Chapter 38
Vroom-.
We all rode Mom's car and went to the chess club together.
Ding-ding-.
"Hellooo-!"
"Oh, the superstar's here."
"Our A-yeon is totally blowing up on the internet, isn't she?"
"She's a total celebrity! A-yeon, sign something before you get even more famous!"
As expected, everyone recognized the things I'd been up to over the past few days and started talking to me.
"Heh-heh."
Scratch-scratch-.
For the sister who asked for an autograph, I wrote down my still half-baked signature on the paper.
A cursive signature written with the metal element zinc.
Somehow, it gave off a hip vibe, so I strangely liked it.
"A-yeon, what exactly is the Riemann Hypothesis? What's so good about proving it?"
But maybe because most of them were middle and high school students, they didn't really grasp how amazing it was to 'prove the Riemann Hypothesis.'
"If I explain that, it's super complicated..."
"It doesn't matter. I got over 90 on my last math test."
"O-okay. First, you extend the zeta function from the real-number domain to the complex-number domain, and through the functional equation, the symmetry..."
"Never mind, I suddenly lost interest."
"Right? It's headache-inducing, so let's just play chess!"
Ding-ding-.
The reporter uncles followed after us too.
The upper-intermediate class students glanced at the camera the uncle was holding.
"Ah, we're here to interview A-yeon."
"Really? So A-yeon is famous enough to be on TV..."
The reporter uncles first asked the director for filming cooperation.
"You're going to be on TV? Of course, you're more than welcome! Please, by all means! If possible, make sure the signboard is easy to see too!"
The director readily agreed.
"Gasp! Director! Are these people TV guys?"
"Gasp! I want to be on TV too!"
"Me too, me too!"
And the other students on the second floor also raised their hands and started begging the reporter uncle to put them on TV!
According to the contract, everyone's portrait rights are protected except for Yoo A-yeon and Han Seol-ae.
But portrait rights are rights. It's also free not to exercise them.
Mom had no grounds to stop the older kids from appearing on TV.
Reporter Lee Dong-hyeon bent down and said kindly,
"Kids, if you want to be on TV, you need to call your parents and get their consent. And since this is A-yeon's interview, only content related to A-yeon will be on TV."
"Eeeh-! Stingy!"
"Just film us!"
"No. Your portrait rights belong to your parents. In a world like this, if we put you on TV without parental consent, that would be a disaster."
When the uncle said that firmly, the students started calling their parents.
Ring-ring-.
"Mom, can I go on TV?"
"—What? No!"
"Aaaah, whyyyy!"
When asked abruptly, about half the parents agreed to let their children appear on the broadcast, and half refused.
Sullen-.
I spoke to the students who had obtained consent, rather than the ones who'd been refused.
"Older kids, if you got permission to be on TV, come play games with me. Arin is playing with the other older kids."
"Okay!"
✒️✒️✒️
Reporter Lee Dong-hyeon interviewed the director, and Reporter Michael filmed me playing chess.
The interview voices could be heard faintly through one wall.
"How long has A-yeon been coming here?"
"About a month or two."
"What level is she at now?"
"She's currently in the intermediate class. The intermediate class is basically the top 20%. Most of the students there are middle and high schoolers."
"That's amazing. To think she's that level even at age five."
The director chuckled.
"When A-yeon first came, I tested her and was shocked. She showed skill that was hard to believe came from a five-year-old, so I immediately moved her up to the intermediate class. And when I asked when she'd started learning chess, she said three weeks. Honestly, I can't believe it."
The director on the other side of the wall showered me with flattering praise.
Sweet~
"Director, stop. It's too sweet! You're going to rot all my teeth like this!"
By now that interview would be broadcast and once again show everyone that I was a total genius.
That meant one more thing for people to applaud me for!
"Uheheh."
The corners of my mouth shot up to the sky.
Without me even noticing, saliva was dribbling down.
Tick-tock-.
"A-yeon, it's your turn."
"Heh, sorry!"
I swallowed the saliva in a whoosh and quickly moved my piece.
...
The result was a win.
I won a tense game, with only five seconds left on my clock.
"Phew... yes! I barely won!"
"Ah, so close! I could've made A-yeon run out of time!"
I wiped the sweat running down my forehead with my sleeve.
Without even realizing that the camera was filming me.
"Ah!"
Right! The camera is watching!
I hurriedly took out the handkerchief I'd tucked into my pouch and elegantly wiped my forehead.
"Hmm. Hmm. That was a splendid match. Good game."
And then I held out my hand for a handshake.
The sister tilted her head.
"...? A-yeon, why are you suddenly doing that? You're doing something you don't usually do. Are you trying to pose because of the camera?"
"Hey! If you know, then cooperate a little!"
"Heh-heh, not a chance."
I want to be the ladylike Yoo A-yeon in front of the camera, not the tomboy Yoo A-yeon!
"Haha, already got it all on camera."
Michael snickered.
"Hmph, no! I'll edit it later!"
✒️✒️✒️
After that, things were the same as usual.
Read books, go out to play, read books, go out to play.
The reporter uncles seemed to think this was enough footage, so they finished filming.
"You've worked hard."
"Thank you for your efforts."
"You worked hard."
The uncles started packing up the cameras.
"Reporter uncle! You have to edit me to look cute, okay?"
"We'll show you the edited video before it airs. If there are any sensitive private details in it, tell us right away."
"Yesss-!"
✒️✒️✒️
A few days later.
The edited cut arrived.
It was a documentary-style video that started from the part where I stood on the lecture stage and proved the Riemann Hypothesis, and then showed what Yoo A-yeon usually does day to day.
Mom and Dad rewound it several times and checked it carefully.
Still, since they were professionals, they handled the editing well. They cut out all the movement, and because you couldn't see outside the windows, the location couldn't be identified. Arin and Dad also only appeared from behind, with the frame cut off below the collarbone.
Mom and Dad seemed to decide that this was fine.
But...
Puff, puff~
I puffed out my cheeks and showed my dissatisfaction.
"No way!"
"Why? You came out looking cute."
"Anyway, no means no!"
I pointed out the parts of the video I didn't like.
Specifically:
The scene where I was reading a book and, without realizing it, was flinging my feet around.
The scene where, when I got lost in thought, I busily paced around the room or bounced in place.
The scene where I suddenly walked on tiptoe or scraped the floor with the toes of my shoes.
The scene where I suddenly threw one-two punches into the air or launched a flying side kick with hot-cha-chap-.
...and so on.
"Hmph... it's too embarrassing!"
There were so many of my unconscious embarrassing habits captured that I couldn't help thinking, Did I really do all that?
"A-yeon, no matter how smart you are, it's natural that a five-year-old can't control her body's natural habits. Your impulse control and nervous system are still developing. Those things only finish maturing slowly by adulthood, so it can't be helped."
In short, my brain was top-notch, good enough to rival most adults, but my body was that of an ordinary five-year-old.
"A young child's overactive behavior is a natural reaction. You don't need to be embarrassed. More importantly, if we edit all of this out, then the parts that show A-yeon's genius will get edited out too, won't they?"
"Uuugh... that's not fair..."
Though I was frustrated, I couldn't deny Mom's words.
If all of this got edited out, it would interfere with the goal of 'making Yoo A-yeon get showered with applause.'
In other words, I had no choice but to show my embarrassing side too.
"... O-okay... I'll approve it..."
Yoo A-yeon documentary video.
Approval complete.
✒️✒️✒️
The public had given Yoo A-yeon the sensational title of 'the prodigy who made math professors around the world stand up and applaud.'
That was why so many people were curious about Yoo A-yeon.
The close-up coverage video filmed over several days was powerful material that everyone would be interested in.
The president of the media company where Lee Dong-hyeon worked thought that uploading this valuable footage only to their own MeTube channel would be too weak in terms of impact.
So the president cut a deal with a terrestrial broadcaster for a huge licensing fee.
The deal was quickly finalized.
The terrestrial broadcaster took the edited video and scheduled it as a special documentary.
"Hahaha! Dong-hyeon! You really did well! Here, I'll give you a generous bonus! After all the hard work, rest up well and come to work whenever you feel like it!"
"Th-thank you, sir!"
Lee Dong-hyeon, the reporter who spent days trailing Yoo A-yeon for the close-up coverage, and Michael the reporter received an enormous bonus.
As soon as the airing notice for [Yoo A-yeon Special Documentary] went out,
Yoo A-yeon's three-syllable name boldly climbed onto the portal site's real-time search rankings.
That was how much intense public interest Yoo A-yeon was getting.
CCN's headquarters global desk also decided to send the coverage footage Michael had filmed out to the entire world with English subtitles attached.
[The 5-Year-Old Claiming to Have Proved the Riemann Hypothesis]
A five-year-old claiming to have proved the Riemann Hypothesis.
Just by listing the facts, it was already such a brutal title.
Viewers who hadn't been able to watch it live on the MeTube channel that day started taking an interest too.
And.
The broadcast went live.