A cup of Americano sat neglected, thanks to its owner being lost in thought. Without realizing it, two packets of sugar had been poured into the brew. Dean smacked Loen on the arm while his friend busily enjoyed his hot chocolate.
R's eyes were empty, his gaze fixed somewhere far away. After lying around in the backyard, they had decided to hang out at a café near the school. They wouldn't go back until the lunch break bell rang. Once you skipped class, you had to stay consistent. That was his principle. They chose to continue their conversation, but R had been silent ever since they arrived.
Dean and Loen had investigated the email address and transfer receipt Kulfi had provided. Unfortunately, the email could no longer be traced. Either the culprit was highly skilled, or they simply weren't experts—the information had led nowhere. As for the transfer receipt, it came from a bank.
They racked their brains trying to uncover the person's identity, but customer confidentiality was the main obstacle. The two boys had told R they would try everything they could. But he only nodded without saying another word.
"If there's still a problem, tell us, R. We're not here as decorations," Dean said.
"We'll keep looking until we find something. You don't need to worry."
R stared intently at his two best friends. Then he nodded and smiled. The boy quickly drank his coffee before it got cold.
"Ugh! It's sweet," R cursed.
"That's why you shouldn't space out all the time. You drank my sugar and Loen's too, R."
"Sorry. I couldn't focus."
"Why?" Dean asked.
"They're that serious about erasing their tracks. They're obviously not ordinary people, right? I'm just wondering how that girl got involved with something like this. It's getting more interesting, De."
"Are you really falling in love, R?" Loen asked this time.
R didn't answer right away. He was confused about his own feelings. He knew Stela was far too intriguing to ignore. But he still couldn't identify what he felt. Could being curious about someone's life be considered falling in love? R wondered. He shook his head, trying to come to his senses.
"If you guys call something like this falling in love, then I guess I am."
Dean let out an annoyed sigh. He quickly finished his drink and dragged Loen away, leaving R muttering to himself. Loen simply followed him without arguing.
"Hey, goblin. Where are you going?"
"I'm leaving," Dean snapped.
Stela walked casually with Mia and Vero. The girl no longer made an issue of her case. The crowded cafeteria, packed with students, no longer intimidated her.
The girl chose to sit with Mia while Vero ordered food. Vero had lost a game, so she had no choice but to let herself be bossed around. Stela's attention was fixed on one student who had been staring at her for a while. Mia noticed and immediately turned to look in the same direction as Stela.
"Why are you staring at R?" Mia asked.
"He was staring at me first."
Mia simply nodded. She shifted her attention to a message from Kenand. Her boyfriend had sent dozens of messages since she left class. He didn't like Mia hanging out with Stela.
"What's wrong? Are you having a problem with Kenand?"
Seeing that something was off with Mia, Stela couldn't resist asking. Her new friend sighed irritably every time she opened her phone. Even though Stela didn't want to get involved any further, her curiosity was still intense.
"He doesn't like seeing you close to me?" Stela asked again.
Mia pressed her lips together, awkward and unsure how to react. She was terrible at lying. The girl was especially bad at hiding her feelings.
"That's fair. I'm not a good girl. If you want to avoid me, I'm okay with that, Ya."
"It's not like that, Stel."
"Kenand must've already told you about my past, right? It's all true, Ya. I really was part of FRS."
"So that forum wasn't made up? It really exists?"
Stela grinned. She was no longer embarrassed by her disgrace. Besides, in her opinion, it wasn't that bad.
"Hello, everybody."
Vero arrived and ruined the mood. She was carrying two plates of somai ordered by Mia and Stela. She had to go back again to pick up her own order.
"Why so quiet?"
Vero was puzzled by how the atmosphere had suddenly gone silent after she arrived. Mia refocused on her phone, and Stela looked away. Vero decided to sit down first before returning to the stall where she had ordered batagor.
"What were you talking about? Don't hide anything from me, please," Vero pleaded.
"Stela!"
The three girls turned toward the source of the voice. Mia and Vero couldn't hide their shock. Stela immediately stood when Mr. Teo approached her.
"Mr. Teo."
"Come with me."
Stela followed the teacher without saying goodbye to the two bewildered girls. R, watching from a distance, was just as shocked by what was happening in front of him. Why was the girl being called away? Why had the teacher come to get Stela from the cafeteria?
"I don't know why you're asking me about this. I don't think you're someone who deserves this information."
Teo tried to draw out information about the case Sanas was facing. His fiancée had immediately looked into what FRS was after it became a hot topic in the comment section. Unfortunately, the Facebook group people kept mentioning was tightly locked down. Their people were trying to break in, but they hadn't had any success yet.
"Then who does deserve it, Stel? You're still young. Something like this is beyond your reach."
"Something like this? What are you talking about, sir? I don't understand," Stela deflected.
Teo approached Stela. They were the only two people in the counseling room. He had arranged everything so the school counselor would let him use it.
"I know you're involved in Ramon, the famous bar owner's online prostitution business in Tangerang."
"What are you implying? Do you think I'm some cheap girl? You can check. I'm still a virgin."
The girl stood up and shouted. She even lifted her skirt as she declared that no man had ever touched her. Teo held Stela back and told her to sit down again.
"I know that, Stel. Sanas also said your other friends are virgins. That's why Ramon got away with it. They kept quiet, Stela."
"So if they kept quiet, what does that have to do with me, sir? I have the right to stay quiet too," Stela snapped, disgusted at being cornered like this.
"If you stay quiet too, Ramon will keep profiting from people's suffering forever. You're not safe from his targets either. You'll never have peace, Stel."
Stela reflected on Teo's words. He had struck a nerve. She couldn't hold back her tears when Teo brought up her fate and that of her other friends. Stela's life had been perfectly fine until the police caught wind of Ramon's business and the victims began to emerge. One traitor who had stepped off the path had destroyed her comfort.
"I know this is hard, and you're right—I may not deserve to hear your confession. But I intend to help you, Stel. Sanas wants to see this through."
"What do you want to know?" Stela finally said, and Teo smiled.
"Only FRS has appeared in the comments and as the name of the forum. What exactly are you people?"
Stela took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and prayed silently. She hoped this wouldn't be the beginning of a new ruin. She promised herself she'd contact Simon as soon as she left the room.
"FRS is an acronym, sir. Friends rental service."
"There, your twin. Get over there, quick!" Dean ordered.
"Tch, what do you guys want? Why do Vero and I have to be the targets?"
"Huh, asking Mia is the same as asking Kenand to kill you. Besides, your sister's close to Stela too. She's the class gossip conduit, right? Now go!"
R simply listened to his friends bicker. He went along with every plan Dean had devised. Loen had no choice but to make his move. Dean's whining was an awful virus he didn't want to hear.
Loen approached Vero, who was sitting alone. Kenand had just pulled Mia away, for reasons unknown. He immediately dragged over the chair in front of Vero. The girl jumped when her twin suddenly showed up.
"Loen?"
"Aww, look at the single girl!"
Vero smacked Loen on the head with her spoon. "You're such a pain!"
"Ow!" Loen rubbed his head. "Take it easy, Ver. No wonder all the guys run away from you. Why are you so wild?"
Vero's temper shot right back to the top of her head. Loen had picked a fight at exactly the wrong time. She raised her spoon again, ready to hit him once more.
"Hey! Hey!" Loen managed to grab Vero's hand. "That hurt, Ver. The first one still hurts. You want to add another?"
"Then stop running your mouth. What do you want? You wouldn't come here without a reason, right? Especially with your two friends standing guard over there."
Loen glanced toward his two friends, standing stiffly beside the meatball stall. He cursed his friends' stupidity for not hiding at all. Loen swallowed and cleared his throat before starting.
"Yeah, yeah. I came because they told me to. Just tell me—what do you know about Stela's case?"
Vero looked up. "None of your business. Or mine."
"Please, don't make this complicated, Ver."
"I really don't know. Stela only told Mia. If you want to know more, just read the comments on that squad kid's post."
"We already took the post down. Was there any useful information?"
Vero didn't answer right away. She hesitated over whether she should tell her twin about something that wasn't certain yet. Besides, she had no idea why these three boys were digging into the problems of the new girl at school.
"Why are you guys so nosy?!"
"Tch, R likes Stela. He just wants to know, nothing more. We also want to help that girl get out of this mess. Through the link R has."
Vero's mouth fell open. Her hand instinctively covered it. She had suspected that R liked Stela. This was the first time Vero had seen R interested in a girl.
"Wow! That guy can actually like a girl?"
"Now tell me. What is it?"
"The rumor is that Stela's part of FRS. It's a forum that's all over Facebook, full of rich older men and women. I don't really know what they're about, and I'm not sure whether Stela's part of them or not."