Chapter 29
Reporter Lee Dong-hyun had been waiting endlessly for someone's message for nearly a month.
Even when he was doing other work, he was so on edge that he would stop immediately and check the message the moment one came in.
Ding—
When the ringtone sounded, he checked the text message right away, just as always.
'Sender... sender...'
Sender: Han Seol-ae.
“Okay!”
The long-awaited message had finally arrived!
Dong-hyun hurriedly checked the contents.
— The lecture date has been set. The venue is the Seoul National University Cultural Center Grand Auditorium. The date is Saturday, October 18, 2025.
He read the message over and over, three times.
Then he sprang to his feet and headed for the president's office.
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The editor-in-chief and president of that media company was a man in his early sixties.
The principle was that uncertain matters should not be handled rashly.
That creed was what had brought him to where he was now.
He was someone who stayed put, and he knew all too well the value of reliable information.
Knock, knock—
“Come in.”
As Dong-hyun opened the door and came in, the president looked at him over his glasses.
“Sir.”
“Oh, Dong-hyun. What's up?”
“Yua-yeon's solo lecture has been confirmed.”
The president's hand, which had been checking the documents, stopped.
“When?”
“It's been confirmed for Saturday, October 18. The venue is Seoul National University Cultural Center Grand Auditorium.”
Dong-hyun went on as he took his seat.
“We're the only media outlet that has this information right now. We need to move before the official announcement. We should secure seats in the front row and get the broadcast camera crew in early. We also need to be ready to go live the moment the lecture starts.”
“...”
The president was silent for a moment.
Then he let out a long sigh and spoke to Dong-hyun.
“It's suspicious no matter how I look at it.”
“Sir?”
“Listen. You said you landed the exclusive interview rights to Yua-yeon. But you've never even seen Yua-yeon's face.”
“That's...”
“Nobody knows who Yua-yeon is. There are no photos, and no identity. You're the only one who got in touch with Han Seol-ae, the only lead we have, but she was hiding Yua-yeon's identity too. Someone who's been hiding their identity all this time is suddenly going to show up at the Seoul National University auditorium and give a lecture?”
“That's right.”
“And you want me to believe that?”
“I believe it.”
“What's your basis?”
“I met the second author, Han Seol-ae, in person. And the interview rights were promised by Han Seol-ae herself.”
“Didn't you think that was strange even after hearing it? Why would Han Seol-ae guarantee someone else's interview rights? What basis do you have for thinking Yua-yeon would honor a promise Han Seol-ae made on her own? Haven't you considered that Han Seol-ae might have been lying?”
Dong-hyun paused for a moment.
The president kept pressing him.
“You got the lecture date from Han Seol-ae too, right? This exclusive interview right is uncertain, and whether the lecture is actually being held is uncertain too. If we send in the broadcast camera crew, submit official paperwork to Seoul National University, and reserve seats based on unconfirmed information, then if it turns out to be a waste of time, who will cover the costs and the damage to the company's credibility? Can you take responsibility for that?”
Dong-hyun looked at the president.
What the president said was, in a way, reasonable.
Because he valued the reliability of information, and because he had employees to protect, the president couldn't recklessly act on uncertain information.
He began weighing it.
It was true there were many suspicious parts to that day's conversation.
Whether the lecture would actually be held.
Whether Yua-yeon would actually show up.
Whether the exclusive interview rights were actually valid.
Everything was uncertain.
However.
One scene came to Dong-hyun's mind.
A cute child who, after devouring the strawberry cake at the café, had given him a self-assured look.
And Han Seol-ae had accepted the words of a five-year-old child exactly as they were.
— I'll do as this child says.
Thinking of the mother-daughter pair.
He wanted to go along with their scheme.
There was no clear basis. It was just instinct.
Dong-hyun looked the president straight in the eye and said,
“If it turns out to be false information, I'll resign.”
The president's eyes narrowed.
“What? Dong-hyun. Are you serious?”
“Yes. I'm serious. Let's contact Seoul National University right away, and secure the broadcast camera positions. Let's prepare for live streaming too.”
“Dong-hyun.”
“Sir.”
Dong-hyun didn't back down.
“A proof of the Riemann Hypothesis would be a world-shaking scoop. If we wait until everything is certain, another media outlet will snatch the opportunity in no time. And if that happens, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. This is just my instinct. I could be wrong. But this time, I want to trust my instinct.”
The president looked at Dong-hyun for a long while.
He was a reporter who had covered academic news for more than ten years.
He wasn't the type to get excited rashly or to be certain without evidence.
And such a man was staking his resignation on this.
The president fell into deep thought.
He slowly leaned back against his chair and said,
“How many broadcast cameras do we need?”
“Sir...!”
“Enough. Just tell me.”
“At least three. One wide shot of the entire blackboard, one close-up of the presenter, and one angle on the audience reactions. Plus a live-streaming feed.”
“Foreign press?”
“I know a reporter at CCN. I'll get in touch.”
The president remained silent a little longer.
“...All right. Since this is the scoop you brought in, do whatever you want. I'll take full responsibility.”
“Thank you, sir! I'll be on my way now.”
Just as Dong-hyun was about to stand up, the president added,
“Don't hand in your resignation.”
“Huh?”
“If it really turns out to be a dud, we'll think about it then. Don't bring up resignation yet.”
Dong-hyun looked at the president for a moment, then bowed his head.
“...Thank you.”
Dong-hyun opened the door and came out.
Then he took out his phone and walked down the hall while looking for the foreign press reporter's contact information.
The wheels were now in motion for Yua-yeon's lecture on her proof of the Riemann Hypothesis.
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Meanwhile, around that time.
I was in the middle of intense English pronunciation practice.
Right in the middle of the living room.
While writing the familiar expansion of the Riemann zeta function on a cute animal-themed whiteboard.
“Hello, I'm Yua-yeon! Hello, ladies and gentlemen! I'm A-yeon Yoo!”
“Wow! Unni, you really sound like a foreigner!”
“Arin, have you ever met a foreigner?”
“No!”
“Then how do you know?”
“I saw them on the TV Dad watches!”
The paper had also been written in English, and many renowned mathematicians from overseas would be coming as well.
The plan was to present in both Korean and English, using the standard terminology of academia.
On top of that, the whole setup was already absurd enough—a five-year-old girl standing before mathematicians to give a lecture on the proof of the Riemann Hypothesis.
To make the lecture more credible, I had to show even a little of my genius.
A fluent bilingual presentation was the first step.
“Today I’ll present the proof process of the Riemann Hypothesis! Today, I will present the proof of the Riemann Hypothesis!”
“Ooh—!”
Arin clapped her hands.
“First, a Hilbert space is a complete vector space with an inner product! A Hilbert space is defined as—”
“Yua-yeon.”
“Yeah?”
“What are you going to wear for the lecture?”
“Huh? Can't I just go like this?”
“No, Yua-yeon. We need to prepare a pretty outfit, and you need your hair and makeup done too.”
“Huh?”
Makeup, huh...
I wasn't lying when I said I'd never once put cosmetics on my face in my life.
I mean... I'm only five years old.
“Eeh. Do we really have to worry about that too?”
“It's your debut day—the day Yua-yeon is introduced to the whole world. Our little Yua-yeon should go on stage looking even cuter and prettier.”
Mom said that, then opened Stargram on her smartphone and showed me.
What Mom showed me were photos of child actors and child models.
Seeing those photos, I couldn't help thinking.
'They're super pretty and cute...'
If I got clothes, hair, and makeup too, could I become even cuter than this...
“Of course, our little Yua-yeon is already super cute and lovable just as she is, but if we pay a little more attention, you can become even prettier and cuter, you know?”
Mom was suddenly speaking excitedly about beauty-related things.
No matter how you looked at it, Mom's experience as a woman was far ahead of mine.
“Mm... okay. I don't really know much about this kind of stuff... Could you explain it to me in detail, Mom?”
“Heh. Sure. Before Yua-yeon makes her debut, I'll teach you properly what it means to be a woman.”
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A large kids' clothing specialty store in downtown Seoul.
The entrance was already packed with eye-catching clothes.
Pink dresses, yellow dresses, floral blouses, and more.
It was overflowing with flashy, cute things.
I walked around, looking through the store.
'Nothing too flashy.'
Since it would be a lecture attended by scholars from all over the world.
A black-toned outfit that gave off a serious mood seemed best.
As I passed between the hangers and looked around,
my eyes stopped on a black sailor-style uniform.
A neat, dignified black.
The white trim at the cuffs.
And the red neck scarf.
I stared at it for a long time right there.
'So pretty...'
I walked over as if possessed.
I touched the collar lightly with my hand.
It was soft and the texture felt nice.
I grabbed the hem of Mom's skirt beside me.
“Mom.”
“Yeah?”
“This. I want to buy this.”
Mom looked over the sailor outfit for a moment.
“It's good fabric. It's really pretty, too.”
Mom held up the clothes and matched them to my body.
I raised my arms to match the line of the clothes, making my body into a T.
And with that, Yua-yeon became a T. Beep. Uninstalling unnecessary emotion module.
Mom nodded.
“Yeah, that should work. Want to try it on in the fitting room?”
“Yeah!”
Swish—
I went into the fitting room, took off my clothes, and put on the sailor uniform.
When I looked in the mirror, there stood a much cuter Yua-yeon.
“Is that me...?”
Especially with the black base and red neck scarf, it felt like the cuteness was even more pronounced.
I spun around once right there.
Flutter, flutter~
The sailor uniform skirt fluttered up to my waist and then gently fell back down.
It looked so pretty.
“Heh-heh.”
I stood there for a while, looking at myself in the mirror.
“How is it?”
Mom asked from outside the curtain.
“I love it!”
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Next up was the hair salon.
It was supposed to be a famous salon in Gangnam.
The atmosphere was different right from the building entrance.
I heard idols and child actors used this place...
I looked up at Mom.
“Mom, isn't this place super, super expensive?”
When I asked worriedly, Mom took out a card and showed it to me.
“Dad paid for it.”
“Dad?”
“He said to spend freely the money he made from coins thanks to Yua-yeon, as long as it helped Yua-yeon get prettier.”
“Hmm— I see.”
Then I should use it as much as I want without guilt.
The hair designer sat me down in a chair.
Sitting in front of the mirror, I could see my face head-on.
The designer handed me a pamphlet.
“How would you like it done?”
Mom unfolded the pamphlet and handed it to me.
Flip—
I turned the pages.
Among them, I stared fixedly at the wave perm style.
A style where the flowing waves naturally fell below the shoulders.
The model's hair in the photo shimmered under the lights like waves holding the starlight of night.
'So pretty...'
“Mom.”
“Yeah?”
“This.”
I pointed at the pamphlet.
Mom looked at the spot I pointed to.
Then she made a frame with both hands, spreading her thumbs and index fingers, and looked at me through it.
“Hmm... that should work.”
Mom looked at me for a moment, then at the designer.
“Is a wave perm possible for a child?”
“Yes, it is. We can do it in a way that minimizes hair damage.”
The hair treatment began.
The sound of the dryer, the sound of rollers being set, the smell of chemicals.
My head was itchy and I kept wanting to touch it, but I held back.
About an hour later.
When the final blow-dry was done, the designer turned the chair toward the mirror.
I looked at the Yua-yeon in the mirror.
Swish—
The waves flowed naturally below my shoulders.
My hair sparkled under the lights.
Damn... just how much cuter are you going to get, Yua-yeon...!
The cuteness meter has already exceeded 530,000...!
“Heh-heh.”
“Do you like it?”
The designer asked.
“Yeees! Thank youuu!”
I smiled brightly and bowed in thanks.
Mom was smiling behind me too.
“Our little Yua-yeon is incredibly cute.”
I turned my head this way and that in front of the mirror.
Swish-swish—
The waves swayed with the movement of my head.