From Past To Present, I Still Love You 149 White Mask

His body was cold.

All he could think about was how Ji-ho was gone.

Never to be in this house again.

Minhyun's sleeve was wet from wiping the tears that fell down his face. He looked at it, his eyes stirring with disbelief before letting out a chuckle. Even that one time he cried over not getting sweets, he didn't cry this much. Did he really just cry all by himself in his room? It was silly to think about.

In fact, despite the fact that nobody was looking, he felt embarrassed. There was something out of place about him reacting this way. To be this emotional.

Chae Minhyun did not cry.

He didn't deserve to cry over someone's death.

Especially after what he's done.

Alas, the demons that were ingrained in his mind were struck down by Ji-ho's words. Everything he knew was being shattered by a new truth. A revelation that he believed in and wanted so bad to be true..

He was not a monster and he deserved to be loved.

A dry laugh escaped his mouth. What was this? Was he seriously going to listen to a sixteen-year-old child? An annoying one at that. If his past self were to look at him, he would be utterly disappointed. MH didn't need a humane CEO. Only ruthless

Every cell in his body was rejecting this new idea. No. Don't listen.

Why should he listen?

Why should he changed the values that he believed it? The mindset that made him become the successful person he was?

But he very well knew the answer.

Because of Ji-ho, for the first time in Minhyun's life, he was able to feel emotions that he'd never felt before.

Chae Minhyun was saddened by someone's death. Very shocking. Everyone knew he was immune to emotions. He himself believed that the death of someone else was nothing. Having feelings was something that just indicated weakness. And that wasn't allowed.

When employees requested a longer break due to a loved one passing away, he couldn't understand why they would need one. In fact, he would get annoyed by those workers and didn't hesitate to spill his anger upon them.

He was heartless. He did not understand.

But now he did. He was starting to understand the complexity of his own emotions. The humane aspects of himself. And how not only he could care for someone, but be someone that can be cared about until death.

Today, just like a switch, something within him flipped. He would never be able to return to the Minhyun he was yesterday. And it was the new memories and experiences that he obtained that made him not want to revert back.

This was something he should be grateful about and learn from.

He grabbed onto the note again and clenched it in his hands. The message that Ji-ho was trying to convey was clear.

A shaky breath escaped his lips. He wanted to listen to Ji-ho's words and move forward with his life. In a new direction.

Yes. He should not take Ji-ho's death as a tragedy but a new beginning. It was what the boy wanted and as his last wish, Minhyun was going to try his best to grant it. At the bottom of his heart, he knew that something needed to be done about his life.

After all these years of constant pain, he deserved to be happy.

He stood up from his spot.

Now that he put some sense into himself, it was now time to go to Yoona. She should be having a hard time with herself to. Especially, since she was closer to Ji-ho and was on the more emotional side of the scale.

But before he could walk, a voice interrupted the silent air.

"Hello? Hello?"

Was he hallucinating? Minhyun grabbed his head. He had to be. Right now, he was hearing Ji-ho's voice, loud and clear.

"Is anyone there?"

The sound was coming from the left. When he looked up, he noticed a familiar object on top of his drawer. It was the small humanoid robot he gifted to Ji-ho.

The small things worth millions due to the amount of knowledge and quality going into its structure.

The robot's eyes lit up blue and it's mouth opened, similar to a humans.

"I heard some noises. If you are there, please talk to me. I have many things to explain!"

"Ji-ho," he whispered.

He slowly walked up to the object, his body shaking. What the hell was this? He had to be dreaming.

"Yes. Voice recognition tells me that you are Minhyun. Nice to meet you asshole. My name is White Mask. I am an AI created by Master Ji-ho. Nice to meet you."

He gasped, ignoring the name he was called. He was too starstruck by the coding within this small robot. No person in the world had yet to create such an elaborate artificial intelligence. Ji-ho couldn't have possibly left something this precious behind. He couldn't have been able to create something like this. It was impossible. No way.

"Nice to meet you too," he said with a shaky voice.

"Ah finally someone to talk to! You're much nicer than what Master Ji-ho had said."

He walked closer to the robot. "Thank you…"

"You're welcome! I see that your voice is a bit shaky. Please. Do not be shy. I am very friendly. In fact, Master Ji-ho said that we will be very good friends from now on."

The fact that the voice of White Mask was similar to Ji-ho ran chills down his spine. Plus, White Mask was Ji-ho's coder name, a different part of his identity. In a way, by leaving this AI, Ji-ho was leaving a part of him on earth.
Minhyun knew that Ji-ho wouldn't leave without a bang. That boy always had something up his sleeve.

"White Mask. When did Ji-ho start making you?" Minhyun asked.

White Mask placed his robotic index finger on its chin. "He started making me at the age of fourteen. At first, I did not have the ability to think and make words. I was only able to type very simple sentences. However, throughout the years, with the goal of leaving earth with a large project, Master Ji-ho had continuously worked on me. Luckily, because of this amazing body, I was able to take physical form."

That made a lot more sense. For anyone to make a complex AI online in such a short span was impossible.

Today it was like one bullet after another. This was insane, especially from a business perspective. Ji-ho must've had a vision of what type of response Minhyun would have to this.

Even the hundreds of MH engineers and coders could not make a system remotely as complex as this.

Ji-ho was seriously a genius.

"Amazing."

White Mask nodded. "Yes. It is amazing. Although my Master has left. I hope you don't forget his legacy."

Minhyun let out a chuckle. "Never."

Knowing the mechanisms and functionality of the physical robot body, Minhyun placed his hand on the hard surface. "Walk on top of my hand."

"Yes sir." Although the movements weren't as fluid as a humans, it was impressive to see the robot move on its own with a pair of legs. He gently grabbed the body and lifted it up closer to his face.

Ji-ho…

This boy…

A smile lifted on Minhyun's face.

This present was more than he could ask for. He will forever treasure it until he breathed his last breath.

Thank you.

Not for the fact that its technologically advanced of course. Despite Minhyun being selfish when it came to business gains, the idea of using the code for his own products wasn't the source of his happiness. No. It was the fact that Ji-ho gave such a precious gift to him. Years of hard work.

It was more than he deserved.

Chapter end