Mia fiddled with the magazine she had just bought with Vero and Stela. The three girls were sitting together, enjoying the smoothies they had ordered at a café near Gramedia. Vero was thoroughly enjoying the food in front of her. Stela, meanwhile, was still lost in thought.
R had been ignoring her messages all day. Stela also hadn't caught sight of him anywhere she went. She was still reluctant to admit that she had fallen for R, even though the first stirrings of longing had already appeared in her heart.
Vero mischievously pulled Stela's glass away, leaving the girl confused as she searched for her drink. Mia burst out laughing when Stela realized Vero had sabotaged her smoothie. The girl put on an annoyed expression as she snatched it back.
"LOL, chill, Stel. What are you thinking about?" Vero asked with a giggle.
"Whatever!"
Stela finished her drink to the last drop. She even set the glass down with a sharp clack. Vero swallowed hard, afraid of making the wrong move and ending up tragically.
"Sorry, sorry, I was just kidding, Stel," she said again.
"What is it? Just tell us. Maybe we can help," Mia offered, earning a nod from Vero.
"No way. You guys will laugh at me if I tell you."
Vero and Mia exchanged glances. They smiled wickedly in unison once they understood what Stela meant. What other story could make them laugh if not one about R? Stela was still desperately protecting her image and didn't want to look lovesick in front of them.
"You miss R, don't you?" Vero teased.
"Whatever!"
Stela looked away and folded her arms across her chest. She huffed repeatedly, her annoyance growing with each breath.
Vero wasn't about to give up. She quickly messaged Loen to ask where R was. Usually, the three of them spent their days off together, either going out or just hanging out in one of their rooms.
"Loen replied to my text!" Vero exclaimed when she saw the notification.
Stela badly wanted to turn around and look, but her pride was stronger. She kept her arms folded, sneaking glances at Vero and Mia every now and then.
"Stel," Vero called. Both girls' expressions turned gloomy. Stela suddenly grew worried.
Vero handed her phone to Stela. The girl took it and immediately checked Loen's reply, which had silenced both of her friends. Stela was just as shocked when she saw the message.
Where are you?
I'm at R's house. He's sick.
Stela didn't want to believe it just like that. After all, the boy had looked perfectly fine. It was strange for R to suddenly get sick, like rain appearing out of nowhere without a cloud in sight.
"Want to go check on him? I can ask Loen to share his location," Vero offered.
"No, it's fine." Stela handed Vero's phone back. "He's probably lying."
"Tsk, you're so negative about your own boyfriend. R gets sick all the time. Right, Mia?"
Mia nodded. "As far as I know, yeah. It's happened more than once or twice."
"Okay."
Dean and Loen were unbearably bored from looking after R. After breakfast, the boy had chosen to return to dreamland. Even though they had been provided with all kinds of games and food in R's room, it was still boring.
Once again, Maria had left R in their care. The boy had only finished his IV the night before. She had given them several instructions to follow until she returned that afternoon.
"Your sister's coming here?" Dean asked.
"Yeah. I think she's already on her way."
"If she's coming, that means Mia and Stela are coming too, right?" Dean raised his voice.
At the mention of Stela's name, R instinctively sat up. His head immediately throbbed from moving too quickly. Dean and Loen rushed over when they saw R clutching his head.
"Hey, are you okay?" Dean asked in a panic.
R swallowed and nodded. "I'm okay. Just a little dizzy."
Loen lightly smacked R's shoulder. "That's what you get for sitting up so fast."
"Stela's coming here?"
"You get up the second you hear Stela's name, but you've ignored us ever since we got here," Dean complained.
"Hey, I'm seriously asking. Stela's coming here?"
Loen nodded with his hands on his hips. "Yeah, she's on her way."
R immediately panicked. He sniffed his shirt, starting on the right side and moving to the left. Then he ran a hand through his hair, checking how flat it was.
"I haven't showered, damn it. I smell, and my hair's a mess too."
Dean smacked R on the head. The boy immediately yelped and rubbed his own head. When R was sick, Dean and Loen dared to do anything without worrying about the consequences. Loen merely let out a rough sigh after hearing his lovestruck friend's concerns.
"You're running a fever. Don't bother showering. Here, use the cologne and pomade."
R nodded. Why hadn't that solution occurred to him? He quickly started to get up, but Loen stopped him.
"Where are you going?"
"To get that stuff, obviously."
"I'll do it. You sit here and look pretty."
Dean was pleased to see R being so obedient to them today. Stela's presence really had changed R's personality to some extent. It wasn't a bad thing; Dean and Loen could still see the real R underneath. At least being lovesick hadn't made R abandon his friendships.
Loen carefully combed R's incredibly thick hair. He was used to styling both R's and Dean's hair. That was because Loen was obsessed with hair gel and was even willing to spend hundreds of thousands of rupiah on pomade, like a girl willing to blow all her money on makeup and skincare.
Before Loen could finish, R's bedroom door swung open without a knock. The three girls who were about to enter stopped in the doorway, staring at the ridiculous scene. Loen immediately stopped what he was doing and hid the comb behind his back.
"What a warm welcome," Loen grumbled.
"Sorry, sorry, we'll come back. Sorry for interrupting," Stela said, holding back her laughter.
"Hey! Where are you going? Come here!" R shouted.
Loen waved, gesturing for Vero to follow him. He led Vero and Mia out to the balcony, leaving Stela and R alone. Dean smiled at Stela before walking over to Loen.
Stela returned the smile faintly. She didn't want to look too eager or cheap in front of R. The girl remained standing, making no move to come any closer.
"What are you doing over there? Come here!"
R patted the mattress. Stela walked over slowly, shyly. She sat down at the edge of R's bed without looking at him.
"Come closer!"
R tugged on Stela's hand, making the girl fall onto his lap. Damn it, their eyes met. R boldly gazed into Stela's beautiful eyes, his smile never fading.
Stela's heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest. Even pale and visibly weak, R was still R—the Big Boss of Immersion, famous for his good looks. She desperately wanted to get up, but R's hand held her firmly in place.
"A guy like you can get sick too?" Stela asked, breaking the tension.
"What kind of guy am I?"
"A pain in the ass, full of yourself, bossy, a bully, a—"
"But you like me, right?" R cut her off.
"See? You're such a pain!"
Stela tried to get up again, but failed once more. R had even grabbed both her hands and held them down firmly so she couldn't escape. He leaned forward until his face was only an inch from hers. Their noses nearly touched.
Stela squeezed her eyes shut. Her thoughts were already running wild. What if R suddenly kissed her? She was afraid of it—but she wanted it too.
R chuckled at her expression. He sat up straight again, leaving Stela confused by his behavior. On instinct, she smacked R's left arm, which happened to be where the IV and transfusion marks were.
"Ow!"
"You're such a pain!"
R rubbed his arm with a grimace. He was annoyed that the throbbing had managed to bother him. Stela immediately stood up in a panic.
"What happened? Sorry, sorry."
Now Stela could clearly see the needle marks on R's arm. There were quite a few, though they were covered by a temporary tattoo. Vero and Mia's words suddenly came back to her: R got sick often.
"It's fine. It just tickled."
"What's wrong with you?"
"Aww, you're worried about me."
Stela flicked R on the forehead. The boy rubbed his forehead instead. Even though it hurt, he was happy to see how serious Stela looked about her question.
"Sorry, sorry. Yeah, I'm sick. Sick with longing for you," R teased again.
R chuckled at his own joke, but Stela didn't. She continued staring into R's eyes. She wanted him to switch to serious mode as quickly as possible. Realizing that, R straightened up and took both of Stela's hands.
"Yeah, I really am sick, and this isn't easy," R said in the most serious tone he could manage.
Stela swallowed. "What do you mean?"
"I have thalassemia major."
"You're lying."
"I'm serious. I'm telling the truth this time, Stel."
"You lie so often that I can't tell what's true and what isn't."