Stuti was practically combusting from embarrassment. Her face was as red as a freshly boiled lobster, her hands twitching awkwardly at her sides. "Mm... Hey..." she stammered, trying to sound casual, but her voice came out as high-pitched as a squeaky door. She tried to compose herself, but the words just... escaped.
The man of her dreams? Completely oblivious. He was so deeply buried in his newspaper that Stuti considered the possibility that it had somehow become his entire personality. Maybe he was the newspaper, she thought. Maybe he's living inside it. He's a man of mystery-and paper.
Her thoughts were interrupted by him muttering. Not muttering, actually. It was like chanting. Celibacy... celibacy... celibacy...
Stuti froze. She blinked a few times, processing the absurdity of the situation. "Wait. What?"
The sound of his voice was like a very solemn prayer, except instead of asking for divine intervention, it was as if he was praying to some ancient deity of celibacy. And she was pretty sure this wasn't a cute, quirky romantic moment she had imagined while reading her stash of manga.
"I... I thought this was my romance moment, you know?" she thought. "This was supposed to be a grand confession, not... some strange virginity ritual." Her inner monologue was going absolutely wild. Great. Just my luck. I came here thinking I could be the heroine in a swoon-worthy love story, and instead, I'm getting some sad priest of celibacy.
She cleared her throat, desperately trying to salvage some dignity. This was it-the moment of destiny that every romance anime had promised her. It's time. Here goes! She put her hand near her mouth in the most exaggerated anime pose she could muster, channeling all her years of watching high-stakes love confessions. "Ahem... So, um... maybe we could share a bed sometime?" she said, her voice way too high-pitched for anyone to take her seriously.
He didn't respond. He didn't even acknowledg* her existence.
The man of her dreams-literally a six-foot-tall, brooding guy with an aura of melancholy-was so into his newspaper that Stuti started wondering if she had just imagined the whole thing. Maybe she was the problem? Maybe she wasn't as cute as she thought. Maybe... maybe she was too much? Am I acting too anime? I am, aren't I? Her self-doubt was getting loud, and it wasn't helping.
Then, just as she was ready to pull the emergency "exit from the situation" lever, the most dramatic thing happened: his foot started tapping.
*Tap. Tap. Tap.* It was as if the sound was coming from an industrial construction site, each tap ringing louder than the last.
Stuti looked up, blinking, until she heard a loud whoosh and-poof-the newspaper flew out of his hands, like some invisible force was pulling it into the air. His face finally emerged from the paper, and boom-it was there. The face she had been waiting for. Or maybe not waiting for, but the one she had been fantasizing about for the past few months in her *very active* imagination.
But instead of gazing at her like the protagonist of a romance novel, he looked like... well, he looked like a blushing tomato. He wasn't even gazing at her. No, his face was beet red from all the self-inflicted embarrassment he was experiencing. He mumbled, like a chant that wasn't meant for any listener in particular, "Celibacy... celibacy... celibacy..."
She couldn't even process this. Was he rejecting her in some sort of twisted way? Or was this some really bizarre "romantic ritual" that she didn't understand? Was he waiting for her to join him in his celibacy? I swear, if this turns into some weird kink, I'm out.
With all the courage she could muster, Stuti straightened her back and lifted her chin. "Wait... Did you just say celibacy?" she asked, unsure if she was in the right dimension at this point. "Why the obsession with celibacy? Are you... okay?"
He gulped audibly and turned even redder. "You're... really pretty," he muttered, looking at his shoes like they were the most interesting thing in the world.
Stuti was caught off-guard. She blinked. Then, she blinked again. She'd expected a confession of some kind, but not this. "Uh, thanks? But that doesn't explain the whole celibacy chant thing. I mean... are we, like... going through some deep emotional phase together or...?"
He puffed out his cheeks, like a chipmunk trying to contain a meltdown. "I don't know how to explain it. It's just... I don't feel anything anymore. My ex left me, and I've just kind of... stopped feeling. Like I'm frozen in time. I can't love. I can't feel anything. I'm just... a failure(US MOMENT) ."
Stuti's heart flipped. This was it.. This was the moment! He was broken. She could fix him. She had read enough romance webnovels and watched enough anime to know exactly how to handle this.
"Wait-hold on," she said, in her most dramatic voice. "This is just like all the romance webnovels I've read! You're the jerk. You're the broken soul who thinks you're beyond saving. But I'm going to fix you! I will be the one to teach you how to love again! I am the heroine, and this is my grand redemption arc!"
He stared at her like she had suddenly turned into a circus clown. "Seriously? You think... you can fix me?"
"Yes!" she declared, as if the entire world had just made perfect sense. "I've seen this play out in like... a hundred novels. Guys are jerks at first, then they realize their flaws, and then they fall in love with the girl who never gave up on them. I'm the perfect fit for this role. Trust me."
He squinted at her, puffing out his cheeks in that anime guy way that was supposed to be cute but just ended up being ridiculously over-the-top. "You... you're like a little kid."
Stuti shot him a fierce look, her fists clenched. "What?! I'm not a kid. I know exactly what I'm doing. You're gonna be my first love. I'll teach you what real love is."
His eyes widened. He looked like someone had just given him a five-course meal. "YES! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Stuti paused, blinking rapidly, trying to process this sudden change in his attitude. "Wait. Hold up. Didn't you just tell me you couldn't love anyone because you were too emotionally scarred? And now you're jumping straight into saying 'Yes' to being my boyfriend? What happened to your whole tragic past? This makes zero sense!"
His smile faltered, and he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, I mean... you're right. I can't just flip the switch on my feelings. But maybe... maybe I could try?"
Stuti rolled her eyes, arms crossed. "See? This isn't the dark, brooding character I signed up for. This is just a guy who had a bad breakup and now thinks he's the hero of some tragic story. *C'mon. Get with the program!*" She slapped her forehead dramatically. "This isn't how this romance novel was supposed to go."
"I'm sorry for disappointing you," he said, sounding so *genuinely apologetic* that Stuti felt her own resolve start to crack. But no. She had a mission, and it involved saving him from *whatever romantic mess* he was in.
She puffed out her chest, deciding it was time to turn the emotional weight up a notch. "Ughhh. Now I'm depressed. Why did I think this would work? Why did I even come here? I don't even know what I'm doing anymore!" She slumped against a wall in the most dramatic way possible.
*Dramatic music* played in her head as she felt butterflies swirl in her stomach. She wanted to cry, but there was this spark of determination within her. She *was* going to be the one to show him what love was. This was her moment to shine, and she couldn't let him get away with thinking he was a failure forever.
The atmosphere changed. It was like the air itself became charged with emotions. The flowers bloomed around them, the sunlight filtering through the trees, warm and inviting. The breeze picked up, tugging at her hair like some magical force was playing with it, lifting it into the air in slow motion. She was living in an anime now, and there was no turning back.
She looked him in the eyes and softly asked, "Why did you give up on love so easily, though?"
His face softened, his eyes showing vulnerability for the first time. "I just... I was too focused on myself. I was afraid. I didn't think I could ever love again. But... maybe I could try with you."
Stuti smiled, her heart swelling. "*That's* what I needed to hear.. What's your name btw.. ''
-'Shan' - he replied
"Well, that's cute," he said, his eyes shifting awkwardly. "But do you know what you're getting into? I've never really approached anyone like this before."
-'' But, I don't even know how to approach anyone '' - He added
She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You're practically a romance noob. I'll teach you."
"Well... okay then," he said, smiling sheepishly.
"Great!" she declared, completely ignoring the fact that they were, for all intents and purposes, about to be in a very unbalanced relationship. She grabbed his hand, leading him out of the park, back into the night. "But now, as we're officially 'in a relationship,' we've gotta go to the Author's Den. You know, to get the *blessing* and stuff."
Shan blinked. "Wait, what? The what?"
"The Author's Den," Stuti explained with all the enthusiasm of a dating expert. "It's a shrine. Where couples go to get their blessings, like a weird relationship ritual. It's kind of like a horror movie..
They trudged through the woods, which were rapidly transforming into a spooky forest from a B-grade horror flick. The air was thick with suspense-owls hooted like they were auditioning for The Exorcist, and wolves were... howling like they were stuck in a loop of bad romance movies.
And then, they reached the shrine. It was as creepy as a haunted dollhouse, but hey, it was tradition.
Stuti yelled into the darkness, "Hey, Author! We're here! I want to be with him forever, even though our chemistry is probably negative right now. But I believe in this... maybe. So, please, give us your blessing!"
From the stone emerged a figure, looking like a cross between an Instagram influencer and a cult leader but in his late teens. His beard? On point. His demeanor? Utterly dramatic... The most handsome man ever
He spoke, looking like he'd just been teleported from a different universe.
I've been watching you both.. And guess what? Audience these days have a shorter attention span, so I need to keep the pace quick...
Also, A zombie apocalypse is coming in 3 months . Good luck kiddos surviving... ."
'Zombie apocalypse what??' '
-'' Mm, Author kun.. What does audience mean?? And who are you really''-Shan asked
-' I'm your father in a sense child.. Audience.. Oopsnevermind.. Just a slip of toungue i guess'
-'Man, you are literally just a late teen and we are in 20s..
-' 'haha.. It is what it is-It is what it is' '
And with that, he vanished into thin air, like he was trying to sell them a haunted vacation package..
Stuti and Shan exchanged looks of sheer panic. "Did that just happen?" Shan whispered, gripping her hand like it was a lifeline.
Stuti shoved him closer to her, eyes wide. "It's okay, Shan. We've got this. You and me, we're the heroes in a disaster romance now."
Trembling from fear of what they witnessed just now.. It wasn't
(In the metaverse)
-Collaseum went bonkus with the cheers after the prophecy the zombie apocalypse....Editor And I were enjoying the show while eating our popcorns and discussing should we focus on character development for next chapters as audience is skeptic these days ever after they became pirates.. . . But first of all I need to. . . I stood up said to the crowd.. - ''Afterall, That's how the loves start, you know.. .. '
---
Extra scene :
Stuti shouted in the middle of the forest that
-'' She forgot her ID again...!!! Ahh!! I lost so much of my fuel!! 70% TAX MAN.. ON fuel. This country is doomed..F*ck politicians ''