Chapter 1
Altair set his pen down and glanced at the time.
A little past 3 p.m.
He clicked his tongue softly. He had a meeting with his friends at the coffee shop just outside the university.
Being in his final year of engineering, his days were usually packed with deadlines and endless worksheets. Still, he always managed to show up when it mattered but never without complaint.
Altair was, by all standards, a handsome young man. The kind that naturally drew attention without trying. Many girls had fallen for him, some even bold enough to confess.
He rejected every single one of them.
Coldly.
Not because he was trying to be aloof or mysterious like in the novels but that was simply how he was. A permanent poker face, words used sparingly, and a mouth that had no problem throwing curses without the slightest change in expression.
Grabbing his helmet, Altair headed out and rode his motorbike toward the café.
From outside, he could already spot them.
His friends.
They were seated by the window, waving at him like idiots the moment they saw him.
Altair walked in, annoyed.
He took a seat, ordered his usual, then turned to them with a flat look.
“One missed call is enough,” he said. “You don’t have to spam me. What are you, a scammer?”
Zayne raised both hands in surrender, grinning.
“Alright, alright. Why so grumpy?”
“He’s always grumpy,” Axel chimed in, laughing.
Altair rolled his eyes.
Axel, a nursing student in the same university, was the easygoing type and the kind of person who found humor in everything. Zayne, on the other hand, studied film. He was more serious, though prone to overreacting… and had a strange hobby of annoying Altair every chance he got.
“So,” Altair said, leaning back slightly. “What’s this about?.”
Zayne suddenly smiled sweetly.
Altair didn’t like that.
“My little brother is going to study at your university,” Zayne said. “He’ll be in the arts department… so I was hoping you could take care of him.”
Axel let out a low whistle.
“Damn. Time flies. Arkin’s in college now?”
Altair went silent for a moment, one eyebrow lifting slightly.
Arkin.
He remembered him.
A quiet kid, at least, sometimes. Altair once caught him painting in the middle of the night, completely absorbed, like the world didn’t exist. It had been… oddly fascinating.
But the moment Arkin noticed him?
The kid turned into a menace.
Annoying. Way more annoying than his older brother.
“I don’t want to,” Altair said flatly.
Zayne immediately leaned forward, clasping his hands dramatically.
“Please, brooo. I’ll owe you a favor. Please? Our parents are worried about him… and I may or may not have already told them you’d look after him.”
Altair stared at him speechlessly
He let out a long, tired sigh.
“…You’re a shameless bastard.”
“Is that a yes?” Axel asked, grinning.
Altair clicked his tongue.
“Fine. But you owe me. Big time.”
“Yes!” Zayne and Axel high-fived like children.
Altair leaned back in his chair, already regretting his life choices.
Taking care of that little devil?
Yeah right.
His final year was definitely going to be a mess.
