Chapter 238

Translator: Dreamscribe

At the same time, in the office of the Minister of Science and ICT.

“...He really did it.”

“....”

Han Seong-hee, the Minister of Health and Welfare, murmured without taking her eyes off the laptop screen.

A Johns Hopkins briefing was being streamed live.

“Why did he have to go all the way to America to conduct the research? It could have been done at a hospital or university here in Korea.”

“....”

Han Seong-hee raised her head and looked at Lee Hyun-seok.

He kept his gaze fixed outside the window without saying a word. The coffee in his hand had long since gone cold.

A vein bulged on Minister Han’s forehead.

“Minister!”

“Yes. I’m listening.”

“I heard you gave your approval. Why did you allow him to leave the country?”

Her frustration was mounting.

How much tangible and intangible value could Yu Seo-ha create? She knew that the Minister of Science and ICT had strongly supported his departure this time.

“My aide tells me that ownership of the Life Matrix patents hasn’t been decided yet. If the research had been conducted in Korea, the government could at least have gotten a seat at the negotiating table. No, he’s still serving his term, so there should still be plenty of room for us to get involved....”

“Minister Han!”

Hyun-seok turned around with a cold expression.

“I know Director Yu’s value better than anyone. Do you think I wanted to let him go?”

“Then why on earth....”

He sighed.

“Suppose we had made up one excuse after another to keep him in Korea. The encryption work that the institute was established for has already been completed one hundred and twenty percent, but let’s say we did it anyway.”

“....”

“What do you think Director Yu would do afterward? Do you know what the Ministry of Science and ICT’s highest priority is right now? Keeping Team Apex Korea here for the next ten, twenty years.”

“Ah....”

She fell silent as though something had finally clicked.

“But there’s a problem. Once his service ends, we won’t have a single justification for keeping him here. And what if we sour his feelings on top of that? Team Apex is only meaningful because Yu Seo-ha is there. Cecilia, Theo, even Researcher Lim Su-jeong, they’re all people who remain because of Director Yu.”

Han Seong-hee frowned.

“So you’re saying we should do nothing and just watch? His discharge isn’t that far away. We should get something out of this before then....”

“Minister!”

He remembered Professor Kim Ji-yoon’s complaint that this country did not know how to treat its scientists. If he had ignored her warning, the situation would likely have been far worse than it was now.

“Get to the point.”

“....”

Seong-hee bit her lip.

“...What if we launch a national project before his discharge? Medicine, biotech, anything would be fine. Couldn’t we at least give Yu Seo-ha one reason to stay in Korea?”

He shook his head.

“Minister. There’s something I’d like to advise you on.”

“What is it?”

“We are in no position to force anything on him.”

Han Seong-hee gave a hollow laugh.

“So we’re the weaker party.”

“We were never the ones with the upper hand in the first place. Aren’t we merely uninvited guests trying to hitch a free ride on one genius’s extraordinary journey?”

“....”

“Don’t get on Director Yu’s bad side. After working with him, I’ve learned what kind of person he is. Even if he has complaints, he’ll grit his teeth and endure them until his discharge. Then he’ll pack up, take his family, and leave. Very politely, after securing his complete legal freedom. After that, he’ll never have anything to do with us again. Would that really benefit the country?”

Minister Han disliked how deferential he was being about this matter. But after hearing his reasoning, she could understand why.

“Still, you must be doing something, right? We can think of ways for both sides to benefit.”

“Of course.”

Hyun-seok had been working on winning over Seo-ha’s family.

Seo-eun would soon be entering university. He had suggested a scholarship program for gifted students, but Mi-young, who remembered what had happened with Seo-ha, rejected it flatly.

Instead, he had opened up opportunities for the logistics company where Seo-ha’s father worked to secure government contracts. His position within the company would become more secure. After all, a man did not live on money alone. As long as he avoided granting any blatantly obvious favoritism, Hyun-seok was doing everything he could.

“If we want his help, we should be the first to show him goodwill. That’s all.”

After Han Seong-hee left the minister’s office.

Minister Lee Hyun-seok recalled a passage from Han Feizi that he had read during his university years.

“One who does not care for honor cannot be punished through shame, and one who does not covet wealth cannot be tempted with rewards. Such people are called people who cannot be commanded, and those whom a ruler cannot control must be cut down.”

But this was an age in which the people, not a ruler, were the masters of the country.

The side that needed the other more should be the one to bend.

***

Airports always smelled of coffee.

That was why Gyeo-ul hated coffee.

People were talking here and there, reluctant to say goodbye. She stood in front of the boarding gate with one hand wrapped around the handle of her suitcase.

“Dad, go home already. I can go by myself.”

Han Ki-jun shook his head.

“I won’t see you again for months. I can’t just leave like that. Make sure you eat properly once you’re there. Your mom will be coming soon, so just wait a little longer. I printed out a list of Korean grocery stores near Warsaw....”

Rustle.

Gyeo-ul accepted the neatly folded piece of paper and forced a smile.

She could feel how worried her father was about sending his daughter off alone, and it made something ache in her chest.

“Call me right away if anything happens. The Concours might seem important now, but life is long. It’s not that big a deal, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself. All I need is for my daughter to come home healthy.”

“Dad!”

“Okay, okay. I’ll go now.”

Ki-jun reluctantly handed her luggage over and gave her shoulder a light pat.

After boarding the plane, Gyeo-ul fell into thought as she watched Seoul recede outside the window. She had originally had no intention of entering the Chopin Competition.

Gyeo-ul had loved Mozart since she was young.

His lively wit and playfulness. The little jokes hidden throughout his scores like clever devices. She loved the clear melodies that laid his arrogance and genius bare without any filter.

Chopin, on the other hand, was too heavy.

If Mozart was light, Chopin was shadow. Beautiful but dark, lyrical yet carrying so much within it that she had never been able to truly enjoy his music.

“Huh? Gyeo-ul, the way you play has changed.”

Seon-hwa had stopped by the practice room and listened from outside the door for quite some time before quietly opening it.

“When did you get here?”

“That’s not important. This is Ballade No. 1. But what’s different from before?”

She stared intently at Gyeo-ul’s face.

“Before, playing Chopin made me feel stifled. Now my heart hurts.”

“Hahaha! I think I know what you mean by stifled. Like a performance that’s desperately trying to squeeze tears out of people, right? That makes the listener feel stifled too, you know? Because it isn’t real. But now it hurts?”

Seon-hwa cast her a sidelong glance with a gentle expression.

‘Pain.’

That single word could probably sum up Chopin’s life.

The sorrow of losing his homeland, the separation from the woman he loved. On top of that, his health had been poor from his early twenties. A life spent repeatedly coughing and spitting up blood from tuberculosis. Chopin must have known that his life would not be a long one. Yet paradoxically, Chopin’s most beautiful music emerged during the periods when he was suffering the most.

‘Is it now?’

There was a time that came rarely in a musician’s life, but inevitably came at least once.

The period when technique outpaced emotion came to an end, and life finally caught up with the music. A door that practice alone could never open suddenly swung wide one day.

She could guess the reason.

‘It must be that boy.’

“Gyeo-ul. Why don’t you enter the Chopin Competition?”

“What? Isn’t it already too late?”

“There’s still time.”

“But everyone else must have been preparing a year or two in advance.”

“It doesn’t matter. Technically, you’re far ahead of them. And....”

Seon-hwa spoke with an unusually serious expression.

“It might have to be now.”

“....”

That day, Gyeo-ul decided to enter almost as though she had been bewitched.

Around a thousand pianists entered the Concours on average. Gyeo-ul submitted a recording of the performance she had given that day and passed the preliminary screening that selected 162 contestants.

After that, her days were simply spent immersed in music.

For Gyeo-ul, that was a blessing.

Ever since the recital, her growing feelings had reached the point where she could barely contain them. When she poured those feelings into her playing, an intensity she had never possessed before began to seep into the music.

“I wish the competition day would hurry up and come.”

Gyeo-ul murmured softly with her head resting against the airplane window.

***

Incheon Airport waiting area.

Seo-eun sat with her arms crossed and a sulky expression on her face.

“Cheer up. How long are you going to keep sulking?”

“I don’t know! I came back with a gold medal, and Oppa isn’t even here!”

Mi-young poked Seo-eun’s cheeks with her fingers.

Seo-eun had taken first place individually at the IMO. However, because the problems had been relatively easy, there were four contestants with perfect scores. The media praised her as a genius every bit her brother’s equal.

Passing travelers recognized Seo-eun.

“Hey, that’s Yu Seo-eun.”

“It really is! She’s even cuter in person!”

Seo-eun lowered her head in embarrassment. The sight of her hugging Justin tightly was so cute that Mi-young quietly laughed without letting it show.

But Seo-eun could hardly complain. She herself was the reason things had turned out this way.

After the awards ceremony, she had given an interview to the press.

“Yu Seo-ha also took first place at the IMO when he was thirteen. But unlike you, he didn’t earn a perfect score. Compared to your brother at the same age, who do you think is smarter?”

Seo-eun jumped at the reporter’s question.

“Huh? What kind of ignorant question is that?”

As far as Seo-eun was concerned, anyone looking for someone to compare with her brother would have to search through the history books.

It had been the most natural reaction in the world to her, but the reporter, who had suddenly been branded ignorant, took some petty revenge. He uploaded the entire interview video with the article.

Seo-eun had always been extremely expressive.

The doll clutched to her chest as though it were precious, her completely unguarded face, her eyes going round as bottle caps, and the disdainful tone of her voice combined into something that made the internet explode.

[Yu Seo-ha’s Little Sister Meme Compilation.gif]

[Seo-eun, look down on me too!]

The comments were filled almost entirely with people calling her cute, but it dealt a devastating blow to the sensibilities of a teenage girl.

“Our daughter’s famous now, huh?”

At Mi-young’s teasing words, Seo-eun made a bizarre face.

Just as a full-blown mother-daughter squabble was about to begin, everyone’s attention turned toward the gate at once.

A familiar silhouette appeared through the crowd.

Her brother was walking toward them with Theo, Su-jeong, and the rest of the team. He was neatly dressed in a jacket. Reporters crowded around them, throwing out questions.

“Director! There are rumors that you’re moving into the medical field. Is it true that Hopkins offered you extraordinary terms?”

“Do you have another intractable disease in your sights as your next target?”

“Will pancreatic cancer treatment also be available in Korea? If so, which university do you plan to partner with?”

Click!

Click!

The reporters surrounding them on all sides were relentless. Seo-ha was not the only one being questioned. Every member of the team was a target. Reporters from the United States, the United Kingdom, India, and the other countries represented by the team members could also be seen.

Seo-ha and the team continued walking while giving only routine answers, following Cecilia’s warning never to say anything to the public that they might later be held accountable for.

Then a reporter behind them shouted loudly.

“Your younger sister, Yu Seo-eun, took first place at the IMO. What do you think about that?”

Caught off guard by the question, Seo-ha stopped walking.

When he turned his head, he spotted Seo-eun in the distance. She was standing on tiptoe with a sulky expression, peeking at him from over the crowd. Seo-ha’s face immediately lit up.

Step, step.

When he changed direction, the team members and security guards followed after him.

Theo, Sri, Su-jeong, Cecilia, Ben.

Seo-eun tried to picture herself standing among them, but somehow she simply could not imagine it. Theo spotted her and came over to speak.

“Yo! Seo-eun. Heard you got first place? Guess that was only natural?”

“Shouldn’t the siblings in that family be banned from entering competitions in the first place?”

“Special Assistant! When are you joining the team?”

“Exactly. If you’re Seo-ha’s sister, I know we can count on you. Hurry up and graduate. I’ve got some good tea waiting for you.”

Sri, Ben, and Cecilia each chimed in, clearly happy to see her. Su-jeong smiled with her eyes and immediately started pestering her to show them the medal.

And-

“Sorry I couldn’t make it to the awards ceremony.”

The coolest brother in the world was looking at her with a bashful expression.

Click!

Click!

Reporters from several countries approached and began taking pictures.

“Huh?”

Rustle, rustle.

Seo-eun pulled the gold medal out of her pocket, threw it at him, and fled the scene at full speed.

Her brother looked hurt.

But it couldn’t be helped. She simply could not bear the embarrassment.

*****

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