Outside the airport, a girl stood beside a man, passing the time while people around them kept staring at her. She wore purple and high heels, and her red eyes shone beneath a calm expression. Even in silence, her posture carried elegance and pride.
Next to her stood a young man in a white T-shirt and jeans, his presence bright without effort. Girls around the airport glanced at him from time to time. His deep black eyes were unusual, and there was something in them that drew people in.
The whispers around them were beginning to irritate Kruti. People kept glancing their way and making assumptions, and that only worsened her mood. Turning to Vidyut, she asked coldly, "Why are you with me, Vidyut?"
"I'm here for you," Vidyut replied, a faint smirk forming on his lips, clearly amused by her tone. He had come for her and had no intention of pretending otherwise.
"You're wasting your time, Vidyut. I already told you I love someone else." Kruti had made that clear before, but he had never believed her. He refused to give up and kept following her, turning himself into a constant annoyance.
"I wanted to meet him," Vidyut said, "and see what he has that made you fall for him."
Vidyut had never seen her with anyone, nor had he ever seen her speak to someone for so long. That was why he refused to believe her. To him, she was lying. In his mind, she already belonged to him.
"You'll be disappointed. He doesn't concern himself with others," she replied, scrolling through her phone. She had been trying to reach Yug, but his phone was off. That was why she had stayed there for hours, and the silence was starting to irritate her. By now, both Yug and Vidyut were getting on her nerves.
Vidyut shook his head. "I want to meet him at least once. You're my best friend, Kruti. Let me see whether you really chose the right person."
"No, you don't get to interfere in my relationship, and I'm not your friend," Kruti said sharply before walking away.
Vidyut watched her go without moving.
Not your friend.
The words should have stung, yet they only fed the strange hope inside him. If she refused to place him among ordinary people, then perhaps he still held a different place in her life.
A slow smile touched his face. He ran after her, but she was already inside a taxi and gone.
"I might beat you if I see you right now," she muttered in the taxi, anger flaring in her voice. She was thinking of Yug when she said it, but the driver visibly gulped, believing the words were meant for him.
"Madam, I'm sorry... I won't look again..." he stammered. He had been stealing glances at her through the mirror, mesmerized by her beauty, and only now realized how badly he had misread the situation.
Kruti glanced at him once, then ignored him. He was not worth her time.
A few hours away from Yug's house, the taxi stopped at a five-star hotel.
***
Two days had passed since Yug's incident.
He lay on the bed while Shivani worked on a PC beside him. The faint twitch beneath his closed eyes did not escape her. She had seen it often enough to know he had been awake for some time.
"What exactly are you getting at?" Shivani asked, her expression settling into indifference. "Did you think I wouldn't notice that you were awake?"
She had ignored his behavior until now, but it was beginning to annoy her. She had dragged him back from the edge of death, treated his wounds, and even healed him, yet this was all she got in return—rudeness, silence, and not even the slightest gratitude.
Yug said nothing at first. Then he whispered, "...Nothing. Just checking who I'm with."
He pushed himself upright and turned toward the wardrobe.
Shivani noticed the same thing she had seen before—his eyes were still closed. Just like in the ocean, when she had found him bound in rope.
"You already knew who was here," she said. "You only acted as if you didn't."
She could not shake the memory of him speaking her name just before losing consciousness. It had been too strange, too precise. For an instant, she had felt as though he had been expecting her, and that feeling only deepened her belief that what she wanted was finally within reach.
Yug nodded once and stepped away from the bed. He ignored her comment. Half-naked and wrapped in bandages, he still carried himself with unsettling calm.
"What do I owe you," he asked, "for saving me from men who could have been dangerous to you too?"
She hesitated, but her expression remained steady.
"First, let your family know you're safe. They were worried."
Her reminder made him pause. In all of this, he had nearly forgotten about the family he had in this life.
"Thank you. I almost forgot."
He decided to call his older sister first. She was the only one who had truly understood him, and the one who had always spoiled him.
Shivani said nothing. She only watched him from a distance. Something about him felt unnatural. Even after being shot, he did not seem to feel pain, and not once had he opened his eyes, even though there was no injury left to explain it.
"Hello, sis. It's me, Yug."
Once the call connected, he said nothing at first, listening to the chaos spilling from the other side. When Anaya finally spoke, her calm sounded forced.
"Where are you?"
"I'm with Kruti."
"What happened to your phone? Why didn't you come to me that day?"
"It broke. I thought your company would be a good place to learn, but I changed my mind. I'll look for something else."
Voices moved in the background, sharp and restless, but Anaya did not press him further. Her voice had already gone hoarse.
Yug replied with one lie after another. None of them were meant to reassure. Each one was chosen to mislead.
Then his mother spoke. Her crying was loud and unrestrained, yet it stirred nothing in him.
"I'm out of town. I'll be staying here for a few more days. I'll get a new phone and contact you again."
That, too, was false. He was only a few hours from home.
After saying that, he ended the call.
CLANK
Shivani had listened to enough of both sides to understand what kind of conversation it had been. Surprise, awkwardness, and disbelief kept surfacing in Anaya's voice as she tried to draw information out of him. They spoke for nearly half an hour, yet not a single word Yug said was true.
Silence followed.
Then he turned to Shivani and faced her.
"Should we start our conversation?"
Disgust hardened her face at the way Yug spoke. She had believed he had good character and at least respected his mother, but after hearing that conversation, she was no longer sure she had done the right thing by involving herself with him.
She pushed the thought aside and ignored his bizarre behavior for the moment. Sitting upright, she fixed her gaze on him, chin slightly raised, hands clasped before her, one leg crossed over the other.
"What happened to your eyes?"
Strangeness had always attracted Shivani, and Yug carried too much of it to ignore. His eyes, his unnatural calm, the quiet absurdity of his words—it all pulled at her curiosity. Even so, she smothered her excitement and asked calmly.
"Oh, this?" He touched his forehead. "I wanted to experience blindness. It comforted me."
Another lie. She understood that immediately.
"Sorry, do you have something like a blindfold? A cloth would do. It's getting hard to keep my eyes closed."
A slight unease had begun to show through his composure.
"Yes." She pulled a black blindfold from behind her back. "Here. Take it."
For a brief instant, she felt a flicker of pity.
"Huff..."
Her breath turned uneven. A sudden chill passed through her, as if her blood had frozen for a moment. A tremor ran through her body, leaving her stunned.
What happened? I was fine just a moment ago. Why do I suddenly feel so weak?
She immediately looked at Yug. He seemed fine, his eyes now covered by the blindfold. Shaking her head, she forced herself to focus ahead.
"You are alive. Huh."
Yug's remark made blood rise into her mouth, but she stopped it before it could spill.
"What do you mean?"
the first time, unease crept into her simply from standing near him. Shivani was not someone an ordinary human should have been able to unsettle, yet she still had to steady herself.
"Nothing... I was talking to myself."
She could not tell whether he was lying or avoiding the subject, but somehow, she no longer wanted to know.
"I think I need some space. We can discuss this later."
Shivani could not endure it any longer. Ever since she had given him the blindfold, it had felt as though something around him was punishing her. She wanted to get away from him as quickly as possible.
Her goal had not changed. If anything, his importance had risen tenfold. She would return another time—and next time, she would bring him to her side.
"When will that be?" he asked, sensing an opportunity.
"Here. Take this." Shivani threw something toward him, and he caught it. A pen drive.
"It contains information from my side. Most of it isn't important, but it may help you understand more."
She paused briefly, then added, "I'll contact you later."
She had no intention of meeting him again soon, but she had little choice.
The moment she finished speaking, she left.
Yug remained seated, unmoving. A final whisper slipped from his lips.
"So she can endure it."