Driven by panic, Riza finally rose from the bus-stop bench and walked toward the registration line. She stood in a corner, hoping to spot Keisya among the crowds moving back and forth.
But the line grew shorter and shorter. One by one, visitors handed over their tickets and stepped into the magnificent building. At last, the line was gone.
Only a few staff members remained standing near the inspection table. Keisya still hadn't arrived.
"Did she forget or something? I can't get in without her anyway—she's the one carrying the tickets... Oh, Keisya, pick up your phone!" Riza squeezed her own fingers and paced back and forth across the plaza, her expression growing more anxious by the second.
There were no visitors left outside now. Everyone had already entered the auditorium building. Riza still stood alone near the barrier, looking utterly desperate.
Every now and then, her restless gaze collided with that of two female staff members who were preparing to tidy up the registration table.
"Excuse me, miss. Are you here to see the concert too?" one of the staff members greeted her politely in Japanese.
Riza approached their table with hesitant steps and a pleading look on her face.
"Yes, miss... I want to see the concert too, but I've been waiting for my friend this whole time. My friend has the tickets," Riza explained, trying to describe the situation as politely as possible.
She desperately hoped the staff member would take pity on her and give her a little extra time before the registration gate was completely closed.
The woman glanced at her watch and looked at Riza sympathetically. "But we're about to close. The event is going to begin soon. Is your friend on the way here?"
"She hasn't answered my calls, and she hasn't replied to any of my messages either... I'm afraid she may still be held up at the university," Riza said honestly, her voice sounding resigned.
The staff member discussed it briefly with her colleague, then nodded. "All right, we'll give you five more minutes. If your friend still hasn't arrived by then, we're sorry, but we won't be able to let you in because the auditorium doors will be locked."
"Thank you so much for your understanding, miss," Riza replied. Her anxiety eased slightly, though her eyes remained fixed on the silent phone screen.
Five minutes passed like a breath of wind. Riza's phone screen stayed dark, with no call back or message from Keisya. Her hopes collapsed completely.
Her desire to enjoy the entertainment and watch the concert with her best friend that day vanished without a trace.
With dragging steps and slumped shoulders, Riza walked back to the registration table to announce that she was canceling.
"It looks like I won't be going in after all... My friend still hasn't arrived. I'm sorry for bothering you both and taking up your time," Riza said softly, her voice heavy with disappointment.
"These are tickets for the two of us. Sorry I'm late!"
Suddenly, a deep, calm baritone voice shattered the silence of the afternoon from behind her.
Riza jumped in surprise. She turned around and found that the man who had been sitting beside her on the bus was now standing tall at her side, handing two physical printed tickets directly onto the registration table.
The female staff member smiled in relief as she accepted the two tickets. "Why are you late? Your friend has been waiting anxiously outside this whole time. But thank goodness, you can still get in before the doors are locked!" the staff member said to Riza.
Apparently, the two staff members assumed that this man was the friend Riza had been waiting for all this time.
"Ma'am... No! This isn't..."
Before Riza could piece together the words to correct the huge misunderstanding, the man beside her turned slightly and gave her a firm signal with his eyes, cutting off her sentence midair.
"Yes, miss," the man cut in casually, smiling at the staff member. "I still had a little work to finish, so I ended up arriving late."
The staff member quickly fastened two paper admission wristbands around their wrists. "Here, put these on. Go on in and enjoy the event. I hope you have a great time!"
Riza could only stand frozen in place. Her mind seemed to have turned to ice as she struggled to process the extraordinary chain of events that had just overtaken her within a matter of seconds.
The man turned to Riza, who was still stiff as an ice sculpture. "Come on, let's go in. Don't just stand there staring into space. The doors are about to close," he said, breaking Riza out of her daze and signaling for her to walk in ahead of him.
Riza followed the man's footsteps toward the auditorium corridor, her head filled with a million questions roaring inside it.
"Why did he suddenly claim to be the friend I've been waiting for? Why is he still outside the building at this hour? Didn't he arrive at this bus stop ages ago?? And... what is the meaning of all this sudden help??"
Riza was left even more confused, embarrassed, and utterly shocked by the mysterious man's actions—he had just saved her evening.