The book he received as a Christmas present didn’t last for very long; although he enjoyed the pictures and idle text running from each tattooed page, Gongchan managed to finish the story within a matter of hours. His eyes repeatedly scanned and examined the drawings, engulfing himself into the prose for some time before desiring the urge for more books.
It wasn’t until he wandered the streets of the city that he stumbled upon a store nestled within a neighboring area. He approached the doors— with the Christmas gift still in his possession— and slipped inside, the scent of biblichor infiltrating his nostrils. The robot’s head snapped in the direction of the male as he was welcomed, returning the greeting with the bow of his head. “Good afternoon, sir.”
As the robot scanned the various isles of books, arranged by topics and authors, a wave of confusion fell over him. Gongchan glanced up and took note of the employee who fixated his attention on the book in his possession, wandering towards the counter were he sat and leaning against the island in curiosity.
"…What are you reading?"
It took him a second to realise he had suddenly been called sir. No matter the title he was no longer used to be called as such. It had been far too long since many people, or many at that persisted in such courtesies. He arched an eyebrow but let it go and focused back on the paperback in his hands.
He imagined the young boy would wander around for a while. It seemed most people that entered his store found themselves a bit at loss and allowed the store to pull them in until they no longer were. And thus hearing the young boy’s voice call out to him caught him by surprise, but not a surprise that showed on his stoic face.
“…What are you reading?”
He glanced over the counter at him, before putting the book down while keeping on finger between where he had left of. “A book called 1Q84, by Haruki Murakami.” He placed a card between the pages and turned the cover towards the other, as to allow him to see it. “This is book three of a total of three.” He nodded to his own words before handing the book over to him. “Ever heard of the author before?”