At nine in the morning, the headquarters of Mahardika Nusantara Group was already bustling. Employees hurried back and forth carrying files, while others strode quickly as they spoke through headsets. The twelve-story building had become the center of the company's activity as it rapidly expanded over the past five years.
On the eleventh floor, the Human Resources Department was just as busy.
Nisa let out a soft breath as she opened the applications submitted through the company's system one by one. The operations staff opening had attracted hundreds of applicants. She had to select the dozens of best applications before handing them over to the operations director.
"There are so many today," she complained, rubbing her temple.
Her colleague at the next desk gave a quiet laugh.
"That's what happens when a company is on the rise. Who wouldn't want to work here?"
Nisa merely nodded.
Her eyes returned to the computer screen.
One name after another passed by.
Until one application made her fingers stop.
Yubi Pratama.
Excellent academic scores.
A graduate of a prestigious university in China.
Fluent in Mandarin and English.
An internship at an international logistics company.
"Interesting..."
Nisa began opening his personal information.
But when she read the father's name listed on the form, her brow slowly furrowed.
Father: Ardi Pratama.
The name felt familiar. She tried to remember.
Yes, that name was written on a gravestone that the boss and his family visited every year. On the date engraved on the gravestone, the boss always cleared his entire schedule for three hours. If she remembered correctly...
Mr. Surya's brother.
Her heart began beating a little faster.
"He's family, too."
She opened the company's family records, which were kept for internal administrative purposes.
A few minutes later, Nisa's face went stiff. But as far as she knew, the boss would be furious if Raka, his close friend, brought up the late Ardi Pratama's son.
"Oh my God."
She quickly stood, taking the tablet containing the applicant's information with her.
Meanwhile, on the top floor.
Kenan had just finished a meeting with several division managers.
"Customer satisfaction is up three percent."
"Good."
"Distribution in the eastern region is also ahead of target."
"Keep it up." His reply was brief, his expression impassive.
He was known for not saying much while he worked.
After all the meeting participants had left, Raka walked in without knocking.
"Still alive?"
Kenan raised one eyebrow. "Are you a marketing director or a comedian?"
"Both."
Raka immediately sat on the sofa and picked up a bottle of mineral water.
"When was the last time you got home before eight at night?"
"I forgot."
"If you keep this up, your hair's going to turn gray early."
Kenan chuckled softly. "You still have time to joke around."
"Of course."
Raka studied his friend for a few seconds.
They had been friends since high school.
He knew very well that behind Kenan's success today was someone who had changed completely from the person he had been five years ago.
Kenan used to laugh easily.
Now...
He spent most of his time working.
"Are Auntie and Uncle doing well?" Raka asked.
"They're fine."
"Are they still telling you to get married soon?"
Kenan sighed.
"Every week."
Raka laughed in satisfaction.
"No wonder your face keeps getting colder."
Before Kenan could answer, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Nisa stepped inside with the tablet.
"Sorry to interrupt, sir."
"What is it?"
"It's... about one of the applicants."
Kenan accepted the tablet without saying much.
At first, he only skimmed it.
Name.
Age.
Education.
Everything seemed ordinary.
But when his eyes stopped on the applicant's full name, his fingers froze.
Yubi Pratama.
The room suddenly felt silent.
Kenan's gaze changed.
It was no longer impassive. It was cold. Ice-cold.
Raka, sitting on the sofa, grew curious.
"Who is it?"
Kenan didn't answer.
He simply continued staring at the screen.
Five years.
Five years had passed without a single word.
The person who had disappeared all this time...
Had suddenly appeared.
And... applied for a job at his company.
"Sir?" Nisa called cautiously.
Kenan finally set the tablet on the desk.
"What position did he apply for?"
"Operations staff."
"His grades?"
"Among the top three."
"Experience?"
"Quite good."
The room fell silent again.
Nisa could even hear the air conditioner.
She felt as though she had come at the wrong time.
Kenan stood facing the large window overlooking Jakarta.
Images from the past surfaced without warning.
A little boy who had followed him everywhere.
Playing soccer.
Studying together.
Fighting over ice cream.
Until...
The day everything changed.
His family only learned that his uncle had died several days after the funeral.
The family factory had already been sold.
Yubi had left. His good cousin.
Without a single explanation.
Without a word of farewell.
From that day on, Kenan made one decision. He no longer had a cousin named Yubi.
"Mr. Kenan?"
Nisa's voice broke into his reverie.
He turned around.
His expression was calm again.
But his eyes were no longer the same.
"Call him in."
Nisa blinked.
"I'm sorry?"
"Schedule an interview."
"Yes, sir."
Nisa nodded and left the room.
As soon as the door closed, Raka stood up.
"Yubi?"
Kenan didn't answer.
"The Yubi from back then?"
"Yes."
"Are you going to hire him?"
Kenan stared at the buildings outside the window.
For a long time.
Until finally, he said quietly,
"I want to see... whether the person who was heartless enough to abandon his family can still look me in the eye without feeling guilty."
Raka fell silent.
He had known Kenan for a long time.
He rarely ever heard that tone in his voice.
Which meant...
The wound from five years ago had never truly healed.
On the other side of the city, unaware of what was happening, Yubi was walking out of a convenience store with a bag of instant noodles and bread to last him for the next few days.
The phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.
An unknown number.
Yubi answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Good afternoon. Am I speaking with Mr. Yubi Pratama?"
"Yes, this is he."
"My name is Nisa from Mahardika Nusantara Group."
Yubi stopped walking.
"We'd like to invite you to a job interview the day after tomorrow at nine in the morning."
Yubi was silent for a few seconds.
His heart beat faster.
"Mr. Yubi?"
"Y-yes..."
"Would you be able to attend?"
Yubi closed his eyes for a moment.
At last...
The opportunity had come.
"I'll be there."
"All right. We'll see you the day after tomorrow."
The call ended.
Yubi looked at the Jakarta sky, which was beginning to cloud over.
He smiled faintly.
Yubi held his phone for a while after the call ended.
Mahardika Nusantara Group.
The company's name filled his thoughts again.
He should have felt happy. With how difficult it was to find work, receiving an interview call this quickly was good news. Yet for some reason, a sense of unease had been bothering him for a while.
It wasn't the interview.
It was the name.
Kenan.
Yubi stared at the busy road. People hurried past, each occupied with their own lives, while his thoughts returned to five years ago.
He let out a soft breath.
"It's okay."
It wasn't as though a company that large had only a few employees.
There was no guarantee he'd meet Kenan in person.
And even if they did meet...
Kenan might not recognize him anymore.
Yubi slowly shook his head, trying to drive away the thoughts that made his chest feel tighter.
When he reached his rented room, Yubi immediately opened his laptop.
He reread the profile of the company he would be visiting the next day.
Mahardika Nusantara Group.
It had started as a small distribution business run by Mr. Surya and his wife. Over the past few years, the company had grown rapidly and now had several subsidiaries in logistics, trade, and food distribution.
Yubi smiled without realizing it.
"Uncle Surya really is amazing."
His father used to tell him that his younger brother had incredible drive.
"Surya is stubborn, but once he has a goal, he won't stop until he succeeds."
His father's words still echoed clearly in his mind.
Yubi slowly closed the laptop.
"I hope you're doing well, Uncle."
He didn't dare hope for more.
Being able to see his father's family from a distance was enough.
The next morning.
Yubi woke up earlier than usual.
He ironed the white shirt he planned to wear, fixed his hair, and put on the watch his father had given him.
The watch was quite old.
The leather strap had begun to fade.
But Yubi always took good care of it.
"This is all I have left of you, Dad."
He smiled faintly, then left.
The Mahardika Nusantara Group building stood majestically in Jakarta's business district.
Yubi looked up at it for a few moments.
"It's huge..."
He hadn't expected Uncle Surya's family business to grow this far.
After checking in at the reception desk, he was directed to the applicant waiting room.
Six other people were already sitting there.
Some were busy reading through their documents.
Others appeared to be practicing their introductions.
Yubi chose a seat in the corner of the room.
His hands gripped the folder containing his documents.
He tried to calm himself.
About fifteen minutes later, a woman in a gray suit stepped out of the HR office.
"Good morning. I'm Nisa."
All the applicants stood.
"There will be a short test and an interview today. Please wait until your name is called."
The names were called one by one.
A considerable amount of time passed.
Until finally—"Yubi Pratama."
Yubi immediately stood.
"Please come with me."
"All right."
Nisa led him down a fairly long hallway.
"Please come in," Nisa said with a polite smile.
Yubi entered the interview room. About three people sat behind a desk, staring directly at him after he took the lone seat in the middle. He introduced himself, then moved smoothly through the question-and-answer session and written test.
After leaving the room, Yubi planned to eat at a café near the office as a reward for having the courage to apply to Kenan's company. But he hadn't expected Nisa to still be waiting outside the door.
"Come with me again," she said, leaving Yubi confused.
"Huh? I thought there wasn't going to be another interview?"
Nisa smiled faintly. "There's another meeting just for you."
Another meeting?
Without another word, Nisa walked ahead, leaving Yubi with a storm of thoughts in his head. They continued down the hall until they reached a large door.
Written above it:
President Director.
Yubi froze.
The president director?
Why was an operations staff applicant being interviewed directly by the president director?
Nisa knocked on the door.
"Sir."
"Come in."
The voice sounded calm.
But...
Yubi knew that voice.
His heart seemed to stop beating.
Nisa opened the door.
"Please come in."
Yubi's steps felt heavy.
As soon as he entered the room, his gaze went straight to the man standing near the window.
He was tall.
His shoulders were broad.
The black suit made him look even more imposing.
When the man turned around...
Their eyes met.
The room suddenly fell silent.
Five years had passed.
Kenan's face had become far more mature.
His jaw was more defined.
His eyes were sharp.
But one thing had not changed.
That gaze.
The gaze that had once always been filled with warmth.
Now, it held nothing but coldness.
So cold.
"Please sit."
Kenan's voice was flat.
Yubi slowly pulled out a chair.
"Thank you."
Nisa placed the job application folder on the desk.
"In that case, I'll leave you to it."
The door closed again.
Now, only the two of them remained.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Kenan opened the application folder without looking at Yubi.
"Bachelor's degree in Operations Management."
"Yes."
"Graduated with very high honors."
"Yes."
"You speak Mandarin."
"Yes."
Yubi's answers were brief.
He knew this was no ordinary interview.
Kenan closed the folder.
Only then did he look directly at Yubi.
"Why did you come back?"
The question left Yubi silent.
"I asked why you came back."
Yubi lowered his head for a moment before answering.
"I want to work."
"That's not my question."
The room fell silent again.
Kenan leaned back in his chair.
"Five years."
His voice remained calm.
"No phone calls."
"No word."
"No explanation."
"And now you show up as if nothing ever happened."
Yubi clenched both hands beneath the desk.
"I..."
"Why?"
Yubi raised his face.
There were so many things he wanted to say.
About his mother's threats.
About why he had disappeared.
About the regret that haunted him every day.
But everything caught in his throat.
"I'm sorry."
That was all.
The only words that came out were an apology.
Kenan smiled faintly.
But there was no warmth in it at all.
"Sorry?"
He slowly stood.
"Do you think saying sorry can bring Uncle back?"
Yubi fell silent.
"Can sorry bring back the factory that was sold?"
"Or erase the five years we spent believing you'd deliberately thrown your own family away?"
Each question felt like a blow.
"You and your mother..."
Yubi could only lower his head.
"I deserve to be blamed."
That answer only made Kenan angrier.
"Why aren't you defending yourself?"
Yubi didn't answer.
"If it wasn't your fault, then explain!"
The room fell silent again.
For a long time.
A very long time.
But Yubi still chose to remain silent.
Seeing that, Kenan drew a long breath.
The anger he had kept buried all this time filled his chest again.
"I hate this attitude of yours."
He picked up Yubi's application folder.
"Five years ago, I might have hugged you."
"But now..."
Kenan placed the folder back on the desk.
"...I don't even know if I still have the right to call you family. The way you've shown up like this—doesn't it mean you think you don't have a family here?"
The words made Yubi's chest tighten.
But he held back the tears beginning to pool in his eyes.
He realized...
He truly had no right to ask for anything. Not even a chance to explain.
Kenan stared coldly at Yubi. The boyish face he remembered was still the same, only its contours had grown slightly more mature.
Why hadn't Yubi gone to see his father's family? Did he truly not consider them family?