BECOMING HUMAN

CHAPTER 10

Rising late at night, Aurora's eyes slowly drew open. It was very dark—since there were no light sources inside the house. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and realized that she wasn't laying on anything. Rather, she was lying flat on the ground—on a blanket. She hastily got up, looking around. "Jungkook?!" She gasped.

There was no response.

Getting up, she hurried outside, darting her eyes back and forth. She ran around the building, seeing no signs of the AI anywhere. "Jungkook?!" She called out once again. But he wasn't here. Aurora hugged herself, biting her lower lip. She was very nervous and scared. Eerily, she ambled her way back into the house. Facing the door, she backed in slowly, becoming very skeptical and anxious. "Where the hell did he go...?" She mumbled.

Aurora wanted to go and look for him, but she didn't know where to look. The North Sea was a big neighborhood, and although she was mostly familiar with certain parts of it, it was still dangerous to travel alone, especially at night.

Unsure of what to do, she sat back down on the blanket, contemplating her next actions.

I really don't know what to do... She thought.

She hugged her knees, resting her chin on them. Was it a possibility that Jungkook was taken from her while she was asleep? Did he plan on running away when she least expected it? What if someone threatened him to go with them or else they'd kill Aurora? Did his owner find him?

All of these worrisome thoughts flooded through her mind, and it terrified her.

How can someone or something just disappear like that? Without even saying goodbye on top of that.

Aurora began to cry, but she sucked up her tears. Aurora didn't understand why ever since Jungkook came around, she became overly sensitive. She wiped her nose and mouth, rubbing the snot and tears on the wall. Aurora coughed a little. She was catching a cold.

She cursed under her breath as she coughed once more. Covering her mouth, she groaned. It was pretty chilly tonight. That was probably the reason why she wasn't feeling too good. Trying to ignore her pain and her anxieties, Aurora got up once again to peer outside. She was hoping that if she looked, Jungkook would be already on his way back to meeting her. Aurora stood by the doorpost for a good minute, with no change in effect.

He never showed up.

"I guess he's gone..." Aurora concluded disappointedly. She stepped back outside and climbed over the fence. "But, I should at least take a little look around, right?"

Convincing herself that perhaps Jungkook was in trouble, she began to tread through the streets. She didn't get far, though. As Aurora kept walking, she noticed that some of the streets had no street lamps. It'd be too risky for her to continue her journey. Aurora tried to get around this obstacle by traveling around the block to find more reasonable routes, but they always eventually led her to another dangerous street.

Aurora dropped her hands to her sides and called it a night. "...maybe he'll show up in the morning."

Aurora returned to the abandoned home, and laid back down on the blanket. She honestly felt heartbroken laying there alone, causing her to cry once again. She sobbed as quietly as possible to not alert anyone outside if there were people passing by at that time of night. Drained by her melancholy, she eventually fell asleep.

In the morning, Aurora struggled to open her eyes, let alone, get up. She opened and closed her fists a couple of times to bring some feeling into them. Her eyes opened slightly, already rejecting the bright light dawning in through the door entrance. Aurora forced herself up, instantly remembering that she was in tears last night because Jungkook was gone.

Her mood instantly decreased drastically.

Just when she thought she had a friend, he left.

I guess it was too good to be true...

Getting on her knees, Aurora lowered her head, resting her fists on her kneecaps. She inhaled and exhaled gradually to calm herself down. Aurora couldn't afford to get angry. She was already feeling sick and weak. Her thoughts digging into a negative state would have grieved her even more. She had to cut it.

Aurora wobbled onto her two feet and dragged herself to the doorpost. Taking hold of the door frame, Aurora pulled herself onto it and leaned her face on it carefully. She took in some sunlight to warm her skin. It felt really good. Her eyes remained shut for a period of time.

Opening them, she realized she was hungry. But she didn't know where to get food. Plus, she already promised Jungkook that they weren't going to steal anymore.

"Who T.F. am I kidding?" She rambled under her breath. Ignoring her previous claim, she journeyed around the neighborhood to find food, rather than going to the city. After some intense searching, she was able to get her hands on a few bananas, a can of tuna, and some candy. She sat in the house, taking a few bites from each item. Aurora wanted to find something to keep her mind off of the void she felt in her heart.

She peeled the last banana, hesitating. Aurora lowered the banana from her mouth and exhaled. "Who am I kidding...I can't even pretend he was never here."

She held her right eye, trying to relieve the stress her forehead felt.

As seconds, minutes and hours went by—it quickly turned into days. Aurora was convinced that Jungkook had officially left her. She tried to search The North Sea everywhere—even as much as going into York Seoul City to see if he was in any of the familiar areas they've been through. Aurora had to throw her hands up in defeat. She just gave up. She didn't even understand why she had put so much effort into finding an android—a being that didn't even have the heart of a human—a being that wasn't even human.

Late in that evening, Aurora leaned on the wall. She became accustomed to doing nothing all day besides daydreaming and coming up with stories in her mind. Her little fingers would do ballerina dances in the air to entertain her as she came up with scenarios. The floor was her stage, but her hands were the performers, and her mind was the conductor who orchestrated the whole thing. Aurora felt like she was becoming braindead—but in a peaceful way.

Suddenly, Aurora heard a loud sound of the fence shaking. She jumped in her seat and looked at the entrance skeptically. Getting up, she hurried to the corner of the house to hide and be out of sight of the opening. A shadow crept up the stairs and into the home. Aurora held her breath, hoping that this person would go away.

He entered into the household seeing that no one was here.

Gawking, Aurora's eyes lit up with astonishment. "...Jungkook?"

Jungkook looked to his left. "Master," He began.

Aurora's eyes teared up because she was relieved to see him. But her anger overtook her emotions.

She walked up to him with her shaky fists. "You got some nerve showing your face here after leaving me here for a whole effing week!" She snapped.

Jungkook apologized for his rude behavior in not telling her goodbye. Bowing, he begged her for forgiveness. Aurora didn't want to just let it go easily, because she was truly hurt by his actions. Jungkook explained to Aurora that he left because he had a gift for her. But he wouldn't tell her what it was which pissed Aurora off.

Wanting to gain Aurora's trust again, Jungkook insisted that he take Aurora out for that day. Aurora didn't want to follow his request at first, but Jungkook promised that today was the day her life would get better. Curious by what he meant, Aurora sighed, giving in to him.

"...fine." She folded her arms.

Climbing over the gate, the two went their very way, leaving what they had behind.