When Eyes Meet

Episode 07

The second those words left his mouth, Shaan’s eyebrows shot up instantly.

“Oh, so there is a ‘she.’”

Adit closed his eyes briefly in regret.

“Congratulations,” Shaan said proudly. “You exposed yourself within thirty seconds.”

“There’s nothing to expose.”

“Mhm.”

Adit rubbed his forehead tiredly. “I had a normal conversation with a student in the library. That’s it.”

“And now you’re philosophically staring at rain.”

“It’s raining because clouds exist, Shaan.”

Shaan burst out laughing.

“You know,” he said while leaning back in his chair, “for someone who teaches communication, you’re terrible at hiding things.”

Adit gave him a warning look.

But Shaan only grinned wider.

“So who is she?”

“No one.”

“That answer alone tells me she’s definitely someone.”

Adit looked toward the window again for a brief second before replying quietly,

“She likes writing.”

For the first time, Shaan’s teasing expression softened slightly.

“Oh.”

Adit didn’t answer.

The room grew quieter for a moment.

Then Shaan smiled knowingly.

“Yeah,” he said casually, “that explains it.”

Adit immediately shook his head.

“It’s nothing,” he said firmly. “Just… nothing at all.”

Shaan watched him carefully for a second before leaning back in his chair with an expression that clearly said You’re lying and we both know it.

“You do realize,” Shaan said casually, “people usually repeat ‘nothing’ multiple times only when something is definitely bothering them.”

“Thank you for the psychological analysis.”

“You’re welcome.”

Adit sighed quietly and opened one of the files in front of him, pretending to focus on work.

“It was literally just a conversation,” he continued. “A first-year student asked about the writing club. End of story.”

“Hm.”

“That’s it.”

“Hm.”

Adit looked up in annoyance. “Why do you keep saying hm like that?”

“Because,” Shaan replied dramatically, “I’ve known you for three years, and this is the first time you’ve stared out a rainy window like the male lead of a tragic novel.”

Adit almost laughed at himself.

“You write too many scripts.”

“And you’re behaving like one.”

Adit shook his head helplessly.

Outside, thunder rumbled faintly in the distance while rain continued falling over the campus.

Shaan eventually stopped teasing and took a sip of coffee.

“So,” he asked more normally this time, “which batch?”

“First-year Media and Communication.”

“Ah. The chaos batch.”

Adit smirked slightly. “Every batch is the chaos batch.”

“True.”

For a brief moment, silence settled between them comfortably.

Then Shaan suddenly narrowed his eyes again.

“Wait.”

Adit immediately looked suspicious. “What now?”

“You smiled.”

“So?”

“You only smile like that when something genuinely interests you.”

Adit froze for exactly one second before quickly looking back at the file.

“You’re overanalyzing everything.”

Shaan grinned victoriously.

“And you’re avoiding eye contact now. Amazing.”

Adit let out an exhausted sigh.

“Can you leave?”

“No.”

“Why are you even here?”

“Professor Naina sent me to discuss writing club registrations.”

That finally caught Adit’s attention properly.

“The registrations are next week already?”

“Yep. Freshers seem excited this year too.”

For some reason, Sakshi’s face flashed through Adit’s mind instantly.

Shaan noticed the brief change in his expression and smirked again.

“Oh, this is going to be interesting.”

“What's interesting?” Adit asked immediately, giving Shaan a suspicious look. “It’s not like you’re thinking.”

Shaan leaned back in his chair with the most unconvinced expression possible.

“Sure.”

Adit ignored him completely and continued,

“Some students were asking about the writing club registration details in the library today.”

“Hm.”

“If I find them tomorrow,” Adit added casually while flipping through the files, “I’ll introduce them to you. You can explain everything properly since you’re the student head.”

Shaan stared at him for two full seconds.

Then slowly—

Very slowly—

A grin spread across his face.

“Oh my God.”

“What now?”

“You remembered them.”

Adit frowned. “Obviously, I remembered them. They asked about the club.”

“No,” Shaan corrected dramatically. “You remembered them enough to plan introductions.”

Adit looked genuinely confused about why this was becoming a court-level investigation.

“It’s literally my job to guide students.”

“And yet,” Shaan said while pointing accusingly at him, “you never volunteer this enthusiastically.”

“That is completely false.”

“You once avoided helping me with orientation work by pretending your phone battery died.”

“My phone actually died.”

“After you switched it off yourself.”

Adit tried not to smile.

Unfortunately for him, Shaan noticed immediately.

“There it is again!” Shaan exclaimed as he had discovered evidence at a crime scene. “That smile.”