The day before the festival, their class got a surprise: a transfer student who, for some reason, agreed to help with the Lantern Strings prep despite knowing nobody.
Her name was Ayunda "Yun." She had short, choppy hair dyed a faint lavender at the ends, and a kind of confident ease that immediately made her stand out. Within minutes, she was climbing ladders, tying knots, and laughing with people she'd just met.
Arka noticed first. The way everyone naturally made space for her, the way her smile reached her eyes. He filed it away quietly… until Bayu spoke.
"She's kinda cute."
It was an offhand comment, said while Bayu leaned against a crate of lanterns, arms crossed. His tone wasn't dreamy or obvious, just matter-of-fact, like he was commenting on the weather.
Arka's chest tightened.
Too quick, he laughed. "Cute? Please. She's literally holding the scissors the wrong way. Look, one bad snip and half the lanterns are gonna end up bald."
Bayu chuckled, shaking his head. "You're impossible." And just like that, he went back to helping Yun untangle the cords.
But Arka couldn't shake it. He kept up his usual stream of jokes, his loud commentary, the way he always filled every silence, but underneath it all, his thoughts snagged on that single sentence.
She's kinda cute.
Why did it feel like someone had flicked a pebble into the still water of his chest, sending ripples he couldn't smooth down?
Bayu was oblivious, of course. Yun was just another classmate to him, and Arka knew it. Still, when Yun laughed at something Bayu said, too casual, too easy, Arka's grin wavered for a second.
He covered it quickly. "Alright, Yun, if you want true lantern-tying mastery, you gotta copy me. Step one: pretend you know what you're doing. Step two: hand the rope to Bayu and run away."
Everyone laughed, Yun included. Arka smiled along, but the unsettled weight remained, tucked behind his chest.
And when Bayu walked past him later, brushing lantern dust from his hands, Arka hugged his pink rabbit plush a little tighter.