To be Human

A/N:  This story has been in my drafts for a very long time. It became many things and was many more things... and this is how it ended up.

"Dahyun I can't believe you agreed to this! You know how I feel about the ethics behind these things."

"What was I supposed to do Sana? Reject a MASSIVELY EXPENSIVE gift from my in-laws? It's not my fault you didn't speak up."

"Jesus Christ... I never should have invited them."

"They would have come anyway. You know them. You know better than anyone that they have money pouring out their ears. Heck, the probably have a private investigator following us around to make sure I'm looking after their precious daughter."

"My parents are rich and protective, Dahyunie. Not stalkers."

"Well... how the hell do we turn it on?"

"I don't want to turn it on."

"Then what do you want me to do with it? Sell it?"

"No!"

"Look. I think it would be good for us anyway. Having something to help us around the house. We're both working... and it will be good when the baby is born."

"God, I wish my parents had souls."

"Come on, baby. It's not so bad. We'll turn it on, give it a name and treat it well. Ah. The manual says... it's all written in Japanese. Sana... can you...?"

"... Its voice activated. You can speak Korean to it. It knows over 300 languages."

"Uh... okay. You want me to do it? ... okay... Um, hey android?"

「MODEL: AX401

SERIAL#: 803 921 337

START UP...」

In mere seconds the android standing in front of Sana and Dahyun blinked awake, the LED embedded in its right temple flickering from yellow to blue and its pupils, barely visible inside the synthetic dark brown irises, dilating and contracting as it took in its surroundings and the two people standing before it. It said nothing, looking to the person who had started up its systems – which just happened to be Dahyun.

"Why isn't it saying anything?" Dahyun whispered, unable to pull her eyes away from the android.

It was such a surreal experience, having her own android. It appeared to be made in the form of a Japanese woman, standing just as tall as her wife with dead straight black hair falling just below its aw. The craftmanship was immaculate. It looked so... real. The only things indicating that the thing wasn't human, being the blue shimmering band around its right arm, the similar holographic blue shaped in a triangle on the left side of its chest (each displaying the serial number and model) and the glowing blue LED on its right temple. The way its eyes bored into Dahyun, waiting for instructions, made her feel uneasy.

"The manual says we can give it a name." Sana mumbled. Dahyun glanced to her left to see Sana gazing at the android... almost fondly. "It's cute. Reminds me of a friend I had back in Japan when I was young."

"I don't think cute is the right way to describe it." The thing hadn't wavered its eyes from Dahyun.

"Let's name her Momo."

"'It'." Dahyun corrected. "It's an android not a person."

Sana just shrugged.

"Go on. Name it."

Dahyun turned away from her wife to face the android once again.

"Um... register name?"

The android's LED switched to yellow.