So, Who Is Your Master?

"If I am killed just for existing, let death be kinder than man." — Anon, 202x

1

'What the fuck?'

That was the first thought Dice had when he found himself inside an unfamiliar yet luxurious bedroom. 

It was extremely spacious with minimalistic design, the kind that one sees in magazines targeted for bachelors—concealed lighting, gray-themed walls and black furniture that didn't have a speck of dust. Even the king-sized bed where he's lying in was a mix of white, gray and black colors. 

Heck, even the smell in the air screamed 'money'!

Dice was half-naked in bed, wearing nothing but a pair of black sweatpants. As for the floor, it was covered in a white fur carpet so soft, he swore he would probably have no problems sleeping on it. 

'How much does this cost? If I sell this, maybe I can save up on rent for a few months?'

Dice was neither a miser nor was he poor, but he was someone who was almost always short of cash from ordering food almost everyday or playing outside with friends.

Savings?

What is that?

Is that a real word?

'I don't think I'm dreaming.'

As Dice touched the super soft bed sheets made of a material he couldn't name and inhaled the fragrant scent of the room that seemed both artificial yet refreshing, Dice became 100% sure he wasn't dreaming.

'Where am I? Who brought me here? Did I hit off with a cougar in the club?'

'Wait, no, I couldn't afford to party for years now. I don't even recall leaving the house in the first place.'

'Hmm, I don't recall drinking last night either.'

He searched for his cellphone, but it was neither in the nightstand nor was it on the bed. He also did not find it on the floor.

'This looks like a bachelor's pad though…'

He was tempted to return to bed after letting out a large yawn, but he could not help but be curious about his situation. It did not look like a hotel room.

'Is this place Lloyd's? Jin's?'

Scratching the back of his head, he mentally listed out the number of friends he thought could own a place this nice.

Lee Suho, a.k.a Dice, was your average young Korean, neither handsome or ugly, neither rich or poor, someone with an extremely ordinary family background. He's the eldest of three children, a recent returnee from compulsory military service, who was helping out as a part-time worker of a friend's small sports business.

The only thing that might be slightly different about him was his uselessly tall height and his love of dares and bets. 

That was how he earned his nickname 'Dice' back when he was in high school, and it stuck even now he had returned to university.

"Have I been kidnapped?" he blurted out, only to laugh at himself. "Nah, you gotta be bullshitting me."

As he padded out barefoot from the room, he first thought it must be Jin's apartment. They must have had a drinking session last night that he forgot.

But perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it a penthouse or a presidential suite? 

The moment he stepped out of the bedroom, he could see the city's morning skyline from the glass wall on one side and expensive voice-operated gadgets on the other.

Oh, how did he discover they're voice-operated?

Apparently, the AI controlling the system heard him curse.

[Good morning, master]

[Now searching 'bullshitting me']

[I'm sorry. I don't know how to respond to that]

'Are you Jarvis?' He blinked. 'I feel like I'm Tony Stark.' 

'Seriously though, where am I? I don't think I have any friend or acquaintance this rich.'

Jin might have hailed from a wealthy family, but not to the point they could afford this kind of luxury.

'It will be awesome though if I do have one.'

It was probably because Dice had just woken up that he didn't notice it, but after a minute or two of checking out all the never-before-seen high-tech gadgets in the wide living room, something strange registered in his head. 

'Wait…Master?'

'Did the AI recognize my voice as his master's?'

He curiously spoke out loudly, "Who is your master?"

However, there was no response. He tried to speak out once more, louder this time, yet it seemed like he's talking to no one. 

Dice fell into deep thought.

"You gotta be bullshitting me," he repeated, as it was this line that made the AI respond the first time.

As expected, the AI with a male voice activated.

[Now searching 'bullshitting me']

[I'm sorry. I don't know how to respond to that]

Dice had an idea. He minced the words in that sentence, and after several attempts, he realized that similar to the voice-operated virtual assistants he had seen on ads, the AI of the penthouse responded only to commands after its name was called out. 

Its name was apparently 'Tabi' or 'Tubby' or something with a similar pronunciation.

"Tubby, what is your master's name?"

This time, Dice finally got a decent yet unexpected response.

"Master's name is Lee Suho."

'Fucking shit!' His dark eyes widened. 'Is this a prank?' 

This kind of place was something he could never afford to buy even if he was to save up all his paychecks for the next three, no, five years. That was considering he didn't have bills or taxes to pay, and that he wouldn't need to buy groceries.

Maybe if he worked for ten years… still no, right?

Dice looked around, trying to see anything in the living room that would give away the identity of the real penthouse owner, but there was not a single framed picture on the shelves or the wall. In fact, the entire place was spotlessly clean of personal items, to the point it gave off a brand new feel.

As if not only the gadgets and furniture, even the penthouse itself was recently purchased and refurbished.

'Time to bolt out of here before the police burst in.'

He didn't know what the hell was happening, but it creeped him out. Thoughts like pranks, kidnapping, and a case of mistaken identity flashed through his head. 

Regardless of the reason, the only thing in his mind was to run away from this place and go home.

'But I don't know where I am. Am I in the same city? I don't even have my cell phone or wallet.'

'Am I within walking distance from my house?'

"Tubby," he started, "what is the address of this location—"

But that very moment, the door to the penthouse opened. It just slid open with a 'whoosh', as if the person that came in was close enough to the owner to not bother with ringing the doorbell.

"Good morning, Assistant Kim," the AI, Tubby, greeted the newcomer with a toneless voice. "Time check, 8:00 AM. You came on time."

A clumsy-looking man in his mid-twenties, wearing a strange medieval-styled suit while holding two cups of take-out coffee in hand, entered the penthouse. Upon seeing Dice standing in the middle of the living room…he cheered.

"Professor, you woke up rather early today! Have you received the message for the summon? Do you plan to attend this time?"