Chapter Text
The scene opens to Taufan, standing in the middle of the Starless Academy courtyard, hands shoved deep into his pockets, shoulders slumped, staring up at the endless starry sky.
“Fuck,” he muttered. “I’m cold. Why do I have to stay out here? Why do I have to meet this bitch outside?!” he growled, voice as expressive as his temper allowed him to be, dramatic, and vaguely tragic—because apparently standing outside at 7 AM while wearing a this thin uniform counts as existential despair in this game.
[MISSION: PLAY AS TAUFAN BELUING AND INTERACT WITH THE HEROINE.]
Taufan—Angin—shivered, glancing at the neatly trimmed hedges, the perfectly paved walkways, and the suspiciously romantic moonlight.
Everything looked like it belonged in one of those corny posters Yaya sent him at 3 AM.
“This is stupid,” he groaned. “I didn’t sign up for this. Who even decided it’s a good idea to make me… a sad boy?!”
He hugged himself. The wind howled. Probably dramatic sound effects. Definitely dramatic.
A sigh escaped him, slow and meaningful, the kind that apparently hinted at deep, unresolved trauma.
He peeked at the edge of the courtyard, waiting for the girl—the transfer student, the protagonist, the pixelated nightmare he’d been controlling—to appear and trigger the next romance scene.
“Oh god,” he muttered. “I can’t do this.”
Sad, angsty boy wasn’t his thing. That role belonged to Petir. This was absolutely Petir-core. Why did he have to suffer?
Not that he wanted to follow the rules, but apparently refusing to follow the “brooding sad boy” path would fry him like a toaster.
Sad angsty boy wasn't for him. That was for his dear dear eldest brother. Why did it have to be him of all people!
“Why am I here? Why do I have to look like this?” he continued, voice trailing off like a tortured anime character, “Why is the morning so starry, why is the wind so cold, why does everything in this universe scream at me to be sad and mysterious?! Why did I let Yaya do this to me?!”
He rubbed his face, muttering, “I am going to survive this, and then—oh god, I have this sudden urge to kill Api.”
And somewhere, deep in his panic-filled brain, he knew: no matter what he did, this game was officially cursed.
[WARNING: PLAYER MUST FOLLOW CHARACTER ARCHETYPE]
Angin stiffened. “I didn’t even do anything yet—”
ZAP.
“OKAY,” he yelped. “I’ll be sad! I’ll be sad! Chill!”
Footsteps approached, sounding like the grim reaper Angin was half expecting to see and take him away from this saccharine nightmare.
A girl stopped in front of him.
Aria.
The heroine. The broke-but-determined transfer student who somehow earned her way into this elite nightmare of a school. The girl who was way too real now.
Too real.
“Taufan,” Aria said softly, her voice a sweet tone. “You skipped class again.”
Angin opened his mouth. “Yeah, I was—”
ZAP.
He flinched.
“…I was sitting alone,” he continued flatly, dead-eyed. “Thinking about life.”
God I hate this!!! He screamed internally, making sure to keep his face placid unless he wanted that zap again.
Aria tilted her head. “You always say that.”
Angin screamed internally once more.
Say something like what Petir would say, his brain begged. Say anything that sounds emotionally constipated!
“I like… the silence,” he said, voice monotone. “It understands me.”
From somewhere far away, Angin swore he heard Air laughing with Daun and Cahaya. God, he wished it was legal to kill your own siblings and get away with it. There were countries with incest laws—why not sibling murder immunity?
Aria hesitated. “You don’t have to be alone, you know.”
Angin tried to shrug casually.
ZAP.
Why!? I didn't even say anything?!!
ZAP.
He immediately corrected himself as he grit his teeth, trying to bear the pain. He was getting really annoyed with all this zapping.
“I choose to be alone,” he said through the pain, staring into the distance like someone who knew they’d failed their exams, an expression Angin wore one to many times. “People leave anyway.”
“Bro—” Angin muttered under his breath.
ZAP.
“—brooding is all I have,” he finished, louder.
Aria stepped closer. Way too close for comfort.
“Sometimes,” she said, “I feel like you’re hurting, but you won’t let anyone help.” The wind fluttered her hair, making it flow softly behind her.
Is she not cold!!?? Angin thought wildly. I’m freezing and she’s in a skirt. What kind of bullshit logic—
Angin calmed himself down, as much as he could. He needed to think of what to do next.
If he comforted her, was that a romance flag?
If he didn’t, would he get fried again?
He tried to split the difference. Choose the middle ground.
“…Pain builds character,” he said, making his voice as low as it could get.
Aria blinked. “That’s… not healthy.”
Angin nodded solemnly, avoiding eye contact with her. “I am not healthy.”
Silence.
Wind blew dramatically for no reason, blowing the branches of the trees. Seriously what is with this wind!?!?
He stared at the sky, jaw clenched, eyes narrowed like he was auditioning for Saddest Man Alive—or badly impersonating Petir’s middle school phase.
Inside his head, he was losing it.
Api better be stuck as the twink.
Petir is 100% the cold student council president.
If I survive this, I’m uninstalling this fuck-ass game. I’ll delete you myself, Aria.
Aria finally spoke again, kind and calm. “I’ll walk with you to your next class.”
Angin turned slowly, the animation budget demanded it.
“…Do what you want,” he said quietly. “I don’t care.”
[AFFECTION +10]
Angin’s eye twitched.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
ZAP.
He smiled painfully.
“I mean,” he corrected, voice low and tragic, “do what makes you happy.”
Aria smiled back.
Angin felt his soul leave his body.
Somewhere, far, far away—
“HAHAHA,” Air’s voice echoed. “HE GOT THE SAD BOY ROUTE.”
“LOL!! I THOUGHT I HAD IT WORSE!!” Cahaya laughed with him, doubling over as he clutched his stomach.
Angin clenched his fists.
I am going to survive this game, he vowed. And then I am beating Yaya with a pillow