CHAPTER 9

Aurora stared out of the window, leaning her head on the sill. Jeonguk came in, seeing that Aurora was in a distant phase. Coming over, he stood behind her, holding his hands behind his back. Aurora looked down at the parents and children that were walking down the street. They looked so peaceful, so carefree. Aurora frowned, rolling her eyes.

“Say…” Aurora began. “…why did you bring me here?” She wondered.

Jeonguk figured that Aurora wanted to hear a more thorough explanation. He gathered his words together before he responded. Stepping next to the window, he leaned on the wall and looked at the dull carpet. “It’s not safe for you to be on the streets. Even if you don’t like it here, it is better than nothing.”

“But I already told you that anywhere but here was fine!” Aurora jumped and snapped at Jeonguk, clenching her fists. “Why here, of all places?!”

“I—” Before Jeonguk had a chance to explain himself, there was a loud cloud of marching coming up the stairs. Aurora and Jeonguk looked at each other, wondering what was going on.

“They’re up here.”

Aurora recognized Mother Nan’s voice. “…I knew it!” She hissed. Aurora didn’t know what to do though. If they exited, whoever Mother Nan sent for them would see the two of them leaving. There was this window, but there was nothing to climb onto. She and Jeonguk would fall straight down to their injury. Aurora began to panic, scattering her eyes around the room. “We need to hide!” She cried.

Jeonguk walked over to the closet to look inside, but it was too small to fit either one of them. Under the bed was too low to the floor, so that was out of the picture. Aurora stuck her head out of the window and began to climb out, putting her foot on the ledge very carefully. Seeing this, Jeonguk, quickly took her arm. “Are you crazy?” He asks. “Are you trying to kill yourself?”

“I don’t want to be taken by the police!” Aurora said through her tears angrily. “This is why I didn’t want to be taken here! I knew that witch was going to call the cops!” Aurora tried to yank her arm out of Jeonguk’s grip, but he refused to let go. “Let go of me!” She sneered.

Jeonguk stared at Aurora. “As you wish,” Letting go at the same time Aurora pulled back, Aurora’s eyes lit up with shock. Her feet took a misstep, and she went headfirst to the bottom. Jeonguk hastily grabbed her leg before she could escape his arms’ reach. Aurora dangled from were he held her, but she screamed, holding her dress tightly to her abdomen. She had no underwear on.

How freaking embarrassing! She cursed mentally.

Jeonguk lifted her back into the window, taking her hand. Rushing to the door, Jeonguk went in the opposite direction that the cops and Mother Nan were coming from.

“There they are!” The woman cried.

Jeonguk picked up his pace, causing Aurora’s feet to barely touch the floor as they fled. Running downstairs, Jeonguk swiftly slipped through the crowd of children and teens who were minding their business, until some of them recognized Aurora.

“Isn’t that the girl who usually stinks?” One of them murmured.

“What is she doing with that guy?”

“Is he insane? She’s completely hideous.”

Pissed off, Aurora saluted the group of teens with her middle finger, earning a gasp from her audience.

Escaping through the back door, Jeonguk led Aurora away from the scene. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to York Seoul City. Aurora scrunched her right hand repeatedly and then sighed. “When is this ever going to end…?” She mumbled.

With nothing better to do, the girl and the AI ambled through the streets of York Seoul City. They eventually wandered long enough to come across a huge water fountain in the middle of a square. It was beautiful—white stone embedded with shiny pebbles. In the middle of the fountain was a Greek goddess that had water shooting out of her urn. Aurora went and plopped straight down onto the ledge of the fountain.

Jeonguk approached her and looked down at her. “I’m sorry,” He apologized. “I did not mean for what happened earlier to occur.”

“…why can’t you just listen to me?” Aurora queried. “Do you think I’m overreacting when I say that I can’t trust anyone? Mother Nan did not say anything because she was planning on calling the police on me…she probably already seen the news, which is why she allowed us to stay last night.”

Jeonguk didn’t say a word. His mind was rummaging through his thoughts.

Betrayal…He thought.

Resting her elbows on her knees, Aurora groaned, clasping her eyes. Her head shook left and right. Aurora just wanted to live a peaceful life—at least for one week. She didn’t want to be in the sight of the public. She didn’t even understand why she was sitting among the public—an area where she could be spotted the easiest when the police were still after her.

Jeonguk ran his eyes through his surroundings, calculating any bit of information he can get his intelligence on. Walking slightly in that direction, he informed Aurora that was a sign that requested workers. Aurora warned him that that wasn’t a good idea. If the manager recognized her as a wanted criminal, then he’d call the police on her too, and on top of that, she would not be accepted for the job in the first place.

Jeonguk held his chin, meditating once more. He was learning how to think and put pieces together. This was a good exercise for Jeonguk, so that when times start to get tougher—like now—he’d know how to help Aurora and satisfy all her needs.

Aurora was tempted to just fall back into the fountain and float away, but she just remembered: She doesn’t have any underwear on.

She immediately closed her legs, darting her eyes in both directions. “No one saw, right?!” She squeaked.

Jeonguk was too busy in his own little world.

Seeing that Aurora wasn’t going to get much out of him, she just decided that today was the day she find a new place to live. Jeonguk finally relieved himself of his self-debates and turned to Aurora. “What are you planning to do?”

“Forget the foster home, forget the beach. I’m going to go and find me a new base.” Aurora got up, patting her dress down.

“Do you have a clue on where to look?”

“Of course, not.” Aurora frowned. “But sitting here isn’t going to give me a clue, either.”

Throughout the day, Aurora and Jeonguk had been laying low, hiding as much as possible while they searched for a new home to dwell in. York Seoul City just wasn’t the place to be in to lay low. There were too many commercial buildings, tourists’ sights, hotels and plazas. Among that, policemen were everywhere—it was just ridiculous.

Their journey led them right back to where they started—The North Sea.

It was as though that no matter where Aurora went, her life was just attached to this place. She dropped to her knees, refusing to care if they were scarred on the concrete. Running her hand through her hair, she got up once again, concluding that the only place she can find is an abandoned building. It took her some time to find one. Surprisingly enough, a lot of the vacant homes were boarded up. But that’s to prevent homeless people—like Aurora—from deciding to inhabit the building. After another hour, Aurora finally found the one—the building that was going to give her hope.

It was a little rundown shack that was slightly boarded up, but it looked as though whoever had the job to ensure it was blocked off did it half-assed. Aurora climbed over the gate, leaving Jeonguk behind. He examined the gate, seeing that the main entrance had a lock with a chain. Lifting it, he scrutinized the type of lock it was. With no key, it wasn’t of any use to Jeonguk. He clung to the gate, watching as Aurora crept towards the boarded entrance. She tried to pull the wooden plank off the wall, but it was firmly in tac.

Turning her head to Jeonguk, she questioned his reason for not climbing the fence.

“I wasn’t given an order.”

Aurora glowered at Jeonguk’s petty excuse. “You’ve hardly asked for any of my orders until now, so what’s causing you to act otherwise?”

Jeonguk didn’t respond to Aurora, waiting for her to make a demand.

“Get over here.”

Climbing the gate, Jeonguk approached the boarded-up door, asking Aurora to step aside. Stepping down the steps, she watched as Jeonguk placed his fingers firmly on the top and bottom of the wood and pried it out, despite the nails holding it in. One by one, the nails weakened and pulled out. Once the board popped off, he tossed it aside, and removed the others.

Cautiously, Aurora walked inside. Jeonguk pulled her back and shook his head. He went ahead to see if things were safe. Waiting outside, Aurora tapped her foot on the ground. Glancing at the environment, she made sure no one was around to watch them. Jeonguk invited her inside once he scanned the whole area. Coming in, Aurora’s eyes first connected with the ceiling, then the floor, and then the walls and windows. It was definitely rundown. The walls were burnt, the floor was eroding rapidly, the ceiling was very moldy and shabby.

Aurora grimaced at the sight, but it was the only thing she could find at the moment. Jeonguk’s radar sensed that this place was not wholesome for a human to dwell in. He asked Aurora if she’d like to find a different abandoned place to live in. Rejecting his suggestion, she prepared to sit on the ground. The AI stopped her.

“Let me retrieve the sheets at the beach.”

“They’re not gonna be there anymore…” Aurora sighed. “…The police most likely took them in already for DNA testing…” She looked at her hands, then covered her face. “…my fingerprints are on them also…” Aurora exhaled depressingly.

Looking out the spacious door, Jeonguk pondered on how to help Aurora. “Sleep on me then.”

Aurora darted her attention to him. “What?”

“Your dress is still new. It’d be a waste to dirty them with no place to wash them.”

“We can always go to the beach to…” Aurora’s words faded away.

“Is fresh water not more efficient?”

Aurora stared for a moment then nodded. “Yeah.”

Jeonguk prepared to sit on the ground, but Aurora stopped him too. “But your clothes are new, too,” Aurora held his hand firmly. “Maybe we shouldn’t stay here…” Running her hand through her hair, Aurora exhaled frustratedly. She honestly did not want to look for another house to live in temporarily, but Jeonguk’s reasoning was making it complicated for her to just go along with what she wants to do.

“It’s fine,” Jeonguk says assuring. “I can always find more clothes.” Sitting down on the ground, he folded his legs. He looked into Aurora’s eyes, seeing that she was somewhat flustered, but it was because she was overwhelmed. “Would you like to sleep in my lap?”

“…what?”

“I have high endurance levels, so I can sit in this position of hours. Here, just come here and sleep.” Jeonguk opened his arms invitingly.

Aurora felt awkward with the idea of sleeping in an AI’s arms. She wasn’t a baby nor a little child. “I don’t know…” Aurora looked gloomily at the ground. “…I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“I will not do any harm to you,” He promised. “You are my owner now.”

Aurora’s cheeks reddened. Quietly, she laid in his lap. Jeonguk held her delicately, then kept his eyes straight ahead. He sensed that Aurora would feel uncomfortable if he were to watch her fall asleep. As time went by, Aurora soundly went to sleep. Jeonguk glanced at her, admiring how peaceful she looked when she slept.

She’s more at peace in her sleep…it’s better than when she’s awake. He thought.

Although it was still quite early in the evening, Aurora remained asleep. Jeonguk examined her body once more, getting a pulse of her body’s chemistry. Slowly but surely, Aurora was heading down a road of depression. This was just the first stage of the symptoms she showed. Her continuous pessimistic and tired behavior had Jeonguk developing a sense of emotion called worrying. Waiting half an hour more, Jeonguk decided to execute his idea of helping her.