Chapter 64: The Password Box 

“What did you send him?”

In the soft light of the bedroom, Yoon Nam-hyuk lay on the bed, his face weary, looking quizzically at Qi Huai. Qi Huai placed his phone on the bedside table. “A threatening text message.”

Yoon Nam-hyuk: “?”

An hour ago, Qi Huai had spread Yoon Nam-hyuk’s alibi all over the internet. The downside was that President Yoon’s prestige was damaged. The upside was that the police, under public pressure, had no choice but to declare Yoon Nam-hyuk innocent.

Now, the Yoon Nam-woo couple, who had been released before Yoon Nam-hyuk, were holed up in the Yoon family’s main residence. The area around the residence was surrounded by nosy media, making it impenetrable. To let Yoon Nam-hyuk rest properly, Qi Huai had brought him back to his rented apartment.

No matter how comfortably a rented apartment was decorated, it wasn’t his own. Most importantly, Qi Huai couldn’t set up enough security personnel.

It seems a villa offers more freedom than an apartment, Qi Huai thought. When this is all over, I’ll buy a villa. A garden, a pool, a study… Nam-hyuk and he would finally have a home of their own.

“Sleepy?” Qi Huai pinched Yoon Nam-hyuk’s cheek.

Yoon Nam-hyuk was drowsy. “…I’m okay.”

Okay? His eyelids are about to stick together. Qi Huai couldn’t help but laugh. “Get some sleep. I’ll stay with you.”

Although they had both been without much rest for nearly 24 hours, Qi Huai was still a semi-Alpha. While he was tired after a day or two without sleep, he wouldn’t feel particularly uncomfortable.

But Yoon Nam-hyuk was not. He was just an ordinary person. First, he was stabbed and injured, then he faced the death of his biological father, was taken to the police station to identify the body, and interrogated. If he didn’t get some proper rest, Qi Huai was afraid he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Most importantly, Ms. Hyun’s memento had been found. Qi Huai didn’t know what was inside, but if Yoon Nam-hyuk didn’t rest well, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to mentally handle seeing what was inside.

Soon, the sound of even breathing came. Yoon Nam-hyuk had said he didn’t want to sleep, but the next second, he was hugging Qi Huai and fast asleep.

His arms were wrapped tightly, his nose pressed into the crook of Qi Huai’s neck. Even the smell of smoke and dust from the explosion, which hadn’t been washed off yet, made Yoon Nam-hyuk feel very safe and comfortable.

The reason he had been reluctant to close his eyes just now was because after he got out of the police station, he had found out that there had been an explosion at the film crew’s hotel. The news reports had detailed photos. The explosion had been in the wardrobe of Qi Huai’s room, just a few meters away from him at the time.

That photo had terrified Yoon Nam-hyuk. The fear that erupted in that instant was almost no less than when he had learned of Ms. Hyun’s death back then.

If you hadn’t met me, your life would be very peaceful, right? If I hadn’t been so persistent back then, would you have been safer? Yoon Nam-hyuk fell asleep with these worried thoughts, his brow soon furrowing in his sleep.

Anxious type.

Qi Huai’s lips curved slightly. He gently squeezed the back of the other’s neck and whispered soothingly, “Sleep well. Don’t overthink it. You don’t know how interesting and happy my life has been since I met you.”

Qi Huai. A human created by the Main Brain by fusing ordinary human genes and Alpha genes.

From gestation to the age of 18, he had grown up on the spaceship Galaxy, learning human emotions as taught by an AI, rote and by the book.

From 18 to 22, in four years, he had carried out missions of all sizes, with the goal of finding happiness as a human-gene carrier.

Some missions were very simple, like helping the protagonist shou firmly confess his feelings, ending a five-year crush early, and achieving a happy ending with the protagonist gong.

This kind of mission usually took a few hours to complete. After the mission, the Main Brain would ask him, 「Qi Huai, did you feel the protagonists’ happiness? Do you have any insights?」

Qi Huai would say, 「No.」

The protagonists seemed to be happy. They would laugh, hug, and kiss, just as the textbooks said. But this happiness didn’t seem to be transferable. It had nothing to do with him.

Some missions were very complex, like transmigrating as the protagonist gong to help the protagonist shou find happiness. When he encountered this kind of mission, Qi Huai would be very troubled, because he himself didn’t understand what happiness was.

So he started to exploit loopholes in the missions, acting as a wingman for the protagonist shou and the second male lead. When these two got married and were inseparable, he could be considered to have helped the protagonist shou get his happy ending as the protagonist gong.

Faced with this situation, the Main Brain seemed a bit speechless. After a long silence, it would ask Qi Huai, 「Besides your susceptibility period, have you ever felt sexual urges?」

Qi Huai would say, 「No…」

The Main Brain would fall silent again. After a long time, it would say, 「Based on historical data analysis, there is a 95% probability that you are not suited for wholesome scenarios of too high a purity level. As the first Alpha-fusion gene, the complexity of your scenarios needs to be increased.」

And then, he had met Nam-hyuk.

Qi Huai closed his eyes as he thought. When he woke up again, two hours had passed. Yoon Nam-hyuk, who had woken up before him, was staring at him intently, his thoughts unknown.

“Want to kiss your hubby?” Qi Huai smiled.

Yoon Nam-hyuk snapped back to his senses, his ears red as he leaned in. “…Yes.”

After a long, sticky kiss, if they continued, a certain president’s pants would be gone. Qi Huai licked his lips and buttoned Yoon Nam-hyuk’s clothes back up. “I’ll wait for you to recover.”

Yoon Nam-hyuk’s eyes shimmered. “It’s okay to be slow. It doesn’t hurt.”

Qi Huai chuckled. “I can’t be slow.”

Sleeping with an Alpha was a physical task.

He turned and took a password box from the drawer, solemnly handing it to Yoon Nam-hyuk. “Open it and see. Do you know the password?”

Yoon Nam-hyuk was stunned. The box was just as he remembered. He quickly sat up, but cried out in pain as he pulled his wound. Qi Huai immediately hugged him. “Don’t rush. It won’t get lost. We have all the time in the world.”

“Mmm,” Yoon Nam-hyuk nodded, his eyes red.

He turned the box over and over in his hands for a long time, holding it tightly in his arms, reluctant to open it. It was as if just stroking the outside of it made him very happy.

Qi Huai wiped away his tears and said helplessly, “I should have let you sleep with it.”

Yoon Nam-hyuk laughed through his tears. “I’ll sleep with you both… Thank you, Qi Huai. Thank you.”

“I should,” Qi Huai’s heart ached.

Yoon Nam-hyuk fumbled with the box for a while. He found that although the box was small, the password was very complex. Nine digits… he almost didn’t have to think to know what it was. It was from the picture book story his mother used to tell him to get him to sleep.

Thinking back now, that storybook must have been specially commissioned by his mother. The colors were vibrant, the content unique. It told the story of nine numbers in a jumbled order. He had never seen any other child with it.

He entered the password. The box, sealed for nearly twenty years, opened with a click. Inside was a letter, a few pieces of paper, and a key. Yoon Nam-hyuk impatiently but carefully opened the letter:

My dearest Nam-hyuk, Mama’s son.

Today is X month X day, X year. The weather is very good. It’s a sunny day that we both like.

Mama has finally prepared your coming-of-age present. I’m so happy. Although you are still so small and it will be a long time before you understand the meaning of this gift, Mama is still a little impatient and wants to write down my current feelings in a letter.

To be honest, Mama always has some bad premonitions. Perhaps people are like this after they’ve done something that weighs on their conscience?

Just like your grandfather, my father. He was afraid of implicating his family, and also because he couldn’t bear the pressure in his heart, so he left just like that.

(Oh my God, why am I writing this? Let me cross this out first. I’ll rewrite it in a few days. Of course, maybe the letter will be longer in a few days. Please understand, 19-year-old Nam-hyuk. Mama is just this long-winded.)

Next, Mama is going to confess my guilty conscience to you. (crying face)

Be an honest person, a kind person, a person who doesn’t let others down. That’s what Mama taught you, right?

Unfortunately, Mama didn’t do it.

Mama is a good mother in your heart, but I deliberately swapped someone else’s son. Even though that lady had abandoned her child, the child was innocent. I shouldn’t have done that.

He should have lived a peaceful life, not bear the sins of the previous generation. But because of a single thought of mine, the real Yoon Nam-woo disappeared from the welfare center. The current Yoon Nam-woo is a child Mama adopted from the welfare center.

Two innocent children had their destinies changed because of me. It might be a good thing for this child, Min-ryong, but for the real Nam-woo, what will he experience? Mama lives in guilt every day.

To find him, Mama has worked hard for many years. But the Cherish Welfare Center from back then has changed owners, and many files have been turned to ash in a fire caused by aging electrical wiring. It will be very difficult to find that child.

But Mama has already decided. No matter how much time and money it takes, I must find him, sincerely apologize to him, and take care of him like my own son, so he can grow up well just like you.

If possible, Mama also wants to ask you for a favor. If my premonition comes true and I leave this world before I can give you this gift, then you must continue to search in my place, okay?

Making such a request might be unfair to my Nam-hyuk, but Mama has no better way.

There were tearstains on the letter here. It was obvious that this letter had been treated as a draft by Ms. Hyun. She had never expected that this letter, with its deletions and amendments, would truly be her last.

Yoon Nam-hyuk leaned against Qi Huai. He sniffed, turned the letter to the next page, and gently caressed the neat and elegant handwriting on it.

Nam-hyuk, do you see that key? That’s the birthday present Mama prepared for you. A house in the Upper East Side of New York.

You must remember, whether it’s the apartment in Cheongdam-dong or this house in New York, they are not wealth or investments. They are the land Mama left for you to live freely.

My Nam-hyuk is a persistent and strong-willed child. This was clear from a very young age. I think this Nam-hyuk is very cute, but at the same time, I’m very worried. I’m worried that if one day Mama is gone, Woosan or the Yoon family will become your shackles.

But Mama wants to tell you, the Yoon family is not important, and Woosan is not important either. You can abandon them at any time. Don’t consider anyone else. Love yourself well.

On your coming-of-age day, when you receive this letter, Mama believes you will have become an outstanding adult.

Mama will be with you when you open this letter, and we will think together about what kind of life you want.

If you can’t decide right away, take your time. Go see a wider world, meet more people. Don’t deliberately avoid love because of Mama’s experiences. Don’t be trapped by marriage, and don’t cling to those rotten, irreparable relationships.

A person’s life is very short. By the time you truly become an adult, 20 years will have passed. This might sound pessimistic, but if you spend the rest of your life hating or living in a muddle, what a pity that would be.

So, go find your own happiness, my Nam-hyuk.

Forever your loving Mama, Hyun Si-young.