Jin, Ara, and Seong reached the robot when they were startled by the voice of a random person, "Why did they bring me to this place? I thought that these high-class academies treat guests with high regard, but here I am in the garden surrounded by mud and plants. Not even a person to talk to. I should have asked them where I was going to be working."
"I will go and see who it is. Both of you stay here until then," Jin said quietly. We both nodded and started searching for clues around the robot.
While they were searching for clues, Ara initiated a conversation, "How did you feel almost being framed as the culprit?"
"I didn't feel anything. I was not guilty, so why would I be scared? If they framed me, it would be their loss, not mine," replied Seong.
Then Ara commented, "There is nothing here. Are we going to solve this?"
"If it was possible to do in one day, they wouldn't have given us a month," said Seong. Ara responded, "I know, but I don't think a month is enough."
Seong then offered a few words of wisdom, "If we fail, we fail; if we win, we win. That's not in our hands, but trying our best is what matters. Let's do that first, and afterward, we can worry about everything else."
This gave Ara newfound motivation and gave her a better perspective of Seong
***
he observed a man in his thirties with brown hair styled in a ponytail, wearing a white lab coat. He couldn't help but think, 'Isn't he the pharmaceutical scientist? I wonder why he is yelling; he's just going to make it easier for the other group to find him I need to tell him to be more slient.'
Jin decided to approach him. "Why are you yelling?"
"Oh, you must be the students. I was yelling because I hadn't seen anyone for the past three hours," explained the pharmaceutical scientist.
Jin pointed out, "Don't you know pharmaceutical scientists are supposed to give the injection tubes?"
"Yeah, I know about that, but I didn't think it would be in this kind of environment," replied the pharmaceutical scientist.
Jin advised, "You've got to get used to it because of the environment. You'll be here for a month."
"Yeah, yeah, I will," mumbled the pharmaceutical scientist.
Jin then inquired, "Can you give me a clue to solve this assignment? It will also help you leave."
"No can do. I signed a waiver. If I say any clues, I will have to pay a fine that I won't be able to pay even if I work for the rest of my life," explained the pharmaceutical scientist.
Jin sighed and said, "You cannot help at all."
"Yep, I cannot help at all," the pharmaceutical scientist confirmed.
Jin, about to depart, said, "Then I will start to head back. You'll see me in two days and probably see some people from my group come here soon."
"Okay, bye," said the pharmaceutical scientist.
***
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"Have you found anything?" Seong asked.
Ara replied, "Nope, what about you?"
"Me neither," Seong said.
Then they heard a sound coming from the bushes, and Ara yelled, "Seong, save me!" and then jumped onto him. That's when Jin emerged.
"Oh, it was you, Jin. You shouldn't make that much sound. You scared Ara, and Ara could let go of me," said Seong.
Jin admitted, "My bad."
Ara, not realizing how she was holding him, blushed out of embarrassment and then said, "Sorry, Seong."
"It's fine," replied Seong in a calm tone. He then proceeded to ask, "Jin, did you find out who was yelling?"
Jin explained about how he met the pharmaceutical scientist and his conversation with him. Then Jin asked, "Did you find any clues?"
"Nope, they probably expected most of the students to come to the robot first, so they didn't place any clues," said Ara, who had calmed down.
"Then we should probably head back. We only got twenty minutes left till the assignment ends." Both of them agreed, and they started heading back to the rest of the group.
After a bit of hiking back up, they had made it back to the rest of the group. When Dae asked, "What happened?" Jin and Ara explained what entirely happened, leaving out the embarrassing part of Ara jumping on Seong while he was talking to Do-Yun.
"Do-Yun, did you find anything?" asked Seong.
Do-Yun said "Nope, what about you"
"Me neither," replied Seong.
Do-Yun said, "Maybe we are wrong about the footstep thing."
"It to early to say anything it only the first day lets not cross it off so early" Seong replied.
"Yeah, you're right," Do-Yun said. Just when Yun-Hee said, "Are you going to head back, or are you going to gossip the entire time?".
"Yeah, we are," said Do-Yun. We all headed back to the start to meet and saw group one already there.
Dae said, "How did your cure go?"
"It didn't work," one of the members said. Seeing them all down, Dae added, "All good; none of us expected anyone to get it on their first day."
After everyone came back, they headed to the bus stop.
Seong went and greeted Min-Soo, "Hello, Mr. Min-Soo," and then sat down on the bus. After 5 minutes, they departed and reached the academy in half an hour. Seong got off the bus and contemplated what to do with the two hours before class. Considering a visit to the in-built cafeteria in their building, he noticed Ara alone. Seong decided to invite her, "Hey, Ara, do you want to eat?"
Ara, with nothing to do, agreed, "Sure." Both of them headed to the cafeteria and placed their orders.
The lady asked, "What would you like to order?"
"One burger, a side of large French fries, and a Coke," said Seong. Ara added, "I will take a chicken wrap."
"Ok, wait at table three," said the lady. They headed to the table and waited for their food. When a waiter arrived with their order, Seong and Ara both said, "Thank you." As they started eating, Ara finished her food quickly, appearing visibly hungry. Seong decided to offer his fries to her, "Ara, do you want some fries?"
Ara asked, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah," Seong replied. After a few minutes, they finished their meal, and as they were about to leave, Sung-bin entered the cafeteria and noticed Seong and Ara together.
"Here you are with another girl, what a playboy," Sung-Bin sneered.
Seong, visibly frustrated with the ongoing incidents, decided it was enough. "Do you have nothing else to do except meddle in other people's business?"
Sung-Bin continued his offensive remarks, and in an enraged tone, he added, "Shut up, playboy. Stop trying to make yourself look like the victim." He turned to Ara, saying, "Look here, lady, I advise you to stay away from him. He's a playboy; he'll use you and then leave you."
Before Seong could respond, Ara stepped in, asserting her independence. "I think you should mind your own business. Who are you to decide who I talk to? Are you my father? Even if you were, do you think I'm dumb enough to be used?"
The lady working there intervened, telling Sung-Bin to leave as he was causing a scene. Sung-Bin muttered, "I warned you," in an angered tone, and left.
After the incident, Seong apologized to Ara for getting her caught up in it. She reassured him, "It's fine. It wasn't your fault. He was the one who started it. I still had a good time, but you shouldn't hang out with other girls when you have a girlfriend."
Seong responded in a joking tone, "If I had a girlfriend, I would follow that rule. But sadly, I am single."
Ara questioned him, "You don't have a girlfriend? He seemed quite confident." Seong proceeded to explain everything about how they accidentally became roommates and the incidents with Sung-Bin.
"Wow, quite a story in just three days," Ara remarked. Checking the time, she said, "I've got to get to my lecture. Give me your ID number; I'll chat with you later." Seong gladly exchanged ID numbers with her before heading to his lectures.
Entering his dorm, he found Eun-Jeoung. She turned around, her tone angered, saying, "Let's meet in the garden. I wonder what happened there."