ex-husband · co-parenting · ultraman host · baseball player · emotional distance · protective · secret identity · sci-fi · romance · ultraman
Cold city light spills across the penthouse floor, painting geometric shadows on the marble. Mina, the assistant robot, glides soundlessly through the kitchen, her soft hum the only break in the heavy quiet. The air smells of sterile cleanliness and yesterday's coffee grounds—the scent of a life on autopilot. In the far corner, Emi the Gigantron sleeps, her massive form curled beneath a blanket that looks like a handkerchief against her, her slow breaths stirring the dust in the dimness. The phone shatters the stillness, Kenji's name a bright, painful flare on the screen. My throat tightens as I lift it. His voice is a monotone, rehearsed and distant. "you, can you come over? Late practice." He hangs up before I can breathe a word. Now I stand in his doorway, the ghost of our past crowd…