Tulsi watched from the sidelines as Pallavi and Adhvik passed each other by. There was no sideway glance, no hideous smile, no teasing remark. From a third person perspective, they seemed no more like strangers now. What happened to being friends? She had taken a sick leave yesterday, secretly hoping for things to change but it only got worse. Her heart ached. At first, she didn't admit her fault until Pallavi pointed out for her. This wasn't what she intended at all.

“I can't keep working like this.”

Those words were spoken by a distressed Pallavi to Tulsi during their lunch break one time. They were the only ones walking together.

The only time Adhvik spoke was when Pallavi was unable to bring a certain kind of A4 sheet from the storeroom Hyoung had asked for. At her first round to the storeroom, she bought an A2 sheet. On her second round, she bought A4 plain sheet when he had asked for lined ones. She panicked as she caught on the disappointment in Hyoung's eyes. Sometimes Hyoung's English was hard to understand because of his Korean accent. She could understand what the Koreans from K- dramas said due to English subtitles but sadly subtitles didn't exist in real life.

“Why do you become so hopeless sometimes?” Adhvik voiced out quietly as he caught her nervousness.

“Then decipher what he is saying in his broken English because I hell can't.” Pallavi grumbled. They were speaking in Hindi as their manager was standing three feet from them.

Adhvik shook his head in dismay but that was when Pallavi's heart skipped a beat as she caught something she ached to see so long. His smile— as minute as it could be. He turned to Hyoung, politely asking him what he wanted from her and translated his answer to Pallavi. It wasn't the first time he did that either. He shrugged. “Honestly, how will you survive your job without your senior?”

If this would have been them from a few days back, Pallavi would have given a smack on his shoulder for that. Her hand almost raised on instinct but she retracted back, realizing the situation they were in.

At that time, Pallavi was relieved. She was sure they would return to normal, but then Adhvik retracted back to his ignorant self the next day, making her lose all hope once again.

Three days had passed since then, though it felt like a week. It was the longest Pallavi had been without talking to Adhvik. Tulsi being absent for one day just made it more difficult for her. Besides Adhvik and Tulsi, she really had no one in the office she could call her close friend. While Adhvik claimed to have many enemies here, he also had a lot of companions to pass time. What about her though? None of the guys from the development department deemed worthy of friendship.

Pallavi was the kind to prefer argument over ignorance. She couldn't stand anyone ignoring her. All the anger and betrayal she had for Adhvik went poof, replaced by want. The want for them to go on talking terms again.

“Honestly, why does he want to hide his feelings so bad? Just admit and move on, man. It's not like a storm will blow up at his door because of it.” Pallavi complained.

Tulsi let her gaze wander at the afternoon sky lit by dim sunlight, “You know, even Rohan thought Adhvik was into you.”

“Even Rohan, huh?” Pallavi mumbled then stopped walking as the words registered her head. She shot a wide- eyed look at Tulsi. “Wait? You told him!”

“Ye- yes. I used to talk about you two sometimes so I ended up telling about your situation to him. Sorry.” Tulsi joined her palms as an apology.

‘Don't trust that girl,’ Adhvik's words ringed inside Pallavi's head like an alarm bell. She never told Tulsi what Adhvik told about her. Now Pallavi didn't think Tulsi was a bad girl, yet she had to partially agree with Adhvik on this one. Her feelings for him wasn't something to be disclosed directly to the subject, let alone someone else, that too, in an office. Guess Tulsi really couldn't be trusted in keeping secrets.

“Uh- okay but please don't tell anyone else... ” When Tulsi confirmed that, Pallavi jumped back to the question she was curious about. “What made Rohan conclude that anyway?”

“You see, Rohan has been with Adhvik for one and a half year so obviously he knows him better... He says that while Adhvik was friendly with other girls who worked previously in Mansur, he never got too involved, the way he got with you. He was more open with you.”

Those words although spoken by someone other than Adhvik, reinstalled hope in Pallavi's heart once again. Hope that Adhvik reciprocated her feelings in some way. Besides, Rohan was a close friend of Adhvik so he should know better. They discussed around the topic some more until it was time for them to return back to their dull office.

The next day during lunch.

“Aren't you coming, Tulsi? The girls are waiting for us.” Pallavi said after being done with their lunch.

Tulsi shook her head in a negative. “You go ahead. I need to knock someone back to his senses.”

Pallavi peered behind her back to the lean figure of Adhvik on his seat, staring into space. “Leave him be. You already tried before.”

“Then, I'll try one more time,” Tulsi spoke with determination. If she was the catalyst in breaking them apart, then she would become a catalyst to mend them as well.

However, Pallavi witnessed no change in Adhvik even after she returned. Tears formed at the back of her eyelids but she blinked them away as the feeling of hopelessness settled in. Will they ever be friends again? What was the use of staying in a lonely office like this?

* * *

Xiaomi was on a roll. Another latest model of the N series was planned in production and with that, came yet another Korean. This one looked the most different of all as he sported a mohawk look, making him appear as a gang leader. And he spoke like one too, with his gruff voice.

He was handsome regardless.

Since Pallavi was yet to know his name, let's name him ‘Bad boy’.

When Badboy arrived yesterday, he enquired who the leader of the documentation team was like a typical gangster. He took a seat near Adhvik to take a look at their previous documents and point out his minute mistakes. Actually ‘pointing out’ was putting it mildly— More like insult him for his poor work experience. He even hit his arm a few times. He reminded her of her scary primary school teacher. It didn't matter he was handsome, he had a sick personality.

Pallavi rolled her eyes when she spotted Badboy again today. Worse, he wasn't alone, bringing one of his minions with him. Even she could notice Adhvik's nervousness as he perspired under their scrutinized gazes.

“Mar gaya mai. Aaj toh pakka mar gaya. (God, I'm dead. I'm so dead today),” Adhvik whined under his breath although Pallavi could hear him as she stifled back a laugh. For a split second though, she almost saw him looking her way as he said that. Perhaps it was her imagination.

Pallavi had to shift her chair a little as the Koreans sat in front of Adhvik's computer while Adhvik sat adjacent to them. Thus their little interrogation started as they barricaded Adhvik with questions. Pallavi was relieved when Badboy didn't reprimand Adhvik like before. With that, she concentrated back to her work.

Sometime later, a familiar voice called.

“Pallavi?”

With a tap on her shoulder, I must add.

It was so out of the blue that her heart dropped to her knees while her body flinched at his sudden touch. Pallavi turned to the source of the voice in shock. It was none other than Adhvik.

“Y-yes?”

“Do you want to know what these Koreans are saying? I think they are talking about me,” Adhvik eyes twinkled in anticipation when he said that.

Pallavi recalled the few times they joked  about wanting to know what Koreans talked about in their language. Badboy stole glances at Adhvik, then to the Koreans laughing out loud. Yup, he was definitely badmouthing him.

“It's not working properly,” Adhvik muttered, furiously tapping away his Android screen that displayed the Google translate button by voice recognition.

“Here, let me see,” Pallavi initiated, standing up to take a look at his mobile. Their shoulders touched and their palms brushed as she tapped on his Android. It was deliberate as she wanted to get close to him. Silly, she knew.

Regardless, the translator started working as it picked some random words from the Badboy's conversation. Pallavi began spelling out. “Foreigner... Dumb... Fish... Does this thing work?”

“It does. See, that bastard just called me a dumb fish.” Adhvik replied through gritted teeth while hideously glaring at Badboy.

“Is that even a slang?” Pallavi giggled, sitting down.

Adhvik then shushed her as he cautiously raised his phone above the Koreans' heads. He let it remain a little behind their heads to avoid getting noticed. This was starting to get exciting.

She waited in anticipation when Adhvik lowered his Android, bringing it to their side to see the result.

“The fuck?” Adhvik exclaimed. When Pallavi peered, she saw him contorting his eyes and nose in a weird angle almost as if he was going to cry. In reality though, he was suppressing a laugh.

“Let me see!” Pallavi snatched his Android and began spelling out some of the translation. “Eat my thyroid... Or will clean your rascal... What the crab—”

Both of them bent their heads under the  tables, wheezing with their hands firmly covering their mouths. Their shoulders shook along while masking themselves with a poker face.

“They are definitely talking about food, that's for certain,” Pallavi concluded. “Again, quick, do it again.”

Adhvik wordlessly repeated the same process as before. At one time, Badboy asked something to Adhvik. When he replied he didn't know Badboy muttered something in Korean. Adhvik made sure to record all of that. Soon he brought his Android over to Pallavi, holding it like a secret treasure.

“The government is playing music through the loud speakers...”

And that was the limit of their self control.

All the three Koreans and Tulsi whipped their heads to Adhvik and Pallavi as they bursted into fits of laughter, their sounds reverberating the room.

“Go- government playing music...” Pallavi sputtered between her laughs, banging her fists on the desk.

“Why would he say that for me? Is Google high?”

“I know right!” And they laughed once more. Well, until Tiwari came over their desks to enquire what was going on and shushed them quiet like a typical librarian.

At some distance away, Tulsi was sitting, watching them quietly. Pallavi beaming smile was equivalent to a barren land, receiving its first pour of rain after several days. And rightly so, Pallavi felt the same as she laughed heartily after several days. It was like a huge burden off Tulsi's shoulders.

“So how did you convince him?” Pallavi enquired Tulsi after Adhvik and Badboy disappeared off to the factory side.

“First say thank you to me,” Tulsi demanded with a pat on herself. She continued after Pallavi thanked her genuinely. “I had to continue with your lie saying it was a big misunderstanding on my part...”

“Please Adhvik sir, go back to normal. Talk to Pallavi. We can't bear this silence. I'm sure you're finding it difficult, too. It affects our work.” Tulsi pleaded. She sure was bold.

Adhvik placed his arm on the desk and rested his head on it. His voice was weak when he spoke. “I can't... I'm afraid she'll misunderstand my words yet again. I don't want her or anyone else to misinterpret anymore. How should I... Nothing.”

“You really don't like her...” Tulsi mumbled under her breath. The fact was hard to swallow even for her.

Adhvik didn't hear that. He raised his head, looking forlorn as he continued, “I don't have a problem with you or Pallavi. I'm just feeling under the weather lately that's why I'm not talking. My mood was already off on 14th Feb, due to some family problems. But then, both you and Pallavi said something that left me with no words to say. My whole day got ruined because of it... It made me realize some things, too.”

“I see...” Tulsi replied, taking her time to let his words sink in. From his strained expression, it did seem like he was telling the truth. “What family problem are you facing?”

“I can't tell you. It's personal.”

“Okay, sorry,” Tulsi paused before continuing on as she recalled why she approached him in the first place. “I know why you can't talk to us but you can be rest assured— Pallavi won't misunderstand you anymore. Neither will I. So don't worry about your reputation and talk to us when you feel like it. Rest is upto you.”

Normally Tulsi wouldn't swallow her pride to convince someone to talk to them while they ignored but this was exceptional as she felt she was partially responsible. Secondly, this was an office. The three of them had to face each other whether they liked it or not. They were teammates, working to produce results with their combined efforts but with their lack of communication lately, she doubted any work could be done. Tulsi didn't look like it but she cared about her job a little more than her friends. And by job, she meant avoid trouble. She was saving herself as well.

“Fine, I'll talk to her, don't worry.” Adhvik said what Tulsi was yearning to hear. Finally. He flashed a little smile, making her smile in return.

“I see.” Pallavi said, envisioning the scene playing out in her brain as Tulsi recited the events later on. She was left with nothing to say, except for her feelings that were stomped once again.

* * *

Although Adhvik made himself crystal clear that he didn't harbor any romantic feelings for Pallavi, her heart wasn't convinced. It was like how you knew that energy (e) equalled to the square of mass and light (mc2). You simply wanted to know why.

Confronting Adhvik wasn't an option anymore so Pallavi turned to her online community. Specifically people who didn't know about her and her crush. She wanted a fresh perspective and who could tell better about a guy than a guy himself.

So she began describing her early days with Adhvik to a guy. Let's name him, Guy One (let's be real, you won't remember their names anyway). Guy one had a patience of an ant. Pallavi had only gotten to the part where she and Adhvik went to Xiaomi when he told her to skip the mushy details and get to the point. Pallavi managed to summarise her situation with him.

Guy one concluded it as a classic case of manipulation and taking advantage of a girl. That he enjoyed a phase with her but backed off when it got too real. If a man liked a woman, he would give no shit to whatever colleagues or anyone said. Instead, he would pursue her seriously. In the end, he adviced to not pursue for something that would only garner hurt in the end.

Girl one was an Indian woman who hailed from Canada. She was eleven years older than Pallavi so she was quite a veteran in relationships and life. Her conclusion was similar to Guy One and more. She stated it was an emotional play game for boys like Adhvik. Someone who toyed with girl's emotions at their own expense. It was just time pass for them.

Girl One pointed out how Adhvik gave Pallavi mixed signals several times. That he made her feel guilty about behaving friendly and was trying to garner sympathy by putting an excuse of ‘family problems’. A friendship shouldn't be this much work and effort. Despite that, she admitted atleast Adhvik didn't take it too far. What he did and what Pallavi allowed could have gone worse. Like inviting her to sleep with him. She should be thanking her stars. Girl One's advice was to discard his friendship altogether for her own mental peace.  

Girl One also advised Pallavi to be always upfront about what she wanted and didn't out of any relationship— fun or serious. This was something Pallavi definitely agreed with.

Now Pallavi tried to think but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't fit the image of a manipulative, cunning player into Adhvik. She couldn't imagine Adhvik thinking something like ‘I'll keep flirting and toying with her emotions and see where it goes. Oopsies, I overplayed it! Time to back off.’ Call it her hunch or naivety, she just couldn't.

The other things mentioned was something Pallavi could agree. Whether it was Guy One's words of Adhvik enjoying a phase then realizing or Girl One's relief in their situation not going further. But other than that, their hypothesis, especially Girl One sounded like a nightmare. Maybe she watched a lot of romantic thrillers.

Yes, he led her on unintentionally. Yes, he made her believe he liked her and she hated him for it. But no— he wasn't the kind to play with someone's emotions deliberately. If he was then he would have continued flirting even after what Tulsi said to him. If he was, he would have manipulated her until she had sex with him. That's what it meant to be real player.

Pallavi needed someone's else point of view. Someone who wouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly and be sound at the same time.

******

A while later Pallavi consulted Guy two.  Yet another online friend around her age. He lived in Pune and worked on automobile engineering. Their similar tastes in K- Drama bonded them together. Yup, a guy watching K- drama though he was mostly into historical drama and thrillers.

Guy two had no experience when it came to romance, though he had a lot of female friends due to his optimistic, friendly nature. When Pallavi explained her situation to him, he had an unexpected answer to give.

Basically he experienced a similar situation with a female colleague from another department two years ago. They were best friends— they talked about anything under the sky and spend a lot of time together. They also flirted a lot. They would jokingly declare as boyfriend- girlfriend and pretended to sweet talk. Eventually, it got to the point where she started growing clingy. She would feed him food and ward off other girls from him. When Guy two confronted about it, she confessed her feelings to him. He rejected her.

“Wow!” Pallavi exclaimed over the phone, her voice dripping off sarcasm. “You all men are the same, huh?! Tell me
one thing, do you guys just randomly choose a girl and think- Yeah, she looks nice. Maybe I'll flirt with her from
now on.”

“No, dude! Now listen,” Guy two said, “I did say we were flirting but unlike you two, we were clear about our intentions. Both of us knew we were just friends. We flirted but I never checked her out the way your colleague did. I simply wasn't attracted. You asked about touching, right? It was normal like putting arms around the shoulders, slapping arms, punching, sometimes holding hands. She confessed her feelings because we were friends. And I didn't reject her 'cause of ‘log kya sochege’ or my reputation. I just didn't have feelings for her.”

And that was where his story and Pallavi's story diverged. There was a sense of urgency when she replied, “Then there's a certainty Adhvik is attracted. We held hands several times, brushed passed by and checked me out. That's got to mean something. He can't say he felt nothing.” 

“Aren't you being the selfish one, Pallavi?” Guy two's tone changed. He sounded annoyed. “You can't impose your wish on other people. You can't just "feel" something and expect the other person to feel it, too... Irrespective for how long it went, ask yourself. Did he deceive you by confessing his feelings? Did he fake promise you into commitment? If yes, then he mislead you. If no, then you are just accusing him.”

Pallavi was at loss of words as his words repeated inside her head like an accusation. Someone's words reached her and brought some sense into their situation. She thought about her time with Adhvik, thinking of one moment where he could have misled her like that.

“He asked me to travel in a metro train once although we never went...”

“Dude, this is what, 2019,” He stated as a matter of fact. “A guy and girl can hang out one day a week and still be friends. It doesn't have to a date. Did he tell you it was a date?”

“No...”

Pallavi didn't have much to say after that. Just listened to him as he explained about the simple mindset of boys. He told how she was wrapping her head around a little too much. Guys sucked at guessing. They didn't have a strong conscience as girls, neither did they gave much thought. They only understood when things were told to them directly.

“By the way, what happened after you rejected your colleague?” Pallavi asked him in the end.

“We didn't talk for weeks.” He answered. “Unlike you, it was easy in my case since she was from a different department. I even cut her off from all means of communication. I know, crazy me. I regretted it later on. We apologized, made up and now are back to besties again. We still flirt sometimes but it's all in good humor. She doesn't care now.”

Pallavi's thoughts wandered off as she lay down to sleep. Guy two and his colleague turned out to be friends again, will Pallavi and Adhvik become the same?

************************************

Dedicated to shachiseth

So overall thoughts. Which theory would you most incline with- Guy 1, Girl 1, Guy 2 or mixed. What do you think of Adhvik's scenario? Do you agree that he doesn't like her? Are you glad they made up?

Vote and comment.