It's been around 40 minutes of silence between Zeva and Zero. More accurately, it was Zero who was completely ignoring Zeva. "Zero." Zeva tried her luck again, hoping that Zero might respond this time. "Zer…" Zeva repeated while Zero remained unmoved. "You come all the way here just to play on your phone? Is that phone of yours more important than me?" Zeva, unable to bear it any longer, finally protested. Without saying a word, Zero suddenly laid his head on Zeva's lap. With his phone resting on his chest, Zero closed his eyes as if signaling that he wanted to sleep. Meanwhile, Zeva could only gape, her heart racing as if competing with the speed of motorcycles on a race track. Suddenly, the silence was broken by the sound of a phone ringing. Zero remained in his position, not moving at all since the ringtone wasn't coming from his own phone. "Zero… Zero… wake up, quickly!" Zeva pleaded with a panicked tone while lightly tapping Zero's arm. Receiving such treatment and hearin
"Hey, you're just taking it as you please. I cooked this special for Zeva, not for you.""Well, whatever. Let Zero eat. You’re so unselfish. You don't want to share with anyone. You’re too choosy," Zeva defended Zero."Oh yeah, consider it charity for blessings on our joint fishing catch," replied Sky."Why did you stop chewing? Does it taste bad? Seriously, you don't appreciate our joint effort. We struggled all the way into the night to catch these fish. And pulling them in was no joke. Even with four hands, those fish were heavy.""Look, look, check out these photos as proof that it's the fruit of our successful chemistry," Sky showed his phone screen with photos of him and Zeva fishing last night."What's wrong with you, Sky? Talking about chemistry. There's no chemistry at all. I'm not into chemistry, either," protested Zeva."Here we go with your lame jokes. I know you're not that smart. You were a lazy student, never liked studying," retorted Sky."Ugh... why are you calling me
"Are you canceling your flight?" "Hm," Zero mumbled while nodding briefly in response. "Why?" Zeva asked again. "Because you haven't answered 'yes'," Zero replied casually. Meanwhile, Zeva unconsciously reacted with her mouth half open. Clearly, she immediately knew the 'yes' answer to the question that Zero was referring to. However, the fact that this was the reason for Zero canceling his flight to Indonesia was beyond Zeva's intuition. "Zer, be serious and answer," Zeva said. "Which part do you think I'm joking about? I've always been serious about us, Zeva," Zero replied, this time speaking while maintaining direct eye contact with her. "I understand and realize that you've doubted my seriousness because you feel our relationship's status isn't clear yet. For that... it's not that I don't want to provide clarity, but I feel our relationship is clear, without needing further clarification with a status." "However... it seems like this only applies to me as a guy. I forgot t
"Zer, come on, hurry up! It's the last call for your flight. Do you want to miss it?" This was the fifth time Zeva urged Zero to enter the departure gate. Yes, they were currently at the airport. Zeva was here to see Zero off. While initially, Zero would just say, "Yeah, in a bit, there's still time." This time, he responded differently, "Let it be, I'm not really in a hurry to go back." "Well then, what do you want?" Zeva asked after taking a momentary pause to catch her breath. "I just want to stay here, with you," Zero replied. "Zer, aren't you tired? We've been debating this for the past two days," Zeva said wearily. Indeed, Zeva had grown tired of arguing with Zero about the same issue. They had communicated face-to-face, not virtually, but it seemed that they still hadn't found a solution they could agree upon. "Shouldn't I be asking you the same? Aren't you tired of keeping me hanging, keeping our relationship uncertain?" Zero retorted. Yes, the issue at hand was still
"Dear, why are you ignoring me?" Zeva, who was busy editing photos she had taken, now shifted her attention to the laptop screen in the upper left corner – showing Zero's face in a minimized frame. Yes, Zeva was currently in a virtual meet with Zero while multitasking by editing photos. "Well, isn't he the one who has been ignoring me all this time? Not just ignoring, he's been leaving me behind," Zeva thought. "It's not like I can just sit here waiting for you to come back. Might as well get some work done," Zeva complained. Understandably, Zeva was complaining. After all, she had just returned after being left alone by Zero for over twenty minutes during their virtual meet, and as soon as he came back, he pointed a finger at her. "But I left because there was something urgent I had to take care of, not on purpose," Zero responded. "I did suggest we end the virtual meet if you had something to attend to," Zeva replied. Her response led to a few minutes of silence until Zeva sp
"Now I want to ask you. What do you know about me?" "Huh? What kind of question is that, dear?" "I'm serious, Zero. Don't underestimate my question!" Zeva insisted. "I didn't mean to underestimate your question, dear. I just don't understand where your question is heading. Your question is too general, like asking 'what do you know about the world'?" "Come on, that's not a fair comparison, not apple to apple. I'm a human; you can't compare me to the whole world," Zeva argued. "Why not? You're also part of the world. You’re my world." "Enough with the sweet talk. Just answer my question honestly," Zeva commanded. "That's what I know. You are my world." "Zer, I'm really in a serious mode right now," Zeva emphasized. "Yeah, my dear Zeva. I know. And... my answer is also really serious," Zero replied. "Okay. Now I'll ask you a more specific question. Your task is to answer seriously and correctly!" "Alright, I'm ready, Miss," Zero replied enthusiastically, raising both his thumb
"Why did you run away?" "There are four ways I could have chosen as alternatives to soothe my heart and mind. But... sorry, running away isn't one of them," Zeva asserted. "Then, if not running away, what do you call it? For more than two weeks, you didn't respond to any of my chats, calls, let alone video calls. And when I came all the way here to see you, you still avoided meeting me." "That's your fault. Why did you just show up here without letting me know?" Zeva responded. "What else should I do? How else should I contact you if not in person?" Zero seemed frustrated dealing with Zeva. "Why, after I didn't respond, did you suddenly start trying to contact me? Where were you before? If it wasn't for me asking about you, you wouldn't have initiated contact with me at all. You used to contact me much more often when we were just seeing each other casually before officially dating," Zeva finally poured out all her frustrations to Zero. "Moreover... every time we want to have a
"Don't rush me! I don't like being rushed.""Is it because you dislike rushing activities, or does it depend on who is rushing you?""Both.""Zev, can't we talk calmly?" Zero asked with a hopeful gaze."I have to go back tonight," Zero added."Go back where?""You know the answer, dear," Zero replied, gently stroking Zeva's cheek with his thumb.Yes, Zero was right. Zeva already knew that Zero would go back to Indonesia. However, Zeva still asked because she was grappling with her own thoughts and her small heart. Zeva's heart was not ready to accept the fact that she and Zero would have to do long-distance again."That's why, dear, instead of wasting our time arguing like this, let's spend our remaining time together as much as possible," Zero persuaded."Aren't you angry?""Angry about what?" Zero asked back."You know what I mean.""No.""Are you really not angry?" Zeva asked again, as if uncertain about Zero's answer."I said 'no' to respond to your statement 'you know what I mean
"Dear, please look at me! It’ll only be a moment. I promise I’ll come back and stay here."“Don’t make promises about uncertain things,” replied Zeva, without taking her eyes off the laptop screen.“Okay, I’ll prove it. But… do you not want to take me to the airport?”Zeva didn’t respond, but she was still focused on her laptop.“Dear, please, don’t ignore me. I’m about to board a plane, you know. If something happens while I’m on the plane, this might be our last moment together.”Zeva immediately stopped what she was doing, then directed her gaze towards Zero, giving him a sharp look and saying, “Just seconds ago, you said you’d prove it, but now you’re already thinking about leaving me?”“Who said I want to leave you, Dear? It’s quite the opposite. I want to be with you 24/7,” retorted Zero.“If you don’t intend to leave, why are you hoping that something bad happens to the plane you’re on?” Zeva demanded.“That’s not what I meant, Dear. I was just reminding you that unexpected thi
“Where is he? Turn on the camera!” A deep male voice filled Zeva’s quiet room.“Ugh... what’s up with you, Bro? It’s still super early and you’re already mad.” Yes, it was Gamma who called Zeva early in the morning.“I want to see if your boyfriend is still fully dressed or not.” Gamma couldn’t trust any man around Zeva, especially since the two of them were under the same roof—alone, without anyone else.“Well, if you want to see, call Zero directly on his number. Why are you calling me? If you call me, I have to go downstairs and check his room,” Zeva complained.“So, you’re really staying in separate rooms?” Gamma still wanted a valid confirmation.“Of course. Your room is empty, too. Why? Didn’t Zero already ask for permission directly from you to borrow it?”“That Nol guy really knows how to keep his defenses up,” Gamma said, translating Zero’s name to its Indonesian meaning.“Oh right, I have to wake up Zero. We planned to go jogging this morning. Bye, Bro, Sis Runa.” Zeva abrup
"Wah, this couple needs more briefing," Zeva commented after seeing the photo results on her camera. Zeva approached her clients. "Finished, Zev?" the male client asked when Zeva was in front of him. "We need to talk," Zeva said. "Okay, let's go!" responded the male client. "Where to? Let's talk here to save time," Zeva replied. "Oh, okay. Rin, you just rest there, alright?" the male client instructed his partner, pointing to one of the park benches about 18 meters away from where they stood. "Rin? Why suddenly call me by my name?" the girl questioned. "Well, your name is Ririn. Nothing wrong with that," the guy replied. "Well, it's not wrong. But usually, you call me 'Beib,'" Ririn said. "Why, though? It's such a trivial matter to fuss about," the guy remarked. "For you, maybe it's trivial. Fine, from now on, I'll call you by your name," Ririn replied. "Okay, Rama. You just continue with your business. I'm going back to the hotel," Ririn continued and immediately left. "W
"You just finished getting dental veneers?" "Huh? Why are you suddenly asking that?" The confusion was evident on Zero's forehead in response to Zeva's question. "Because it's unusual for you to immediately show off your teeth like that." "Unusual? How am I usually then?" Zero felt that the expression he showed was not something rare. "Usually, you flaunt your pillow face. Always sleepy." "Oh, hehe. It's called hard work like a horse, Dear. I have to stay up late." "Working so hard that you forget to sleep, and what do you hope for in the end? Early aging?" Zeva pointed out. "Well, not like that, Dear. I work hard like this for you, you know." "For me? Have I ever asked you to provide for me? No, I've never asked for anything from you," Zeva said, refusing to accept Zero's statement. "Well, not really, Dear. But... I work hard to prepare to provide for you in the future." "You want to turn me into a substitute for a nursing home?" "Well, what's the connection with a nursing
"If you want trouble, don't involve me." Zeva's call successfully stopped Zero in his tracks. "Who's trying to get you into trouble, Dear? We just need to hurry." "We? If you still remember 'we', you shouldn't be pulling me like this." "Dear, sorry, I didn't mean to pull you. I need to check on Liora urgently. There's no time to walk casually. I'm really worried about her." "I understand your worry. Even... I don't mind that you didn't ask whether I'm willing to come or not. But... wherever we're going, we should prioritize being careful. Rushing might not get us there safely, let alone quickly." Not without reason did Zeva reprimand Zero like that. It's because, twice already, they had come close to being hit by cars and bicycles. More precisely, it was Zero who almost got hit because his position was right beside the passing riders. Zeva was surprised as to why Zero seemed to be so indifferent to his own safety. "Dear, sorry for not asking first. Because I really want you to
"Absolutely not. Starting today, I don't want to take you to the airport anymore." "Oh, why are you being so cruel? Come on, dear. It's still a few more hours we can spend together." Zero still tried to persuade Zeva. "I've never wanted to take anyone to the airport. I didn't even want to escort Sis Runa and Bro Gamma. It's just because of you that my feet touch the airport again after so long. Ironically, you are the one being cruel to me by forcing me to do something I dislike." "But why don't you like taking me to the airport?" "Ugh... can't you really pay attention to what I'm saying? It's not just you, but everyone, anyone." "Okay, okay, sorry. So, what's the reason?" Zero was still curious about why Zeva was so against the airport. "See, you don't know anything about me," Zeva responded with her biting words. Hearing Zeva's sarcasm, Zero immediately moved to hold both of Zeva's hands and gently stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. And, with an intense gaze softene
"Don't rush me! I don't like being rushed.""Is it because you dislike rushing activities, or does it depend on who is rushing you?""Both.""Zev, can't we talk calmly?" Zero asked with a hopeful gaze."I have to go back tonight," Zero added."Go back where?""You know the answer, dear," Zero replied, gently stroking Zeva's cheek with his thumb.Yes, Zero was right. Zeva already knew that Zero would go back to Indonesia. However, Zeva still asked because she was grappling with her own thoughts and her small heart. Zeva's heart was not ready to accept the fact that she and Zero would have to do long-distance again."That's why, dear, instead of wasting our time arguing like this, let's spend our remaining time together as much as possible," Zero persuaded."Aren't you angry?""Angry about what?" Zero asked back."You know what I mean.""No.""Are you really not angry?" Zeva asked again, as if uncertain about Zero's answer."I said 'no' to respond to your statement 'you know what I mean
"Why did you run away?" "There are four ways I could have chosen as alternatives to soothe my heart and mind. But... sorry, running away isn't one of them," Zeva asserted. "Then, if not running away, what do you call it? For more than two weeks, you didn't respond to any of my chats, calls, let alone video calls. And when I came all the way here to see you, you still avoided meeting me." "That's your fault. Why did you just show up here without letting me know?" Zeva responded. "What else should I do? How else should I contact you if not in person?" Zero seemed frustrated dealing with Zeva. "Why, after I didn't respond, did you suddenly start trying to contact me? Where were you before? If it wasn't for me asking about you, you wouldn't have initiated contact with me at all. You used to contact me much more often when we were just seeing each other casually before officially dating," Zeva finally poured out all her frustrations to Zero. "Moreover... every time we want to have a
"Now I want to ask you. What do you know about me?" "Huh? What kind of question is that, dear?" "I'm serious, Zero. Don't underestimate my question!" Zeva insisted. "I didn't mean to underestimate your question, dear. I just don't understand where your question is heading. Your question is too general, like asking 'what do you know about the world'?" "Come on, that's not a fair comparison, not apple to apple. I'm a human; you can't compare me to the whole world," Zeva argued. "Why not? You're also part of the world. You’re my world." "Enough with the sweet talk. Just answer my question honestly," Zeva commanded. "That's what I know. You are my world." "Zer, I'm really in a serious mode right now," Zeva emphasized. "Yeah, my dear Zeva. I know. And... my answer is also really serious," Zero replied. "Okay. Now I'll ask you a more specific question. Your task is to answer seriously and correctly!" "Alright, I'm ready, Miss," Zero replied enthusiastically, raising both his thumb