SINCE WE WERE 18

In a senior high school in North Purwokerto, there is a student named Re

Dirgantara. He was usually called Re by his friends. Re is known as the good-
looking captain of the school basketball team and his good ability to lead his team
to achieve victories. On the other hand, he is a very lazy student, so he never made
him into the top 10 in his class. Because of this, his parents always told him to join
a tutoring program to improve his ranking. Every three times a week, he joins
tutoring with his classmates, namely Ale, Kinan, and Livy.

Ale was known as Re's close friend who is also a member of the basketball
team. Although he is not the smartest kid in the class, he is still diligent in studying.
He spreads his enthusiasm to Re so that Re becomes a diligent student.

In addition, there are Kinan and Livy who always motivate Re. Kinan is a
student who is famous for her intelligence because she always gets the top 3 parallel
rankings. She is also very diligent in studying and reading books in the library.
Many people love Kinan because of her friendly smile. Kinan is known to be very
close to Livy because they have the same hobby, reading books in the library. Livy
is also always there when Kinan needs help. The two of them are actually not Re's
close friends, but they always encourage Re to be enthusiastic about attending
tutoring because Re usually doesn’t go to tutoring for unclear reasons.

One day, the four of them were going from school to tutoring. At school,
Kinan looked very pale and weak. Livy, Re, and Ale suggested that Kinan shouldn’t
go to tutoring. However, Kinan felt that she had to go because she had an exam
tomorrow. Her friends tried to advise her, but Kinan remained evasive. They were
worried that Kinan might get something wrong on the road because she was riding
her own motorcycle. Livy, who usually rides with Ale, asked Re to ride with Kinan.
Finally, Re rode with Kinan to the tutoring.

Not only did Re take Kinan to the tutoring,, but Re also took Kinan home
after returning from the tutoring. Although Re is known for his cold attitude toward
women, at that moment, Re's attitude toward Kinan shows warmth. Re suggested
that Kinan rest and not go to school tomorrow, but Kinan didn’t want to because
she was worried that she would miss the lessons. Finally, Re told Kinan to just go
with him the next day, seeing that Kinan was still very weak.

On the next day and for three consecutive days, Re picked Kinan up at her
house to go to school together. With each passing day, Kinan's condition improved.
However, for some reason, Re always wanted to pick Kinan up. They always left
and returned home together. However, during the trip, they rarely talked. Not only
because Re didn't talk much, but also because Kinan couldn't start a conversation.

In class, Re often asks Kinan about material he hasn’t understood. Re also

never skipped tutoring. Even during exams, Re didn’t cheat and was very confident
in his answers because he had studied. His grades also improved. Without realizing
it, Re was more enthusiastic about learning because he was close to Kinan.

In addition, Kinan is a person who likes to give gifts when her close friends
achieve something. Because Kinan already felt close to Re, Kinan gave Re a gift in
the form of bread that she made herself. This made Re feel special in Kinan's eyes.

As the days passed, Re and Kinan grew closer. Livy and Ale always teased
them when they were together. Re, who was reluctant to deal with romance, now
finds himself immersed in it. Re thinks that he has feelings for Kinan, but he doesn't
know how to express it because he has never dated before.

The conversation between Re and Kinan, which used to be limited to asking

about assignments, now becomes an idle chat about their days. Kinan always paid
attention to Re, whether it was through chat or in the face. Because Re is a cold
person, he responds with short answers. This made Kinan think that Re didn't have
the same feelings as she did for him, even though Re was very excited, but he
couldn't express it with a long and romantic answer. It was this incomprehension
that made Kinan choose to remain silent and not express her feelings.

One day, Re saw Kinan enjoying a conversation in front of the teacher's

room with a man who was actually an alumnus of the school. Re thought that they
were so close that their conversation was filled with laughter. Re thought that the
man was Kinan's boyfriend. Re was jealous and thought that she had never been
like that with Kinan. Then Re thought that all this time the problem was on his own
because of his cold attitude. After the incident, Re decided to change his attitude.

After school on the way home, Re chatted with Kinan as often as possible.
When he picked Kinan up at home, Re waved goodbye to Kinan. Kinan was really
confused because Re didn't usually do that. Kinan was embarrassed to ask about
Re's strangeness and chose to keep quiet.

The next day during break time, Re wanted to test whether Kinan actually
had feelings for him or not. Re lied by telling Ale to tell Kinan that Re would take
Keyla, a girl from another class, back home.

When Ale told Kinan, Kinan was immediately surprised. Kinan was
surprised because she felt that Re had never been close to Keyla, not even by name.
She was also sad because every day she went home with Re, but not this time. Kinan
felt that this was a lie, so she repeatedly asked Ale for the truth. Even though Kinan
didn't believe it, she still felt jealous and studied in a bad mood.

On that day, Kinan's face looked glum. Because she is a whiny person, she
wanted to cry, but she was embarrassed because she was at school. Re, who was
sorry to see this, immediately approached Kinan and told her the truth. Re made a
mocking face at Kinan and Kinan was very upset. Kinan felt ashamed that her
feelings of jealousy were known by Re.

Re, who knew this, decided to express his feelings. However, Re doesn't
know how, so he asks Ale. Ale suggests that Re write a love letter to Kinan, but Re
immediately rejects it because he feels that it's not old anymore. Finally, Re
convinced himself that he could express his feelings to Kinan directly.

One day after returning from tutoring, they were caught in the rain on the
road. They decided to take shelter near a small shop. While waiting for the rain to
stop, Re chatted with Kinan. They were really fun and full of laughter.

In the middle of their conversation, Re had prepared a gift for Kinan. Re

gave Kinan a pencil case filled with cute pens and a chocolate. Then Re expressed
his feelings to Kinan. Re also explained that he had actually liked Kinan for a long
time, but he was indeed a cold person so he looked ignorant.
 Kinan was very surprised and blushed. Kinan understood Re because he
wasn't like he used to be. Then she also expressed her feelings to Re. Kinan
explained that she had wanted to express it, but she was worried that Re didn't have
the same feelings because Kinan felt that Re's attitude didn't show that he liked her.

They were relieved that they had expressed their feelings. But unfortunately,
they have to part ways as they will continue their education at different universities.
They were relieved because they had expressed their feelings. But unfortunately,
they had to part ways because they were going to continue their education in
different colleges. However, they are committed to keep communicating even if it's
only through social media. They don't want to lose contact when they are separated.
They also always keep their hearts even though they are far away from each other.

In the beginning, they felt very difficult with the long-distance relationship.
However, they tried to maintain it. Re and Kinan always met up during the semester
holidays to cure their longing.

Re, who used to have a very cold attitude, has now changed 180% because
of Kinan. He is also still enthusiastic about studying at university even though he is
away from Kinan. Kinan always encourages him through long distances. Their
relationship is filled with peace as they support each other.