And in the evening, DJ was having his time on his date. And for the first time he was enjoying the meal.
DJ ate noodles like he was trying to win a timed challenge. Sauce on his cheek. Chopsticks clacking. The place was packed, warm, loud—Hindi Dragon always felt like someone's living room where everyone yelled.
Across from him, Sakshi poked her food eating like any normal person would, which was really surprising since the food here was the best he ever had.
He slowed. "Uh… it's not bad, right? You're eating like you're scared it'll bite you."
She shook her head. "It's fine. Just tired. Work's been… a lot."
"Yeah, well, same," he said, then leaned in with a grin that practically sparkled. "Also I got a giant deal. If it works out, I'm gonna make stupid money."
She raised an eyebrow but didn't look impressed; that annoyed him a little.
"I'm serious," he said. "Huge. And after the deal? I'm buying this restaurant."
She blinked. "…this one?"
"Yup. I'll own Hindi Dragon. Cool, right?"
"You have that kind of—"
"Of course," he cut in quickly. Too quickly. "When the deal's done."
She stared at him for a second, trying to put numbers together in her head. "What is your job again?"
He didn't even pause. "Consultant. I pitch business ideas. Fix stuff. Get commission. You know."
She narrowed her eyes. "How much did you make last time?"
"Three million."
She nodded at first, then he added, "Dollars," and she sprayed her drink onto the table.
He handed her a napkin, trying not to look smug. "Swiss client. Energy sector. Huge thing. Totally legit."
She coughed. "You can't just drop 'three million dollars' casually. Are you even sure you're not… exaggerating?"
"You can ask Rony," he said, shrugging. "He knows everything."
"Mm-hmm." She didn't sound convinced. "And this chef you're planning to 'buy the restaurant' with… you know him?"
"Yeah, totally," he said, too fast again. "Old friend."
She leaned forward, suddenly remembering something interesting. "What's his name?"
He froze.
Her smile widened.
DJ flicked his eyes around desperately and spotted a Krish poster on the wall behind her. Then another sign with NaNa written in big red letters.
"Uh… Krish…nana?" he said. "Krishna. Yeah. Chef Krishna."
Her face did a small twitch. "You know my brother?"
"…huh?"
She didn't answer because a deep voice boomed from behind her.
"Sakshi."
They both turned.
A tall guy—built like someone who casually punches through him, and a little worse face than his,(he was lying) —walked toward them with a confused look on his face.
Sakshi lit up. "Krishna! Hey! I'm here with my friend. You know him, right? Devesh Joshi!"
DJ slowly slumped down in his chair, wishing the earth would open up and politely swallow him.
---
Outside, Sakshi laughed so hard she had to hold the wall for support. DJ walked beside her like a man whose kingdom had fallen.
"You good?" she wheezed out between giggles. "How was the little reunion with your best friend?"
DJ didn't answer. He just stared ahead, dead inside.
"You brag about knowing someone," she said, wiping her eyes, "and boom—person shows up. Every time. I swear you're cursed."
"Can you not," he muttered.
She tried. Truly. She bit her lip, inhaled, nodded… then snorted again.
They walked down a quieter street. Streetlights flickered. Somewhere, a scooter backfired like it was dying.
Sakshi finally got steady enough to ask, "So… my brother wasn't mad?"
"He's… fine," DJ said. "Very talkative. Very… calm. Very… polite."
"That's him," she nodded. "He's a walking HR manual."
"He looks older than you," DJ said.
"He hears that all the time."
She leaned closer, lowering her voice. "You know he married Madam Priya—our biology teacher?"
DJ stopped walking. "The one who looks like Supriya from Drishyam News?!"
"Yeah. Her twin sister."
He stared. "Isn't she thirty something?"
"Twenty-nine, and my brother is only twenty five." she whispered. "Don't tell anyone."
DJ shook his head in amazement. Then he smirked. "Didn't you have that rumour with about biology teach—"
She elbowed him so hard he bent forward. "She's my sister-in-law. Don't spread rumors."
"Rony said it!" he yelped.
"Oh." She nodded, satisfied. "Then it's fine." and moved forward ignoring him.
" Who hit that hard." He said, rubbing his stomach.
They kept walking until they reached a pond behind the restaurant block—quiet, still, slightly dirty but reflecting the moon perfectly.
They sat on the stone edge. DJ dipped his shoe in the water. She hugged her knees.
He asked, softer this time, "What's your dream? You know mine. What's yours?"
She didn't answer immediately. Her eyes drifted to the skyline—the dark ridge marking the start of the Disaster Zone.
"To make the world better," she said.
"Why?"
She blinked, surprised. "Why not?"
"People seem fine with the world as it is."
"Not everyone," she murmured. "My dad and brother fought once… about something related to Krish. No one told me why or what, things were complicated, it was the time when the whole world was against Krish, things were complicated, a guy no matter how strongly felt overwhelmed when the whole world was against him." And she paused realising she was about to say something she shouldn't.
" By the way … if you had his powers, what would you do?" DJ was a little confused by the sudden shift in the topic, but he pointed it out and thought about it.
"Uh… maybe dig for treasure in the ocean?"
She snorted. "Of course you would."
She nudged him with her shoulder. "I don't know what I'd do. Maybe fly around. Eat ice cream. Something silly."
She glanced at him. "What about Rony?"
"He'd become Krish," DJ said instantly. "Better version. Probably."
"Why?" she asked.
"He… wants to be a hero. He even built a suit."
"A hero, huh?" she said, smiling a little. "That's actually sweet. He has a stronger chance than both of us."
DJ scoffed. "Why's that?"
"You don't need superpowers to be a hero," she said. "Just a big heart. And stubborn will." She tapped DJ's chest lightly. "He has both."
DJ raised an eyebrow. "You think pretty high of him."
"Yeah. He's got that thing… that spark. Like my dad."
DJ nodded slowly. "What about me then?"
"You?" She leaned back, smirking. "You're cute."
He froze, and looked at her. She laughed and patted his shoulder.
Then she asked, "Okay, what do you see in me?"
He paused. Actually paused. For once his brain didn't sprint ahead, he has seen more beautiful women then her. Hack! His maid was way beautiful and sexy, but he never felt about her the same as he did with her, she felt different.
"I don't know," he said quietly. "It feels like… everything stops for a sec when I see you. Like… music or something."
Her breath caught. She wasn't expecting that answer—not from him.
"You're not joking?" she asked.
He shook his head.
They looked at each other. Her eyelashes trembled. His fingers tightened against the stone. They leaned in—
Her phone rang.
Both jerked back.
She cleared her throat, answering it stiffly. "Yes, sir. I'll send the report."
She hung up, apologetic. "I… I have to go."
"Yeah," he said, brushing dust off his jeans. "Sure. It's late."
They walked back to the main road. Their hands brushed once. Neither commented
And far away in Rony's apartment, he sat quiet, the kind of quiet that made the hum of machines feel loud.
The whole room was dark, the only source of light being the several monitors on the wall and the experiment he was doing.
He leaned close to the monitor again, eyes half-open half asleep, like he was running on fumes. The formula chain on the screen twisted and shifted. The progress bar crawled. When it hit a hundred, the whole line flashed bright red.
"…great," he muttered, dragging a hand down his face.
He tapped a key. "Run it again. Drop the core temp. Use particle five and-." he yawned and looked at the attempt he had made.
The number beside it blinked, dropped to 1,600,001, and the simulation spun up again.
The glowing container behind him let out a soft hiss, casting faint light across his back.
On another screen, dozens of tiny drones rotated slowly in a 3D model—little metal insects circling a central core.
He exhaled, long and tired. He shifted, and looked at another monitor, showing a ton of calculations in breakneck speed. His eyes darted as he processed the immense amount of calculations happening in front of him, he checked the paper that Sakshi had given him, and looked at them with questioning eyes and put them aside. He took out a prototype shaped as a small gun, and a disk shaped object,