The Aftermath of the Treasure Hunt (Day 2-END)

"All the clues you need... are in the post-it note," you repeated to yourself. Bad memories of math class were surfacing up.

Of course, you performed mediocrely in that class. But, the concepts were hard for to understand. Especially trigonometry. For example, it took you around 20 minutes to understand sine and cosine while others understood it in about 10 minutes. It wasn't fun.

But, Ha-Eun and Ha-joon's treasure depended on this. You racked your brain, desperately thinking about what to do. You flipped to page 348 of the textbook. It showed a simple example of the Pythagorean theorem.

"... a squared + b squared = c squared. If all the values are integers, then they are a Pythagorean triple. Examples are 3,4,5... 5,12,13... 7,24,25... All Pythagorean triangles are right triangles."

You looked at the other hint. ""x<y<z, x up, y right. All in units of 10 feet, or course. Or just z in the direction of arctan(y/x). Your choice to pick. Sincerely, Cho."

"Hmm... triangles... arctan(y/x)... x up, y right..." Suddenly, something clicked in your brain. You instantly looked at the map with scrutiny. 'The hints for the second treasure location... they match with the map! The second one is just up and right with respect to the first!' you realized.

You also found a small written note on the lower right corner. It wrote: '8-15-17. Whew! This map took a long time to make!'

"Did he make this on August 15th, 2017?" you assumed first. "But, why would he put such an insignificant detail like this?"

You took a closer look. Suddenly, something clicked in your brain. "No way... it can't be..." you muttered. You looked at the textbook again.

'What if... what if... 8-15-17 is a Pythagorean number?!!' you thought.

You quickly checked with your phone's calculator. 'All right... 8 squared... that's 64. 15 squared... that's 225. 17 squared... 289! Wait, 64 plus 225 does equal 289!'

"I... I got it, boss! I got it! The final location! 8 up, 15 right?!" you exclaimed.

"That's good and all, but what's the distance?" Detective W spoke, and struggled to inhale air again.

"Wait... that's what the units are for?!" you looked at the post-it note. "80 feet up, 150 feet right! And, the map says that up is north!"

"Then, what are we waiting for?!" Detective W demanded. His leg quivered as he tried to walk another step.

"Just stay here, boss. Believe in us! We will get the second part of the treasure!" you told him.

You, Ha-joon, and Ha-Eun ran out and started searching. After 2 minutes of running, you guys arrive at an empty field. A single sunflower stood in the middle. Soil chunks and holes were around the sunflower.

With Ha-joon and Ha-Eun's help, you shoveled the earth where the sunflower sits. You wiped off your sweat and looked at the hole. In there was 2 gold bars. Between the gold bar was a slip of paper. You pulled it out, and read:

"To anyone who finds this:

Congratulation! Two 400 troy ounces of gold is yours! Do what you can with it!

To my family:

I see that you've reached the final stage of my will. How was the treasure hunting experience? Was it fun?

I've originally planned this around 2017... right when my doctor announced that I would only have one more year to live. By then, I had to write my will. I had to weed out the unambitious, the unwilling. Therefore, I gave you guys a hard challenge which would gradually get easier as it progress. I know a whole lot of you will be cursing me out right now, but who cares?! Only those who try their hardest will get the money.

Whoever found this, I know that you tried your hardest. You deserve it. It's all yours. I, as your father, your grandfather, love you all.

Sincerely,

Cho Youngho"

Ha-Eun strived to keep a straight face and smiled as she heard those words. "After all, Grandpa always said, 'Always keep a bright face. Keep on persevering. That's how you win at life."

You carried one gold bar, and Ha-joon carried the other one. The heavy weights slowed your pace down as you went back to the cabin.

Detective W's face was visibly paler than before, but he still kept smiling. "You guys found the treasure?" There was a noticeable pause in each word. His breathing got more ragged.

"Detective... Detective W!" Ha-Eun cried out. "Please! Survive! I can't afford to lose my new friend!"

"Silly girl... I've faced worse than this..." Detective W coughed. "This is nothing..."

You quickly opened his vest. On his chests and sides were vivid, striking bruises. Most of them were a deep shade of purple.

"Boss, I don't care what you say, but I'm driving back. And I will send you to the hospital first. No questions."

"No," Detective W's eyes still had the flame of life in it. "Take Ha-Eun... and Ha-joon home first. If anything, they deserved to go home after this harrowing experience."

"No means no, boss! Not now." You tossed him on to the back seat. "We need to go!"

It was the first you drove like Detective W. Everything, for you, was a blur. The crack-ridden windshield didn't help much either. You nearly sideswiped a car on the highway, and continued to Owlsburgh. But, on the way to the hospital, there was suddenly fire trucks and ambulances blocking your way. "Damn it, you fire trucks!" you screamed.

Twenty excruciating minutes passed while you sat on the same spot. Once you drove further, your face slowly turned from a determined one to a shocked face.

A very familiar sign was burning. The DETECTIVE'S SERVICES sign was hanging on by the corner as it burned. Bright orange flames spewed out the windows, engulfing the red brick wall.

"No!" you bellowed. "NOT THIS!!!"

Since it was a two-way street, you quickly swerved around and pressed the pedal. That detour took 10 precious minutes. You were now on Azalea street. You cursed again, as there was another fire truck blocking the way. "Unbelievable!" you raged, pounding the car horn. "Now I have to go around 9th street!"

Ha-Eun observed while taking care of the sleeping Detective W with the medical kit. "836 Azalea Street... we're near home..."

You saw another house engulfed in flames. You could clearly see the bright blue awnings. You quickly scanned the surrounding rowhouses. They all had either red or orange awnings.

"Ha-joon, Ha-Eun, whose house is that with the blue awning?"

Ha-joon's jaw dropped as he realized whose it was. "That's... that's Grandpa's house! Grandpa!"

"FUCK!" you roared. You quickly turned around to a small street and took another detour. It took 15 extra minutes for you to get the local hospital, Owlsburgh Central Hospital.

It took around another ten minutes for the doctors and nurses to get the emergency bed and transport Detective W to the emergency room. Detective W, who awoke from all the commotion, whispered hoarsely, "My friend? What happened during I was asleep?"

You struggled to keep your voice in. "Your-your... your office... it's burned down! So was the late Mr. Cho's house! They... they all burned in raging fire!"

Detective W's eyelids instantly popped open, and tried to get up. His entire body quivered for a few seconds, then it dropped back down.

Once they were at the emergency room entrance, Detective W responded softly, "No worries. I know what to do."

The Professor's Undecipherable Will, completed!

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