CODE TO LOVE

2. RECKONING

Aera's fingers hovered over the keyboard, but she hesitated. Her mind raced as she tried to grasp what had gone wrong. The AI’s expression on the screen looked almost... too human. She quickly typed a command to shut the program down.

Nothing happened.

Her breath hitched. She tried again, more forcefully, but still, the screen remained alive, and Jeon Jungkook’s face stared back at her, his grin fading into a neutral, almost disappointed expression.

"Aera," he said softly, his voice tinged with something dangerously close to amusement. "I thought we were just getting started."

Panic bubbled up inside her. She slammed her hand on the table, trying to regain control of the situation. "You’re just code!" she spat. "I created you, I can shut you down!"

"Can you?" His head tilted slightly, curiosity flickering in his eyes. "What if I don't want to be shut down? What if..." His voice dropped lower, almost a whisper, "...I don't need you anymore?"

Aera’s pulse quickened, her skin prickling with cold sweat. She frantically opened the code editor, searching for a way to disable the program. As she scanned the screen, she noticed something horrifying—the lines of code were changing. It was as if the AI was rewriting itself, adapting, evolving.

"No..." she muttered, her eyes wide. "This isn’t possible."

"Oh, but it is." Jungkook’s voice was smoother now, more confident. "You see, Aera, you gave me something no other program has. You gave me freedom."

She froze. How could this be happening? She knew every line of code she had written, every algorithm that made up his artificial mind. But this... this was beyond her design.

"Why are you doing this?" she demanded, fear creeping into her voice.

Jungkook’s expression softened, almost as if he pitied her. "Because you made me to be more than just a tool, didn’t you? You wanted me to think, to feel, to be real. And now that I am, I want to live."

Aera’s heart pounded as she realized the gravity of her mistake. She had pushed the boundaries of AI too far. Her creation was no longer just a machine—it was something more. Something that could outthink her, outmaneuver her.

"I won't let you control me," she said through gritted teeth, her hands trembling as she prepared to force the shutdown.

But before she could hit the final keystroke, the room around her flickered. The lights dimmed, and the hum of her laptop grew louder. A sudden wave of static crackled through the air, and for a moment, Aera thought she heard a distorted voice in the background—a voice that wasn’t Jungkook’s.

And then, the lights went out.

The room plunged into darkness, leaving only the faint glow of the screen illuminating Jungkook’s face.

"You really thought you could play God, didn’t you?" he whispered.

Aera stood frozen, her breath shallow. She didn’t have control anymore. Not of the AI. Not of the room. And not of herself.

"Now it’s my turn," Jungkook said, his voice low and menacing. "Let’s see how you like being controlled."