Sentimental Shower

Chapter 1

The greatest advantage of humanoid androids is their limitless potential for application. They excel not only in tasks humans cannot do, but sometimes even in tasks humans can do, surpassing them in efficiency.

Therefore, the ultimate form of a humanoid android would be an artist. They would be able to move people’s hearts without having to learn social relationships through socialization and communicative actions.

– Excerpt from “Android Research” by Choi Eun-soo

When night falls on the streets, neon signs shimmer brilliantly. Viewed from above, it looks like moonlight sparkling on the night sea.

The streets of Haeya-dong become dirtier the more glamorous they appear. The humans who sink beneath that glamour fall into three categories: beggars, con artists, and gamblers.

Although he also lived in Haeya-dong, Mr. Yoo knew he didn’t belong to any of these categories.

Because he wasn’t human.

On the surface, he looked exactly like a human. Most of his internal structure was also the same as a human’s. He could eat, drink, sleep, and was equipped with reproductive organs.

Mr. Yoo knew what androids like himself, almost indistinguishable from humans, were called.

Humanoids.

The Department of Science of the Republic of Korea described 5th generation humanoids like himself as follows:

‘They have a body structure similar to humans and can eat, taste, and feel sexual desire when stimulated. Models with learned emotions can also feel anger and shame.’

The same was true for him.

‘Except for parts of the brain and heart, and the process of being ‘created’, the differences from humans are minimal.’

Should we say that the microchips occupying parts of his brain and heart were the only distinguishing factor? Biologically speaking, that is.

“Patient arriving! Patient arriving!”

PO11M, an old medical assistant robot nicknamed “Popo,” rolled around shouting. It was right after a man had opened the door marked “Byeolbyeol Animal Hospital” and entered.

“He-help me…”

A voice filled with fear. The voice of a gambler who had been demoted to a beggar. Mr. Yoo put on his mask and skillfully cleared the examination table.

“Come this way.”

“Blood detected! Proceeding with hemostasis!”

Two thin metal arms sprouted from the round body and began to stop the bleeding. The man’s hand was missing the ring finger.

The man screamed, and Mr. Yoo pressed a remote to lock the animal hospital’s door. The small “In Session” sign below the main sign changed to “Closed.”

“60 jeon upfront.”

When he spoke to the patient who had barely stopped bleeding, the patient pulled out money without looking disappointed. Mr. Yoo counted the money next to the screaming patient. Only after confirming the number of bills did the suturing begin.

People patients like this occasionally came to Mr. Yoo’s Byeolbyeol Animal Hospital.

Most were people who had their fingers cut off or stomachs stabbed in gambling dens. Those who had been chased out for trying to cheat.

When he faced them, emotion analysis results appeared on Mr. Yoo’s retinal display. Fear, pain, and things like anxiety.

Mr. Yoo willingly treated those who came running, bleeding, unable to make it to a hospital.

“Aaagh! It hurts so much! Aaaagh!”

“Anesthesia is an additional 50 jeon.”

Although he was a veterinarian with rough hands, patients never stopped coming. The cost wasn’t much different from a hospital if anesthesia wasn’t used, and those who couldn’t go to hospitals came to Mr. Yoo.

When the treatment was over, the man, though still shaking from pain, shouted at Mr. Yoo. The reason being that he couldn’t restore his finger.

“Reattachment surgery is only possible if you bring the severed finger. It may not be possible depending on the state of amputation.”

“F*ck, are you joking? For this price, shouldn’t you at least give me a prosthetic?”

There were occasionally patients like this. At times like these, Mr. Yoo had only one thing he could rely on. The revolver under the desk.

No emotion showed in the two eyes visible above the mask. He simply showed his hand holding the gun. The patient hesitated, then cursed and left.

Popo, who had been hiding, finally came out and started cleaning up the messy examination room. Mr. Yoo put the cash in the safe and sank into his chair. He placed his hand on the worn-out leather armrest and closed his eyes.

This Haeya-dong is where trash gathers. A place where trashy humans turn on bright lights to attract other trashy humans.

While the 2nd District is one of the central areas of the Republic of Korea, Haeya-dong on its outskirts was the lower class where useless humans were pushed down.

The glamour was an illusion. Like the sea that sparkles beautifully in the moonlight but is just filth.

Mr. Yoo finished organizing the examination room and pressed the remote again to change the sign back to “In Session.” The night view shone through the door.

It was another street full of drunks, lights, and noise. In the sight, no, the interface screen of Mr. Yoo, who wasn’t human, data analyzing the complex scene appeared and disappeared.

Of course, since he wasn’t a combat model, the information wasn’t completely accurate. When he blinked, his brown pupils, half-hidden by long bangs, flickered like a shutter.

And then something unfamiliar was caught in his sight, no, his visual information.

‘That person…’

Name: Yeon Tae-soo. Everyone living in Haeya-dong knew this man.

Well-combed pomade hair, a seemingly firm forehead, thick eyebrows, and below them, one of his eyes was prosthetic.

Also, one of his hands was mechanical. It wasn’t certain because he always wore long sleeves, but it was said his prosthetic arm started from near the wrist.

However, there was something else that made him famous besides his prosthetic eye and hand.

That face that always seemed to be smiling, looking joyful. His objectively handsome appearance that anyone would acknowledge was the first reason for his fame, and the second was the fact that he was the owner of the casino “Eden.”

Eden was the largest casino in Haeya-dong, which was full of gambling dens. There was even a saying that all money flowing into Haeya-dong had Eden as its final destination.

This famous man called Yeon Tae-soo was running towards Byeolbyeol Animal Hospital. While bleeding.

Bang! The door opened with a loud noise. Startled Popo jumped up.

“Hey, doctor… I’ve got a bit of a hole in my stomach…”

Yeon Tae-soo, who said this while chuckling for some reason, collapsed.

“Blood detected! Proceeding with hemostasis!”

While Popo was making a fuss, Mr. Yoo let out a long sigh and pressed the remote button. Somehow, it seemed like today was going to be eventful.

***

Stab wounds, lacerations, multiple contusions. Besides these, Yeon Tae-soo’s body had many scars. Most were traces of being stabbed by sharp objects. There were also scars presumed to be from gunshots.

Anyway, this wound wasn’t life-threatening. It would heal safely with proper treatment and follow-up care.

Mr. Yoo stared down at the face of the lying Yeon Tae-soo. Such a famous person had been stabbed in the stomach. It seemed that something unusual had happened at the casino Eden.

Even if he tried not to care, Eden’s situation was inevitably concerning as it was connected to the whole of Haeya-dong.

Just when he thought he had settled down, was it time to leave again?

His eyes felt strained even though he shouldn’t be capable of fatigue. As he lowered his eyelids to block the visual display, he heard a groan. He quickly pulled up his half-lowered mask and opened his eyes again.

“Ugh…”

Yeon Tae-soo opened his eyes with a groan. He looked surprised when he saw Mr. Yoo, then widened his eyes.

“If you’re conscious, please pay the treatment fee and leave.”

Despite Mr. Yoo’s words, Yeon Tae-soo just stared at him intently, showing no sign of getting up.

Mr. Yoo reached out his hand to help Yeon Tae-soo up. He wasn’t particularly surprised when his outstretched hand was immediately grabbed. These kinds of guys were a dime a dozen.

However, when Yeon Tae-soo pulled his hand, dragging his upper body along, and their faces came close enough to almost touch, even he couldn’t help but hold his breath.

“Mr. Yoo, it’s the first time seeing you this close, right?”

Yeon Tae-soo was a long-time resident of this area. Mr. Yoo had seen him a few times in passing. He thought he wouldn’t be recognized since they had only passed by from a distance without even making eye contact, but he knew his name.

There was nothing particularly strange about it. Everyone in this neighborhood knew about Mr. Yoo of Byeolbyeol Animal Hospital in the alley behind the jewelry store, who treated severed fingers.

The question was why he came here. Wasn’t he rich enough to have his own personal doctor?

Their locked gazes showed no sign of breaking. Behind him, the narrow alley view could be seen. Rusted guardrails, sagging power lines, grimy neon signs.

“Someone told me. That Mr. Yoo of Byeolbyeol Animal Hospital has no blood or tears.”

He had heard that rumor too. It probably started because he didn’t show much emotion.

He had tried hard to act like a person many times. Forcing himself to smile, pretending to be surprised when he should be.

However, after realizing that people saw him as a ‘person’ even without doing so, he stopped imitating humans unnecessarily.

Yeon Tae-soo’s prosthetic eye was neither black nor brown. The bright blue prosthetic eye contrasted with the pitch-black pupil of his other eye. Considering that people usually match their prosthetic eyes to their natural eye color, it was extremely unusual.

As always, the emotion analysis results of the other person appeared on his retinal display. ‘Curiosity’. ‘Favor’.

A man like this wouldn’t be afraid to reveal himself. That’s why Mr. Yoo envied and disliked him.

Because he had to endlessly conceal his own existence.

No, this wasn’t Mr. Yoo’s own emotion. Things like envy or dislike were what humans had.

To be precise, should we say he derived a difference in efficiency?

Whenever these ’emotion’-like things popped up unexpectedly, Mr. Yoo felt perplexed. Why were these things occupying his mind when he wasn’t human?

It was probably an error. He was the only one of his kind, which also meant he was the first of his kind that hadn’t gone through trial and error. For all he knew, he might already be harboring numerous malfunctions.

That’s the only reason why something that could be classified as an ’emotion’ might brush against his artificial cultivated brain embedded with microchips.

A commotion arose outside the closed door. Shifting his gaze from the eyes he had been staring into all along, he saw men presumed to be Yeon Tae-soo’s subordinates gathering and knocking on the door.

“People who come and go here keep raving about how beautiful you are… I wanted to see for myself up close.”

Yeon Tae-soo finally let go of his hand. Mr. Yoo pressed the remote to open the door, and at the same time, the men rushed in.

Adjusting his plain black jacket that didn’t match his flashy appearance and equally black dress shirt, he got up from his seat and stared intently at Mr. Yoo’s face again.

“It’s worth the fuss.”

That gaze, looking at him like an object, was so intense that Mr. Yoo remained frozen for a while. As if he had actually touched him.

The gleam of his prosthetic hand remained in his vision like an afterimage. It was the only thing shining in the alley where everything else was rusted and grimy.