Alaric knelt down as well, picking up the rest. "It's okay. I was in a hurry too."
They stood up at almost the same time. For a moment, their eyes met.
Then Clarissa took a small step back, looked down slightly, and murmured, "Take care of yourself, okay."
Then she walked away.
And Alaric… just stood there. Quiet for a few seconds.
In his heart, a question surfaced.
"Strange… Why wasn't she mad? And not cold toward me?"
He almost turned around to look, but then shook his head lightly and brushed the thought away.
"Forget it. Now's not the time to think about that."
He continued walking toward class. He knew what he was facing wasn't just the past, but the future.
And that future… he would no longer let go.
..
That afternoon, the air in Jakarta felt warm, with the sky partly covered by white clouds. Inside the Helix Group headquarters, Niel Greg's workspace seemed brighter than usual. A large window faced a small green garden outside, giving off a peaceful vibe.
Across from him sat Alaric, wearing a soft gray casual shirt and black trousers. His hand supported his chin while his tablet screen still displayed the weekly report from the creative fashion business he had developed. Now, officially registered as an international brand.
"I have a new idea," Niel said suddenly, breaking the relaxed silence.
Alaric turned slowly. "Hmm? What now, Dad?"
"Expansion. But not in heavy industry. We're moving into the food business."
Alaric frowned. "Food?"
"Yes. Trendy restaurants. Not big scale, but more like light franchises. The concept is semi-modern hybrid, local food, in a comfortable but simple setting. Targeting the lower-middle segment. But the taste remains premium."
Alaric exhaled softly. "Sounds good... but?"
"You run it," Niel looked straight at him, a thin smile full of confidence. "You handle it."
Alaric straightened in his chair. "Me?"
"Yes."
"Dad, I... I'm already handling CRAFTPARTNER. Our brand has entered Japan and several neighboring countries are in the pipeline. I'm afraid I won't be able to focus on two businesses at once."
Niel chuckled softly. "I know. But this isn't a big project. Think of it as a small but bustling venture. That's all."
Alaric stayed silent, weighing his thoughts. He had a solid team at his main brand. Still, the time and energy required could be significant.
What he didn't expect was how the market and business observers would react.
Once word got out that Alaric Greg, a young creative founder of CRAFTPARTNER, was directly managing a new food business called "ReMah" short for Resto Makanan Hangat or Warm Food Restaurant.
And as the idea surfaced, partners, investors, and local entrepreneurs began reaching out.
"We want to invest, Alaric."
"If you're running it, I trust it."
"Can I manage one outlet in Bandung?"
Within just two weeks since the soft launch of the first branch, ReMah went viral on social media. Not because of a fancy store design, but due to its concept and food quality and the fact that Alaric Greg himself was running it.
Collaborations began to form. Local MSMEs, previously struggling, got involved as suppliers. Local farmers, homemade sambal producers, and small kitchen ingredient manufacturers were lifted up.
When invited to join the National Student Activity Unit Expo, Alaric thought it would be just a formality.
But it turned out
The queue at the ReMah booth never thinned all day. It even grew busier.
The organizers called it the booth with the highest foot traffic throughout the expo.
Several months later
ReMah had expanded from just one outlet to five locations spread across major cities. The latest financial report showed staggering monthly revenue.
Even more surprising, at the annual national award ceremony for young entrepreneurs, Alaric's name was announced as Top Young Entrepreneur of The Year — Fastest Growth Business 2025.
Business growth increased by 470% in less than 6 months.
The stage felt warm that night. Spotlights, applause, and hundreds of business eyes watched Alaric standing in a simple suit with the ReMah logo pin on his left chest.
As night fell and the spotlight dimmed, Alaric sat on the balcony of his parents' house. Beside him, Niel Greg held a cup of warm tea.
"Just like I expected," Niel said, looking at the beautiful moon hanging in the sky. "You're capable of more than you think, Ric. That's why I gave you the chance, not just because you're my son, but because you deserve it."
Alaric smiled faintly. "But even this result surprised me. It blew up beyond expectation."
"I know. Actually, your growth rate is now even higher than Helix's this month."
Alaric chuckled softly. "Dad can say that. Don't flatter me too much, or I'll get even more handsome."
Niel shook his head, laughing too. "Now I can brag to my friends about the Helix Group's successor."
"Besides, Dad still has a long time before retiring. Five years from now, right?" Alaric added while sipping his drink.
Niel looked over. "I want to rest, Ric. Not immediately though, but at most in four to six years."
"If you still want to be a businessman, you can."
"You have me now."
Alaric looked at his father with a look hard to describe. There was admiration, respect, and a newfound sense of responsibility.
The whole world seemed to already know who the Helix Group's heir was.
He wasn't just some rich kid.
That morning, while the air was still cool, Alaric sat in the main design room of his office, an open studio filled with natural light, surrounded by hanging plants and the scent of cinnamon from an aromatherapy diffuser.
In front of him were new sketches. Not keychains or phone cases like before.
But smartwatches.
Not just any smartwatch.
Alaric called it
H•Mind – AI Custom Smartwatch for Personal & Creative Use.
It was time to push his creative industry business to an unexpected level. One of the ways was by creating a flagship product that was advanced and unbeatable.
His left hand slid across the tablet, showing the visual design. A smartwatch with a sleek curved shape, a thin frame in matte black or rose copper. On the back, an advanced biometric sensor. But the most interesting part was the interface.
"Custom Interface & Behavior AI," Alaric muttered, typing extra notes in the corner of the digital document.
One of H•Mind's standout features was:
Mood Sync Display: a screen that changes colors and themes based on detecting the user's mood through heart rate, voice tone, and facial expressions.
Creative Reminder AI: an intelligent reminder that not only manages schedules but suggests the best times to create, rest, or meditate, tailored to the user's work pattern.
Artshare Sync: a feature connecting users with other H•Mind owners worldwide to share inspirational drawings, quotes, or doodles automatically.
The system also allows greeting other users who share similar mood waves in the morning or evening.
Voice Companion: a built-in AI voice assistant customizable in both voice and personality. Voices can be changed entirely, from a formal adult male, cheerful teenager, to favorite anime characters.
Personalities can also be programmed—humorous, quiet, philosophical, motivational, or like a childhood friend.
Alaric designed the first prototype himself. It came in midnight blue, with a textured synthetic leather strap.
A few days after completing internal testing, he uploaded a short video on Craft From Heart's official account. Not a fancy promotional clip, just a demo of the features and how it worked, with the caption:
"A new step in the creative industry. A smartwatch that's not just smart but understands who you are. Coming Soon – H•Mind."
He didn't expect that within 48 hours, his business email and social media inbox exploded again. The engagement, comments and likes, was higher than ever, becoming the most active post because of this product.
His operations team, who usually handled design requests and packaging, were now frantic. One by one, they left their seats and approached the coordinator's desk, holding phones or tablets.
"Mr. Alaric! Japan just sent two emails right away. They want to pre-order 300 units for a major department store in Shibuya!"
"Korea too, Mister! I just opened three emails from distributors asking about pricing and partnership terms."
"Mister! A company from Singapore also inquired. They said this project could boom among creative students there!"
Alaric raised his eyebrows hearing the reports.
He stood from his chair, walked over to the central table where the whole team gathered. A faint smile appeared on his face. Amix of pride and surprise.
"Calm down... one by one," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "No need to panic."
An admin staff, Mira, half-laughed but was out of breath, "If this keeps up, Mas... we might faint together later."
Alaric laughed too. "Because you're all amazing, we got this far."
But seconds later, he glanced at the large screen showing a sharply rising graph from the product video's response.
And he realized
This wasn't just an additional product.
This was a leap forward.
A few hours later, back in his office, he turned on the smartwatch prototype connected to his private network system. Immediately, a notification popped up:
[SYSTEM ACTIVE]
[Creative Industry Innovation — New Level Detected]
[Project H•Mind identified as High Creative Tech Product]
[International Requests: 9 countries]
[Status: 82% business growth rate]
[Upgrade available: Marketing AI Skill Lv.6, if mission succeeds]
Alaric smiled. His eyes sparkled.