#soonhao

Nobody knew what Hoshi was. 

Nobody but Wonwoo and Jeonghan, but it would be kind of impossible for them not to. They were the ones who built him, after all.

And Junhui. But he didn't really count. That was more by circumstance. He was made first.

——————————

JUNHU1 was a school project that went a little awry. At the time, Wonwoo was new to robotics and didn't have a clue about programming, but his curiosity outweighed his skills. He was a fast learner, easily overtaking the other students, and the teachers chose to turn a blind eye on what he was doing. The idea of creating artificial life, even if it was a little primitive from being mostly self-taught, was mind blowing. But it didn't always work out the way he'd planned.

Making mistakes early on was bound to happen, but some stuck around more than others. Accidentally setting his language to Mandarin was one of the more major ones, leaving him with an unexpected accent when he figured out how to change it to Korean, but it made ‘Junhui’ suit him well when he became advanced enough to want a name without numbers and ask for the language to be added back into his database. 

The resources available to build on his AI were limited when he started, and that was well before the laws against android technology had passed. Before, schools would allow basic learning technology. After, it was outright illegal.

Androids were recalled and destroyed after the panic of AI set in. Even the ones unable to truly learn on their own. Even the ones that were handmade with love and care. Wonwoo couldn't let Junhui be turned into nothing but scrap metal. He had no choice. 

It was obvious that he was the one who'd broken into the school in the middle of the night. Nobody else would steal his project, but he wasn't alone. Wonwoo could never hide his thoughts from Jeonghan, the guy having some kind of sixth sense for stupid and dangerous ideas, but he'd offered to help and Wonwoo would've been an idiot to say no. He definitely would've been caught if he didn't tag along, not even thinking to cut off the security cameras until Jeonghan tugged him away from the back door by the collar. It earned him a flick to the forehead, but Jeonghan still helped carry Junhui's lifeless body to his car, so he couldn't really complain. 

He was actually quite bitter about it most of the time, but he was grateful for his parents being well off that night. Wonwoo had offhandedly mentioned wanting his own space once, somewhere to work on the projects they didn't even pretend to care about that wasn't his bedroom or their uncomfortably large library. Construction started almost immediately, a building that could only be described as a fancy shed appearing on the grounds. It was far away enough from the main house to not be annoying if he made noise, which they assumed he would since they didn't actually ask what he was doing, but he was fine with it.

Wonwoo was grateful for it that night because it was the perfect place to hide Junhui. None of the staff ever had a reason to go inside, his family didn't care and he rarely had anyone over. Despite being close friends for several years, even Jeonghan hadn't been in there before. His eyes widened when Wonwoo flicked on the light, but he helped lift Junhui onto the workbench before looking around.

It was more of a living space than a shed, really. The workshop part took up the most of it, a space full of tools and tech that was entirely foreign to Jeonghan, but clearly robotics related. But there was a separate bedroom, a full bathroom and even a kitchen. He was obviously staying there, rather than in the actual house. Wonwoo expected questions, but they never came. Jeonghan was well known for pushing his friend’s buttons, but he'd just smiled sadly before going back to Junhui. 

They hadn't met officially, Jeonghan only ever seeing him powered down in the few times he'd poked his head into the classroom, but he ran the back of his finger down the side of Junhui's emotionless face with such a heartbroken expression that Wonwoo wasn't sure what to do. It was his plan, but he didn't really think he would actually be able to pull it off, so the realisation that he had something highly illegal in his home on top of Jeonghan looking like that left him a bit lost. 

That was until Jeonghan asked to power him on, so softly that Wonwoo was only just able to hear it. He considered it, but he'd have to check him over for damage and run diagnostics first, and it was already the early hours of the morning. So he promised they would later that day, needing to have a clearer head to make sure he didn't mess anything up, and offered Jeonghan his bed since there was no sense in him leaving just to come back again. 

He'd stayed that night, the night after that and eventually, he just never left.

They were never caught.

——————————

Junhui was admittedly still a little rough around the edges. Even after years of upgrades, fully deconstructed a few times to replace his basic and unrealistic parts with more sophisticated ones, he would never truly appear human. He came close, just a little too clumsy and awkward to actually pass, but he was incredibly charming. It was unfortunate that he had to be hidden away, only having Wonwoo and Jeonghan to keep him company, but the outside world just wasn't safe. It never would be.

It was difficult enough just to get him out when they eventually moved into a house of their own, having to power him down and cover him in blankets on the back seat of the car just in case. They chose a place on the outskirts of a town away from the city, far away enough to not have to worry about too many nosey neighbours but close enough to not be entirely isolated. The yard was enclosed by high fences and they installed a security system made by Wonwoo himself to be sure they would be safe. Junhui would always be safe.

The struggle was worth it to see his wide smile when he came back to life, excitedly rushing up the stairs and through each room to take in his new surroundings. He paused at the back door, waiting for permission even though they'd told him countless times that it would be okay before the move. Jeonghan opened it for him, giggling when he collapsed to his knees to just feel the grass beneath his fingers. 

Giving him the ability was Jeonghan’s idea and Wonwoo did the best he could. It was more pressure sensitivity than true touch, so he was still unable to tell the difference for if something was soft or should hurt, but Junhui didn't seem to mind. He was pleased enough with just digging his fingers into the dirt. For an overall advanced android, he could be very strange. But that was what made him so loveable.

It was there on the verandah, watching Junhui use the gardening skills he'd immediately begged to be added to his database, that Jeonghan popped the question that made Wonwoo choke on his glass of lemonade.

“How would you feel about making another kid?”

——————————

H0SH1 was different.

He was fully made of high quality, possibly stolen parts that Wonwoo was frankly too frightened to ask the origins of. Jeonghan made the requests, his kind of sketchy friend Jihoon never questioned why they needed them and Wonwoo didn't ask where they came from. It worked surprisingly well. 

Just watching Wonwoo doing maintenance on Junhui freaked Jeonghan out to start with, and he was hopeless when it came to coding, but he ended up being incredibly helpful with the actual building. His fingers were nimble where Wonwoo's trembled, delicate with each piece of the puzzle. Jeonghan was a fast learner when it came to mechanics, reading between the lines of Wonwoo's fractured teaching and making it his own. He was also meticulous with the details, threading each piece of hair perfectly and smoothing out skin with care. It was beautiful to watch.

He also fought for making the body shorter and less lean, claiming that ‘Junhui is too skinny to cuddle properly!’ as if it was a crime. He'd never complained about it before and still clung to him anyway, but like with everything else, Wonwoo let him do what he wanted. It was usually easier that way.

Junhui helped where he could, which was what he was designed to do, but he was terrible at hiding when he was uncomfortable. Wonwoo had to send him away more times than he could count when they'd been fiddling with internal wiring, looking queasy even if he couldn't be physically ill. It was endearing, in a way. Jeonghan definitely thought so, squishing his cheeks together and cooing at him every time it happened. It slowed their progress, but it was sweet.

By then, Wonwoo's skills were far more advanced than when he'd first started Junhui. His programming was more sophisticated and he had bigger ideas, excitedly dragging the other two over to his screen whenever he figured out something he thought was cool. If Junhui barely understood what he was talking about then Jeonghan was entirely clueless, but they cheered him on nonetheless. Wonwoo knew it went over their heads, even if Junhui took in knowledge like a sponge, but it still made him feel warm. He just wanted to make it perfect, impossible as the idea was. Somehow, he came incredibly close to it.

H0SH1 was different.

He passed.

——————————

Of course they'd been doing extensive testing over the time spent in the workshop, but he hadn't been fully awake through it, so it was a tense moment when Wonwoo held in the button hidden on his nape. Wonwoo and Jeonghan held their breaths, Junhi peeking anxiously over their shoulders, as the android laying on the bench slowly blinked awake. 

It took a couple minutes of unfocussed eye rolls and twitching fingers, but he eventually sat himself up to look around the room. He startled a little when he noticed the three standing by his side, surprise taking over his previously blank expression, but he didn't seem frightened. Just confused.

“Hey,” Jeonghan broke the silence first, his voice barely above a whisper. “How are you feeling?”

The android frowned, not seeming to be able to find his words yet, but it cleared when Junhui stepped out from behind them. They just stared at each other, but a slow smile spread across his face as Junhui reached for his hand. It took a moment for Wonwoo to realise that they were communicating internally, a wireless connection he'd thought to add at the last minute, making warmth bloom in his chest. The extra work had been worth it.

“Good. I'm good,” he turned back to them, his voice small but smile still in place. “Thank you.”

“Do you know your name?” Wonwoo asked, but he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

“Hoshi! I'm Hoshi,” the android bounced excitedly as he looked between them, almost as if he was vibrating. “Junnie just told me! And I guess you're Wonwoo, since he said the little pretty one is Jeonghan.”

Jeonghan giggled behind his hand at Wonwoo's mouth dropping open in shock, laughing harder when Junhui whacked Hoshi's shoulder for exposing him. Well, he was definitely working. 

——————————

He wasn't perfect, but after that first interaction, even Wonwoo found that he didn't want him to be. 

Hoshi, as he'd started calling himself because of Junhui, filled the space they'd made for him easily. He was quicker on the uptake than Junhui, processing information at a speed that would never really be possible for the other android, but it didn't create a rift between them. They got along like a house on fire, Junhui dragging him around the house by the hand and giggling at each other between their generally silent communication. His cheeks bunched up to turn his eyes into little crescent moons when he laughed, and Junhui was the first to point out that it was adorable. They were adorable.

Just like he'd been with Junhui, Jeonghan was smitten with Hoshi from the moment he opened his eyes. He was easy to love with his squishiness, both in body and personality, and a pout that he'd quickly learnt would earn him forehead kisses. Unfortunately, Jeonghan also found that he was ridiculously easy to influence. Of course he wouldn't set him up to do anything bad, but he greatly encouraged his cheekiness. He argued that it made Hoshi more multidimensional, and he'd done basically the same thing with Junhui, so it was a good thing. It still did Wonwoo's head in at times.

Wonwoo took a little longer to warm up to, but it wasn't through a lack of trying. He just made Hoshi nervous with wanting to take care of his bugs as soon as they popped up, not keen on the idea of leaving him with a twitching left eye or slurring every word that started with S for any longer than he had to. That was fine, it wasn't like he had a lot of problems, way less than Junhui had early on, but that kind of made it worse. His heightened awareness made him pick up on Wonwoo's own anxiety over it.

It ended up being Junhui who told Wonwoo to get his shit together. He got tired of holding Hoshi's jittery hands whenever Wonwoo opened the panel on the back of his head, a little too clinical even if he was gentle about it. It had crossed Wonwoo's mind that it might be making him nervous, but the sudden guilt made his stomach churn. He rushed to the bedroom that Hoshi and Junhui shared as soon as he'd stopped ranting about Wonwoo being an idiot, wincing when Hoshi's eyes widened in something close to fear.

He sat cross-legged on the bed to lean back against the wall, close but not quite touching, to apologise for the way he'd been acting. Wonwoo tried to explain that he hadn't meant to come across that way, his focus being on making sure Hoshi was functioning properly without fully realising he was making him uncomfortable until it was too late, but the words died on his tongue when cool fingers intertwined with his own. Maybe Hoshi was too unconditionally forgiving, but Wonwoo took it while he had the chance.

Jeonghan found them there later, Hoshi running his fingers through Wonwoo's hair with him fast asleep against his chest. The androids really didn't need beds, but they'd asked for them anyway, which turned out to be a very good thing in that moment. Hoshi brought his finger to his lips to tell Jeonghan to keep quiet, but he let him take a photo since Wonwoo really did look cute when he was asleep. 

Everything was good. Everything stayed good for a surprisingly long time.

Until Hoshi had a thought he couldn't shake.

——————————

He was helping Junhui pull weeds in the yard when he made an offhand comment about how Hoshi seemed so realistic sometimes. He didn't say it in a negative way, but Hoshi wasn't sure if it was supposed to be positive either, so he immediately searched for the word in his database.

having or showing a sensible and practical idea of what can be achieved or expected

representing things in a way that is accurate and true to life.

Ah. Definitely the second one.

Considering he'd been around for a couple of years by then, Hoshi was very aware that he was different from Junhui. It wasn't major, but he had noticed that there were times where his expression didn't quite sit right, or his body would move in a funny way, and sometimes he was a little slower to understand something that he got straight away. None of it was bad. Junhui was wonderful in his own right, but it did leave him with questions. Questions he hoped the other two could answer.

He bounded down the stairs after cleaning the dirt from his hands, using his sensitive artificial hearing to figure out where they were. The clinking of plates and glasses was loud enough for Hoshi to assume they were in the kitchen, finding Jeonghan up to his elbows in the sink of sudsy water and Wonwoo leaning on the counter at his side when he wandered in.

“Hey, dad?” 

“Please, god, stop calling me that,” Wonwoo groaned from behind his coffee mug, but it was drowned out by Jeonghan's gleeful cackling. “Was teaching him that really necessary, Hannie? It's so weird.”

“Yes, our beautiful, darling, angel child?” Jeonghan ignored him, drying his hands before wrapping his arms tightly around Hoshi to make him laugh, but he quickly turned somber again. “What can we do for you, my love?”

They shared a look when Hoshi didn't ask straight away. Jeonghan rubbed gentle circles on his back to coax out whatever was on his mind, which was nice, but it didn't really make it easier when they both looked so concerned. He knew it wasn't bad, but he didn't want to throw Junhui under the bus to get started. He didn't have much of a choice.

“Um, well, Junnie said something and I guess I'm a little confused about it.”

“Oh?” Wonwoo frowned. “Was it something uncomfortable? Do you want us to talk to him?”

“No! Oh no it's nothing bad,” Hoshi's eyes widened as he waved his hands out at his sides. “I just… it's hard to explain. He said I seem realistic and I know what that means. He didn't say it in a mean way, or anything. It's just got me thinking about some things.”

Jeonghan made a questioning sound but didn't push him to continue. Even with his fast processing, he needed a little time to get it all in order. 

“I know that I'm different. I know that I'm realistic. I guess I want to know why I'm still not allowed to do anything if nobody would know. Like, why I can't go outside.”

Wonwoo and Jeonghan looked at each other, different to before. Hoshi hadn't seen them that way, so it took a moment for him to read it correctly. Fear, he realised. It was fear.

“Okay,” Jeonghan responded slowly, still clearly nervous. “We can explain, but why do you want to go out?”

Hoshi could only shrug. He wasn't entirely sure himself. Curiosity, mostly. He craved knowledge. Knowledge that would only come from experience. He'd been waiting long enough.

“It's dangerous, but you know that. It's hard to put it gently,” Wonwoo sighed, running his hands down his face after dropping his cup into the sink. “There are laws. Against androids, I mean. We saved Junhui when they passed. Then we took the risk to have you. If anyone found out, we would all be in big trouble. We don't want to lose you.” 

“I understand,” Hoshi frowned, playing with Jeonghan’s fingers around his waist. “I knew about that. The laws. Junnie explained after the first time you told me not to go out the front door. But I still want to. I really think it would be okay. Even just once? Please?”

“I do need to get groceries soon,” Jeonghan hummed, locking their fingers together. “Can you give us some time to think about it?”

Hoshi perked up, nodding excitedly before jogging out of the kitchen to tell Junhui. He hoped Wonwoo's sigh was less exasperated than it sounded.

——————————

He bounced on his heels at the door, impatiently waiting for Jeonghan to toe on his shoes and grab his bag. Wonwoo still looked like he wanted to tell them to back out, but he stayed quiet, only making Hoshi promise to be safe as he pulled him into a tight hug. Hoshi thought Junhui might have been jealous, but he was just as excited when he promised to take photos to send through their connection along the way. 

When Jeonghan was finally ready, he led him out to the garage to start the car. Hoshi knew what a car was, it wasn't like he'd never been in the garage before, but he never had the opportunity to actually be inside it. He scanned over the outside, gingerly sitting down when Jeonghan opened his door with a suppressed laugh. The inside was way more exciting with buttons and dials and a screen, and Hoshi just wanted to understand all of it. So much new information and they hadn't even left yet.

“You need to put that strap on,” Jeonghan pointed at the seatbelt on his side, clicking his own in place to show him how to do it. “It helps to keep you safe.”

Hoshi copied the action, tipping his head to the side when the dash flooded with colour as Jeonghan turned the key to make the car grumble to life. Jeonghan knew what he wanted to ask, pointing to each part to explain their purpose. He nodded along, adding each thing to his database. It probably wouldn't be important, but it was interesting. 

“I'm not great with this stuff, to be honest,” Jeonghan rubbed the back of his neck with an apologetic smile. “If you want to know about the engine mechanics and stuff, you'll need to ask Wonwoo. I'm sure he'd be happy to run through it with you sometime.”

He brushed it off, not as interested in that side of things as he was with the view when they reversed out. His eyes flickered between the front and side windows as they pulled onto the road, taking in the trees and unfamiliar houses and people passing by. He sent snapshots to Junhui as they went along, getting excited messages back that he relayed to Jeonghan. It made him laugh softly, slowing below the speed limit as they entered the town for Hoshi to process it all more easily. 

Jeonghan killed the engine with a deep sigh when they pulled into a mostly empty carpark. It was the first time he'd shown nervousness about it all since they'd left. It made Hoshi's smile dim a little, but he tried to not show it. He knew what was coming.

“Alright. I know that you're excited, but this is important, okay?” Jeonghan twisted in his seat to look at him directly, far more serious than usual. “You need to blend in. We can't have anyone finding out. So that means no running off on your own and no talking to strangers. Try not to stare at anyone for too long. Just stick with me, alright?”

“I can be polite,” Hoshi pouted. “That's more offensive to Wonwoo than me. You've seen my programming. I'm good.”

Jeonghan ruffled his hair with a small smile, not saying anything more before hauling himself out of the seat. Hoshi followed, waiting for him to pull his bag over his shoulder and lock the car before they set off towards the supermarket. It was a fair way down the street from where they'd parked, so there was plenty for him to look at on the way. He kept his face neutral, but every new sight was sent to Junhui to freak out over on his behalf. 

Entering the supermarket was a very different experience. His artificial senses were flooded as soon as they stepped through the automatic sliding doors, the sights and sounds borderline overwhelming. He tried to take everything in as he followed Jeonghan to get a trolley, but forced himself to back off to not get overloaded when they started going through the aisles. Jeonghan sent him a questioning look when he paused at a display, but he just gave him a hopefully normal looking thumbs up. He was fine, really. Just needed to slow down a little. 

He found that he could be quite helpful, locating the items from their list before Jeonghan could even look up. It made him hum appreciatively, so Hoshi was pleased enough with his efforts. It was going as well as they'd hoped. They made it all the way to the produce section on the other side of the store with no major issues, but something felt strange when they stopped at the fruits.

It was hard to put his finger on. It was like a tickle in the back of his mind, something like when his connection had been made with Junhui. He looked up from where Jeonghan was inspecting the apples to scan over the area, finding someone already staring directly at him over another display. Hoshi knew he wasn't supposed to stare, but there was something so unsettling about the man's blank expression that he couldn't look away. It was oddly familiar.

“Hey? Are you alright?” 

Hoshi nodded slowly, turning to Jeonghan tapping his arm when the man seemed to snap out of it and walked away. He looked concerned, Hoshi smiling brightly only making his frown deepen. 

“We have pretty much everything on the list. Tell me what's wrong when we get back to the car.”

He didn't leave room for argument, pushing the trolley towards the checkout with Hoshi rushing to catch up. They only ended up with a handful of bags after paying, so they returned the trolley to carry them back to the car themselves. The weird feeling, a buzzing at the base of his skull, didn't leave until they rounded the corner to the carpark. Hoshi had an idea of what it might be, but he didn't think the others would be too pleased by it. 

“I'm alright,” he spoke up before Jeonghan could ask, sitting up straight in his seat after they put the groceries in the back. “But something weird happened. I think Wonwoo should know about it too, though. Is it okay if I tell you at home?” 

Jeonghan seemed hesitant to drop it, but he started the car with a soft hum. They didn't speak on the way back, anxiety rolling off Jeonghan in waves. It took half as long as the trip over, but Hoshi didn't mention the speedometer showing a higher number than the street signs. He considered telling him that he hadn't done anything wrong, he genuinely did have a good time up until then, but he knew that it wouldn't make a difference. They just needed to get home.

——————————

Wonwoo was waiting for them at the door when they arrived. Hoshi had messaged Junhui a few minutes into the drive with a brief explanation and to tell Wonwoo there was something they needed to talk about, but it was still surprising. It must have come across well enough if Junhui actually did something he asked. 

The three of them sat at the dining table after putting the groceries away, Junhui not being keen on possible confrontation. Hoshi didn't blame him. He knew that he hadn't done anything wrong, but it was difficult to know what to say with them looking at him so expectantly, worry etched into their features. He just had to tell the truth.

“Someone was watching me,” he waved his hands when panic came over their expressions, trying to explain himself. “I felt something weird in the back of my head. Sort of like when me and Junhui first connected? I looked up and caught someone watching. I didn't do anything. I just thought you should know it happened.”

“Alright,” Wonwoo said slowly after a moment of tense silence. “Would you mind if we had a look?”

Hoshi shook his head, standing to follow them to the workroom. He sat on the stool next to Wonwoo's computer, tipping his head down for Jeonghan to gently open the panel hidden by his hair. It wasn't physically uncomfortable for him, but seeing a usb cord plugged into the port inside the cavity of his skull always made Jeonghan grimace. Hoshi had seen Junhui in the same position, so he could kind of understand. It was a little weird. 

Bringing up the program he needed, Wonwoo opened his files to search for the recording of the moment he'd described. He found it after digging through for a minute, opening the video for himself and Jeonghan to watch. It began with Hoshi's view of Jeonghan’s hands picking up the apples, blurring for a second before scanning upwards. Wonwoo zoomed in on the person in focus, nibbling his bottom lip in thought as he replayed and paused the recording. 

“I'm guessing it went out of focus when you felt it?” he asked Hoshi, sitting back in his chair when he gave a short nod. “Crazy as it sounds, I think you might have caught another android.”

“I thought so,” Hoshi mumbled, avoiding their eyes. “Does that mean I can't go out again?”

“I'd like to take you out again,” Jeonghan reached out to hold his hand, offering a tired smile when Hoshi looked up. “I don't think it would hurt to go somewhere quieter, maybe. We don't know this other android, so there's no way to say what his purpose is. He doesn't look dangerous, but there's no guarantee we'll see him again, anyway.”

“He must blend in remarkably well if he doesn't have anyone with him,” Wonwoo added, replaying the video again. “So he's probably like you. If you did happen to bump into each other again, I doubt there would be any problems if you didn't draw attention to yourselves. But it is odd that you felt him like that. He would need to have a similar system to the one for you and Junhui, but I made it from scratch. I haven't heard of anything else like it.”

Hoshi looked between the two staring at the still image of the man, or android, on the screen. He couldn't quite pick up on what their expressions meant, but they were obviously trying to think of something related to the connection. Wonwoo was, at least. Jeonghan collapsed down to sit sideways in his lap with a sigh, his human battery run too low from so much stress in one day to do any more. Wonwoo pulled him closer, but his eyes stayed glued to the screen.

“Is there anything I can do?” Hoshi asked, eyeing the computer he was still plugged into.

“Possibly, actually,” Wonwoo's focus flickered from the display to Hoshi, his head tipped to the side. “Can you look for anything relevant to this? It'll be faster than me doing it manually.”

Hoshi began the search before he'd finished his sentence, the screen showing various results and web pages opening and closing at a humanly impossible speed. Even with that pace, nothing they were really looking for popped up as easily as he'd expected. It seemed like it would be entirely fruitless after the first few minutes, but he went deeper just in case. Everything came to a sudden stop with the appearance of a scanned image of an article.

Wonwoo leaned forward, jostling Jeonghan a little as he tried to read. He didn't seem to mind, his own eyes fixed on the photo positioned between text. The same android from his recording stared out from the page, so expressionless that Hoshi couldn't tell if he was even powered on when it was taken. Either way, it was definitely relevant. But there was a slight problem.

“Of course,” Wonwoo groaned when he got close enough to see that the characters on the screen were in Chinese. “Could you-”

“One step ahead of you, boss,” Hoshi grinned with a mock salute, the message to ask Junhui for help sent a good thirty seconds before. 

“I genuinely don't know if that's better than calling me dad.”

Jeonghan giggled at Wonwoo's grumbling, squeezing his cheeks and pressing a quick kiss to his pouted lips before Junhui burst into the room. He rushed over to them, looking like he would be panting if he had lungs. Hoshi had no idea why he decided to run over. 

“What's the emergency?” Junhui asked, scanning over Wonwoo and Jeonghan for injuries.

“There's no emergency?” Wonwoo shook his head in bewilderment. “We just wanted to ask you to translate this for us. What gave you that idea?”

“Oh,” Junhui turned to the screen, eyebrows raised. “Hoshi just said to come help. Sorry, dad.”

Jeonghan laughed so hard he almost fell out of Wonwoo’s lap when he rolled his eyes but didn't bother trying to defend himself, instead waiting on Junhui to translate the article. It took him a moment to process, frowning when he was done. Even Hoshi knew that wasn't a great sign. 

“Alright, so. It's a bit weird,” Junhui turned back to Wonwoo and Jeonghan, frown still in place. “It was a project in China, obviously. They were trialing connections like ours between a handful of androids. Not exactly the same, but probably close enough to be around the same wavelength. In theory, we could communicate with them.”

“I guessed that would be the case,” Wonwoo said slowly, trying to work out where Junhui was going with it. “What's the weird part?”

“The article is from months after the laws passed. I know that we're technically from after then, too,” he gestured towards Hoshi. “But that's why it's weird. It's announcing the defunding of the project and that everything was being shut down, but it shouldn't have been going then anyway. Maybe they had extra time or something? I don't know. But the super weird part is that there's nothing to do with international relations, or whatever. So how did one of them end up here?”

An uneasy silence followed, everyone left stunned. Junhui had a point. The laws had been in place for close to a decade by then, and even they had only gone under the radar by the skin of their teeth. The android seemed pretty sophisticated, but he would still need basic maintenance since he'd have to be around the same age as Junhui. Someone had to be housing him. Someone had to be protecting him. Hoshi wanted answers.

“I know what you're thinking,” Wonwoo said with an apologetic smile. “But the stakes look to be higher than we thought. I don't think going out to find him is a good idea.”

Hoshi narrowed his eyes at him. Maybe he was getting a little too expressive. He was about to argue, but Jeonghan cut him off. 

“He's right, kiddo,” he left Wonwoo's lap to unplug Hoshi and put his panel back into place, looking down at him with a hand on his shoulder. “It was already dangerous, but it would be too hard to keep you safe if you seek him out. It's best to leave this one and probably lay low for a while. I'm sorry, love.”

Hoshi looked to Junhui, but was only met with a shrug. He knew they were right, but it was disappointing. Jeonghan stepped to the side to let him stand, the three of them watching him leave the room in silence. There was nothing more they could say. It was final. Hoshi would just have to let it go. 

Until the next morning.