"Ugh, Kak Alan!" Prita pouted when Alan ignored her.
After they finished eating, Revina hurried to say goodbye and head home.
"Thanks for lunch, Professor. In that case, I'll get going."
"Aw, why are you in such a hurry, Kak Revi? Hmm, all right, then Kak Alan can take you home!"
"No, no, that's not necessary. Prita, I'll go home by myself."
"Don't, Kak. Kak Alan was the one who invited you here, so he has to take responsibility and drive you home."
"But, Prita—"
"It's fine. Revina, you're going home with me."
Revina was surprised that Alan was willing to drive her home.
"That's more like it, Kak! All right, Kak Alan and Kak Revi, be careful! Watch out—you two might get back together! Oops, did I say that out loud?"
"Prita, you'll have to deal with me when I get back here!!"
"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, Kak! Besides, I was just wishing the best for Kak Alan. You should be thanking me."
"Just you wait! You'd better watch out!"
They arrived in front of Revina's house.
"Thanks, Professor."
"You're welcome. In that case, I'll be going."
Suddenly, someone came out of the house to greet them.
"Vina, you're home, baby?"
"Yeah, Mom."
Revina's mother's gaze fell on Alan.
"Good afternoon, Auntie. How are you?"
"Good. Always good, as long as my daughter is happy."
"Mom..."
"Vina, what are you doing? How did you end up with him? Does Irsyad know you went out with him?"
"Mom, listen first. I just came from Professor Alan's house to discuss my thesis."
"Why did you have to come home with him?"
"I... Mom, I didn't do anything. Professor Alan just drove me home. The only thing between us now is my thesis. Professor Alan is my thesis adviser, Mom."
"Does Irsyad know?"
"Yes, Irsyad already knows Professor Alan is my thesis adviser."
"But does Irsyad know you're coming home with him now?"
"No, Mom. But—"
"Ahem, I'm sorry, Auntie. This isn't Revina's fault. I'm the one who—"
"I know exactly what happened. Please, Alan! Stay away from my daughter. Wasn't hurting Vina all this time enough for you? You left her, never gave her a clear explanation, and made Vina cry sadly every day. Luckily, there's Irsyad, who genuinely loves Vina."
"I'm sorry, Auntie. In that case, I'll take my leave."
Alan left his ex-girlfriend's house, while Revina continued arguing with her mother.
"Mom, why did you have to yell at Kak Alan like that for no reason?"
"Whatever. He deserved it. He was the one who hurt my daughter."
"But, Mom, Kak Alan never hurt me. I'm the one who hurt him by getting together with Irsyad without breaking up with him first. Kak Alan was really disappointed in me when he came back from China, Mom."
"This isn't your fault, baby. It's his fault for leaving you for so long. Anyway, you don't need to have anything to do with him anymore!"
"How can I not have anything to do with him, Mom? He's my thesis adviser now. Whether I like it or not, I still have to meet with him."
"Ugh, why did that boy have to become your thesis adviser? Can't you change advisers?"
"If I could, I would've changed advisers from the start, Mom."
Revina returned to working on her laptop. Several sheets of paper were scattered across her bedroom floor. She was determined to make progress on her thesis tonight because Alan had ordered her to start over from the beginning.
"Whew! Come on, Revina, stay motivated! No slacking off, period. I have to finish the opening chapter tonight. That arrogant professor is going to chew me out again if I don't have anything done. He'll definitely be happy to call me lazy and say I don't take this seriously. Hmm, but he is kind of nice, too. The journals he gave me are actually really useful. Ugh, why can't I stop thinking about him?" Revina rambled to herself in her room.
Suddenly, Revina's phone rang.
"Hello, baby!"
"Irsyad. What's up?"
"Do I really need a reason to call my own girlfriend?"
"You should have a reason."
"I just wanted to, baby. Am I bothering you? What is my Revina doing?"
"I'm working on my thesis."
"Wow, look at my hardworking girlfriend. Keep it up! I hope everything goes smoothly so you can defend it soon."
"Whew! I think it's going to be difficult, Ir. I have to start over from the beginning. I had already finished the opening chapter yesterday."
"Wait, how did that happen, baby?"
"That arrogant thesis adviser told me to. He said everything I'd done yesterday was wrong. It wasn't consistent or something."
"Hmm, it sounds like he's using his power to get revenge on you, baby. He wants to make things difficult for you."
"That's what I thought at first, too, Ir."
"At first? So you've changed your mind now?"
"Well, I understand that Kak Alan must be really angry with me. But even though he said the entire opening chapter was wrong, he didn't just criticize me for no reason. He explained why and gave me solutions, too. He even lent me a collection of journals and his old final project, which happened to have a topic related to my thesis. It was really useful."
"Isn't that what a thesis adviser is supposed to do? Make things easier, not harder."
"Oh, yeah, I guess you're right. Hehe..."
"It sounds like you're starting to fall for him again."
"Fall for him? Kak Alan? What are you talking about, Irsyad? So now you don't trust me?"
"It's not like that. I'm just afraid of losing you."
"Irsyad, enough. Don't start assuming the worst, okay? Anyway, how are things with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Your thesis."
"Oh, that? It's fine. I'm almost finished. You'd better get ready to congratulate me on my defense."
"Must be nice to be almost done!"
"Baby... Of course I have to finish first, right? I'm your senior. If we finish our theses at the same time, I'll be embarrassed that you caught up with me. Besides, I've been on campus way too long. I have to graduate soon before they force me out. Heheh..."
"Well, that's what you get for not focusing enough when you go to campus. All you ever do is attend meetings. You're such a turtle student!"
"Whatever, butterfly student, just be quiet! You need experience outside academics, too."
"I know. But at least I'm not as hectic as you are when it comes to student organizations."
"All right, all right. This turtle is going to listen now. I won't argue with the butterfly anymore, because this turtle has fallen completely in love with the butterfly."
"Hmm... Yeah, yeah. Enough. Don't bother me for now. I want to finish this so that arrogant thesis adviser won't chew me out again."
"Okay. See you tomorrow on campus, baby. My Revina has to keep fighting! I'm always praying that everything goes smoothly for you."
"Thanks, Irsyad. Bye!"
Early the next morning, Revina was already on campus. She remembered Alan's message from the day before, asking her to return his journals and USB drive to his office early in the morning. Now Revina stood in front of Alan's office. She tried to peek inside through the window. The office was still empty. Alan hadn't arrived on campus yet. Revina felt relieved that she could return Alan's things in peace without having to see the ice in his eyes or listen to his sharp remarks. She tried to open the office, but it wouldn't budge. The room was still locked.
Just as Revina turned around to go to the administration office and ask for the key to Alan's room, she was startled when she once again collided with the broad-shouldered body of her ex—her thesis adviser, that is.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, Professor Alan. I—I wanted to..."
"What did you want?"
"I wanted to return your things." Revina held up the collection of journals and USB drive in her hands.
"Then why are you leaving? My office is right there."
"I was going to get the key from the administration office first, Professor. Your office is still locked."
"You don't have to. I already brought the key. Come on!"
Revina couldn't understand why Alan was making her come inside. He could have simply taken the journals and USB drive from her and let her leave. But no, Alan was just being Alan. Ever since he became Revina's thesis adviser, he had been acting strangely more and more often.
As soon as Alan set his bag down in the office, Revina immediately put down the things she'd been carrying for him.
"Professor, in that case, I'll be going. Thanks for the journals and USB drive."
"Revina, wait!" Alan called.
Revina had just reached for the doorknob when she stopped. Her heart suddenly began pounding. She had no idea what mistake she'd made this time that had caused Alan to stop her from leaving. Revina's current thought was that perhaps the journals and USB drive had been damaged while she borrowed them.
"I'm sorry, Professor. What is it?"
"You... Where are you going?"
"I'm going to class, Professor."
"An early class? Doesn't it start at 7:30? It's only 6:50 right now."
"There's nothing wrong with going to class before it starts, right, Professor? Besides, I can't stay in your office forever. I've already returned your things as you asked yesterday."
"Are you sure you've returned everything that belongs to me?"
"What? I—I am, Professor. You can check. The journals and USB drive are still exactly as they were."
"No. Not those things. Something else. You can't return everything that belongs to me anymore. It's no longer whole. Maybe you won't be able to return it ever."
"Huh? What are you talking about, Professor Alan?"
"My heart."