1 I’m the idealized ghost of a boyfriend, the one who died taking a knife for her. Ten years after my death, a System forcibly resurrected me and told me I had to be a stepfather. 「Host, your objective is to save the child on that rooftop.」 「He’s your wife’s son. If you don’t intervene, he will die today.」 I didn’t want to see a kid die, but I’ve always had a domineering streak. So I walked up and kicked him. Lightly, but still a kick. “You’re just as pathetic as your mother. What’s with all the melodrama?” “Where is your mom, anyway? Call her. Tell her to come get me.” ... The kid just stared at me, then looked around wildly, as if I were a ghost that had materialized in broad daylight. In the end, he didn't ask a single question. He just lowered his head again. I couldn’t stand that spineless act. I ran a hand through my hair in frustration and snatched the phone from his pocket. “Do you know your mom’s number?” The call log and notifications were completely empty. Not even a single spam text. He fumbled for a moment before slowly punching in a number. The phone barely managed one ring before the call was disconnected, leaving only a dial tone humming in the silence. I scowled. “Zara Hayes has really grown a backbone, hasn’t she? Daring to ignore my calls.” The little brat next to me didn't react. He just stood there, a silent, miniature statue. After eight consecutive calls, someone finally picked up. A man’s voice answered. “Harry? Ms. Hayes is busy.” Then he hung up, not even giving me a chance to curse him out. I was so furious I nearly smashed the phone, but the kid tugged on my shirt, stopping me. I forced my anger down. “It’s fine, kid. We’ll go find Zara and settle this score together.” He clutched my sleeve, his expression blank. It took him a long moment to force out a few words. “I won’t be a burden.” The phrase instantly deflated my anger. I let out a helpless sigh. “Fine. Let’s go back, then.” Once we were in the car, I stared at him for a long time. “Your name is Harry?” “Yeah.” I asked the System again. “Is he really Zara’s son?” 「According to the rules of your human world, yes.」 I resigned myself to my fate and started trying to be a proper stepfather. I asked him what he liked to eat. He said anything was fine. I asked him what he liked to play. He didn’t answer. I asked him why he was on the roof. He turned away from me. That was the last straw. I pulled him into my lap. “Does Zara have any idea you were about to go play flying squirrel off a skyscraper?” Only then did he slowly lift his head, like a robot rebooting, and spoke with stiff precision. “Mom is busy. I won’t be a burden.” The words lodged in my throat. It felt like I was choking. Was that the only phrase he knew? “I won’t be a burden.” How in the world did Zara raise a son like this? The System offered a quiet word of comfort. 「Don’t be too hard on him, Host. The child is just too considerate. He bottles everything up.」 I knew that. He was just a little kid. This was clearly the fault of the adults in his life. The car pulled up to a familiar house. Suddenly, a crucial question popped into my head. “System, where’s his dad?” 「He doesn’t have one.」 No dad? The moment I opened the front door, I felt a wave of dizziness. It was as if I’d just stepped out for a walk, not like I’d been gone for ten years. The coat I’d carelessly hung in the entryway was still there, perfectly preserved, without a single wrinkle. There was no trace of another man having ever lived in this house, save for a single pair of cufflinks sitting by the door. I went upstairs, my feet finding their way automatically, and opened the door to my old room. It was exactly as I had left it. When I came back downstairs, I realized Harry had vanished. I searched everywhere, finally finding him tucked away in a corner of the living room. He’d unearthed an advanced calculus workbook thicker than a brick and was sitting there, methodically solving problems. He was being so good it was terrifying. “System, is he like this every day?” I asked. 「Yes. For Zara’s son, not being exceptional would also be a way of causing trouble.」 I immediately strode over, snatched the workbook, and tossed it into the trash. Harry stared at me, dumbfounded, then his brow furrowed. His head tilted back and forth, like a little robot with a short circuit. I stared back, a silent challenge. Ten minutes later, my eyes burning, I finally caved. “I’m hungry.” The robot successfully processed the command. His head bobbed, and he scurried into the kitchen, expertly turning the knob on the gas stove. “Danger! Don’t touch that!” My heart leaped into my throat. I lunged forward and slammed the valve shut. He flinched back like a startled cat, cowering in the corner, his face a mask of confusion. I was about to lose my mind. I looked around the pristine kitchen and asked the System, “How old is he?” 「Six.」 Fantastic. Letting a six-year-old cook with a gas stove. Zara must have had rocks for brains. I paced back and forth, hands on my hips, trying to wrestle my temper under control. Finally, I turned to Harry. “That’s too dangerous. I’ll take you out to eat.” As we left, I growled under my breath. “System, you get out here right now. What the hell happened these last ten years?” The System glitched for a moment before beginning its report. After I died, Zara threw herself into her work, becoming a machine that did nothing but grind from dawn till dusk. She paid no attention to her own health or emotions, so naturally, she had none to spare for Harry. For years, a nanny had cared for him. But with no other adults in the house, the nanny began to secretly abuse him. It was only discovered when the bruises on his body became too numerous to hide. Zara fired the nanny. And for the first time, Harry made a request. “I can take care of myself. I don’t want a nanny.” “I won’t be a burden.” From that day on, Harry lived alone. Zara’s assistant, Sean, would check on him every couple of days. “Who is Sean?” 「A new assistant Zara hired after you died.」 So, in the ten years I was gone, Zara’s world had filled with things I knew nothing about. The System ignored my internal monologue and continued. 「Sean is known for being well-liked at the company, which is why Zara trusted him. But Harry has never liked him. In fact, he’s shown a clear aversion to the man.」 “Why?” For a robot like Harry, showing any emotion at all, let alone outright dislike, was a huge deal. 「Because Sean tried to convince him to tell Zara, ‘I want Sean to be my daddy.’」 「Harry refused. After that, Sean started targeting him.」 “How?” The cruelty of adults might be less direct than that of children, but for a vulnerable kid like Harry, it was devastating. 「As you’ve seen, Harry is very reserved.」 「So, Sean told Zara that Harry was slow-witted and a pathological liar. Then he turned around and told Harry that Zara considered him a dead weight, a burden she wished she could be rid of.」 「He told him that a bastard from nowhere like him was unworthy of love. That once he married Zara, Harry, the little parasite, would be finished.」 My fists clenched without me realizing. A cold sneer twisted my lips. “A dead weight, huh?” 「What are you planning to do?」 the System asked meekly. “Help Zara get her eyes checked. If she’s not going to use them, she might as well donate them.” “And that Sean… preying on a little kid. I’m going to make him wish he’d never been born.” As if on cue, Sean arrived. An arrogant voice boomed from the doorway. “You little brat, this water is scalding! Are you trying to kill me?” “And who gave you permission to bring a strange man into this house?” “What do you think this is, a dumpster? Isn’t it enough that I have to deal with you, you little piece of trash? Now you’re bringing in a big one?” “Tell him to get the hell out.” Harry, who never fought back, moved. He stood in front of Sean, blocking his path. “No.” Sean’s jaw clenched in fury. “Harry, do you have any idea what you’re doing?” “I swear, I’ll call Ms. Hayes right now and have her throw you out on the street.” “Move it, you bastard from nowhere.” Harry just stood there, his head bowed, not moving, not saying a word. A sharp pain, like a needle, pierced my heart. I stepped in front of Sean. “You love talking trash so much. How come you haven't been recycled yet?” Before he could retort, my palm connected with his cheek. “You dare hit me?” “I’ll do more than hit you if you don’t stop spewing garbage.” I pulled Harry behind me, shielding him. Sean clutched his face, his eyes raking over me, a contemptuous sneer on his lips. “Do you have any idea who I am? I’m Ms. Hayes’s most trusted assistant. The man who’s been by her side longer than anyone.” “So you’ve charmed this little bastard. So what? I’m the one who’s going to be with Ms. Hayes. And when I am, I’ll have you both thrown out.” He turned back to Harry, his voice a low threat. “Ms. Hayes specifically ordered that dead man’s room to be sealed. No one has been allowed in for years. And you let this stranger in there. Think about the consequences.” “If I tell her about this, you’re finished. So…” Smack. Another slap. “Still barking?” Sean stared at me, his face now a matching set of bright red handprints, his eyes wide with disbelief. “You hit me again?” “Do I need to make an appointment?” He lunged at me, but Harry threw himself in front of me, a small, unmovable shield. Sean hissed out three sharp “Fine’s” and pulled out his phone, dialing Zara. “Ms. Hayes, I just got here and Harry brought a strange man into the house. He even let the man into… his room.” “And they hit me…” I scoffed. “Playing the victim, are we?” “Wait!” Zara’s voice suddenly crackled through the phone, laced with a tremor of shock and something else… hope. “Turn on the video. Let me see his face.” Sean looked confused but obeyed, pointing the camera at me. But then, Harry lunged forward and knocked the phone out of his hand. “Get out.”
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