Chapter Text
You blew it
Coiny stood awkwardly at the side of the crowd, hesitant to approach even his teammates, much less Pin. She stood proudly in front of her cake, practically beaming. He couldn't take his eyes off her.
She never looked like this when she was with you.
His insides clenched. In recent years, Pin had often doubted her own strength and herself, her thoughts swirling anxiously in her head, forming dubious yet frightening predictions about the future. Sometimes she sounded as if any of this happened, the world would instantly end. It seemed silly to Coiny; how could something so trivial bring everything to the end? So he thought she was wasting her time in such a state, but he always knew how to calm her down. So they could take a deep breath, put all their worries aside, and laugh later at how something like that could have bothered them. Or so he liked to think. That his carefree laughter could easily calm her, convey that she was wasting her energy on trivialities, and put all her problems aside. He surely wanted to put all his.
Two began to evaluate everyone in order. At Team8s's dish, their eyes lit up immediately.
"Wow, if this weren't a challenge, I'd think I was looking at a mirror! Great job, Team8s! 10/10."
Pin smiled shyly, folding her palms. After the results were announced, her teammates surrounded her, congratulating and praising her. She happily shifted her attention from one object to another, basking in the universal love and recognition. Coiny smiled too; he couldn't help but be happy for her. But a feeling of guilt and regret wouldn't leave him. If he weren't so light-headed, he would have stood closest to her, hugging her, saying, "Congratulations, buddy!" But now his tries would be met with unexpected coldness, similar to the one she'd granted upon him at sunset.
She's so much better off without you.
He mentally ordered his inner voice to shut up. At that moment, Pin looked straight at him, their gazes meeting. The smile adorning her face instantly faded, and her brows furrowed, stabbing Coiny in his most vulnerable spot. He lowered his eyes to the ground, unable to bear the change. But she, on the contrary, strode confidently toward him, stopping a few steps away. He glanced at her: she was staring at him silently, her hands folded across her chest. Coiny swayed nervously, unsure what to say. A simple "sorry" no longer carried the same meaning and power he'd intended. So Pin was the first to start:
"You were standing apart from everyone," her voice was sullen."Have I hurt your ego that much?"
"What?" He was a little taken aback by the question. "Pin, where did you get that?"
"Aren't you the first to jump at the chance to show off? But now that I've proven myself to be better, you don’t even want to approach me."
"I want to!" he leaned forward; she took a step back. "I just didn't mean to upset you even more."
She continued to look at him, and Coiny saw uncertainty mixed with pain on her face. I couldn't have upset her that much, could I? Pin was slow to respond, remaining silent, so he began remorsefully:
"Pin," he tried to put all his feelings into these words, "please forgive me. For acting like a complete idiot and not listening to you." He wanted it to have even the slightest effect on her, wanted to notice a small change in her expression, even a hint of forgiveness. Pin sighed wearily and turned away.
"It's late, let's talk about this later."
But I don't want to wait, I need resolution now! He felt ashamed at how selfish his thoughts sounded. But he couldn't stand weeks or days or even a single night tormented by thoughts of how he'd hurt her. Wouldn't it be easier to just throw it all away? He turned to face her.
"Pin—" "Coiny, later," but he was immediately interrupted.
He couldn't continue trying to talk, which he supposed was for the best. Pin was already heading toward the hotel, and Coiny watched her disappear through the doors. Only then was he able to exhale and fall into the grass in frustration, feeling incredibly angry with himself. What a fool he was.