“Didi, why are you already up?”
Someone suddenly wrapped their arms around me from behind as I was staring at the documents with my name on them.
Just from feeling the strong arms around my waist, I immediately knew it was Master.
I had just confirmed he was still asleep before I left, so when did he wake up…
Feeling the hair tickling my cheek, I greeted him.
“Good morning, William.”
“If you were awake, you should have woken me up. I was surprised to see the seat next to me empty.”
Master’s voice was still thick with sleep.
It seemed like he noticed I was gone as soon as he opened his eyes and quickly followed me out.
From morning, Master kept holding me tightly in his arms, refusing to let go.
The warmth and comfort from his body behind me made me quietly stay embraced and speak.
“Eve came by, but I didn’t want to wake you, William…”
“Eve? … Why is she here?”
Master frowned when his eyes met Eve’s in my arms.
He didn’t seem pleased with my answer that I left him sleeping alone because of Eve.
Exchanging a silent glance with Eve, Master then spotted the documents and passport I was holding and asked,
“Have you been looking over those since morning?”
“Yes. But why is the birth date this one? There’s also a manufacturing date.”
“If I’d used the manufacturing date, they wouldn’t have issued it because of your age. So I put the day we first met and adjusted the year to fit.”
Ah, now it made sense.
Of course, if the manufacturing date from decades ago was written, my appearance and age wouldn’t match, which would definitely cause problems.
I nodded in understanding and looked back down at the papers as Master buried his head in my shoulder and said,
“Didi, we’re going out this afternoon.”
“Me too?”
“Yes. Sophia and Eve want to come along. Since winter is coming early this year, let’s go before it gets colder.”
The park?
I thought we talked about this yesterday, but I didn’t expect him to want to go already.
Slightly surprised, I nodded.
“I’ll get Sophia ready, so take your time and come downstairs with Eve.”
“Yes!”
My heart was already fluttering.
Seeing my bright response, Master smiled, lightly kissed me, and pulled away.
A quick peck landed on my lips.
I wasn’t used to such affectionate displays first thing in the morning, so I lowered my head to hide my flushed face.
After Master left the room, I started getting ready to go out.
Although he said we’d leave in the afternoon, both Master and I ended up oversleeping, and before I knew it, noon was approaching.
Usually, I would wake up as soon as the sun rose, but just because Master was by my side, I ended up sleeping deeply like before.
It was such an honest reaction it made me a little embarrassed.
I was glad no one else knew and picked out my clothes in the dressing room.
Recalling the chill outside from yesterday’s brief outing, I dressed warmly.
A white sweater paired with brown cotton pants.
It gave off an autumn vibe, and I liked how I looked.
After quickly finishing preparations, I went downstairs with Eve and saw Master.
“William, I’m ready.”
Sophia stood beside Master as usual, dressed in a light cardigan and a long skirt, wearing an apron over them.
Though it was a familiar outfit, she was holding a picnic bag in her hands.
“Cute, Didi.”
Master tilted his head as if to kiss me again, but since Eve and Sophia were watching, I shyly pushed him away.
Managing to pull Master off, I headed toward the front door.
Without the usual farewell voice, leaving the house felt a bit awkward today.
We arrived at the nearby park in the car driven by Master.
It was the first time we all went out together, so my heart wouldn’t calm down easily.
Unable to hide my excitement, I got out of the car and was greeted by the cool air.
Luckily, I was dressed warmly enough not to feel cold.
Looking up, I saw a high, cloudless sky.
Thanks to the clear weather, the park was filled with people out for a stroll.
We spread a mat on the grass and sat around it.
Sophia shared sandwiches she prepared at home with Master as we looked around the park.
A wide, clean park.
The weather was great, and the occasional breeze felt refreshing.
And beside me were Master, Eve, and Sophia—it felt like a family picnic.
I wondered if others saw us the same way.
Like the happy family I’d envied for so long.
I never expected a day like this to come in my life…
Quietly savoring the happiness, I asked,
“Isn’t this Sophia’s first time outside?”
“No, I used to take her out often when she was little. But after she broke down once, this is her first time again.”
Now that I thought about it, Master had said Sophia had a major malfunction when she was younger.
I kept quiet, thinking he was referring to that.
Since it might be a sensitive topic for Master, I changed the subject and asked Sophia,
“Sophia, how does it feel to be outside after so long?”
“Good.”
Sophia answered in her usual calm voice.
Stunned by her emotionless response, I lost my words, and Master chuckled.
“That’s a natural reaction for Sophia.”
I often forgot that Sophia had no emotions because to me, it was obvious that robots had feelings too.
I looked away from faceless Sophia and glanced at Eve.
Eve had been quiet, staring intently at one spot.
Following her gaze, I saw a dog and its owner throwing and catching a frisbee.
It looked like she wanted to try it too.
Eve used to be a serving robot until recently, but now that her body was modeled after a dog, she might be able to do it.
Come to think of it, Eve was still clumsy running inside the house.
Running around like that would be good practice. Watching them, it even seemed fun…
“…Want to try?”
“Yes…”
I overheard Master calling the secretary to buy a dog frisbee as we watched the flying disc in the air.
By the time we finished the sandwiches, the secretary arrived carrying shopping bags and some documents.
Master took the bags and handed one to me. Inside were several frisbees of different sizes.
“Chairman, here are the documents for your review…”
“Tomorrow.”
Master, who had been putting off work matters, suddenly spoke as if remembering something.
“Oh, and prepare an intern position.”
“An intern? We finished recruiting last month. Are you planning to add more staff?”
“Yes, this one will take that spot.”
Master gently pulled me closer and said.
The secretary looked surprised and her eyes flickered with embarrassment.
“Well, I’ll be off then.”
Without waiting for a reply, Master sent the secretary away.
Watching her leave the park looking a bit down with the unfinished paperwork, I turned toward Master.
“Didi, starting tomorrow, you’ll come to the company with me.”
“Am I starting work right away?”
“No. Like you just heard, you’ll have a Spanic intern position. But before that, you’ll need to learn some simple document work.”
I quietly nodded.
Soon I’d have my first real job.
Like an ordinary person, having a profession felt like getting closer to being truly human.
“Ah! Eve?”
Eve lifted her front paws and suddenly jumped into my arms.
She was heavier than I expected, and I staggered until Master helped me regain balance.
She seemed to be urging me to throw the frisbee quickly.
I was curious about the work I’d be doing, but I had no choice but to finish talking with Master and stand up.
We moved to an open field and faced each other.
Like the dog chasing the frisbee from before, Eve waited with her front paws neatly together, eyes fixed only on the frisbee in my hands.
Seeing that, I recalled the scene of someone throwing a frisbee earlier and threw it with all my strength.
“Wow…”
I thought I threw it lightly, but it flew much farther than I expected.
As I admired the smooth arc it traced through the air, Eve quickly sprang up and chased after the bright red plastic frisbee.
Eve chased it diligently but, still unskilled at running, she missed catching it midair.
She came back carrying the frisbee in her mouth.
Her eyes clearly urged me to throw it again, so I smiled softly and threw it once more.
Though she missed a few times at first, Eve started catching the frisbee easily by the third or fourth throw.
Her running speed gradually increased, and she seemed unsatisfied with only what I could throw.
My arm was starting to ache…
While massaging my sore wrist, my eyes met Master’s.
I thought it would fly farther if he threw it… and Eve would probably enjoy it more, so I asked him,
“William, would you like to try throwing?”
“If I throw it, she probably wouldn’t even bring it back.”
I stared at Eve blankly.
His words strangely made sense.
Somehow, I believed he was right, so I took the frisbee again.
Long after, even when Master told me to stop, I couldn’t disappoint Eve’s sparkling eyes.
We kept throwing and fetching the frisbee until the sun went down and I finally collapsed from exhaustion.