Part 3 (Still The Same As Before)

"So? What did you say," Andi asked while sipping his freshly ordered Americano from Gojek apps. Now, he and Tshabina were sitting at the dining table.

"...."

Seeing his friend just sitting there in silence, Andi sighed impatiently. "C'mon, answer me, are you a statue or what?"

"Hmmm..." Tshabina didn't answer; she just focused on repeatedly stirring her tea until it seemed to have gone cold from not being drunk by its owner..

Getting annoyed at that response, Andi rolled her eyes lazily. "Ha hem, ha hem, are you really dumb or what?" Andi replied sharply, giving a piercing look to the woman in front of her.

"Well, I was just asking... like Zioh?" Said Tshabina while glancing at her friend.

"And then?" Andi started eating leftover cake from her friend's dad's birthday.

"Hmmm...then it turned out it was...his manager...then...hmm" Before Tshabina could finish, Andi interrupted. "Argh, take forever! Here, give me your phone, I'll read it myself." Without waiting for permission, Andi snatched his friend's phone and opened it, not that he was being rude, but Tshabina was taking too long and Andi really needed to use the bathroom; he couldn't wait for Tshabina to finish her long-winded story.

Zioh:

Sophie?

  Tshabina:

  Zioh?

Zioh:

 Ah..I apologize, I meant to say Ms. Tshabina, right? This is Natashya.

 Zioh:

Sorry for the interruption, Mr. Aditya just informed me that I can contact Mrs. Tshabina to show Mr. Zioh examples of the content you have been working on?

Zioh:

 When can we meet Ms. Tshabina?

 Zioh:

 Sorry, I sent the text using Mr Zioh's phone, my phone is charging.

 Tshabina:

 Yes, of course, I can meet you as soon as possible, please give me a date and time.

Zioh:

Meet me at 10am tomorrow morning

 Tshabina:

 Okay Zi..

Zioh:

 Watch your language, there's no reason to speak informally to me

  Tshabina:

 Yes, sir

"Euhhh… so rude." Andi said a second after reading the message. "The first thing she said is Sophie? Really? Instead of giving a proper greeting? No attitude whatsoever." Andi said in a really sarcastic tone.

"Maybe she didn't mean to, Andi. It seems like Zioh's manager is a foreigner, and Zioh used to call me Sophie, maybe he just hasn't changed the name on his contacts yet." Said Tshabina, trying to think positively and be as friendly as possible.

Andi lazily rolled his eyes, "Still, I don't like it, where the heck is Zioh looking for a manager? I mean, for someone like Zioh Danudara, how could his manager be like this? Like, she has zero experience, you know?" Andi put his friend's phone down.

"And no wonder." Andi added.

"What do you mean?" Tshabina replied while looking back at the cup of tea in front of her, stirring it, not knowing for how long.

"No wonder you've been so down in the dumps since last night, because Zioh's such a jerk. So? Are you going to meet him?"

"Of Couse, it's work." Tshabina replied while looking back at her friend.

Realizing Tshabina was still looking at him, Andi took a deep breath; without needing to say it, he already knew what his friend wanted, "Want me to come with you?"

Hearing her friend's offer immediately changed Tshabina's gloomy face to a slightly brighter one, "Ahhhh….Andi, thanks." Tshabina replied with a slightly whiny and spoilt tone.

"That's why you shouldn't be such a pain in the butt with me! Where else are you going to find a friend as awesome as me? I'm willing to listen to your drama even though I really need to pee! And I'm still mad at you! Look, my forehead's still red because of you! You're such a pain in the butt when you're in a bad mood!" Andi went on a rant, his tone sharp as he pointed to his red forehead.

About 10 hours ago

"Your sister is taking forever in the shower. It's night already! She'll get possessed or something." Said Andi, glancing at the bathroom door with a worried tone, even though he was focused on watching a Korean drama earlier.

Tsabinu, who heard that, was also worried. Not because of his friend's last sentence, but because his twin had been in the bathroom for 30 minutes already, and it was late, his sister could be sick. So when Tsabinu was about to head to the bathroom, he stopped in his tracks as Tshabina came out wearing her bathrobe, with wet hair, and her eyes were really red, looking a bit disheveled even though she had just showered. 

Seeing that, Andi got freaked out. What if what he said was true? What if his friend was actually possessed? "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Andi said while making the sign of the cross with his hand. "Hey...biba...you're aware, right? Who is this person, bib?" Andi asked in a slightly scared voice while pointing at Tsabinu. 

Hearing Andi's bizarre question, Tshabina rolled her eyes. "Get out, both of you, I need to change," she said, heading straight for her closet.

"Ohhh...she still with us, phew." Andi breathed a sigh of relief. Tsabinu just shook his head at his friend. Shortly after,he leaned against the wall outside the closet door, not wanting to disturb his sister while she changed. 

"Hey...are you okay? What's wrong now, Bib?" Asked Tsabinu, turning to face Andi. 

"Nothing." Tshabina replied shortly.

"Come on, what's wrong with you? If something's up, tell us, don't keep it bottled up. Me and your brother aren't Edward Cullen, we can't read minds. Just talk! What's with all these INFPs? Always giving the silent treatment." Andi rambled, also staring at Tsabinu.

Shortly after, Tshabina came out in her pajamas. She walked over to her vanity and grabbed her skincare products. She started applying her skincare while completely ignoring the two guys who had been staring at her.

Seeing his friend's annoying attitude, Andi looked at Tsabinu and waved at him. "Ugh...forget it, just leave her be. Look! We brought you food, even played Wakiki for you, but you're acting like this, so annoying!" Andi said in a slightly annoyed tone. How could he not be? Tsabina's mood swings always managed to get on his nerves, especially since it wasn't his fault, but when she got upset, it seemed like everyone else was wrong too. Plus, she always went silent whenever there was an issue, which Andi hated that because he believes silence never solves anything.

"Hhh... he texted me. Zioh. But it turned out it wasn't him, it was another girl." Said Tshabina while applying moisturizer to her face.

"What? What do you mean?" This time comes from Tsabinu.

"That's it okay? Zioh texted me, but it wasn't actually him, it was another girl, his manager or something?"

"For what? Why would she text you using his number?" Andi asked in an irritated tone.

"Work." Tshabina replied curtly.

"Huh...? Ugh, I'm so confused. Give me your phone, I wanna see." Andi started walking towards her, but Tshabina stopped him halfway.

"No. Don't bother, just go away."

"Hey, you're being annoying! 'Don't bother'? We brought you food, we're paying attention to you! Come on, hurry! Where's your phone?" Andi said as he approached her again.

"I told you not to, just go away!" Tshabina replied to Andi, her voice starting to rise. "How can I give my point of view if you're being half-hearted about it!" Andi shot back angrily, snatching Tshabina's phone from the vanity, which quickly turned into a tug-of-war.

They wrestled over the phone for a while, leaving Tsabinu confused about how to break it up. "Hey… enough, Dad'll wake up, and we'll ruin the surprise because you two being so loud." Said Tsabinu as he grabbed both his sister's and Andi's hands.

"LET GO! GIVE ME BACK MY PHONE!" Tshabina yelled, still trying to pull her phone away. "No way! When you make people curious, don't do it halfway!" Andi retorted fiercely, not backing down in the tug-of-war over Tshabina's phone. Frustrated, Tshabina finally grabbed her sunscreen tube and threw it hard at Andi, hitting him right on the forehead. Andi jumped back, surprised, stepped back while holding his forehead, which was now hot from the blow.

"Tshabina!" Tsabinu scolded as he watched, immediately joining in to hold Andi's forehead. "Wow... you little pig! Come here you-!" Before Andi could even get close to Tshabina, Tsabinu had already dragged him out of the room, even though he was still resisting. It seemed like Andi was really mad this time. But Tshabina would apologize later; for now, she needed to calm her mind and heart after the chat that from Zioh.

--

"Sorry, Andi, she didn't mean it, I promise." Said Tsabinu, not knowing how many times he had said it already while still holding the cold pack against Andi's forehead.

Now, the two of them were sitting in the living room with the cake and food already set up, as they were about to hit midnight, which meant it was the twins dad's birthday.

"Ugh, but still, I'm annoyed. That girl, if she doesn't apologize first, I'm not gonna-"

"Sorry. I'm sorry." Said Tshabina when she reached the bottom floor. "Does it hurt? Here, let me compress it." She took over applying the cold pack to Andi's forehead.

"Treat me. One Labubu," Andi replied, still refusing to look at Tshabina.

"Okay, fine. Just send me the link."

Tsabinu, who was watching the two of them, could only smile and then moved away. "It's almost midnight, let's light the candles." Said Tsabinu while grabbing the lighter from the nightstand next to them.

---

"Happy birthday to you~ Happy Birthday to you~ Happy birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday to you~ yay, blow out the candles, Dad!" Their cheerful singing and greetings woke their father, who was fast asleep. And when he realized his children were surprising him with a birthday greeting, a warm smile spread across his face. 

"Thank you, guys. I'm so lucky to have you all." Said Prabu, Tshabina and Tsabinu's father.

"Awww, Dad~ I'm so touched." Andi said, immediately hugging the old man, who was now 65 years old.

"Ugh." Tshabina scoffed and kicked Andi's ass.

"We just made up, don't start." Andi replied with a sarcastic look at Tshabina.

Tsabinu, witnessing this, could only take a deep breath again. "Okay, okay, let's go to the dining table. It's late, but at least let's have some cake." Tsabinu invited. 

Once they reached the dining table, Tshabina immediately started cutting the birthday cake into several pieces, which she then distributed to everyone there, not forgetting to add one more piece. 

"Don't forget to give Mom some, honey." Said their father while looking at a table in the corner of the room next to him, which was full of photos of their mother, along with her belongings that she often used.

"Of course, Dad." Tshabina took a piece of cake from the table. 

"This one is for mom," After saying that, Tshabina walked toward the memory table for her mother, at least that's what they called it. 

Right after she placed the cake on the table, she spoke. "Mom... this is Dad's birthday cake. It's Dad's birthday today, but Tsabinu and I didn't have time to make one ourselves because your kids have been busy, so we bought it." Tshabina paused for a moment. "If you were still here, we'd definitely be eating your cake, right? Dad's getting older now, really wrinkly, hehe." Tshabina's gently stroked the photo in front of her. "Mom, take care of me, Tsabinu, and Dad from up there, okay?" 

Tshabina's eyes welled up, but she quickly wiped them away. She didn't want to cry on her dad's happy day; she didn't want to spoil the mood. 

"If you were here, Mom, it would definitely be even happier. We'll always love you." Tshabina kissed a photo of her mother and walked back to the dining table where her father, friends, and brother were laughing and joking. Leaving the table that inscribed "In memory of our beloved mother Sophia" with a heart filled with mixed sadness and happiness. 

—- 

"Biba wait, wait, g-go on ahead, I'll catch up. I n-need to poop!" said Andi in a panic right after they arrived at the office five minutes ago. They had a meeting scheduled with Zioh and his manager today.

"What? But... okay fine, b-but I'm coming." Tshabina, who heard this, immediately panicked; she had never been like this before. She was very PROFESSIONAL, having served and accompanied many colleagues and clients, but for some reason, whenever it came to that guy, Tshabina could never handle it. She just wanted to avoid him, but now she couldn't, because this was work. 

"Are you carzy?! Listen. If you follow me to the bathroom, I'm gonna scream so the whole office knows you're a perv!" Said Andi, immediately rushing off to the bathroom. 

"AHHH... ANDI... wait... wai-" 

"Ms. Tshabina?" 

Tshabina immediately turned around when she heard her name called, but right after she turned, she froze. Huh... it felt like she was about to pass out. How couldn't she? The man she hadn't seen in 10 years was standing right in front of her. 

Even though this was their second meeting, and although it wasn't him who called her but his manager, it still felt like her world had stopped. His dark curly hair, his light skin is now darker, it seems he was exposed to a lot of sunlight while in the UK, his brown eyes, his tall and big frame—nothing had changed, still the same Zioh as before, just a more mature version. The only thing that changed was his "attitude." The friendly, gentle, smiling Zioh was gone without a trace. 

Ms. Tshabina, right?" The woman in front of her asked again, confirming, as Tshabina had been just standing there silently.

"Ahhh I'm sorry. I mean yes, yes, I'm Tshabina." Tshabina replied nervously and awkwardly. The image she'd built up at work was completely shattered. She was known for her diligence and politeness, a beautiful and assertive woman, friendly – well, at least that's what she often heard from people around her. But now, it had vanished just like that, all because of the man in front of her, who was now staring at her with a flat expression, without saying a word.

"So, shall we start the meeting?" Asked the woman, her accent clearly showing she wasn't very fluent in Indonesian. But wait, a meeting? Why a meeting? Wasn't I just asked to replace Mr.Aditya to show examples of content that had been created? Why did it become a meeting?

"I'm sorry, ma'am, there seems to be a misunderstanding. I'm here to show you examples of the content we've been working on. If it's a meeting, perhaps—"

"Isn't Ms. Tshabina the second-in-command for the media communications team on this project? Mr. Aditya confirmed this morning. Since Mr. Aditya is out of town for two weeks, Ms. Tshabina will be taking over, isn't that the procedure?" The woman was now slightly insistent, as Tshabina looked clearly confused.

"Oh, yes— What!?" Tshabina accidentally shouted in surprise. What did she say? Second-in-command? It means, Second Person in Charge for the communication media team for this project? Who? Her? Replacing Mr. Aditya? How could she become second-in-command of such a big project? Without any prior confirmation? That's Aditya. It must be Aditya again. That man is really good at annoying and freaking Tshabina out at the same time.

Witnessing this, the man in front of them smirked. Soon after, Zioh started walking away, leaving the two women staring at him in confusion. Tshabina's face was a mess; was what she just saw real? Zioh just laughed. Well, it wasn't really clear if it was laughter or not because it was so subtle, but at least it was a new expression Tshabina witnessed after meeting Zioh for the second time. Finally, the two women followed him.

"Nothing's changed, at all." Said Zioh with a flat expression.