The sun had already reached its highest point in the sky, and its rays were heating up everything that lay in its path. People from all over the town swarmed into the shed as quickly as they could in an effort to get away from the intense heat caused by the sun's incredible strike.
In the infamous and remote town of Biringan, it had been like this every summer for as long as anyone could remember.
It was closely the same for everyone whenever they go out to run for errands or simply work on their personal businesses, that was except for Freida Salome. She enjoys the feeling of the sun's rays penetrating the coverings of her flesh, the heat that coursed through her skin, and the fact that her skin had become accustomed to the heat as a result of the fact that she was born and raised on the farm by her grandmother, who is the only remaining member of her family.
The terrible landslide that occurred in the mountains of Biringan was the only thing she could remember about her parents. When a powerful typhoon struck their town, she was only five years old at the time, and the storm had a significant impact on her and her family. Her parents were attempting to flee before the strong surge of winds brought on by the typhoon could destroy their hut. However, when her father returned after making sure that her grandmother was safe, a large tree trunk fell on top of him, bringing her father's life to an end.
After placing Freida beneath the kitchen sink, which was the only concrete part of their house, Freida's mother rushed to her husband's aid after witnessing what had happened to her husband and being shocked by what she saw.
When Freida's mother left, the last thing she said to her daughter was, "Don't ever leave this place until I get back."
Freida carried out her actions in a manner that was consistent with what her mother instructed her to do. She did not speak as she hugged her knees in silence while working to overcome her fear of the violent storm that had destroyed the other parts of their hut. At the same time, she felt uneasy about the possibility of never being able to see her parents again after she had obeyed with her mother's instruction to remain behind.
Which she quickly came to regret as the storm gradually dissipated after wreaking havoc across the entire town for an hour and a half. As she roamed around the hut looking for her parents, she found them lying lifeless on the field afterwards.
Frieda had made the conscious decision to put yesterday's nightmare in the past, and this was a fragment of that nightmare. She abhorred the rain and everything else that could even remotely be compared to the catastrophe that had befallen her family. It seems that whenever it rains, everything just flashes before her mind all at once. On the other hand, she was able to keep all of her worries at bay today as the sun shone down on her.
"Boran!" Frieda immediately called out to her colleague the moment she spotted him stepping off of his bike.
"Freida!" Her colleague gave her a call back in response to her call.
Boran quickly locked up his bicycle in the parking spot that was designated for use by university students, and then he rushed over to Frieda in an instant to put his feet up next to her.
"How long have you been hanging around here?" Boran asked her in a hurry while simultaneously offering to help Freida by retrieving the large pile of thesis materials that she was carrying. "I'll take these." He even added.
Before she responded, Freida hurriedly handed him a few of them before saying, "Not that long. I just arrived almost five minutes earlier than you were."
As they continued forward, she gave him a bright smile, which he quickly returned as they moved closer together.
"I simply cannot believe that we are so close to completing our thesis. After this, all that is left for us to do is finish the on-the-job training before we graduate." As they were leaving the research building, Boran came up to her in a cheery manner.
"Me too." A delightful response came back from Freida. It was also an overwhelming pleasure that she was experiencing at the moment. Especially now that all they will have to do was let the chair of the panel sign the thesis documents, at which point they would be able to begin the process of binding the thesis and be finished with it.
However, beneath her cheery smile lie a trace of melancholy, because if they were successful in overcoming the challenge posed by the thesis, it would only mean that they would no longer have any interaction with one another after that. Those times when they would make the effort to call each other every night to talk about the thesis and also check on each other's progress were times that she knew she would miss very much. Another thing that she was sure to miss was the image of them going out on weekends to finish their work together.
Although their ultimate goal was to complete their thesis, Freida views the entire experience as a collection of happy memories with Boran that she would certainly cherish for the rest of her life. Even though Boran doesn't seem to understand how she really feels about him, she doesn't mind it at all. It was already enough for her to actually be able to have a close times and moments with Boran, even if it all were just for their academic requirements to graduate at the end of the day. She found it comforting to know that they would be able to spend time together.
Freida couldn't take her eyes off of him ever since they were in the same class during their freshman year. Boran wasn't exactly the type of guy that would win any woman's heart over so easily. Even though he was just an ordinary guy who wasn't even particularly attractive to most people, Freida found him to be fascinating and unique in some ways.
The reason for this was that during her first year at the university, Freida was an absolute outsider there. Due to the fact that she is a freshman, there is a good chance that the sophomores would eye on her to be their next prey for bullying. Boran, however, came to her rescue and instantaneously pretended to be in close proximity to her. Because of this action of his, Freida was spared from being the next victim of bullying by the sophomores.
Freida had never stopped being appreciative and thankful toward Boran ever since that day. This gratitude, which she hasn't had the opportunity to express to him, has developed into something deeper than a straightforward sense of appreciation for what Boran has done for Freida.
Her affection for him grew over time, and she eventually began to feel something akin to infatuation for the generous spirit he possessed.
Despite this, Boran was never able to see through Freida's eyes the depth of her affection for him. Boran had maintained a respectful demeanor toward everyone he had encountered during his four years of college, including Freida. During their time together in school, she had never heard of him dating anyone.
Boran's efforts in his studies were met with an excessive amount of determination and concentration. It wasn't as though he was aiming to become the best student in their class or in their department; rather, it was his decision to keep his attention on the road at all times. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that nobody has ever seen him dating anyone else since that time.
"Uh Boran…" The statement that Freida made caused Boran's attention to be drawn to herself.
Freida suddenly restrained herself as Boran stared at her, anticipating the information that she was about to share with him. However, the thought that she might never have this opportunity again lingered in the back of her mind. As a result, she mustered up the courage to finally ask Boran, "If you are not that busy today, could we have some coffee together? My treat."
Boran's smile appeared instantaneously as he raised his lips and responded, "Of course. We deserve to celebrate, Freida."
After hearing Boran's response, Freida was overcome with a sudden feeling of joy. She was unable to contain her excitement and had to respond with, "Thanks, Boran."
Boran cocked his head to the side and winked at her before responding, "Sure. But for the time being, let's make sure that our thesis is signed off on by the chairman first."
"Of course," Freida replied back.
After much discussion along the way, the two finally entered the research office, where they would search for the chair and, ultimately, have their thesis signed.
While inside, Freida couldn't help but keep an eye on Boran as he politely approached the chair to have their thesis signed. She couldn't help but watch him the entire time she was there. He was so persuasive that convincing the chair wasn't even a challenge for him. He had the kind of affable appearance that made it very easy for him to win over the favor of anyone he approached. It was no wonder Freida found him attractive all the time. The unfortunate reality was that everything winds up being exactly the same in the end. She would look at him as though she were at a great distance, but she couldn't even bring him closer to her heart in the end.