rewrite the stars - jaywon

chapter 2

Five days later, Jungwon walked into the kitchen for an after school snack and was promptly forced to recall the conversation in its entirety. Because the boy— the strange boy he'd never met before, the one with the sharp eyes and the swooped eyebrows— was standing in his kitchen, scrubbing a pan intently at the sink. His hair, Jungwon noted, was blond.

"What the fuck?" Jungwon uttered, drawing the boy's attention to him. Because— what the fuck? What was the boy doing here, in his kitchen? Did his dad have anything to do with this? Should he call the police and report the boy as an intruder?

He was already reaching for his phone when the boy spoke, making him freeze in his tracks.

"Hello— are you Jungwon?"

His voice was perfectly free of any and all intonations. He looked blankly at Jungwon. It was eerie. Though his features made him look nice, his mouth formed a perfectly straight line— no trace of a smile. But despite his weird facial expressions, Jungwon regretted to realize, the boy was more handsome in person.

"U-uh, yeah, I am. Who are you?" Jungwon said, making the accusation clear in his tone. Cute or not, this boy was an intruder. Though, upon second thought, washing dirty pans didn't seem to be an intruder-like thing to do.

The boy reached forward to shut off the faucet. Drying his hands with one of Jungwon's family's towels, he walked forward, closer to Jungwon. Jungwon stood his ground, as much as he wanted to back away from the stranger.

"I don't have a name yet, not a given one." Again, the boy spoke without any intonation, any feeling coloring his words. 

It was starting to creep Jungwon out.

"What do you mean you don't have a name? Everyone's got a name."

As sincere as the boy's features looked, they had to be misleading. He had to be playing a trick on Jungwon. Though why this perfect stranger would be pranking Jungwon was beyond him. Maybe his father had put him up to it.

The boy cocked his head as he stared at Jungwon. His gaze felt a touch too intense, and Jungwon took care not to shiver under it. For the first time, Jungwon thought he saw something on the boy's face. Some hint of an expression marring the perfectly blank slate he'd maintained until that moment. It was confusion, maybe. Or maybe it was just the light playing tricks on him.

"My designation is model gamma-eight-six-five-seven, jay three. I suppose that could be my name."

Jungwon stared back at the boy, aghast. As much as the boy's words seemed to be some sort of prank, his face was perfectly straight. He didn't seem to be joking at all. Either he was a perfect actor, or he was telling Jungwon the truth.

"Well, that's a mouthful," Jungwon said, eventually. Something wasn't sitting right with him, this whole interaction. This boy. Something was off about him— he was so blank . "How about I call you Jay?"

The boy closed his eyes, suddenly. Just shut them, his head still cocked. When he opened them, for one brief moment, they looked as though they belonged not to a boy but to some nocturnal creature. His pupils flashed opalescent, shining and reflective. Then, the boy blinked, and his eyes were normal again. Back to wide and dark, as if they'd never been anything else. As if Jungwon just imagined the whole thing.

"Jay," the boy said, "My name is Jay."

"Dude, you're so weird," and yet, despite himself, Jungwon couldn't help but be intrigued.

The boy— Jay, Jungwon supposed he ought to think of him— continued to stare expressionlessly at Jungwon, "Have I exhibited abnormal behavior?"

"Have you— yes, man. You have."

Jungwon was about to list all the strange things Jay had said and all the strange things he'd done in the space of just the few minutes Jungwon had known him— starting with the fact that he was a perfect stranger washing dishes in Jungwon's kitchen. Then, the door that led out to the garage opened, cutting him off before he'd begun. Jungwon's mother called out,

"Sweetie, are you home? Can you help me with the groceries?"

Jungwon frowned. He'd have to hold off on informing Jay precisely how weird he was for another time.

"Sure thing, ma!" he shouted back.

"Thanks, sweetie! And bring that 'bot with you, okay?" his mother walked into the kitchen, laden with grocery bags. She nodded at Jay, "Your father said it's supposed to be programmed to help with household chores."

'Bot? Jungwon looked to Jay, only to find that Jay was already walking away, towards the garage door. His mother had referred to Jay as a robot.

With dawning horror, all of the strange behaviors Jungwon had just witnessed started to make sense: Jay's picture being in an online yearbook (a catalogue, Jungwon realized), Jay not showing any emotions, Jay not even having a name.

Jungwon could've kicked himself. Jay was an android. Jay was his family's android. Jungwon hurried after him— it— he couldn't keep the pronouns straight. His head was starting to hurt.

"You're an android?" he asked, when he caught up to Jay. Jay passed him a bag of groceries from the trunk of Jungwon's mom's car.

"Yes. I assumed you knew already. Sorry if I misled you in any way," his voice, emotionless as ever, was another piece of the puzzle that slotted into place. His face, expressionless to the point of Jungwon's discomfit, another puzzle piece that'd found its spot. Jungwon shook his head. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he'd found a robot attractive. Shit, if his friends found out, he'd never live it down.

"You didn't. I really shoulda been able to tell sooner, what with your 'I-do-not-have-a-name' shit," Jungwon made stiff robot arms as best he could while weighed down on both sides with bags.

Jay opened the door for Jungwon to go through, "I don't remember moving my arms in that way."

"No, I'm pretty sure you did," Jungwon persisted, setting the bags down on the kitchen counter.

"I have an infallible memory recall," Jay said, and something in his voice sounded almost... different. Jungwon turned to him, and saw Jay's eyes looked even wider as he stared at Jungwon.

"Well," Jungwon wanted to see if he could push the android further. He wanted to make him sound more confused. Because, he'd realized, that was the deviant note in Jay's voice— confusion. He was sure of it. Jungwon repeated the arm motion.

"You did. Beep boop."

"I didn't, though," the grocery bags in Jay's hands were forgotten, as he looked at Jungwon with something on his face that was almost akin to consternation.

"Jungwon, sweetie, are you arguing with the robot?"

Jungwon hadn't even noticed his mother was still in the kitchen. His cheeks heated immediately as he turned to face her.

"No, ma. Of course not."

She looked at him, utterly bemused, "Good. Because that would be a little crazy, even for you, dear."

— the end of chapter 2 ♡

omg they've finally met !!!

i hope you're enjoying the story. let me know your thoughts ^_^