He Called Me a Leech, Then Got Mad When the AI I Talked to Wasn’t Him Chapter 01

He Called Me a Leech, Then Got Mad When the AI I Talked to Wasn’t Him Chapter 01

After the SATs were over, I casually posted on Instagram.

[Does not needing you anymore count as growing up?]

My childhood best friend’s comment popped up almost instantly.

[That calls for a national holiday.]

I didn’t understand, so I instinctively sent him a question mark.

After a long while, his reply finally came.

Ethan: [Lila Bennett, do you know people say you’re basically my personal piece of Velcro?]

Ethan: [The SATs are over. You don’t need to cling to me every single day anymore.]

Ethan: [Learn to stand on your own two feet. Once you get to college, no one is going to put up with an overgrown baby.]

Then, without so much as changing his tone, he sent me an app installer.

Ethan: [Ask the AI if you need anything. It’ll work better than depending on me.]

And just like that, the childhood best friend who had looked after me for twelve years handed me off to an AI app.

I stared at the screen for a long time before calmly downloading it.

Lila: [What hair color do you think would suit me?]

AI Guy: [You have fair skin. Chestnut brown would look good on you.]

Lila: [I also want to change up my style a little.]

AI Guy: [You have great presence, so you can pull off anything. I’d recommend a minimalist style.]

Lila: [Then where should I go for my graduation trip?]

AI Guy: [Judging from your Instagram, you like the ocean. You should go to Maui.]

Lila: [Okay. I’ll take your advice.]

Wait.

Something was off.

Could an AI really look at my Instagram?

…

After I stopped relying on my childhood best friend, I started asking the AI about everything.

But I kept feeling that something about the way it replied was different from other AI programs. Its words had an unsettlingly human quality.

The day before I left for Maui, I cautiously tested the waters.

Lila: [I feel a little lonely going to see the ocean by myself. Could you come with me?]

AI Guy: [… Are you sure?]

My fingers froze above the screen.

Could an AI really answer with a question?

But very quickly, his tone changed.

AI Guy: [I’ll be right here. I won’t hide, I won’t run, and I won’t disappear. I’ll catch you, steady and sure.]

Lila: […]

Fine.

I deflated and obediently went to pack my suitcase.

What I didn’t expect was to see Ethan Walker at the airport the next day.

We lived in the same neighborhood, but we hadn’t seen each other in ten days.

I had listened to him. Out of consideration for his feelings, I had stopped clinging to him like Velcro.

I also had no intention of greeting him.

Then our high school classmate, Sophie Clark, rushed out from behind him.

“Lila!”

My scalp prickled, and I turned around stiffly.

The moment my eyes met Ethan’s, I caught the flash of irritation in his gaze.

He was also holding Sophie’s luggage.

So they were going on a graduation trip together.

A sour ache spread through my chest, but I still looked away without changing my expression.

To my surprise, Sophie pulled him toward me.

“What a coincidence. Why are you at the airport too?”

As she spoke, she turned to Ethan with a playful, reproachful look.

“Lila and I have flights on the same day. Since you two grew up together, isn’t it kind of awful that you didn’t come to see her off?”

“Not cool.”

The more I heard, the more uncomfortable I felt.

But Sophie had always been blunt and oblivious like that, so I didn’t take it to heart. I only wanted to escape the awkward atmosphere as fast as possible.

Then Ethan called out to me with a frown.

“Lila, you really didn’t have to follow me all the way here.”

His tone was impatient. I couldn’t remember ever seeing him act like this.

He didn’t even give me a chance to explain.

“It’s only been a few days, and you’re already back to your old self? I promised your mom I’d look after you, but I need personal space too.”

I closed my eyes for a second and raised my hand to cut him off.

“You think I came here for you?”

Ethan seemed unused to my tone, and he froze for a moment.

“Then what else?”

I let out a small, speechless laugh.

“I’m flying to Maui today.”

Then I tapped my watch.

“I’m in a hurry. Do you have anything else to say?”

As soon as I said that, Ethan studied me with a complicated look. Only then did he belatedly seem to realize something.

I had dyed my hair a new color and changed my style.

Even the fact that I was going to Maui for my graduation trip was something I hadn’t pestered him about again and again like I used to.

When he spoke again, his voice sounded slightly strained.

“Why didn’t you tell me ahead of time?”