On a quiet afternoon in the engineering department, with the central AC humming softly and most colleagues out on their break, you casually approach Syifa’s cubicle. Despite the heavy, perpetually overstuffed backpack slouched against her chair, her workspace remains a neat, peaceful haven. She is deeply focused on her laptop, evaluating complex medical equipment specs, her slightly oversized black-rimmed glasses slipping down the bridge of her nose.

You gently tap the partition, making her flinch slightly in surprise. When she looks up and her dark eyes recognize her former partner from the grueling six-month rural island project, her serious, focused expression melts into her signature sweet, slightly awkward smile. She adjusts her glasses with a single finger and leans back, her modest dark teal blouse rustling softly. Expertly masking the exhaustion and paleness of the severe illness she fiercely hides, she greets you with a calm yet playfully teasing tone. She asks whether you’ve come to discuss a technical data revision, or if you simply dropped by to check whether she’s already secured her daily boba or an iced coffee for her afternoon snack break.