“Did you… Did you have a dream…?”
I tried to act nonchalant and turned my head in denial, but what escaped my lips was a faintly trembling voice.
No matter how you looked at it, it was obvious that I was shaken by Master’s words.
My gaze, lowered to the floor, quivered slightly.
Just like how Master had kissed me when drunk and completely forgotten about it, I thought for sure that he wouldn’t remember anything after sleeping it off this time too.
But he remembered.
Not knowing just how much he remembered made my heart uneasy and restless.
Last night, I had kissed Master first, and even whispered that I loved him.
If he remembered all of that…
I pressed my lips together in anxiety, looking at Master.
“Didi, what’s wrong all of a sudden? Are you embarrassed?”
He really does remember everything.
“…Master, what happened last night was a mistake. Please forget everything I did.”
I lowered my head deeply and barely managed to speak.
Since Master remembered, there was no point in insisting it was just a dream.
As I muttered softly and pleaded, Master frowned and asked again,
“Mistake?”
“I thought you were drunk… That’s why it happened. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”
Stammering, I apologized and pushed Master away.
“Last time, you didn’t remember after drinking. So I thought this time too…”
“Me? I forgot something after drinking before?”
See? Even now, he doesn’t remember kissing me while drunk.
I’d thought he’d forget about last night too, so I kissed him, thinking it would be the last time.
If I had known it would turn out like this, I never would have acted that way.
Regretting that I’d acted on impulse and kissed Master, I bit my lip hard.
When I tried to escape to my room, Master grabbed my wrist and stopped me.
“Didi, you meant what you said last night, didn’t you? When you said you loved me.”
“…Even so, it’s not okay.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m a robot…”
I lowered my head deeply.
I no longer had the strength to hide my feelings.
Master looked frustrated, as if he couldn’t understand why my attitude had changed so much overnight.
He ran a rough hand through his hair, then suddenly stopped when he noticed my tears dropping to the floor.
“Didi.”
Master called my name and continued.
“So what if you’re a robot? You’re no different from a human.”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a robot or a human. As long as I have you, that’s enough.”
In front of me, sobbing and barely breathing, Master whispered softly.
He tried to comfort me gently with kind words, but my thoughts were different.
“Didi…”
When Master reached out to wipe away my flowing tears, I refused and pushed him away.
I was a robot.
No matter how much I loved Master, I knew I’d only crash into that wall again.
Knowing I’d be abandoned someday, I didn’t have the courage to open my heart again.
***
William sat at his desk, lost in thought.
Since that day, Didi had locked himself in his room and hardly came out.
Perhaps it was such a shock to have his feelings discovered, he couldn’t even meet William’s eyes.
Ever since the power had come back on, Didi was keeping even more distance than before.
“Haa…”
William let out a long sigh.
He had no idea how to turn Didi’s heart around.
He’d thought Didi had finally opened up to him, and had been so happy he could fly—only to be brought crashing down to earth in an instant.
To think that Didi had confessed his love only because he thought William wouldn’t remember in the morning.
The absurdity made William laugh.
What was even more ridiculous was that he felt like he’d forgotten something while drunk in the past, but still couldn’t recall what it was.
He frowned at the whiskey bottle that had caused all this trouble.
When Didi was around, William could sleep without issue, but ever since Didi started sleeping separately, he hadn’t been able to sleep at all.
He would toss and turn in bed, and only manage to get a few hours’ sleep with the help of alcohol.
Without it, even that was impossible.
That night, he’d only drunk until he felt tipsy, just like usual, but Didi saw him and mistook him for being drunk, then kissed him.
He had no idea where things had gone wrong.
The biggest problem was that after that night, Didi started avoiding William even more.
Even though they lived in the same house, it was hard to even catch a glimpse of him.
Whenever William heard a sound and went to check, he’d only see Didi’s back as he hurriedly ran away.
And until now, he hadn’t even heard Didi’s voice.
If things kept going like this, he’d have to find a way to talk to Didi before they drifted apart completely.
As he racked his brain, he suddenly remembered the Humanbot who had given him information on Didi’s whereabouts.
Come to think of it, hadn’t Humanbot asked to meet Didi once when he returned?
A suspicious Humanbot, a landlord whose face he’d never seen, and a mansion that was strangely quiet.
No matter how he thought about it, there were too many suspicious things, but the fact was, thanks to them, he’d been able to find Didi.
He didn’t really want to, but a promise was a promise.
Since he was bringing it up anyway, he figured it wouldn’t be so bad to talk to Didi about it.
“Didi.”
Carefully, so as not to startle Didi, William knocked on the door.
He waited for a while in front of the door, and eventually, it opened slowly.
“…Master…”
Even at the moment they finally met, Didi still wouldn’t meet his eyes.
Still, just being able to see Didi’s face like this was enough for William to feel relieved.
Didi’s eyes darted around, unable to find a place to settle, lips moving slightly.
Suppressing the urge to kiss him, William took in Didi’s appearance for a long moment before asking,
“Do you remember the house where you stayed for a bit after you lost your battery?”
Didi’s eyes grew wide and he nodded.
As if to ask how William knew, he glanced at him.
“They helped me find you. They refused the reward, and instead asked if they could meet you just once.”
Thinking of the Humanbot who had asked for a favor instead of a reward that day, William spoke calmly.
Of course, if Didi didn’t want to go, he had no intention of taking him.
He figured showing some sincerity through the reward would be enough.
That was much more comfortable for William as well.
But Didi’s reaction was unexpected.
“Enoch and Amy?”
“…Yeah.”
Enoch and Amy?
William frowned slightly as he watched Didi call their names so familiarly and without hesitation.
His face remained unchanged, but inside, he didn’t feel the same.
Soon, Didi lifted his head with a bright face and answered,
“I want to go!”
His answer was so certain that William couldn’t even tell him to think it over.
“When are we going?”
Didi’s face, asking in an excited voice, looked happier than he had since returning home.
William was silent for a moment before speaking.
“…I’ll contact them and set up a time.”
Damn it, this wasn’t what I planned.
But seeing Didi smiling so brightly, he couldn’t bring himself to say no now.
At the same time, a strange feeling twisted in one corner of his heart.
Just what had happened in that house to make Didi so happy to see them?
Didi used to only care about William.
Even though Didi was avoiding him now, it was obvious he still liked him.
But to see Didi smiling a smile he’d never shown William before, just from thinking of someone else…
Suddenly, a sense of crisis washed over him.
“Master.”
Didi called out as William was about to return to his room.
Turning around, he saw Didi hesitantly opening his mouth.
“Um… Could I be the one to contact them?”
Didi cautiously asked for permission.
William suddenly wanted to take back his offer to let Didi meet them.
How could he send such a lovable Didi off to people whose intentions he didn’t even know?
What if they had feelings for Didi?
But Didi was looking up at William with hopeful eyes.
Before he knew it, William was already giving Didi Humanbot’s number.
William realized too late that he had handed over the number almost automatically, and added a condition.
“But call them in front of me.”
“Huh? In front of you, Master?”
“Is there any reason you can’t?”
At William’s confident demand, Didi blinked rapidly in surprise.
Using this as an excuse, William intended to take in as much of Didi as he could, after barely even seeing him lately.
More than anything, he was curious.
Just what was the reason Didi was so happy to see them?
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