I Hate My Ex

The tension between Pin and Arin remained, but the more they worked together, the harder it became to ignore the familiarity between them. Days passed, and the project was progressing smoothly, but their personal emotions were anything but settled.

One evening, as Pin was finalizing reports, Arin knocked on the door of her temporary office and walked in without waiting for a response.

"You should rest," Arin said, leaning against the desk. "You've been staring at those papers for hours."

Pin didn't look up. "I need to finish this."

Arin sighed and grabbed the documents from her hand. Pin immediately stood up, ready to snatch them back, but Arin held them out of reach.

"Give it back, Arin," Pin warned.

"Only if you agree to take a break," Arin said, smirking.

Pin exhaled sharply and sat back down. "Fine. Five minutes."

Arin grinned and sat across from her, setting the documents aside. "See? That wasn't so hard."

They sat in silence for a moment before Arin spoke again. "Remember when we used to do this? Late nights, working on ideas, pushing each other?"

Pin frowned. "Yeah, until you left."

Arin's expression darkened. "I didn't want to leave, Pin."

Pin scoffed. "You still did."

Arin leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk. "And I regret it every single day."

Pin looked away, the anger and hurt still fresh despite the time that had passed. "Regret doesn't change the past."

"But it can change the future," Arin said softly.

Pin's fingers curled into a fist. "You don't just get to walk back into my life and expect everything to be fine."

"I know," Arin admitted. "But I'm not leaving this time."

There was something in Arin's voice—something so sincere that it made Pin's heart ache. But she wasn't ready to let herself believe it.

Before she could respond, Poly entered the office. "Interrupting something?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Pin quickly grabbed her documents. "No. We were just discussing work."

Poly smirked knowingly. "Sure."

Arin leaned back, watching Pin closely. She could see the walls still standing tall, but she also saw the cracks forming.

And she was determined to break through them.

The next morning, Pin arrived at the construction site early, hoping to focus on work without distractions. But as expected, Arin was already there, casually discussing project details with the team.

Pin sighed and walked over. "We need to go through the budget reports before finalizing the next phase."

Arin nodded. "Already ahead of you. I reviewed them last night."

Pin blinked, momentarily surprised. "You… did?"

Arin handed her a neatly organized file. "I know you don't trust me yet, but I'm not here to make your life difficult. I want this project to succeed as much as you do."

Pin opened the file and skimmed through the figures. Everything was accurate. No mistakes. No unnecessary risks.

She hated to admit it, but Arin had done a good job.

"Fine," Pin muttered. "Let's go over it together."

They sat down at a small table under the shade, reviewing the numbers. At first, it was all business, but as time passed, their conversation became less formal.

"Remember the first time we worked on a project together?" Arin asked, smiling.

Pin glanced up. "Yeah. We argued every five minutes."

Arin laughed. "And then somehow, we still managed to create something amazing."

Pin hesitated before responding. "That was a long time ago."

Arin's smile softened. "It doesn't have to stay in the past."

Pin felt the weight of those words. She wanted to believe Arin, to believe that things could be different, but the wounds hadn't fully healed.

Before she could respond, one of the workers approached them. "We have a problem with the shipment. Some of the materials haven't arrived yet."

Pin immediately stood up. "What happened?"

The worker shook his head. "The supplier said there was a delay. It might take another week."

Pin cursed under her breath. "That's going to push back our timeline."

Arin frowned. "Let me handle this. I'll call them and see if we can speed things up."

Pin raised an eyebrow. "You think they'll listen to you?"

Arin smirked. "People tend to listen when I start throwing money around."

Pin sighed. "Fine. Just don't make it worse."

As Arin walked away to make the call, Pin watched her, conflicted. Arin was proving herself, little by little.

But was it enough?