Chapter 106: Bagas’s Father
Hearing that Bagas was about to call his father, Sheva straightened his back unconsciously, somehow feeling nervous. Bagas himself snorted at his friend’s strange behavior, knowing full well what kind of effect did his father have on all of his friends. Yeah, it wasn’t just Sheva who felt nervous around his father, but even his girlfriend, Sarah, also felt the same way.
The reason was obvious. His father was not just a normal person. Well, that should be obvious too, considering how insanely rich Bagas’s family was. Hell, there was even a time a few months ago, after the boys graduated from high school and Bagas asked his father to provide a job for Sheva, and the man casually brought the entire food stall for them to manage. His father said that it would help the boys learned how to manage something on their own and act like an adult. Still, it was pretty mindblowing how wealthy the man was.
As for the profession... Well, Bagas’s father was a high-ranking soldier in the military. Yeah, a pretty surprising fact, indeed, considering how fat and lazy Bagas was. However, the man was different compared to any other soldiers who usually turned into a strict father toward their son. He pretty much spoiled Bagas since the boy was a child, and as long as the boy himself didn’t fail his studies, didn’t act like a prick, and didn’t do anything criminal, he would let the boy do everything he wanted. That was also why Bagas could spend the entire high school playing game and Internet without any worry, since the pressure from his father itself was basically close to none.
Still, for most of his friends, the fact that his father was a high-ranking soldier in the military was enough to make them nervous, especially since the man himself had never been seen smiling too much. Sheva himself had only met the man a few times during his time in high school, and while the man didn’t say anything specific, the sharp glance was enough to send a shiver down his spine, as if the man was trying to peel his skin alive.
Bagas just ignored his best friend’s nervousness as if it wasn’t the first time he saw this and started scrolling through his phone. Right within a few seconds, his phone was finally connected to his father’s one, and he just greeted casually, "Hey, Dad! Are you busy right now?"
"No, not really. What is it that you need now?" The man sounded exhausted. After taking a short pause, he added, "I don’t know what you were doing in Hanoi with Sheva a few weeks ago, but don’t you dare ask Sarah to go abroad like that alone, okay? Wait until you are married!"
Sheva choked a little when he heard that, not expecting Bagas’s father to say something like that with a flat tone. Bagas himself just rolled his eyes exasperatedly before answering with another question. "Am I really that unreliable in your eyes?"
"Yes." The man answered without even a single second of hesitation. "You remember what you said to me about Sheva and his pride? He would never let anyone help him without giving out something. Now, what did you do? You invite him to Hanoi? With what, your money, right? What kind of blackmail material did you use to force him to join?"
Every sharp question thrown by his father was enough to make Bagas blush in embarrassment. Sheva himself felt awkward in the back seat, not expecting that the pair of father and son were talking about him behind his back like that.
"You know that I am not like that, Dad! If only you were at home, I would be able to explain to you! But what is the reality here?! You haven’t even been at home for two months!" He retorted angrily.
"Excuse, excuse. You know that you can just call me straight away, right? Instead, what do I have here? I have to hear the news from your mother, you Brat!" The father raised his voice too, not wanting to lose the debate. "Also, I have already told you about this job! I have to go to the border for about half a year! Your mother has never even made a complaint about this, so why would you try to act like a brat?! You are 17 already, don’t try to rely on your father too much!"
Sheva coughed lightly, trying to remind Bagas that he was still there. Although he knew that this kind of interaction was normal for the pair of father and son and far from being a conflict, it was still pretty awkward to hear father and son shouting at each other from the phone like this. Fortunately, Bagas noticed his awkward situation here and decided to go back to the original topic.
"Anyway, this call is also related to Sheva. Let me explain first." Then, Bagas started telling his father a brief story of Sheva’s chess career, from the recruitment to the Black Rook club, the Hanoi tournament and Master Irfan’s coverage, the Jakarta International Chess Festival, to the struggle that the boy currently faced. Unlike before, Bagas’s father was quiet and waiting for his son to explain this matter until the end. Somehow, this only made Sheva nervous.
"... So, that’s it, Dad. Do you think you can help us here?" Bagas asked after explaining this matter for more than fifteen minutes. Sheva didn’t notice that he was gripping the corner of his shirt nervously, waiting for the man to answer the question. To his surprise, though, Bagas’s father just snorted at the answer.
"Who do you think I am, Brat?!" The man asked back. "Just tell your friend to wait patiently, and I will call him in the next two days! You’ve got it?!"
"Sure! Thanks, Dad! I know you are the best!"
As Bagas closed the call, Sheva stared at his best friend with a dumbfounded expression, looking at him in disbelief.
’Is that it?! I don’t even need to do anything?! Is this fucking real?!’
-0-
Meanwhile, in a military camp far on the border of the country, Bagas’s father just stared at his phone silently, the conversation with his son a moment ago still floating inside his head. He stared at the wallpaper on his phone for a moment, which was an old photo of two boys grinning together in front of the camera, and somehow, the man couldn’t help but smirk, remembering something from the past.
’A chess player, huh? Your son sure knows how to choose an interesting profession, Fahri...’ He muttered to himself. ’Don’t worry, I will make sure your son is safe and living his best life, so just watch us from above peacefully, okay?’
And right after that, he clicked the lock button, turning off the screen of the phone before walking away as if this had never happened at all.