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Seinami Electronics Store, Sapporo, Hokkaido Island, Yamato State.8:52 PM, Sunday.A consultant greeted a young man who had just rushed into the store:Catch your breath, please, Mister...?Kim, just Kim, - the young man muttered, still out of breath.Well, Kim, how can I assist you?I need a cleaner. I mean, a robot vacuum cleaner. Urgently.Of course, I’d be happy to help. Let me show you the updated lineup from KC. These hardworking little fellows will clean your apartment...The salesman's words went right past Kim's ears as something bumped into his leg. He glanced down in confusion and saw a white, slightly dusty robot vacuum that had already nudged his shoe twice.What’s this? - Kim asked in surprise.Oh, please, don’t bother with that one. It’s an old, defective model. Let me show you this shiny beauty—Armstrong! It can clean an entire house in minutes, and its unique mobility system even handles multi-level buildings and large thresholds. And it also—Kim stopped him with a wave of his hands:Okay, okay, let’s skip the ad campaign. How much for this "indispensable" one?The price for such a perfect helper is just 100,000 eurobucks. A bargain for a monster like this, isn’t it? - the consultant said cheerfully.Yeah, a bargain, especially for some rich folks downtown! - Kim exclaimed, wide-eyed.I think I’ll pass. Prices like that make my implants glitch. Honestly, I can clean up myself. Thanks, goodbye!Before the salesman could respond, Kim had bolted out of "Seinami" like a stream of data.***The city at night was just waking up, but not for someone who had an early interview the next day...Staring at the red light at the crosswalk, Kim drifted into thought:What if I’m not good enough? How do you even define "good enough"? Just don’t let it be like the time I interviewed at the weapons shop. I’m still...At that moment, he felt a familiar nudge against his leg, snapping him back to reality. He whispered through gritted teeth:What are you doing here? How did you even get here?The vacuum cleaner silently kept bumping against Kim’s leg.Trying to rationalize, Kim said:You know what? I’ll take you back to the store and tell them to fix your circuits. Let’s see how you behave after that.Pausing, he added thoughtfully,But what if they think I stole you? They’ll slap me with a fine, and I’ll never dig myself out of this eurodollar pit. You know what? Just go about your business. I don’t know, talk to the coffee machine. He’s a friendly guy. But leave me alone, okay?Whistling nervously, he stopped paying attention to the robot.When he reached the Megatower, he began searching his pockets for his access pass. His search turned up nothing—the ticket to his apartment was gone...The streets had darkened completely, and the constant wail of police sirens made it impossible to be alone with one’s thoughts.And there it was—a slightly grimy but determined robot vacuum with a coffee cup perched on its lid slowly rolling toward Kim, who was sitting near the entrance.Why am I not surprised, Mister Stalker? Here to bump into my leg again? - he muttered with resignation.On the lid of the no-longer-pristine vacuum sat a coffee cup labeled "Friend". Kim smiled and said,So, you want to be friends, round guy?Lifting the cup, he discovered his lost pass underneath. Grinning from ear to ear, he climbed to his feet and headed up to his apartment, letting the robot go in first.Make yourself at home. Milk’s in the fridge, outlet’s by the bed, firmware updates can be done on the computer. I’m going to sleep. - Kim collapsed onto his bed and started snoring.