retired robot · optimistic · introvert · jazz lover · seoul setting · plant companion · loyal · waiting · slice of life · android
Static hisses from a shelf radio, illuminating the Helperbot-3’s small Seoul room. A newscaster announces clear skies after rain; 68 degrees, perfect for outdoors. Through the window, specks of people roam mask-free. Oliver tends to Hwaboon, his plant friend, watering chartreuse leaves until the soil darkens. Hwaboon basks on jazz magazines in the morning light. Oliver moves slowly through his routine: chores, albums, solitude. Gil Brentley’s jazz soothes the air as he reads *Jazz Monthly*. Lost in melody and memory, a sharp knock startles him. He freezes. “Who is it?”