A disappointment

" What did you see in that Notebook?" Marco questioned, glimpsing Asher open the laptop that belonged to the late Politician Kiley.

Rather than answering, he keeps typing and clicking until his eyebrows knit with a weighty utterance.

" Marco! Tell me what are the number that she mentioned at the last!"

Spreading out the notebook that he is holding, Marco responds immediately... " cloud nine, twenty-one century, One Dollar Alpha 6!"

" 21001$ALPHA6"

" You missed some... What about the cloud -"

The rhythm of verifying the password gets everyone's attention. Marco's eyebrows lift, and so does Laila who has zero presumption of how he entered the password.

When they inspected the notebook, there was nothing but some kid's poetry that Laila wrote when she was a kid.

" How did you do that? Mr. Asher!"

He grins, thinking about the notebook.

For half an hour, He was unable to find a single inkling or anything related to those words. Although it felt like it was a map of some underground cellar. He had to grab the key from the mailbox, remove the flower vase next to the dog house, and enter those numbers, but it felt too easy.

Politician Kiley didn't want anyone to understand. Like they were fooled into thinking that the words belonged to some key to password type. But she wanted to make sure whoever understands the meaning of those words, must use their brains.

Earlier when he realized that the words were sent to her Daughter in a foreign language that she hadn't learned he comprehended that it should be related to her daughter indirectly.

She didn't send the message to Laila but to the person who would deal with her case. However, she had guessed that a simple person who couldn't solve the quest could help her. And that's why she mentioned Asher.

But why those words that didn't exist in this house be mentioned there? To confirm, Asher realized, that if this house was so important to Politician Kiley, that meant she was holding something important here. And all the materials she mentioned in that message would be here as well.

Since she had nothing here practically, that means it would be related to Laila, her daughter.

As Laila said that room belonged to her, he wanted to search it properly.

And that time, the only photo of the cloud was found on the cover of her notebook.

To confirm his doubt, he checked page number 9 which was next to the word Cloud.

And, he hit the jackpot. A kid's poem. Next to it, A drawing of a computer In the corner of the computer, there is a word, Mailbox. Although Laila would be the one who drew it, the word in the corner of the laptop was a grown-up person's writing...

Now...

His eyebrows are raised with puzzlement, subtle annoyance shrouds his face, and a disgruntled sigh releases when he notices inside the file which is saved as a Mailbox, there is nothing inside.

"A blank file? Why would she set a password for a blank file?" Marco asked frustratedly.

" We aren't in the right direction. Seems like she thought it would be easier for anyone to solve it." Asher said, checking other files one after one.

" Why need to make it hard if she wants us to discover her secrets?"

" Because she doesn't want someone to find out effortlessly what she has been collecting!"

" There are two words to discover. Flower Vase and Cupboard." Laila reminds them.

" Come to think about it. Why don't you have any cupboards in this house?"

Asher questions, shutting off the laptop.

" I don't know. I have been away from home for years. So I don't know why she didn't keep any cupboards!" Laila responded sadly. She is also confused as to why her mother would do something like this.

Meanwhile...

The entire house is pin-dropped silent when the roar of Ian Steel reaches everyone's eardrums.

Shamming the papers, his eyes move to his son, Derek Steel. His face is black as thunder. The red-rimmed eyes will shoot him to kill anytime.

" How long are you going to disappoint me? This is the third time, you have failed. Your mother and I can't face our friends. A son of a doctor couple constantly fails. How are we supposed to face the society? The future director of SI Hospital is a failure."

Derek Steel, 25 years old, is an internee in the SI Hospital. Not only he has been failing the final exam as an internee, but he has also caused lots of rumors and scandalous incidents that have greatly influenced his parents' hospital.

Derek's parents, Mr. Derek, and Mrs. Derek aren't like the other strict and bad rich parents who coerce their children to do whatever they wish to. Both of them have given Derek a chance to choose his dream and aim for his future.

However, instead of choosing whatever he liked, he started hanging out with some boys who did drugs and played around. Not only it has impacted his physical and mental health but also because of his wildness, his kindhearted and loving parents are facing the consequences.

" Derek! If you don't change yourself. Don't blame us for being hard on you. We can't tolerate a junkie and playboy as a doctor in our hospital. We love that hospital as much as we love you!"

Mrs. Steel who sometimes condemns herself for not being able to be a good mother who couldn't control her son, finally utters.

They wanted to give him a life where he would search for his happiness. Not too strict not too soft, they raised him like this. Now, They are wishing undone. Some people don't deserve a good kid.

" What will we do? Honey! Mr. James's son is now the General Manager of his father's company. Already, leading the company with hundreds of clients every month. When he says that he is proud of his son. My heart breaks. Why did we work hard for a child if the child turned out as a disappointment? What kind of sinful work we have done that we got something like this? So disappointed! So much disappointment!"

Seating on the couch, Mr. Steel speaks his despair. He has been trying his best to make sure his son learns best. He can't let a useless doctor handle such a significant duty. His son will be a quack if he lets him pass without any exams and uses his power as the director of the hospital. He can't do such a crime.

Meantime, Derek's hands form a fist. After standing all night up, his eyes are bloodshot and heavy. Five years ago, when he had no tension about life and the future, he just wanted to follow his parents and become a doctor. The idea was also given by one of his " Friends" Who he met at a club.

" It will be easier for you to have an easy life if you choose the road of family business. Since your parents own multiple hospitals. You don't have to work hard on something else. Try to pass medical exams and your road is clear."

However, those words from a junkie who didn't even complete his high school were a big lie. It was easy to say and follow blindly. But as soon as he stepped into the world of medical science. He had realized, he had chosen the wrong path.

Being a junkie who can't stop clubbing and sleeping around, studying medical science made him insane right away.

But there was no return. The options his parents gave him, he had rejected them and chose to become a director of his parents' hospital which they created with their blood, sweat, and nonstop hard work.

Now, he has realized...

He is an utterly useless and stupid guy who will always be a disappointment.

" I won't return home tonight!"

Hearing everything from his parents, Derek walks towards the door. What's the point of staying here and weighing their sadness? It's better to disappear from their sights. They won't feel sad to see their disappointment.

However, his eyes shut with pain, when a glass hits his head. The glass shuttering sound makes everyone flinch.

" Don't come back home. I don't want to see your face again."

His father's voice cracks. Sadness washes over his father's face, seeing how his beloved son turned out.

His jaws clench against each other. Fingernails dig into his palms, unsettled eyes are wailing up. The dry throat gulps, letting the Adam apple drop down and then up. His heart thumps against his stiff chest.

The pain behind his head doesn't hurt as much as his heart does. Reminding him about his life.

" I am useless. And I am the one who is to be blamed!"

He walks barefoot, the blood wafting through his neck, reaching the tuxedo shirt that he had worn before he attended a medical seminar.

A sharp exhale rolls out of his tongue. He reaches the blank with no star sky. So dark as his future. If he could somehow change everything, including the sadness of his parents that he caused for them.