[crow]

"Oh my god. You're on a dating site," said Ji-eun, taking a bite of her pizza as she peered over her brother's shoulder.

Ji-tae sputtered and shoved her away. "I am not," he replied. "And can't I have some privacy? This is my room!" Ji-eun had let herself be shoved, and smoothly turned the motion into a walk back into the kitchen, catlike, as if she had meant to do it all along. She made no reply, but she was smiling, and Ji-tae knew that she didn't believe a word he said.

Strictly speaking, there was nothing to be embarrassed about on his screen right this minute, just a questionnaire. But a lot of the questions...

Ji-tae didn't know what he was doing, really. It wasn't a dating site--- though it was something close, he just wasn't entirely sure what it was. Not something he'd usually go for; his sister was right on that front, at least. And Ji-tae wasn't the type to let himself get suckered by a pretty face, but... There had been this guy, Ji-tae had seen him in a coffee shop (yes, cliche, but what he was a sucker for was sweeping romances, cliches and all). His picture had been on the website advertisement too, and---

"Just don't download a billion viruses," said Ji-eun from the kitchen. Ji-tae rolled his eyes. He turned his attention back to the questionnaire and found that the first few questions were a bit... odd.

When something makes you angry, how do you usually react?

I try to calm down, most of the time. Sometimes I do or say something I regret later though. Mostly he got angry on someone else's behalf, and a lot of the time they didn't appreciate his intervention. I'm working on it.

Have you ever been called or thought of yourself as a sadist?

No.

In your younger years, did you ever bully others?

No.

Have you ever been bullied?

Here, he paused a moment. What did he say? It wasn't something he liked to talk about, and strictly speaking, he supposed it wasn't real bullying... In the end, he settled for putting down, It's complicated. It was as much as he could bring himself to confess in such a detached medium, to a stranger whose face he would never see.

After that, the questions got easier.

Do you like animals? If yes, what are your favorites?

I like otters a lot. Also dogs, and cats. Basically anything cute, though rodents don't like me much.

Do you have any pets? If so, what?

No. Can't afford one.

Name three to five words that you think best describe you.

He had to consult with Ji-eun for this one. He didn't quite trust himself. He didn't want to sound pompous, and he didn't want to list only his bad qualities, so---

"Doofus, moron, idiot, dummy, nerd," she said, ticking them off on her fingers one by one. "How about 'doormat'? That's a good one."

Generous, he put down instead. "I'm not a doormat, sis."

"Sure you are! Oh come on, put down 'naive' at least. Remember that time that guy roped you into going to church?" He had to concede that she may have had a point there, and reluctantly added it to the list. She typed in 'nerd', which he corrected to hopeless romantic, but didn't quibble when she tapped her chin and put in, good-natured too. Finally, grinning cheekily, she typed something out---

"'Cute ass'?" he said incredulously. She shrugged.

"I wouldn't know, we're related. It looks kind of flat if you ask me. But in high school the girls wouldn't stop going on about it--- Hey, you want this to be accurate, right? You asked for my help!" She fended him off as he made a dive for the delete button, and sat on him until he relented.

"But no more 'advice'," he said weakly.

"Suit yourself," she said.

Name five of your favorite foods.

Instant ramen, fried eggs, seolleongtang, dumplings, strawberries.

Do you prefer to stay in or go out to eat?

Go out. No one at home can cook. But I like home-cooked food.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

Biking, he wroke, which wasn't entirely a lie, watching dramas and movies, going out to the beach. They all sounded woefully ordinary, but the thing was, Ji-tae didn't exactly have loads of free time--- at least, not in stretches long enough to do anything in.

What is your favorite holiday?

Valentines Day.

What is your favorite season?

Spring.

Do you tend to hog the covers in bed?

No.

What is your favorite, non-gender defining, physical feature on a person?

Legs. He wanted to say eyes, since that sounded nicer, and he did pay a lot of attention to those too, but if he was being honest...

What do you look for in a relationship?

True love, he put down quickly, glancing over his shoulder to make sure his sister wasn't there to see him write it. Not that she didn't know, but he'd never hear the end of it if she saw. He scrolled down quickly to conceal that answer, and immediately regretted doing so as he read over the next few questions. A shade of red began to creep up his neck.

In a relationship, are you more interested in sex or romance? Or both?

Romance. Not that sex isn't good, he added hastily, then shook his head and erased it again.

How many intimate/romantic/sexual relationships have you been in?

Four.

Do you enjoy cuddling?

Yes.

Do you enjoy foreplay?

... Yes.

Are you more dominant, submissive or somewhere in between?

"Oh, submissive, definitely," said Ji-eun. Ji-tae hadn't even heard her sneak up. He buried his face in his hands and groaned.

"No one asked you."

[ToxicShadow]

Iota was something of a special case among the few existing Artificial Personal Lovers, having been built with a handful of parts from a previously dismantled APL, Eta, that had been subjected to harsh physical abuse once his User made the decision to throw him away. It had been an unexpected scenario, especially as, after being threatened to be destroyed, Eta accidentally took the life of his User in his desperation to flee. It was considered self defense, so the Love Me Corporation which had created the APL suffered no real repercussions, only they suffered, knowing that one of their creations had suffered.

But Eta and Iota were not the same. Although Iota had been given the hard drives from Eta, they had been wiped clean, so that Eta's memories were gone forever, and Iota would not be tortured by them. By all accounts, the Love Me Corporation considered Eta a deceased APL. They did not know that Iota managed to retrain the memories from his past existence, although they were fragmented and blurry, and he, too, was not yet aware of it.

In an effort to prevent Iota from being abused as his predecessor had been, the staff at LMC created a special application form when it came time to find a User for him, and each application had been gone over with much scrutiny. They were much harsher for Iota's sake, disqualifying the majority of applications long before even reaching the end of them.

When it came down to it, one particular application stood out from the rest, and the staff made the decision that, instead of raffling Iota off, they would hand him over to the man whom left his details in that very application.

About a week had gone by since Ji-tae had submitted his application, and it was early evening when there was triple knock on his door, accompanied by a man's voice. "Delivery! Delivery for one Kang Ji-tae!" The delivery man stood holding a clip board with a paper to be signed and with a large crate, one that could easily house him inside of it, that was black with bright red letters that read, "Love Me Corporation." Two other men were hauling it on a furniture dolly.

[crow]

The Kang household, such as it was, had a bit of an irregular schedule. Ji-eun worked four or five part-time jobs at any given time--- and if she wasn't working that number, she was actively looking for more--- and while Ji-tae only had one job, it necessitated him keeping odd hours. The chances of either of them being home at any given time, even at night, were slim. Fortunately for Iota, it was one of those miraculous evenings when the house was occupied. Unfortunately, it was the wrong sibling.

Ji-eun made quite the sight as she answered the door, hair all askew and dressed in loose pyjamas. Taking the clipboard, she didn't so much as glance at the delivery-man. "I'm his sister; that's fine, right? I just sign here and---" The movement at the periphery of her vision caught her eye, and Ji-eun made the mistake of looking up. She froze for a moment, startled, but she didn't keep still for long.

"Wait, what? What is that?! Hold up, you've got the wrong house," she said, squinting more closely at the clipboard now. Nope, that was their address alright, and Ji-tae's name, and his signature. But who the heck was--- "Oh my god. If he signed up for some kind of weird sex toy magazine, I'm going to murder him," she said. She already didn't want to think about what this was going to cost them. How much it had already costed him.

[ToxicShadow]

The deliveryman didn't bat an eyelash at Ji-eun's unkempt appearance; which, in spite of it, he recognized her as the sister of the User registered to the APL they were delivering. The LMC were becoming increasingly invasive, but not. After all, they researched only through available means so they weren't doing anything illegal. At its worst, it was gray area.

"Yes, that's fine," he answered, agreeing that she could sign the paperwork as a proxy. It might prove to throw Iota off, if he ended up meeting this woman first instead of his designated User, but they had prepared for that scenario.

Towards her outburst, the deliveryman could only grin, and answered simply with, "Well, it certainly isn't a magazine in this crate." He entirely did not deny that it was a sex toy. Then, he cleared his throat. "Now then, if you could just sign the paperwork," he urged. "We do need to get on our way."

[crow]

Ji-eun was beginning to wish the delivery-man had said no. She would have loved to wait until Ji-tae got home, so she could make him explain himself, in detail. But as the man had already given her the go-ahead, there was nothing she could do but sigh and scribble in her own signature.

If there was one thing she knew for sure, it was that her brother was dead meat when she got ahold of him. The fact that the delivery-man hadn't denied that it was a sex toy hadn't been lost on her.

To her credit, she held in her dismay--- not to mention her irritation and her embarrassment--- until after the crate had been wheeled in and the men gone away. As soon as the door clicked shut and the truck drove away though, the entire house was fair game. She went for the box itself.

"Ugh! What is wrong with him?!" she wailed, jerking the towel off her shoulders and throwing it forcibly to the ground. "What the hell did he order, a lifetime supply of fleshlights?" Or dildos? Nevermind, she didn't want to know. The men had popped the lid but she wasn't going to look inside. It was impossible not to be morbidly curious, but she didn't need to know that much about her kid brother. She glowered at the box. "How much did he spend on you, huh? A hundred dollars? A thousand? Where would he even get that kind of money?" She gave the thing a sound kick, which she instantly regretted. Bare feet were no match for wood, no matter how much taekwondo you knew.

[ToxicShadow]

From outside the confines of the crate, an unfamiliar voice registered. Iota deemed that it belonged to a female, which then meant that the person he was listening to as they shouted was not his User, but the other person. He sat, unmoving, and he listened to the goings on outside. That was, until he heard and felt the impact of her foot against he crate. This was irritating.

He pushed against the opened panel of the crate from the inside, it falling down with a heavy thud. The black and red balloons that had been packed all around Iota spilled onto the floor and the man, whom stood taller then the sister, stepped outside of the crate which had confined him during delivery.

Ji-eun would have then found herself face to face with a strange, good looking man with bright red hair, a few inches past his shoulders in length, and bright red eyes to match. Luckily for her, the staff of LMC had been considerate, and Iota was fully dressed. His entire ensemble would have easily been considered fashionable, wearing a leather coat over his shirt, suitably matching belt and boots, gloves, dark jeans, and a lengthy chain necklace with a black and red pendent and multiple ear piercings.

The only words he spoke to announce himself was, "He didn't spend any money on me."

[crow]

In the split second that it took Ji-eun to register what had come out of the box, two instincts warred in her mind: run away, or karate chop the hell out of this stranger. Fortunately for both of them, she picked the former. Scrambling away at lightning speed, she vaulted over the coffee table to land in front of the couch, dropping into a fighting stance. Only then did it finally sink in that the stranger had come from inside the crate.

Well, okay, no; she was aware of that much from the start. It was just that the implications took a bit longer to filter down. Someone had mailed a person to their front step. Her eyes went briefly wide with shock, then narrowed again. "Wait, do you work for that asshole?" she asked. If this was some sick ploy of Tae-rang's---

"Sis, I'm home!"

The man of the hour, so to speak, threw open the door. The smile froze on his face as he took in the scene before him. The tinny sound of music, turned up loud enough to be audible from the headphones on his ears, was the only sound in the room. Somewhere off in the distance outside, a crow gave a call.

"I'm going to come back later," he said, immediately backing out the door. He wasn't fast enough. Ji-eun had seized him by the collar before he could get away.

"Oh no you don't, kiddo. You've got a lot of explaining to do," she said, dragging him by the ear to Iota.

[ToxicShadow]

It was certainly quite a spectacle, watching as the woman scrambled away from him. Of course, Iota made no further movements. He wasn't interested in her. Although, what she began to say confused him. He did not work for anyone one.

Hearing a voice different from Ji-eun's, one that he assumed would be Ji-tae, the APL's gaze shifted toward the door. During the silence that fell over the three of them, he looked the other man up and down, before focusing on his face. There was no doubt about it, based on the picture he had been shown, this person was defintely his User.

As Ji-tae tried to back away, Iota reached out impulsively, although he didn't take a single step to actually try to stop him. 'Don't leave me alone.' The thought came to him without it even making any sense. Sure, he was supposed to be attached to his User, but it wasn't even that; why did he feel terrified at the idea of being left alone?

The APL gave a sigh of relief when the sister stopped his User from leaving and unceremoniously dragged him back. Iota might have been annoyed that she was rough with him, in other circumstances, but it was just a relief that he hadn't ran off.

"You're Ji-tae," Iota stated, matter-of-factly, when the siblings came before him. His red eyes with fixed to the other man's face. "A week ago, you filled out an application on the company website of the Love Me Corporation." Even that hadn't been a question. "Well, congratulations, you have won your very own Artificial Personal Lover."

[crow]

Ji-tae caught sight of Iota's sudden movement toward him and stopped in his tracks. Ji-eun stopped with him, though it took her a moment to register why he'd paused. Well, that was fine; Iota was what she'd meant to ask him about anyway. She let go of his ear, and Ji-tae straightened, though his eyes didn't leave Iota's face. Ji-eun watched her brother, searching his expression for any sign of an explanation, but he mostly just looked... stunned. And Ji-eun was no slouch at reading him, having had too much of the raising of him these past twenty-one years.

Whatever he was thinking, however, the android's words snapped him out of it. At the words 'artificial personal lover', Ji-tae blushed a bright red, and turned back to his sister with an awkward laugh. "O-Oh, um... You remember that survey you helped me fill out a few weeks ago?" he said. "Well... I think it was an application. For, er... this." To be honest, this wasn't what he had been expecting either, but---

"Wait, so you're saying you were applying for some kind of... live-in robot boyfriend?" Ji-eun fixed him with a look of equal parts anger and disbelief. Ji-tae could only shrug and laugh again, weakly. "Kang Ji-tae, mom is rolling in her grave right now."

But Ji-tae was still sneaking glances at Iota, and he put up his hands in a placating gesture. "Sis," he said, "do you think you could give us a moment?" Ji-eun's eyes widened, then narrowed, but before she could blow her top at him, he cut in. "I think this is kind of uncomfortable for him. Just... let me talk to him for a minute." He hadn't missed the relief that had flickered over the android's features when Ji-eun dragged him into the room.

Ji-eun gave her brother a long, hard look, but in the end, she gave in with a sigh. "Right. He's the uncomfortable one," she said, but she raked the fingers of both hands through her still-damp hair and walked off. "You two sort yourselves out. I'm going to watch a drama and try to forget this happened."

Ji-tae watched her go, turning back to Iota once Ji-eun shut the door behind her. Ironically, however, now that they were alone, Ji-tae was suddenly at a loss for words. Play it smooth, Ji-tae, he thought, but all he could manage was a shy smile. "So... Hey," he said. "I'm Ji-tae... Though I guess you already knew that." He had reached out a hand for Iota to shake, but retracted it to rub at his neck instead. Even with all the girls he'd dated in school and all the times he'd had to pretend to be someone's date, he was still terrible at this. "Er, do you have a name?"

[ToxicShadow]

There wasn't much to be said with the exchange between the siblings. Iota only remained standing where he was, silently listening. Based on these slight observations, at least, the APL wasn't exactly unwanted. Records so far showed that APLs were negatively received at least as often as they were well received, although that was primarily the faults of the Users, not the APLs. Why enter a contest you had no desire of winning? Iota would never know. Unless that particular APL eventually gleaned that information from his User and included it in one of his reports, that is.

He watched the sister go, before his striking, red eyes landed on Ji-tae's face. A small smile appeared on his features, but he somehow seemed a little detached. As it was with APLs, Iota was happy to actually meet with his User for the first time. But... there was a strange nagging in the back of his mind. So to speak.

The introductions were a bit odd, but he nodded his head. "Yes, I am aware. I have received all the data you submitted, and then some. Should I trust it to be accurate?" For some reason, the APL felt relieved when Ji-tae retracted his hand even before he could reach out for it. But why? "My full name is Artificial Personal Lover Prototype Iota V6C. Please just call me Iota. Based on the information you have provided, we were selected as ideal candidates for one another."

[crow]

Ji-tae unconsciously straightened a little under Iota's scrutiny, his hand still resting on the back of his neck. A flush was slowly creeping up his face again. They certainly hadn't spared any expense in creating Iota; if anything, he was a bit too handsome. Even knowing what he was, Ji-tae felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny--- or perhaps he felt that way precisely because he knew. Those eyes and that smile... It wasn't fair, he thought.

And then Iota spoke, and Ji-tae came back to his senses a little. "O-Oh. Ideal candidates, huh?" He was smiling, but truthfully he felt more at a loss than he had before, for a different reason. He hadn't expected it to sound quite so... clinical. He wasn't sure what he expected, when he'd filled in all that info for that questionnaire, but a man... android... someone, telling him in a detached voice that they were made for each other wasn't it.

Still... Anything was worth trying once. And if Iota was really sent here specifically for him... He didn't want to think about it like that, but it would be pretty cruel to turn him away. "Yeah, I mean... I did my best to be honest," he said. He smiled more warmly, and this time, when he extended his hand, he didn't take it back. "I don't really know how to do this, but let's get along, I guess! Or should I say 'take care of me'?"

[ToxicShadow]

That was good to know. With Ji-tae's honesty, it meant that Iota didn't have to start entirely from scratch. That was the ideal. It made things easier. It worried him, though, that his User still didn't seem entirely comfortable with him. Had he said something wrong? Iota didn't want to make any mistakes here.

Those worries eased up when his User held out his hand again and greeted him more warmly, but he didn't react to it right away. Iota couldn't deny that he had been relieved when Ji-tae had retracted his hand earlier, but he couldn't fathom why that was. He was certain of one thing, though. Shaking hands in this sort of position was a little out of place. People in a new relationship didn't usually shake hands. It was usually hugging or kissing.

Iota ended up staring at the outstretched hand for a moment longer than he probably should have, hesitate to make contact, but when he did react, it was with a bit of splendor. In one smooth motion, the APL stepped closer and knelt down on one knee, taking Ji-tae's hand gently within his own. Leaning in, he kissed the other man's hand, in a charming manner perhaps more befit of a nobleman. Ji-tae was someone he treasured, that much was certain. "Likewise, please take care of me."

"And," he added, slowly, "Wont you tell me about yourself, so I can hear it with my own ears?" He may have been programmed with necessary data, but that wasn't the same as hearing it for yourself. He wanted to hear about Ji-tae directly from Ji-tae.

[crow]

Ji-tae was just about to amend his statement about honesty, having remembered some of the things Ji-eun put down for him, but that line of thought flew completely out the window as Iota bent to his hand. He had about a second of wide-eyed confusion, as it became apparent that Iota definitely wasn't going for a handshake, before the android's lips touched his skin.

And then he turned beet red, from his neck all the way up to his face.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-What are you doing?" he said, his voice coming out a panicked squeak. He didn't sound affronted or upset, just embarrassed, and so completely at a loss that he could hardly get the words out. He stepped back--- or attempted to, and fell over on his back tripping over himself. He couldn't feel his face. Had it been this hot in here a minute ago? He was beginning to wonder what he had gotten himself into. Maybe he should have expected that--- Ji-eun's words about a 'live in robot lover' came to mind--- but he hadn't thought it would escalate so quickly.

Only the fact that Iota had said something else snapped him out of it a little, and Ji-tae made a valiant attempt to focus on his words. Propped up on one elbow, he pressed the heel of his other hand to his forehead, clearing his throat before he spoke. "Right, um... W-Well.. What... do you want to know?" It sounded weak, but right now his thoughts were a mess, and he was going to need a bit more direction.

[ToxicShadow]

Entirely unable to predict that Ji-tae's reaction to something so simple would be so incredibly dramatic, even Iota was left dumbfounded. His User's hand was pulled from his light grasp when he fell backwards. As he fell, the APL hastily stood up once more, but it was too late to reach out for his hand and try to catch him and prevent the accident. For a moment, he just stood there, arm stretched out halfway and wearing an obviously concerned expression, before gathering his thoughts.

When he did, he nearly sighed, but kept it to himself. Ji-tae sprawled out on the floor, propping himself up on one elbow after the disastrous tumble, was quite a spectacle. Taking a step forward, he leaned over and held out his hand for his User to take, so that he could help him up.

"Everything." That was his answer. "But we can take our time with that." He had no intentions of going anywhere else. He belonged with Ji-tae, and that was that, regardless of everything else. "If you want to know anything about me or... what I am, just ask." Somehow, bringing up that he was something other than what Ji-tae was, saying that there were things that obviously differentiated them, made him feel uneasy. That remained entirely private, though, not outwardly displaying his concerns. Now was a delicate time, after all. At the very least, he had to be confident about all of this.

[crow]

"E-Everything, huh?" Ji-tae was still on the floor, though he'd pushed himself up so he was sitting. His color had mostly returned to normal, though his cheeks were still a bit flushed. He hesitated a moment, then grabbed Iota's hand and allowed himself to be pulled upright, giving the android a slightly sheepish smile in way of thanks. "That's... a lot but... Oh!" He perked up as an idea came to him. "You can come with me to work tomorrow! I'm making some deliveries, so it shouldn't be a big deal." It would be a starting point, anyway. The idea of just up and telling his life story was pretty daunting. Somehow, it felt easier to just show Iota instead--- more natural, or something like that.

Not that he would know anything about that.

He shook off the thought, however, and tried to think of something to ask Iota. "Well... What do you like? You know all about me and my preferences, so..." He thought for a moment about going down the list of questions from the questionnaire he had filled out, but stopped short when he remembered the ones at the end. "Favorite food? Hobbies? Do you like... pets?" He felt a little like he was grasping at straws here, but he had to start somewhere.