original

INSTA EMPIRE

Chương 1: The Letter

**Chapter 1 - Episode 1 - The Letter**

**Episode 01**

In the congested room of Delhi's famous bar, Hoot Bistro, Kartik was staring at his reflection in a broken mirror. As usual, he said, "Just six more months... My time is coming soon, and the world will see me and say…"

He was about to finish his sentence when his best friend, Neel, arrived and said, "Kartik, hurry up. You know we need to get to college early today. Why do you keep standing in front of the mirror all day, mumbling to yourself?"

Hearing Neel's words, Kartik tapped him on the head and said, "Your time will come!" He grabbed his bag and left the room.

"Seriously, you're so dramatic!" Neel said as he followed him.

Kartik Mittal was among the top students at Delhi's prestigious Hansraj College. He looked average and simple, combing his hair meticulously, buttoning his shirt all the way up, and lacking any style. Every day, he would head to college like this. After attending college, he worked part-time as a waiter at Hoot Bistro, where he was given a small room to stay in. He shared this cramped room with his friend Neel, who was also his classmate.

***

It was 8:00 AM.

Like every day, they rode Neel's old scooter to college, but something felt different today. As Kartik sat on the scooter, the passing breeze felt unusual, and a smile remained on his face. Lost in his thoughts, Kartik kept blushing, thinking of something.

Breaking his thoughts, Neel stopped the scooter and shook him, saying, "Get off, look at the flower shop! If you delay, you'll spend the whole day dreaming."

Suddenly pulled from his thoughts, Kartik replied, "Yes, I'm going" and quickly bought a bouquet of red roses from the shop.

****

At college, all the couples were together, some planning grand gestures, some giving expensive gifts, and others walking hand-in-hand inside. The place was buzzing with activity.

Holding the bouquet, Kartik was waiting for Neel, who was parking the scooter. Neel, twirling the key in his finger, said with a grimace, "Before you propose, think again. You're just a below-average waiter, and she's the beautiful, famous, and only daughter of Builder Mr. Shastri. Your horoscopes are a total mismatch."

In response, Kartik looked at him and said, "Come on, Neel, are you my friend or my enemy? Remember how she smiled for so long when she saw me last time? She likes me too. Just boost my confidence."

Saying this, he walked towards the auditorium, where a Valentine's Day party was organized for the whole college. As Kartik stepped into the auditorium, his eyes fell on the girl he desired—Shanon. Today, she wore a red off-shoulder dress that reached her knees and had a very expensive floral clip in her hair. Although she always looked beautiful, today's red dress made her look even more stunning.

Seeing Shanon, Kartik's mouth dropped open in amazement. He was staring at her without blinking, as romantic music played from the DJ booth.

Shanon was making reels with her friends on her iPhone, flicked her hair, and said, "4.5 million followers!"

Kartik thought, "Shanon will be so happy with this bouquet. If she says yes, I will keep her very happy." Just then, Shanon noticed him and saw him waving, signaling her to come over.

Seeing his gesture, Shanon said to her friends in irritation, "Oh my God, that guy is staring at me!"

One of her friends replied, "That ugly guy?"

Shanon made a face, and another girl said, "You wait here, I'll go talk to him."

Shanon, rolling her eyes, said, "Remember, you're the hotshot gang of girls! We don't talk to just anyone! Not our standard!"

Another girl nudged Shanon and said, "Look, he's holding a bouquet of red roses. It looks like he's going to propose to you."

"Look at him," the girl next to Shanon said. "Everyone else is dressed in suits, but he's in his usual yellow shirt with a black tie. So old-fashioned." Shanon laughed, rolling her eyes, and said, "He looks like a taxi!"

As Kartik waited, his throat dried up with fear. He kept his eyes on Shanon. One of Shanon's friends said, "Look, he's calling you. If you don't go, he'll stalk you and say, 'Hey babes, I'll keep you like a doll' in his awful English."

Hearing this, all the girls laughed. Shanon thought for a moment and, with a sideways smile, picked up a drink and walked towards Kartik.

As Shanon approached, Kartik's heartbeat quickened. Her strong jasmine perfume made him dizzy. Seeing her in front of him, Kartik went blank.

Suddenly, Shanon snapped her fingers and asked, "Why did you call me?"

Coming back to his senses, Kartik shyly said, "If you look at me like that, I won't be able to say anything."

Shanon raised her eyebrows and shoulder and said, "What?!"

Kartik looked at Shanon and, mustering his courage, knelt down and said, "I love you," holding out the bouquet.

As soon as he said this, Shanon's expression changed abruptly. She angrily signaled the DJ to stop the music. Despite the crowd of thousands in the auditorium, there was pin-drop silence. After a few seconds, Shanon looked at the bouquet in Kartik's hand and asked, "What did you say? Say it again!"

Kartik glanced at the crowd and, looking at Shanon, cleared his throat and said, "I love you, I'm madly in love with you. If you don't believe it, try it out."

Upon hearing this, Shanon gave him a sarcastic smile and shrugged, saying, "No one could hear you here. Say it again!"

"I love you… I love you, Shanon, I love you so much!" Kartik's voice grew louder with excitement. He thought Shanon might not have believed him, so he decided to confess his love in front of everyone.

Then Shanon, with a big smile, took the bouquet from his hands. Seeing this, Kartik's face lit up with a smile. He felt a moment of peace. As he was about to thank her, Shanon suddenly smashed the bouquet into his face.

Kartik was bewildered by what just happened. His expressions changed in an instant. Shanon shouted angrily, "How dare you propose to me! I came to you thinking you were a simple guy, and you thought I'd accept this pathetic proposal?"

Each of Shanon's words pierced Kartik's heart like an arrow. He couldn't say anything, just stared at the ground. Shanon looked at the students and loudly announced, "Guys, look at this, he came to propose to me with this red rose bouquet!"

Hearing this, all the students began to bully Kartik. He couldn't believe Shanon would do this to him. He had expected she might refuse, but not that she would humiliate him and his feelings like this. As he tried to avoid eye contact and leave, some college boys blocked his way. One of them laughed and said, "Hey battery! You've caught the Valentine's Day fever too? Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror?"

Neel arrived just then. Seeing him, another boy said, "Hey, don't think you're any better, double battery, stay in your place!"

Kartik could endure the humiliation, but he couldn't tolerate the insults towards his friend. He shot a furious glance at them. Before Kartik could say anything, Neel forcibly dragged him out of there.

They both sat on a bench in the garden outside. Kartik's heart was completely broken. After a moment of silence, Neel tried to console him, "Look, I told you before, Shanon isn't the right girl for you."

Breaking the silence, Kartik wiped his tears and said, "Be honest, am I not the right guy for her? She's so lovely, but I… I'm just a waiter."

Upon hearing this, Neel stood up from the bench and said loudly, "You think she's lovely?! She's more filtered than her Instagram posts! She's a hashtag girl, like those 15% discount chips packets that disappoint you! And so what if you're a waiter? Don't forget, behind your innocent face, you have a genius brain. Money isn't everything! My brother, I beg you, stay away from her! Come be my Valentine!"

Kartik had nothing to say in response. Seeing this, Neel became serious again and said, "Hey Devdas, are you listening to what I'm saying?! Forget about the girl, focus on your studies. If guys like us don't make something of ourselves, we'll be single forever. We need to work extra hard to get a girl!"

Hearing this, Kartik stood up and headed towards the college gate. Seeing him leave, Neel called out, "Hey, last generation of hopeless romantics, where are you going now?"

Kartik took a deep breath and said, "To where I can earn my daily bread."

Neel slapped his forehead and said, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, the owner asked us to come to the bar early today. I'm coming too."

*********

As soon as they reached the bar, both of them tried to avoid his gaze and headed towards the changing room. But then the owner approached them, visibly angry, and said, "Is this any time to arrive? I told you to come early today; there were no classes in college today."

As soon as the owner said this, Neel quickly tried to cover up, saying, "Sir, the scooter broke down, so we were late. Sorry, Sir."

The owner glared at them both and said, "I pay you to work, not to apologize. A college group will arrive shortly. Their party will be on the second floor, and you need to attend to them. Don't mess things up."

"Yes, absolutely, Sir," said Kartik, dejected, and went into the changing room.

Soon after, loud music started playing on the second floor. Unaware that the students from Kartik's college were present there, Kartik took a notepad and pen and went to take orders on that floor. As he was taking orders one by one, some boys started teasing him again when they saw him in the waiter's uniform.

However, Kartik remained serious and continued with his work. As he was taking orders, he noticed a corner table where Shanon was sitting on Rahul's lap and kissing him.

Rahul Saxena, a senior to both Kartik and Shanon, was an attractive, arrogant guy from a prominent family. Seeing this, Kartik felt a pang of pain in his heart. Suddenly, Rahul and Shanon also noticed him.

Seeing Kartik in front of them, Shanon made a face and told Rahul about the incident of the day. Rahul then started laughing loudly at Kartik and said, "Hey battery, so you turned out to be a waiter. Your status is like a Big Bazaar employee, while your tastes are like those from a high-cost showroom."

Kartik was angry, but he knew that any wrong move could cost him his job, which he desperately needed. So, he once again tried to ignore them.

To further provoke Kartik, Rahul, while stroking Shanon's neck, said, "Look, Shanon needs a hero like Rahul, not a waiter like you. So stay in your place, or I'll make sure no girl ever comes near you! Now stop standing there and get the most expensive whiskey from the bar."

Reluctantly, Kartik nodded in agreement and left the room.

When Kartik reached the kitchen cabinet downstairs, the owner came over and said, "Hey, listen! Someone brought this letter for you. But finish your work first, then read it."

As Kartik opened the cabinet, he thought, "A letter for me? But who would write me a letter?"

With these thoughts, he carried the letter in one hand and a bottle of scotch in the other, quietly heading towards his small room to read it.

Meanwhile, upstairs, everyone was engrossed in fun. Shanon kissed Rahul and said, "Look, nowadays anyone just lifts their head and comes after your baby."

Rahul looked at Shanon and said, "Today, we need to show this waiter his place. He was trying to propose to my baby!"

At that moment, Kartik arrived with an expensive bottle of scotch.

Upon seeing him, Rahul said, "You've probably never had such expensive scotch in your life. Here's a tip from me: finish this whole bottle in one go."

Kartik placed the scotch bottle on the glass table right in front of Rahul and said, "I don't drink alcohol!" Shanon teased him, "Oh, oh, what does the little baby drink?"

In response, Rahul laughed and said, "He probably drinks rainwater, doesn't he, drainworm?"

At that, Kartik calmly removed his glasses and placed them on the nearby table. He suddenly grabbed Rahul's shirt collar and landed a powerful punch on his face. The punch sent Rahul flying to the corner, and a hush fell over the entire floor. Everyone's mouths were agape in shock at Kartik's new demeanor. Kartik didn't stop there. He went closer to Rahul, landed a few more punches on his face, and with gritted teeth, said, "Listen, when you find out about my past, your future will be in my hands. Got it? I've seen many like you before. So, never try such antics again!"

Kartik's best friend Neel had never seen him like this before. All eyes were on Kartik. The girls were now his fans. Rahul, nearly crying from the punches, was about to break down when suddenly, the bar owner arrived at the scene, shouting angrily, "You, Kartik! Come downstairs right now!"

Seeing this, Neel put his hand on his head and said, "You're in trouble now!"

What brought about such a sudden change in Kartik? What was in the letter that Kartik was reading in secret? Stay tuned to find out.