"What's going on? Could this be Anton's doing again?" Mbak Maya thought when she saw a group of thugs blocking her car.
"Get out… get out now!" one of the thugs demanded while banging on Mbak Maya's car window.
"Hey, what's wrong with you guys? Do you need money? Here's money, just don't bother me," Mbak Maya said after lowering her car window.
"We don't need money. We need that man. Where is he?" said a thug named Alek. It turned out he was one of the thugs Roni had beaten before, along with about seven of his friends.
"Aren't you ashamed, looking for one person with this many people? Tell Anton that if he's a man, he should come by himself," Mbak Maya said firmly. She had already guessed they were Anton's men, coming to look for Roni because of the previous problem.
"Just tell us where that man is. He dared to hit Anton. Anton is our friend, so we won't stay silent if someone hurts our friend," Alek said with bulging eyes.
"He's a boarder at my place, but he's out right now. You can look for him later when he comes back," Mbak Maya said, trying to make an excuse so Roni wouldn't be found and attacked by them.
"We want to see whether he's there or not. Come with us, now!" Alek said while pulling Mbak Maya out of the car.
Mbak Maya couldn't resist and could only comply. She was dragged back into her yard to look for Roni.
"Gather all the male boarders here so I can know which one he is!" Alek ordered his men.
The thugs immediately went to each boarding room and kicked the doors open. Some were eating inside, others were being intimate, all of them shocked when their doors were suddenly forced open.
"Get out, all of you!" the thugs ordered the boarders.
"What's going on?" Bayu asked, who had been enjoying himself in front of his laptop, suddenly disturbed by a group of thugs.
"Don't ask too many questions! Get out, now!" the thug ordered while forcefully pulling Bayu.
"Mbak, what's going on?" Bayu asked Mbak Maya.
"There's a small problem," Mbak Maya replied in a whisper.
Alek noticed Mbak Maya talking to someone and immediately approached Bayu.
"You're the guy, right? I can see it, you look like the one from that time!" Alek said while grabbing Bayu by the collar.
"What is this, Bang Alek? I don't know anything, I swear!" Bayu said with a frightened face.
Outside, the situation grew more chaotic. Many of the boarders were terrified by the presence of the thugs. Meanwhile, the person they were actually looking for—Roni—was still sleeping soundly inside Mbak Maya's room.
Anton arrived with a wet gauze covering the wound on his nose. He looked at all the boarders belonging to Mbak Maya and said, "He's not among them."
"Maya, where is that young man? Tell me now," Anton said forcefully.
"I already told them that the person is out. Besides, why do you have to call all these people just for one person? Aren't you ashamed?" Mbak Maya replied, mocking Anton for bringing so many people.
"So he knows who he's dealing with. It's impossible for him to have gone that fast. Don't tell me you're hiding him in your house?" Anton said, suspecting that Mbak Maya was hiding Roni inside. That suspicion was, of course, correct.
Hearing that, Mbak Maya panicked slightly and immediately looked for an excuse.
"Are you crazy? Why would I hide him inside my house? What would people say?" she replied seriously, enough to make Anton somewhat believe her.
"Hey, all of you! Is there anyone here who knows a handsome man? Tell us now. If not, you'll be beaten!" Anton threatened, forcing the boarders to confess.
Bayu, hearing that, immediately thought of Roni. "Are they looking for Roni? Oh my God… but why?" Bayu muttered to himself, but he didn't tell Anton.
However, Alek, who had already recognized Bayu's face, immediately approached him.
"Hey, you! I saw you before with a young man. He dared to fight us. Where is he now? Maybe he's the one Anton means, especially since Anton said he's handsome. Come on, where is he? You must know!" Alek said while pulling Bayu's collar.
"Oh my God, Bang, I don't know! That day I just happened to be with him. Let me go, Bang!" Bayu said fearfully. Even so, Bayu didn't tell Alek about Roni. Coincidentally, he really didn't know where Roni was. And even if he did, he wouldn't have told them.
Roni, who was sleeping inside the room, was finally disturbed by the noise outside. He grew curious and decided to go out to check. Moreover, as far as he knew, Mbak Maya had gone out, so he was worried there might be trouble.
Casually, he grabbed his shirt. As was his habit when taking a nap, Roni wasn't wearing a shirt. He slung it over his shoulder without putting it on, a habit he often had back in his village.
"What's going on, all this noise?" he asked as he came out, still looking sleepy and yawning occasionally.
Mbak Maya, seeing Roni come out, panicked. She hadn't expected Roni to wake up and appear at a time like this.
All eyes immediately turned toward Roni's voice.
"There he is! That's him…?" one of the thugs shouted while pointing at Roni who had just come out of the house.
"Maya… are you with him?" Anton asked suspiciously.
Mbak Maya, immediately understanding the direction of Anton's thoughts, quickly lied.
"Yes, why? I live in the same house as him because we're going to get married soon. He's my boyfriend, why?" Mbak Maya answered firmly, making Anton feel jealous and even more annoyed at Roni.
Meanwhile, Roni still didn't fully understand what was happening. He also didn't understand the meaning of their conversation.
"Alek, what are you waiting for? Beat him! He's the one who beat me!" Anton ordered angrily.
"Wait, hold on! Are you going to gang up on one person? This isn't right!" Mbak Maya said, trying to stop their actions.
"What's going on, all this noise?" Roni asked again, still unaware that he was the reason for all the chaos.
Roni began to observe Anton's face, and he remembered the previous incident. Finally, he realized the purpose of their arrival.
"You're the man from earlier, right? Oh, now I get it. So you're looking for me? Wow, there are thugs too. Wait, aren't you the thug I beat up back then for extorting people?" Roni said casually. There wasn't the slightest hint of panic on his face.
Alek, the one Roni meant, immediately felt embarrassed. He tried to brush off Roni's statement.
"You've got the wrong person. No way I'd be beaten by someone like you!" Alek said, defending himself.
"Because you got involved and dared to beat Anton, now you're our business too," Anton added angrily.
"Oh, so you want to test fighting skills? Come on, my hands are itchy anyway. I wasn't satisfied earlier beating his face. Come on, let's start!" Roni replied casually while standing upright, his shirt still slung over his shoulder.
Because he wasn't wearing a shirt, Roni's muscular body was clearly visible. The female boarders who saw him even swallowed hard in admiration. Only Mbak Maya looked normal, since she had often seen Roni's body, and had even touched it.
"Finish him off, now!" Alek ordered his men.
They immediately attacked Roni. But with a relaxed expression, Roni stepped forward to face them.
With just a few punches, Roni managed to knock down six of them.
"That's it? Come on, don't disappoint me. I had to wake up from my sleep just for this pointless game," Roni said, deliberately provoking their anger.
They got back up and attacked again, but still, they were no match for Roni. Thanks to his habit in the village of lifting heavy objects and practicing martial arts, Roni easily defeated them.
"City thugs like you can only hold money. How could you beat someone like me who's used to hard work? Damn it!" Roni said while tightening his fists to hit them again.
Roni's hard punches made their faces ache. They finally gave up and didn't want to fight anymore.
"Why stop? Come on! You too, Alek. Still curious about my punch yesterday? Come here, step forward!" Roni challenged.
Alek, feeling afraid, looked toward Anton while swallowing hard.
"Why are you looking at me? Come on, step forward! Finish him!" Anton ordered.
However, Alek, already knowing he couldn't possibly win against Roni, looked for an excuse.
"Anton, it doesn't feel right to beat a small young man like him here, especially with so many people watching. If he gets hurt, people might come after us. How about we beat him later?" Alek suggested.
Hearing that, Roni laughed instead.
"Aren't thugs supposed to like beating people in crowded places, so people get more scared? So why are you saying that now?" Roni said mockingly.
"I'm a different kind of thug. I don't like showing off. Come on, Anton, let's just go," Alek replied.
Anton was left confused and surprised by Alek's fearful attitude. Especially since Anton saw Alek's hands trembling slightly as he looked at Roni's body, which was starting to sweat.
"Are you really leaving like this?" Anton asked.
"Yes, let's go. I'm afraid the residents will come. You just wait for later," Alek replied while telling his men to leave.