"๐ฝ๐ค๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ช ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ง๐๐ฅ.. ๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ช?, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ข๐ฅ๐!!
โขโโโโขโขโฆ โก โฆโขโขโโโโข
"Mom, how's Via doing?" Mathius George Berlin's voice cut through the quiet of the now-empty classroom.
"๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ด๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ช๐ด ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ, ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ," the voice on the other end of the line sounded relieved, yet still carried traces of unease.
"What really happened?" Mathius pressed, his jaw tightening.
"๐'๐ญ๐ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ."
Mathius let out a long breath, trying to ease the tightness in his chest. "Sigh... okay. As long as Via's alright, that's all that matters."
Click.
The call ended. A warm embrace suddenly wrapped around his arm. Amora Dewi Kusuma rested her head on Mathius's shoulder, her gaze full of curiosity.
"Honey, who were you talking to?" Amora asked playfully.
Mathius looked at his girlfriend with a softening expression, though his fingers still massaged his throbbing temple. "Mom."
"Is something wrong with her? Did something bad happen?"
"Via... she was kidnapped yesterday," Mathius whispered, half his mind still trapped in worry.
Amora jolted, her eyes widening in shock. "How could that happen?"
"I don't know for sure. Mom will explain everything at home later," Mathius replied, gently stroking Amora's hair as he tried to calm both her and himself.
"Okay... oh right, honey. I have class today, so I'll head out first," Amora said as she packed her bag.
"Let me walk you there?" Mathius started to stand, even though the pile of medical assignments and thesis drafts in front of him seemed to scream for his attention.
As the prospective successor to Dr. Yohan at Berlin Hospital, time was a luxury he rarely had.
"No need! I can go alone. You have a packed schedule todayโdon't let your work pile up just to walk me there," Amora cut him off quickly, almost too quickly.
Before Mathius could protest, the girl had dashed out of the room, leaving him to sigh resignedly in front of his laptop.
ย
โขโโโโขโโโโขโโโ
Twenty minutes passed in an eerie silence.
In another corner of the campus hallway, a mysterious woman leaned against the cold wall.
Her eyes were fixed on her phone, but her left hand clutched something striking: a fresh red rose, its petals gleaming as if just plucked from heavenโor hell.
When Mathius finally finished his work and stepped out of the classroom, he stopped short. By the door lay an identical red rose.
"Whose is this?" Mathius muttered in confusion. He scanned the empty corridor, but no one was there. Unwilling to leave it to be trampled, he picked up the flower and carefully tucked it into his bag.
The moment Mathius's back disappeared around the hallway corner, a pair of white shoes emerged from behind the door's shadow. Their owner stood motionless, watching the man walk away with an unreadable gazeโcold, sharp, yet heavy with longing.
Unaware he was being watched, Mathius headed toward the Faculty of Literature. His dream of becoming a surgeon as skilled as his father did not dull his romantic side; he simply wanted to make sure Amora had eaten lunch.
But he had no idea that the rose in his bag was more than just a flower. It was a message. And on this campus, someone had begun to move their chess piecesโcoming to collect on a promise left unfulfilled.