The Man with Goggles
"You don't understand me."
"How could I not understand? I've always been patient so you can focus on your career. But what do I get?"
"Everything takes time."
"What's the process if there's no progress?"
A couple stood at the side of the road, oblivious to the passing people around them. Their argument about "understanding each other" raged on. Today was Monday, and as usual, the man was picking up the woman for school. They went to the same school, but this morning, their journey was interrupted, leading to a fierce argument on the motorcycle.
"You should understand, Sa. I only have Saturdays and Sundays to focus on my band. I also can't neglect my studies or disappoint my parents," said Bayu, his voice filled with frustration.
He felt trapped between the demands of the band, school, and his girlfriend. His bandmates were pushing for them to level up, while Tesa demanded more time together.
"I want to be like other girls! Always pampered, always going out," Tesa replied angrily.
She was fed up hearing her friends talk about their sweet weekends. Mondays were always a show-off session, and she could never join in.
"Sorry, Sa. Please, give me just a little more time," Bayu begged.
"A little more time?" Tesa snorted sarcastically. "How many times have you asked for 'just a little more time'? And I've always given it. Until when? You only care about your damn band."
"My band isn't damn, Sa! Don't ever say that. I won't forgive you, even though I love you," Bayu threatened.
Tesa smiled bitterly. "Oh yeah? That's the reality, Bay. Your band is low-class. You think you can get into a recording studio?"
A slap was in the air.
However, before Bayu's hand could reach Tesa's face, his body jerked backward.
"Bruaakk!"
It wasn't the sound of a slap, but rather the sound of Bayu's body hitting the asphalt after being clipped by a motorcycle.
On a moped with a large box behind it, a man with blue goggles stopped his vehicle. He glanced at Bayu, who was still lying on the ground.
"Sorry," he said briefly.
Then, without much further ado, the man started his bike and rode off. Strangely, his eyes remained closed, even while riding.
"Asshole! Don't run away!" Bayu yelled. He quickly got up, ready to chase after the mysterious man.
However, before he could start his motorcycle, Tesa held his hand.
"Hey, wait. We're not done yet," Tesa said sharply.
Bayu sighed heavily. "So, what do you want now?"
"You were about to slap me, right? Here, if you're brave enough, slap me now," Tesa challenged, her eyes burning with emotion.
Bayu fell silent. His awareness slowly returned. He looked at his angry girlfriend—beautiful but selfish, he thought. He sighed deeply.
"Sorry. Let's go to school, or we'll be late."
Although still angry, Tesa knew they had to leave soon if they didn't want to be late. Without saying anything further, she climbed onto Bayu's motorcycle, and they continued their journey.
---
Endfield High School, Jakarta
After the morning ceremony, the students returned to their respective classrooms.
For Tesa, this was her final year of high school. Her naturally beautiful face, shoulder-length straight hair adorned with a flower brooch on the left side, and numerous achievements made her incredibly popular at school. Her popularity made her arrogant. If it weren't for her status as the most famous student, Bayu might have broken up with her long ago.
Bayu, too, was no ordinary student. He was the vocalist and leader of Progress, the only band at school. Confidently, he always bragged that they would make it to the recording studio before graduation. However, until now, their band had only performed covers of other bands' songs.
In class 3-A, before the lesson began, Mrs. Nadia, their homeroom teacher, entered with a new student.
"Alright, before we start the lesson, I'd like to introduce our new student," said Mrs. Nadia.
A man stepped forward.
The students raised their eyebrows at his appearance. His hair was parted to the side, a bit messy as if not combed, but for some reason, it still looked cool. His pants were too long, covering part of his shoes. And most strikingly, the blue goggles hanging around his neck.
Tesa's eyes widened.
"That's the goggles..." she thought. Instantly, she remembered the man who had bumped into Bayu earlier that morning.
"Yeah, that's him!"
The man looked around the class with a relaxed expression.
"My name is Gin Kazama. Just call me Gin," he said briefly.
He then walked to an empty seat in the back corner of the class and sat alone, without a desk mate.
The lesson began. Mr. Teguh started explaining mathematics, writing a series of formulas on the whiteboard. Sets of numbers and arithmetic symbols invaded the students' minds, but not many actually understood.
When Mr. Teguh wrote a rather complicated problem on the board, he turned to the class.
"Do you understand?" he asked, his eyes scanning the students' faces.
Silence. Not a single person responded.
Then, a soft snore was heard.
"ZZZZZZZZZZ..."
Mr. Teguh squinted his eyes. He turned to the back corner.
Gin Kazama was fast asleep on his desk.
Mr. Teguh's face immediately flushed. In the midst of his tired effort explaining difficult material, there was a new student sleeping soundly.
With swift motion, he removed his shoe and threw it at Gin.
"Swiiinnggg!"
All the students held their breath.
However, before the shoe landed...
"Dap."
Gin caught the shoe with one hand, without opening his eyes.
The room went completely silent.
Mr. Teguh was shocked. So were the students who witnessed the event.
Tesa frowned.
"Who is this guy, really?" she murmured to herself.
She glanced at Gin, who was still sitting calmly in the back corner of the class, holding Mr. Teguh's shoe without showing any expression. The entire class remained silent, no one dared to speak. Even Mr. Teguh seemed confused, unable to believe that his throw had been easily stopped by someone who was still asleep.
Gin slowly opened his eyes, stared at the shoe in his hand, then lifted it high as if inspecting it. After that, casually, he placed the shoe on his desk.
Gin shrugged and closed his eyes again.
Mr. Teguh sighed deeply, trying to calm himself. But before he could continue with the lesson, Gin suddenly opened his eyes again. He yawned, stretched a bit, then, with a sleepy face, stood and walked towards the front of the class with staggered steps as if his soul hadn't fully returned from the dream world.
All eyes were on him. Even Mr. Teguh was silent, watching with curiosity.
When Gin reached the front of the class, he looked at Mr. Teguh and then smiled faintly. He took the marker from Mr. Teguh's hand without asking and erased all the answers that the teacher had written on the board. The room remained quiet. All the students could do was hold their breath, wondering what the new student would do next.
Calmly, Gin started writing his own version of the answers. Unlike the lengthy explanation Mr. Teguh had provided, Gin simplified it. The steps he wrote were more concise, easier to understand, but still led to the same final result.
The entire class froze.
Some students gaped, while others exchanged glances, trying to process what they had just witnessed. Even Mr. Teguh was silent, his eyes wide with awe. He had never seen such a simple solution before. He had never seen such an efficient method.
"How could this..." he murmured, more to himself than anyone else.
Gin looked at his writing on the board for a moment, then handed the marker back to Mr. Teguh. He also picked up the shoe he had placed on his desk earlier and extended it toward the teacher with a blank expression.
"Life is simple, it's your perspective that complicates it," Gin said after handing the marker and shoe back to Mr. Teguh and walked back to his seat.
Some students could no longer hold their laughter, while Mr. Teguh was still trying to regain his composure. Gin, seemingly indifferent to the class's reaction, just shrugged and walked back to his desk. Before sitting down, he briefly glanced at Tesa, who had been watching him closely the whole time.
Tesa bit her lip. There was something strange about this guy, and she intended to find out more.