I scanned the white backdrop of the room as I outstretched my arms behind me and laid my weary head onto my soft sleeves. While I was nearing the point of dozing off, the atmosphere that resided outside the large glass panes of the office disagreed with me. There was a bustle of arriving vehicles and workers smearing the canvas of the black parking lot with life. The early morning star loomed as high as it blazed brilliantly - blinding rays reaching me through the reflections of the many glass screens surrounding me. I spun the black office chair around to face away from the heavenly sheen. Now I face a small, marble-white cubicle filled with a few books, decorations, personal articles, and the listless click-clack of the pen of the digital world. In the center of it all sat the wielder of that pen. It was the artist who weaves and designs tapestries of emotions, bonds, and lives, along with what one could call a language only comprehensible to those of a higher being. Blatantly pretentious exaggeration aside, I briefly considered an approach that would allow me to pass the time and not bother the man in the pure-white outfit before me. While I pondered on it, the lime-green accents on the artist's sleeves danced as his fingers flew across the keyboard of the glowing desktop in front of him. I gave up after staring at the ceiling for a not-so-significant amount of time, deciding to ask away without any regard for the techie's feelings with a random question.

"By the way, about the A.I.'s-" I asked but was immediately cut off by an exasperated voice by the man in front of me - not even sparing me a glance as his entire focus remained on the screen.

"That again? I get you're bored, man, but that's all you ever ask about." J.C. replied, to which I gave my own equally peeved remark.

"Is that all?"

"Erk...That and I got work to do." The techie's go at saving face was unsuccessful as I let out a faint sigh.

That should take priority on your list of excuses, dammit. Focus on your work more. Don't mind me as I try to kill time by actively preventing you from doing said work.

I told myself before covering my mouth to yawn, recuperating before launching my next attack. I have worked here at aiAI Industries for five months now. And I have bid farewell to the soothing spring breeze and lush scenery they herald, welcoming the lively atmosphere and bright autumnal hues fall carries. As the season well-known for its fruitfulness now begins its bloom, I watch over my own crop and reminisce over the relationships I've seen blossom over my stay at this peculiar company. At this point, I've matchmade hundreds of people. And have had to deal with dozens of eccentric couples, from the mildly annoying to downright problematic. It's not to say I've seen the worst of the worst love has to offer. But I can confidently tell you that I can understand why some people pray they have a wholesome relationship.

I never knew I'd have to match my high school teacher but also pair him up with the principal I had from the same high school and then set up a carnival and fortune-telling date for them. The world is a strange place.

That aside, most people usually boast about the practical skills they earn because of their career path. Some learn new languages to work abroad; others become great at micromanaging and multitasking due to their managerial positions. And those who work in high-stakes environments know how to keep their cool. It comes with working such jobs, after all. As a surveyor, this means my people skills sharpened to a point. Being the vocal side of the dynamic duo I was a part of meant communication, and being perceptive to people's emotions became something I had to improve. And while I was never bad at it in the first place, I now feel like an overly conscious high schooler, assuming what everyone around me thinks.

I guess since we drive around everywhere, I'm used to long trips and know most of the area pretty well. It's like I'm a pilot. Yeah. Let's go with that if my parents ever ask what I do now after quitting my well-paying job at a stable company.

I gulped down those worries as I resumed observing the occupied fellow in front of me. aiAI is a large company, which means employees are in the hundreds, especially in a large urban area like our city. Still, being a surveyor, I was away from the base of operations aside from clocking in and out. The work left few chances to interact with colleagues in the empty halls of the early mornings and dark spaces of the cool evenings.

Then again, one dear partner is already enough for my dear body to handle. Oh dear, I already feel tired just thinking of her.

Together with her and Alexandre, there was really only one other person I interacted with in my day-to-day.

"I guess it's a bit late to ask, but why did you start coming in so early anyway?"

"What, you don't enjoy my company?"

"Not in the slightest." The techie replied bluntly, his fingers still dancing across the keys with a satisfying and tactile clack as they did, a strong contrast to the sharpness of his words.

Don't say that. I already have to deal with that level of hostility later. Besides, it's not like I come in early so I can save on air conditioning back home. I'm here for serious work reasons.

A few weeks ago, feeling bored, I began coming in early to work. There wasn't much to do in the house. And I was running out of 90s sitcoms to binge-watch until my mind went numb. A side effect of this decision became barging into the tech division's resident early bird, J.C., and disturbing his quiet work. While we didn't have much in common, his company alone and my occasional queries were enough to carry me through the slow mornings of my workdays.

"That aside," I chuckled awkwardly to clear the tension, "I know you gave me a short run down a while back, but how does the aiAI match people, anyhow?" He let out a sigh at that question, sensing he'd have to go back to multitasking. Most of our conversations were trivial and had nothing to do with work. But when I back myself into a corner, I could hide behind the guise of "educating myself on the job" to keep up the conversation.

Sure, I look stupid for asking five whole months in, but I'll take it over being bored. And they say it's the kids these days with short attention spans. Oooh, is that a flock of birds outside.

I joke - partially, but I also hold some curiosity over the company's claim to fame and the very same pen that once wrote my own story, the A.I.

"Well, you have to be more specific since I'm also just one person working on one aspect of the whole thing," J.C. replied, looking to dodge the question I presumed.

"Hmm, how about what you're doing right now? And what does the A.I. have to do with it?" I asked enthusiastically, inching him closer to accepting his fate as my time killer.

"Alright, alright - give me a second to just get the process running since I'll take a break after that anyway." And with a few final flicks of his hands, a small progress bar appeared on the screen, only slightly visible as the lens flare of the morning sun shielded its contents from my eyes. I wondered if J.C. wanted to answer my question out of consideration of my curiosity or understanding of the fact it would be more convenient to answer than to deny me of my wishes. Either way, I was grateful for the techie's compliance. He spun his chair around with a faint sound of the black plastic adjusting, facing me with a tired but friendly face.

"To start with, what I'm doing here is creating a selection for the A.I. to choose from, a selection of matchmaking candidates." The techie began, standing up from his office chair and opening the door with a gesture asking me to follow. I tilted my head in intrigue, placing both my hands on the cold armrests of my seat. Leaving the confines of the office, I collided with the brilliant rays of a star that pierced through the large windows of the tech division's common area. J.C. walked past me - letting out a yawn as I shielded my gaze from the blinding incandescence.

It's not even summer. This is why I wonder why people don't believe in global warming and gremlins.

As I condemned humanity for its ignorance, I heard a few high-pitched beeps followed by the distinct noise aluminum makes as it tumbles down the king of convenience. J.C. took the cool-looking drink from the bottom of the vending machine. And his hands which were beginning to regain their warmth after leaving the cold office - dissipated the ethereal layer of condensation that enveloped the can of caffeine.

"Well," he began, the release of the pop-up tab of the beverage making a satisfying tock as it did, "The A.I. works of information, right? Well, that's a whole load of info, way more than what's written on the client's files. 'Cause of that, for the sake of both us and the A.I., it splits the information into two sets, making things easier to organize." He finished with a sip of his drink, a tiny grin on his face as he took in any morning shifter's favorite sustenance. I shot him a slightly impatient look to bring his focus back to the topic at hand, a sigh emanating from him as he took his lips off the container.

"Sheesh, I'm on break, man. Let me have this, at least." He said with a joking tone, albeit his remark was reasonable. I threw him a shrug that said fair enough before placing my fingers onto the vending machine to get myself a drink.

I remember hearing I should be careful with my caffeine intake once I left college. Oh well, doctor's orders, doctor's suggestions, same thing. Heart palpitations, here I come.

I looked at the selection of drinks as J.C. continued.

"The first set covers a lot of the more practical or definite aspects of the clients. Stuff like where they live, age, career choices, income, past experience with relationships, and even academic ability are taken into consideration. After all, a couple is still a partnership, and everything can't run off emotions alone." He resumed cooly, befitting the outwardly mature vibe he exudes with his scruffy facial hair and relaxed pose.

"The other set then covers the stuff middle-school kids with no actual dating experience think love is all about, personalities, habits, hobbies, philosophies - as well as the data collected from the observation period provided to the clients. Jokes aside, splitting it up also ensures a level of balance. It would be a mess if we didn't take into account either side of the proverbial coin, and these things are already enough of a mess as is." He says, but that last line ended with another jab at our work.

Hey, I'm the comedian around here, don't steal my job. I'll grow out my beard and steal your style.

I put both my hands up to my face, one carrying the cold and slightly bitter drink to my mouth and the other lightly caressing my stubble.

"Once the A.I. finishes organizing the info, it selects a bunch of suitable clients in our database and lists out the matches it thinks are best. That's where I come in," he continued with a proud stance; and a thumb pointed at his chest. I gave a slight tilt of my head to let him resume.

"Remember what I said earlier? Taking the compiled data together with what you guys gather out on the field about the persons, I thin out the choices more, do this a few times per client, and ya' get a match." The techie finished with a proud smile, chugging down the rest of his drink.

"That...sounds like a whole lotta work."

"Well, yeah. aiAI didn't get to where it is by being lazy, and besides, I'm only one man in one part of the tech division. A lot more goes into making sure she runs things smoothly. We're not just a company dealing in money. We're dealing with human relationships here. So a whole lotta work translates to a whole lot less work in the long run for us, you get it?" I pondered on it for a moment, finding an opportunity of thought as J.C. went to dispose of his drink. While I wanted to know out of boredom, it dawned on me that this brought upon a few questions I only now considered. So much effort goes into the matchmaking of people - more than I realized in my stay here at aiAI. It makes me wonder about the level of responsibility we hold over them and how what's normally weighing upon the shoulders of two people is instead on top of the back of an entire company. It wasn't that I was going back to accusing our work as problematic, just a dilemma I conjured up after my revelations. Perhaps I didn't ask these questions because I saw firsthand the good we could do for those in need. And how I compared it to my own experiences. I was far past regretting anything regarding my past. But working in the field convinced me that by chance - if we did get help, our relationship wouldn't have ended as it did. Still, these remained as nothing more but what-ifs, incomplete questions with partial pieces of information. Even thinking back on the couples I've worked with, the split in responsibility has always varied, from setting up small dates and introducing clients to one another - to preparing for weddings and resolving serious marital disputes. The rope not only us surveyors walk, but the company as a whole is a precarious one. As fun as it'd be to continue reflecting on it, the gray area was firm with this problem, and an answer was as unclear as the skies I wished for as I looked out at the cloudless blue sky.

It's September already. Why is it still so damn hot?

I swallowed my thoughts along with the last drops of my cold drink, a final bit of refreshment, before facing the heat of a star outside.

Oh well, bitter drinks make for bitter thoughts, I guess.

"You were awfully engrossed in yourself. Guess at least that means you're not bored anymore." The techie said, drawing my attention.

"I was just thinking about how much effort goes into matchmaking and how they spared none of that for creating the pairings for surveyors." I quipped back, a laugh emanating from both of us to fill the tranquil space. As a warm atmosphere began to settle, footsteps harboring a frigid aura sounded behind us. I turned to see the glistening ash-gray hair flowing as if waves of a polar ocean. The bearer of this sea stared straight ahead, the glow of her amber orbs striking me with a glare of daggers swimming amidst the near-white tides of her locks.

"Good morning." My dear partner chimed, sparking the true beginning of today's work.