The void stretched forever. Beautiful, sure, but in the kind of way that makes you feel small and disposable.
I let myself drift in it, almost comfortable, until a voice tore through the silence.
"Puppet 0351, can you hear me? Answer me! it's important!"
I dragged my attention toward it. "Yeah, I hear you. What is it this time?" My guess: another fight to break up.
Nope.
"The story has started removing puppets. Anyone without strong plot points is getting erased."
That woke me up. "Let me check mine."
A screen flickered into existence at my gesture. Numbers scrolled, then locked onto mine. 0351. The whole display blushed pink.
One word filled the space in fat bold letters.
Romance.
I froze. Stared at it. Blinked until my eyes stung. Still there. Romance.
Her voice came back, full of curiosity. "What plot point did you get? Tell me!"
I couldn't. My mouth wouldn't move.
She waited. Ten minutes. Then huffed. "Fine. Be that way." The line cut off.
And there I was, staring at that cursed word, feeling my stomach flip like I might vomit.
Romance. Just kill me now. Maybe if I don't play along, the story will do it for me.
But I didn't move. I couldn't let myself quit. Not yet. So I sighed long, heavy and stepped out of the void.
Straight into Earth.
Noise slammed into me. Car horns, footsteps, voices overlapping until it felt like static.
I shifted my form until I looked like them, just another guy in casual clothes.
Nothing special.
Everywhere I turned, couples. Laughing, leaning on each other, kissing at crosswalks like the world might end tomorrow.
I looked closer and saw their futures. Breakups waiting to happen. A few would find real happiness, but most… regret.
"Pathetic," I muttered, kicking a pebble hard enough to send it rattling down the street.
Hours later, after walking until my legs screamed, I collapsed onto a park bench.
I shut my eyes, let the human noise blur around me.
How the hell am I supposed to create a romance when I can't even stand the thought of it?
Then a laugh broke through, loud and warm.
I cracked an eye open. An old man in a wheelchair was practically wheezing with amusement, his wife fussing beside him, and their son stood caught in the middle.
"Ganesh, when will you finally find a partner?" the old man chuckled, wiping his eyes. "I want to see you married before I go."
His wife scolded, "He's right. You're not young anymore. Look at your sister."
Ganesh groaned, rubbing his temples.
"Seriously? Who's here helping you right now? Me. Not her. And come on, you both know women only want me because of my status."
The old man laughed harder, then broke into coughing. Ganesh leaned forward for a second, worrying but the man just waved him off changing the subject.
"What book are you taking to William's grave this time?"
Ganesh hesitated. "There's one I want, but I can't find it anywhere."
Before he could say more, the air split with a shriek.
A swarm of women flooded the park, waving banners and screaming: PLEASE MARRY ME, GANESH!
Ganesh cursed under his breath, kissed both his parents on the cheek, and bolted. The mob chased after him like wolves.
I just sat there, watching. Amused, but also… interested.
Titles glowed above his head, sharp:Young Success. Golden Boy. True Romance.
Something in me clicked. He hadn't found it yet.
Maybe he was the key for this romance.
I was basically laughing in my head.
"Ganesh huh?, looks like you're lucky."
---
In the car in which the parents were riding. Ishan started coughing up a lot of blood.
"Honey, you should let Ganesh handle the company." The wife Radhika gently wiped off the blood.
Ishan could barely hold back his tears. "I know that when I pass away, William and Sam will be waiting for me."
Radhika could only glance at the ground. She knew that it was thanks to them that she could live here.
Have children and live without ever worrying about her children.
But sometimes his husband talks as if he loves them more than his own family.
But she knew it wasn't because he really despised his family but he blames himself because of their death.
Ishan was a man to be silent yet caring for people he loved.
Ishan who saw his wife's pained expression immediately jolted.
"DRIVER QUICKLY GO TO THE HOSPITAL!" He was gripping his wife's hand tightly.
Radhika's eyes slowly lose focus as she clutches her heart.
---
At the company...
Knock, knock.
"Mr. Ganesh, these papers need your approval."
"Sure, come in." Ganesh was sipping a bottle of pineapple Fanta. Looking at the documents handed to him. "Give me the short version, what's the main issue?"
"On the second page, our rival company is doubling our sales. If this continues, our brand might lose its standing. On page six, our social media presence is also receiving significant backlash."
Ganesh sighed. "Is it because I became CEO in my twenties?"
"Yes, sir. They're claiming that your father forced the previous owners of the company to commit suicide." The worker looked uneasy as he spoke.
"Tell our social media team not to engage with that nonsense. Right now, we're at the top, if we lower ourselves to respond to baseless rumors, the company will fall tomorrow."
Ganesh flipped through the last few pages and approved some documents.
"And also a man came here asking to meet you. Should I let him in?" The assistant lowered his head to leave.
"Sure let him in." Relieved, the assistant left the office. Ganesh went back to drinking his Fanta.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
"Greetings, Ganesh." A man in a fancy suit with messy black hair entered the room.