As the backdoor clicked shut behind Kiaan, silence lingered for a heartbeat before Shaurya scoffed and rolled his eyes."What an arrogant nobody," he muttered, flopping back onto the couch.But his friends didn't respond right away. A couple of them were still watching the door where Kiaan had exited, their minds spinning with curiosity and silent admiration."I don't know, man," said Ishaan, adjusting the cuffs of his hoodie. "He's… different. There's something about him."Shaurya gave him a sharp look. "Don't start that again.""I'm serious," Ritika, one of the girls, chimed in. "He doesn't talk much, but have you noticed how calm he is? Like… nothing scares him."Shaurya grunted. "That's because he doesn't do anything! He just floats around acting mysterious."Ritika smirked. "Then why does he look like he's seen the things we only hear about in the news?"One of the quieter boys, Ajay, finally spoke, "Maybe he's one of those agents. You know… the kind we don't read about. The ones who solve things silently."Shaurya froze for a moment. His jaw clenched."I want to be an agent," he suddenly declared, his voice louder than necessary. "I want to join the CBI. Like Dad did. Clean this country of all these murderers and psychopaths. Someone needs to step up."A few of them looked at him with mild surprise. Shaurya rarely spoke about his father with that kind of emotion."I've been thinking about it," he continued. "All my life, I've been told how my father was a brilliant officer, and how brave he was. I want to be like that. I want to make a name for myself. Not sit around sipping coffee and doing nothing.""That's great, bro," said Ishaan. "But it's not just a job. It's a life. You don't just chase killers — they start chasing you back.""Exactly," said Ritika. "You won't even know where the threat comes from. If one case goes wrong… your whole family could be in danger. Your friends, your mom. You could be dead the next morning."Shaurya raised his chin. "Let them come. I'm not afraid."Ajay looked at him seriously. "You think that now. But once you look into the eyes of someone who's done unspeakable things, once you're alone in a room with a monster and no one to help you... that's when you'll know if you're built for this or not."Shaurya's smile faltered slightly, but his pride forced him to scoff.
"Monsters bleed too," he said. "They just haven't met the right hunter yet."
Behind him, Ritika muttered quietly, "Or maybe they already did… and we just mocked him every day in this living room."
That stung more than Shaurya would admit.
Outside the window, across the garden, Kiaan stood by the gate with his back turned, listening. His sharp ears hadn't missed a single word. He didn't smile. He didn't react. But a whisper of irony twisted in his heart.
Everyone wants to be a lion until it's time to face the jungle.He walked off again — toward his real life, toward his next mission — where shadows were real, blood was constant, and monsters didn't wait for permission to strike.