The university gates were taller than anything Smile had ever stood beneath—ornate, iron-wrought, and heavy with dreams not meant for people like him. Yet he stepped through them, his worn shoes dragging the dust of a life far removed from privilege, his bag holding nothing but borrowed pens, notebooks filled with faded ink, and a heart still learning how to beat.
No one knew who he was.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHRJgdiSPz6
And that, for once, was a blessing.
He walked the halls like a shadow—silent, unnoticed, existing somewhere between presence and absence. Most students laughed in groups, shared food, spoke of family vacations and weekend plans. Smile kept his distance. Not because he wanted to—but because it had become his instinct. People meant pain. Distance meant safety.
But fate doesn’t always knock.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4tmldA3Qs
Sometimes, it collides.
It happened in a quiet moment—he dropped a book in the library, and a hand reached down at the same time. Their fingers brushed. He looked up, startled.
Harbon.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhF9GSIJAP
Tall. Loud. The kind of boy who smiled with his entire face.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvTra0dXjw
He laughed and said, “Hey, don’t look so scared. You act like I’m going to bite.”
That was the beginning.
A few days later, another face joined them—Fredge.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFeIgyG4skB
Calm. Curious. A boy who asked deep questions with quiet eyes.
Unlike the rest, they didn’t ask Smile about his past. They didn’t mock his silence or his second-hand clothes. They simply sat beside him. Shared notes. Cracked jokes. Offered a seat at the cafeteria table without a word of judgment.
At first, Smile resisted.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfKBW1pCLW
He didn’t know how to receive warmth. It scared him more than cruelty.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmNfkQb9Qn
But Harbon’s noise and Fredge’s stillness created a space where even silence felt welcome.
And slowly, the wall began to crack.
One late evening, as the three sat under a tree on campus, Harbon said, “You ever think about starting something? Like… something big?” Fredge added, “We’ve all got brains and time. What if we use them?”
Smile didn’t answer. But something inside him stirred. A distant echo.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdZ6eTHUV2
What if?31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67xHzerZDY
What if his pain could become purpose?
And so, beneath a dying tree and a rising moon, an idea was born.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyTJQ6W4nC
A startup. A dream.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOdMSNDJJ6
Not just for money, but for legacy.
They would build it from scratch.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwiP7SQDf0v
With empty pockets. Full hearts.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpxnC8oj1P
And one name carved in memory:31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwRNhfjSFW
Sarah Joseph Conglomerate.
A tribute to the mother who gave him life and the father who loved her.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4iMzHuida
Smile never told them what the name meant.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARtEIYXcki
He simply whispered to the night:31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fwx0VqLGw
“This is for you, Ma. For you, Pa. I’ll build something the world can’t ignore.”
And for the first time in a long time,31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWjxSoypWW
Smile felt something warm beneath his ribs.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zvv3ROUjK
It wasn’t joy. Not yet.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4btAEgfNjs
But it was close enough to hope.
and then Add to home screen.