Seong pondered about her identity but refrained from asking anyone, opting to patiently await her self-disclosure. After a brief interval, Do-Yun and Yun-Hee entered the section. "Hey Seong," greeted Do-Yun.

"Hello, Do-Yun and Yun-Hee," Seong responded. Yun-Hee simply said, "Hey."

"I did some research yesterday and stumbled upon something that could be beneficial for us," Seong revealed.

"Do share," urged Do-Yun.

Seong proceeded to elaborate on the disease research he conducted the previous day, outlining how he managed to reduce the number of diseases with the use of the disease they tried to cure yesterday.

Yun-Hee exclaimed, "You're a genius! I would have never thought of that."

"I agree with Yun-Hee; you are indeed a genius. However, which source did you consult? Some websites provide inaccurate information," inquired Do-Yun.

Seong responded, "I didn't rely on a website; instead, I consulted a book recommended by the librarian. It proved to be a valuable resource."

Do-Yun said, "The only book with that much information on the disease is 'Every Single Disease in the Ever Recorded.' But how did you read all of that in one day? It would at least take me a month; you're really fast."

Seong responded, "If we develop the right cures, we won't even need to resort to the second location to solve the first assignment. However, the two drawbacks of this plan are that the other group might obtain it by sheer luck, or they might find the second location and create the cure before we can."

"I say we follow your plan if we do not find the second location," suggested Yun-Hee.

Do-Yun added, "I agree with Yun-Hee, but we should also seek the opinions of others regarding this."

When others arrived, Seong explained the plan to them, and they all concurred with Yun-Hee's decision. Consequently, it was decided that they would search the second location while also gathering materials for the cure, alleviating the pressure of obtaining all the necessary items in a single day.

"Do-Yun asked, 'What materials do we need to get?'"

Seong answered, "We need two Epiphytes, one passionflower, and three Amazon water lilies."

Ara chimed in, "Should we go back into groups of two?"

Jin supported the idea, saying, "I also think it would be beneficial if we went in groups of two; it would help cover more ground."

"Okay," Dae said, and then added, "I want to be with Yun-Hee."

Jin stated, "I'll be with Do-Yun."

"Then I guess it will be me and you again," Ara said in a low tone.

Seong and Ara headed toward an area where they had previously spotted some water to investigate the possibility of finding water lilies.

As they walked, they unexpectedly encountered the group of boys they had seen the day before. "It seems like you're unlucky running into us again so soon," remarked the boy from before.

Seong spoke assertively, "Could you just mind your own business? We didn't even do anything to you yesterday."

"You may not have done it on purpose, but you made us look like a bunch of low-life bullies in front of Amelie. For that, you deserve to get a beating."

As they were about to advance toward Seong, one of the other boys interjected, "Isn't that girl a different person from yesterday?"

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"Yeah, she is," another boy confirmed.

Seong then turned around and said, "Ara, you go back and find one of the others. I don't want you to get caught up in this."

"So, you just want me to run away while you get beat up?" Ara responded.

Seong answered, "Yes, pretty much."

"That's not happening. I am staying," declared Ara.

Seong, in a pleading voice, said, "To do what? To get beat up with me? I would get beat up twice rather than let you get beat up once, I can hold them off for a bit. So, please, just go and meet up with the rest of the group."

Then, a boy yelled out, "How long are you going to keep talking?"

"Okay, I'll get help," Ara said and started running away.

One boy from yesterday taunted, "Seems like your girl has even left you. That's depressing, so we will go a bit easy on you."

After Seong saw Ara had gotten far enough, he turned around with a stern look on his face and said, "Will you shut up, or do you want me to make you?"

This made the group of boys question, 'Why does that guy have so much confidence when it's one vs four?' But before the fight could begin, an announcement was made that any violence would result in immediate expulsion from the academy.

"How are you so lucky?" said the boy.

Seong replied, "Didn't you say I was unlucky just a few minutes ago?"

"Let's leave this before this guy enrages us more," said one of the other boys, deciding to avoid further confrontation.

They headed in the opposite direction, leaving Seong alone in the rainforest. 'Haa, now I've got to find Ara. Why couldn't they mind their own business? And why the hell did I say I would get beat up twice rather than let you get beat up once? What kind of cheesy line was that?' Seong thought.

Then, Seong turned around to see Ara running back, asking, "You're fine, right?"

"Yeah, I am. After the announcement, they left," Seong replied.

Ara said, "I ran back as soon as I heard the announcement."

Seong then said, "Ara, could you do me a favor?"

Ara replied, "Yeah."

"Could you forget all the cringe stuff I told you? I feel so embarrassed replaying it back in my head," Seong requested.

Ara replied, "I thought it was heroic," her face completely red with a blush.

After that awkward moment, Seong and Ara fell into an embarrassed silence, choosing not to utter a word as they continued walking. The uncomfortable atmosphere lingered until the final 30 minutes of the assignment deadline.

Seong finally spoke, "We should head back; it seems that we are unlucky today. We didn't find anything."

"Yeah," Ara agreed.

Both of them headed to the exit and decided to leave before everyone came back because they had nothing to say and had lectures to attend.

Seong and Ara headed straight to the lecture right after they got off the bus. Seong made it to his math lecture to see Alejandro, then remembered that he was supposed to meet him for a tuition session after 4. 'He probably thinks I did it on purpose; how am I going to get him to forgive me? He's probably furious.'

Seong approached Alejandro, adopting Ara's technique of bowing down, and sincerely uttered, "I apologize for avoiding our tuition. Please forgive me."

"Come on, it's just a tuition session; there's no need to bow over it. Get up quickly before people get the wrong idea," Alejandro responded.

Seong straightened himself, and Alejandro continued, "I had actually forgotten about it too, so don't worry. I'm not upset at all, so there's no need to stress over it." Alejandro reassured Seong with a friendly tone.

Seong replied, "You're not mad."

"Yeah, I'm not mad, but if you miss the session tonight, I will never forgive you," warned Alejandro.

Seong responded, "I will not forget, for sure."

Then, Mr. Ryunosuke entered the classroom, bringing an end to Seong and Alejandro's conversation. After the lecture had concluded, Mr. Ryunosuke announced, "You have homework to do; you have to submit it next class. Come to the front and pick it up."

All the students replied in unison, "Yes, sir," and started heading to the front to collect their assignments.

As Alejandro was on the verge of getting up to retrieve it, Seong, still not entirely convinced of Alejandro's forgiveness, quickly intervened and stated, "I'll get you one."

"Okay," Alejandro replied.

Seong began navigating the steps into the mass of students, aiming to grab a sheet and leave as quickly as possible. Initially thinking it would be a piece of cake, as soon as he stepped onto the bottom stair, he found himself pushed around like a ragdoll, regretting his decisions up till now.

'Why did I say I would get it for him? I should have just waited until everyone left,' Seong thought, enduring being pushed by random people. After what felt like an eternity but was only 5 minutes, he managed to secure two sheets

Just then, Mr. Ryunosuke came out and announced, "You can also do the work online."

Seong was as mad as any human being could be at the current moment and started cursing him out in his mind. 'Why the hell did he not say that from the start? If he had just said this from the beginning, I could've saved myself from being a ragdoll.'

Seong handed the paper to Alejandro, who said, "Thank you. You should fix your hair a bit."

Seong took out his phone, fixed his hair, and said, "I'll meet you at 7 tonight," before leaving. The students around them started murmuring, and one girl said, "Hey, do you think both of them are gay?"

"Yeah, they probably are. Why else would they meet in the night?" remarked another person, and rumors began to fill the classroom.