The third revision email came in before Dina had finished her coffee.
She read it all the way to the bottom, then scrolled back to the top. Several parts she'd changed yesterday now had to be returned to the original concept, while the client was still asking for a few new elements to be added.
Dina spun her chair toward Sera and held out her laptop.
“Ser, I have to ask. Do they actually want yesterday's version or today's?”
Sera read the email to the end before handing the laptop back.
“Today's. But they still want some parts of the old concept.”
Dina stared blankly at the screen.
“So I make something new, but not too new?”
“More or less.”
“Being a client must be nice.”
Sera chuckled. “If you want it nicer, become a client.”
“I'm serious.”
“So am I.”
Dina snorted and turned back to her laptop. Like it or not, she still had to finish the materials.
And that day seemed determined to test her patience. She had barely finished one revision when another team sent in a request. Then another email came in from the client. Just when her work was almost done, her design app stopped responding.
Dina stared at the frozen screen.
“Please, no.”
Miko happened to be walking by with his laptop. He stopped beside her desk.
“Did you save it?”
“Yeah. But not the latest version.”
Miko immediately pulled over an empty chair. “Don't press anything yet.”
Dina turned to him. “Do I look like I was about to?”
“You look impatient and panicked.”
“I'm not panicking.”
“Good. Then just sit there.”
Dina wanted to argue, but in the end she let Miko check the app. A few minutes later, the file returned to normal and the latest version was saved successfully.
Dina let out a relieved breath.
“Okay. I admit you're useful.”
Miko stood and picked up his laptop. “I'm taking a picture first. I don't get compliments like this every day.”
“Don't get a big head.”
Dina chuckled before returning to her work.
By late afternoon, the final revision had finally been sent. Dina closed her laptop and leaned back for a moment. Her head was still full, but at least there was nothing else she had to work on that night.
She quickly reached for her phone. She only meant to take her mind off things for a moment after spending all day wrestling with revisions that seemed never-ending. She opened Instagram, scrolled through a few posts, then stopped at an ad for a bag that had appeared in her feed several times already.
Dina swiped up, but a few seconds later, she went back to the ad.
The bag really was nice.
She tapped the ad and opened the product page. The price, which would normally make her think twice, had dropped quite a bit that evening.
“Hmm.”
Dina zoomed in on the photos, checked the other colors, then went back to the price.
Not bad.
Her finger was almost closing the page when she noticed the words Flash Sale beneath the price.
She stopped.
“Oh my God, don't do this to me.”
Dina opened the product page, looked through the buyer reviews, then checked her account balance.
The number wasn't encouraging.
She still had money, but if she bought the bag now, what she had left until payday would be thinner than she wanted.
Dina was about to close the app when she noticed another payment option.
She paused.
“Whatever. I'll use my credit card.”
If she paid it next month, she wouldn't have to touch her account balance now.
Dina entered her card information and tapped pay.
Payment successful.
She smiled faintly.
“There.”
At least one thing had gone the way she wanted that day.
Dina went back to the online shopping app, which she still hadn't closed. A pair of shoes she'd looked at several times appeared not long afterward. She opened her wishlist to make sure she hadn't already bought the same style.
She hadn't.
“I've wanted these for a while, too.”
Into the cart they went.
A few minutes later, the payment went through again.
Some skincare she'd saved before caught her attention next. And it was on sale.
“I do need this, right?”
A desk organizer appeared after that.
Dina stared at it for quite a while. She already had several at home, but this one was nicer and the size was perfect for her desk.
“To keep things organized.”
One click.
Done.
Only then did Dina notice four payment notifications on the screen.
She raised an eyebrow.
“Not bad.”
It wasn't enough to make her panic. Her account balance was still untouched, after all.
That was when Miko returned to the desk to grab his charger.
He saw Dina's phone screen and stopped.
“Did you go shopping?”
Dina locked the screen. “Yeah.”
“Didn't you say your money was running low?”
“That's why I used my credit card.”
Miko pulled up a chair beside Dina's desk. “So when are you paying for it?”
“Next month.”
Dina said it casually, as if the problem had been solved the moment the payment date was moved to the following month.
Miko nodded.
“I love the way you solve problems.”
“You know those apps track your habits, right?”
Dina looked up. “What do you mean?”
“The more often you open a certain item, browse it, add it to your wishlist, or even just linger on one product, the more often similar items show up.”
Miko pointed at Dina's screen with his chin. “Tomorrow you look at bags, the day after that shoes show up. Next week, suddenly there's a limited-stock warning and you feel like you have to buy it right now.”
Dina looked back at the screen. “But what if the stuff is good?”
“Exactly.” Miko chuckled. “They keep making you hungry for more.”
Dina swiped through the screen with a smile. “So the algorithm is smart.”
“Not smart. It just memorizes your habits.”
“Same thing.”
“It's different.”
Dina raised an eyebrow. “How?”
Miko pointed at the four orders that had just come in. “If it were smart, it would know you already have three organizers at home.”
Dina immediately looked at him. “Was that a dig?”
“A little.”
“I can still pay for everything.”
“I didn't say you couldn't.”
Miko pointed at her phone screen. “Just don't look at the bill tomorrow and pretend you don't know it.”
Dina snorted. “I know how to use a credit card.”
“Good.”
“And I didn't buy anything weird.”
Miko looked at her order list.
“An organizer?”
“For my desk.”
Miko glanced at Dina's desk, which was covered with papers, sticky notes, two empty coffee cups, and a charger cable.
“Looks like you really need one.”
Dina held back a laugh. “See?”
Miko stood and picked up his charger.
“Don't forget to pay next month, okay?”
“Can you stop saying that?”
Miko was already walking away when he answered, “Sure. If you stop using it as an excuse.”
Dina picked up a pen and threw it at Miko's back.
Miko laughed without turning around.
Dina looked at her orders again.
The bag she'd been eyeing for so long, the shoes she'd added to her wishlist, the skincare she genuinely wanted to try, and the organizer that—if she thought about it—probably wasn't all that important.
She shrugged.
Today had been awful.
At least now she had something to look forward to.
That night, Dina sent a photo of the bag she'd just bought to the PENGABDI GAJI group.
Dina sent a photo of the bag she'd just bought to the PENGABDI GAJI group.
Dina: Finally bought the bag I wanted.
Adit replied soon afterward.
Adit: Nice. How much?
Dina immediately knew what he meant. She smiled as she typed.
Dina: Don't be nosy.
Adit: So it was expensive.
Dina: It wasn't expensive. I just wanted it.
Miko, who had been reading the conversation, finally joined in.
Miko: “Just”?
Dina frowned at that one word.
Dina: What?
Miko: Four orders this afternoon, and now you're saying you only bought a bag.
Dina opened her mouth, then closed it again. She knew Miko had counted everything.
Dina: Not everything was a big purchase.
Miko: The little things are usually the ones you don't feel.
Dina snorted as she typed her reply.
Dina: I'm still fine.
Adit chimed in.
Adit: The phrase “I'm still fine” is usually worth remembering until the end of the month.
Dina laughed when she read the message.
Dina: You're just jealous.
Miko: No. I'm just wondering whether you'll still be saying that tomorrow.
Before Dina could reply, Gilang's message came in.
Gilang: Have you added up the total yet?
Dina opened her credit card app for a moment. She hadn't added everything up, but she figured she could still pay it.
Dina: Not yet. But I should be fine.
Sera replied a little while later.
Sera: Whatever. Check it tomorrow. Don't worry about it tonight.
Dina smiled when she read that.
Dina: Now that's a real friend.
Miko immediately replied.
Miko: I'm a friend too. I just don't want you sending a screenshot tomorrow while crying.
Dina laughed.
Dina: I hate you.
Miko: I'll still be here tomorrow.
Dina set her phone beside her pillow and went back to watching her show.
A few minutes later, her credit card notification appeared.
Current balance updated.
She opened it without suspicion.
Then she stopped.
“Huh?”
The number on the screen was higher than she'd expected. Dina scrolled through the transactions one by one and only then realized there were several expenses from the previous week she'd left out of her calculations.
Food orders.
Subscriptions.
Little online purchases that had seemed insignificant at the time.
She grabbed a calculator.
She added them up one by one.
When the final number appeared, Dina leaned back against the headboard.
“Damn.”
She calculated it again.
The result was the same.
It wasn't so much that she couldn't pay. But if everything went onto next month's bill, she'd have far less money left than she'd expected.
Dina stared at the screen, remembering what she'd said that afternoon.
Pay next month.
“Wow, great thinking, Din.”
Her phone chimed again.
PAYDAY DEVOTEES
Dina opened the group.
Dina: Guys.
Miko replied immediately.
Miko: What?
Dina sent a screenshot of her credit card's current balance.
Adit replied a few seconds later.
Adit: Din…
Dina immediately typed.
Dina: Don't use that tone.
Adit: I only typed your name.
Dina: But I know what you mean.
Gilang joined in after that.
Gilang: Can you still pay it next month?
Dina quickly calculated based on her paycheck and the expenses she already had.
Dina: Yes. It's just going to be tight next month.
Miko immediately appeared.
Miko: There it is.
Dina snorted.
Dina: I know. You don't have to repeat it.
Miko: I haven't said anything.
Dina laughed despite her irritation.
Dina: That's exactly why. I know what you were going to say.
Sera sent a message a few moments later.
Sera: Talk about it tomorrow. Go to sleep now.
Dina finally set her phone down.
“Tomorrow,” she murmured before turning off the light.
Before she could even pull up the covers, her phone chimed again.
YOUR ORDER HAS BEEN SHIPPED.
Dina picked it up again.
The bag she'd bought that afternoon had already shipped.
She opened the order details and zoomed in on the product photo.
“It is pretty.”
Dina smiled for a moment before her gaze shifted to the closet.
Something about it felt familiar.
She got up, opened the closet door, and pulled out a bag she hadn't used in a long time.
Dina looked at the bag in her hand, then back at the order photo on the screen.
The color was different.
But the style…
“Oh my God.”
She sat on the edge of the bed, staring back and forth between the two bags.
The new bag that was on its way turned out to be almost identical to one she already owned.
Dina opened the group one more time.
She typed.
Deleted it.
Finally, she sent a photo of the old bag in her hand.
Dina: I just realized I already have something similar.
Miko's reply appeared less than a minute later.
Miko: Next month is still a long way off, right?
Dina stared at the screen for several seconds before dropping her face into her pillow.
“I seriously hate him.”