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Suci's POV
Oh.
My.
God.
That was way too fast!
My mind couldn't catch up. One second we were talking—awkwardly but sweetly—and the next?
He kissed me.
HE KISSED ME. On the lips. With no warning. No sign. No permission!
My heart was still thumping in my ears as my body reacted before I could think—I shoved him, hard enough that he staggered back a step.
I gasped, grabbing the air like it could steady me. My lips still tingled from the surprise—my first kiss, stolen like a scene from a bad teen drama.
How. Dare. He.
He was supposed to be... I don't know, crush potential! I had only just started getting interested. I was curious, intrigued, flattered by the way he watched me. But now?
I felt robbed.
Violated.
Confused.
And worst of all... part of me didn't hate it—and that made me furious with myself.
> "HEY! What was that for?!" I snapped, my voice shrill.
> "Su, I'm sorry—please, let me explain!" Artum held his hands up like I had a gun pointed at him.
> "You kissed me! Just like that?! What do you think this is, a drama scene you can control? You... you pervert!" I was shaking now, both from shock and embarrassment. My face must've been ten shades of red.
> "No! You misunderstood—I didn't mean for it to happen like that!" he stammered, stepping toward me.
> "Misunderstood? MISUNDERSTOOD?! I should never have let you back in after the dance. This... this is the last time I want to see your face! I mean it!" I turned sharply and stormed back toward the house, my eyes threatening to leak the tears I refused to let fall in front of him.
And just as I reached the door—
His phone rang.
I didn't mean to look back. I really didn't. But something in his voice, in the tension of his body, made me glance over my shoulder.
He picked up.
> "Dad? What happened?" His voice dropped. His entire posture shifted.
> "Okay. Okay. I'm on my way. Don't let them touch Mom. I'm coming."
He hung up, and for the first time, I saw something in Artum that made my heart pause.
Fear. Real, raw fear.
And tears. Unfiltered, unashamed tears welled up in his eyes, falling down his cheek like he didn't even notice them.
Something gripped my chest. I knew that look. That helpless look you get when the world is slipping out from under you and you can't hold on to anything.
He met my gaze.
And for a moment—one painful, silent moment—I saw the truth:
He needed someone.
He needed me.
---
The car ride to the hospital was quiet. Heavy. My head buzzed with a thousand questions I didn't dare ask, and Artum gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.
I wanted to say something. Anything. But all the words disappeared from my throat.
When we arrived, he jumped out and ran inside like his soul was burning.
I followed.
I don't even know why—I just had to.
The fluorescent hospital lights were cold and harsh, the halls smelled like antiseptic and grief, and people moved too fast, like hope was always slipping just ahead of them.
And then I saw her.
Lying on the gurney. Pale. Motionless.
I stopped in my tracks.
No way.
It can't be.
Her face—kind, gentle, unmistakable.
She was my professor in Arts. I had admired her so much... her passion, her gentle teaching style, her belief in each student. She was still young. Too young to be here.
And now?
Gone.
Nurses rushed past us. One was holding a chart. Another was shaking her head subtly. They didn't have to say it aloud. The message was clear.
She didn't make it.
Artum crumbled where he stood. Silent. Empty.
I had never seen someone break without a sound before.
The grief was leaking from him like ink in water, spreading, drowning the air around him. He looked at me, and for the first time tonight, there was no flirtation, no smile, no mask.
Only pain.
And then... he walked toward me.
Not fast. Not dramatic.
He just... moved like gravity had chosen me as his anchor.
He reached for my hand and I didn't pull away.
Then his body began to sway—and before I could even shout, he collapsed onto me.
> "ARTUM!" I cried, stumbling under his weight.
"Quickly! Help her!" someone shouted.
A pair of arms grabbed him off me. It was his father.
> "He's too heavy—please, get a nurse!"
Another nurse rushed over, pushing a stretcher.
> "He passed out," she said as they lifted him. "Exhaustion. Trauma. Possibly shock."
I stood there, frozen, watching the chaos unfold around me. It was all too much. Too fast. Too real.
> "Suci?" Mr. Wolin, Artum's father, turned to me gently. "Are you alright?"
> "Y-yes, sir," I managed.
> "Please, take a seat. I need to make a call, and after that, there's something important I need to tell you."
I nodded and sat down, my legs shaking beneath me.
---
He paced a few steps away, then answered his phone.
> "Yes, she's here... Thank you. I know this is hard to accept. Yes, I can cooperate with the investigation... Okay. I'll send her home afterward. Thank you."
Investigation?
I tried not to panic, but my heart rate was on a rollercoaster.
What investigation?
Why would I need to be sent home?
What did this have to do with me?
---
Mr. Wolin returned, his face a mixture of exhaustion and resolve. He didn't sit, just looked at me with those tired eyes.
> "Suci, there are things you don't know. Things we didn't plan to tell you—not like this. But it seems fate has its own timing."
I frowned. "What... do you mean?"
> "Do you know why your name is Suci Mrat?" he asked softly.
That again.
> "Yeah... Artum told me. It's 'Music and Art'... rearranged."
> "Correct. Your parents and I—years ago—we made a promise. An agreement. When you turned 18, you and my son... were to be engaged."
I stared at him, blinking slowly. I didn't even feel my body react. It was too big to compute.
> "Wait... what?"
> "It wasn't forced. It was more of a dream we shared. We thought if you two grew up in music, in the same world, maybe... you'd find each other. And if not, no harm done. But—your families have always been connected. Deeply."
My throat tightened. "Are you saying this... thing between us... was planned?"
He shook his head gently. "No. Just hoped for. You were always free to choose. We kept our distance on purpose. But now... after tonight... I believe your lives are already starting to intertwine."
I didn't know what to say. My heart was still tangled in the moment he kissed me... and now, this?
> "Why are you telling me this now?"
> "Because my wife—his mother—passed tonight. And the timing... I can't ignore it. There are responsibilities. Emotional burdens. And truths he may need you for. I can't force you. But I'm asking... don't leave him alone."
---
The hospital air grew colder as I sat with those words.
I looked through the glass wall, watching as Artum lay on a hospital bed, still unconscious. Machines beeped softly around him.
He looked so fragile. Like someone who carried too much too soon.
And somehow... I knew this wasn't just his story anymore.
It was ours now.
---
Artum's POV
Darkness.
That's all I remembered at first. A spinning void.
Then flashes.
My mother's face. My father's voice.
Suci's eyes.
Her hand.
Her kiss?
No, that was me.
Idiot.
I kissed her. Like a fool. And now she hates me.
But she was here.
I remembered her scent. Her presence. The softness of her hand.
I wasn't dreaming, was I?
---
Suci's POV
By the time I got home, the sun had already started to rise. My birthday was officially over—but my life?
It had just gotten way, way more complicated.
I leaned against my bedroom door, thinking about Artum, the kiss, the hospital, the promise... the loss.
And for the first time since last night, I whispered out loud:
> "Happy birthday to me."
And somehow—I knew this was only the beginning.