The lecture hall was filled with the rhythmic scratching of pens on paper, the occasional rustling of textbooks, and the monotonous voice of the professor explaining financial models on the blackboard.
At the very front, Emma D'Souza sat with perfect posture, elegantly poised as she diligently took notes. Her handwriting was precise, flowing effortlessly across the pages of her notebook. She ignored the weight of countless stares from the boys in the class—some mesmerized, some intimidated, and a few just outright hopeless cases who had been trying (and failing) to catch her attention since the first semester.
Yet, for Emma, they might as well have been invisible.
Her focus remained solely on the board, absorbing every bit of information as if nothing else in the room existed.
Mid-section of the class—absolute contrast.
There sat Karan, the self-proclaimed main character of a harem anime, basking in the attention of a circle of girls giggling at his every remark. One leaned in, whispering something, and Karan threw his head back with a dramatic laugh, as if she had just delivered the wittiest joke in existence.
He lazily twirled his pen between his fingers, barely acknowledging the textbook in front of him. Who needed notes when charm could get you almost everything?
At one point, the professor's voice cut through the noise, a sharp "Karan, are you even listening?"
Karan, without missing a beat, smirked and leaned back in his chair. "Sir, I don't just listen. I absorb knowledge through the air."
The class chuckled, but the professor merely sighed and continued writing on the board, too exhausted to deal with Karan's antics.
Last bench—on the verge of unconsciousness.
Sophia Dutta was sitting in the farthest row, seemingly awake but very much asleep.
Her body was perfectly still, her eyes slightly open, giving the illusion that she was attentively following the lecture. But in reality? She was miles away in dreamland.
The trick was something she had perfected over years of surviving boring classes—how to sleep without getting caught. Her trick was simple: keep her head slightly tilted, don't move too much, and occasionally blink to seem engaged.
To anyone else, she looked deep in thought. To Karan, who had known her long enough? She looked like a glitched NPC stuck in sleep mode.
Unable to resist, Karan leaned back in his chair and flicked a tiny piece of paper toward Sophia's desk. It landed directly in front of her.
Nothing.
Another flick. Another paper landed.
Still, no reaction.
Karan narrowed his eyes and finally decided to up his game. He crumpled a slightly bigger paper ball and aimed for her forehead.
Flick!
Sophia flinched slightly, her head jerking up as if she had been jolted out of a coma.
"—Yes, sir! 110% interest rate!" she blurted out loud, completely out of context.
The room went dead silent.
The professor, mid-sentence, turned to stare at her, utterly baffled. "…What?"
Emma sighed, already used to this. Karan, meanwhile, barely held back his laughter, shaking in silent amusement.
Sophia blinked, now fully awake, and quickly glanced at her notes—except she hadn't written anything down for the past twenty minutes.
"Uh… never mind." She cleared her throat, adjusting her posture like nothing had happened. "Please continue, sir."
The professor pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Focus, Miss Dutta."
Sophia gave a thumbs-up. "Of course, sir!"
As soon as the professor turned back to the board, she shot Karan a death glare. Karan, still grinning, gave her an innocent shrug.
'You're so dead after class,' Sophia thought, mouthing the words.
Karan simply smirked and mouthed back, 'Worth it.'
The class had barely recovered from Sophia's half-sleep declaration when the door creaked open.
Everything seemed to slow down.
Aarav Kumar stepped inside.
The moment he entered, the atmosphere in the room shifted.
A hush fell over the class. The girls, even the ones who had been surrounding Karan just seconds ago, suddenly straightened up, their faces turning pink. A few clutched their notebooks as if their hearts would leap out of their chests.
The boys—who normally couldn't care less about another guy—couldn't help but stare, minds collectively screaming:
'SO. DAMN. COOL.'
It wasn't just his face, though that alone was enough to command attention. Messy black hair, effortlessly spiked just right. Pale skin with sharp, refined features. Almond-shaped eyes with an unnatural blue cornea that stood out like a frozen lake in winter.
And, as always—all black clothes.
A fitted black dress shirt, sleeves rolled up slightly, with a matching slim tie that hung loosely around his collar. His black trousers and polished boots completed the look, making him seem more like he had walked straight out of a movie scene rather than a college lecture.
But the most frustrating part?
Aarav was completely unaware of the effect he had.
He was just… walking. Normally.
No dramatic flair, no purposeful posing. No attempt to attract attention.
But the way he carried himself—silent, composed, and indifferent—only amplified his presence.
His footsteps echoed in the silent room as he made his way toward the last row, completely ignoring the flustered glances of half the female population.
The professor, unlike everyone else, remained unfazed. He barely glanced up before acknowledging Aarav's presence.
"You're late."
Aarav stopped, bowing his head slightly in apology. "Student Council work held me up."
The professor sighed, shaking his head. "I know you always pay attention, so I'll let it go this time. Take your seat."
Aarav simply nodded and walked to the back, settling into his usual spot.
Sophia, still glaring at Karan from the previous paper incident, finally turned to Aarav and whispered, "How do you just walk in and make the entire class malfunction?"
Aarav didn't even glance at her. He just pulled out his notebook, flipped to a blank page, and muttered under his breath:
"It's called walking, Sophia."
Sophia rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair. "Yeah, well, you do it too well."
Karan, who had watched the entire scene unfold, dramatically clutched his chest. "My harem—no, my fans—they betrayed me."
Emma, still in the front, exhaled quietly and pressed her pen against the notebook, willing herself to focus on the lecture.
But deep inside?
She knew her heart had skipped a beat too.
The Business Class Continues
The professor resumed his lecture, tapping a formula onto the digital board.
"Alright, class. As we were discussing—when evaluating market trends, the primary factor is always—"
But no one was paying attention.
The entire class had been effectively reset by Aarav's entrance.
The boys were still sulking over how effortlessly he stole the spotlight, and the girls were still sneaking glances at him every few seconds.
Meanwhile, Karan—recovering from his earlier heartbreak—slid back in his chair, arms crossed, before muttering to himself:
'This is exactly how the main character steals all the side character's scenes.'
Sophia, who had somehow still not woken up from her half-conscious state, slowly blinked at him. "You talking to me or the invisible camera again?"
Karan gasped. "Both."
Sophia sighed, lazily flicking her pen in the air. "Get a life, man."
Karan dramatically fell forward onto his desk. "I had one before this walking glacier took all the attention!"
Aarav, meanwhile, flipped open his notes and started writing, completely unfazed by the surrounding chaos.
And Emma?
She was still taking notes at the front, completely focused—at least on the surface.
Her posture was perfect, her handwriting precise, her concentration unwavering.
But if someone looked closer… her grip on the pen was a little too tight. The tip of her ears were just slightly red.
'Why does he have to walk in like that?'
She hated it. The way the entire room bent around him, how every person—girl or boy—had their attention drawn toward him.
But more than anything, she hated that she wasn't immune to it either.
Emma exhaled and pressed her pen down harder.
Sophia, who had suddenly sat up straight and was now staring at her, suddenly grinned. "Emmaaa~"
Emma didn't even look back. "No."
Sophia pouted. "You don't even know what I was going to say."
"I know that tone, Sophia."
"But I was just going to ask—"
Emma turned slightly, giving Sophia a deadpan look. "No, I'm not blushing."
Sophia smirked, tilting her head. "Did I say you were blushing?"
Emma froze for a millisecond before clicking her tongue and facing forward again.
Karan, meanwhile, was still muttering to himself, stealing occasional looks at Aarav before sighing deeply.
"Harem Protagonist. Ultimate Rival."
Aarav didn't even look up from his notes. "Karan."
"Yeah?"
"Shut up."
Karan placed a hand on his heart. "You wound me, brother."
The professor, finally fed up with the lack of attention, sighed and tapped the board harder. "If you're all done with your high school drama, maybe we can focus on the lecture?"
Aarav was already done with the lesson before the professor even finished his sentence.
Sophia slumped back down. "Wake me up when class is over."
Karan, whispering to himself: "So this is the part where we cut to lunch…"
The professor cut Karan off mid-mutter.
"Nope. Aarav is only fifteen minutes late, so get bored for another half-hour."
The entire class groaned in unison.
Sophia, who had just started to sink back into her half-sleeping position, shot up like a zombie waking from the grave. "WHAT?!"
The professor smirked. "Did I stutter?"
Karan dramatically flopped onto his desk. "Sir, have mercy! Time moves differently in a boring lecture! Fifteen minutes here is like an eternity!"
The professor crossed his arms, raising a brow. "Then maybe if you paid attention, time wouldn't feel so slow."
Karan placed a hand over his chest. "Professor, if you keep being this cruel, I might just…" He dramatically closed his eyes. "…drop out and become a full-time Casanova."
The professor sighed. "Then I really need to continue this lecture. The economy can't handle another idiot in the dating market."
The class burst into laughter.
Even Aarav smirked slightly before returning to his notes.
Sophia, meanwhile, was still processing the horror of her interrupted nap. "Wait, wait, wait. Thirty more minutes? Sir, you can't be serious—"
The professor cut her off again. "I can and I am. And Sophia, sit up straight."
Sophia groaned but obeyed, resting her chin on her hand.
Emma, still scribbling notes, let out a quiet breath of amusement.
As the professor turned back to the board, the class begrudgingly returned to their notebooks.
Except Karan.
Who was still whispering to himself.
"Torture… this is torture… I should've been born a rich heir…"
Aarav stood up without a word.
He didn't sigh. He didn't roll his eyes. He simply turned his head slightly, looked back, and villain-whispered loud enough for the entire class to hear:
"Shut up."
Silence.
Pure, absolute silence.
Even the pens stopped scratching. The whispering girls, the sulking boys, the daydreamers staring at the ceiling—all of them froze as if a spell had been cast over the room.
Karan, meanwhile, blinked twice. Then, without thinking, muttered under his breath, "…So cool."
The professor let out a long, relieved sigh and turned back to the board. "Finally."
Sophia, barely keeping herself from laughing, leaned toward Karan and whispered, "Man, you got verbally curb-stomped by Aarav of all people."
Karan rubbed his chin in deep thought. "I did, didn't I?"
He then looked straight at Sophia with the most serious expression he had ever worn.
"I'm adding this to my origin story."
Scene Shift – Lunchtime, College Cafeteria
The cafeteria buzzed with students, chatter, and the occasional sound of cutlery clinking against plates. At the usual round table near the window, three familiar figures sat together.
Emma, composed and elegant, calmly picked at her salad. Every forkful was precise, her posture effortlessly graceful.
Meanwhile, Karan and Sophia were locked in an intense battle over a plate of crispy fries.
"Let go, woman!" Karan hissed, pulling the plate toward himself.
Sophia growled, yanking it back. "Over my dead body! These fries are mine!"
"You ate half already!"
"And I'll eat the other half too!"
Emma sighed, completely used to their antics. She continued eating, unbothered, as if their childish war wasn't happening right in front of her.
Just as Karan was about to counterattack with his spoon like a knight in battle, he suddenly stopped, sat back, and dramatically exhaled.
"Thank God the writer ended that boring lecture and scene-shifted us here."
Sophia blinked. "…Huh?"
Karan leaned back, crossing his arms. "I mean, let's be real. That business class felt like a filler episode. We needed a hard cut to something fun—like food."
Sophia slowly turned to Emma. "Is he… okay?"
Emma didn't even look up. "Just ignore him. It's his way of coping."
Sophia gave a small nod. "Fair."
Karan, meanwhile, was busy shaking his head, mumbling to himself. "We could've had a training montage… a dramatic rivalry moment… but nooo, we got a lecture instead…"
Emma, finishing her salad, finally spoke. "You do realize we still have the whole day left, right?"
Karan perked up. "Oh yeah! That means more screen time for me!"
Sophia took this opportunity to snatch the last fry.
Karan's jaw dropped. "YOU—"
She smirked. "Scene shift's over. Pay attention next time."
Meanwhile, under the sprawling shade of a centuries-old banyan tree on campus, Aarav sat alone, enjoying his lunch in divine peace.
The soft rustling of leaves, the distant chatter of students, and the gentle breeze all created a serene atmosphere—a moment of solitude he actually cherished. He quietly ate from the neatly packed lunch Anna had made for him, every bite a perfect balance of nutrition and flavor.
If there was one thing he could trust completely in this world, it was Anna's cooking.
But then… he felt it.
A disturbance in the air.
The weight of multiple gazes pressing onto him.
He subtly shifted his sharp, blue eyes, scanning his surroundings without moving his head.
At first glance, the area seemed normal. Students passed by, chatting with their friends, sitting in groups, or scrolling through their phones.
But he knew better.
Just beyond the normal crowd, barely noticeable to the untrained eye, a growing horde of girls had strategically stationed themselves around him. Some hid behind benches, pretending to scroll their phones. Others stood near trees, whispering while occasionally sneaking glances. A few had even resorted to sitting behind open textbooks, stealing peeks from over the pages.
Over forty of them.
And that was just the ones in his immediate radius.
Even more amusingly, he could sense a handful of senior girls among them.
Seniors.
Stalking.
Shamelessly.
Aarav took another bite, unfazed.
This wasn't new.
This happened every day.
He wasn't even doing anything remotely interesting. He was just eating.
Yet, to them, even that was apparently worth watching.
Ridiculous.
He sighed internally, keeping his expression unreadable.
For once, he wished someone would just sit down and talk to him instead of treating him like some rare, untouchable deity.
But unfortunately for Aarav, just as he resigned himself to eating in peace, the last name on the list of people he wanted to see made his grand appearance—
Karan.
The peace evaporated instantly.
Aarav didn't even need to look up. The moment the sound of obnoxiously loud footsteps approached, followed by a dramatic gasp, he knew exactly who it was.
"Oh-ho! Would you look at this!" Karan's voice rang out, full of exaggerated glee. "Our campus's walking glacier is gracing this humble tree with his presence!"
Aarav took a slow, deep breath.
Just ignore him.
Just keep eating.
Maybe—just maybe—Karan would get bored and leave.
…Of course, that was wishful thinking.
Karan, completely ignoring personal space, plopped down across from Aarav, arms folded, a stupid grin plastered on his face.
"You know," Karan mused, leaning in slightly, "most people would eat in the cafeteria. Like normal humans."
Aarav didn't react. He simply took another bite of his food.
Unbothered. Untouched. A fortress of indifference.
Karan, undeterred, leaned back against the tree and sighed dramatically. "Man, you're living the dream, huh? Anna's cooking, prime real estate under this majestic banyan tree, and—oh, would you look at that—"
He gestured wildly to the surrounding area.
"—your very own secret fan club!"
At that, a few of the hiding girls flinched, quickly looking away or pretending to be deeply interested in their nonexistent conversations. A couple even walked off, embarrassed at being caught.
Aarav finally looked up.
Not at Karan.
At the distance, as if reconsidering his entire life's decisions.
Then, after a long, deliberate pause, he set his lunchbox down and—
"Leave."
One word.
Cold. Absolute. Final.
Karan, of course, had the audacity to laugh.
"Ohh, buddy," he grinned, throwing an arm around Aarav's shoulder (and earning a sharp side-eye in return), "you should know by now—"
He leaned in, smirking.
"I never listen."
Out of nowhere, a neatly folded envelope fluttered down from the banyan leaves above, landing perfectly between Aarav and Karan.
The moment it touched the ground, time seemed to pause.
Aarav simply stared at it, unblinking.
Karan, on the other hand, gasped dramatically, clutching his chest like he had just witnessed history being made.
"Oh-ho-ho! What is this?!" Karan exclaimed, snatching the envelope off the ground before Aarav could even react. "A secret love letter? A confession from one of your many, many admirers?"
Aarav, with the patience of a saint, slowly exhaled and finally looked at Karan.
"Put. It. Down."
But Karan was already opening it, his curiosity far stronger than his sense of self-preservation.
He cleared his throat, unfolding the letter with exaggerated elegance. "Ahem! Let's see what we have here…"
Aarav, already done with this nonsense, pinched the bridge of his nose, silently calculating how many ways he could end Karan's existence without witnesses.
Meanwhile, a hush fell over the surrounding area.
The stalker girls who had been pretending not to exist were now fully watching, wide-eyed, holding their breaths.
Even the banyan tree seemed to be watching.
Karan adjusted his imaginary glasses and began to read.
"To Aarav Kumar…"
He paused.
Then, with the smuggest grin, he turned to Aarav. "Oh, this is already good."
Aarav's eye twitched.
Karan continued.
"I have admired you from afar for a long time. Your silent gaze, your mysterious presence, your perfect, untouchable aura—"
Karan snorted, barely holding in his laughter. "Bro, they really wrote 'untouchable aura'—"
"—and the way you move like a lone wolf in a world that doesn't understand you—"
At that, Karan lost it.
He doubled over, wheezing with laughter.
"I— I can't—" he gasped between laughs. "A lone wolf—? HAHAHA! YOU MEAN EDGE-LORD?!"
Aarav, at his absolute limit, finally snatched the letter out of Karan's hands and—
RIP.
In one smooth motion, he tore it in half.
Then in quarters.
Then in eighths.
The surrounding stalkers collectively gasped.
Karan looked at him with mock horror. "Cold. Absolutely ruthless. Not even a glance? You truly are heartless, Aarav."
Aarav dusted his hands off, picked up his lunchbox, and walked away.
Karan, unfazed, called after him, "Wait! Don't you want to know who wrote it?!"
Aarav, without turning back—
"No."
And just like that, he disappeared into the campus, leaving Karan shaking his head with an amused grin.
"Truly, a walking glacier."
As Aarav walked away, completely done with the situation, Karan smirked, unable to resist pushing his luck just a little further.
"Eh? Don't tell me you like your stepmom~?"
The moment the words left his mouth, the temperature around him seemed to drop.
Aarav froze mid-step.
The stalker girls, who had been eavesdropping, collectively inhaled, their gossip-hungry eyes widening.
Even the banyan tree seemed to shudder.
For a split second, an eerie silence took over.
Then, with measured slowness, Aarav turned his head just enough to give Karan a side glance.
No words. No expression. Just that sharp, unreadable gaze.
Karan immediately threw his hands up in surrender, laughing nervously. "Kidding! Kidding! Total joke! Relax, man!"
Aarav didn't respond.
Instead, he turned back and walked away, this time without stopping.
Karan exhaled, shaking his head. "Geez. Tough crowd."
Then, as if nothing had happened, he reached down, picked up a fallen piece of Aarav's torn letter, and inspected it with an amused grin.
"Mysterious presence, huh? Lone wolf, huh? Heh. Some girl's got it bad~."
Karan, still crouching, noticed a missing piece of the torn letter stuck between the banyan tree's roots.
He casually picked it up, dusted it off, then dramatically turned to the tree like he was speaking to an invisible audience.
"Oi, filler side character Anjali, are you there?"
A few of the stalker girls flinched.
Then, from behind the banyan tree, a hesitant voice whispered, "…No?"
Karan smirked.
"Tsk, tsk. Lying is bad, Anjali. Especially when your white sneakers are literally peeking out."
The girl in question—one of the many nameless admirers of Aarav—stepped out from behind the tree, clutching her notebook like it was a shield.
She looked deeply embarrassed.
Karan, enjoying this way too much, waved the letter piece in the air.
"This yours?"
Anjali, red-faced, quickly shook her head. "N-no! I didn't write it!"
Karan raised an eyebrow. "I never said you did, but interesting how fast you denied it~."
Anjali panicked. "I SWEAR I DIDN'T—"
Karan snorted. "Alright, alright, chill. No one's judging." He flicked the torn paper away like it was worthless. "Well, except Aarav. He definitely judged. And then shredded it."
Anjali looked horrified.
Karan stretched lazily, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Welp. Better luck next time, side character #27. If you want to confess, maybe try not throwing letters from a tree next time."
And with that, he walked off.
Anjali, left behind, covered her face in pure regret.
Anjali, clutching the torn pieces of her failed confession letter, couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears welled up in her eyes as she choked out, "I LOVE HIM!"
Her voice echoed under the banyan tree, making a few lingering stalker girls turn to watch.
Karan, who had just been about to leave, paused.
Then, slowly, he turned back to face her, completely deadpan.
"Girl, even the writer will forget your name."
Silence.
Anjali's sobs immediately stopped.
Even the surrounding girls, who had been lowkey rooting for her, winced.
Karan sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "Listen, I get it. He's cool, he's mysterious, he's got that whole 'untouchable genius' thing going on. But let's be real here…" He leaned in slightly. "He doesn't even know you exist."
Anjali's lip trembled.
"…I know," she whispered, her voice breaking.
Karan groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "See, that's the problem. You're out here writing heartfelt love letters, and my guy's out there treating feelings like math problems—completely ignoring them unless necessary."
Anjali wiped her tears, looking utterly defeated.
Karan clapped a hand on her shoulder like a supportive but absolutely unhelpful older brother. "Now, if you really wanna go for it, I respect the hustle. But if you think crying under a tree is gonna make Aarav suddenly turn around and notice you?"
He made an exaggerated X with his arms.
"Big nope."
Anjali sniffled, staring at the ground.
Karan sighed, finally giving a half serious look. "Hey, at least you tried, alright? Just…maybe don't throw letters from trees next time."
And with that, he walked off.
Anjali stood there, staring at the torn paper in her hands, and muttered, "…The writer won't forget me, right?"
A passing bird squawked in response.