Apjeong Project | JJK

01 | ONE

Hyejung can happily agree to everyone around the world that she loves her current job. She loved it so much, even more than she love herself. Achieving her dream of becoming an engineer that creates robot at such a young age of twenty-four, she had no regrets studying robotic engineering that took years. The blood, sweat and tears she poured into all her assignments and works didn't come to a waste and she can't express her satisfaction into words.

Being an engineer was never an easy job for all people, robots that every citizen wants wouldn't stand by themselves with just a simple one click of her fingers. It have both advantages and disadvantages to her. She love and hate her job. Putting the pieces together to form the metal body and setting programs to the humanoids has always been her favourite job to do. It was surely a tough task to complete, but she believed that challenges will make her into a better person as it helps her to improve herself in terms of working.

All she hated was when their department was scolded like they don't have faces by their chiefs whenever one of them is caught doing one tiny mistake that wouldn't even cause harm to them.

The fast tapping of the keyboards, continuous clicking on the mouse that lies on top of the mouse pad next to the computer and beeping sounds greeted her ears the moment she entered her office. Or more like a lab.

"Good morning," Her collegue greeted while bowing, holding a medium-sized red tray that had some tools sitting on it. Hyejung returned the greeting to the female, smiled and made her steps to her table to put her handbag then go to her partner for the project.

Minutes after Hyejung and her partner, Sora, working on their robot programming, their chief's voice echoed through the whole room from the PA system. Hyejung paused her movements, fingers still ghosting over the keyboard as she carefully listened to the announcement.

After the announcement ended, Hyejung stood up and pick up her ball point pen on the table, sliding it inside her breastpocket. "Let's go," she said, turning around and made her way out of the room to the conference room.

Upon entering the big room with large tables completed with chairs, the image displayed on the projector screen filled their visions. All the staffs from the department, including Hyejung, assumed that they will be working on a new project soon just by looking at the image on the screen.

"Good morning everyone," The man greeted after all people are seated. "Since all of you are already here, i'll just start and go straight to the point." He began.

"As what you can see on the screen," he pointed at the slide that shows the image of robots and the word, 'EMOTIONS?' before he continued, "we are going to work on a new project. Not creating new robots, but instead, we will add a new program in them. To upgrade them into a more better version. A more high-tech one. So what new setting we're adding to them?"

The man paused and shifted his sitting position to use his laser that he had in hand to point at the word that is displayed on the monitor. He circled the small red dot around the word and smiled at everyone. The chief grab his microphone back from the table and say, "We'll be adding a program in our robots that will make them feel emotions like a real human. Anger, sadness, fear, everything."

One of Hyejung's collegue raised up his hand and the chief's gaze landed on him. "Yes? Questions?"

The younger male nodded. "Wouldn't it be cumbersome or a hassle if they can feel emotions? Like, they might be angered over something small and then cause some problems and damages?"

"No, it wouldn't." The chief explained the reasons more to his workers, his deep voice bounced off the wall and echoed throughout the whole room from the speakers.

"We'll see about this project. If it works well, then we'll continue with it. Programming the robots with new setting to make them feel emotions and also making new humanoids with the same program." He said, earning a nod from the peoples. Some also showed frowns and the look of disagreement; in which he just ignored and pretend not to see it.

"And as the trial, we will only use one robot. The robot will then be called JG197, while the whole project will go by the name," he cleared his throat before he resume his talk.

"Apjeong Project."