Chapter 1: Hold on.....
The soft hum of the TV was the only sound that filled the room, as Zephyr lay sprawled across the couch. His legs stretched out, and his arm dangled over the side, his fingers grazing the floor. The kind of lazy, half-hearted posture that only someone who had mastered the art of doing nothing could hold. He wasn't watching the show; the screen was just there for the sake of background noise. His mind was a million miles away, drifting from one thought to the next.
From the kitchen, the sounds of the kettle whistling and the faint clinking of cups reached his ears. The smell of something hot and sweet wafted through the air, but Zephyr didn't move. He didn't care. His eyes remained fixed on the screen, but his attention was far more consumed by his own thoughts than anything happening on the show.
It wasn't until a loud thud echoed from the hallway that he snapped out of his stupor. The door to the living room burst open, and in walked Ethan, Zephyr's older brother by two years. Ethan had always been the more serious one—efficient, sharp, and a little too obsessed with keeping everything in order. Today, however, he was fuming. His face was flushed, and he stormed over to the couch, sitting down next to Zephyr with a huff.
"Man, you won't believe this," Ethan muttered, shaking his head. "I just finished reading that stupid novel you recommended to me. You know, Path Of An Excorsist? Yeah, that one. The ending was absolute garbage! Total disappointment!"
"What's wrong with it?" Zephyr asked, feigning confusion as he kicked back further into the couch. "I thought it was good."
Ethan's face turned red, his frustration bubbling to the surface. "Good? Good? Are you even serious right now?" He shook his head in disbelief. "That was the worst plot twist ever! The protagonist gets a huge power boost out of nowhere, then gives up on everything he fought for! What kind of writing is that? And the romance, an harem? Complete waste of time!"
Zephyr's grin widened. "I haven't read it," he said casually, leaning forward to make eye contact with Ethan. "I just heard people on the bus talking about how much it sucked, so I painted it to be this great thing to get you to waste your time. Glorious, right?"
Ethan froze, blinking in disbelief. "You—You did what? You tricked me into reading that piece of crap?" he said, barely able to contain his anger. "You're an absolute menace!"
Zephyr laughed softly, enjoying the scene unfolding before him. "Yeah, you're welcome. All part of the service."
Ethan shook his head and turned towards the kitchen, clearly fed up. "I'm going to take a bath. You're unbelievable."
Zephyr returned to his comfortable position, the silence stretching out in the wake of Ethan's departure. His mind began to wander, and for a brief moment, a thought struck him. Then without further ado he picked up his brother phone and scrolled into the comment section.