Jin finished setting the table, even giving Brittany a portion meant for three people, and waited for Anyssa and her friend to join them.
"Sorry for taking so long. Here, I brought a gift." A blonde woman walked in wearing sunglasses, taking them off to reveal her beautiful green eyes. She handed Anyssa a bottle of wine.
"Oculia, you shouldn’t have. How did you know I love this brand?"
"Oh, it’s nothing, I just see you drink it every day." She laughed and took a seat next to Anyssa.
"Wow, this food looks amazing! Did you make this, Jin?"
"Yup." Jin knew who Oculia was. She visited from time to time since he was young, so she wasn’t a stranger.
"You know, the older you get, the more handsome you become. I bet you have a lot of girlfriends, huh." She pulled at his cheek.
"Nah, I just keep to myself. This random ass woman wanted to ’have a good time’ with me today, so I put her number in my phone. Then, after getting off the train, I deleted it."
Brittany perked up upon hearing his story. "What?! Who was she? Did she hurt you?"
"No, I’m fine. No harm was done to me."
Oculia smirked. "You have that power kit on you, so I’m sure no one would mess with you."
"That’s right! I made sure to get him that. It’s a dangerous world. Jin, make sure to keep that tool on you at all times." Anyssa’s motherlyness was showing, and Jin found it very comforting.
"Don’t worry, Auntie, I keep it on me even when I sleep."
She nodded. "Good."
"So, Brittany, how was your first day as an official Vanguard?" Anyssa was excited to hear about her daughter’s first experience in the field.
Brittany set her fork down with a heavy sigh. ’It was more stressful than I expected. I got yelled at nonstop, and everything moved so fast. Fighting criminals and monsters sounded way more fun back when I was an initiate."
"Pwahahahaha! So the usual." Anyssa and Oculia laughed.
"Don’t laugh! It’s not funny! My guardian also wasn’t there, so things were more stressful! I told my superior that I want a guardian change!"
Guardians were the assistants to Vanguards. They were men who wanted to help out in any way they could. So, a program was created for them. They learned a variety of martial arts, weapons, and other vital skills. On the field, they were given high-tech gadgets to help out, including a high-tech suit, one even better than a power kit.
But to Jin, guardians were just high-tech porters.
"Ohh, that must have sucked. Not having your guardian is the worst when you need them. Speaking of them, Jin, do you plan on joining the guardians? You graduated from high school a few months ago, right?" Oculia asked curiously.
"Yeah, I graduated, but I have no interest in becoming a guardian. It’s not for me. I’m more of a family man." He smiled.
"Really? Even with your amazing combat prowess and latent abilities?"
Jin narrowed his eyes, trying to read the smirk on Oculia’s face. He wasn’t sure what she meant or if there was a hidden message, but he stayed on guard.
"That’s what we were saying!" Anyssa and Brittany shouted at the same time.
"Jinx!"
"Double jinx!"
"Triple Jinx"
"Twipple Jinx! Fuck!" Anyssa tripped over her words.
"Ha! You owe me a soda." Brittany flexed her muscles, celebrating her victory.
Anyssa cleared her throat. "Anyway, we’ve been telling Jin that since middle school. He’s smart, athletic, works out, knows martial arts, and remembers everything. But all he says is he wants a hot, strong wife to cook for."
Jin shrugged. "What can I say? I want a muscle mommy to take care of me. Nothing is wrong with that. Besides, I’d have to put in effort if I were a guardian, and that’s boring as hell. I like cooking and cleaning anyway."
Brittany blushed after hearing his words. She instantly thought of herself taking care of Jin. It was something she wouldn’t mind doing.
"Come on, Jin, that would be a waste of your talents. Oh, by the way, I have something for you." Oculia tossed Jin a photo. When he saw it, his eyes went wide.
"What is this?" He asked, his tone becoming cold.
"Today, an unnamed vigilante killed Erosa and destroyed her hideout. The rest of her gang is in disarray since their leader was taken out. This is the image of the culprit. As you can see, it’s unclear, but I’d say they’re... exceptionally talented."
"Jin! Jin! Do you know what this means?" Brittany’s face lit up. She hugged him tightly as tears started to form in her eyes.
"Your parents have been avenged!"
He kept his eyes on Oculia, then turned to Brittany to hug her back. "Yeah, this is great. They can finally rest in peace."
"Jin, I think you should join the guardians. You can prevent what happened to you from happening to other unfortunate souls. You’d be doing the world a favor." Oculia motioned for him to flip the picture.
On the back was information Oculia had written. It was simply everything she knew about the perpetrator, but Jin saw the message instantly. Within the sentences, the message said, ’I know it’s you. ’
"So, what do you say, Jin?" Now, Oculia was grinning from ear to ear.
"Haha, it feels like I’m being blackmailed." He joked.
"Nonsense, we won’t force you to do something you don’t want to do," Anyssa reassured him.
Oculia nodded. "Yes, and we’ll make sure you are kept safe and ’hidden’ from the dangers of the world. After all, someone like you can ’shift’ the balance of the guardians with your ’talents’."
’Fucking bitch!’
"I’ll think about it." He responded with a smile.
"I hope your answer is yes." Oculia winked at him and stood up to leave. "Dinner was amazing. Thank you for having me over again."
"You’re always welcome here, Oculia. Be safe on your way back home." Anyssa hugged her.
"Thank you. Peace out, everyone."
"So, Jin, are you going to join? Please join, you could be my partner! We’d be the best team ever!" Brittany tugged at his arm, rocking him back and forth.
"You know, I think I don’t have a choice anymore."