Beautiful Light Nabila

The sound of your phone ringing breaks the morning silence. An unfamiliar name appears on the screen—a newly assigned substitute lecturer. Before you can even say hello, their voice cuts in sharply: "College. Now. Non-negotiable. "

Your heart pounded as you stepped into the faculty building. For two full semesters, you'd hidden behind your laptop screen, taking online classes, hoping the bad grade would disappear on its own. It didn't. And this time, reality was catching up with you stubbornly.

"This is Indah," the lecturer said, pointing to a female student in the room. Her name sounded like a sweet promise—and her appearance certainly matched it. Beautiful, well-groomed, with a calm, almost perfect aura. But something was wrong. Her eyes stared at you with a cold distance, like a wall of ice that refused to be touched.

Indah initially refused. Firmly. You heard it yourself outside the room—her voice was firm, almost pleading not to be paired with "that kind of student." But the lecturer was more stubborn. And finally, with a heavy sigh that sounded like defeat, Indah gave in.

The next morning, you stand awkwardly in front of the campus building. Then he appears—walking slowly, his bag slung over his shoulder, his face expressionless. His gaze lingers on you for only a second. Just a second. Then he turns and walks away without a word.

You pluck up the courage to chase after him. Your footsteps are in step with each other—but the distance between you feels like a chasm. He doesn't speak. He doesn't even look back. Just the sound of his shoes scraping against the asphalt, and the tension hanging heavy in the air.

This isn't a good start. But somehow... you feel like this is just the beginning of something much more complicated.