Parking Lot, Alka Mall
Rows of cars and bikes lined up under the dim fluorescent lights. Engines roared and horns blared as vehicles shuffled in and out of slots.
Near a black Honda, three boys were huddled together. Their eyes were glued to a phone screen, grinning like theyâd just won the lottery.
It was the same trio who had clashed with Rohit and Seo-yeon earlier. Now, their revenge tasted sweeter in numbers.
"Damn," Amar, 17, eyes widened in disbelief, "we actually crossed 4k views. And thatâs just in two hours. Imagine twenty-four..."
It was a big deal for them, as their all-time highest had only been 3.6k views.
Sohail, 18âthe tallest one, still nursing his bruised cheek from Seo-yeonâs slap, snorted. "Told you, man. Just putting âKoreanâ in the tag made it blow up. Honestly, we shouldâve followed them longer." His grin widened as he scrolled. "Look at these comments. Everyoneâs trashing that bitchy Korean girl."
"Yeah, and conveniently skipping the part where she tight slapped you," Manish, the third, shot back with a smirk.
Sohailâs face darkened. He smacked the back of Manishâs head. "Bastard. Stop ruining my mood.."
Manish shoved him off while putting his guard, "Fuck you man. You only act tough with people weaker than you."
"At least you admitted it, you shitshow." Sohail moved to retort, but Amar cut in, tugging at both their sleeves. His eyes were fixed ahead.
"Shut up, dumb fucks. Look. Over there."
At the mall entrance, Rohit stood fiddling with his phone, but in completely different attire, as if attending a party, with other packages in his hands, while glancing at parked cars.
Moments later, a Suzuki with big tag of Uber rolled up with a beep. Rohit checked the number, opened the door, and slid inside.
Sohail leaned forward, eyes glinting. "You thinking what Iâm thinking?"
Amarâs grin answered before his words did. As the one who owned the channel, the possibilities already raced through his head. "Damn right. That guyâs the only lead weâve got. And after seeing todayâs numbers? Iâm not letting this chance slip."
Manish paled. "Wait!.. Are you serious? You wanna stalk.. for views?"
"No one asked your opinion," Sohail snapped, already swinging a leg over the bike.
Amar clapped a hand on Manishâs shoulder, his voice syrupy. "Relax, bro. Weâre not doing anything illegal. Just... following for content. Big difference." He hopped on behind Sohail.
Sohail twisted the key in the ignition, sneering over his shoulder. "And in case you donât come, pay for your own ride back."
Manish groaned, knowing well about his empty pockets. "Oh, come on. Fine! Make some space, assholes." He climbed on and squeezed into the back.
"Atta boy." Sohail chuckled as the Uber pulled out of the lot. He started the bike as his eyes locked on the taillights.
With a roar, the Honda shot out of the parking lot, tailing the cab into the night.
Meanwhile, Rohit had no idea he was being followed. His mind was already weighed down with too much.
First, that messy but dangerously close intimate encounter with Seo-yeon in the ladiesâ washroom.
Then, the tense clash with her racist bodyguard. Add the school chaos on top of it, and now his motherâs sudden invitation to
Orion Tower
for what she called a possible date.
From the sound of it, the evening wasnât just about a dateâit carried hints of a business deal, an auction, an exhibition, and maybe something more calculated. A scheme.
The thought made him nervous, though there was a thrill buried in it too.
âA date is a date, after all, in the end.â
Wanting to distract himself, he pulled up Google and typed
Orion Tower
.
He learned that it was one of the rare skyscrapers in the capital city, its height capped at thirty-six floors. Tonightâs gathering would take place high up, among the city lights.
At least he was dressed for the part. A fresh shirt, a well-fitted suitâenough to match the standards of the place.
He checked the time: 7:45 p.m. If everything went smoothly, he could even arrive fifteen minutes early.
But time slipped quicker than he thought. Twenty minutes passed before he knew it, and thanks to his driver who managed to cut through the traffic with a shortcut, saving nearly twenty five of those precious minutes.
When they finally pulled up before the glowing tower, Rohit settled the fare, offered the driver a genuine thanks, and stepped out.
The evening was about to begin.
**Scene change**
However, things didnât go as smoothly for the trio.
At first, they were thrilled to find out the location was
Orion Tower
, famous for its coupleâs nightclub. They thought for sure theyâd catch sight of the Korean girl there. But their excitement vanished quickly when they werenât even allowed to park their bike inside the compound.
Tonight was different. Only a select few had passes. The tower was reserved exclusively for high-profile guests, and ordinary people werenât allowed beyond the gates.
Their jaws dropped when they saw Rohit stroll past security with easeâjust a quick word, a flash of his card, and he was in. The guard explained that a private event was underway for influential figures and that most businesses in the tower were either shut down or restricted for safety. To the trio, it sounded absurd.
Amar ruffled his hair in frustration. "Just when I thought we had a lead, turns out the bastardâs some loaded shit."
Sohail tried to calm him. "Itâs fine. We donât care about him. Our target is the girl. Once she comes out, we trail her, get her address, then figure it out."
Manish frowned. "Wait, how do you even know the girlâs here?"
Sohail snapped, annoyed. "Think about it! Why else would that guy change clothes after the mall, right after their little escape? Obviously theyâre meeting at the top-floor nightclub."
Amar shook his head. "Doesnât matter. The towerâs barred to regular people. That means theyâre not normalâtheyâre powerful. Way out of our league. We should back off."
Manish chimed in reluctantly. "Yeah... and we donât even know if itâs the same girl. Could be someone else entirely. Maybe sheâs just some cheap blogger like us."
Sohail brightened. "Exactly! Thatâs why we wait. Once they come out, weâll know."
Amar, however, was losing patience. His expression turned cold as he looked at Manish. "First you opposed me, now youâre siding with him? Forget it. Iâm done wasting my time playing detective with people beyond my reach." He got off the bike and started walking away.
Manish blinked, confused. "Eh? Werenât we supposed to track them? Now youâre saying drop it?"
Sohail tried to stop him. "Wait, think about the content! What if the girl
is
simply a common tourist? This could blow up!" He steadied the bike with one foot, but Amar didnât even look back.
"Figure it out yourself," Amar said flatly, walking off.
Sohail sighed, hoping at least Manish would stick around. "Fine. At least youâll stay, right? I canât trail alone."
Manish scratched his head. "Yeah, I need you to drop me home anyway... but how long do we wait?"
"As long as it takes, brother," Sohail said with a smug grin. "Youâre my real brother."
But Manishâs eyes flicked between Amar disappearing into the distance and Sohail stubbornly sitting on the bike. Doubt crept in. "You know... maybe Amarâs right. This is risky."
Sohailâs face went pale. "No. You bastard, donât you dareâ"
But Manish had already slipped off the bike and jogged after Amar. "Sorry, bro! You can handle it. Amar, wait up!"
Sohail slammed his fist against the fuel tank in rage. "Fucking traitors."
He had dreamed of revenge on that Korean girl for the slap, or at least digging up her whereabouts. But with his friends gone, his options had narrowed. Then, another idea struck himâan uglier one.
"All right... since they ditched me, Iâll call the hotshots."
He meant the local goons, underworld contacts heâd kept at armâs length. Heâd been reluctant before, knowing once they got involved, heâd lose control. To them, it wouldnât matter if it was some kid or a rich family heirâtheyâd rough him up, squeeze him for money, and walk away if it wasnât worth their time.
Still, anger clouded his judgment. To him, this felt like the only path left. And if luck played in his favor, maybe heâd even get another shot at humiliating that Korean girlâthis time under their protection.
Her figure flashed in his mind, and his lips curled into a crooked grin. Pulling out his phone, he dialed a saved number.
"Kasim bhai," he said into the receiver, voice low and eager, "I need a few men. Got a leadâbig one."
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A/N//: Guys, just created the artwork gallery in auxallary volume. Please check on contents to check on that. Thanks for reading.