That evening, the house felt livelier than usual. Sis Alya arrived with her husband and their four-year-old son. Naura also came with her husband and her one-year-old daughter.
After dinner, they gathered in the family room. The children were busy playing while the adults enjoyed tea and snacks.
Naira sat back against the sofa, watching her nieces and nephews play. She felt that evening was far more pleasant than the past few days.
Suddenly, Mom smiled at Naira.
“Oh, right. I ran into someone this afternoon.”
Naira, who had been drinking her tea, immediately turned toward her.
“Who?”
“A man.”
Sis Alya, who was reaching for a cookie, turned toward them too.
“What man, Mom?”
Mom let out a soft laugh.
“Earlier at the mall, Naira ran into a man she said was just an acquaintance.”
Naira immediately let out a long sigh.
“Mom...”
Naura looked at Naira curiously.
“Who?”
“His name is Arka.”
Naira fell silent. She was hearing that name again. She had only known him for a few days, yet somehow Arka had already appeared in front of her several times. Now his name had even become a topic of conversation in her family.
Sis Alya raised an eyebrow.
“Arka?”
“Yeah. He was the one who greeted Naira first. They looked like they knew each other pretty well.”
“Even though she said he was just an acquaintance,” Naura teased.
Naira snorted.
“He really is just an acquaintance.”
Mom nodded. “But I thought that man seemed polite.”
“He is polite, Mom. He just said hello.”
“And then?”
“And then what?”
“You don’t feel anything?”
Naira immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Naura smiled mischievously.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Because your face changed the moment Mom mentioned his name.”
“It didn’t change.”
“It did.”
“No, it didn’t.”
“It did.”
Naira glared at her twin sister in annoyance.
“Naura, be quiet.”
Naura only giggled. Mom smiled as she watched the two of them.
“Enough. I’m just saying he seemed nice.”
Naira toyed with the rim of the glass in her hand.
“Mom, I’ve only met him a few times. It’s not like I’ll necessarily see him again.”
“That’s exactly why. Maybe you’ll run into him again.”
Naira let out a long sigh.
“I hope not.”
Mom looked at her with a knowing smile.
“Why?”
“Because he talks too much.”
Sis Alya chuckled.
“So you’ve been paying attention.”
Naira immediately turned toward her.
“Paying attention to what?”
“To the fact that he talks a lot.”
Naira fell silent. She had just realized that she really did remember the little things about that man. Naura, who had been watching her twin sister’s expression all along, teased her again.
“If he’s just an acquaintance, why do you look so nervous?”
“I’m not nervous.”
“Then why have you been spinning your glass this whole time?”
Naira looked at her own hand. Her fingers really had been absently fidgeting with the glass the entire time. She quickly set it down on the table.
“Because I’m sick of you guys talking about him.”
Sis Alya smiled.
“You’re defending him already, and nothing’s even happened.”
“I’m not defending anyone.”
Mom merely chuckled at her daughter’s antics.
Meanwhile, Naura’s husband, who had been quiet until then, only listened to their conversation from time to time. He wasn’t particularly interested in the topic. But when Arka’s name came up, he felt like he had heard it before.
“Why are you so quiet, Bima? You usually join in and tease her.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I just feel like listening,” Bima, Naura’s husband, replied.
Naira gave a brief “oh” in response and ultimately chose to stay quiet, listening as they took turns telling stories.
Naira let out a long sigh. She didn’t want them to talk about that man anymore. If they kept going, they might force her to admit what had happened during their first meeting. Arka’s name did occasionally pop into her thoughts. But to Naira, it didn’t mean anything—at least not for now.