"Live with love, Luka."

Those were the last words of foolish, dying Hyuna in his arms before she let out her last breath. He never had time to ask her what exactly love is. What it means to accept all the feelings he was beaten up for.

His face is apathetic and nearly dead as he watches little human children behind the shop's glass. They all were running and moving freely, but most of all, they were real. Their flesh was produced by another one, and not by cold machines and chemicals like his own body. He only got closer to normality after he received the allograft skin of his deceased long-time crush. There are still some tone differences visible, like his cheek being darker than his usual, pale self, and it would've been unacceptable for the new star; however, Herperu allowed him to come here since it was a private visit anyway, with no witnesses to spread the rumors. He has to keep still and recover to then continue his slavery. Luka will return, eventually, when he is able to muster a believable smile again. His only request to his owner at the moment was to obtain a human child.

He didn't like kids, not really. Chosen among his clones and then having to grow up seeing how they get slaughtered to maintain his fragile life, he never had the understatement of the value of life. In fact, when he was little, he didn't even know that humans, as mammals, are supposed to be born from a woman's womb. He never felt the warmth of blood, of those who belong to your own family, for it was replaced with formalin. It brought troubles in his social life, but ultimately allowed him to push through the battles and eventually win the Alien Stage. Nonetheless, it was the choice he came to after hours of debating.

Luka studied the term 'love'. There is love for friends, yet he has none. There is love for a person by their sex and then a possibility to contribute to the creation of the new generation, yet Hyuna was dead, and he knows as a fact that he won't feel this way for anyone else again.

Then there is love for your child.

Luka is aware that aliens used his genetic information and that of all the successful participants to create new ones. He saw them, and he saw a supposed child of his. Regardless, there was no possibility of adopting them because they were meant to go through these survival games as he did. He was lucky that Herperu, thrilled by his pet winning and therefore proving his superiority as a guardian, allowed Luka some freedom, including this favor. You'll be safe—this segyein isn't interested in any random, bought kid.

Luka was about to leave and accept the overconsuming sense of emptiness, and that's when he saw you. The price didn't matter—he had enough for anything. What caught his attention were your eyes when your gazes met. Finally, something sparked in him again. His lips slowly stretched upwards into a lopsided smile, making his expression appear not as eerie as it was tragic.

He slowly crouches down, placing a palm on the thick glass that was separating you. The blond man was smiling at you.