Novels by Baby Loey

Alila VillaBandung, Indonesia, 2024

"Gwaenchanha ..., So Hee-ya?" tanya Chanyeol lagi.So Hee menggigit bibir. Menggeleng pelan."Kenapa kau bisa terjatuh, hmm?

Hari ini libur kuliah. Irna menambah jarak lari paginya satu kilo meter. Padahal ia sudah lumayan lelah. Namun ia tetap semangat.Irna memberhentikan langkahnya. Titik-titik peluh sudah membasahi kening dan area lehernya. Ia pun melepas topi yang digunakannya untuk berkipas. Lalu sepasang manik matanya mengedar ke sekitar. Mencari bangku kosong yang bisa disinggahinya untuk beristirahat sejenak.

"Mwo?"Chanyeon masih tetap bergeming. Menatap khidmat Irna. Membuat Irna merasa canggung seketika dan gugup."Apa yang salah? Kenapa kau jadi gugup begitu?" tanya Chanyeon kemudian mendapati perubah

Chanyeon's HouseSeoul, Korsel, 2019________Irna menyeka peluh di dahinya dengan sebelah tangannya. Ia melepas topinya. Mengibaskan rambutnya yang dikunci

Gramedia Merdeka BookstoreBandung, Indonesia, 2024__________"

Viva RestaurantSeoul-South Korea-2019_____"Mwo?"The voice sounded so loud, disturbing their calm. Restaurant visitors. Some of them looked away. Gaze at Irna with dislike.Realizing that, Irna moved her head, looking at those who were still watching her. "Mianhamnida," said Irna then to them while lowering her head. And it seems that some of them just shook their heads or even turned away, ignoring the apologies. She thought all that was just the wind.The atmosphere in the restaurant sounded normal again.The man in front of Irna sighed, "You just embarrass me, Miss!"Irna smiled mockingly, then said, "What do you care?""What do I care? I care so much for you that I have been lying in a coma for three months just for saving this idiot you." The man's tone was full of emphasis.Irna was silent. Gulped. It was true, even t

Gramedia Merdeka BookstoreBandung-Indonesia-2020 _____

The day went on. The sun kept rising as promised. From the first, the sun never broke its promise. Give the morning that billions of people on earth have always been waiting for. It's the same. Even trillions of animals and plants expect morning. Hope with the beautiful promises of life. For those who are always passionate about life.Chanyeon came out of the bathroom wearing his kimono towel while wiping his wet hair with an ordinary towel."Ya! What's that sound?" Chanyeon grumbled in disgust. Ruin the morning.Chanyeon tried to get rid of his frustration. Meanwhile, the voice, which was none other than Irna's cellphone, rang deafeningly—chanting the song Fireflies.Chanyeon sighed. Get out of his room."Turn the music down, Anna," Chanyeon shouted from upstairs.No answer. Irna's cell phone kept ringing loudly."Turn the music down, Anna!""Ya! D

You have to take out the bullet as fast as possible. Hold on, Oppa, I'll immediately call an ambulance. Hang on ..." said Irna, who hurriedly tried to reach her cellphone in her bag.Chanyeon tried to grab Irna's arm."Help me, Anna ....""Yes, Oppa. Hang on for a moment. I'll call an ambulance.""That's too long, Anna. All I need now is you. You help me. You handle me. Please."Irna stops her finger surfing her cellphone screen and staring at Chanyeon."What do you mean, Oppa?" he asked softly."Take care of me right now. Too long to wait for an ambulance. Then to the hospital."Irna still doesn't budge. Then she shook her head. "Can't, I'm not allowed to."With great difficulty, Chanyeon grabbed Irna's cellphone. Just throw it away. Takes Irna by surprise with that maneuver."Look at me, Anna. Look me in the eye .

"Mwo? Ahjumma has a son?"Park So Young smiled. Nod slowly. Then answered, "Hmm.""Is he a handsome man, Ahjumma?" asked Irna again, teasing a little."Of course. He inherited the genetics of the beauty of his eomma's face," said So Young in response to Irna's teasing."All right, just a moment, Ahjumma will get the photo for you," So Young said again while shuffling to pick up an album.After a while, So Young returns with an album in her hands. Shows the only child photo to Irna."Look, isn't he handsome?"Irna looks at the photo shown by So Young. She was observing the face of someone in the picture. The smile that had been blooming on her lips faded slowly. Irna did not flinch. "Someone in that photo, right?" her mind.So Young embraced Irna's back with one hand. And say one more time, "Isn't he handsome?"Irna moved her head, s

Irna wiped the sweat with the back of her hand. Almost a day, she cleaned Chanyeon's house. And she had just finished just as dusk began to fade into the night. Irna was tired. Let her body lean on the sofa. Inhaling and exhaling slowly, repeatedly. Let his body feel relaxed. She feels exhausted and hungry.Irna shuffled, went to her room, eager to clean her body first, then pray. And of course, after that, she wanted to eat immediately. Eat a lot.After the evening prayer, Irna immediately grabbed her cellphone on the nightstand. Turning on her cellphone, which she started working on, she turned off the power."Whoa ...," Irna was surprised to find lots of missed calls and incoming messages. There were 13 incoming calls from Kim Yoora and 17 incoming messages from Yoora and The Insane Man.Yoora•> How dare you to skip Chef Kyungseo's cooking lessons!Irna smiled, reading her friend's firs

"You crazy human being!" Irna cursed Chanyeon on the bed cover, banging.Irna grabbed the bed cover that covered her whole body, leaving part of her face open."O Allah, what I decided was the truth?"Irna took a bite of the bed cover. She suddenly began to worry that her decision was a mistake."But I'm doing this one too for a reason. Yes, I have one reason. The right reason. To get in my way, ahh ...."Irna immediately sat up from her bed."But I admit ... my main goal is ... to make him give up. But I was wrong. Wrong with my prediction. He accepted it without the slightest burden."Irna sighed softly. Her mind drifted to what happened this afternoon."Just married?" Chanyeon said while moving his face to stare at Irna's view from a closer distance.Irna frowned. Then nodded slowly.Chanyeon confirmed the locati

Viva RestaurantSeoul~South Korea~2019_____"Mwo?"The voice sounded so loud, disturbing their calm. Restaurant visitors. Some of them looked away. Gaze at Irna with dislike.Realizing that, Irna moved her head, looking at those who were still watching her. "Mianhamnida," said Irna then to them while lowering her head. And it seems that some of them just shook their heads or even turned away, ignoring the apologies. She thought all that was just the wind.The atmosphere in the restaurant sounded normal again.The man in front of Irna sighed, "You just embarrass me, Miss!"Irna smiled mockingly, then said, "What do you care?""What do I care? I care so much for you that I have been lying in a coma for three months just for saving this idiot you." The man's tone was full of emphasis.Irna was silent. Gulped. It was true, even t

"Senyumlah kau, Hyun Jae-ya!" cicit Jiyeon seraya menepuk sebelah pipi Hyun Jae. Mencoba membuat Hyun Jae mengulas senyum untuk berfoto selca dengannya. Pasalnya, Hyun Jae masih saja bersungut marah kepadanya karena hal sepele. Berfoto selca dengan latar Moonlight Rainbow Fountain yang penuh dengan warna-warni air mancur yang cerah ceria."Ya!" decak Jiyeon setelah beberapa kali potret dan hasilnya tidak ada satu pun foto Hyun Jae dengan bibir tersenyum."Kau akan mudah cepat terlihat tua jika pelit untuk tersenyum, Hyun Jae-ya!" Jiyeon mencicit dengan memukul sebelah pundak Hyun Jae."Katakan padaku, ada apa denganmu akhir-akhir ini, hmm?" Hyun Jae menangkap sebelah tangan Jiyeon yang mencoba memukul sebelah pundaknya lagi. Menatap penuh selidik sepasang mata jernih Jiyeon dalam malam yang estetik sebab pencahayaan warna-warni pertunjukan Rainbow Fountain yang belum kunjung usai."Kenapa, hmm? Jangan di

Kelam malam, gemuruh guntur bertalu mengiring rintik hujan yang menghujam sebagian belahan bumi, sesekali desau angin ikut berpadu. Suasana yang sesungguhnya nyaman untuk berbaring di kamar menarik selimut hingga ke leher, namun tidak demikian dengan anak-anak di sebuah panti asuhan kecil di daerah Seongeup Folk Village, Jeju Island.Dari balik jendela kaca dengan tirai terbuka, suasana menegangkan tengah terjadi di baliknya."Siapa yang merobekkan syal rajut kesayangan Ahjumma?!" Bong Hee, ibu panti asuhan yang sudah berumur 50 tahun dengan rambut kepalanya yang dicepol, mendadak datang ke meja makan, memamerkan syal rajut warna cokelat yang robek di ujung tengahnya, menatap tajam satu persatu anak asuhnya untuk menyelidik.Anak-anak yang berjumlah 13 orang di meja makan menunduk ketakutan, kecuali Jiyeon dan Hyun Jae. Mereka tetap menegakkan kepalanya. Hyun Jae bahkan mendengkus kasar akan kemasygulannya.

Hyun Jae mengejap dari tidurnya. Peluhnya membasahi area kening dan lehernya, bahkan hingga membasahi kurung bantal latex-nya.Hyun Jae beringsut duduk. Mengibaskan bed cover katun yang membalutnya. Menyeka peluhnya sekilas dengan punggung tangannya. Menghembuskan napas panjang akan mimpi lama yang hadir kembali. Tentang Jiyeon yang menanyakannya penuh selidik perihal apakah hatinya merasa kosong?Sesaat kemudian ponsel Hyun Jae berdering. Panggilan masuk di dini hari. Membuatnya mendesah mendapati siapa gerangan penelepon kurang kerjaan dan tidak tahu sopan santun ini.Hyun Jae meraba nakasnya meraih ponsel. Mengamati nama kontak di ponselnya. Ye Jun. Mendadak ia langsung teralih fokus mengangkatnya penuh selidik."Yoboseyo.""Apa kau menemukan sesuatu?""Hmm, aku menemukan tanaman beracun di taman bunga atas rumah Mi Cha."Dahi Hyun Jae berkerut.

"Sebelumnya aku meyakini Tuhan sepertimu, namun sekarang tidak demikian, Haura-ya.""Wae?""Karena memang Tuhan itu tidak ada. " Hyun Jae tersenyum masam sesaat. "Bahkan aku sebelumnya adalah umat beragama yang sangat taat, berpindah menjadi agnostik, lalu menjadi atheis. Hmm, begitulah."Haura tetap bergeming di tempatnya. Tepatnya di kursi santai gazebo taman belakang rumah Paman Zubair. Menatap Hyun Jae dari balik layar ponselnya dengan pikiran yang mengembara ke lain arah.Pagi yang sungguh menyenangkan di musim semi. Mentari mulai terasa menghangat di udara lembap. Pucuk-pucuk dedaunan mulai kering dari gelayutan embun. Bunga asoka dan kenikir dengan varian warna bermekar segar. Beringin yang dibentuk topiari meneduhkan. Seharusnya demikian itu menyejukkan dan sangat menyenangkan dipandang, namun Haura sekarang justru merasa gerah menikmatinya saat sepasang matanya mengedar sesaat untuk mengalihkan kecang

"Pertama, membuat survei untuk feedback, Haura-ya," ucap Hyun Jae melalui sambungan video call. Memulai menjabarkan strategi customer retention untuk mengembangkan bisnis dengan cara meningkatkan kesenangan dan kepuasan customer.Haura mengangguk pelan. Bergeming khidmat lagi mendengarkan materi tentang seputar customer retention dari Hyun Jae."Jika kita ingin mengetahui apakah perusahaan kita sudah membuat customer bahagia, kita bisa melakukan pengecekan untuk customer satisfaction. Sebagai contoh, kita bisa melakukannya setiap tiga bulan sekali melalui survei atau meminta rating dan ulasan kepada customer. Setidaknya, nanti akan ada dua hal yang wajib kita tanyakan."Hyun Jae merapikan letak poni rambutnya yang beringsut."Hal yang paling utama adalah kita harus menanyakan seberapa puas customer dengan pelayanan produk atau jasa kita. Lalu, kita juga harus menanyakan apa saja yang customer ingin

"Aish. Kau membuatku tertegun, Oppa. Ada apa? Kau tengah membutuhkan teman curhat?" sahut Haura. Membuat asumsi sendiri.Hyun Jae tersenyum tipis. Berbalik tegun. "Bagaimana kau tahu?" timpalnya.Haura menghembus napas panjang, lalu menarik kursi di depan Hyun Jae, duduk di situ."Terlihat dari muka kusutmu, Oppa," balas Haura. Menatap tajam. Mencoba mencibir Hyun Jae."Ya! Jangan menatapku seperti itu!" sergahnya. Disusul tawa ringan Haura."Bercanda saja!" sahut Haura. Tertawa ringan lagi. Hyun Jae mendengkus."Ada masalah apa? Tentang urusan wanita atau urusan bisnis, hmm?" alih Haura. Membuat perhatian atas kegalauan Hyun Jae."Aish, kau bahkan langsung tahu masalahku!" decak Hyun Jae.Haura mendengkus. Malas menimpal lebih. Membuat Hyun Jae tersenyum gemas."Ini tentang bisn