[Kartikey – 7:58 AM | Subway Line 2, Seoul]
The train swayed gently as Kartikey leaned against the window, headphones in, but no music playing. He hadn't slept much not out of anxiety, but from that quiet post-date buzz that still clung to him like static.
Nancy.
She was like a question he didn't have an answer for.Elegant, poised, intelligent… and still a complete mystery.
"You make me laugh.""You're real.""Text me."
He didn't text her. Not yet.Not because he didn't want to but because he wanted to do it right.
And deep down, he didn't want this to turn into just another chat that fizzled out. She wasn't someone you text memes to at 2 AM. She was… different.
More than once during the train ride, he found himself smiling for no reason. It was strange he didn't even know her last name. And yet, her voice was still echoing in his head.
"Maybe this is how things begin," he thought. "Not with fireworks. Just with someone not pretending."
He glanced at the packed crowd Koreans in suits, students with backpacks, couples glued to phones. And among them, him just a support tech in a company that barely remembered his birthday.
But last night… someone noticed him. And that changed something.
[Nancy – 8:02 AM | LUXENOVA Tower, 49th Floor]
The boardroom smelled of glass polish and tension.
Nancy stood at the head of a sleek black table, surrounded by twelve executives—men and women who'd flown in from three different countries, wearing ambition like tailored armor.
Behind her, floor-to-ceiling windows looked out over a Seoul skyline that was just waking up.
On the massive wall display, a holographic model of the LX-AI Sentinel her company's latest military-grade AI system rotated slowly.
But her mind wasn't on Sentinel. It was on a tired goldfish with an awkward smile.
"You're not what I expected."
That line stayed with her.
"Kartikey," she whispered under her breath, like trying the word on her tongue again.
"Madam President?" one of the board members called.
She snapped back. "Yes. Continue."
The meeting proceeded. They talked about risk mitigation. About the UN Defense contract. About a security leak in the Singapore lab. About growing pressure from Chinese competitors.
She listened. Replied with precision. Corrected a financial projection by memory. Made three strategic decisions in twenty minutes.
But in the pauses between their words, her thoughts kept slipping.
He had no idea who she was. And that made her feel... human.
She realized something absurd but true: she'd had more honest eye contact with Kartikey in one hour than in her last five board meetings combined.
[Kartikey – 11:34 AM | IT Desk, Level 3 – ArcTech Corp]
"Did you restart it?"
"Yes," the voice on the phone answered. "Twice."
"Okay, unplug it for 30 seconds. Not ten. Not fifteen. Thirty. The printer's a drama queen."
Laughter from the other end.
Kartikey smiled. He was good at this.Not the machines but the people.He had a way of softening stress with humor, of making clients feel like they weren't bothering him.
But even as he worked, Nancy's face floated at the edge of his mind.
What was she doing right now?
He imagined her probably sipping coffee in a tidy cubicle, like most people.Maybe managing a small team. Maybe working in product design or corporate strategy.
"She's probably too busy to text first," he thought. "But maybe tonight, I'll send something casual."
Something… safe. Like:
"Did the espresso forgive you for ignoring it the first half hour?"
[Nancy – 12:02 PM | LUXENOVA Lobby]
The board meeting ended with a standing ovation from the European delegates. Her presentation was flawless. Her authority unquestioned.
But Nancy didn't feel powerful. She felt… distant.
She stepped into the elevator, descending to the main lobby to head out for a quick lunch before her next call.
As the mirrored doors opened, she stepped out and paused.
There, across the marble lobby, near the main water feature, was Kartikey.
He stood in front of a touchscreen help kiosk, holding a notepad, chatting with a receptionist about some tech support ticket. Probably contracted through a third-party vendor, she realized.
He was frowning slightly, lips moving, completely unaware of her presence.
Nancy didn't move. She just watched.
He looked exactly as he had the night before real, present, slightly overwhelmed by life but standing upright anyway.
She could've called out to him.
Could've walked over and said, "What a small world."
But she didn't.
Instead, she just… smiled.
A small, private smile. The kind people wear when they see something or someone they're not ready to share with the world yet.
And then she turned and walked away, heels clicking softly against the lobby's marble floor.
[Kartikey – Still Unaware]
He didn't see her.
Too caught up in confirming the right wiring diagram for the AI integration station.Too ordinary to realize someone extraordinary had stopped, smiled, and left because her world was far too fast to stay in the moment.
[Nancy – 12:09 PM | Inside Her Car]
Her assistant handed her a tablet with emails.
Nancy glanced at it. Ignored it.
Instead, she opened the HeartSpark app and clicked on Kartikey's chat.
"Next time, you're trying the espresso. Deal?"
She typed it.
Then deleted it.
Then typed it again.
And sent.