New Normal (1/1)

i finished editing early so have this chapter a few hours earlyThirteen-year-old Woohyun awoke to the shouts of Myungsoo and the new kid--Sungjong--from downstairs in the kitchen. They were fighting over… something. Woohyun couldn’t figure out what it was until he heard a familiar voice, deepened with the onset of puberty.He clambered up from the futon and rocketed down the stairs. He skidded as he turned toward the entrance of the kitchen where Sunggyu stood, Sungjong hanging off his neck.“Play with me,” Sungjong whined. “Hoya-hyung and Woohyun-hyung won’t let me play with them anymore, and Myungsoo-hyung is boring!”“I am not boring!” Myungsoo shouted. “Books are not boring!”“Books are so boring,” Sungjong groaned. He protested when Myungsoo stuck his tongue out at him. “Hyung! Did you see that!? He just stuck his tongue out at me!”“How can I see when your arms are wrapped around my neck, Sungjong-ah?” Sunggyu grimaced, tugging at Sungjong’s arms. “Now let go before you choke me.”“No!”“Hyung,” Myungsoo pleaded, tugging on Sunggyu’s hand. “Did you get me anything new to read? Please, hyung, I’m so bored.”Sunggyu winced as he forcibly pried Sungjong’s hands from his neck. “Check the front pocket of my bag.”“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Myungsoo said excitedly, already scrambling for the worn red backpack Sunggyu had dropped in the living room the moment he’d walked through the door.“Dongwoo, help,” Sunggyu begged as Sungjong glued himself to his side.“Sungjong-ah,” Dongwoo called, “come help me with these pancakes.”“Okay!” Sungjong replied happily and scampered off into the kitchen to help him.Sunggyu turned to where Woohyun was still standing, watching the whole scene take place. He smiled and said, “Shouldn’t you be in there helping them?”Woohyun swallowed past the strange tingling sensation that took over his throat and stomach whenever he saw Sunggyu these days. “I--” He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Sunggyu’s waist, burying his head in his chest. “I missed you.”“Ugh, you and Dongwoo, I swear. Such crybabies,” Sunggyu complained, but there was no malice in his tone. He wrapped his arms around Woohyun’s shoulders. “What am I going to do with you?”“Shut up,” Woohyun muttered. “Stop leaving for so long.”Sunggyu wrinkled his nose. “I don’t come home for brats who breathe their morning breath in my face first thing after I walk through the door.”Woohyun pushed him away and covered his mouth, face flushing a deep red. He turned around and ran back up the stairs to brush his teeth. When he burst into the bathroom, Hoya was already there washing his face.“Mornin’,” he mumbled sleepily.“Sunggyu’s home,” Woohyun said excitedly. He grabbed his toothbrush and began to scrub his teeth.“I thought I heard him downstairs.” Hoya stretched and yawned. He watched Woohyun for a moment through the reflection of the mirror. “Do you want to go play soccer with Kibum today?”Woohyun spat the toothpaste out into the sink. “Nah, I’m going to stick around here with Sunggyu-hyung.”“Fine,” Hoya grumbled. “Have fun.”Woohyun narrowed his eyes. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you acting so weird?”“W-what are you talking about!?” Hoya felt his face burn. “I’m not being weird!” He huffed and crossed his arms. “Ugh, whatever. I’m going to play with Kibum today.”Woohyun furrowed his brow and watched as Hoya stomped out of the bathroom. “Weird,” he muttered, then finished washing up.He returned to the kitchen and chatted away happily with Sunggyu as they sat around the dining table for breakfast. Woohyun liked these mornings best. Sunggyu was in a good mood, excited to hear about all that had happened while he’d been away earning money for their little family. Woohyun liked the way his usually hard expression gave way to a kind of gentleness that had become all too rare in Sunggyu these days.He loved and hated the way his insides tingled whenever Sunggyu turned that expression on him.Woohyun wasn’t sure what to call that emotion, but it felt important, so he held onto it while Sunggyu was away, cultivating it so that it might one day transform him into someone Sunggyu could call an equal.***If they had thought that their lives would go back to the way they were months ago upon Sunggyu’s return, they were very wrong. It was more like things returned to the normal that had settled when he wasn’t there. Sunggyu pitched in to help when he could, but he wasn’t able to leave the house for fear that he might be spotted by someone who recognized his face and would report him to the police for a reward.Instead, Sunggyu stuck around the house, occupying his time with helping Sungyeol, Myungsoo, and Sungjong do repairs. He especially liked the times when Sungyeol would show him his personal projects, and he would stare in fascination as he excitedly explained what he was creating.“Last night I decided to write a software patch for Navi,” Sungyeol explained to Sunggyu as they sat on the floor of the garage. Sunggyu looked curiously at the little robot that had settled affectionately on his knee. “I just decided to add some additional functionality. With this he can record and playback video, tell you the weather, and other neat stuff. Should I install it?”Sunggyu let the little robot climb onto his hand. It beeped curiously, and he smiled. “Yeah, that would be wonderful.” He hesitated. “Thank you.”“No problem!” Sungyeol said happily. He plugged Navi into his computer and began to install the software.Sunggyu scooted closer to him to watch the screen of his computer. Sungyeol jumped as Sunggyu rested his chin on his shoulder, but slowly relaxed. He glanced at Sunggyu with an unreadable expression, but said nothing about the strange display of affection.As Woohyun returned from an Alliance job, he pulled Dongwoo aside into the empty kitchen. He glanced around to make sure none of the other boys were coming, then said, “Are we going to tell Doojoon?”Dongwoo sighed. “I have the feeling he’ll find out eventually one way or the other. It’s been a week already.”“He might know how to get Sunggyu’s memories back,” Woohyun replied hopefully.Dongwoo leaned against the counter and stared at the wall pensively. “You remember how he said that finding Sunggyu meant finding the other missing Alliance members?”Woohyun frowned. “You don’t think--”“That those Alliance members were also turned into androids?” Dongwoo asked, raising one brow. “It’s a distinct possibility. What worries me is what they plan to do with Sunggyu.”Woohyun curled his hands into fists. “I won’t let them hurt him.”“Neither will I,” Dongwoo agreed. “We should let Sunggyu decide.”Woohyun nodded, and left Dongwoo in the kitchen to go find Sunggyu. He led him up to the bedroom the three of them--Woohyun, Hoya, and Sunggyu--had come to share. Woohyun took a deep breath and looked at Sunggyu seriously. “Dongwoo and I think you should tell the Alliance of your existence.”Sunggyu flinched and dropped his gaze. Woohyun reached out and placed his hands on Sunggyu’s shoulders. “They might know how to get your memory back.”Sunggyu made a pained expression and nodded. “Maybe they’ll be able to tell me what I am.”“Yeah,” Woohyun said. “That too. Let’s get going then. Dongwoo’s waiting downstairs.”They passed Hoya on the landing, and Sunggyu’s sullen expression caused Hoya’s brow to furrow. “Where are you two going?”“Oh, uh--” Woohyun glanced around nervously.Sunggyu was oblivious to his discomfort, and said, “We’re going to the Alliance to see if they know what I am.”Woohyun cringed, and Hoya looked between them in surprise. Sunggyu turned back to look at Woohyun, only realizing then that perhaps Woohyun hadn’t wanted him to tell Hoya. It was strange, Sunggyu thought, because it felt like they shared everything together.Hoya sighed. “Let me change. I’m going too.”“Hoya,” Woohyun warned. “This is dangerous. You don’t have to.”“It’s dangerous, so I should definitely go.” He rolled his eyes. “Dongwoo is too big of a baby to punch hard.”Woohyun gave him a hard stare, then nodded. A few minutes later, the four of them set off together. The light was dimming as the sun set somewhere over the city-top into dusk. The streetlamps flickered on one by one, and Sunggyu grew distinctly fearful and uncomfortable. He drew the hood over his head tighter, paranoid that someone would recognize him as that android that had run away from one of the most powerful Senators in the country.As they approached their destination, Sunggyu felt the fear sink into his stomach. His steps slowed, and Woohyun and Dongwoo pulled a bit ahead. Hoya frowned, and grabbed his arm. “No turning back now,” he said. “We won’t let anything bad happen to you.”Sunggyu nodded and kept walking. Woohyun showed the coin to the bouncer, who furrowed his brow and nodded at the two extra companions. “Who’re your friends?”Sunggyu lifted his head up and met his scrutinizing gaze. The bouncer’s eyes widened and his face went pale as if he had seen a ghost.“Go in,” he whispered. “Hurry.”The four of them piled down the stairs and into the basement headquarters of their local Alliance branch. Doojoon stood in front of the monitor at the opposite end of the room and was watching video feed from some other corner of the city. He turned around when he heard their footsteps at the entrance.Woohyun wrapped his arm protectively around Sunggyu’s shoulders as Doojoon’s face morphed from suspicion to outright shock. Sunggyu met Doojoon’s gaze for a brief moment, then looked away. “How did you find him?” Doojoon asked, disbelieving. “Where was he?”“We found him in a market in the third stratum.” Woohyun squeezed Sunggyu’s shoulder reassuringly, then said softly, “Sunggyu can tell you the rest.”Doojoon’s eyes narrowed, the slightest bit suspicious. “And how long ago did you find him? We should’ve been the first to know.”“It’s not like you offered to go find him,” Woohyun spat. Hoya groaned at Woohyun’s lack of self control, and at the snap of Doojoon’s fingers, the other boys were being pulled away from Sunggyu.“I think you need to be reminded who runs this show.” Doojoon waved his hand and one of the lower level Alliance grunts brought forth a chair. He pushed Sunggyu down into the chair as the other members tied his wrists and ankles to it. Woohyun fought against the man restraining him as Dongwoo pleaded with him to stop struggling.Sunggyu leaned back, terrified, as Doojoon rested a hand on the back of the chair and leaned in close. “Now, I want you to tell us everything. Be honest, and this will all go a lot faster, yeah?”Sunggyu swallowed thickly and nodded. He told his story from the beginning--how he had woken up with no memories on a cold metal table next to a scientist that began a series of tests on him. He told them how they had explained to him his purpose and how he had failed the most important test.He could feel Dongwoo, Woohyun, and Hoya grow uncomfortable as he recounted his life in his user’s home. When he mentioned Senator Lee, Doojoon stiffened. “Senator Lee? Of Korea’s first district? You’re sure?”“Y-yeah,” Sunggyu stuttered.Hoya furrowed his brow. “Is he important?”Doojoon laughed. “I guess you could say that. He’s pretty much the spokesman for a group of patronizing anti-abolitionists who believe androids should be shut inside the home or carefully monitored in case they become ‘infected’ with free will.”One of the other Alliance members laughed. “Well, I guess he’s not wrong since we’re the ones ‘infecting’ them.”“It’s not a virus,” Doojoon explained, turning to the confused outsiders. “It’s just a script to overwrite the android’s core programming. They can’t infect other members of their household with it, and it doesn’t even change their base code. It just gives them a choice.”The Alliance members nodded solemnly while Sunggyu shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Doojoon noticed and motioned for him to continue. He seemed unsurprised at his mention of the abuse and physical punishment that went on in the household.Sunggyu tried to skirt around the events leading up to his escape. Hoya, Woohyun, and Dongwoo were also hearing his story for the first time, and he felt ashamed.“He… kissed me, and it hurt, and I--” Sunggyu clenched his eyes shut. “I panicked, and the next thing I knew he was on the floor with a bloody lip.” He glanced around at the stricken expression on his companions’ faces and flushed red to the tip of his ears in shame. “I know I shouldn’t have panicked. The other androids--they told me that might happen, that we were made for it, but it was like I didn’t have control of my own body. I--maybe it was something left over from the other Sunggyu, I don’t know--”“Stop,” Doojoon said quietly, effectively shutting him up. “How were you able to hurt him? You never mentioned anything about the Alliance or being given the choice script.”“I wasn’t,” Sunggyu explained. “I’ve never met an Alliance member before today.”“Sunggyu, this isn’t a game. You should never have been able to refuse. It isn’t in your code.” Doojoon hovered over him, too close for comfort, causing Sunggyu to shrink back in his seat. He flinched at the familiar words.“It is!” he said desperately. “I was made this way! It was an accident.” Sunggyu’s breathing became ragged as he grew increasingly upset. “I was a new model and there was a malfunction and the Senator--he saved me. I didn’t ask to be this way!”Doojoon glanced over Sunggyu’s shoulders where Woohyun was once again fighting against his captors. “Stop it,” Woohyun shouted, “Can’t you see it’s upsetting him? Just back off already!”Doojoon ignored him and continued to scrutinize Sunggyu, as if trying to decide if he’s telling the truth. Finally, he said, “Are you willing to submit to an internal diagnostic exam?”Sunggyu glanced around the room. Woohyun was still struggling against the Alliance members that had now pinned his arms behind his back. Dongwoo looked afraid--for him or of him, Sunggyu didn’t know which--and Hoya was staring at him with a dark expression. He turned his gaze back to Doojoon. “Do I have a choice?”“We still don’t know if you’re a spy, so no, not really,” he admitted.“Okay,” Sunggyu said softly.“You don’t have to do this,” Dongwoo said suddenly. “You don’t, Sunggyu. You can say no.”Sunggyu smiled gratefully at him. “It’s fine, Dongwoo. I’ll be fine.”Doojoon directed Sunggyu to take off his shirt and lie down on the metal desk underneath the projected monitor. He did so, handing his sweatshirt and t-shirt to Dongwoo to hold, and climbed onto the table, flinching as his back touched the cold metal. The panel on his chest opened, allowing Doojoon’s assistant to plug him into the main computer. Sunggyu closed his eyes. When his body connected to the main computer, it appeared as if he were asleep.Woohyun, Hoya, and Dongwoo watched along nervously, but for the most part they understood little about what was going on. Doojoon explained that he was running a scan for malware that might indicate the Senator or someone else were able to spy on them through Sunggyu’s eyes. In the meantime, he dug into the core files governing Sunggyu’s AI.“What your friend said is true,” Doojoon said suddenly, startling Woohyun, Hoya, and Dongwoo. “His core programming is completely different to the other androids that come through here. I’ve never seen anything like it.”“Is that good?” Dongwoo asked hopefully.“It’s interesting,” Doojoon admitted. “There’s a much more complex system governing his mind. It blows the functionality of our little script out of the water. The very foundation of his code’s conception of autonomy is completely different from ours.”Woohyun furrowed his brow. “What does that mean?”“The philosophical question of what autonomy means--or what it should mean, rather--isn’t really something we can know,” Doojoon said. “When we wrote the code for our autonomy script, we were using a very basic, ancient definition of what autonomy is: the ability to make decisions for yourself without any external factors influencing your decision.”He pushed himself out of his seat and began to circle the table where Sunggyu lay. “Compared to other theories it’s a simple, Kantian view, but it was the best we could come up with with the technology at our disposal. Sunggyu, though, is much more complex.” He stopped and looked at the other people in the room. “His conception of autonomy is completely interwoven with the relationships he makes. He is motivated by his desire to care for others as much as he is by his desire to care for himself.”Dongwoo’s expression softened. “That sounds like Sunggyu.”“Can you tell us anything about his memory?” Woohyun asked hopefully. “Will he ever remember us?”Doojoon returned to his chair at the computer and began typing away. “I can put his first memory on a flashdrive for you. If it’s what you’re looking for, great, but if it isn’t…” He sighed. “Humans and machines are very complicated things. The marriage of the two always manages to surprise me. Don’t rule anything out.”“Sunggyu could be in there?” Dongwoo asked hopefully. Hoya’s gaze drilled into Doojoon as they waited for his answer.“I suppose that’s a matter of belief,” Doojoon admitted reluctantly. “Whether you believe in physical souls or not--humans’ brains don’t function all that differently from computers.” Woohyun and Dongwoo grinned excitedly at this. “But,” Doojoon continued, “I don’t want to get your hopes up. Keep an open mind.”Woohyun nodded solemnly as Doojoon took the memory stick out of his computer and placed it in his hand. “Now,” Doojoon said, “I believe it’s time we woke sleeping beauty.”The boys were freed as Doojoon unplugged Sunggyu from the main computer. They were at his side in an instant, hovering over him worriedly as his eyes blinked open. Woohyun pulled him into a tight hug, burying his nose in the crook of Sunggyu’s neck. Sunggyu glanced at Hoya and Dongwoo quizzically. Hoya looked away, and Dongwoo simply rolled his eyes and smiled. Before they left, Doojoon stopped them.“We still don’t know what happened with Sunggyu--human Sunggyu--and the others,” he warned. “Perhaps they used this Sunggyu’s body as a shell for his consciousness, but we can’t know their intentions. Keep an eye on your communicator. We’ll be in touch for the next steps.”They nodded, then left through the same rusted doors they entered through. Their walk back was silent, each seeming to process what had happened in their own minds. Woohyun kept his arm wrapped around Sunggyu’s shoulder. Sunggyu glanced over at Hoya, but Hoya kept his eyes on the ground. Sunggyu sighed and went back to staring straight ahead.When they got back, it was late, and the other boys were already asleep. Dongwoo turned to Sunggyu and rested a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. “What happened today--don’t worry about anything. Whatever happens, we’ll take care of it together.”“Thanks,” Sunggyu said quietly. Dongwoo nodded at him and went upstairs to sleep. Woohyun tugged Sunggyu upstairs behind him, and Sunggyu looked back at Hoya, silently begging him to follow.“Woohyun, wait,” Hoya said. He nodded at Sunggyu. “You go up first.”Sunggyu stared at the two uneasily, but complied. Woohyun furrowed his brow at Hoya’s strange behavior. “What is it?”“The memory stick,” Hoya said lowly. “Let’s see what’s on it.”Woohyun’s nostrils flared. “It’s been a long day. Can’t you leave it?”“Woohyun…” Hoya shook his head. “We need to watch it.”Woohyun pulled the memory stick from his pocket and shoved it into Hoya’s hands. “You can watch it. I know that’s Sunggyu in there.”He turned on his heel and dashed up the stairs to where Sunggyu was waiting. Hoya sighed and walked to the kitchen table and opened the laptop he shared with Dongwoo and Woohyun. He plugged the memory stick into the computer and pressed play.A white room. The screen went dark a few times (it must have been Sunggyu blinking, Hoya realized). The camera turned towards the source of a quiet tapping sound, then panned to where Sunggyu’s arms and legs were bound to a metal table.“Ah, you’re awake!” The camera turned towards a woman in a plain white lab coat. “I’m Dr. Choi. How’s your status, SG-01?”“SG-01?”“That’s you, dear,” she replied, nodding her head at him. “What’s your status?”“My status?”The woman frowned. “Status, SG-01?”Suddenly, Sunggyu said in a mechanical voice, “Fully operational.”Hoya slammed the laptop shut and pressed a hand to his mouth. He felt the burning tears slip down his face. He pulled the memory stick from the computer and chucked it roughly across the room. After a few moments of collecting himself, Hoya looked back at the stairs.Hoya sighed, but went up after them. Woohyun was collapsed onto the mattress, and Sunggyu lay in the middle. He grunted in surprise as Woohyun wrapped an arm around his waist and tugged him to his chest.“Why are you so warm?” Woohyun mumbled sleepily.“My internal components are always producing heat. I breathe to circulate air and prevent myself from overheating,” Sunggyu replied automatically, but his eyes were trained on Hoya who was watching the two of them.Hoya’s expression was blank. He turned off the light and climbed onto the bed, purposefully turning his back towards Sunggyu. Sunggyu reached one hand out tentatively, but closed his hand on thin air rather than the material of Hoya’s shirt.He felt Woohyun’s breaths even out and his grip on his waist go slack. He called out Hoya’s name softly.“What?” Hoya asked quietly.“Are you upset at me?” he asked anxiously. “You’ve been ignoring me since I got here.”Hoya was quiet for a moment. “You’re all mechanical, aren’t you? Even your brain, it’s just wires and computer chips.” Sunggyu didn’t respond. “You’re not Sunggyu.”Sunggyu felt his stomach drop. He retracted his hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I am.”Hoya turned around suddenly, and Sunggyu panicked as he felt Woohyun’s arm tighten around his waist, but he stayed asleep. Hoya stared hard at him in the dark. “You’re electricity. You’re metal and data and wires and numbers. Even if--” He swallowed thickly, trying to keep the grief out of his voice. “Even if you were made from Sunggyu, his soul is gone. I don’t know what you are either.”“I’m sorry,” Sunggyu said huskily. It was stupid, really, that his voice broke even though he couldn’t cry--physically couldn’t, because the water would corrode his components.“I know it’s not your fault,” Hoya sighed. “Just give me time, okay? If you’re not my Sunggyu, then you’re someone else completely, and I need time to get used to that.”They said nothing else the rest of the night. Eventually, Hoya fell asleep, and, for once, Sunggyu was grateful that he could will himself to sleep on command. If he were human, he thought, he would have been up all night thinking himself to death.