The first week of October saw a birthday celebration at Yusuf's publishing house. Yolina, an assistant editor, had invited the entire office to a dinner party at a hotel. As the head of the office, Yusuf attended, and so did Kirana, along with most of her colleagues. š
The party lasted until around 9:30 PM. Kirana had gotten permission from her parents, promising to be careful and return home safely even though it was late. However, her father, worried about her traveling alone at night, had asked Stephan if he could possibly pick her up. Stephan agreed and left the Manalo home around 8:40 PM to drive to the hotel.
By 9:25 PM, he arrived. Though the night air outside was quite chilly, he got out of the car and waited, not wanting to miss her in the flow of departing guests. š
He spotted her walking out from a distance and waved to get her attention. Seeing him, Kirana made her way over to the car. At that exact moment, Yusuf emerged from the hotel's main entrance.
He saw them. šš
He saw Stephan, the same man from the car, standing by his vehicle in the cool night. He saw Kirana walking towards him, her form illuminated by the hotel's exterior lights. He saw her reach him, saw a brief exchange;perhaps a smile, a word,before she moved to get into the passenger side.
The scene was innocuous: a family friend giving a ride. But framed by the darkness, bathed in the artificial glow, and filtered through weeks of Yusuf's own growing preoccupation, it looked like something else entirely. It looked intimate. It looked like a conclusion to a date he hadn't known was happening. The professional faƧade he'd maintained all evening crumbled in an instant, replaced by a cold, sharp pang of something that felt perilously close to jealousy. He stood frozen on the steps, watching the car's taillights disappear into the night, the cheerful noise of the party behind him suddenly feeling very distant. š