THE MANAGER NIM

38. CHOCO-CHIP COOKIE

Sucking the life outta that bloody red lollipop, he stands there like a kid who got lost in a mirror maze. With a tilted head he continues to peer at your dusky face growing paler with every passing minute.

You opened the door, expecting to see the carved, monotonous face of Joe, but when your eyes landed on the sculpted face, embedded with two doe eyes over it, you stopped dead in your tracks.

Hundreds of questions drift together and clash against each other like a tsunami wave but your poor brain stumbles to form one proper question, that one vital question,

Why is he here?

The moment his ears detect the noise of footsteps approaching in your direction, the gooey candy shatters into infinite glittering fragments as he drops it abruptly and pulls over the black mask resting under his chin in a scrunched state swiftly, enveloping his vital features baring his eyes and forehead.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Your sister's screeching voice sounds behind your back.

"Yeah, that's me!" Without any forewarning, he steps into the narrow door frame, thrusting his body against yours. His head swivels around, locking your irises with a gaze that shouted 'play along' for a compressed moment and he strides towards the living room where the rest of your family is waiting with curiosity brimming eyes.

"Hi! Nice to meet you all! I'm...Justin, y/n's boyfriend!" He introduces himself to your family with no trace of bogus.

"Hi! I'm y/n's sister, Lilly!" your sister seems way too pleased with the fact that you have a boyfriend.

"And I'm Raman, y/n's uncle! Welcome to our home Mr Justin '' both proceed to exchange a warm handshake, notifying how your once orthodox uncle got used to the modern dating culture.

Your aunt's piercing gaze, brimming with suspicion, continues to analyze him in silence but he breaks the ice deliberately with a subtle introduction, "Hi mam! You must be y/n's aunt right? She talks about you and your delicious food ceaselessly. Hope I get a golden ticket shortly to get my hands on your ghee dripping parathas!"

There he goes,

hitting the bullseye!

The sceptical look smothering her face slowly evanesces and an amiable aura pervade her features.

"Yeah! I'm Shashi, her aunt. Are you really her boyfriend? I mean how did you manage to surpass the twin tower standards of those fictional characters and kpop idols? I thought it would happen only when the hell freezes over!" She goes with her main query right away.

"Haha, you can say I'm quite lucky and skilled enough to win over this goddess's heart!" He says between his shy chuckles.

Wow!

Pure bullshit imbued with white lies in the finest form.

You walk back like a somnambulism patient from the doorway and halt near him in a baffled state. Umpteen things skim inside your brain, driving you into a hazy state.

"If you don't mind Can you take off that mask, we can barely see your eyes!" Your sister chips in to muddy the water further.

"Ahh, for the past few days I've been suffering from the flu kinda infection. Though I'm partially recovered now, for precautionary purposes I'm wearing it. I would feel guilty if any of you catch this infection, so I hope you guys don't mind!" He continues to build an array of lies to conceal his identity.

"That's...that's fine!" Your aunt, the one who you thought will forcefully rip off his mask, accepts his flawless lie and lets it slide with a soft smile, allowing you to witness the ultimate power of the compliments he threw a few minutes ago.