Chapter 239

Translator: Dreamscribe

The wind blowing in the mornings and evenings had grown chilly.

Before anyone knew it, summer had passed and autumn had arrived.

Dozens of brochures and admissions documents were scattered across the table in Seo-ha's house as though a bomb had gone off. They were information booklets from Korea's most prestigious gifted schools.

The battle for Yu Seo-eun.

Just because an older brother was a genius did not mean his younger sister would be one too. Moreover, Seo-ha was a miracle who might appear only once in a century. But after Seo-eun took first place at the IMO, the situation changed.

Every gifted school principal in the country had the same thought.

'Maybe his sister too?'

The Gifted High School that had produced Seo-ha reaped enormous benefits.

First, its government funding increased noticeably. The Ministry of Science and ICT stepped in to allocate separate research grants, followed by a special designation from the Ministry of Education.

As Seo-ha accumulated more achievements, the school's reputation continued to grow. Within just a few years, world-renowned universities such as MIT and Oxford began proposing joint research projects. The principal and teachers screamed as their hands trembled around the official letters.

Naturally, the quality of the student body rose as well. Not only Korea's very best gifted students, but even children of Korean expatriates who would once have attended prestigious international schools jumped into the competition for admission.

That, in turn, led to overwhelming university admission results.

Getting into Seoul National University or KAIST was no longer something to brag about at this school. It was producing dozens of Ivy League admits every year.

Yet the graduates' greatest source of pride was not an achievement that could be expressed in numbers.

It was Yu Seo-ha's alma mater, and the campus where he had first proved the Four Color Theorem.

Every student at the school visited that very seminar room with a solemn heart, gazing through the glass wall at Seo-ha's preserved handwritten proof and steeling their resolve.

'I will understand it before I graduate.'

Of course, almost no one ever managed to do so.

But the process of struggling to understand even a single line of that overwhelming sight became a powerful motivation that pushed the students beyond their limits.

“Could she really choose somewhere other than our school?”

The principal, who had successfully secured another term in recognition of the school's achievements over the years, muttered as he gazed out the window.

Head of Academic Affairs Park Sung-dae answered with a sharp glint in his eyes.

“It's possible. This is a war, after all. You can assume that every Gifted High School and Science High School in the country has made her an offer. Ah! I've also heard rumors that schools overseas have started making moves.”

“Overseas too?”

“Yes. Apparently, schools in Singapore and Eton in the UK have offered her special scholarships.”

“Urgh.”

The principal let out a sigh.

For the past several years, this school had stopped making special offers to individual students. The prevailing opinion was that such treatment did not suit the school's prestige, but this time was an exception. And yet, perhaps even that would not be enough.

“Let's trust her and wait.”

“Yes! This will be the first time since Seo-ha that an IMO medalist has enrolled here. All the teachers are looking forward to it as well.”

***

“Is anyone home!”

Woo-hyun came to visit.

He was the Yu family's benefactor. Mi-young rushed out without even putting on her shoes to greet him.

“Welcome, seonsaengnim.”

“It's been a long time.”

Perhaps because he had been appearing on television frequently lately, Woo-hyun looked especially radiant. He looked around the house with a nostalgic expression before sitting down on the wooden floor.

Tap.

Homemade jujube tea and fruit.

Woo-hyun picked up the cup, brought it to his nose, and savored the aroma. These people truly never changed. The couple must have achieved financial independence long ago, yet they still lived in their old house.

Suddenly curious, he asked,

“Have you ever thought about moving?”

“Ah, that.”

Mi-young covered her mouth and laughed awkwardly.

“Actually, both my husband and I would like to. We've earned enough, so part of us wants to live comfortably in a nice house.”

“Is there a problem?”

She shook her head and said,

“The kids are against it.”

“What?”

“They say they like this house. Seo-eun especially seems really attached to it. There are the flowers she planted with Seo-ha, and she especially likes that persimmon tree.”

Mi-young pointed toward the tall tree standing near the wall.

Woo-hyun nodded.

“Seo-eun is a very unusual student.”

“She is a little odd. She doesn't seem to study much either, but her grades are good.”

“Most students who place at the IMO go through an enormous amount of advanced study and training from an early age. They solve past problems hundreds, even thousands of times until the underlying logical structures are practically carved into their bones.”

“She doesn't really seem to do that....”

Mi-young trailed off.

Unlike Seo-ha, whom she had never once needed to tell to study, her daughter usually finished only the homework she had been assigned before dashing into the backyard.

“That's what makes her unusual. Seo-eun is smart, but she isn't a case like Seo-ha.”

“I know that too.”

Seo-ha had shown extraordinary traits since childhood.

Even without being taught, he constantly thought things through and solved them on his own. Then, whenever the conclusion he had reached turned out to be correct, he would hop up and down in delight.

Seo-eun, on the other hand, had simply adored her oppa.

Whatever Seo-ha did, she copied him, and whenever he laughed, she laughed with him. Her love of mathematics was surely an extension of that.

“She achieved something tremendous without putting in any extraordinary effort or passion. But that doesn't mean she's a genius like Seo-ha. Even after all my years as an instructor, I've never encountered a case like Seo-eun.”

“Then what should we do?”

A shadow fell across Mi-young's face.

Woo-hyun, however, did not look particularly worried.

“The truth is, Seo-ha is the unusual one. There's nothing strange about Seo-eun.”

“What?”

“She's only fifteen. I'm sure there were plenty of things you liked more than studying when you were that age, weren't there?”

Mi-young's face reddened as she nodded.

“That's true. I guess I was comparing her to her oppa without even realizing it. I used to think I'd be happy as long as she grew up healthy, but everyone around us keeps telling me how talented she is....”

“I understand. I do the same thing. Sometimes, when I see how she approaches a problem, I catch glimpses of Seo-ha and it startles me.”

“I was getting carried away. I should just raise her without putting any pressure on her. Her grades are good, so I'm sure she'll be able to take care of herself.”

“Hmm....”

Woo-hyun set his cup down and seemed to sink deep into thought. The atmosphere suggested that he did not entirely agree with what she had said, leaving Mi-young puzzled.

He looked at Mi-young and slowly spoke.

“Seo-eun has tremendous potential. The education she received from Seo-ha since childhood hasn't simply disappeared. But she needs to find a field that genuinely interests her. If she does find it....”

Gulp.

Mi-young swallowed dryly.

“If she finds something she can devote all her passion to, I'm very curious myself to see just how far Seo-eun might go.”

***

The cold season passed, and spring arrived.

The morning of the entrance ceremony.

Mi-young adjusted the collar of Seo-eun's school uniform and said,

“Make sure you eat properly. Even if you don't like the dorm food, don't leave anything behind.”

“Okay!”

Despite the fierce recruitment battle that had taken place, Seo-eun chose without hesitation the school her oppa had attended.

“That's her, right?”

“Yeah. Yu Seo-ha sunbae's younger sister, Yu Seo-eun.”

Most of the students admitted to this school were brilliant students ranked among the top hundred nationwide.

Holding their breath, they followed Seo-eun's every move with their eyes.

She was tall for her age, but perhaps because she had entered school two years early, there was still a youthful look on her face.

The girl with her dark brown hair tied back in a single ponytail kept looking around, seemingly oblivious to all the attention around her.

“Wow!”

An exclamation escaped her lips.

“It's so pretty.”

The campus was on a completely different scale from the middle school she had attended.

A long avenue of trees stretched inward from the main gate. Tall trees rarely seen in Korea rose straight toward the sky. Spring sunlight filtered through the pale green leaves.

Whoosh-

A gust of wind swept past, sending the leaves rippling like waves.

Seo-eun closed her eyes and fully enjoyed the beautiful spring scenery. A little farther inside, a broad grassy plaza came into view.

“Ah! Oppa said he used to play soccer here.”

For an entire week, Seo-eun wandered around exploring every corner of the school.

The window seat on the third floor of the library where her oppa had supposedly always sat to study, the bench behind the school store where he had eaten cup noodles with his friends. She spent her time matching the stories he had told her with the scenery now before her eyes.

“Yu Seo-eun! Would you like to try solving this?”

While she was staring blankly out the window during class, her mathematics teacher, Park Sung-dae, called her name.

“Yes!”

Seo-eun rose from her seat.

Every gaze in the classroom immediately turned toward her.

Yu Seo-ha's younger sister.

The student who had attracted the most attention since the entrance ceremony.

“Tch!”

Someone looked displeased.

But it was difficult to dismiss her as merely benefiting from her oppa's reputation when she had taken first place at the IMO.

Not only the students, but even the teachers were curious about what she would show them.

Step.

Step.

Seo-eun slowly walked toward the board.

The problem the teacher had written was far from easy. It was an advanced geometry problem prepared to gauge the level of the incoming students. Seo-eun scanned it with her eyes during the brief walk to the front.

'This would be easy to solve with Yu-Riemann Geometry.'

Scratch, scratch.

Her solution flowed across the board without hesitation.

The teacher watched the board with interest, but his face gradually grew pale. Yu-Riemann Geometry was brutally difficult, to the point that it was not taught even at Gifted High Schools or covered in Olympiad competitions.

“I'm done.”

Graphs and equations filled half the board. Using them, she had derived the conclusion with remarkable simplicity.

“Y..yes. Well done.”

The teacher adjusted his glasses with trembling hands.

The students were stunned. Many of them were confident they could solve the same problem, but they could not follow the logic behind Seo-eun's solution.

“Is she really a genius like her brother?”

“She's a monster too.”

The students whispered among themselves.

Seo-eun pretended not to care, but inside, her feelings were complicated.

'I'm different from oppa.'

She was different not only from her oppa, but also from Theo, Sri, and Cecilia. Once, she had asked Theo when he came over to visit.

“Theo, was being a mathematician even a profession in the past? Fermat was a lawyer. Mathematics was purely a hobby for him.”

As though the question he had been expecting had finally come, Theo replied with a serious expression.

“A mathematician is actually less of a profession and more of an identity of the soul. That was true in the past, and it's still true now.”

“An identity?”

Seo-eun tilted her head with her index finger against her lips.

“Yeah. Mathematicians are people who feel exhilaration and profound emotion from solving problems the world doesn't yet understand. They're like solitary seekers pursuing the truth. In Fermat's time, you couldn't make a living from mathematics alone. But I'm sure his soul was that of a mathematician through and through.”

He had been half joking, but Seo-eun was shocked.

'I've never felt that.'

To Seo-eun, mathematics was both easy and difficult.

She did not realize it herself, but her intuition for numbers and space, honed through Seo-ha's mathematics, had long since surpassed the limits of an ordinary person.

But perhaps she could never become a mathematician. There was no problem she wanted to prove.

She could tell just by stepping into the seminar room.

She could see how fiercely her oppa had struggled when he had been even younger than she was now. Looking at the traces he had left behind made Seo-eun feel gloomy.

Then one day.

Someone in the classroom shouted while holding a copy of Nature.

“Yu Seo-ha's paper is out!”

“Really?”

The students rushed over and crowded around the student's desk.

'A paper?'

Her oppa certainly had been busy lately.

Even when she visited on weekends, she barely managed to see his face. At night, he seemed to shut himself in his room and keep writing something.

[LIFE MATRIX]

It was a paper introducing the Life Matrix and explaining its concepts.

“Can you make any sense of this?”

“You think I can?”

“Right?”

“But is this mathematics or medicine? And what are all these symbols?”

Every one of them admired her oppa.

That was why they collected his papers the way fans bought albums from their favorite singers.

After class ended.

Seo-eun went to the library and sat in the window seat on the third floor. Then she began reading the issue of Nature that had arrived that day.

Unfamiliar symbols, complex substitutions.

Seo-eun began breaking down the Life Matrix symbols he had defined one by one.

'Logical Prime.'

Before her eyes, the dry equations on the page gradually began taking on three-dimensional forms. But before long, they lost their shape and collapsed.

“Huh? It doesn't work?”

The concept of 'Simultaneity of Uncountable Space' was still too difficult for the young Seo-eun.

Crack.

Her competitive spirit flared.

She had been playing with prime numbers since she was two years old. Once she grew a little older, symbols and space had become her toys.

“Let's try again!”

Seo-eun remained sitting there until midnight, when the librarian finally came to find her.

*****

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