Chapter 3— Jo khabar Anaya ne nahi dekhi

Hotel ka kamra chota tha lekin saaf, aur khidki se Seoul ki roshniyan andar aa rahi thi jaise sitaray zameen par utar aaye hon. Anaya ne apna bag ek taraf rakha, apna hood aur cap utaari, aur pehli baar sukoon ki saans li.

Safar ki thakaan uske badan mein basne lagi thi. Usne apna niqab thoda theek kiya, wudu ke liye paani garam kiya, aur namaz ada ki — apne kamre ke ek chote se hisse mein, jo Karachi se hazaron mile door thi, lekin sajda karte waqt ye fasla mit jata tha. Yahi to woh cheez thi jo Anaya ko har jagah "ghar" jaisa mehsoos karati thi.

Namaz ke baad usne apna phone uthaya. Zara ka ek aur message tha:

*"Room mil gaya? Tasveer bhejo!"*

Anaya ne muskura kar apne kamre ki ek photo click ki aur bhej di. Phir usne remote uthaya aur TV chala diya — sirf awaaz sunne ke liye, kyunki khamoshi kabhi kabhi bohat bhaari ho jati thi.

TV Korean mein tha, samajh nahi aa raha tha, lekin visuals se andaza ho gaya ke koi entertainment channel hai. Anaya ne apna bag kholna shuru kiya, apne kapde nikalne lage, jab TV screen par ek breaking news banner flash hua.

Usne ek nazar dali — tasveer mein ek aadmi tha, chehra dhaka hua, ambulance ki taraf le jaya ja raha, security ke ird gird. Neeche Korean text tha jo Anaya samajh nahi payi.

Uska dil ek pal ke liye ruk gaya — kuch ajeeb sa lagा, kuch jaana-pehchana. Lekin thakaan aur bhook ki wajah se usne zyada dhyan nahi diya. *Kisi celebrity ki khabar hogi shayad,* usne socha, aur remote se channel badal diya, kuch aisa dhoondte hue jo English mein ho.

Woh nahi jaanti thi ke jo tasveer usne dekhi thi, uska seedha talluq us aadmi se tha jise usne chand ghante pehle andhere gali mein bandage lagayi thi.

---

**Kahin Aur, Ussi Waqt**

Obsidian ke management office mein afra-tafri machi hui thi. Manager, Han Jae-Won, apna phone kaan se laga kar teiz teiz baat kar raha tha.

"Nahi, koi press statement abhi nahi. Bas kaho Jeo ko halka sa muscle strain hai, kal ka show postpone nahi hoga—"

Doosri taraf se koi cheekh raha tha. Jae-Won ne ankhen band ki. "Main jaanta hoon fans pareshaan hain. Main jaanta hoon. Bas mujhe do ghante do."

Usne phone rakha aur Seo-Jun ki taraf dekha, jo sofa par baitha apna pair upar rakhe hue tha, ice pack ke saath.

"Kya hua tha wahan?" Jae-Won ne poocha, awaaz mein gussa aur fikar dono. "Tum bina security ke bahar kyun gaye?"

"Haru so nahi raha tha," Seo-Jun ne ahista se kaha. "Main bas... thoda waqt chahta tha. Khud ke liye."

Jae-Won ne sar hilaya, samajhte hue lekin phir bhi pareshan. "Aur ye taang?"

Seo-Jun khamosh raha ek pal. Phir, "Koi thi jo mili. Usne madad ki."

"Kaun?"

"Pata nahi," Seo-Jun ne kaha, aur ajeeb baat yeh thi ke uski awaaz mein ek muskurahat thi jo Jae-Won ne kabhi nahi suni thi is tarah. "Naam bhi nahi pata. Bas... woh niqab pehne hui thi. Aur uski ankhon mein kuch aisa tha jo main bhool nahi pa raha."

Jae-Won ne bhaun uthai. "Naam bhi nahi jaanta, aur itna sochta ja raha hai us ke baare mein?"

"Ajeeb hai na," Seo-Jun ne halke se muskura kar kaha, jaise yeh baat khud usse yakeen nahi aa rahi. "Sab log mera naam jaante hain. Yeh pehli baar hai jab kisi ne mujhse kuch nahi poocha, aur mujhe bhi uska naam nahi maloom."

---

**Kahin Aur Bhi, Ek Aur Kamra**

Ek chhoti, teezi se light hone wali screen ke saamne, do log baithe hue thay — aadmi ka chehra andhere mein tha, sirf uski ungliyan keyboard par nazar aa rahi thi.

"Jo footage airport se aayi hai," ek awaaz boli, "us mein woh ladki saaf nazar aa rahi hai. Ji-Hun ko bachaya usne."

"Cha Min-Ho ka bhanja?" doosri awaaz ne poocha.

"Haan. Aur is se pehle bhi, humare bande ne usse dekha — Seo-Jun ke saath, ek gali mein, raat ko."

Khamoshi chha gayi kamre mein.

"Yeh koincidence nahi ho sakta," pehli awaaz ne kaha. "Ek chhoti si ladki, aik hafte mein do bade naamon ke saath? Cha Min-Ho, aur ab Obsidian ka leader?"

"Ho sakta hai woh sirf achi qismat hai. Ya bad-qismati."

"Jo bhi ho," awaaz mein ek sardi thi jo kisi bhi garam kamre mein bhi thandak la sakti thi. "Humein maloom karna hoga yeh ladki kaun hai. Aur kya woh cheezein jaanti hai jo usse nahi jaanni chahiye."

Screen par ek tasveer zoom hui — Anaya ka chehra, sirf uski ankhein nazar aa rahi thi niqab ke upar se, airport ki CCTV footage se li gayi.

"Dhoondo usse," awaaz ne hukum diya. "Ahista se. Abhi koi shor nahi."

---

Anaya ko is sab ka koi ilm nahi tha.

Woh apne kamre mein baithi, apna khana order kar rahi thi — kuch halal options dhoondne ki koshish, jo asaan nahi tha ek naye shehar mein — aur Zara se video call par baat kar rahi thi.

"Tumhe pata hai," Zara boli, screen par uski muskurahat thodi kamzor thi lekin ankhein roshan thi, "mujhe lagta hai Seoul tumhe badal dega."

"Main nahi badloongi," Anaya hansi. "Main wahi rahoongi jo hoon."

"Yeh nahi kehna chahti thi main," Zara ne ahista se kaha, apna sar takiye par tikate hue. "Main kehna chahti thi ke... duniya tumhe pehchan legi, Anaya. Chahe tum chhupna chaho ya nahi."

Anaya ne haske sar hilaya, lekin Zara ki baat mein kuch tha jo uske dil mein utar gaya — jaise ek pehchaan jo abhi shuru nahi hui thi, lekin jiska raasta pehle se taiyar ho raha tha.

"Tum bohat ajeeb baaten karti ho jab tumhe neend aa rahi hoti hai," Anaya ne pyaar se kaha. "Chalo so jao. Kal phir baat karenge."

"Waada karo," Zara boli, ankhein band karte hue.

"Waada," Anaya ne kaha.

Call katne ke baad, Anaya khidki ke paas gayi aur Seoul ki roshniyan dekhne lagi — bekhabar is baat se ke us shehr ke andar, kai log ab uska naam, uska chehra, aur uski kahani dhoondne mein lag gaye the.

Kuch log tumhe bachaate hain kyunki woh tumhe chahte hain.

Kuch log tumhe dhoondte hain kyunki tum unke liye khatra ho sakti ho.

Anaya abhi tak nahi jaanti thi ke woh dono list mein aa chuki thi.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***