Escapade

2 - The Longstanding Rivalry

"What's honorable of being anything but the best?"

War still remembers that sentence vividly. The sentence that earned Yin the worst first impression in War's eyes. When their respective teams received their medals in the awarding ceremony their captains greeted each other. War remembered how Yin, still a wide eyed first year in college, was being praised by their team captain for being the trump card. War's team captain also turned to him to praise his based design idea that got them the second place.

"I'm looking forward to next year's competition na, nong War", the other team's captain said.

"It's frustrating but it's still an honorable defeat phi. I'll make sure we win next year", War said as next year was his last year in college and therefore his last chance to win.

Then Yin blurted out that sentence, "What's honorable of being anything but the best?"

The way the atmosphere changed around them that time was so obvious that his team's captain scampered to apologize and dragging their whole team away because it's not only War who took offense to that but also his whole team. But War took it very personally as it was said as a direct response for his words.

The next year, War fulfilled his promise and defeated Yin's team with a rather large margin and he felt extra proud because he could turn the tables on Yin. After the awarding ceremony they passed each other.

"I've got to be the best this year, means I'm honorable enough right?", War said, "Too bad your defeat wasn't that honorable after that large margin"

As much as War remembered their first encounters, Yin would never forget that as well. Both of them had a strong first impression and not in a good way. It didn't stop there, fate seems to really like to bring them together even when both of them had become adults. When War began his internship at a consulting firm after finishing his architecture profession school, Yin had just gotten his family company out of the danger zone and moved to a better office. Coincidentally he rented an office one floor below War's consultant office in the same building.

They used to meet in the office cafeteria and they would bicker with each other. Even after War had gotten his license and started his career as an independent architect and Yin had moved to the permanent building after he successfully rebuild his company, the two are still often brought together through big projects as the best in their fields. Sometimes they even met in a seminar where they talked on the same panel. That's just how they are. Yin would say something that provoke War and War wouldn't be able to hold back for retorting back.

This time, both Yin and War actually looked forward to the project as it was never been done before. The client who hired them was an artifacts collectors and wanted to build a museum, but he didn't want it to be the usual plain museum. So, he thought off a 3D space building where the visitors can engage all 5 senses while exploring the museum. He had proposed the idea to several architecture design consultant and IT companies but eventually none had the source to do it nor brave enough to execute the grand ideas until it fell on War and Yin.

Despite War and Yin often met in one project and forced to act professional, it's still rare for them to actually work together at the same time as War would handle the building plan and Yin would handle the computer system that the building will use to operate. However, this time they actually had to meet often because the physical form of the space and computerized visual projections must support each other and work in sync so that the proposed concept could be executed successfully.

Both felt challenged by the new tasks and both had signed the deal to work on a project together, the only thing that they need to do was find a way to work together without trying to rip each other's hair's out every 5 mins. So, after the meeting both Yin and War agreed to talk at the coffee shop downstairs in hope to make a pact.