Chapter 78: Lost, Found, and Still Searching

William’s pupils trembled violently.

He couldn’t believe the words that had just come out of Didi’s mouth.

“…What did you say?”

Tears streamed down Didi’s cheeks.

He lowered his head deeply and said nothing.

Only then did William realize that something was terribly wrong.

Didi was never the type to bring up such things so suddenly.

Only now did William grasp the gravity of the situation, and his face turned pale as a sheet.

“Didi, were you lonely because I was away from home for so long? That won’t happen again.”

William hurriedly tried to explain.

But the robot in front of him didn’t say another word and simply kept his head bowed.

“Didi, I…”

William struggled to suppress his anxious emotions and reached out to take Didi’s hand, but Didi avoided his touch without hesitation.

It was an obvious refusal.

No matter how mischievous Didi’s pranks were, he had never pushed William away like this.

For the first time, he was rejecting him.

William’s outstretched hand froze in place.

“Master, I’m a robot. For a robot to fall in love with a human… that’s just wrong.”

“You know that too, Master…”

Didi’s self-mocking words made William’s expression slowly crumble.

All the thoughtless things he’d said before now returned as sharp arrows, piercing William’s heart.

Didi’s voice, muttered weakly, was filled with all the sorrow he’d swallowed down until now.

William could see just how much Didi had agonized and been hurt all alone.

His chest throbbed heavily.

Didi slowly got up from the bed.

He passed by the frozen William, heading for the door, but William hurriedly grabbed Didi’s wrist to stop him.

“Didi, where are you going?”

William’s voice trembled with desperation.

His eyes brimmed with pain.

The face he saw up close was somehow dazed, and Didi’s gaze wavered for a moment.

When no answer came, William, convinced Didi would leave again, spoke quietly.

“Don’t go. Stay with me.”

“Don’t leave this house. That’s an order.”

He knew he shouldn’t treat Didi as just a robot.

But if he didn’t do this, he felt like Didi would disappear at any moment—this time, to a place he could never find.

For William, this was the only way left to keep Didi by his side.

“If Master commands it… I’ll do as you say.”

A brief silence followed his short reply.

Didi, uncomfortable with the pause, dropped his gaze, then, noticing the darkness outside, spoke again.

“It’s late, so I’ll go to bed now.”

“Sleep here.”

“Is that an order, too?”

“No.”

“Good night, Master.”

Didi bowed his head.

William couldn’t bring himself to stop Didi as he left the room without looking back.

Click.

The door closed quietly.

Left alone, William stood motionless for a long time.

***

At dawn, just as the sky began to lighten, I woke up.

Maybe it was the habit from living on the streets for so long, but I always woke as soon as the sun rose.

But today, there was one thing different from my life on the streets.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar ceiling instead of the sky.

I slowly sat up and looked around the room.

“Nothing’s changed at all…”

It was the same familiar, slightly annoying room as before I left home.

Sophia must have kept it clean every day.

I indulged for a moment in faint nostalgia, but as I recalled yesterday’s conversation with Master, my mood sank.

Saying I didn’t love Master anymore was a lie.

I had tried to sort out my feelings for him during my long time wandering, but the moment I saw his face, I realized it was impossible.

When Master said he loved me, I almost let myself hope.

But as long as I was a robot, there was no possibility for us to be together.

I was just Master’s possession.

Someday, I would be abandoned again.

And when that happened, the one who would be hurt again would be me.

If I could, I would have gone back to Master’s old house and quietly powered myself down.

But since Master ordered me not to leave his side, as a robot, I had no choice but to obey.

As time passed, my feelings for Master would gradually fade.

Until then, I would wait, suppressing my emotions.

Until I was no longer needed, until Master had no use for me.

Convincing myself, I swung my legs out of bed—and something caught on my toes.

At first, I thought it was a blanket, but it felt different.

Bending down, I picked up something from under the bed.

It was a familiar piece of clothing—a white hoodie I’d worn from time to time.

Why was it here instead of in the dressing room?

Did I drop it without realizing?

Maybe Sophia missed it during cleaning because it was the same color as the blanket.

If it had been under the bed since I left, it should have been dusty.

I should probably wash it.

Besides, with the season changing, I probably wouldn’t wear it for a while.

“For something that’s been under the bed so long, it’s awfully clean…”

I checked for any dirt, but the white hoodie looked as if I’d just taken it off yesterday.

Hmm… Sophia must have kept the room so clean that there was hardly any dust.

Not thinking much of it, I took the hoodie and went downstairs.

I tossed the hoodie into the laundry basket and checked the time.

Sophia would probably be coming out of her room soon.

I thought it would be good to wait for her and help prepare breakfast.

Thanks to working around the house with Enoch and learning to cook, I could be of some help now.

I wasn’t as skilled as Sophia, but I could handle cleaning and laundry.

I was no longer just a useless robot.

Come to think of it, there was something I needed to tell Master.

I was planning to say that, starting today, I wouldn’t go to the office anymore.

My role as a household robot was enough.

Following Master around only got in the way, and right now, I didn’t feel like meeting anyone else.

“Didi, good morning.”

As I stood by the living room window, gazing up at the sky, Sophia came out of her room and greeted me.

I smiled back and asked her, “Sophia, are you about to start preparing breakfast? Let me help.”

She paused for a moment, as if processing, then nodded.

First, I took ingredients out of the refrigerator and began preparing them one by one.

Standing side by side with Sophia, I started making salad for breakfast.

Suddenly, a commotion came from upstairs.

Soon, I heard hurried footsteps, and Master rushed downstairs.

“Sophia! Didi’s gone…!”

Master burst into the kitchen, met my eyes, and stopped in his tracks.

He stared blankly at the lettuce in my hands, then slowly shook his head.

“No. It’s nothing.”

Now that I thought about it, I’d forgotten to close the door when I brought out the laundry.

Master must have looked into my empty room through the open door and thought I was gone.

Master turned away with a sigh and headed for the living room.

I watched his back silently for a moment, then told Sophia I had something to ask Master and stepped out of the kitchen for a bit.

“Master.”

Master was sitting on the sofa with his forehead in his hand.

When he heard my voice, he looked up at me.

Under the bright morning sunlight, Master’s face was different from how I remembered.

His deep blue eyes were clouded, his skin looked rough as if he hadn’t slept, and there were dark circles beneath his eyes.

Master, who had always been perfect, now looked strangely changed.

Without thinking, I averted my gaze and asked, “Um… about the company.”

“I’m not going in for a while. I’ll be working from home for now.”

I thought he would be even busier after launching the new product, but maybe not.

It was unexpected, but not really my business.

“But…”

Trailing off, I looked around.

Now that I thought about it, Eve hadn’t shown up since earlier.

Normally, as soon as I came downstairs, Eve would have come running and spun around me, greeting me.

The last time I saw Eve was quite a while ago.

Ever since Master stopped coming home, I hadn’t seen her once.

I hadn’t even gotten to say goodbye to Eve.

She must have been waiting for me to come back after her repairs.

I wanted to apologize for leaving without a word and say goodbye, but Eve was nowhere to be seen.

Finding it strange, I asked Master, “Where is Eve?”