Your Girlfriend Calls Me Daddy

Chapter 158 - 159 | A Mutually Beneficial Lunch Order

My stomach flipped. Vanguard. One of the top five agencies in the country. Five four-star heroes on their roster. The kind of placement that would put me directly in the public eye and make hiding my actual abilities significantly harder.

Also exactly the kind of visibility that would piss off my father and prove I didn’t need Angelo Corp to succeed.

Rome: interested

Rome: when?

Titan: next week

Titan: after ur exhibition match

Titan: assuming u win

Rome: I’ll win

Titan: cocky

Titan: i like that

Rome: everyone does

She sent back a laughing emoji and a winking face. I pocketed my phone as Mera emerged wearing black compression shorts and a sports bra that left absolutely nothing to imagination.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Where’s Cheon?"

"Reorganizing the closet by color. Again." Mera rolled her eyes. "She’ll be out in five."

I grabbed my gym bag and checked the contents. Wraps. Water bottle. The ankle brace Mrs. Tanaka had insisted I wear for forty-eight hours minimum.

Cheon appeared in grey leggings and a white tank top, her hair pulled back in that severe ponytail she wore when she meant business. "Let’s go."

The three of us headed down to the building’s private gym on the second floor. Nobody else used it this early on weekends. We had the space to ourselves.

Mera and Cheon faced off on the sparring mats while I wrapped my hands and watched. Cheon moved first, testing with a jab that Mera slipped easily. They circled each other, both of them grinning like this was the best part of their day.

Maybe it was.

Cheon threw a combination, crisp and technical. Mera blocked two and ate the third on her shoulder, her tail whipping out to sweep Cheon’s ankle. Cheon jumped it and countered with a hook that Mera barely ducked.

"Faster," I called out.

They picked up the pace. Cheon’s strikes got sharper. Mera’s defense got creative, using her tail for balance and her smaller frame for angles Cheon couldn’t cover. When Cheon finally landed a clean shot to Mera’s ribs, Mera grunted and stepped back.

"Point," Cheon said.

"Cheap shot."

"Legal shot."

They reset and went again. I watched Cheon move and recognized the boost was real. Her speed had increased noticeably. Her strikes carried more snap. The healing properties in my various fluids apparently did exactly what the ability description promised.

Which meant every time I came inside someone, they got stronger.

The system really had given me the most degenerate power set possible.

Mera swept Cheon’s legs properly this time and Cheon went down hard, rolling with it and coming up with her guard raised. "Again."

They went three more rounds before Cheon called time, both of them breathing hard and sweating. Mera’s red skin looked darker when flushed, almost burgundy under the gym lights. Cheon’s tank top clung to her in ways that made focusing difficult.

"Winner?" I asked.

"Draw," they said together.

"So we’re getting both Thai and Italian?"

Mera grinned. "Obviously."

My phone buzzed in my bag. I checked it while they cooled down.

Noel: 4pm conference room 2-B

Noel: don’t be late

Rome: wouldn’t dream of it

Noel: and don’t think yesterday changes anything

Rome: which part of yesterday?

She left me on read.

I showed the messages to Cheon, who made a thoughtful noise.

"She’s scared," Cheon said.

"Of what?"

"You." Cheon grabbed a water bottle and drank, her throat working. "What you make her feel. What it means if she stops hating you."

"She doesn’t hate me."

"She wishes she did." Cheon wiped her mouth. "It would be easier."

Mera stretched on the mat, doing something with her hips that was definitely deliberate. "So what’s the play?"

"Honesty," I said.

"Boring."

"Effective." I tossed Mera a towel. "She wants answers. I give her answers. Then I make her admit she wants more than answers."

"And if she doesn’t?"

"She will."

Cheon looked at me over her water bottle. "You sound very sure."

"I am."

"Because of the system?"

"Because I tasted her Essentia." I stood and started unwrapping my hands. "Vanilla and frost on top. Fire underneath. She’s burning and trying to freeze it out. Eventually she’s gonna stop trying."

Mera’s expression went sharp with interest. "What happens when she stops?"

"I have no idea."

"Liar."

I grinned. "Okay. I have some ideas."

We headed back upstairs and I showered while they argued about movie selections. When I emerged, they’d somehow agreed on an action film I’d never heard of. I settled between them on the couch and let the next few hours disappear into comfortable nothing.

No quests. No rankings. No drain or compatibility ratings or affection percentages climbing in my peripheral vision.

Just three people who’d somehow ended up living together, pretending this was normal.

At three-thirty, I started getting ready. Cheon insisted I wear something that projected confidence without aggression. Mera voted for maximum intimidation. I compromised by wearing black jeans and a dark grey henley that showed off what Specimen had built without looking like I was trying.

"How do I look?" I asked.

"Like trouble," Mera said.

"Like you’re about to ruin someone’s carefully organized life," Cheon added.

"Perfect."

Marco drove me to campus in silence. Weekend traffic meant the trip took thirty-five minutes, giving me plenty of time to run through scenarios. Noel wanted answers. I’d provide them. Then she’d either accept what I was or she wouldn’t.

Either way, the conversation was happening.

The campus felt different on weekends. Quieter. Most students went home or stayed in their dorms. The academic buildings stood empty except for a few dedicated types grinding through extra credit or makeup assignments.

I found conference room 2-B exactly where it had been Friday. The door was closed but unlocked. I pushed it open and found Noel already there, sitting at the table with her portfolio open and three different colored pens arranged in a precise row.

She looked up when I entered. Her violet hair caught the afternoon light streaming through the window. Her grey eyes tracked my movement with the same intensity she brought to everything.

"You’re early," she said.

"So are you."

"I’m always early."

I closed the door and took the seat across from her instead of beside her. Neutral territory. "So. We’re doing this."

"Apparently." She clicked one of her pens. Blue. The nervous one. "You said you’d explain."

"I did."

"So explain."