Raisa menatap pesan di layar ponselnya, pikirannya berputar. "Mendesak. Hubungi aku sekarang." Kata-kata itu seakan melompat dari layar, menuntut perhatiannya, menariknya kembali ke dunia digital yang ingin ia hindari, meski hanya beberapa saat.

Ia menatap Zayn, yang berdiri beberapa kaki jauhnya dengan senyum lembut dan hampir tak pasti di wajahnya. Kehadirannya tampak begitu nyata, begitu membumi, yang tidak pernah bisa dirasakan oleh notifikasi tak berujung di ponselnya.

"Ah… what do I do?" she muttered under her breath, fingers twitching over the screen as she debated whether to respond to the message or let it go, just this once.

Kendra, sensing the tension, nudged her lightly with her elbow. "Hey, you okay?"

Raisa forced a smile, though her mind was miles away. "Yeah, I just... work stuff," she said, trying to sound nonchalant. But inside, she could feel the familiar pull of her online obligations. The part of her that always had to be 'on,' always had to respond immediately, was screaming at her to pick up the phone, to handle the situation like the professional influencer she was.

But then, Zayn stepped closer. His presence filled the small space between them, and suddenly, the phone in her hand seemed much less important.

"Hi, again," Zayn said, his voice calm but with an underlying curiosity. He shoved his hands into his pockets, a subtle gesture that seemed to mask a hint of nervousness. "I didn’t expect to run into you here."

Raisa blinked, surprised at his casual tone. "Oh, yeah," she replied, trying to focus on the conversation. "It’s kind of random, I guess. I was just meeting Kendra."

"I see." Zayn’s eyes flicked toward Kendra, who waved with a playful grin before turning her attention back to her phone. She was never one to linger in uncomfortable moments, always allowing people their space to figure things out on their own.

"So, how have you been?" Zayn asked, his voice lower now, more personal. It was the kind of question that felt deeper than the surface-level exchanges Raisa was used to.

"Busy," she answered, a little too quickly. She could feel her phone buzzing again in her hand, the vibrations persistent, as if reminding her she wasn’t allowed to escape. "Always busy." She laughed nervously, not sure how else to explain the chaos that was her life without sounding like she was complaining.

"Busy’s good," Zayn said, his eyes lingering on her for a moment, studying her expression. "But I guess it can be too much sometimes."

"Yeah, you could say that." Raisa shifted awkwardly, glancing at her phone again. The notifications were relentless, each new buzz tugging at her, pulling her back toward the digital world that felt so different from this quiet evening in the park.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Oh! Sorry!" she exclaimed suddenly, almost knocking the phone from her hand in her haste to silence it. "I have to—"

Zayn gave her a small, understanding smile. "Work call?"

"Yeah... one of my sponsors." Raisa’s voice trailed off. She hated how predictable her life had become, how it always revolved around the next post, the next brand deal, the next expectation.

But there was something in Zayn’s eyes—something steady and calm—that made her pause. "Maybe I can call them later," she said softly, more to herself than to him.

Kendra let out a small, approving "Mmm!" from beside her. Raisa shot her a look, and Kendra just shrugged. "What? I’m just saying, maybe it’s time you let yourself breathe a little."

Zayn chuckled at Kendra’s bluntness, his smile growing a little wider. "She’s right, you know. Sometimes it’s okay to take a break."

Raisa hesitated, her thumb hovering over the screen, ready to respond to the message. But then she made a decision—one she hadn’t allowed herself to make in a long time. She locked the phone and slipped it into her bag.

"There," she said with a small, relieved sigh. "No work for the rest of the night."

Zayn’s smile turned into something warmer, more genuine. "Good choice."

As the evening wore on, the conversation between them began to flow more naturally. Kendra had excused herself for a bit, leaving Zayn and Raisa to talk alone by the fountain. The sound of water splashing softly in the background, mixed with the distant hum of city life, created a surprisingly peaceful atmosphere.

"So, how’s the architecture world?" Raisa asked, curious to shift the conversation away from herself.

Zayn shrugged slightly. "Busy too, but in a different way, I guess. Every project feels like it’s never really finished. There’s always something that can be better, something that could change." He paused, glancing up at the night sky that had started to darken above them. "But sometimes, I wonder if I’m too focused on perfecting everything, you know? Like I’m missing the point."

Raisa felt a pang of recognition. "Yeah, I get that. Sometimes it feels like we’re just going through the motions. Chasing this idea of perfection that doesn’t really exist."

"Exactly." Zayn leaned forward a bit, his gaze intent on hers. "But it’s hard to stop, isn’t it? Especially when everyone’s watching, expecting you to be perfect."

"Oh, you have no idea," Raisa said with a short laugh. "It’s like... I built this whole life, this whole brand around being someone people admire. But at the end of the day, I’m still just... me. And I don’t even know if that’s enough sometimes."

There was a moment of silence between them, the weight of their shared frustrations settling in.

Then Zayn smiled softly. "It’s funny," he said, breaking the quiet. "I’ve seen your posts before, you know. And I always thought, 'Wow, she has it all together.' But now I see we’re all just figuring it out as we go, aren’t we?"

Raisa’s cheeks flushed a little at the admission that Zayn had seen her online. "Yeah, we are," she said quietly. "We’re all just trying to get by under the same sky."

Saat malam semakin larut dan taman semakin sunyi, Raisa merasakan sesuatu berubah dalam dirinya. Untuk pertama kalinya setelah sekian lama, dia tidak memikirkan postingan berikutnya, email berikutnya, atau kesepakatan merek berikutnya. Dia hanya... hadir. Di sini, pada saat ini, bersama seseorang yang tampaknya memahami tekanan hidup yang terus-menerus ditunjukkan.

Dan pada saat itu, ia menyadari betapa ia merindukan hal ini—hubungan yang sederhana dan nyata saat berbicara dengan seseorang secara langsung. Tanpa filter, tanpa teks, hanya ia dan Zayn, di bawah langit yang sama.

Namun, seiring berjalannya waktu, teleponnya kembali berdering. Kali ini, dia bahkan tidak bergeming.

Bersambung...