Chapter 56
The ceremony was over, and the auditorium slowly began to empty.
First, the reporters packed up their cameras and hurried out in a rush.
The invited mathematicians stayed behind to finish networking, then gradually left one by one.
There is another event here tomorrow as well: an academic conference.
They will shove the media cameras aside and have difficult, deeply serious discussions among the mathematicians about my paper.
So only Mom and I will take part, while Dad, a complete layman, and Arin will go sightseeing elsewhere during that time.
Everyone except our family and the officials had left.
We followed the director to a small meeting room beside the auditorium.
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Documents were laid out on the table.
It was the procedure for submitting account information to receive the prize money.
I filled in the foreign-currency account number under my name that Dad had prepared in advance.
Mom asked beside me.
“Do they take taxes out of this?”
I answered first.
“Academic foundation prize money is tax-free. We'll get the full one million dollars.”
“Really?”
“Yep. The Clay Mathematics Institute is a nonprofit academic foundation, so this prize isn't taxable.”
“That's a relief.”
“But if one million dollars suddenly lands in a six-year-old's bank account, the National Tax Service is going to freak out and call. H-heeek, sir, what kind of money is this?”
“I see. Then if we just explain that it's the foundation's prize, there shouldn't be any problem.”
I carefully read the documents about the one-million-dollar payout, then took my personal seal out of my rabbit-shaped pouch and stamped it with a thunk.
The director said.
“If the procedures are completed, the money will be deposited within two to three days.”
Dad said while checking the documents.
“Within two to three days?”
“Yes. The system processing will take a little time, but it should be completed within that period.”
The paperwork was complete.
I shook hands with the director.
“You worked hard today, Yoo Ayeon. Will you be attending tomorrow too?”
“Of course! Honestly, I'm more excited about tomorrow's academic meeting than the prize itself!”
When I said that, the director blinked repeatedly.
Then he put on a gentle smile again.
“I see. I hope it will be a satisfying event.”
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As we came out of the meeting room, Dad glanced at his phone and said.
“We still have time. Where should we go?”
Arin raised her hand high.
“Eppelle tab!”
“The Eiffel Tower sounds good. Let's go.”
We caught a taxi and headed out.
Vroom—
When we arrived at Champ de Mars Park, the Eiffel Tower started to come into view from far away.
But why is the park called Mars? Did the person who made it like Mars?
Arin pressed her nose flat against the window and said.
“Wow!”
“Big, right?”
“It's huuuuge.”
Since the Eiffel Tower's official height is 324 meters, that comes out to about 289.285 Yoo Ayeons.
Thinking about it that way made it seem really, really huge...
We got out in the park and walked slowly.
A cool breeze blew softly, making it feel nice.
There were many families around us picnicking on mats.
The closer we got, the more the Eiffel Tower showed off its presence.
It was so tall that even when I tilted my head up high, it didn't fit in my field of view...!
While walking around near the park, we also snapped photos with the selfie stick we brought.
“Ayeon, is it okay not to go inside the Eiffel Tower?”
“Yeah. It's reservation-only anyway, and the line is ridiculously long, so it's better not to go. I saw that in a travel review.”
Instead, we walked past the Eiffel Tower and along the Seine River, where water trickled along. I had no idea how strong a river had to be to get a name like that.
We also ran into a Black man trying to hard-sell mini Eiffel Tower keychains.
“Mini Eiffel Tower! Five euro! Five euro!”
“No thanks.”
Mom and Dad tried turning him down too.
But the man, who had clearly spent a long time in this business, was not an easy opponent.
“Aha, are you from Korea? Oh, euro! Oh, euro! Super cheap!”
No way. This guy speaks Korean pretty well...
We tried to ignore him and leave, but he kept stubbornly following us.
He was a pretty tough opponent, but surprisingly, even this type has a counter.
I gave Arin a wink.
“Arin, you know, right? Use exactly what I taught you.”
Arin understood my look and nodded.
Because Mom and Dad were there too, she was able to muster up the courage.
“No-ng! No-no-no-no—!”
Arin made a big X with both hands to show her refusal.
Since a cute four-year-old girl was shouting so loudly, people around us started turning to look.
“No, no? Haha... okay, okay... see you next time...”
Apparently too embarrassed to keep hard-selling to a four-year-old, the Black man hurried off somewhere else.
That's my little sister!
Time passed.
Before long, the sunset came into view.
Golden sunlight draped beautifully over the Eiffel Tower's steel frame.
I stopped walking and looked up.
“So pretty...”
When I came to a Paris conference in my previous life, I think I just scanned the scenery while rushing through the schedule. Back then, I don't think I felt much.
But now it was different.
Seeing this beautiful scenery together with my truly beloved family made my heart feel warm.
Dad took out the selfie stick.
“Okay, let's take a photo. All together.”
The four of us stood with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
Click—
Arin and I naturally flashed double peace signs.
Mom and Dad smiled too.
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Rumble—
We went into a nearby restaurant.
Since there were two children whose teeth were still weak, I ordered soft-textured dishes.
Mashed potatoes or onion soup, that sort of thing.
I also ordered steak for Mom and Dad.
The food came out.
We slurped down the mashed potatoes and soup.
It was easy to eat because we didn't need to chew much.
Mom cut the steak into small pieces and slipped them into Arin's mouth.
“Mm-mmm... delicious!”
Dad also cut a small piece of steak and slipped it into my mouth.
Munch munch—nom nom chomp-chomp—.
“Huaa... so yummy!”
The meat was soft enough that even my fragile baby teeth could chew it easily.
'This is meat! Fufuhihihfuhuh.'
Delicious food is something that makes you happy just by putting it in your mouth.
I savored the gourmet meal, cupping my cheeks with my hands.
Then.
The waiter came to our table and rattled something off in French.
Mom and Dad looked at me because they didn't understand what he was saying.
I winked at Mom and Dad.
After thinking for a moment, Mom and Dad nodded and said at the same time,
“Oui.”
The waiter bowed and left.
A little while later, bread and butter came out. Their savory aroma tickled my nose.
Dad said with a grin.
“It really came down to just one word: oui.”
“See? I told you in advance.”
“As expected, our daughter is the best.”
Arin, looking pleased, raised her hand and shouted.
“Bonjour! Merci!”
The waiter, passing by, heard her and smiled brightly as he said.
“Bonsoir, mademoiselle!”
Arin's eyes sparkled as she said,
“Unnie, what did that man just say?”
“He said, 'Good evening, miss.'”
“Miss?”
“Yeah.”
“Hehe!”
Arin wore a proud expression.
Mom and Dad sipped their wine and looked out the window.
The Eiffel Tower was sparkling.
Night was settling over Paris.
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The next day.
“Ugh, did I drink too much...”
Even though the sun was high in the sky, Dad was glued to the bed and moving like a sloth.
“You're a lightweight, and you drank that much, so of course this happened! Hurry up and get up!”
I gave Dad's shoulders little thumps, telling him to get up quickly.
Dad just lay sprawled on the bed like a low-level slime, wriggling around.
In the end, Mom and I teamed up to pull away the blanket Dad was clinging to.
“Ayeon, okay, one... two... three!”
“Hyah!”
Flap—!
“Grrrgh!”
Once he lost the blanket protecting him, Dad got up as if resigned.
Arin, who came out of the bathroom after brushing her teeth, said,
“Dad, they say the early bird goes 'rawr!' and gobbles up all the bugs.”
“Yawn... then I should ask the early bird for some of the bugs it hunted.”
“Gasp! There's such a way!”
Arin seemed to have grasped the logic of the world.
What are you teaching the kid, Dad!
“Arin, today you're going with Dad. Mom and I have to go to a super difficult meeting.”
“The place we went yesterday?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay-. Have a good trip.”
I handed Dad and Arin a guidebook.
“If you just know the French I taught you, most things should be fine. You remember, right?”
“Yep! I remember all of it! Bonjour! Merci! Oui! Non!”
“That's right.”
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Mom and I gathered again in the Sorbonne University auditorium.
The atmosphere was quite different from yesterday's award ceremony hall.
Without the media, the corridor was wide and quiet.
As yesterday, the auditorium was filled with distinguished mathematicians.
“If yesterday was a place for an official announcement, today is an academic gathering. The Riemann theorem has been solved, and we need to discuss what impact this result will have, as well as whether there are any new findings in Yoo Ayeon's paper. Let's discuss it together.”