Chapter 3 BRUISE

After two days since Rakan broke up with Rea, it feels like they were dating just yesterday. The memories of the moments they spent together still linger in Rakan's mind, but they all vanished with the message Rea sent.

Without hesitation, without feelings, without an agreement, in just a few minutes of their meeting at the cafe, Rea's clarification instantly ended their relationship. Rakan was disappointed, of course. He spent the whole day in silence, trying to contemplate what went wrong until Rea unilaterally ended it without explanation.

Rakan felt it was for the best, but only for him. Rea didn't consider his feelings; she just treated him like a piece of discarded gum stuck under a chair.

For those two days, Rakan managed to keep himself in check, though he occasionally vented his frustration to Rafa, his friend who often infuriated him.

Rafa couldn't understand how their relationship ended so quickly. Instead, he insisted on persuading Rea to reconcile with Rakan, which infuriated Rakan even more.

The real war drums sounded when there was news from another friend, Jack, that Rea was getting close to a guy. What shocked Rakan the most was that the guy in question turned out to be his close friend, Farras.

As far as Rakan knew, Farras and Rea were close because they attended the same music class. However, Jack testified that their closeness went beyond that.

It left Rakan feeling weak. His shoulders slumped as he sat in the corner of his room. He was in turmoil, overwhelmed by anger, sadness, disappointment, and... longing. It all happened too suddenly. Rakan was unprepared to be betrayed by his ex-girlfriend and close friend.

He felt trapped in a maze of resentment towards his ex. Rakan was tormented, unable to bounce back. He tried various things to forget but ended up in loneliness.

Currently, Rakan sat silently in his room, lost in thought. Unexpectedly, his mother entered and sat by his bedside, looking at her only son.

His mother, now in her forties, smiled warmly. Her son was facing the trials of a broken heart.

"Rakan, when you break up with someone, you don't have to forget them. You'll only remember them more if you try to forget too hard. Try to forgive; there's no harm in that, right?"

Rakan looked up, listening to his mother's words.

"Keep your memories with her as a lesson. Just remember that you're surrounded by people who love you. A bright future awaits you; try to be happy."

His mother gently rubbed Rakan's back. She realized that his current behavior was counterproductive.

"We have two choices in life, either to be happy or not. So why should we be sad when we can be happy? Happiness is simple, my dear."

"Happiness is when you can love yourself. What she did to you is because she has her own definition of happiness. If that's her happiness, why don't you seek your own? Stay strong."

"Don't let yourself suffer by being sad all the time because, who knows, you might miss the moments when you should be happy. Happiness can come if you want it. Stay strong and achieve your life goals."

Rakan wiped his face, trying to clear his mind. His mother reminded him that his current attitude was excessive, childish, and harmful to himself.

Rakan looked at his mother with a bright smile.

"Mom, thank you."

"How's your stomach doing?" Rafa joked when he saw Rea engrossed in a thick textbook.

The girl only glanced at Rafa briefly before returning her focus to her book.

Rafa sighed lazily.

"Re, you're so fine and quiet. Don't you want to know who took you to the school nurse when you fainted?" he teased.

Seeming uninterested, Rea grumbled and closed her book. She checked her black watch on her wrist. It was half-past seven, and the teacher hadn't arrived yet.

"Re, seriously, don't you want to know?" Rafa was frustrated. Rea's response was not what he expected.

Rea sighed and turned to Rafa with an annoyed look. "Alright, who was it?" she asked indifferently.

"Rakan. He brought you to the nurse's office. Pretty cool, right?" Rafa said with a big grin.

Rea snorted. She turned her face towards the window, clearly uninterested.

"Oh, Re, you're such a buzzkill!" Rafa muttered. Rea always acted like this.

The next moment, the classroom became noisy as a guy entered through the door. It was Rakan, accompanied by Jack and Bagas, walking to their seats.

Whatever caused their noisy entrance, it was typical for them to arrive with a commotion like this.

Rakan chose to ignore it. He decided to walk to his seat. However, just a few meters from his destination, his eyes were drawn to a girl sitting by the window.

Rea was staring at him with sharp eyes, like an eagle ready to pounce on its prey.

Rakan clenched his fist; the pain returned. Rea had never given him such a fierce look before. Her gaze used to be gentle and soothing, not like this. She was different now.

Initially, Rakan wanted to end that gaze unilaterally. But suddenly, his eyes were drawn to the bruise on the corner of the girl's lips.

Certainly, that was no ordinary bruise. He was sure it was caused by a hard blow to her lip. It was evident from the dark purplish color and the slight skin tear around it.

Rakan's jaw tightened. He knew what had caused the bruise. Rea had been in a fight. Yes, he knew that. During their relationship, Rakan was well aware of Rea's bad habit. She loved to fight.

And for some reason, seeing that bruise on the corner of her lip touched something in his heart.

Rakan, the guy, winced. He really wanted to approach her table and scold her. But he didn't have the will. They no longer had a connection like they used to. They were just strangers to each other now.

For the first time in his life, Rakan encountered a woman who was willing to take such a great risk for herself.

He had seen Rea with bruises on her face several times before. The last time was in eleventh grade when Rea had fought a senior. She had been brave enough to physically confront him. The brawl had led to a strong punch landing on her left cheek. It left a bruise and a tear in her skin.

The incident had shocked the entire school. Rea had almost been expelled. Fortunately, both Rea's and the senior's families resolved the matter amicably, preventing her expulsion.

The victim's family had already forgiven her, viewing the incident as an unfortunate accident that should not have happened.

Rakan decided to break his gaze. He turned his face straight ahead and took his seat.

In his opinion, it was better not to provoke her anger. He didn't want Rea to do something irrational and hurt herself again. Seeing that bruise was enough for him.

"Rakan, move on. Don't think about Rea anymore."

To be continued...