Cupid's Law| k.nj

SIX| Data

"Stay still!" Namjoon scolded as your nose twitched lightly in discomfort.

You tried your best to obey but still narrowed your eyes a bit as your stiff form attempted not to wince in the empty electrical lab. 

"Why does it have to be me again?" You asked with an edge to your voice as you wanted so badly to scratch your cheek and cure a tickle, but knew you couldn't or else Namjoon would scold you.

"Because you're more expressive than me," he stated matter-of-factly as he prepped more of the odd metallic sensors to strap against your face. They were cold and uncomfortable, but you pouted knowing he was most certainly right. 

The first step in the project, according to Namjoon, would be to gather data to use as inputs for the different emotions. His theory was that by using positioning sensors on your different facial features and monitoring your heart conditions, he could input your responses and make them the basis for how the machine would read others. 

You felt a bit like a lab rat as you looked down at the heart monitor attached to your wrist and followed the wires coming off of you with your eyes to see how you were connected to the computer. 

It was sort of creepy, but you also knew it was necessary. 

Your back hurt by having to keep it straight, but upon slouching one of the wires came undone. 

"Hey," Namjoon scolded before quickly trying to reattach it and forced your back straight again. You winced in the discomfort of it all and sighed. 

"Can't we borrow more wires from Hobi? These are too short," You argued as your partner shook his head. 

"Nah, he's busy. We shouldn't bother him. Besides, this will work just fine if you stay still." He stressed the last two words in a way that made you bite your inner cheek and stop talking. 

For some reason, Namjoon was always opposed to asking for help. You had begun picking it up, and it was confusing and irritating. 

You turned your head to the side as Namjoon readied the last position sensor and held it up. It needed to go on your cheek bone, so he pressed a finger to your skin in order to find the correct position. You hissed in response under his touch.

"Ack! Your hands are cold!" You protested, trying not to move too suddenly in fear of undoing all the wiring but also wanting his touch to go away. 

"Save the overreacting for when we're recording data," he spoke emotionlessly in response while rolling his eyes and properly placing the sensor against your skin.

You pouted and allowed your face to twitch in the discomfort of it all while he made the last few connections. The skin-safe silicone Namjoon had used to attach the circular sensors felt weird against your facial features. 

"Alright," He finally stated, whirling back your way as you blinked in his sudden outburst and looked longingly at the light coming through the window. It was the middle of the day and you were stuck inside running tests with Namjoon. "First we'll do happy, sad, and angry. Easy enough."

He pulled out his phone and tapped against the screen a bit to pull up a video playlist. He was apparently very prepared. 

"Here's how we'll do this," He instructed, "I'll try to get you to express certain things, and when I say freeze, you have to pause and hold your facial position. Got it?"

"Sure," You agreed rather quickly, not knowing how he intended to get you to express certain things but deciding to sit back and see out of curiosity. Namjoon didn't know you very well, so you didn't think he'd be successful.