat on the sofa, watching his back.
My master seemed to know Sophia very well.
Sophia also called him by name, not by a title.
They must have spent a long time together.
The way they treated each other showed deep trust.
Somehow, I felt envious… and strangely, also alienated.
Although my master went upstairs first, I was bothered by how I ignored Sophia’s greeting last night and rushed to my room, so I decided to wait a little longer for Sophia.
However, no matter how long I waited, Sophia did not appear.
Is she really charging as my master said?
If that’s the case, I won’t be able to talk with Sophia today.
I thought I must apologize tomorrow at least, then quietly got up from the sofa and headed to my room.
When I went upstairs, I saw my master’s room was firmly closed.
I stared at the door for a moment, then turned my steps in the opposite direction toward my room.
As I was about to turn the doorknob, I suddenly noticed a white object lying in the corner of the hallway.
“That’s the indoor slippers Sophia wears…”
Did Sophia drop them while cleaning?
I thought I should give them back tomorrow and moved closer to pick up the slippers.
As I bent down to pick up the slippers, I froze on the spot, holding my breath.
I caught sight of Sophia lying on the floor just around the corner.
“So, Sophia?”
Sophia was sprawled out on the floor as if asleep.
I called her name in a trembling voice, but there was no answer.
Is she sleeping here?
Carefully checking her condition, I shook her gently to wake her, but Sophia remained stiff and unmoving.
“Ah…”
I instinctively realized. Sophia wasn’t just asleep from tiredness or collapsed from a low battery.
She was broken.
Fear chilled my body. I muttered while staring at Sophia.
“She will definitely be discarded….”
I recalled my master’s expressionless eyes watching the human bots asking for help.
The cold gaze looking down on the serving robot that was kicked.
Now Sophia was broken too, so it was certain she would be abandoned like the others.
But I couldn’t just stand by and watch.
I couldn’t save the others, but I wanted to help at least Sophia.
Even if old and broken, all robots shared the desire to help our master.
I knew that feeling well, so I wanted to help her.
Above all, being discarded just because you’re useless didn’t feel like something that happened only to others.
I quietly hugged Sophia.
If my master noticed, Sophia might be discarded as she was.
The first priority was to take her to my room and hide her.
Carefully so as not to hurt Sophia’s body, I brought her into my room and hid her, then thought about how to fix her.
I had no idea how to repair robots.
But Thomas, who had fixed my body at the company, might be able to fix Sophia too.
He had tidied up my stiff body that hadn’t moved for a long time, so maybe he could fix Sophia in no time?
If the repairs finished quickly, I thought I could quietly get through this without letting my master know Sophia was broken.
But how should I contact him?
All I knew about Thomas was that he worked at my master’s company.
“Should I ask the Master to take me to the company…?”
If I can just succeed in following Master to the company, I can find a chance to look for Thomas.
It’s the simplest way, and at the same time, it seemed like the only way.
As soon as I made the plan, I ran to the Master’s room.
Since it was almost time for the Master to leave for work, I had to catch him before he left.
“Master!”
I burst in without knocking and met Master’s eyes, who was already ready to leave.
Seeing his expression twist, I realized I had forgotten to knock.
“Where’s the knock?”
“I-I’m sorry….”
In my hurry, I forgot to knock.
I realized my mistake and apologized.
I had promised not to make mistakes, but I messed up again…
I felt more and more useless.
“If you come in without permission one more time, I’ll kick you out. So, why did you come?”
“I want to follow you to the company too.”
“To the company? Why all of a sudden?”
Master frowned in puzzlement.
I didn’t expect him to ask why, so I was momentarily at a loss for words.
“Last time, I didn’t get to look around properly… I thought maybe if I walk around the company, something might come back to me…”
I quickly made up an excuse as I thought through reasons in my head.
Master thought for a moment, then said casually:
“Well, I guess that’s possible. Get dressed. We’ll leave soon.”
“Yes!”
As soon as I got Master’s permission, I hurried back to my room.
I had to get ready before he changed his mind.
When I returned to my room, I saw Sophia lying on the floor.
She was still motionless.
“Sophia. I’ll be back soon, so don’t worry too much.”
She couldn’t hear me in her broken state, but I whispered quietly just in case to reassure her.
I quickly finished getting ready to go out, then approached Sophia once more.
I had draped a blanket over her shoulders so she wouldn’t be cold while waiting, when suddenly the door burst open.
“Didi, today…”
“M-Master!”
Master came in, and I panicked, trying to hide Sophia who was lying on the floor, but Master noticed her faster than I could act.
All my efforts were in vain — Master had found broken Sophia.
Master looked at Sophia on the floor, frowned, and asked,
“Why is Sophia here?”
“She was sleeping in the hallway…”
“That’s not sleeping. She’s broken.”
Master sighed shortly while looking at Sophia.
My brief attempt at an excuse was mercilessly cut off, and I felt gloomy again.
“Could it be that this is why you want to follow me to the company?”
“…”
Master touched his forehead.
Not answering felt like I was about to be scolded for wasting time, so I shrank my shoulders.
“Guess scrap heaps like you can’t be helped…”
Master muttered while looking at broken Sophia.
Scrap heap…
I repeated his words in my mind and felt depressed.
Sophia would be thrown away.
It felt like I was seeing my own future, and my mood sank.
As I looked at Sophia with drooping eyes, I heard a phone ringtone next to me.
Turning my head, I saw the Master making a call.
“Thomas, Sophia’s broken again. Did you really fix her properly last time?”
“Of course. The main body is old, so frequent breakdowns are inevitable.”
“I’m bringing her now, so get ready.”
“Got it.”
I heard Thomas’s familiar voice through the smartphone.
From the conversation, it seemed this wasn’t the first time Sophia had broken down.
Being an old robot, these kinds of problems must have happened often before.
“What a nuisance…”
Master sighed as he ended the call and looked down at Sophia. I asked gloomily,
“Master, what will happen to Sophia now…?”
“Of course, she has to be repaired.”
“So, you’re going to throw her away… huh?”
Master answered as if it was obvious.
I was surprised to hear the exact opposite of what I expected.
I thought he would say he’d throw away a broken robot since it was useless…
But no, repair?
I blinked, doubting if I’d heard correctly.
However, Master was just checking on the fallen Sophia.
“I’ll take Sophia to get repaired, so you stay at home.”
“Yes, Master…”
I nodded obediently.
After all, I had only wanted to follow Master to fix Sophia, so now there was no more reason to go along.
Without any sign of effort, Master easily lifted Sophia.
I found it hard just to drag her to my room, but Master moved her as if it was nothing.
“Master.”
I called out as he reached for the door handle.
Master turned to look at me, and I couldn’t hold back a question I’d been curious about.
“Why don’t you replace Sophia with a new robot instead of repairing her?”
Our eyes met, but I didn’t look away. Master kept silent for a moment, then answered:
“Because she’s my robot.”
With that, Master left the room carrying Sophia.
His last words echoed in my ears, and I pondered their meaning for a long time.
Half a day had passed since Master went to work with Sophia.
I stayed home, restless, and as soon as I heard the door open, I rushed to the entrance.
But Sophia wasn’t there; the Master was standing alone by the door.
“Where’s Sophia?”
“She can’t come today.”
“I see…”
I worried whether her damage was serious, but I was relieved to know Sophia wouldn’t be thrown away.
“Is that all?”
“Huh?”
“I thought you came to greet me, and I was a little touched…”
“Ah… Master, welcome back.”
Hearing Master mumble, I finally greeted him.
He gave a bitter laugh and shook his head.
“It’s fine. What else can you expect from a robot?”
Master passed by me and went upstairs to his room.
I felt a little intimidated but followed after him.
As I climbed the stairs to the second floor behind Master, I rubbed my sleepy eyes.
I hadn’t slept well last night, and now that I felt relieved, drowsiness suddenly overwhelmed me.
I just wanted to lie down and sleep soon.