It was late afternoon when Aarohi made her way through the dusty corridors of her college building. The fans above whirred weakly, as if they, too, were weary of the weight of the day. She carried a stack of borrowed library books to return, their spines worn, some barely holding together. As she turned the corner near the back gate, a small crowd caught her attention.
Laughter. Not the kind that warms the soul. The sharp, mocking kind.
"Arey, look at this K-pop princess again. Did you get married to that Korean guy yet? What was his name—Jimin?" one of the boys sneered.
"It's Jae-min," the girl whispered, clutching her phone tightly against her chest.
Aarohi slowed.
The girl—probably in her first year—stood small and awkward, her oversized backpack slipping from her shoulder. She had tears at the corners of her eyes, and her phone screen displayed a paused music video of SOLARIS. Jae-min's face stared out, caught mid-smile.
"Do you even understand what they're saying? Or are you just watching for the looks?" a girl in the group added with a smirk.
Aarohi's steps were steady now.
She didn't shout.
She just walked into the circle and stood next to the younger girl, placing a hand on her shoulder. The crowd turned to her.
"Oh, it's the senior K-pop devotee," the boy chuckled. "Great, now we have two crazies."
Aarohi tilted her head. "And yet, you seem to know their names. Funny how you remember things you claim to hate."
The boy's smile faltered.
She looked at the younger girl and gave her the smallest nod. "You okay?"
The girl nodded quickly, biting her lip.
Aarohi turned back to the group. "You can make fun of people for a lot of things. Their clothes, their tastes, even their dreams. It's easy to tear down something you don't understand. But do you know what's hard?"
Silence.
She gestured to the girl. "It's hard to be passionate. To care deeply. To hold on to something when the world mocks you for it. That's what being a fan is."
"You're still wasting time on people who don't even know you exist," someone muttered.
Aarohi smiled faintly. "Maybe. But sometimes, you don't need to be seen to feel connected."
The group dispersed slowly, their smirks dulling into embarrassed shuffles and forced chuckles.
Once they were gone, the younger girl exhaled like she'd been underwater.
"Thank you... Didi. I—"
"Don't thank me. You stood your ground before I got there," Aarohi said kindly. "What's your name?"
"Naina. First year."
Aarohi nodded. "Nice to meet you, Naina. I'm Aarohi."
Naina clutched her phone. "I know people think it's stupid. But their songs help me when I feel alone. Jae-min… he feels like someone who understands."
Aarohi smiled, her heart swelling with a quiet ache. "That's not stupid. That's beautiful."
They walked together toward the bus stop, the sky above painted in streaks of amber and grey. As they waited, Aarohi asked, "Do you know why SOLARIS is named that?"
Naina shook her head.
"It's from Latin. 'Sol' for sun. 'Aris' means to rise. They're a light meant to rise no matter what darkness they face. That's how they see their fans too. Like a galaxy of lights. Fanlights."
Naina smiled, eyes lighting up. "Like us."
Aarohi nodded. "Exactly."
They stood in silence for a while before Naina spoke again.
"Sometimes I wish I could tell them that. That they saved me. That I want to protect them too."
Aarohi looked into the distance.
"Maybe one day you will."
That night, as the sky darkened over Mumbai, Aarohi sat on her terrace again, the air thick with the distant hum of trains and the soft rustle of drying clothes on lines.
She held her phone but didn't press play.
Instead, she wrote in her journal:
"We don't have to scream to be heard. We just have to keep shining. Even if they never know our names, we shine. Because love—real love—is quiet, kind, and unwavering."
As she closed her journal, the wind stirred. She felt it again—that strange coldness just at the edge of her thoughts.
And far, far away, in a studio filled with mirrors and sweat, Jae-min paused mid-dance.
He looked up, chest rising and falling, and whispered:
"Fanlight..."
His members didn't hear it.
But something did.