"Why are you in such a sour mood?" Ayzere asked me.

"Nothing. I am leaving for college, so feel free to do whatever you like," I said and left the house.

Light footsteps followed me, and I moved away before my friend jumped on me like a ghost. I caught her shirt and pulled her back before she face-planted on the freshly-mopped floor.

"TJ, you are really boring," Ayzere grumbled.

"That he is," Mom agreed as she descended from the stairs. "Just like his father."

Before the women could start lecturing me, I ran out and drove off.

Stupid Boomer. I didn't get a proper sleep because of him.

I stopped my car near a phone repair workshop and asked them how much time it would take for them to fix my phone. They checked it, and I paid them in advance to give my gadget back to me by the end of the day.

After reaching college, I first checked if my idiot best friends were anywhere around. When I didn't see them, I sighed in relief and made my way towards the cafeteria to get a cup of tea. I really needed it. My head was aching.

Because Boomer is continuously dancing in it, right?

Will you please shut up, useless inner voice?

You know what is actually useless?

What?

Your confidence that you will win against Boomer in your next dance battle.

I clutched the tea cup's handle tightly and closed my eyes.

"Jingle bells, Jingle bells, jingle on the way~ Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one horse open-" I sang to distract myself, but someone crashed into me.

I felt like puking as KD's perfume travelled through my nostrils, making my headache shoot up. I pushed him away.

"You don't love me," he cried.

I was going to punch him but stopped when I saw his bloodshot eyes.

"What happened to you?" I asked him.

He pouted, so I sighed and opened my left arm; he hugged me and sniffled.

"I didn't get any reply from her again," he said and showed me his Instagram chat with his favourite bookstagramer.

"You directly asked her if she would like a library as a gift?" I asked him.

"Yes. She loves books, and I love her book reviews. I have read every book she has recommended till now. So what wrong did I do? I thought she will be thrilled to receive such a thoughtful gift from her biggest fan," he complained.

I patted his head. "KD, not everyone likes it when you flex how rich you are. Moreover, you don't even know her personally."

"I never flex about my wealth," he said, and the next second, he pulled out lots of boxes of smartphones from his bag.

"Anyone will take you for a thief," I told him seriously.

"Come on, select one," he said. "Hriaan told me how you haven't yet repaired your phone. Even if you do, you should carry an extra. All of these have amazing storage capacity."

I checked the smartphones he had brought and told him that I will try a few of them before finalising.

"You can keep all of them, bro," he said casually.

I shook my head, and we tested the phones when I heard the annoying giggle.

"TJ, KD, annyeonghaseyo~" Mahreen greeted in a high-pitched voice and bowed.

I pulled my lips into a thin-line, and Suhana pulled Mahreen back into a standing pose. She smacked her behind the head.

"Don't bend down too much, stupid girl," Suhana scolded Mahreen.

"But that's how we are supposed to bow. I learnt the proper way directly from the South Korean Ambassador, you know," Mahreen boasted.

I signalled Suhana to not say anything, and she nodded. She sat down, and just as Mahreen began to take a seat beside Suhana, Mahreen's eyes widened and she covered her lap. A light blush coated her cheeks.

"I should have worn safety shorts," she said.

Her small purse was no use, so I took off my bandana and gave it to her. Suhana removed the scarf around her neck, and Mahreen covered her lap with them and grinned at us.

"Why do you wear clothes that guarantee wardrobe malfunction?" I asked her. "You look like you have stolen an elementary kid's frock."

She sneered, "It's not a frock, TJ. This is an exclusive Hanbok-styled one-piece. You should read fashion magazines."

I took out the ear plugs Dad had given me last night and put it in my ears before Mahreen's shrill giggles ripped my eardrums.

The ear plugs were very effective. They toned down the noise around me, and I was able to hear everything without damaging my hearing senses. My friends asked me about my red eyes, so I lied that I was working.

Two long lectures later, I moved towards the next class. I spotted Hriaan running towards the cafeteria, and I was wondering about what new snack combination he was going to try when I suddenly felt like being hit by a pillow.

I was confused, but when I saw a small girl in front of me, her head bent down, I realised that I had crashed into her. I noticed her phone on the floor. She grabbed her earphones, while I picked up her phone and checked it. It was very slim and lightweight, though it had some cracks on it.

I hope I haven't damaged it.

I almost gave it to her. I narrowed my eyes when I saw the video playing on the small screen. It was the same dance battle recording of my crew and Unix's recent underground finals.

So, it really got viral, huh?

Boomer got viral, not you.

I ignored my inner voice and moved the phone towards the girl. She was staring at me but averted her gaze quickly. I gave her her phone, telling her that it was okay. She nodded, and when she looked at me again, something snapped inside me.

Her eyes...

Boomer is a boy, Tejas.

I know, but-

Majority of Indians have brown eyes, so will you please stop your overthinking and get to the next lecture? See, Hriaan is already ahead of you.

I glanced to the side and saw my best friend dashing towards our classroom while stuffing banana chips and Swiss roll in his mouth.

"Thank you."

I looked back at the girl on hearing her voice. It was very low. I nodded and left, shaking my head to myself.

When I looked back, I saw that girl running towards Akshay in the distance. He pulled her and flicked her cheek. The height difference was very significant, but they looked cute together.

Unix members do have really short friends, don't they?

I went to the lecture, my stomach growling as I had no breakfast. My friends had told me to eat something, but my appetite had vanished since last night. Except a cup of tea I had in the morning, I had not eaten anything. I prayed for the lecture to get over soon as I could no longer control my hunger.

"Bro, eat some of this," Hriaan said and passed me some deep-fried oily chips.

I didn't like fast-food, but I ate those chips, and because of that my hunger just got fuelled more. I snatched the whole packet and finished it before the bell rang.

Hriaan told me to buy him a new chips packet, and we were arguing over it when Hriaan's phone rang. He picked up the call and informed me that Sarthak Pawar was at our dance studio. We were done with the lectures, so we decided to leave. We reached our studio, and after a quick lunch, we met Sarthak, who told us his promotion plans.

Ayzere also arrived, and after seeing her, Sarthak told me that he wanted me and Ayzere to shoot a duet for him. I had no problem, and Ayzere was also very excited, so Sarthak designed a routine for us on the spot. I was glad that it wasn't very intimate.

Sarthak Pawar was famous for his intricate and dynamic choreographies, but he was also very well know as a top romance choreographer - and he had directed some really intimate dance sequences for various films.

"Don't worry, TJ, I know you don't like such intense choreographies," Sarthak said.

"And I don't like that he doesn't like them," Ayzere commented. "I love spice."

Sarthak laughed at her expression, and I got a bit irritated as Ayzere kept teasing me; she kept moving too close when it wasn't even needed for the choreography.

"Ayzere, can we please stick to the actual routine?" I asked her seriously.

I didn't want to fight with her over it, but she was really trying my patience. She was my friend, so I was tolerating it, but if she would have pulled any tricks again, I would have told her to leave.

She twisted her lips. "I am just trying to have fun, TJ. Why are you being so serious?"

"Do I really need to repeat everything?" I asked her.

She darted her gaze on my face and held her ears. I told her to just help me finish the assignment given by Sarthak, but she started doing sit-ups while holding her ears.

"Sorry, TJ, I promise I won't tease you again," she said.

"Promise?" I asked.

"Promise."

Sarthak told me to not be so cruel with her, but I shook my head, and ultimately, we finished recording the duet sequence. Sarthak checked the video and smiled in satisfaction.

I told Joy to upload the dance video on our social media pages after Sarthak's team uploaded it on his accounts.

I went to my cabin to freshen up, but Ayzere followed me.

"TJ, I want to take a shower too," she told me.

"Then have one," I replied.

"In your cabin?" she asked, a mischievous smile on her lips.

I decided to play along. She ran ahead of me when I nodded. I opened my cabin's door, and as expected, she turned towards me after entering, her mouth opening to tease me again, but I smirked at her.

"The towels are in the bathroom only. Have a nice shower, Ayzere," I said and locked the door.

"TJ!" she yelled from inside. "Open the door. How can you lock me here? I don't have any spare clothes!"

"I will tell Ira Di to get some for you," I told her and knocked on Hriaan's cabin's door.

He opened it and laughed at me.

"Come on, man. The girl is pursuing you with so much dedication. Can't you accept her?" he poked me.

"Please shut up," I groaned and went to take a shower.

I was scrubbing my torso, when suddenly, that memory from earlier flashed in front of my eyes.

That short-statured girl... she had crashed into me, but I had felt nothing. She looked so timid. I am sure her weight is also not much because when we had bumped into each other, I had felt as if a feather-filled pillow had hit me lightly. I am sure her experience wasn't the same. There is an obvious anatomical difference between us. I hope she wasn't hurt because of me.

The cool water sprayed over me from the shower head, and slowly, my mind started shifting into another dimension. Sarthak's words echoed in the back of my mind.

"Don't worry, TJ, I know you don't like such intense choreographies."

No, I love intimate choreographies. It is just that I want to do it with the person I am comfortable with. Even if I am a professional dancer, I also have some dreams of dancing with a partner that is close to me.

Then you will never be able to achieve those dreams because which girl will date you, Tejas? You are yourself rejecting a girl who is totally interested in you. You got the chance earlier, but you fucked it up.

I fisted my hands.

If you won't stop bringing up Ayzere, I will never talk to you.

I am your inner voice, jerk.

Don't underestimate me.

I closed my eyes and tried to find something to distract myself. My inner voice was now immune to my tactics, so I had to find something new. Something that would have helped me to soothe my nerves and soul.

Slowly, in my mind, a dark area lit up, and I saw small feathers raining from above. In the far distance, a very blurry tiny figure appeared out of the blue. It ran around, trying to catch those feathers. I moved towards that unknown figure, liking the imaginary world building up more and more.

"TJ, have you fallen asleep?"

And just like that, my beautiful daydream was broken by Hriaan's loud voice.

I cursed under my breath and opened the bathroom's door a bit. I shot Hriaan murderous glares.

"What are you doing? Meditating?" he asked.

"You guys can't let a man even dream," I grumbled and closed the door again.

My mood was spoilt. I quickly changed into fresh clothes and got out only to be welcomed by my whole crew smirking at me.

"What now?" I asked them.

"Your whole face is red, bro," Joy told me.

I rolled my eyes, and Joy informed me that he had uploaded the duet video. Sarthak had also left, and an angry Ayzere was waiting for me outside.

I was not concerned as I was thinking about that tiny figure that had popped out earlier in my imagination. I hadn't prompted my mind to bring in a person, but that figure came out of nowhere. It was blurry and so far away, but the feeling I got was so soft and-

"TJ, do you have a fever?" my crewmate, Mark, asked me.

I shook my head, but he pointed out how my face was turning redder and redder. I pursed my lips because he was telling the truth.

What's going on? Is it because I ate those oily chips I had stolen from Hriaan?

"Bro, let's check the analytics of our latest video," Joy said.

All of us were amazed by the reaction we got from our fans. The video had blown up.

"It is all because of me," Ayzere said as she strutted inside Hriaan's cabin. "I am still mad at you, TJ."

"You deserved it," I replied.

She slapped my arm. "What's with the rude tone? Did I steal your liver or something?"

I didn't reply as my gaze was focused on her hand. I told her to slap me again. She raised her eyebrows in surprise but didn't leave the chance to take her revenge. She slapped my arm harder this time.

"Yeah, it's not the same," I mumbled.

"What's not the same?" she asked.

"Nothing."

She narrowed her eyes, but I ignored her. Others were reading the comments under our recent viral video, and I scanned the whole comment section.

"Wow, how is this possible? There is no reaction from BoomBoom yet?" I asked.

"Who's BoomBoom?" my crew asked.

I told them about BoomBoom, and Joy instantly searched for him/her on Instagram.

"BoomBoom doesn't have any real name displayed, but he/she follows Unix too," he announced.

Did BoomBoom change sides after The Emperors' battle with Unix?

I checked Unix's Instagram account, and there were very few posts on it, but BoomBoom had liked each of them. I didn't think much of it, but when I noticed Unix's last post, I got jealous.

BoomBoom hadn't just liked that post but commented lots of cute emojis under it. I zoomed on the pic in which Boomer was partially visible.

Oh, so this small human being is now stealing my fans too?

Hello, everyone. Sorry for the late update.

As I write this book, I have realised that Tejas has a lot to say.

I am aware that you all want to read the part where he realises Boomer's real identity, and that chapter will come up soon too.

Since this is Tejas's POV, I was going to cover only the main events, but Tejas has other plans. He may have speedy reflexes, but he is pretty slow when it comes to his emotions. I also don't want to skip anything, so events may seem to progress slowly right now.

Thank you for reading, your support and patience.

🌞