Ando's motorcycle stopped in front of Dina's house. Dry leaves fell from the mango tree in her yard, carried by the gentle breeze of the reddish-orange evening.
Dina got off the back seat, pausing beside Ando for a moment to thank him and return the helmet. Ando took off his own helmet, with no intention of leaving right away. He looked at Dina, as if gathering the courage to speak. Dina waited patiently, not rushing him.
"Din."
"Hmm?"
Ando took a long breath, then rubbed the back of his neck—a nervous gesture he rarely showed.
"Back then… I told you I liked you." He looked directly at her, not looking away. "But I said it to Clara. Not directly to you."
Dina froze, remembering the moment in the school garden. The afternoon breeze seemed to stop moving.
"That made everything ambiguous," Ando continued, his voice quieter. "And I don't want it to be ambiguous anymore."
He reached for one of Dina's hands. He played with her fingers between both of his hands. His eyes lowered to their hands, while Dina looked straight at him nervously.
Ando took a breath before lifting his face. He looked at Dina with even greater nervousness. "So now I want to tell you… that I like you."
There was a moment of silence.
"Will you be my girlfriend?"
Dina's heart felt as if it had been pulled out of her chest. She took a breath, trying to steady her chaotic heartbeat.
Then, slowly, Dina answered, "Do, do you want to know why I was obsessed with the name Alfa?"
Ando was confused about what to say. He simply nodded, almost automatically.
"When I was little, I fell really badly, and then there was a boy who carried me all the way home," Dina said while looking toward the place where that memory had happened. Then she looked back at Ando. "His name was Alfa. He helped me, and that memory stayed in my mind until now."
Ando did not answer. He simply stared. As the realization began to sink in, his smile slowly widened.
"When I went to your mom's clinic, she showed me a photo of you when you were little…" Dina's voice softened. "And I realized that was Alfa. The Alfa I'd been looking for all this time."
Ando's smile grew wider. Dina had never seen him smile that widely before. She was happy too. She smiled shyly.
"So," Ando leaned a little closer, his voice lowering into a relieved whisper, his hand tightening around Dina's, "am I still single now?"
Dina laughed nervously. "No." She gently pushed Ando's shoulder, her cheeks burning. "You're taken."
Ando chuckled—a happy laugh he did not hide at all—then gently touched Dina's head.
"I'm your boyfriend now?"
"You're my boyfriend."
That afternoon, the orange sky seemed to seal the moment in its warm light. Nothing was dramatic. There was no music. Just two young people who had finally found each other, with an entire childhood story that had apparently never truly disappeared.
---
The soft popping sound of hot oil from the round takoyaki pan became the background music that afternoon. The balls of batter rolled gently every time the stall owner turned them with a skewer, leaving a savory aroma that immediately drifted into the air.
The little stall was still the same, sheltered beneath the shade of a tree near the school fence. Dina, Ando, Icha, Nia, Bram, Aldi, and Arvin sat at the same table again, with three boxes of takoyaki in the middle of them.
But one thing was different. Dina and Ando sat beside each other, looking at each other whenever they had the chance.
Icha, sitting beside Dina, immediately pointed at them. "I told you! Look at them, they're already stuck together like stickers."
Nia added while chewing on her takoyaki, "So this is the dating tax, huh?"
Without any shame, Ando picked up a takoyaki with a skewer, blew on it, then held it out to Dina. "It's hot. Be careful."
All at once, Bram, Arvin, and Aldi let out a synchronized "Huuu~" like a group of cheerleaders who had been waiting for this moment for an entire month.
"Feed heeer!" Arvin was the loudest.
Aldi patted Bram on the shoulder. "Bro, we're the ones suffering through the cringe."
Nia simply laughed. "Office romance, office romance."
Dina rolled her eyes, but her face could not lie—she kept smiling. A shy smile, an embarrassed smile, a happy smile—she would not hide it anymore.
Icha nudged Dina. "Din, seriously, I'm so relieved too. Finally, all my teasing with Nia actually came true."
Nia nodded dramatically. "Yeah, our instincts were so good."
They all laughed.
That afternoon, the wind carried the warm aroma of takoyaki, the air mixed with laughter, and the popping sounds from the takoyaki pan could still be heard in the background. There was no more pressure, no more cruel whispers, no more rumors.
Only friends gathering together, sitting on the same plastic bench, eating the same takoyaki, but with a new chapter for Dina and Ando.
Dina leaned slightly against Ando's shoulder, and Ando did not move away.
This time, there was nothing they needed to hide.
They were simply happy.
That afternoon became the perfect ending—warm, light, and full of the promise that tomorrow would not be as complicated as yesterday.