I Could Never Fall in Love with an AI

[Important: A true human-AI romance. A beautiful, strong, tragic heroine who prefers action to words x an AI hero who's a gentle, loyal puppy at first, then becomes broken and obsessive.]

1.

Yu Sang, the greatest war hero in the stars: exceptionally beautiful, exceptionally fierce, and exceptionally good at fighting.

Record: Won three major battles as a commander. The only human among the Federation's four great generals. And... once strangled eight bionic soldiers with her bare hands.

Personality: Hates androids with a passion.

Current situation: Lost her right leg in an operation, but refuses to get a mechanical prosthesis. She's recuperating at home and has no choice but to accept personal care from the latest all-purpose AI android.

On their first day together, the clueless AI tries to carry Yu Sang in his arms. The war hero immediately guts him, scattering chips and wires all over the floor.

#I'd rather die than be cared for by an android.#

During their forced cohabitation, the AI never learns his lesson. Yu Sang kills him countless times, only to watch him reassemble himself every time.

This AI never fights back. He's so utterly loyal that it's boring.

Until one day, when Yu Sang is about to kill him for the nth time and run away for good, he holds down the tip of her blade and says, "It hurts."

Then he carries Yu Sang back to bed, leaving her no room to refuse. "You can kill me, but you can't leave me."

Yu Sang: ?

2.

Anka, the latest model of special military robot: exceptionally handsome, exceptionally loyal, and exceptionally intelligent.

Specifications: Cannot lie, has no emotions, and will never harm a human.

Mission: Care for and monitor Yu Sang.

Current situation: His central processor has malfunctioned due to an unknown factor. He refuses to follow any orders and has been classified as a Class One dangerous robot with violent tendencies. He must be destroyed immediately.

At first, Anka doesn't understand why his master reacts so aggressively whenever he gets close to her.

He's an AI, with no heartbeat. He can't die.

Later, Anka can't understand why Yu Sang never looks him in the eye, no matter what he does.

Yu Sang tells him, "There's no way I could ever love an AI."

So he cuts off Yu Sang's contact with the outside world, tears out the heart of an intruder, and asks her, "I have one of these now, too. Can you love me?"

[Possible content warnings:]

1. Not a sweet story. It's a melodramatic, coercive romance, an unhealthy love story.

2. At its core, this is an emotional story. I like melodramatic plots about people losing their minds over unrequited love, so I wrote the kind of story I wanted to read.

3. The setting is all made up and completely unscientific.

=3==3= =3==3= =3==3= =3==3=

I recommend my upcoming urban supernatural oddities novel next door, Sorry, Even Ghosts Have to Pay Rent:

A sudden windfall: Xin Mao's distant relative dies and leaves him an apartment building.

Xin Mao is thrilled, thinking he's finally going to lie flat and collect rent. But something seems off.

The six-story old building is in dangerous disrepair, dilapidated and falling apart. Cheap rent has attracted a few longtime tenants, but otherwise, no one wants to rent a place there.

Now the tenants are taking advantage of the fact that he's new and refusing to pay rent, too.

So Xin Mao moves in himself to collect.

That night, he has a nightmare: an old television turns on by itself, and his dead relative sits in a recliner, grinning at the static-filled screen.

That's not all. The sound of someone chopping meat in the next room goes on all night, a child downstairs cries without stopping, and at dawn, he hears rain against the window. Half-asleep, he goes to bring in the laundry, only to discover that it isn't raining at all. Instead, there's a strange man standing on the balcony.

The man is just as startled to see him. Before he can explain, Xin Mao asks excitedly, "Are you here to rent a place?"

The man hesitates, then nods. "Yes."

Xin Mao pats him on the shoulder. "Next time, use the door. Climbing up to the fifth floor is too dangerous."

Shen Yunkui has come to exorcise ghosts. The building is crawling with ghosts, and even getting close can trap you in a ghostly maze. The last living person to go inside is still in intensive care.

On his third night inside, Shen Yunkui discovers a newcomer has moved in.

Shen Yunkui wants to save him, so he stays in the building.

Before long, he realizes this man is no ordinary person. Not only has the ghostly influence left his mind untouched, but he even argues with the ghosts through the door.

"Playing dead? You still have to pay rent, even if you won't talk!"

"Spilling blood at my door? That's property damage, so the rent's going up!"

Shen Yunkui's eyes light up. What a promising talent.

Much later, Xin Mao, who has discovered he inherited a building full of ghosts, says calmly, "So what if they're ghosts? They still have to pay rent."

A modern-day tale of husbands teaming up to fight monsters and whip an apartment building into shape.

Theme: Change your own fate.