I found myself walking through a hallway made of books, the spines whispering as I passed, their pages flipping on their own like restless wings. The floor beneath me was checkerboard chocolate and crumbled slightly with each step, though I never seemed to fall through. Ahead, a door floated in midair—no walls, no frame—just a glowing outline, slightly ajar. When I opened it, I was immediately standing on a ceiling, staring up at a dining table where fish in top hats were debating politics with feathered forks. One of them pointed at me with a sardine.
"You're late for the dream inside your dream," he said.
I wandered through scenes that made no sense but felt oddly familiar. Trees grew upside down from the sky, their roots tangled in clouds. A mirror chased me through a field of melting trumpets, showing me reflections of people I'd never met but somehow missed. I met a girl with clock hands for eyes who told me I'd been here before and would be here again unless I remembered the rule I'd already forgotten. Everything moved like a story that had lost its plot—beautiful, unsettling, and too vivid to question. I wasn't scared, just... caught in it, like a thought you can't quite finish.
Then the colors began to flicker, like someone shaking a snow globe made of light. The ground rippled under me, and the sky shattered into paper stars. I heard a soft voice say, Helloo- spoken from nowhere and everywhere at once.
My eyes flew open, my breath shallow, my heart racing. Lamplight crept in, calm and ordinary—but for a few strange seconds, I swore I could still hear a teacup laughing.
"Ou... Helllllooooo!" Sabrina shouted, trying to wake us up.
"Ng…" I responded groggily.
"Ah, you're awake!" she said excitedly.
I sat up slowly, looking around, and saw that Najam was still unconscious.
"What happened?" I asked in confusion.
"Khukhukhu… both of you got so excited watching my concert that you fainted," she replied cheerfully.
"Oh… hahaha, I guess it's because you were so full of energy," I said while scratching my head.
"Hehe, Sabrina is always like that when she plays music. Sorry~ teehee," she said, striking a cute pose.
Well, at least we're still alive.
Sabrina Farida. In the purification program, she was energetic and talkative, though she often acted on a whim. She was quirky—always doing strange things and disliking anything dull—but despite her eccentric personality, Sabrina could be surprisingly wise and reflective when she wanted to be.
"Sabrina, can I ask you something?" I said while glancing at her guitar.
"Sure!"
"You play the guitar wonderfully. Can you play other instruments too?" I asked, curious.
"Of course! Sabrina can play all of them," she replied proudly.
"Wow. Is there a goal you're aiming for?" I continued.
"Well, Sabrina just plays because it's fun, hehe," she answered with a laugh.
"I hope I can be like that," I replied, a bit envious of her passion.
"Of course you can! The important thing is that you want to do it," she said seriously.
"Haha, you're right. Well..."
I stood up.
"Sabrina, why don't you play in a group?" I asked again.
"Huh?" she responded, confused.
"Oh—sorry, your solo performance is amazing! But I think it would be even better if you played with a group," I said sincerely.
"..." She looked surprised.
She went silent, lost in thought, and then her expression changed to something… strange.
"Um, Sabrina?" I asked, a little worried.
"Really?! You think so too?!" she said suddenly, bursting with energy.
"Uwahh!" I flinched.
"Sabrina thinks that too!" she continued enthusiastically.
"Then… why are you still performing solo?" I asked, puzzled.
"Um, well, hehe…" she replied while scratching her head.
"Ng?"
"Sabrina hasn't found her destined one yet, so she's still playing alone," she said, sounding a little disappointed.
"Destined one? You mean, like, a romantic partner?" I asked, curious.
"Bzzt—wrong!" she replied, mimicking a robot gesture.
"Then what do you mean?"
"Well, it means people who share the same passion and a deep connection. Sabrina believes it'll be more fun to play together with people like that—as a real group," she said seriously.
I just remembered—Ardianto once said that she didn't seem very interested in having a romantic relationship. Instead, she was far more drawn to forming a deep platonic bond with someone she could call her soulmate—like a fellow band member.
"Oh, I understand. Well, if it's you, I'm sure you'll find them," I said confidently.
"Hee, really? The truth is… Sabrina's not sure she'll ever find someone like that, hehe," she replied with a hint of sadness.
"No, I'm sure you will," I said again, trying to reassure her.
She fell silent and looked at me closely.
"What's wrong?" I asked, curious.
"Hm, I don't know… but Sabrina has a feeling that you might be right," she said with renewed energy.
"Glad to hear that," I replied with a smile.
I walked over to Najam.
"Hey, wake up," I said, gently patting his face.
"Ng… oh, what happened?" he asked, confused as he sat up.
"Well, the show started, you got really excited… then passed out," I explained.
"Really? I don't remember any of that," he said, looking puzzled and unconvinced.
"That's probably for the best."
I turned to Sabrina.
"Thanks for the show, Sabrina. That was a great performance," I said, genuinely impressed.
"Heee? You're leaving already? How about an encore?" Sabrina offered enthusiastically.
"Woohooo! An encore! S—" Najam shouted.
"Um, sure, that sounds great, but we really have to go now," I said quickly, putting my hand over Najam's face.
"Hey…" Najam grumbled, annoyed.
"Shhh…" I hushed him.
"Hm… well, I guess it can't be helped. See you later," Sabrina said with a disappointed sigh.
"Yeah, see you later," I replied while pushing Najam out the door.
We both exited the music room.
"It was an encore from a rock star," he muttered, clearly disappointed.
"Yeah, sure. An encore from hell. You never learn, do you?" I said as I kept walking.
"Wait, wait… at least explain it to me!" he said, still confused and curious.
"You really don't remember?" I asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I only remember the moment the concert started," he answered, genuinely unsure.
"During the concert, you started acting really strange… then you collapsed," I replied with a sigh.
"How strange?" he asked, interested.
"Not too bad, but definitely annoying," I said, smiling.
"Well, sorry about that, hehe. But honestly, in my head, it felt like I just watched a normal concert," he said apologetically.
That was her specialty—manipulating people through music and leading them to commit crimes without them even realizing it. As one of the most dangerous individuals—and future traitors—Sabrina was a serious threat because of this ability.
At least now I understand what it feels like to be controlled by her. The effect was truly unbelievable. I felt guilty for ever doubting what I had read in the Matahari Organization's reports.
"So, who's next?" Najam asked excitedly.
"Well, the next one i—" I was cut off by a familiar voice shouting.
"Hebisyo! Najasyo!" someone yelled from behind us.
We turned around and saw Kambali approaching.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Najam asked.
"Just walking around. But, well, I had a premonition that if I walked around here, I'd run into you two—and here we are," he said happily.
"Um, yeah, that's good," I replied, still a little confused.
"So, what are you two doing?" Kambali asked, curious.
"Just walking around. But, well, I had a premonition that if we walked around here, we wouldn't run into you—but I guess I was wrong," Najam replied cheerfully.
"Good one," I said with a thumbs-up.
"That means… you two…" Kambali muttered, looking a bit hurt.
"Just kidding. We're actually trying to talk to some of the seniors—trying to make new friends," I explained.
"Oh, I see," he said, still looking a little surprised.
"Well, you can join us if you want," I offered.
"Really? Then let's go!" Kambali replied enthusiastically.
I hadn't planned on letting him tag along, but... I figured it was fine. So we continued walking.
"So, who's next?" Najam asked again.
"Well, the next one is Langgeng. Do either of you know him?" I asked, curious.
"Nope," Najam replied shortly.
"Hm, I think I've heard that name before, but sorry—I've got no clue," Kambali said, trying to recall.
"Good. It's safer if you don't know him," I said calmly.
"Huh? Why?" Najam asked, intrigued.
"His situation… it's not something we can just talk about openly," I said with concern.
"You mean… like a hitman?" Najam guessed.
"Yup," I answered.
"I've got a really bad feeling about this," Kambali said, terrified.
"Forget his status for a moment—he's a good person," I said, smiling.
"Really?" Kambali asked, clearly still nervous.
"Yeah," I nodded with confidence.
"Let's believe in him," Najam said, patting Kambali's shoulder.
"Well..." Kambali sighed.
"So, where can we find him?" Najam asked.
"Hm, not really sure… but if by any chance you see a girl with dark brown hair, wearing a headband, and carrying a long stick on her back—then he's probably nearby," I explained.
"Oh? Any particular reason why he'd be around her? Don't tell me… he's stalking that girl," Najam said, worried.
"Uaaah! So he's a stalker or a pervert?!" Kambali shouted.
"Um, no—that's not it, Kambali. Actually, if you look at it closely, it's quite the opposite," I said with a sigh.
"Hm, so you're saying… the girl is stalking the guy?" Najam asked.
"Yeah, I think it's something like that," I replied with a small smile.
"So the girl's the pervert here," Kambali muttered.
"No! And please don't say that Kambali—you'll be in serious trouble if they hear you," I warned him.
"Speaking of her, by any chance… does she have long, gently wavy hair worn down, accented by a bright orange headband wrapped neatly at the top?" Najam asked.
"I'm not sure about her hairstyle, but yes—the headband matches that description," I confirmed.
"Well, looks like we found her," Najam said, pointing to someone standing about 10 meters in front of us.
We stopped immediately and hid ourselves.
"Hebisyo? Is that her?" Kambali asked to confirm.
"Yeah, that's her," I replied confidently.
"Wow, she's hot," Najam said.
"Hold your horses, mate. We need to find Langgeng first," I reminded him.
"But are you sure that girl is stalking this Langgeng guy?" Najam asked, sounding skeptical.
"Well, 'stalking' might not be the right word, but I'm sure she's always around him," I said with a small smile.
"So... are they dating?" Najam asked again.
"No... I think. I'm not sure anymore," I answered, uncertain.
"That's suspicious, man," Najam replied, clearly uneasy.
"Forget that for now—we need to find Langgeng. It'll be easier to talk to her if he's around," I said, scanning the area around the girl.
"Don't tell me she's on our list too," Najam asked.
"Yeah, she's one of our targets. But like I said before, it's hard to approach her if Langgeng isn't nearby," I reminded him again.
"Then let's find him quickly," Najam said, fired up.
"Um, sorry to interrupt... but what is she doing?" Kambali asked, confused.
We looked over at her. Five minutes had passed, and she still hadn't moved.
"That's strange. Is she waiting for someone?" Najam asked.
"If she is... she's waiting like a statue. That's weird," Kambali commented.
"Something's wrong. We should talk to her," Najam said, starting to move.
"No, wait. Look," I said, stopping him.
She started moving her hand toward the door but stopped short of touching it. A minute passed, and then she pulled her hand away. After a few more minutes, she tried again—only to stop and pull back once more. She repeated this over and over again.
"What the hell is she trying to do?" Najam asked, puzzled.
"Beats me," I said, equally confused.
"I think she's struggling with something," Kambali observed.
"I think so too," I agreed.
"Then let's ask her," Najam said as he began to step forward.
But just as we were about to approach, she suddenly turned and walked the opposite way. After a few steps, she started running.
"What?!" Najam exclaimed, stunned.
"Wait," I said, signaling him to stop.
We paused. The classroom door suddenly opened, and out walked a dark-skinned student with tightly pulled-back dark hair, wearing a short-sleeved gray tactical jacket. His sharp golden eyes gave off an intense, unwavering gaze—alert and full of resolve. No doubt, it was him.
"So... is that him?" Najam asked, sounding a bit panicked.
"Yeah, that's Langgeng," I confirmed confidently.
"Talk about a thug-looking guy. He looks like a criminal," Kambali muttered nervously.
"Please watch what you say. You really don't want to get into trouble," I warned him.
"Um, I don't know why, but it looks like he's in a bad mood," Najam said anxiously.
"Huh? Really?" I asked, surprised.
"Yeah, look at him," Najam said, pointing at him.
I followed his gaze—and just as Najam said, the guy definitely looked like he was in a bad mood. He was glaring directly at us and now… he was starting to walk in our direction.
"Glad to see you again, Strong Boy," I whispered to myself.