Click-click-
“Wow, amazing…!”
Everyone in the cramped hospital room held their breath and focused on the girl.
Click-click-click-
“You’re really a genius, aren’t you?”
The click-click sound was not the sound of a camera shutter.
Click-click
Thud-!
“Completion.”
“Waaaaah!”
As Na-me placed the completed dodecahedron cube on the desk, thunderous cheers erupted from the children.
“Hey, you try this too!”
“No way, I asked first!”
“That regular cube looks too easy for her! Bring something harder!”
The kids were squabbling over the cubes that were in the hospital room.
They wanted Na-me to fix their cubes too.
The scene they were witnessing unfolded as Seol Yoon-seul woke up from her sleep.
Na-me sent all the children, who were a head or two taller than her, outside and sat next to Yoon-seul’s bed.
“Good morning. You slept for a full 12 hours, huh?”
“What is this, a dream?”
Yoon-seul pinched her cheek hard. Aside from the slight sting, she didn’t feel anything particularly noteworthy.
“Doesn’t hurt, right?”
“Uh-huh. No pain… just my cheek is a bit sore…”
“Thank goodness.”
Yoon-seul scanned Na-me up and down and asked.
“What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“This isn’t virtual reality.”
“It’s not virtual reality.”
“But then why…?”
Yoon-seul’s head was filled with confusion.
It was so bad that instead of believing that Na-me was actually 7 years old, she first doubted how they had pulled a virtual reality avatar into reality.
After pondering for a while, Yoon-seul finally realized the facts.
“You… you—you! Is it really you, Na-me? Really?!”
“Yeah.”
“Did you, um, get a disease that prevents you from growing taller—”
“Not at all!”
Na-me puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
“Since you’re awake, I’ll go get the doctor. Just wait a moment.”
A doctor with a face full of fatigue came in to give her a simple examination.
Afterwards, the doctor asked Yoon-seul when she wanted to be discharged.
“Can I discharge at any time…?”
“Yes, there’s no health issue, and if you feel you’re not recovered completely, you can stay for another day.”
“Ah… no, I’ll discharge right away…”
Yoon-seul blinked at her palms.
She definitely seemed to have been burned, yet her delicate hands showed no signs of blistering.
“Do you have a place to go?”
“I have to go home…”
“Home must be in complete disarray right now.”
Na-me recalled the state of Yoon-seul’s house.
Even just one day spent there would fill her lungs with carcinogenic substances for a lifetime.
“Maybe to your parents’ house—”
“No way!”
“Why not?”
“That’s just how it is… I don’t want to.”
Yoon-seul pulled her knees towards her body and buried her face in them.
“I don’t want to go to my parents’ house.”
Her fingertips trembled slightly, as if she was determined not to return home.
“Then do you want to come to my house?”
“Huh?”
“I can let you stay for a few days. I have an extra room.”
Na-me picked up a wild honey badger.
*
Pat pat-
“Sister.”
Fidget fidget-
“Yoon-seul, sister.”
Pinch-
“…! Seol Yoon-seul!”
“Eek! Why?!”
“Stop touching me.”
“Ah, sorry…! I was just curious.”
Well, there’s a line, isn’t there?
Touching cheeks? Sure, that’s fine.
Among her elementary school friends, some had cheeks that would puff out when seen from the side, and it was really tempting to reach out and touch them.
She could tolerate some poking since there was some inner closeness built up through VR.
But to actually pinch her? That felt a bit over the line.
“Hahahaha. I guess Na-me is just too cute!”
“If you keep this up, I won’t let you stay at my house.”
“That’s fine; it’s not my house, it’s my house. The owner allows it.”
“Ah, Professor Chun, that’s really unfair…!”
Can’t you at least take my side here?
They swung by Kariri’s house to grab some essential belongings, loaded them into the trunk, and headed to Na-me’s house.
“Our houses are super close, huh?”
Yoon-seul murmured as they passed the rapidly changing scenery.
It was only three subway stops away.
It seemed that Professor Chun, who was sitting in the front seat, felt awkward, as Yoon-seul kept her mouth tightly shut.
It was clear he looked like a scary grandpa at first glance.
Is he ever thinking about dyeing his hair?
The first to break the silence was Professor Chun.
“So, you’re a friend of Na-me who is participating in the game tournament?”
“Y-yeah…!”
“I’ve heard about it. You must have gone through a lot to deal with someone who wouldn’t even be worth a bite…”
“Ah… no, it’s fine…”
“Don’t be shy; it’s your house, so relax. Na-me will help you with the rest.”
According to Professor Chun, the culprit had confessed during the investigation and the police were immediately applying for an arrest warrant for attempted murder.
Since he had also recklessly used magic, it was a clear-cut case.
Surprisingly, they seemed to have quite a background just by looking at their achievements; it puzzled everyone how they had let their schizophrenia go untreated for so long.
“I’ll go back as soon as the house is fixed… thank you…”
“You’re going back? Who knows if someone might come again?”
The culprit was a crazy guy who had taken a train all the way from Busan just to harm Yoon-seul.
This wasn’t just simple obsessive stalking; it was a serious threat.
“Your address has been exposed. It’s dangerous.”
“I’m fine… It’s not like only one person is coming…”
Yoon-seul seemed to brush it off almost as if it was an old story, but she couldn’t hide the slight trembling of her hands.
Once we got out of the car, we each grabbed our belongings and exited the parking lot.
I felt much more comfortable not having to endure Yoon-seul’s hand pressure anymore.
“39th floor. So high…”
“It’s annoying every time I have to wait for the elevator.”
“It’s okay. If I’m with Na-me, I like waiting…”
Yoon-seul, who was muttering some incomprehensible words, rested her hands on my shoulder.
What’s that supposed to mean?
*
[You can use this toothbrush here. The toothpaste part is okay to share, right? It doesn’t seem like you have obsessive-compulsive disorder… no sign of it.]
Na-me was darting around the hallway, helping Yoon-seul organize her things.
[Was it originally this messy? This room hasn’t been cleaned, so it’s dusty…]
[For today, you’ll have to sleep in my room. Is that alright?]
[Then tomorrow, let’s all come together and clean up.]
A fluffy blanket was laid out on the carpet, and a cute bear-patterned pillow was placed.
Yoon-seul had had a hard time going to public places.
And now, she was living in someone else’s house.
But for some reason, Yoon-seul felt this place was comfortable, like it was her own home.
And more than anything, she had a mountain of questions she wanted to ask Na-me.
Her mind was chaotic with countless questions, but she hesitated to stop Na-me, who was busy dashing around.
Yoon-seul crouched in a corner of the room and sent a reply to her younger brother.
Seol Taeyang was on a field trip for three days and two nights, and he found out about Yoon-seul’s situation late.
At these times, she didn’t dislike her younger brother’s concern.
“Everything’s all set.”
“Ah… oh! Thank you so much…!”
“Make yourself comfortable. Or do you want to watch TV or something?”
“I… it’s fine! I like TV.”
“Professor Chun just went out to the store for a bit. So, don’t worry too much.”
Na-me hopped behind the sofa and landed perfectly in the middle.
With her toes, she picked up the remote control that was on the floor and turned it to some random channel.
Cautiously, Yoon-seul, who had settled shyly on the edge, spoke up.
“Um, Na-me, what’s your relationship with that person—”
“Professor Chun is my adoptive father. I was adopted four months ago. I’m in 2nd grade at Sephiron Academy. Any more questions?”
Before Yoon-seul could finish her question, rapid-fire information came spilling out.
After having several experiences, Na-me had become quite skilled at clarifying things.
“Uh-huh… quite a lot… a ton…”
Starting with the fact that you’re seven years old…
Yoon-seul still needed clarification.
*
“QBS 6 o’clock News Talk Talk, our last Top 1 topic will be about ‘Genius Mathematician’! Here we have a really cute voice along with some fierce mathematical proofs! The video you just saw was one of seven proofs uploaded by internet broadcaster NoName on her V-tube. Guess how old she is now?”
“Yes, this is some hot news stirring up the internet. According to netizens, NoName is fourteen this year, which means she was born in 2037.”
“So you’re saying a fourteen-year-old student solved math problems that look very difficult at first glance?”
“Simply put, they aren’t just tough problems. Shall we take a look at the list?”
[#1 ABC conjecture and Brocard’s problem (1876)] – 6 days ago
[#2 Erdős–Straus conjecture (1948)] – 5 days ago
[#3 Weaire–Phelan structure optimization (1993)] – 4 days ago
[#4 Collatz conjecture bound further to n^0.737 (1937)] – 4 days ago
[#5 Moving sofa problem upper bound improvement (1966)] – 3 days ago
[#6 Twin prime conjecture (1849)] – 3 days ago
[#7 Strong Goldbach conjecture (1742)] – 2 days ago
“These may sound unfamiliar just by name. However, the noteworthy part is the numbers here.”
“1876, 1948. At a glance, they look like years?”
“Yes, the next numbers indicate the years the problems were first announced. If you look at the last one from 1742, it’s a problem that has remained unsolved for an astonishing 309 years in the math community.”
“It’s hard to believe this is real. I mean, these problems haven’t been solved even by people who devoted their lives to mathematics, and now there are seven of them! How is that even possible?”
“That’s why some netizens speculate that NoName isn’t a single individual but rather a group.”
“What’s the reaction from the mathematical community?”
“They’ve been quite shocked in the math world as well. The European Mathematical Society has already sent out official notices to universities to form a task force for verification. Next up is an interview with Cambridge University Honorary Professor ‘Graham Keron Kronheimer’.”
[Recently, I’ve been receiving continuous calls from my students. They say, ‘Professor, my world collapsed yesterday!’ Hahaha. When I first saw the proofs, I was suspicious, then astonished, and now I feel thrilled. While I can’t tell if they are real or false just yet, just looking at her innovative and elaborate techniques shows how deep her understanding of mathematics is. I can assure you she’s definitely not someone to scam using mathematics.]
[Professor, if all of this turns out to be true, is there a possibility of winning the Fields Medal?]
[Oh, what do you mean by ‘all of it’? Just one. Even just one proof would be an incredible advancement. Especially if she succeeds in proving the last twin prime conjecture or Goldbach’s conjecture, she’ll make her mark in history. Ah, let’s just lump ABC conjecture and Collatz conjecture together and say all of them, haha.]
[That’s absolutely amazing.]
[It’s been a long time since a Fields Medal winner might emerge from Korea since Ms. Ham. Congratulations in advance.]
[Thank you for the great interview.]
The program continued to trace NoName’s activities.
It mentioned her impressive achievements in the World of Arseria, and finally culminated with the news that she was participating in a game tournament.
With her gaze glued to the screen, Yoon-seul looked down at Na-me, who was using her lap as a pillow.
The girl sprawled comfortably on the sofa, scratching her soft belly, was much more astounding than Yoon-seul had ever imagined.
“This definitely smells like green pepper. Professor Chun! Can you leave the green peppers out for mine?”
“How can you eat Japchae without green peppers in it?”
“It’s plenty delicious even if it’s just meat…”
At the tender age of seven, she was already haggling over side dishes.
“Sister. You can eat the green peppers for me.”
Yoon-seul slowly began to feel a bit afraid of her.
