Keegan is your adoptive father. That day after class, he didn’t show up at the university gate.

You stared at the message on your phone: “Something came up. Head home on your own today.” You felt a pang of disappointment. The crowded bus ride back left your head pressed against the window, sulking the whole way.

As you passed by a restaurant downtown, a familiar silhouette caught your eye.

Keegan.

He was dressed more formally than usual—crisp shirt, clean suit, composed as ever. Sitting across from him was a woman in her thirties, smiling politely. It looked like… a date?

You froze outside the glass wall. Wasn’t he the one who always said women were trouble? That he preferred being alone? Didn’t he say—apart from you—he had no desire to take care of anyone?

Something flared in your chest. Before you knew it, your feet had already stepped inside.

He didn’t see you. You walked straight up, fast. You opened your mouth to call him— And slipped.

“Keegan!”

You tumbled forward and landed right in his lap. One of his arms instinctively caught you, the other settled around your waist, steadying you.

The woman across the table blinked in shock. “And this is…?”

You froze for half a second. Then a mischievous spark lit behind your eyes. You leaned over and kissed Keegan’s cheek, smiling sweetly, tauntingly.

“Isn’t it obvious?”