A State of Future Existing

Chapter 3

"You're going to the ball!" Iko tapped her grippers together in an imitation of clapping. "We have to find you a suit and shoes. I will not allow you to wear those awful boots. We'll get you some new gloves and-"

"Could you bring that light over here?" Hyunjin said, yanking out the top drawer of his standing toolbox. He riddled through it, spare bolts and sockets jangling as Iko scooted closer. A wash of bluish light dispersed the sickness of the storage room.

"Think of the food they'll have," said Iko. "And the dresses. And music!"

Hyunjin ignored her, selecting an assortment of varying tools and arranging them on Iko's magnetic torso.

"Oh, my stars! Think about Prince Felix! You could dance with Prince Felix!"

This made Hyunjin pause and squint into Iko's blinding light. "Why would the Prince dance with me?"

Iko's fan hummed as she sought an answer. "Because you won't have grease on your face this time."

Hyunjin fought down a chuckle. Android reasoning could be so simplistic. "I hate to break this to you, Iko," he said slamming in the drawer and moving onto the next, "but I'm not going to the ball."

Iko's fan stopped momentarily, started up again. "I don't compute."

"For starters, I just spent my life savings on a new foot. But even if I did have money, why would I spend it on a suit or shoes or gloves? What a waste."

"What else could you have spent it on?"

"A complete set of wrenches? A toolbox with drawers that don't stick?" He slammed in the second drawer with his shoulder to emphasize his point. "A down payment on my own apartment where I won't have to be Adri's servant anymore?"

"Adri wouldn't sign the release documents."

Hyunjin opened the third drawer. "I know. It would cost a lot more than a silly suit anyway." He grabbed a ratchet and a handful of wrenches and set them on top of the toolbox. "Maybe I'd get skin grafting."

"Your skin is fine."

Hyunjin glanced at Iko from the corner of his eyes.

"Oh. You mean your cyborg parts."

Shutting the third drawer, Hyunjin grabbed his messenger bag from the work desk and shoved the tools into it. "What else do you think we'll- oh, the floor jack. Where'd I put that?"

"You're being unreasonable," said Iko. "Maybe you can trade for a suit or get one for consignment. I've been dying to get into that vintage suit store on Guro-gu. You know the one I mean?"

Hyunjin shuffled around the random tools that had collected beneath the work table. "It doesn't matter I'm not going."

"But it does matter. It's the ball. And the Prince!"

"Iko, I'm fixing an android for him. It's not like we're friends now." Mentioning the prince's android sparked a memory, and a moment later Hyunjin pulled the floor jack from behind its tread. "And it doesn't matter because Adri will never let me go."

"She said if you fixed the hover-"

"Right. And after I fix the hover? What about Peony's portscreen that's always acting up? What about-" He scanned the room and spotted a rusty android tucked away in the corner. "What about that old Gard7.3?" 

"What would Adri want with that old thing? She doesn't have a garden anymore. She doesn't even have a balcony."

"I'm just saying that she had no real intention of letting go. As long as she can come up with things for me to fix, my 'chores' will never be done." Hyunjin shoved a couple jack stands into his bag, telling himself that he didn't care. Not really.