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Chapter 4 - Episode 4: In the Dark

My name is Dinda. I work at the same office as Arya. All this time, I've only watched him from a distance. He's not the type to talk much, usually staying quiet at his desk with an unreadable expression. But I know there's something heavy in his life. The way he lowers his head when working, the fact that he's always the last to leave, and his empty gaze, as if holding a story he never wants to share.

I want to get closer to him, to know what he's really feeling. But I always hesitate. Not because I'm afraid of rejection, but because I feel like I'm nobody to him. Just a regular coworker who occasionally says "good morning" and "goodbye" without any deeper meaning.

Lately, I feel like something has changed in Arya. He looks more tired, he seems to zone out more often, and occasionally, he seems restless, as if thinking about something heavy. I want to help him, even if it's just with a few kind words or by being near him. But I never have the courage to truly speak up.

Then one night, everything changed.

It had been raining heavily since the afternoon. At the office, the electricity suddenly went out as night approached. Emergency lights flickered on, providing some dim illumination in the dark building. Most of my coworkers had gone home, but Arya and I were still on the upper floor. I was tidying up some documents, while Arya, as usual, was engrossed in his work.

"We're stuck," I muttered softly, staring at the window covered with raindrops. The elevator was down, the emergency stairs were pitch-black, and the sound of thunder outside made the atmosphere even more eerie.

Arya looked at me with a neutral expression, but there was something different in his face. "Looks like we'll have to wait for the rain to stop or the power to come back. Are you afraid of the dark?"

I shook my head, though honestly, I did feel a little uncomfortable. "No, it's just… it feels weird, being in the dark like this."

We sat in a small meeting room on the upper floor, the only room with enough light from the flickering emergency lamps. The rain grew heavier, accompanied by the loud cracks of thunder. Occasionally, I glanced at Arya, who sat still, staring blankly out the window. There was something on his face that was hard to explain, as if he was thinking about something heavy.

Suddenly, I felt something strange. A cold wind blew strongly, even though the windows were tightly shut. I shivered but tried to ignore it. The atmosphere grew more oppressive. I turned and heard faint footsteps in the hallway outside, even though we were sure no one else was on this floor.

"Arya, do you hear that?" I asked softly, trying to break the silence that was becoming harder to bear.

He nodded slowly, his face tense. "Yeah, but there can't be anyone. Everyone's gone home."

I tried to think logically, maybe it was just the old building creaking from the wind. But before I could say more, the meeting room door suddenly shifted slightly, though there wasn't enough wind to push it. We stared at each other, my heart racing.

"Arya…" I could barely finish the sentence, but he had already stood up slowly.

"You stay here," he said in a low voice, warning me with a seriousness that felt heavier than usual.

"Wait, don't go out. We don't know what's happening," I tried to stop him, but he just gave me a faint smile, though his eyes held something deeper.

"I just want to make sure."

I couldn't let him go alone, so I stood up and followed him out of the room. The hallway felt colder than usual. We walked slowly, with only the flickering emergency lights giving us a little light. The sound of our footsteps gradually softened, replaced by a silence that seemed to suffocate. I felt like I could hear my own heartbeat.

Suddenly, something fell from a shelf at the end of the hallway, startling both of us. The shelf was empty, and there was no reason for the object to fall on its own. I began to panic, but Arya remained calm. He took a deep breath and said, "Maybe it's just a coincidence. Let's go back to the room."

I nodded, though my heart was still pounding. As we returned to the meeting room, the atmosphere began to feel calmer, but there was something different. It was as if something was hanging between us, something that filled the room with an unspoken tension.

Seeing Arya try to protect me in a situation like this made me realize that he wasn't just someone I admired from a distance. There was something more. Something deeper than just a coworker.

In the midst of the heavy rain that night, in the dark, eerie room, I felt this feeling become more real. I wanted to be there for him, not just as a coworker, but more than that. I wanted to be someone he could rely on, someone who could help ease the burden he had been carrying alone.

Even though the rain had not stopped and the mystery on the upper floor remained unanswered, one thing became clear that night: I could no longer just watch Arya from afar.

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