Magic

013 - Ben

Taehyun woke up earlier than usual, which was pretty early, and took a shower. He was excited to start his new project.

After getting dressed and eating breakfast he grabbed his things and left his apartment, not forgetting to lock the door behind him before he walked to work as usual. He didn't live far, just a few blocks away so he didn't mind walking instead of using his car.

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He was currently packing his things into a box as Hueningkai was whining while helping him.

"I can't believe you're leaving me here alone with these boring people Hyung! Im gonna be so lonely I won't have anyone to talk to ever and you'll be so busy all the time so you won't be able to visit me all the time!" He said with a pout.

Taehyun smiled at the boy, loving how much he cared about him. They have been best friends since they were little and have never been separated for long. They were happy when they both found out they'd be working together thanks to their similar hobbies and interests but now one was leaving the other in the boring office with boring people.

"Im sure we'll find time to hang out Hyuka. Oh! How about we go to a café this Saturday?" He suggested to the younger who thought about it then nodded happily.

"Sure! Your treat though since you offered~" he hummed and Taehyun rolled his eyes playfully

"Whatever Kai, now help me with this box" he said as Hueningkai grabbed a box and carried it with Taehyun over to the telepad, going to his new Office floor. Taehyun used his new badge to get to the floor and the two walked to his new office which was its own room with a door, unlike the open office squares in the other lab.

"Wahhhh this place is so cool! I wish I could work up here too" he said with a pout.

"I'm sure you will someday" Taehyun said as he and the younger boy started unpacking his things.

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After unpacking they said goodbyes and Hueningkai went back to his office. Taehyun sighed softly and looked at the papers he was given by the manager in charge. It had a list of things he had to do each day and rules.

"Let's see, check vitals, physical abilities and flexibility, introductions," he hummed and stood up, understanding what he was supposed to do. He was happy to finally start working with the AI as the elder told him he was. He stood shyly in front of the blue door. It felt unreal as he swiped his badge and typed in the passcode before entering the familiar white room. The workers in the room told him that he'd actually be in the room with the AI instead of looking through the window before they let him inside.

Taehyun looked around before looking at the AI who looked freakishly like a human being. He looked around before the capsule opened, revealing the AI who opened its eyes to look at Taehyun with a curious gaze and a tilted head.

"I have not seen you before. Are you new?"

Taehyun was shocked but smiled at it. "My name is Kang Taehyun. I'll be coming every day to check your status, as well as emotional and physical abilities"

The AI smiled and nodded before getting out of the capsule, it's movements fluid and not robot-like whatsoever which amazed the young boy. The AI sat down and Taehyun did the same. Grabbing his laptop and opening a browser he was told to use to log everything he began working.

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After a few hours Taehyun finished making sure everything was going well with the AI and now he was just talking with it.

"Can I call you Hyun?"

Taehyun looked at 013 and nodded "sure why not!" He said with a smile. "Hmm maybe I should give you a nickname too so I don't have to keep calling you by a number" 013 thought before nodding

"I've never had another name before" it smiled softly "I'd like that Hyun!"

Taehyun smiled more and thought "hmm Allen? No. Brendan? Nope." He thought for a bit longer before he got an idea. "How about Ben?" He asked the AI who looked at him.

"Ben? I love it! You can call me Ben. I apparently have male parts so you can refer to me as a he, although Mr.Olaf and Mr. Hun only refer to me as my numerical code."

"Alright, Ben. I'm glad we had this talk. Your social programs seem to be developing great!" Taehyun said softly.

Ben nodded and looked at Taehyun before looking at the door. He leaned foreword and whispered quietly to Taehyun. "Tell me about the outside world please. Whenever I ask, I never get an answer. The professors only tell me that I shouldn't worry about it until I can be introduced to the public." He said with a pout.

Taehyun raised a brow. Why wouldn't they tell him about the outside world if they were going to send him out to the public in the future? He shook it off and looked at Ben with a soft smile.

"Well, outside are a bunch of cities and towns. People go around working in different jobs, going to school, and just living their own way. There are also places like amusement parks where people go to have fun."

Taehyun spent another hour explaining some things about humans to Ben and he stared at Taehyun the whole time as if this was the most interesting thing he'd ever heard in his lifetime, and it really was. His eyes sparkled as Taehyun told him many interesting things about humans and about emotions too.

Taehyun didn't know why but talking to Ben was very comforting and calming. He was a good talking buddy.

Their talking session ended when Ben quickly leaned backwards and looked at the door, whispering to Taehyun. "Professor Hun is coming. Don't tell him you told me this, I don't want him to get upset with you and make you stop coming here." He said with a sad face. Taehyun understood what he meant and nodded. He didn't want to stop coming to talk to the 'boy'  and he didn't want to get in trouble either so he promised to keep it a secret.

"Bye Ben. I'll see you tomorrow and we'll continue the daily check ups" Said male nodded and went back into his capsule, waving goodbye to Taehyun as he walked towards the door.

"Bye Hyun!" He said before the capsule closed and Taehyun walked out of the room, the doors locking behind him.

Mr Hun just came into the room and looked at Taehyun with a grin "how did it go? Isn't 013 amazing?" Taehyun nodded slightly.

"Everything went great, all of hi- its test results were perfect and nothing was wrong. Its development seems to be going well" he replied, not wanting to be questioned by using he pronouns since Ben told him that the professors didn't refer to him that way.

"That's great! Well that's all for today, I'll see you tomorrow then so we can continue" Mr Hun said as he waved at Taehyun who just nodded and left. He thought the older man was a bit weird but he didn't question it. He just shrugged and went back to his house, thinking about his friendly conversations with Ben. He'd love to have a friend like Ben. But unlucky for him, Ben was a robot who would never be allowed out of the lab to have friends.