Chapter 174

Click-

“Wow, amazing…!”

Everyone in the small hospital room held their breath, focusing on the girl.

Click, click, click-

“You’re really a genius, aren’t you?”

The clicking sound wasn’t from a camera shutter.

Click, click

Tap-!

“Done.”

“Waaah!”

As Nameya placed the completed dodecahedron cube on the desk, a thunderous cheer erupted from the children.

“Hey, you try this too!”

“No, I asked first!”

“The cube looks too easy for her! Bring something harder!”

The children were arguing over the cubes left in the hospital room.

They were asking Nameya to solve their cubes too.

This scene was what Yoonseul saw as soon as she woke up.

Nameya sent all the kids who were a head or two taller than her outside and sat down next to Yoonseul’s bed.

“Hello, good morning. You slept for a full 12 hours, didn’t you?”

“Is this a dream?”

Yoonseul pinched her cheek hard. Other than the stinging sensation, she didn’t feel anything particular.

“Doesn’t hurt, right?”

“Uh… no, it doesn’t hurt… my cheek hurts a little…”

“Good to hear.”

Yoonseul looked up and down at Nameya and asked.

“What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“This isn’t virtual reality, is it?”

“It’s not virtual reality.”

“Then why…?”

Yoonseul’s head was filled with confusion.

Rather than thinking that Nameya was really 7 years old, she first doubted how the avatar from virtual reality was brought into reality.

After thinking for a while, Yoonseul finally realized the situation.

“You… you, you, you…! Are you really Nameya? For real?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you catch a disease where you don’t grow taller—”

“Not at all.”

Nameya pouted her cheeks in annoyance.

“Since you’re awake, I’ll go get the doctor. Just stay here for a moment.”

The doctor, whose face was full of fatigue, came for a simple examination.

Afterward, the attending physician asked Yoonseul when she would be discharged.

“Can I be discharged anytime…?”

“Yes, there’s no issue with your health, and if you feel like your strength hasn’t returned, you can stay for another day.”

“Ah… no. I’ll discharge right away…”

Yoonseul blinked her palms.

It seemed she had definitely suffered burns, but her hands were perfectly pristine without even a blister.

“Do you have somewhere to go?”

“I should go home…”

“Home must be a total mess right now.”

Nameya thought about the state of Yoonseul’s house.

Just one night there would expose her to carcinogens to last a lifetime.

“Maybe to your parents’ house—”

“No way!”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to…”

Yoonseul pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face.

“I don’t want to go to my parents’ house.”

Yoonseul’s fingertips trembled slightly. She must never return home.

“Well then, how about coming to my house?”

“Huh?”

“I can let you stay for a few days. I have a spare room.”

Nameya picked up a wild honey badger.

* * *

Pat, pat-

“Sister.”

Squeeze, squeeze-

“Yoonseul unnie.”

Pinch-

“…! Yoonseul!”

“Eek! Why?”

“Stop touching me.”

“Ah, I’m sorry…! I just found it fascinating.”

But there should be a line!

Touching the cheek? Yeah, I can see how that might happen.

Among elementary school friends, there are those with cheeks that stick out when viewed from the side, and it can be really hard to resist the urge to touch them.

I could tolerate a little fiddling. After all, we built some inner intimacy in VR.

Still, pinching like that is a bit much, isn’t it?

“Hahaha. I guess Nameya is just too cute.”

“If you keep doing that, I won’t let you stay at my house.”

“It’s fine; it’s not just my house, it’s mine. The owner allows it.”

“Ah, Professor Cheon, that’s just so unfair…!”

Aren’t you supposed to take my side here?

I stopped by Kariri’s house to grab essential things, loaded them into the trunk, and headed to my house.

“Our house is really close, huh?”

Yoonseul murmured as she watched the scenery rapidly passing by.

It was only three subway stops away.

It seemed that Professor Cheon sitting in the front seat was a bit awkward, as Yoonseul kept her mouth tightly closed even afterwards.

It was clear he looked intimidating at first glance.

Is he ever going to consider dyeing his hair?

The first to break the silence was Professor Cheon.

“So you’re a friend participating in the gaming competition with Nameya?”

“Yes…”

“I’ve heard about it. You must have gone through a lot when such a disappointing person showed up….”

“Ah… no, that’s not true…”

“Don’t be shy; think of it as your home and relax. Nameya will help with the rest.”

According to Professor Cheon, the culprit confessed during the investigation, and the police applied for an arrest warrant on charges of attempted murder.

Because they recklessly used magic, the charges could not be evaded. Thus, it was understandable that diminished capacity would not be recognized.

Still, looking at the achievements, the person seemed very educated, but I wonder how they managed to neglect their schizophrenia without receiving treatment.

“I’ll go back as soon as my house gets fixed… Thank you…”

“You’re going back? You never know who might come looking for you!”

The culprit was a madman who came all the way from Busan to harm Yoonseul.

This meant it wasn’t simply a matter of stalking for the address.

“That’s the current address. It’s dangerous.”

“It’s okay… it’s not like there’s only one person coming to find me…”

Although Yoonseul tried to brush it off as if it was no big deal, her slightly trembling hands likely betrayed that.

As we got out of the car, each carrying our luggage, we exited the parking lot.

I felt quite relieved not to have to endure Yoonseul’s hand pressure anymore.

“39th floor. So high…”

“It’s annoying waiting for the elevator every time.”

“It’s fine. I like waiting when I’m with Nameya…”

Yoonseul, saying something incomprehensible, placed both hands on my shoulder.

What does that actually mean?

* * *

[You can use this toothbrush here. Is it okay to share toothpaste? Obsessive cleanliness… seems like that’s not a problem.]

Nameya ran around the hallway, helping Yoonseul organize her things.

[Was it originally this messy here? This room hasn’t been cleaned, so there’s dust…]

[For tonight, you’ll have to sleep in my room. Is that alright?]

[Then tomorrow, let’s all come together and clean up when we have time.]

A soft blanket was spread over the carpet, and a cute bear-printed pillow was placed.

Yoonseul had previously had a hard time going to public places.

Yet here she was, living in someone else’s house completely.

But for some reason, Yoonseul felt comfortable here, like it was her own home.

And above all, there were so many things she wanted to ask Nameya.

Her head was filled with a jumble of questions, but she felt too shy to stop Nameya, who was busy buzzing around.

Yoonseul squatted in a corner of the room and sent a reply to her younger brother.

SoolTaeyang was on a 2-night, 3-day school trip and only learned about Yoonseul’s news later.

At times like this, having a younger brother who worries about her wasn’t so bad.

“I’m all done organizing.”

“Ah… ah! Thank you so much…!”

“Just relax. Or do you want to watch TV?”

“I… it doesn’t matter! I like TV too.”

“Professor Cheon went out for a bit to buy groceries. So you don’t have to worry too much.”

Nameya jumped behind the sofa, perfectly landing right in the middle.

She grabbed the remote that was on the floor with her toes and brought it to her hand, turning to any channel.

Yoonseul, sitting carefully at the edge, cautiously spoke up.

“Um, Nameya, what’s your relationship with that person—”

“Professor Cheon is my adoptive father. It’s been four months since I was adopted. I’m currently in second grade at Seviron Academy. Is there anything else you want to know?”

Before Yoonseul could even finish her question, the information spilled out rapidly.

After several experiences, Nameya had become proficient at explaining herself.

“Uh… a lot… an incredible amount…”

Starting with the fact that you’re seven years old…

Yoonseul still needed explanations.

* * *

“QBS 6 o’clock News Talk, our last top one subject is ‘Genius Mathematician!’ Here, we will meet with really cute voices and brutal math proofs! The video you just watched was one of the seven proofs uploaded by the internet broadcaster NoName. And guess how old this friend is?”

“Yes, this is some truly hot news on the internet. According to the netizens, NoName is fourteen this year, meaning she was born in 2037.”

“So you’re telling me that a fourteen-year-old student solved math problems that look incredibly difficult at first glance?”

“This is not just simply difficult 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

“Words like these sound unfamiliar just by name. But what we should focus on are these numbers.”

“1876, 1948. They look like years at a glance, don’t they?”

“Yes, the following numbers indicate the year the problems were first announced. Look at the last number, 1742; it means that this math problem has remained an unsolved challenge for an astounding 309 years.”

“It’s hard to believe. To think there are not just one but seven problems that people who dedicated their lives to math couldn’t solve! How is this even possible?”

“So there’s a theory circulating among some netizens that NoName isn’t an individual but some kind of group.”

“What’s the reaction in the math community?”

“There’s considerable shock within the math community as well. The European Mathematical Society promptly sent out official communication to universities to form a task force for verification. Next, we have an interview with ‘Graeme Kerwin Kronheimer,’ an honorary professor at Cambridge University.”

[My students have been contacting me continuously. They say, ‘Professor, my world collapsed yesterday!’ Hehe. When I first saw the proofs, I was suspicious, and not long after, I was astonished. Now I feel thrilled. I can’t tell right now whether the proofs are true or false, but viewing the novel and sophisticated techniques she employed confirmed how deeply knowledgeable she is in math. At the very least, she isn’t someone who scams with math; I can guarantee that.]

[Professor, if all of this ends up being proven true, is it possible she could win the Fields Medal?]

[What do you mean ‘all’? Just one. Even if just one is proven, it’s a significant advancement. Especially if she succeeds in proving the last twin prime conjecture or Goldbach’s conjecture, she’ll make history. Ah, and the ABC conjecture and Collatz conjecture too… Let’s just say it all together, haha.]

[That’s impressive.]

[Ms. Ham might be the last recipient of the Fields Medal from Korea in a long time. Congratulations in advance.]

[Thank you for the wonderful interview.]

After that, NoName’s footsteps continued to be introduced.

She showed remarkable performance in the World of Arcelia, and it was particularly highlighted that she plans to participate in a gaming competition, bringing the talk show to a close.

Yoonseul, who had been watching the program without a moment’s distraction, looked down at Nameya, who was using her knee as a pillow.

The girl lying on the sofa and scratching her soft belly was far more impressive than Yoonseul had thought.

“This smells like bell pepper. Professor Cheon! Can I have mine without bell pepper?”

“If there’s no bell pepper in Jjapchae, what flavor are you eating?”

“It’s delicious enough with just meat…”

Seven is still a time of picky eating.

“Sister, you eat the bell pepper for me.”

Yoonseul was starting to feel a bit afraid of her.