Chapter 2

Click! Click! Click!

The camera lens kept working hard, capturing images of Irman, who was modeling that day, striking various poses. After finishing the photos for one outfit, Irman changed into another outfit and continued posing in front of the photographer. This routine repeated until the first session of the photoshoot was complete.

Once the first session was over, Irman went to his resting area and picked up his phone to check messages and notifications. When Irman opened a message from his friend, he saw a picture of himself and Nabila as the background wallpaper of the WhatsApp message. The picture had been edited by him since Nabila and Irman had never met or gone on a date, let alone taken a photo together.

Seeing the picture made Irman's heart stir, realizing how much he missed Nabila, even though they had never met in person. It puzzled Irman how he could miss her so much when they had never met or dated. Even when he was with Zarina, his longing for her had never been as intense as it was for Nabila, despite him frequently going out and meeting Zarina.

As he was lost in thought, wondering why he felt this way, his friend Zamir startled him. "Hey! What are you daydreaming about?" Zamir and Rias immediately sat in front of Irman without a moment's hesitation.

Irman, surprised by Zamir's sudden approach, tried to calm himself and replied, "Oh, it's just you! You scared me. I wasn't daydreaming. I was just relaxing because I'm tired right now."

Rias and Zamir chuckled at Irman's response, and Rias said, "Yeah, right. If you weren't daydreaming, why didn't you blink while staring at that wall? What's going on?"

Irman cleared his throat and said, "I'm telling you, I wasn't daydreaming. Just tired."

Rias and Zamir exchanged skeptical looks but decided to drop the subject. Irman then asked to change the topic, "Hey, why are you guys here?"

Rias and Zamir exchanged puzzled glances, and Zamir said, "Are you okay? Didn't we tell you yesterday that we were coming to invite you to hang out after your photoshoot? Did you forget?"

Irman smacked his forehead, realizing he had forgotten, and said, "Oh no, sorry! I forgot. Good thing you guys came now; otherwise, I'd probably be asleep at home. Haha…"

Zamir rolled his eyes and said, "I figured as much, which is why I brought Rias along. I knew you'd forget about it after getting so tired from the photoshoot. See how mature and farsighted I am? Haha."

Rias laughed, and Irman pulled a face at Zamir's comment, then said, "You're ridiculous. So mature, huh? I was the one who settled things last time, not you."

Zamir conceded and agreed with Irman.

Zamir asked, "When does your next photoshoot session start?"

Just as Irman was about to answer, a voice called out, "We'll start in 30 minutes."

Irman responded, "There's your answer. Haha, okay, I better get ready for the next session."

Irman then went to prepare with the stylists. While Irman was getting ready for the next session, Zamir teased Rias, "You're really into Irman, aren't you?"

Rias, who had been watching Irman walk to the dressing area, was startled by Zamir's remark and replied, "No, I'm not. I was just curious about where he's getting ready. That's all."

Zamir gave Rias a skeptical look and said, "Yeah, right. Just curious about where he's getting ready? It's obvious there's a dressing table and fitting room over there. Don't lie."

Rias said, "What? I'm not lying. I honestly didn't notice the dressing table and fitting room. Don't overthink it, Mir."

"Even if you say that, I still don't believe you. Anyway, did you check out the place I mentioned the other day?" asked Zamir.

"I did. But I'm not sure if you guys will like it. The place looks elegant and romantic, but it also has a girly vibe. I'm worried you might feel uncomfortable there. Haha… I can already imagine your face when you see that place," Rias laughed.

"You're such a pain. If that's the case, help me find a place that's elegant and romantic but not girly," said Zamir.

Rias looked annoyed at being asked to find a place for Zamir and said, "Why should I help you? You're the one going on a date with your girlfriend… you find the place."

Zamir replied in a desperate tone, as if pleading, "Please help me. In return, I'll help you win over Irman. Deal?"

Rias rolled her eyes and said, "Fine, I'll help you. But I'm not helping because I want your help with Irman. I'm helping because you're my friend."

Zamir smiled and smirked, "Thanks for helping, but yeah, sure, you're only doing it because I'm your friend, not because of Irman. You really like Irman, don't you? Just be honest."

Rias said, "Ugh, you're impossible. Fine, I'm helping because you're my friend. I don't have feelings for Irman."

As Rias and Zamir continued to argue about Rias's feelings for Irman, Irman walked over to them with a puzzled expression. When he reached them, Irman asked, "What's going on with you guys? Are you fighting?"

Rias quickly replied, "No, we're not fighting."

Irman was confused by Rias's response and asked again, "Then why do you both look so serious, staring at each other like you're about to pounce?"

Rias explained, "Oh… it's just that Zamir is pestering me to find a place for his date with his girlfriend."

Irman, still puzzled, asked, "Why are you finding a place for him? Zamir, why can't you find it yourself?"

Zamir replied, "It's not that I don't want to look, but every place I've found isn't what my girlfriend likes. I'm out of ideas, so I asked Rias to help. Since she's a girl, she must know what girls like."

Irman said, "Oh… that makes sense. Rias, just help Zamir out. I feel sorry for him. Haha."

Rias responded, "Hey, you're siding with Zamir? Just because you're both guys… fine."

Zamir and Irman laughed, and Irman said, "Hey, it has nothing to do with us being guys. Zamir's right, so I'm supporting him. Anyway, I need to get back to work. You two can keep arguing. Haha."

Irman walked back to the photoshoot area, leaving the two of them in the resting area while thinking to himself, "Ah, Nabila, I miss you so much. If we were still together, I'd probably be joining Zamir in asking Rias to find us a date spot. But, oh well. Sorry, dear."

The photoshoot continued without any issues.

On the same day…

Nabila was daydreaming by the window at her workplace when her friend Izzati approached her.

"Are you okay?"

Nabila was startled by Izzati's question and replied, "I'm fine. Why?"

Izzati sat in front of Nabila and said, "It's just that you've been daydreaming a lot these past few months. I'm worried. Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?"

Nabila answered, "No, we didn't fight. I just miss him."

Curious, Izzati asked, "Why don't you call him instead of staring out the window?"

Nabila replied, "How can I call him? I don't even have his phone number."

Izzati was puzzled and asked, "So how have you been contacting each other all this time?"

Nabila said, "We've been communicating through Facebook."

Izzati was shocked and said, "Only through Facebook? Didn't you ask for his phone number? And he never asked for yours? That's weird… I've never heard of a couple only communicating through Facebook."

Nabila explained, "I did ask for his number, and I gave him mine too. But he never contacted me."

Izzati asked, "When you asked for his number, what did he say?"

Nabila replied, "He said he'd give it to me later."

Izzati responded, "Later? If he says 'later,' it means he's not going to give it to you. If he really wanted to give you his number, he wouldn't wait or say 'later.' He would just give it to you without waiting for you to ask."

Nabila said, "But at that time, he said he was busy with something."

Izzati, getting frustrated, said, "My dear friend Nabila, anyone who loves and cares about their partner wouldn't wait even a second if it meant being closer to their loved one. From what you've told me, I think your boyfriend doesn't love you as much as you think. He said 'later' just for his phone number… what about other things? I don't trust this boyfriend of yours. You should break up with him. I don't want you to get hurt… you're my friend, and I care about you."

Nabila, with a sad tone, said, "Actually, I've already broken up with him."

Tears quickly streamed down Nabila's face, and Izzati was shocked by her words and the sight of Nabila crying. Izzati immediately moved closer to Nabila and hugged her.

Once Nabila had calmed down, Izzati said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know you had broken up. I didn't expect that right after I said you should break up, you'd tell me you already had. Sorry…"

Nabila, now calmer, said, "It's okay… I didn't tell you because I didn't want to think about it anymore."

Feeling guilty, Izzati said, "It's okay… it's actually a good thing you broke up with him because from what you've told me, I was worried you'd end up heartbroken. Just the fact that he said 'later' about his phone number and that you two only communicated through Facebook shows he didn't care much about your relationship. But don't worry… you're beautiful. You'll find someone way better than your boyfriend… I mean, your ex. Sorry, I forgot you broke up."

Nabila chuckled softly at Izzati's words and said, "You're really confident that I'll find someone better than my EX. You haven't even seen what he looks like."

Izzati laughed and said, "Hey… when I said better, I wasn't talking about his looks. I meant someone with better character, someone who thinks clearly and cares about the relationship. But now that you mention it, I realize I've never seen what your EX looks like. Do you have a picture of him? I'd like to see."

Nabila and Izzati laughed together at Izzati's words. Nabila said, "Oh, you say you're not talking about his looks, but now you want to see what he looks like. You're so nosy."

Izzati giggled and persuaded Nabila to show her Irman's picture. Nabila, unable to resist Izzati's persistence, opened her phone to show Irman's picture to Izzati, saying, "Ugh, you're so annoying. Fine, I'll show you… just give me a moment."

With a surprised expression, Izzati looked at Irman's picture and said, "What the… your boyfriend is really handsome. Oh, sorry… I mean your ex."

Nabila watched as Izzati examined Irman's face on her phone and said, "Handsome or not, we've already broken up."

Izzati, snapping out of her admiration of Irman's face, said, "Okay, well, at least you won't have to suffer. But are you sure that's really his picture? I mean, you guys only communicated through Facebook. Have you ever met him in person? From what you've told me before, you two never met, right? Or did you meet him and not tell me? Hurry up and answer."

Surprised by Izzati's barrage of questions, Nabila replied, "Whoa, calm down. It's not like I'm going anywhere."

Izzati pouted, and Nabila laughed at her reaction. Izzati, seeing Nabila laugh, said, "Come on, answer. Why are you laughing?"

Nabila said, "Yeah, I'm laughing because of your face. But fine, I'll answer your questions… he and I never met in person. So, to answer your question about whether I'm sure that's really him… yes, I'm sure. Because one time when I was at the market alone… when you were sick… I was doing my usual grocery shopping. While I was looking for items, I felt like someone was watching me. So I turned my head in the direction where I felt the gaze coming from… as soon as I turned, my eyes locked onto a guy. At first, I didn't know it was him because before that day, I'd never seen him in person. I didn't recognize him. But later that night, after I finished all my chores, I opened my Facebook. I saw a chat from him, so I opened it. In the chat, he said… 'You didn't even say hi.' I was confused… when did I not say hi? So I replied, and after a while, he replied back. He said he was tired from standing in the heat, watching me shop. So I was doubtful, and then I suddenly remembered the morning incident. I asked him… was he the guy in the dark brown shirt at the parking lot in front of the grocery store? He said it was him. So that's why I'm sure the picture is really him. Does that answer your question, ma'am?"

Izzati, who had been listening intently, rolled her eyes at Nabila when she called her "ma'am" at the end of the story. Izzati replied with frustration, "Yes, that answers the question, Miss Nabila. But I'm still not satisfied. From his looks, he's more than good enough, and from your market story, he seems really sweet. But then he says 'later' when you asked for his phone number. What's wrong with him?"

Nabila responded, "How should I know? I'm not him. I asked him why later? He just replied… later, no need to rush. What do you think?"

Izzati, puzzled, said, "Your ex is really strange. I don't get it. Wait… you haven't told me how you guys broke up."

Nabila recounted the story of their breakup to Izzati, and Izzati almost shouted but held back, remembering that they were at work, "What the heck!! What's wrong with that guy? Is he okay in the head? So stupid…"

Izzati continued to rant, and Nabila just listened and laughed, then said, "Why are you getting so worked up? I'm the one who broke up with him, not you."

Izzati replied, "Of course I'm upset. He left you because of some stupid rules. If it was because you cheated or he had someone else, or something like that, I wouldn't be this mad. Those are typical reasons for a breakup… at least from what I've heard. But your case is different. You should've broken up with him. Now you don't need to be sad or miss him… a guy like that doesn't deserve your pure heart. Now let's get back to work, so we don't have to do overtime."

Nabila, confused by Izzati, asked, "No overtime? Don't you like overtime? You always say that overtime means over-get-money, right?"

Izzati said, "Yeah, I do like overtime because of the extra money. But not today because after work, I'm taking you out to cheer you up. Let's get to work."

Nabila chuckled softly at Izzati's words and followed her to resume their work. Nabila, wanting to avoid thinking about Irman, agreed to join Izzati in working at a flower shop not far from their village, which they started four months ago. Remembering the early days of working there brought a smile to Nabila's face and a sense of happiness, knowing she had found a friend who truly understood her.