Armed with sheer determination and reckless courage, Damar stood outside a nightclub in Jakarta. The train ticket he'd bought, along with the small amount of savings he had left to survive a few days in the capital, had all come from a loan from Adi.
He'd gotten the information from an alumni group and several Landsoft employees. Damar had even tailed his former friend for the past week to learn his daily routine.
And this nightclub was the place Marvin visited most often after work.
The pounding music greeted Damar the moment he stepped inside. It was so deafening that people had to shout just to hold a conversation.
Damar swept his gaze across the first floor, but the person he was looking for was nowhere to be seen. He then headed upstairs.
Several scantily clad women who passed by flirted with him. One of them even boldly approached and reached out to touch Damar's face. But Damar's cold stare was enough to make her back off and return to her group.
His search ended near the restrooms. Damar hissed softly when he saw Marvin embracing and passionately kissing a woman in the corner by the wall.
"Marvin Wiryawan."
"Hmm?" Marvin murmured without breaking the kiss.
"Marvin Wiryawan!"
The kiss stopped. Marvin pulled away and turned around irritably. But his eyes instantly widened when he recognized who was standing in front of him.
"Da-Damar?"
"Long time no see," Damar said as he approached.
Marvin froze in place.
"How've you been?" Damar stopped right in front of him.
Marvin swallowed, his throat suddenly dry.
Damar glanced at the woman beside Marvin, who was eyeing him flirtatiously. "Your girlfriend?"
"No," Marvin replied curtly.
"What?" The woman stared at him in disbelief. "So everything we've been doing all this time meant nothing to you?"
"We agreed from the start."
The woman angrily ran a hand through her hair. "Asshole!" she cursed, punching Marvin in the stomach before walking away.
Marvin grimaced, clutching his stomach. He tried to stand straight, pretending the punch hadn't hurt.
"I'm doing fine," Marvin said, trying to break the tension. "Wow, it's been forever since we've seen each other. Come on, let's find somewhere we can talk."
Marvin's steps were awkward and stiff as he walked ahead of Damar.
Damar walked toward his desk in Class 2-1. He had just started to sit down when a long-haired girl called out to him.
"That's my desk."
"Oh, sorry."
Damar stood up again. He glanced at the desk—there wasn't a bag or anything else on it. But he didn't feel like arguing over a seat, so he chose to sit at the desk behind the girl.
"Damar!" Marvin called from the doorway, jogging over to him. "Wanna switch classes?"
"Why?"
"I'm in the same class as Erin," Marvin complained.
"That's great."
"It's a disaster!" Marvin shook his head in frustration. "The whole next year is going to be cursed if she gets elected class president."
Damar gave him a faint smile. "Your bad luck's about to get worse."
"What do you mean?"
"I heard Erin's been nominated for student council president."
"Asshole," Marvin muttered. Then he glanced at the girl sitting in front of Damar with a sly smile. "Whatever. I'll be hanging around here a lot more often."
Damar pulled his memories back to the present and looked at Marvin, who was now sitting across from him in a café.
This meeting had forced memories of the past to spin back into motion—memories of how close they had once been. Now, none of that closeness remained. All that was left was restrained hatred.
"When did you get out?" Marvin asked.
That question again. Damar chose not to answer.
"I went to your house once," Damar said, "but you'd already moved to America."
"Ah... yeah."
"Congratulations. Now you're a successful young businessman."
"Thanks," Marvin replied stiffly.
"Looks like you're living pretty comfortably."
"It's nothing special," Marvin said quietly. "What about you?"
"My life is incredible." Damar's smile spread coldly. "Thanks to someone."
Marvin grabbed his cup and quickly downed the iced cappuccino. The air-conditioned room suddenly felt stifling.
"For ten years in prison, I waited for you to come," Damar said softly. "But you never showed up. Erin was the only one who visited me. Only her."
"I-I really wanted to come... but I was busy..."
"Busy studying technology in Singapore and building a business?" Damar smiled bitterly. "Remember what you used to say? 'We'll succeed together.' What a load of crap. There is no such thing as succeeding together."
Marvin finished the coffee left in his cup. His hands trembled faintly.
"I just want my good name back," Damar cut in, getting straight to the point.
"Your good name—"
"You know exactly what happened back then. You called me your best friend, but you were the one who twisted the facts."
"Damar, you're talking nonsense." Marvin tried to hide his nervousness. "I was at home that afternoon."
Damar's hands clenched tightly beneath the table.
"Keep denying it. But I'll make sure you pay for everything. Justice won't turn a blind eye."
Damar stood up, intending to leave, but stopped when Marvin mentioned a name.
"Have you heard what happened to Erin?"
Damar turned around. "Where is she now?"
"An accident," Marvin said softly. "Seven years ago. And... she died."
Damar's body went limp in an instant.
The friend whose visits he had always longed for, the friend he had searched for over the past two years—the only person who had cared about him—was gone. Erin had been the reason he had held on all this time.
Damar left the coffee shop with unsteady steps. He walked aimlessly. After holding back the tightness in his chest the entire way, his defenses finally collapsed. Tears began to fall.
In an instant, his whole world felt shattered.
His steps stopped at the edge of the sidewalk. A car sped toward him from the right. Without realizing it, one of his feet stepped off the curb and onto the road.
A loud car horn and the glare of the headlights snapped Damar back to his senses. He instinctively pulled his foot back onto the sidewalk.
Damar roughly wiped his face, cursing his own stupidity.
"What am I doing?" he whispered, his voice trembling. "This isn't the way... Erin, I'm sorry."
Despair had almost taken over his thoughts. But he knew he couldn't give up now.
His trip to Jakarta had yielded nothing and had only brought him devastating news. But there was still one witness left: Ajeng.
Although finding the girl in Germany wouldn't be easy, Damar knew he had to save money and find a way to locate her.