Prologue
Titan Core Fitness is never quiet. If it's not the sound of dumbbells crashing onto the floor, it's treadmills running like people are preparing for a marathon, or trainers yelling: "Last set! Last set!"
And in the middle of all that chaos, Nur Zya Syirah Zofia sat behind the front counter typing rapidly on her keyboard with a face so serious that even the new intern was too scared to ask for the WiFi password.
Intern : "MisS..."
Yira slowly looked up. The intern immediately swallowed nervously.
Yira : "Yes?"
Intern : "...never mind."
Yira continued typing. Aina, sitting beside her, burst out laughing. "I swear one day your face is gonna end up in the news for intimidating customers.'
Yira : "My face is normal."
Aina : "Normal my foot. You look like you're about to sue someone."
Before Yira could reply, the gym doors opened. A tall man wearing a black hoodie walked in while holding a shaker bottle. Black cap, dark track pants, broad shoulders and an extremely annoying aura. Yira didn't know how to explain it. But some people simply looked naturally irritating.
The man walked toward the counter. "I want to register for a membership." His voice was low.
Yira handed him a form without asking many questions."IC, please."
The man handed over his identification card while staring directly at her. Two seconds. Three seconds. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Yira asked.
The man : "Are you mad at me?"
Yira : "....what?"
The man : "Your face looks like 1 owe you eight million ringgit."
Aina instantly choked on her drink. Yira stared blankly at him. "Are you registering or trying to do stand-up comedy?"
The man smiled slightly. Oddly enough... that only made him even more irritating.
The man : "Syazir."
Yira : "Excuse me?"
The Man : "My name, Syazir."
Yira : "Oh."
Silence. Syazir lowered his head and filled in the form. Meanwhile, Yira tried focusing on entering his information while pretending not to notice that the man had been smiling to himself this entire time.
A few minutes later-
Syazir : "Where do I validate parking?"
Yira : "Back counter."
Syazir : "Which back counter?"
Yira : "The back one."
Syazir : "Can you explain properly?"
Yira inhaled deeply. "Walk straight. Turn left. You'll see a printer. Next to the printer."
Syazir : "Ohhh. So you actually do know how to talk."
Yira : "......."
Aina had already covered her face to stop herself from laughing and for the first time that week... Yira felt like throwing a keyboard at someone. She had no idea yet. That annoying man would become the biggest problem in her life.