The morning at the company was tenser than usual. Sei was at his desk as always, but his eyes kept drifting toward the man standing in the corner of the room.
Kael.
He had been working at the company for a while now. Though calling it "working together" would be generous; they were in the same department, doing the same job, but never speaking a word to each other.
Kael walked across the room with ease. His confident gaze, that faint smirk, and the fire of challenge in his eyes were still there.
– "Kael is staring at you again," Aria leaned in and whispered. "What's with this tension?"
– "I don't know," Sei replied. "Or… maybe I know exactly why."
As Kael passed by Sei's desk, he stopped for a brief moment.
– "Long time no see, Sei," he said mockingly. "I hope you've let go of your old habits."
Sei shot him a cold glare. He gripped his pen a little tighter.
– "I have nothing to say to you outside of work."
Kael smiled faintly.
– "But I haven't forgotten your past."
Their brief exchange didn't go unnoticed by Nira. She watched them from afar. It was new for her to see Sei so tense. A strange, familiar sense of unease stirred inside her.
At that moment, Darius appeared on the office floor.
– "You're all expected in the meeting room," he said sternly. "Especially you two," he added, looking at Kael and Sei.
The shadow of the past had once again fallen over the office.