Watching everything unfold before him, Randa finally understood what was happening. Most likely, Mr. Budi had fired him just to make room for his nephew in the company. And the sudden promotion Randa received? Probably just a ploy to inflate the salary for that position so the nephew could step into a high-paying role from day one.
Anger bubbled up inside Randa. He wanted nothing more than to march over and give those people a piece of his mind. But that fury quickly faded when he remembered Mr. Budi's threat—to take legal action if Randa caused any trouble. In the end, he had no choice but to swallow the bitter taste of helplessness and stay silent.
Feeling deflated, he began packing his things into a cardboard box. As he walked down the hallway carrying his belongings, Irfan spotted him and asked, puzzled, "What are you doing, Randa? Why are you putting your stuff in a box?"
Randa could only offer a bitter smile.
"It's nothing. I just might not be working here anymore starting tomorrow."
Irfan was stunned. "What? Why?"
Again, Randa just gave a weak smile, saying nothing.
Seeing his expression, Irfan began to piece things together. Considering the new hire announcement earlier, it wasn't hard to figure out what had happened. It made no sense—Randa was polite, diligent, and dependable. Had the company lost its mind?
Even though he felt it was unfair, Irfan knew there was nothing he could do. The decision had already been made.
"Well then… I wish you all the best. This isn't the only place to work. With your skills, you'll shine anywhere."
Randa nodded in appreciation. After that, he went around to say goodbye to a few coworkers. Their reactions were similar—surprised, but not deeply affected. After all, they were just colleagues. Chances were, they'd never cross paths again.
He then headed to the fingerprint scanner to clock out for the last time. But when he pressed his finger, the familiar beep! never came.
At first, he thought the machine was broken. But when someone else used it, it worked just fine. Randa stood there, a suspicion forming in his mind: "Did they already delete my fingerprint from the system?"
He shook his head in disbelief. Whatever little tie he had left to the company was now truly gone.
Randa walked to the parking lot and carefully placed his box of belongings on the seat of his motorbike. Then he rode off, with no real destination—just trying to clear his head.
His severance pay was due in a few days. Thankfully, Mr. Budi hadn't complicated that part—perhaps out of fear that pushing Randa further might provoke a desperate reaction. With his last paycheck and some savings, he figured he could get by for a while during his job search.
But just as he began zoning out on the motorbike, he suddenly felt the handlebars grow unsteady. He quickly pulled over and checked—the front tire was flat. A shiny piece of metal was lodged in it.
"Seriously?!" he muttered. As if things weren't already bad enough.
With no other choice, Randa began pushing his motorbike, hoping to find a repair shop nearby. Moments later, he felt tiny droplets hit his head. Looking up, he saw thick storm clouds gathering. Panicking, he pushed faster and barely made it to a nearby bus stop as the sky unleashed a torrential downpour—like a dam had burst open.
Gratefully, Randa sat in silence under the shelter, not even tempted to check his phone. Wrapped in the rain's melancholy mood, he let his mind drift, eventually losing track of time.
After the storm passed and the sky cleared, Randa resumed pushing his bike. The wet pavement made it tough, but his spirits lifted when he spotted a repair shop in the distance.
Just as things seemed to be turning around, a car sped past and splashed dirty water all over him. Stunned, Randa froze, quickly wiping his face. As his vision cleared, a familiar rage surged through him.
Without thinking, he grabbed a rock from the roadside and hurled it at the car.
He instantly realized it was a reckless move. But when he saw who was driving, his anger exploded all over again.
"You bastard! You took my job, and now you're messing with me too?! You think I'm just someone you can push around?!"
Behind the wheel was none other than Mr. Budi's nephew. But the car was already too far away, and the rock missed. Frustrated and out of breath, Randa gave up and continued pushing his bike toward the shop.
When he arrived, he went straight to the mechanic."Hey, can you patch the front tire?"
The mechanic nodded and got to work. It didn't take long.
"All done," the man said.
"How much?"
"One hundred thousand."
Randa's eyes widened. "What? That's way too much! It's usually just fifteen!"
(Note: 100,000 Indonesian Rupiah is roughly $6.50 USD, while 15,000 Rupiah is about $1.00 USD. Still, a nearly 7x markup feels like a scam in local terms.)
The mechanic scowled. "Fifteen? No way! This is top quality! And if you don't wanna pay, I'll scream 'Thief!' right now!"
Randa was stunned by the sudden aggression. Not wanting any more trouble, he reluctantly paid—his heart burning with frustration—and quickly turned to leave.
But just as he stepped away, a group of cheerful children ran toward the mechanic.
"Haha! brother, I scattered the nails just like you said! Where's our money?"
"Yeah, where is it? I want meatballs!"
"I want ice cream!"
Randa froze in disbelief. So that's why I got a flat tire… Furious, he was ready to turn around and confront the mechanic. This time he had witnesses and evidence.
But before he could, a group of tough-looking men showed up and began chatting casually with the mechanic. Randa sighed deeply and backed off.
"Figures… little kings everywhere you go," he muttered, resigned.
When he finally arrived at his rented home, a chubby black-and-white cat—looking like a miniature snow leopard—was waiting by the door.
The cat sniffed him curiously, then walked away without a sound, clearly unimpressed by the lack of food.
Randa couldn't help but smile. That arrogant cat always acted like royalty—only affectionate when treats were involved.
He remembered the first time he met her. She had been rummaging through the trash—skinny, dirty, and pitiful. But what moved him was how she didn't eat the food she found. Instead, she brought it to a dried-up, lifeless orange cat nearby—maybe her mother.
Randa still couldn't understand how a scruffy village cat had given birth to something so striking. Touched and impressed, he had adopted her. These days, she still loved leftovers—but only his.
Without another thought, Randa took a shower and cleaned himself up. Then he rested for a while. Eventually, boredom crept in. He fiddled with his phone for a bit, then opened his laptop and logged into LinkedIn.
He began applying to different companies, so focused that he lost track of time. Then, suddenly—
Ding!
System activated!
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