Bad luck struck Aldo—he had fallen into his own trap. Tomi and Ardo couldn’t stop laughing until their stomachs ached. Aldo grimaced as he stared at Indra’s phone screen, which unmistakably pointed to his name. Rey patted Aldo’s shoulder in a half-hearted show of moral support, though he, too, couldn’t hide the smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. It was ironic—Aldo was the one who had come up with the ridiculous idea, and now he was the one suffering its consequences.
“What the hell? Why me? Where am I supposed to get that much money? If I converted it all into loose change, I could bathe in it,” Aldo grumbled, still unwilling to accept reality.
“Come on, Do. Just accept your fate. Besides, you’re still going to campus and meeting girls every day—from the ones who are sweet and innocent to the ones who turn heads. I’m sure… one of them has to be a virgin. Don’t be so pessimistic, bro!” Indra teased with an exaggerated wise-guy grin.
“Yeah, I know there are plenty of virgins, but the real question is… would any of them be crazy enough to play along with us?” Aldo muttered.
Their meeting ended after nearly an hour, with the others relentlessly teasing Aldo about his new assignment—finding a virgin girl. Theoretically, campus was full of them, but actually pursuing one would risk Aldo’s reputation as a well-liked teaching assistant among the female students.
When he got home, he threw himself onto his bed, mentally exhausted. Juggling both work and university was already draining enough—why the hell did he have to deal with this absurd task on top of everything else? Indra’s deadline was way too short.
“Where the hell am I supposed to get fifty million?”
He was on the verge of giving up, his mind completely blank. In desperation, he nearly downloaded a loan app—but then he stopped himself. Instead, he let out a dry chuckle, pressing his fingers against his temple. The whole situation was ridiculous. He didn’t sleep at all that night, too consumed by frustration over this insane game.
***
The next morning, Aldo arrived at the office looking like a zombie. His already narrow eyes were reduced to mere slits. Sitting at his desk, he tried to ignore the fact that he either had to find a virgin girl or come up with fifty million to buy his way out. He was really starting to regret suggesting that stupid rule. He should have made it more flexible.
“Argh!” He ruffled his hair in frustration and dropped his head onto his desk, yawning repeatedly but still unable to sleep.
Knock, knock, knock…
A soft knock on the door. Aldo knew it was probably the intern, hesitantly coming in to report something. The kid was required to submit work to Aldo or someone else every now and then.
“Sir, I’m here to submit an article for your review. Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?”
The intern—whoever he was, Aldo didn’t remember his name—stood there awkwardly. Honestly, Aldo didn’t care enough to remember. The kid was only here for a few months, anyway.
“Just give it to your mentor. I have a headache,” Aldo dismissed him.
The intern left, and Aldo went back to brooding over his fate. All his savings were in the hands of someone he trusted, and he couldn’t just withdraw them on a whim—especially for an absurd reason like this. But at the same time, his pride refused to let him fail in finding a girl. He was the best-looking one in their group, after all.
That afternoon, Aldo went to campus for his assistant duties and to submit a thesis chapter to his professor. He often spent a long time helping students revise essays and assignments. Honestly, being a teaching assistant didn’t pay anything, but Aldo didn’t mind. He had only taken the role because he felt sorry for his professor, whose previous assistant had left to study abroad.
Time flew by as he worked. After helping the professor and receiving feedback on his thesis, Aldo walked down the corridor when his phone suddenly rang. It was Naomi—an annoyingly persistent girl who kept calling him, even though he had no interest in her.
“What does she want now?” he muttered, frowning at his screen.
“Koko,” Naomi whined in a sugary tone.
Aldo pulled the phone away from his ear before she could make it ring. He was in no mood to deal with Naomi Angela Hudono’s clingy behavior.
“I’m hanging up. I’m on campus,” he replied curtly.
He didn’t want to sound rude—Naomi had a habit of tattling to everyone. If she got upset, she might complain to his parents, which would cause him a whole new set of problems.
BUMP!
Aldo staggered slightly as a group of basketball players rushed past, playfully fighting over a ball. He was fine, but his glasses flew off and hit the floor. He didn’t actually need them—Aldo wore glasses to hide his perpetual tired look and to downplay his good looks. Not that it worked. Some people thought he was even more attractive with them on.
“Here, Kak,” a soft voice said.
Priska had been walking by and quickly picked up the glasses before they could get trampled. She smiled sweetly as she handed them back to Aldo. Aldo nodded in thanks, but then frowned when he noticed a small crack in the lens.
“Hmm,” he muttered.
Priska immediately looked guilty. She had almost stepped on them, and if she had, the glasses would have shattered completely.
“I’m so sorry, Kak Aldo! I really didn’t mean to,” she panicked.
Aldo sighed and waved it off, putting the glasses back on. If he asked her to pay for them, she wouldn’t be able to afford it—he knew Priska didn’t come from a wealthy background.
“It’s fine, Pris. I was about to go home anyway. Besides, I have a spare pair in my car,” he reassured her with a small smile. In reality, he didn’t have a spare at all. He’d probably just drive home without them.
“Are you sure?”
Priska’s eyes shimmered with worry, and her expression was so adorably distressed that Aldo almost laughed out loud. But he held it in—if he laughed now, she might actually start crying.
“It’s okay. It was an accident, right?” Aldo said.
“Well… yeah.”
“Then don’t worry about it. I’ll get going now.”
“Drive safe.”
Aldo left quickly, pulling his car keys from his jeans pocket. As soon as he got into the driver’s seat, he slumped against it with a frustrated sigh.
“Where the hell am I supposed to get fifty million for this damn penalty?” he groaned.
He could ask his mom, but if she found out why he needed the money, she’d shut him down in an instant.