Between cherry and palm trees, the songs of birds filled the air under the bright midday sun.
Melissa walked beside Reem, her steps quick and light, while Reem's were steady and almost measured.
Melissa pointed toward the trees, a smile lighting her face, and said,
"Look, that's the tree my brother planted five years ago."
(A tall, sturdy tree, known as a Milo tree, with translucent green leaves and long, intertwined branches.)
Reem remained unusually calm.
Melissa continued to gesture toward the surrounding shrubs and flowers.
"This is the Dragon Flower," she said, indicating a tall red bloom with two long trailing strands.
"And this is the Piano Tree," she added, "a hollow tree that produces music whenever the cold winter wind blows."
"And these are the Children's Trees," she continued, pointing to small, delicate saplings the size and scent of newborns, whispering among themselves in barely audible tones.
Despite the breathtaking beauty surrounding them, Reem stayed silent, her calmness unwavering.
Melissa noticed and paused for a moment.
She stepped in front of Reem on the left, looking at her with a mix of curiosity and wonder.
Reem noticed Melissa's lingering gaze and asked,
"Is… is something wrong?"
Melissa raised a single eyebrow and tilted her lips slightly, saying,
"You said you wanted to see them. So why do you seem distracted, as if you're in another world?"
Reem shook her head, muttering,
"Another world? Why are you making a big deal of it? I was just thinking."
Melissa perched on the iron fence separating the trees from the brick pathways.
With a curious tone, she asked,
"And what's occupying your mind amidst all this beauty?"
-Her hand gestured naturally toward the waterfalls cascading into rivers and lakes, rare and radiant trees, and lush green grass.-
Reem thought for a moment, then said quietly, her gaze meeting Melissa's,
"It's… what Yojin gave me."
Melissa raised her eyebrows in shock for a brief moment, then said nothing…
….
On the other side of the academy, Yojin and Rin arrived at the second-year dormitory.
-A large, white building with wooden-framed windows, the scent of oud blending with floral fragrances, gray tiles lining the courtyard, and soft yellowish-white lamps illuminating the paths.-
"Is this the building?" Yojin asked, glancing between the structure and Rin.
Rin, nervous, looked up at the building through the balcony overlooking the grounds.
"Y-Yes, I think so."
Narrator: Wait—didn't Rin, Yojin, and Reem already visit Farid's apartment before?
Yojin looked at Rin, asking,
"Why are you so nervous? There's no crowd here!"
Yojin followed Rin's gaze upward and saw a small group of young people—three male students and six female students.
-Their features varied from hazel, sleepy eyes, wheat-colored to dark skin, freckles, and green, brown, or black hair.-
Yojin, hands on his waist, looked at them and said,
"Come on, they're two floors away. Why are you tense?"
Rin, fidgeting, muttered,
"I'm not nervous about them. It's just… their presence means there are students in the complex."
Yojin raised an eyebrow.
"And what's wrong with that? It's normal."
Rin, embarrassed, said quietly,
"The problem is, Farid said most second-year students are women, outnumbering men by six or seven."
Yojin paused, staring at his brother absentmindedly, then laughed:
"Ha! Are you afraid of women? —wait— what's the difference between nervousness around women and men?"
Rin rubbed his neck nervously:
"Well… a man is a man, and I'm a man. When it comes to embarrassment, it's usually from failure or ridicule. But with women… it's different. It can quickly turn into real tension."
Yojin raised an eyebrow.
"Reem is a girl—so why aren't you nervous when talking to her?"
Rin, calmer now, said,
"Simple. Reem is one girl, not a group. She's around my age—sixteen—and she has many masculine traits: temper, stubbornness, and a love of teasing."
Rin placed his hands on Yojin's shoulders, nudging him lightly,
"Enough talking. I want to know what's inside the bag."
They entered the dormitory corridor—white walls, small water tanks along the sides, scattered flowers, stairs leading to the upper floors.
Yojin and Rin climbed the stairs to the second floor, walking through hallways lined with countless rooms.
Rin bit his nails quietly, his heart beating fast.
He imagined the worst-case scenario: a flood of people emerging from all the rooms, and him slipping on a banana peel.
Meanwhile, Yojin observed Rin and the surroundings.
"All the rooms look the same."
Noticing Rin's tension, Yojin lightly tapped him on the rear to snap him out of his daydream.
"Rin, which is the apartment?"
Rin looked around, then pointed to apartment number five, on the left side of the corridor.
Yojin approached the door with Rin.
He raised his hand to knock.
Before he could, the wooden door opened, and someone stepped out, colliding with Yojin.
Bang.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!"
Yojin's eyes met the person—it was a girl.
She appeared slightly older than most second-year students, who were two years older than Yojin.
-Her hair was silky brown, her eyes green, with a small mole below the left side of her mouth, a slightly raised nose, and a small fang-like tooth.-
She wore a long brown dress, a red buttoned shirt, and shiny black shoes.
Their eyes met briefly before she passed by, saying softly and slightly raised,
"Oh, sorry."
The girl walked back along the path Yojin and Rin had come.
Rin looked astonished, and Yojin showed a mix of surprise and tension (a bead of sweat forming on his forehead).
"Who is that?" Rin asked curiously.
Yojin shrugged.
"I don't know."
They entered the apartment.
-The place was tidy: a sofa, a radio, a window, simple but beautiful furniture. To the right, a door led to Farid's room; to the left, an open rectangular space led to the kitchen.-
The air smelled of mint, cold and fresh. The dim light filtered through the curtains, while a music player with large yellow speakers and numerous discs filled the room with soft melodies.
Fwooo, fwooo. Yojin looked around, impressed.
"Haha, I could sleep here for months."
Rin approached the room, opening the door, and saw Farid sitting on the bed, his right hand on his forehead, wearing a full white robe.
Farid looked up at the intruders and saw Rin standing there.
He smiled faintly, dark circles under his eyes.
Rin muttered, entering the nearly dark room,
"Ah, Farid, are you okay?"
Farid, smiling,
"Yes, yes, I'm fine… uh-choo, ah, just a cold."
Rin scratched his head.
"When did you catch a cold?"
Yojin looked around, curiosity and admiration on his face,
"Great taste in the apartment—it's cozy and minimalistic. By the way, who was the girl who just left?"
Farid reached for the lamp beside his bed, lighting up the room.
He pointed at two chairs next to his bed:
"She is Noor."
Rin sat on a wooden chair with a cotton cushion.
"Is she a doctor?"
Farid shook his head:
"No, she's almost my classmate."
Yojin sat on the other chair:
"She seems too young to be a second-year student."
Farid, sitting upright, explained:
"The academy follows a fast-learning approach. The smarter and more skilled you are, the faster you finish exams and save time… ah-choo."
Yojin and Rin slightly averted their heads.
Farid's eyes widened briefly; he arched his back downward—under Rin and Yojin's curious gaze—and pulled out the bag Alex had given to Rin and Reem, which he had held during his punishment.
Rin looked at the bag:
"Now that your punishment is over and we're here, what's inside it?"
"Shouldn't we wait for Reem?" Yojin asked.
Farid looked at them:
"Isn't Reem with Melissa?"
Yojin was surprised.
"How do you know she's with Melissa?"
"Melissa is her only friend besides you. The first thing that came to mind is that they're together."
Rin nodded.
"But how will Reem know about the bag?" Farid asked calmly.
Yojin, taking the bag:
"Melissa actually gave me the bag. This morning Reem and I argued about it. I told him the bag belongs to Melissa, so there's a chance she'll ask her."
Yojin opened the bag under Rin and Farid's curious, anxious eyes.
"It's…"
….
Melissa raised her eyebrows in shock:
"What are you talking about?!"
Reem raised her eyebrow:
"Melissa, Yojin said the bag belongs to you. So what's inside it?"
Melissa whispered:
"Yojin, we agreed not to tell anyone." She was upset.
Melissa said:
"If Yojin told you it's mine, why didn't he say it from the start?"
Reem shook her foot and looked around, saying:
"Because the teacher stopped us from talking."
Melissa was momentarily surprised:
"The teacher? Did Yojin talk about the bag in front of the class?!"
"Not exactly… actually, Yojin and I argued quietly during the lesson," she whispered.
Reem's explanation deepened Melissa's confusion and astonishment:
"Why?"
"Because on our way back, we went to the cinema but were attacked."
Melissa shivered, noticing injuries on Rin, Yojin, and Reem's hands.
"An attack? How?"
Reem recounted the whole story, from leaving until Aaron appeared.
What Reem told seemed almost like a fantasy.
The appearance of one of the Four Guardians.
A third-tier farmer.
Hit Yojin in the chest.
Melissa connected the old man's words with the eggs and that organization, feeling immense guilt—she hadn't expected things to go this way.
She began shaking her legs, eyes reddening, tears filling them, and her ears turning red.
"Melissa, what's wrong?" Reem asked.
Melissa said sadly, full of regret:
"Reem, I have to apologize to you and Yojin, to all of you."
Reem raised her eyebrow:
"What… why?"
Melissa said:
"That old man was part of the group that attacked my father on a business trip, and the items they left behind were stolen."
"That's what's inside the bag," Yojin added.
Melissa was telling the same story Yojin had told Rin and Farid.
Rin and Reem asked, "What's inside the bag?"
Yojin and Melissa said at the same time:
(Yojin took the egg out of the bag)
"A Dragon Egg."
Silence fell over Rin, Reem, and Farid, as the sun neared the horizon.
"A Dragon Egg!?"