Chapter Text
It was a hot summer morning in Seoul, and the campus of Seoul National University was as busy as usual. Yujin, a third-year mechanical engineering student, hurriedly walked to class, holding a folder of papers under her arm, her hair tied back in a practical way. Her focus was clear: the next design project for a machine, a challenge that she and her group were about to submit, but it still required final adjustments.
Unlike many other students her age, Yujin didn’t care for parties or social events. She had a curious, analytical mind, always more focused on torque calculations and stress analysis in mechanical structures than on the distractions the world around her offered. Her passion for engineering had been present since childhood when she would dismantle and rebuild toys to understand how the parts fit together. Mechanical engineering, for her, was more than just a profession—it was a language, a way to understand the world around her. A disciplined and reserved student, Yujin always had a penchant for logical, mathematical, and technical challenges. She loved solving problems, and the complex equations involved in building and designing mechanical systems were what drove her. Her university life was simple: classes, projects, and more classes, with little room for distractions.
As she hurried along, barely noticing the people around her, Yujin bumped into someone. A tall person with long, wavy hair looked like she had stepped straight out of a runway show. For a moment, Yujin froze and watched the person in front of her try to balance a pile of papers that had fallen.
— Sorry! I didn’t see you! – Yujin quickly crouched down to help pick up the papers.
The person, with a nervous smile, thanked her and started picking up the papers as well.
— No problem, I was distracted! – the girl’s voice was soft, yet filled with a touch of discomfort. When Yujin finally looked up, she realized the young woman was quite beautiful, but she had no idea who she was. The girl seemed out of place, as if she didn’t belong, but somehow captivating.
— Are you okay? – Yujin asked, still a little embarrassed.
— Yes, yes. Just a bit clumsy. – the young woman answered with a gentle smile before continuing. — You’re a student here, right?
Yujin nodded.
— Yes. Mechanical engineering. I’m in my third year. – Yujin replied, unaware that the other girl was paying close attention to her words.
The young woman looked at her, seeming surprised.
— Mechanical engineering! That sounds cool. I’m not very good with these things, but I’ve always found it incredible how you all manage to build and understand these… machines! – she said with an honest smile.
Yujin raised an eyebrow, surprised by the comment. She wasn’t used to hearing someone so outside her circle speak about engineering so genuinely.
— Well, it’s not as fascinating as it seems, but thanks. I’m kind of obsessed with it, actually. – Yujin replied, a little awkwardly.
— You’re quite modest! I’m just starting to understand these things. I’m... kind of new to the city. – the young woman explained with a shy smile. — I’m from out of town, and I don’t know many people here yet.
Yujin was about to say something more when a figure approached. Several photographers suddenly appeared out of nowhere, capturing images of Wonyoung, without Yujin even realizing what was happening. Amid the chaos, the young woman smiled and gave a quick farewell.
— I’d better go. I have some things to take care of. It was great talking to you! – she said hurriedly, and before Yujin could react, she was already surrounded by a team.
Still confused and not entirely understanding what had just happened, Yujin didn’t think much more about the girl. After all, it wasn’t as if she had time to dwell on it while she was in the lab.
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The mechanical engineering lab was almost like Yujin’s second home, and that’s exactly why, when Ahn entered the space, the smile on her face grew content.
The lab was bathed in soft, cold light, typical of an academic environment. The large windows at the back allowed the daylight to flood in, and the sun was particularly bright that summer morning. The air was filled with the familiar scent of metal and oil, a fragrance that Yujin knew well. The walls, covered in whiteboards and shelves filled with tools, parts, and prototypes, conveyed a sense of almost scientific organization. Every object seemed to have a purpose; every item was there because it had been carefully chosen to be part of the whole.
Yujin was in yet another meeting with her groupmates. Most of their time was spent there, surrounded by calculations, sketches, and tests. Her laptop was open in front of her, displaying a complex spreadsheet full of equations and graphs. They were adjusting the parameters of a new energy efficiency system model for their final semester project. Her face, focused and lit by the glow of the monitor, showed a mix of determination and focus.
Wearing safety goggles and protective equipment, Yujin and her group began another round of tests. In front of them, a large workbench was filled with metal parts, gears, and circuits, laid out meticulously. They were working on a prototype for a sustainable automotive mechanism, something that could revolutionize energy use in transportation systems. She grabbed a wrench and carefully adjusted one of the motor’s parts while her mind quickly ran through various calculations to ensure everything fit together correctly. Each turn of the wrench, each click of the mechanism, seemed to come to life in her mind.
As Yujin twisted the tool, she began murmuring the calculations aloud, confirmed by Winter, her groupmate. Every line on the project, every number on her spreadsheet, was visualized in her head with almost photographic precision. Nothing escaped her attention—every millimeter, every fraction of a second that the machine needed to operate perfectly.
When Yujin tightened the gear a little more, everyone in the lab stopped breathing. She stepped back for a moment to observe the prototype in action. The motor emitted a soft sound, a rhythmic series of clicks, signaling that the setup was nearly complete. Yujin, eyes fixed on the machine, felt an immense sense of satisfaction. She knew that behind every small success there, there was the reflection of months of hard work.
Standing, looking intently at the prototype in front of her, still a little skeptical, she saw her groupmates surrounding her, waiting for the moment when the energy efficiency system they had designed would finally be activated.
Winter made a final adjustment on the computer screen, her finger hesitating for a moment over the keyboard, while her gaze drifted over the gears and circuits connected to the motor. Every component had been carefully assembled, tested, and adjusted, but now it was time to see if everything would actually work as it should. She felt the weight of all the dedication from the past semester on her shoulders, but the nervousness started to dissipate when she looked at her teammates around her.
Yujin glanced at Jihoon, took a deep breath, and turned back to the prototype. She nodded to Winter, signaling her to press the start button. The sound that followed was a soft click, followed by a rising hum. For a moment, the silence seemed almost oppressive, as if time had slowed, and then, as a sigh of relief, the motor began to run smoothly. A nearly imperceptible smile appeared on Yujin’s face, and she watched the indicators on the monitor carefully.
The computer screen flickered, displaying another graph with a performance line that now perfectly aligned with Yujin’s expectations. She smiled to herself, satisfied, but also aware that there was still much to be done.
The six people in the group—Gaeul, Jihoon, Minju, Sunoo, Winter, and Yujin—looked at each other and smiled. The energy in the lab was contagious. The teammates hugged, laughed, and even danced together. Yujin watched it all in silence, once again feeling a bit out of the chaos, but knowing for sure that she had been part of something much bigger than she had imagined.
She looked at the prototype once more, her eyes fixed on the machine that was now running with precision.
The others moved away to celebrate, but Yujin, with her perfectionist nature, couldn’t allow herself to rest just yet. The machine was working well, but she knew that the work was never truly finished. And although the celebration was welcome, the future of engineering always demanded more.
But in that moment, in the quiet celebration of her own thoughts, she realized something important: they had done it together.