"Why? Who are you? Why do you want to help me?!" I said to the man.
I've asked for help from everyone close to me, friends, teachers, and relatives, but none of them wants to help me, why does this unknown man want to help me?
"Because a woman as beautiful as you is too fond of being bullied," said the mysterious man casually.
For some reason, I doubt what that man said. It didn't make sense for him to bother helping me just because I was pretty.
"Forget it, you won't be able to help me!" I cried desperately.
"So what? Are you trying to commit suicide again? Don't you have a family at home? Is there someone waiting for you at home? How do you think they would feel if they found out that you died in vain because of a useless bunch of humans ?!" cried the man as he stood up, and came back to me.
I was slapped by the man's words. He was right, Daddy worked all day long to provide a good life for me, and he would be very hurt if I died by suicide.
"And those bullies, they will never change, if it's not you, they will choose another target, another weak woman that they can play with as they please!" cried the man again.
I again agreed with the man's words.
"It's a loss if you die just like that because of them! After what you've been through all this time, do you want to just leave? That's an idiot! Respond to them! Become a new person, why did you bring your suffering to death?!" cried the man while looking at me sharply.
I was fixated on his beautiful eagle eyes. Such a sharp and intimidating gaze.
The man was getting closer to me, standing so close, and slightly looked down at me sharply.
"I'm Kenan, and I promise to help you get revenge on them!" cried the man earnestly.
To be honest, I'm still very confused as to why he did that, but if he wants to help me, I won't bother with the reason. This is what it takes. A favor.
***
When I got home, I immediately threw my bag home and dropped my body on the bed. I am really tired. Tired of heart, tired of mind, tired physically, there's nothing I want right now except to sleep on my soft bed while playing games.
But, somehow the mysterious man named Kenan keeps filling my head. An unemployed man who wants to help me for revenge. There were all kinds of suspicions I had about that man.
First, he was once a victim of bullying, just like me. Second, he's an enemy of the Aster Gang, so he's taking advantage of me. Third, he pitied me and was unemployed enough to bother helping me. Fourth, he likes me because before he said, I was beautiful.
So, which one is right?
Kenan said earlier that starting tomorrow I have to see him every morning. I don't know what he wants to do to me. Why do I have to meet him so early?
He also said maybe I should skip a few days. I didn't have a problem with that because, to be honest, I planned to never come to school again, I just had to find the right reason for my Dad, so that the old man wouldn't worry too much.
Should I pretend I'm not feeling well? Yeah, it's the only way I can skip school without creating a lot of drama with Dad.
***
As soon as Dad left for the office, I headed straight to the place where Kenan asked me to come. At five in the morning, the man called me and asked me to come to the abandoned building where we met before.
The man was already waiting upstairs. Kenan wore black knee-length shorts with a gray T-shirt. Maybe I didn't realize it yesterday, but it turns out that Kenan is handsome. Eagle eyes, sharp nose, also the shape of a jaw that is so firm.
"You don't know what time it is?!" exclaimed Kenan annoyed as soon as I approached him.
"I have to wait for my Dad to go to work," I said quickly.
Kenan took a deep breath. The man took out a lotion from his trouser pocket and put it on me.
"Don't be confused, this is sunscreen, don't let your skin burn from exercising in an open area like this," exclaimed Kenan casually.
I don't care about the sunscreen he puts on my hands. I'm still confused about why he asked me to exercise. What does sport have to do with revenge?
"Kenan, you said earlier that I have to exercise?" I ask. I'm still confused.
"Hey, revenge takes a lot of energy! You have to be strong and healthy enough to do it! Do you know why they target you? It's because you're weak! Bullies always target weak girls like you!" Kenan exclaimed after taking a deep breath.
I'm speechless. Yeah, I'm not going to deny that one.
"We have a lot of agendas, so don't waste time! First, we have to get your bodies used to something that is tiring, and heavy! Second, I have to train you how to defend yourself, I master the martial art of pencak silat, so I will train you with that one. Thirdly, your mentality is lousy! You must be very crybaby, scared easily, and give up easily! Do you know? You can't get revenge with that kind of mentality! So, before you go back to school, At least you should be able to defend yourself when they torture you! Do you understand?!"
I tried to digest every word that came out of Kenan's mouth. Everything he said made a lot of sense. But how strong do I have to be to be able to fight them?
"There is one guy in the Aster Gang, his name is Marko. He's big, and athletic, I'm not sure I can fight him," I said quietly.
"You don't need to use your physique to fight someone like that Marko! You need a smart brain!" said Kenan casually.
"Smart?"
"Hum! I'll give you some tips later. For now, focus on strengthening yourself first! Look, you just walk like a living corpse, it's taking too long! How come your body doesn't have any muscles? How come it's so soft?" Kenan exclaimed while looking at me with a trivial look.
Admittedly, I never do sports, I spend all my free time lying in my room and playing games.
"Why are you silent? Hurry up and warm up!" Kenan ordered.
Oh okay. I can do it.
I stepped back from Kenan's presence and started doing movement after movement to stretch my muscles.
"Gosh, you never taking physical exercise? If the warm-up is correct, don't just move!" Kenan grumbled as he approached me. The man corrected the position of my hands and feet.
"If you pull too hard, it will hurt!" I protested.
"Stupid, if you don't warm up properly when you exercise later, your hands and feet can get cramps!" exclaimed Kenan while hitting my head.
"What's this?" I asked confused as soon as Kenan showed me the various photos that I knew belonged to the Aster Gang which were neatly pasted on the blackboard."Take your target's photos!" said Kenan casually.The man was still busy pasting photo after photo on the blackboard.As usual, we always meet in this old building every morning. Kenan regularly invites me to exercise in the morning, trains me in martial arts in the afternoon, and at night we just talk. We've been doing this routine for almost a week."If you want revenge, you have to get to know them deeper. That way, you can find their weak points." Kenan shouted while pointing at the blackboard in front of us."Okay. So, you spied on them? What did you get?" I'm starting to get excited."There are four members of the Aster Gang. Their leader is Lenny, then the two useless maids, Miranda and Feby, and the idiot who can hit women, Marko! You have to know the ins and outs of their family!" Kenan exclaimed while pointing at the
"Wait! "You wanna wear that uniform?" Kenan shouted while glaring at me in disbelief, making the employees in the store also surprised and look at us with strange looks that made me feel uncomfortable.Alright, I don't see anything wrong with the school uniform I'm holding. Well, it's new, clean, and nice; what makes Kenan surprised by those glaring eyes?"Now I understand why they targeted you from the start! You must look nerdy wearing a big-size uniform like that!" Kenan with his hands on his hipsYeah, actually, I never cared about anything like looks or anything; I just wore what made me feel comfortable. Is it wrong? And just because someone wears a dress that makes them look weird, stupid, or whatever doesn't give you the right to bully that person.Kenan shook his head slowly, then left me to get a uniform in another size."Try this," Kenan said as he handed me the uniform."You don't think this is too small? Well, I need a comfortable uniform to move around freely in case I h
Kenan smiled broadly as I came out of the house. Even though I refused, Kenan still insisted on taking me to school. Luckily, Dad had left for work this morning, or he would have interrogated me about Kenan. Where is his home, who are his parents, and so on? Ah, that would be too troublesome."Wow, you look beautiful!" Kenan praised me while giving me a helmet.I just smiled faintly and put on the helmet that Kenan gave me."Are you nervous?" asked Kenan while winking one eye at me.Nervous? Of course. Am I brave enough to fight them? Well, I'm sure I can face Lenny, Feby, and Miranda. But Marco?"What are you worried about?" asked Kenan after starting his motorcycle engine."Marko," I answered quickly."Kei, we already have Marko's ace card; just relax; he won't dare to bother you again," Kenan said casually.Kenan drove his motorcycle through the busy streets of Jakarta. A refreshing woody scent wafted from the jacket Kenan was wearing. It's quite impressive; why would a handsome an
I waited on the terrace of the house while eating my favorite snack. This afternoon, Kenan changed our practice schedule because he wanted to take me somewhere. I don't know what he's planning today; he didn't say anything but sounded rushed."Don't eat too much; you're a girl," said Dad, who had just come home."You're home early?" I said it quickly."Yes, my work is done, so it's better to hurry home and accompany you home," Dad said as he sat beside me."Too bad, I'm going out with my friend. You better get some rest, drink coffee, and read the paper!"Hearing what I said, Dad immediately squinted and looked around."Where do you want to go?" he asked suspiciously."Um, this is young people's business; you don't need to know," I said, then winked mischievously.Dad just shook his head slowly, and he then walked away from me. I put the snack back in my mouth. Kenan said my body was too thin; I could fly just because the strong wind hit me. So, I had to gain weight; I hit less hard b
"Ready to meet Marko today?" Kenan asked, then smiled at me.I just smiled and took a deep breath."Remember to call me whenever you need! I'll come and finish that guy off if needed!" After saying that, Kenan patted my arm lightly.I nodded slowly, then said goodbye to Kenan and entered the school. As I walked down the school corridor, the whispers of other girls kept my ears ringing. They kept gossiping about my transformation, and not only that, they wondered how a nerdy girl like me could know a cool guy like Kenan, who always dropped me off at school and picked me up.This is quite surprising because they know Kenan. Is Kenan so popular that everyone knows him?Whatever the case, the most important thing is that I can be free from Lenny and the gang for a while. I wanted to do a lot of things that I couldn't do at this school because of Lenny. I want to hang out in the canteen, I want to read a lot of books in the library, I want to take part in extracurricular activities like ba
I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Alright, I look pretty good in the new clothes Kenan gave me. Today he invited me to go to the game center to play.Last night I didn't sleep because I was looking for Kenan's social media account. Honestly, I'm curious why my friends are so excited to see me with Kenan; they say that Kenan is quite popular. Am I the only one who doesn't know him? Kenan—the mysterious man who suddenly helped meI want to get to know Kenan better. Who is he, what is he like, and what is his motive for helping me now that my problem with Lenny is over? Shouldn't Kenan be honest with me about what he wants?I rushed downstairs when I heard the sound of Kenan's motorcycle engine stopping in front of the house. As usual, the man casually waved at me.Apart from his good looks, what makes him so popular?"Hey, I have a few questions! This is bothering me, so I hope you will answer them!" I said that when Kenan gave me his helmet."Wow, relax! We still have plenty of
I deliberately woke up early and went to school early to avoid Kenan. I wasn't sure he would drop me off at school as usual, but it was better to be careful not to run into him.Angry? Yes, let's say I'm angry. I feel entitled to know why. Shouldn't he just tell me? Why is he making things difficult for him?I got out of the taxi and rushed through the gate. When I passed Lenny's class, I saw her and Miranda looking at me intently from inside the classroom. And of course, I don't care; as long as she doesn't bother me anymore, I won't do anything bad to her.The atmosphere began to change, and some friends began to greet me. After what I've been through so far, I'm not sure if I can be friendly with them. Let's say I'm a vengeful girl. They once left me and ignored me; why are they pretending to be nice to me now?When I passed the indoor court, my steps stopped when a guy who was familiar to me was playing basketball there. My feet moved automatically toward him."Hey!" I shouted, ma
"What?" I looked at Tiana, who was standing beside my desk with a scared face."Clarisa..." Tiana looked very nervous; she only said Clarisa's name and looked down again.I took a deep breath, then shifted to look the girl straight in the eye."What are you talking about?" I exclaimed, annoyed."Clarisa is now an errand girl for the Aster Gang; please, Kei, help her," whined the girl with a worried face. Tiana even shed tears while begging me.Oh my! Quite surprising. I thought the Aster Gang had stopped because they failed to make me their butt. But apparently, they changed the target so easily.And now Clarisa?"I know you can help her; please, Kei, help Clarisa; after all, she is our friend," Tiana pleaded, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks.Hum, it's not that I don't want to help; getting away from Marko and the Aster Gang is also not an easy matter. I struggled with it, so I wasn't sure if I could help Clarisa."Just like you, I'm also afraid of them; I don't want to get i