Rahul immediately turned his head.
He saw a girl, about five-foot-five, wearing a striking red dress and stylish low heels. She had sharp, well-defined features, a high nose bridge, and large earrings that framed her face perfectly. Her thick, naturally curly dark brown hair fell over her shoulders. Judging by her clothes and the confident way she carried herself, she clearly belonged to Dhaka's elite upper class.
Honestly, Ananya would look pretty basic standing next to her.
At this exact moment, the girl's eyebrows were furrowed, and she was glaring at her dropped ice cream on the floor.
But as she looked up at the culprit who had bumped into her, the anger on her face completely vanished. It was instantly replaced by sheer surprise.
She stared at Rahul, clearly taken aback by his appearance.
"Annyeonghaseyo!" she blurted out, throwing a Korean greeting right at him.
Rahul, who had just opened his mouth to apologize for the ice cream, completely choked on his words.
"I'm not Korean, I'm Indian!"
"What? No way, I don't believe it!"
She took a step closer, tilting her head to inspect his face with absolute fascination.
Seeing the wealthy girl step up to him so confidently, the other girls who had been crowding Rahul for selfies quietly backed away and dispersed. Class divisions were very real here, and no one wanted to interrupt someone from the top tier of society.
However, her assumption kind of bruised Rahul's ego. She actually thought he was a K-pop star!
"Yes, way! I'm Indian. Can't an Indian guy look this good?" Rahul protested playfully. He reached up and pinched his own cheeks, then wiggled his nose. "Look, everything is original! No plastic surgery here!"
His goofy reaction made the girl burst into laughter.
"Okay, okay, hello," she said, switching to fluent, unaccented English. "My name is Samina. Nice to meet you!"
She generously extended her hand.
"Rahul," he replied, shaking her hand.
"Are you visiting Bangladesh for a holiday? Are you a travel vlogger?"
Rahul held up his DJI camera. "That's the plan. Say hi to the vlog."
Samina didn't have an ounce of stage fright. She gave a bright wave to the lens. "Hello everyone, welcome to Bangladesh!"
Then she turned back to Rahul, her large eyes blinking with curiosity. "Did you just land today? What's your YouTube channel? Can I subscribe? Are you like, super famous in India?"
Rahul lowered the camera, laughing at the rapid-fire interrogation. "You ask a lot of questions."
"Because I'm interested! I've never seen an Indian guy look quite like you," Samina said, her excitement bubbling over. "Seriously, you look better than half the guys in those Korean boy bands!"
"You just haven't been to India," Rahul joked, keeping the banter light and jovial. "Guys who look like me are everywhere back home. Usually, we're just sitting on the couch on weekends, ignoring cricket and watching Premier League football instead."
"Really?" Samina's eyes widened. "I definitely need to visit India then! But you didn't answer my question."
Rahul pocketed the camera. "I just arrived today. I literally just quit my job to start this channel, so I don't even have a video up yet."
"That is perfect!" Samina suddenly grabbed his arm with a warm, easy familiarity. "I can be your official guide! I'll take you to all the best spots for your videos and show you the real city!"
Rahul was a little stunned. Were girls abroad always this proactive and friendly? He remembered back in his college days, trying to just ask a girl for her notes, and getting a totally dismissive glare in return.
"If you're going to be my guide, don't you have a job to get back to?" Rahul asked.
Samina gave a proud little smile. "I've never worked a day in my life. My family is very comfortable; they don't want me to work."
Must be nice to be ridiculously rich, Rahul thought to himself.
"Well, I definitely can't pay you to be my guide," Rahul admitted, deciding to just be honest. "I just got off the plane, and my wallet and debit cards were stolen outside the airport."
The bright smile on Samina's face instantly dropped.
"Are you serious? Someone robbed you?"
"Right outside arrivals," Rahul said, shrugging helplessly. "I went to the local police station just now, and the inspector flat-out refused to register my complaint. So right now, I don't have a single rupee on me."
Hearing his story, Samina looked genuinely furious on his behalf.
"They refused to help you? Unbelievable!" she huffed. "Where are you staying? You definitely haven't even had lunch yet, right?"
Rahul shook his head.
"Come on, I'm taking you to eat," Samina declared, her grip on his arm tightening. "After we eat, I am personally taking you back to that police station. I want to see which lazy officer dares to ignore my guest!"
Without waiting for an answer, she pulled him right into the high-end mall.
With her bossy, confident energy, Rahul really didn't have a choice in the matter. And honestly, this was the first time in his life a girl was taking charge and taking care of him. This Karma Succubus Attribute was working overtime, and the pace of his new life was getting delightfully absurd.
He lifted his camera again, pointing it at Samina dragging him along.
"Guys, I promise this isn't scripted. A random, very rich girl is adopting me and buying me lunch!"
Samina navigated the massive mall with practiced ease, eventually leading him into a highly exclusive, luxuriously decorated restaurant. It was clearly the kind of place where the prices weren't even printed on the menu.
The moment they walked in, every head turned.
The female diners, in particular, cast incredibly envious glances at Samina. She casually led Rahul to a premium table by the window.
As Rahul set up his camera on the table, he could hear the hushed whispers from the neighboring booths.
"Who is that guy? Is he a new actor?"
"He has to be a Korean star. Check Instagram!"
Hearing the whispers, Samina looked incredibly pleased with herself. While casually ordering a massive spread of food, she kept sneaking glances at Rahul, a hopeful glimmer in her eyes. If this guy was actually her boyfriend, her social circle would lose their minds with jealousy.
Rahul couldn't understand the local Bengali they were whispering, otherwise, he would have stood up and announced he was from Mumbai.
A few minutes later, the waiter returned, filling their table with an incredible array of expensive dishes.
Looking at the feast in front of him, Rahul grabbed a fork, a massive grin spreading across his face. He thought to himself:
Turns out, being handsome really can pay for your meals.