Upon arriving home, Roni immediately walked toward the table, put down his sling bag, and headed to the bathroom. However, just as he opened the bathroom door, he was startled by Mbak Maya coming out wearing only a towel.
Mbak Maya, seeing how dirty Roni's clothes were, immediately asked, "Why are you so dirty, like an elementary school kid who just got home from playing?" she asked, because Roni's condition was indeed extremely filthy and smelled like rotten eggs.
"There was just a little surprise earlier," Roni replied with a smile as he passed Mbak Maya and entered the bathroom to clean himself. However, Mbak Maya instead followed him back into the bathroom while removing her towel.
"Mbak, why are you coming in again? I want to take a shower," Roni asked, startled to see Mbak Maya following him inside.
"Come on, take off all your clothes. I'll wash them. Oh my God, the smell," said Mbak Maya while grabbing the clothes Roni was holding, waiting for him to remove his pants. After that, Mbak Maya began washing Roni's clothes right beside him as he showered.
They looked like a married couple, so natural being naked together in the bathroom. Mbak Maya even helped scrub Roni's back. "Mbak, I can do it myself," Roni said, trying to refuse. But Mbak Maya did not let him and immediately scrubbed Roni's back.
Outside, the sound of a door knocking was heard. "Mbak… has Roni come home?" someone called from outside. It turned out to be Bayu.
"Not yet. Just wait, when he comes home I'll let you know, Bayu," Mbak Maya shouted, lying.
"Alright, Mbak," Bayu said, then left.
"Mbak, why did you lie? I'm here. Maybe he needs something," Roni said, confused by Mbak Maya's answer.
"Just let it be. You can meet him after your shower. For now, take a bath. You smell really bad. Earlier I couldn't stand smelling you. How can your body smell like rotten eggs?" Mbak Maya asked, still curious about Roni's condition.
"Earlier my friends thought it was my birthday and celebrated it using that. I don't know why," Roni answered, lying. He did not tell the truth that he had just been bullied by a group of unfamiliar youths.
"Oh my God, they went that far using rotten eggs. That's really not right," said Mbak Maya as she continued scrubbing Roni's back. Roni felt like a little child being bathed.
"Mbak, that's enough. I can do it myself. You can go out. Thank you for caring about Roni," Roni finally said.
"I don't know where to start, Mbak?" said Roni. Mbak Maya stood up, then walked in front of Roni and sat on him, who had been standing all this time.
Instantly, the bathroom that had only been filled with conversation became quite noisy with the sound of moans and the sound of their bodies touching, followed by their irregular breathing.
Half an hour later, their heated activity stopped after Roni reached his peak, ending with a long sweet kiss. After that, they began bathing together again.
"Mbak, why do you enjoy being intimate with Roni so much? Roni isn't anyone important to you, right?" Roni suddenly asked.
Mbak Maya smiled, as if she already knew Roni would ask that. "Roni, I really need warmth, and I know you need it too. Because these are our individual needs, let's just consider it even," Mbak Maya replied while turning on the faucet to rinse her body.
"Why don't you just get married? You could build a family and also get what you need," Roni said again.
If only you said, 'Why don't we get married?' maybe I would immediately accept you, Mbak Maya muttered in her heart, but she did not dare to say it directly to Roni.
"Why are you silent and not answering my question? Haven't you found the right man yet?" Roni asked again when Mbak Maya remained silent.
"No, I've already found him. Unfortunately, that person hasn't realized it yet. And it seems I don't want to get married again unless it's with him. Because only with him do I feel true happiness and warmth. I no longer trust men, except him," Mbak Maya answered.
Roni, who was completely unaware, thought that Mbak Maya meant someone at her workplace. "Maybe he needs time to understand your feelings for him. Someday he will surely understand. But does he know that you love him?" Roni asked again.
"Yes, I also hope so," said Mbak Maya slightly disappointed, because Roni showed no sign that he was the person she meant.
"Why are you so insensitive, Roni? Oh my God, every day and every night we are always together, but you still think the person I mean isn't you," Mbak Maya grumbled in her heart angrily.
"But you've slept with him before, right?" Roni asked again.
"Yes, I have. Even very often," Mbak Maya answered while hoping Roni would understand her meaning.
"So that's how it is, Mbak. Oh my God. But why hasn't he understood yet? Hmm, maybe he needs time. Alright then, Mbak, I'm done bathing. I'll go first," said Roni as he walked out of the bathroom.
Mbak Maya stared at Roni's back as he left, then she angrily threw a ladle nearby, making Roni come back inside.
"What was that, Mbak? It sounded like something fell really hard," Roni asked.
"Oh, that was just the ladle falling," Mbak Maya replied. Roni then left again.
"You make me angry, Roni. It's better if you don't ask questions when you yourself are insensitive. Oh my God!" Mbak Maya grumbled in her heart, her face reddening with anger.
After finishing bathing, Roni went to meet Bayu, who had been waiting for him. "Hey, I heard you were looking for me?" Roni asked.
"Yes, I was looking for you, Bang. Mbak Maya said I was asked to help you tidy up the room next door. She said from now on you'll be staying in that room," Bayu said.
"Yes, that's right. I even forgot. Oh my God. Wait a moment, I'll get my things first," Roni said, then went back to get his belongings.
"Mbak, I'm taking my things, okay? I'm moving to the empty boarding room," Roni shouted to inform Mbak Maya, who was still changing clothes in her room.
Because she was still upset, Mbak Maya remained silent and did not answer.
Thinking Mbak Maya was busy, Roni immediately left carrying a bag filled with his clothes.
After the room was tidied and cleaned from the previous occupant's belongings, Roni began placing his items inside the room. "Well, from now on we're neighbors. So we can chat more often," Bayu said.
"That's right. Oh yeah, aren't you going to work? I see that every afternoon you're still here," Roni asked while arranging his belongings in the wardrobe provided.
"Today I'm off. Unfortunately, tonight there's overtime. Actually, I planned to invite you to hang out again, Bang. But I have overtime, so I'll get home at midnight again," Bayu said.
"That's fine, there's always tomorrow or the day after," Roni said casually.
"Oh yeah, about work, my boss said there's still a vacancy, Bang. Later if there's a spot, I'll let you know," Bayu said.
That night, Roni was seen sitting on the front terrace of his boarding room. He was contemplating while smoking. This was the first time Roni smoked in the city. If it weren't for Bayu giving him a cigarette, maybe Roni would never have smoked until now.
Suddenly, his phone rang, making Roni quickly grab it. "Wow, this thing is ringing again. The last time it rang was at the beach," Roni muttered.
He saw the name Miya displayed on the screen. It must be Miya calling. "But… how do I accept the call?" Roni said confused while fiddling with the phone. By coincidence, Roni touched the right part, and Miya's voice was heard.
"Well, it seems it's connected," Roni said in relief.
"Hello… yes?" Roni began speaking.
"Where are you? Are you busy?" Miya asked from the other end of the phone.
"No, I'm just relaxing at the boarding house," Roni replied.
"But why did it take you so long to answer my call?" Miya asked again.
"I didn't know how to accept calls. Even this was by accident. What's up so late at night?" Roni replied, asking back.
"Earlier Bang Robi said that starting tomorrow you'll be working at my father's warehouse," Miya informed him.
"Oh, I see. But why tell me now? You could've told me tomorrow. Besides, we'll meet tomorrow at campus anyway," Roni said.
"I just wanted to hear your voice, that's why I called you now. If you're busy, I can hang up," Miya said.
"No, no, I'm not busy," Roni said quickly.
They continued chatting until the night grew late. When sleepiness began to come, Miya and Roni decided to end their conversation.
"Roni, tomorrow then. I'm starting to feel sleepy," Miya said.
"Alright, I'll fight the sleepiness," Roni replied.
"Okay, see you."
"Yes, see you."
Then the call ended.
"Oh, so this is how this thing works. It's nice. If only Ayu back in the village also understood how to use it, I could easily talk to her every night," Roni muttered as he went into his room, preparing to sleep.
Meanwhile, in the house next door, Mbak Maya couldn't sleep. She felt unaccustomed to sleeping without hugging Roni. "Why am I thinking about him? Oh my God, what is this? Could it be that I go there and sleep in his room?" Mbak Maya muttered while trying to calm herself.
"Hold it, Maya. You're sulking. He's an insensitive man who makes you emotional. Come on, you can definitely sleep alone," Mbak Maya said, encouraging herself to sleep tonight without Roni to hug.
However, after trying for quite a long time, she still couldn't sleep. Her annoyance began to rise. Finally, Mbak Maya decided to go meet Roni. She gave up. She truly needed Roni's embrace.
"If Roni were far away, maybe I could hold it in. But this, Roni is right nearby," Mbak Maya muttered as she prepared to leave her room to meet Roni.