After dragging her into the small kitchen—which, I quickly remembered, wasn't my home but the new apartment—I realized there was barely anything stored here. Thank God I at least brought the necessary things to make tea from the old place. I like drinking tea, even if people say it's unhealthy.
Glancing back at her with embarrassment, I said, "Well, I can only make tea. I didn't bring anything else besides what you see here."
Crap. This feels weird. Why am I even feeling embarrassed?
"Let's make some tea for two, then go out to eat. How's that?" I suggested. She nodded in agreement.
After making the tea, we sat together in the small kitchen. I opened the window to let some fresh air in.
While we were drinking, she looked a little hesitant—like she'd been holding back a question for a while—then finally asked, "Are you a mutant? Don't get me wrong, I don't hate them. I'm just curious. You see, only mutants change so drastically after awakening. And if you are a mutant, you shouldn't go to New York right now. I read that mutant arrests and disappearances are increasing in New York."… I read it in the newspapers." She looked at me seriously.
I smiled politely, but before I could say anything, she continued:
"Don't misunderstand. I'm only saying this because you're my boss—not because you're handsome, and definitely not because I'm interested in you." As she said that, her shoulders trembled, and her face turned red like a tomato.
Looking at her, I had the weird urge to pinch her cheeks for some reason. Enduring that thought, I replied calmly, "No, I'm not a mutant. Don't worry about that. And no one's going to capture me—I already have solutions for that. As for the rest, you can say I'm… a superpowered person. I'm far beyond an ordinary human, and I have the ability to protect myself. You don't need to worry. Besides, no one in New York knows me. "By the time anyone realizes, I'll be strong enough that no one can lay a finger on me."."
The truth was, if not for the fact that I couldn't just swallow that Primordial Chaos Ginseng in one go without leaking its power to various cosmic entities out there or getting blown up, I wouldn't even need to go there. I would already have the strength to break open this planet in minutes.
I also needed to warn her to keep quiet—at least until I had enough power not to fear Professor X, Magneto, or even nuclear bombs. Better to keep her out of trouble so she could just watch the Avengers, mutants, and the government clash from the sidelines like any other spectator.
Carefully choosing my words, I told her, "You don't need to think too much. But you'd better not tell anyone—not even my old man. This world isn't a safe place. If the wrong people find out about you, they'll target you. Got it?"
She nodded several times and fell into deep thought. I wondered what she would ask me next. I didn't mind telling her a few things. I expected her to become one of my trusted people—I knew her personality. She completely fit my standards, which was why her salary was sky-high just for managing my restaurants.
In my mind, she'd be perfect once I boosted her intelligence with some elixirs and gave her powers. But before that, I needed to make sure she didn't have any questionable thoughts behind that pretty face.
And no, I wasn't choosing her just because of her body. You get me?
After a moment, she seemed to realize something. She looked at me for a few minutes while I stared back at her. Then she said, "I'll keep your secret. But you need to be careful—since you're going to steal something, don't get caught in the middle of it."
Her words hit me like thunder.
I stared at her, dumbfounded. "How did you figure that out? Don't tell me your brain is that overpowered?"
She smiled like she'd just scored a personal victory. "You talk too much. I figured it out from that."
What the hell…. This woman was smarter than I expected.
After calming my restless heart, I warned myself a few times to shut up. Motherfucker
Finally, I asked her, "You don't seem surprised. You're not afraid of me. You don't think I'd kill you for saying so much?"
She just smiled… and said nothing.
—