. . As soon as he reached his boarding room, Yubi 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 Surya and his wife. Over the past few years, the company had grown rapidly, expanding into several subsidiaries in logistics, trading, and food distribution.
Yubi smiled without realizing it.
"Uncle Surya really is amazing."
His father used to tell him that his younger brother had an extraordinary drive.
"Surya is stubborn, but once he sets his mind on something, 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 anything more.
Just 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, then put on the watch his father had given him.
The watch was already 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 grandly in Jakarta's business district.
Yubi looked up at it for a moment.
"It's huge..."
He never imagined Uncle Surya's family business would have grown this far.
After checking in at the reception desk, he was directed to the applicants' waiting room.
Six other people were already sitting there.
Some were busy reading their documents.
Others were 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 stood at once.
"Please come with me."
"Okay."
Nisa led him down a fairly long hallway.
"Please go in," Nisa said with a polite smile.
Yubi entered the interview room. About three people were seated behind a desk, staring directly at him as he sat alone in the middle chair. He introduced himself, then completed the question-and-answer session and written test smoothly.
After leaving the room, Yubi planned to eat at a café near the office as a little self-reward for having the courage to apply to Kenan's family company. However, he didn't expect Nisa to still be waiting outside the door.
"Come with me again," she said, leaving Yubi confused.
"Wait, Nisa! I thought there weren't any more interviews?"
Nisa smiled faintly. "There's another meeting, just for you."
Another meeting?
Without saying anything else, Nisa walked ahead, leaving Yubi with a storm of thoughts. They continued down the hall until they reached a large door.
Written above it were the words:
President Director.
Yubi froze.
The president director?
Why was an applicant for an operations staff position 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 go in."
Yubi's steps felt heavy.
As soon as he entered the room, his eyes went straight to the man standing near the window.
He was tall.
His shoulders were broad and straight.
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 grown far more mature.
His jaw was more defined.
His eyes were sharp.
But one thing hadn't changed.
That gaze.
The gaze that had once always been filled with warmth.
Now it held nothing but coldness.
Utter coldness.
"Please sit."
Kenan's voice was flat.
Yubi slowly pulled out a chair.
"Thank you."
Nisa placed Yubi's job application folder on the desk.
"In that case, I'll take my leave."
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's face.
"Bachelor's degree in Operations Management."
"Yes."
"Graduated with highest honors."
"Yes."
"You speak Mandarin."
"Yes."
Yubi's answers were brief.
He knew this wasn't an ordinary interview.
Kenan closed the folder.
Only then did he look directly at Yubi.
"Why did you come back?"
The question left Yubi speechless.
"I asked you, why did you come back?"
Yubi lowered his head for a moment before answering.
"I wanted to work."
"That's not my question."
The room fell silent again.
Kenan leaned back in his chair.
"Five years."
His voice remained calm.
"Not a single phone call."
"Not a word from you."
"Not an 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 threat.
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 that smile at all.
"Sorry?"
He slowly stood.
"Do you think the word '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 deliberately abandoned your own family?"
Each question felt like a blow.
"You and your mother..."
Yubi could only lower his head.
"I deserve to be blamed."
That response only made Kenan angrier.
"Why won't you defend yourself?"
Yubi didn't answer.
"If it really wasn't your fault, then explain!"
The room fell silent again.
For a long time.
A very long time.
Yet 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, maybe I would've 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 my brother. Showing up like this—don't you think you're acting as if you have no family here?"
The words made Yubi's chest feel tight.
Still, he held back the tears beginning to well in his eyes.
He knew...
He truly had no right to ask for anything. Not even the chance to explain himself.
Kenan stared coldly at Yubi. The childish face he remembered was still the same, though its contours had grown slightly more mature.
Why hadn't Yubi gone to see his father's family? Did he really not consider them family?