...
Theo, having finished his breakfast and his mind wandering to what awaited him that day, emerged from the kitchen. His footsteps were so light that they barely disturbed the comfortable silence of the room.
His eyes scanned the room until they rested on Cappie.
She was sprawled out on the main sofa, completely absorbed in the holographic screen floating in front of her. Her cap was turned backwards, while her relaxed posture betrayed how much she was into the entertainment.
Next to her, an empty bowl of cereal rested on the table; a soft blanket covered part of her legs... But not enough.
Theo stopped.
'Sigh... This girl really is hopeless.'
The standard blue skirt she always wore had ridden up too high on her thighs, revealing more than it should have, a small detail, but enough to make Theo sigh and frown. It was one of those innocent oversights, typical of someone who had not yet mastered human gestures and norms.
There was no malice, no provocation, just exposed vulnerability, almost like a flower blooming without noticing the wind around it.
With silent steps, he approached, his feet muffled by the thick carpet. Cappie remained oblivious, too focused on the movie involving strange characters and confusing situations.
Without warning, he sat down next to her, and with a quick movement, pulled her onto his lap, making her sit with her back to him.
"Eeep!"
A high-pitched, almost inaudible squeal escaped her lips as her small body gently collided with his.
A blush rose immediately, starting at her neck and coloring her cheeks and ears. Her embarrassment was clearly visible, almost radiating heat.
She tried to break free, a movement of pure instinct, but Theo's arms prevented her from leaving.
"Theo!"
She exclaimed, her voice choked with surprise.
"W-what are you doing?!"
Her eyes, previously fixed on the screen, were now locked on the arms around her waist, as if desperately seeking an explanation for it all.
Theo just smiled, that warm, amused smile, without malice, but with a hint of teasing.
He settled her more comfortably on his lap, feeling her small, tense body fit against his.
"Good morning to you too, Cappie..."
He whispered softly as he gently adjusted the cap on her head.
"I already told you that you need to be careful how you sit. You're going to give someone a heart attack."
Preferably, just himself.
"I... I didn't realize!"
She murmured, looking away, completely embarrassed. Theo tilted his head over her shoulder, looking at the floating projection.
"And what is this series, so engaging that it makes you forget even your posture?"
"It's a movie... a fantasy... Alice in Wonderland."
Her voice faded away little by little.
The silence between them lingered for a few moments, until Theo pulled the blanket thrown on the sofa and placed it over Cappie's legs, covering her more appropriately, but without letting go of her.
"Better like this?"
Cappie nodded, without even thinking of turning to look at him.
"Yes... thank you..."
For a few seconds, the silence between them was comfortable, broken only by the sound of the movie playing on the screen.
Cappie, still in his lap, felt her heart beating fast, a mixture of embarrassment and a strange sense of security.
"Aren't you going to have breakfast, Cappie?"
Theo asked, breaking the silence.
"I already had cereal."
She replied, pointing with her chin to the bowl beside her.
"Oh, that... Then go have a real breakfast. Cereal alone isn't enough."
She snorted softly, without answering, but took the cue to change the subject.
"What about Yeonha and Nayun? Are they having breakfast too?"
It was an obvious attempt to escape the situation, and perhaps, with luck, be saved by one of them.
"They went to train."
Theo replied, with an amused tone that Cappie couldn't quite decipher.
"Train?
She raised an eyebrow, her expression a mixture of surprise and suspicion. At this hour? And together?
That was strange. Nayun always trained alone, and Yeonha was the type who preferred to exercise at very specific times.
"Yes."
Theo confirmed, a mischievous smile appearing on his lips.
"They went to stretch their bodies a little... Last night was... quite intense for them."
He nodded slightly, a knowing gleam in his eyes.
Cappie blinked a few times, trying to process it. When it dawned on her... her face turned even redder.
"Ah... I see..."
She murmured, quickly understanding what he meant. She had already witnessed one of those "training sessions" by accident before... a scene between Theo and Nayun that still made her mind bug out just remembering it.
"...Did you three do it... together?"
"Yes, we did."
"I-it..."
Cappie fell silent, not knowing what to say, but Theo, who was holding her from behind, noticed her furrowed brow, showing that her mood had dropped a few notches.
Even though he knew Cappie might have feelings for him, Theo still chose to remain silent until now.
"...Hey!"
Cappie whispered softly as she called out to him.
"...Don't you see me as a woman?"
The question hung in the air like a spark in the middle of a dry field. For a moment, time seemed to stand still.
Theo blinked slowly, as if her words had taken him by surprise, not because of their content, but because of the honesty in her voice.
"Cappie."
He said, lowering his face until his chin rested on her shoulder.
"Do you really think I don't see you as a woman?"
She didn't answer. She stood there, motionless, as if the very act of listening to what he had to say required all her courage.
"If I didn't see you that way... I wouldn't be a real man, Cappie."
Her breathing faltered for a moment, and he noticed.
"Do you think I don't notice every time you look at me and pretend you're not looking? Or how you blush when I respond to your teasing in a way you don't expect?"
He smiled sideways, his warm breath brushing her neck.
"You're a woman. A beautiful, cute, sexy woman. So yes, I see you as a woman."
She turned to face him, her eyes brimming with an undefined emotion, something between relief, joy, and a restrained desire that was finally finding room to blossom.
"...Then why...?"
Her voice faltered, trying to find an explanation for him, who until now had done nothing to her.
Theo understood her doubts, but instead of giving her answers, he took her hands to her cheek, guiding her face closer.
"Because I wanted you to be the one to decide when that moment would come... Isn't that what you always wanted?"
Cappie's eyes widened, as if she were suddenly seeing her own reflection for the first time.
Yes... That was it, it always had been.
The desire not to be just an echo of commands, nor a puppet of codes and cold routines.
She wanted more. She wanted to be her own master, write her own story, chart her own path, not as a pre-programmed plot, but as something alive and real.
That's why she chose to become a system.
Because, however small, there was a chance she could achieve that goal.
After all...
A system only completes its goal when its host achieves theirs.
"So Cappie... Are you like this because you follow your heart, or because you still see yourself trapped in who you used to be? What does this Mita de Boné really want?"
The silence that followed that question seemed to engulf the entire room.
Cappie looked at him with teary eyes, as if the gears of her mind, now more human than ever, were working desperately to process everything she was feeling.
"...What I want..."
She repeated, as if trying to convince herself that the question was real. That, yes, she had the right to answer.
Her fingers gripped the fabric of Theo's T-shirt, feeling the heat emanating from him. And, in an almost hesitant movement, she leaned forward.
Allowing herself to nestle against his chest.
Her forehead rested there, right in the center of Theo's chest, where she could clearly hear the steady, constant beating of his heart.
"Thump... thump... thump..."
"I... I just..."
Her voice came out muffled against his chest.
"...I just want to stay like this for a while."
Theo's arms tightened around her. A silent caress that said more than any words could.
He rested his chin on top of her head, lightly stroking the blue strands that escaped from under her cap.
"As long as you want, my perverted system..."
He replied, in a tone so soft that it seemed to strike her deep in her heart.
After a few minutes trapped in that embrace, where the world seemed to have disappeared and only the two of them remained, Cappie took a deep breath, filling her lungs with his scent, a scent she already knew, but which now seemed to have a completely different meaning.
With some hesitation, she pulled away a little, but not completely. Her eyes, large and bright, stared into Theo's. She adjusted her cap, pulling it forward, as if that could hide the blush that still tinged her face.
"You know..."
She broke the silence.
"I think I understand now..."
She squeezed the fabric of his shirt once more, averting her gaze to her own lap, before completing:
"...Why Nayun and Yeonha... fell in love with you like that... So quickly."
"You know? What could be the reason for that...?"
Just as he was about to ask, Cappie lifted her head, leaned forward, and caught him off guard with a kiss.
"I'm going to make my bed."
Before Theo could say anything, Cappie jumped off his lap as if she had been burned. She tripped over the blanket, almost falling, and disappeared down the hall, leaving behind only hurried footsteps and a trail of pure embarrassment floating in the air.
Theo remained where he was for a moment, his fingers touching his lips, as if he wanted to hold on to that brief sensation.
Finally, he got up and headed for the bedroom, clicking his tongue.
"Tsk... If you're going to steal a kiss, do it right. A peck doesn't even count..."
...
Note: In the next chapter, we begin the canonical events...