Chapter 73
Seoul National University President's Office.
Click.
As soon as the president arrived at work, he checked whether any important work emails had come in.
Then his gaze landed on a reply email that had arrived early that morning.
Sender's name.
Yoo. A. Yeon.
It was the name he'd been waiting for so desperately.
“……!”
The president hurriedly moved the mouse.
Click-.
He opened the email.
In truth, he'd been fretting for days.
He'd known from the start that the world's most prestigious universities were drooling over that child.
Places like Princeton and Harvard.
They were stalking Yoo A-yeon, dangling the bait of a salary in the hundreds of millions of won.
Lately, he hadn't been able to sleep at night, imagining the world's greatest talent being snatched away by another country.
But.
[Hello, President. This is mathematician Yoo A-yeon. First of all, thank you for making me such a wonderful offer.]
The president's eyes skimmed quickly down the sentences.
There was no sign of refusal.
If anything, the tone was gentle.
“…It’s positive.”
As he kept reading, it felt as if the heavy stone weighing down his shoulders was slowly being lifted.
“Phew…”
The president leaned back deeply in his chair.
At least.
At least, it didn't look like he'd lose this child to another country.
That alone was a huge relief.
He kept reading.
[I also think it would be nice if I could research to my heart’s content in a good environment. So, I’d like to ask whether we could arrange a meeting for everyone involved to sit down and talk.]
The president's pupils shook.
She wanted to meet and talk…
In other words, she was expressing a desire to meet face-to-face and discuss things.
Wasn't this practically half an acceptance already?
“Heh-heh-heh…!”
Clench-.
The president unconsciously clenched his fist tightly.
He rejoiced in his heart.
‘It’s done…! Once we meet, I can somehow bring her to our school!’
Had he ever felt his heart race this much in his decades of public service?
With trembling hands, he finished reading all the way to the last line.
[And since I’m still six years old, there are various legal problems with becoming a professor. The superintendent of education somehow took care of the compulsory-education issue, but I trust you’ll take care of the rest, President. Wink (๑＞◡＜)]
“….”
The president stared at the screen for a moment.
Though it was written in a cute tone,
the meaning contained within was clear.
—Take care of the remaining administrative issues neatly on your end.
It was a shrewd little move, impossible to believe it had been sent by a six-year-old child.
‘As expected… she’s no ordinary child.’
The president let out a hollow laugh.
But he didn't dislike it.
On the contrary, this sharp side made him want her all the more.
Appointing a six-year-old genius with no degree as a professor.
He knew very well what legal problems lay in the way.
The dissertation-based doctorate system had been abolished long ago.
It was obvious that things like academic-credential verification and appointment procedures would trip them up one after another.
Even so, it didn't matter.
There were any number of ways to slip through loopholes in the law.
✒️✒️✒️
The president immediately picked up the phone.
Ring-ring-.
“Vice President, could you meet for a moment? Oh, and the dean of the College of Natural Sciences as well. Yes. It’s extremely important.”
Before long.
The vice president and the dean of the College of Natural Sciences entered the president's office.
“What’s going on, President? You sounded so urgent…”
The president turned the laptop screen slightly toward them and spoke.
“I’ve received a reply from Yoo A-yeon.”
“…!”
“Really?”
Their expressions changed in an instant.
Instead of reading the email to them word for word, the president conveyed only the key points.
“To summarize, it’s this. First, Yoo A-yeon has no intention of going abroad. Second, she wants to meet and talk in person once. Third—”
The president paused for a moment.
“She wants us to take care of the legal problems standing in the way of appointing her as a professor.”
Adjusting his glasses, the dean said,
“The fact that she explicitly said she wants to meet… doesn’t that mean her heart has essentially turned toward SNU?”
“That’s what I think too.”
The vice president grinned and nodded.
“Hahaha. That’s a relief. However, appointing a child who hasn’t even attended elementary school as a professor will be an unprecedented event. It’s bound to cause quite a stir, both inside and outside the university.”
“And we need to look for a way to resolve the legal issues.”
“How about this?”
The three of them quickly reached a consensus.
They would bring a genius among geniuses, unprecedented throughout history, to Seoul National University.
The entire discussion had been for that one purpose.
The president rose from his seat and said,
“Let’s do this. Yoo A-yeon said she wants to meet and talk with everyone necessary. The three of us—the president, vice president, and dean—will arrange it together.”
“Sounds good.”
“I agree.”
That was how.
The president of Seoul National University, the vice president, and the dean of the College of Natural Sciences.
All three of them agreed to meet Yoo A-yeon in person.
✒️✒️✒️
The next day.
A family meeting was called in our living room in broad daylight on the weekend.
The reason was none other than me.
I had steeled myself to
clearly declare that I wanted to be a mathematician—a professor.
“…So, I, Yoo A-yeon, want to become a professor.”
Mom and Dad sat facing each other.
Arin and I sat side by side across from them.
The atmosphere was quite serious.
…To be completely honest.
If I skipped all of elementary, middle, and high school,
and skipped the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs too,
then became a professor right away, I’d have it made.
I wouldn’t have to do dictation or memorize multiplication tables.
There’d be no stress about job security, either.
And money would come in like clockwork.
Wouldn’t that be the ultimate life cheat code?
…But.
From my parents' perspective, it must have been terribly worrying for me to become a professor.
Mom looked quietly at me with her hands clasped.
“Ayeon, are you sure you’ll be okay?”
Her voice was calm.
Yet deep concern for her daughter showed through.
“Yep! I’m totally fine!”
I puffed out my chest with a confident expression.
Then Mom slowly opened her mouth.
“Mom’s worried that… if you become a professor, it might come back to burden you terribly later.”
Mom wasn't someone who prioritized money or honor.
Above all, she was someone who put my happiness first.
“Even if you’re doing it because it’s fun now, if it becomes a responsibility later and chains you down, it could be too much for little Ayeon to handle. That’s what scares Mom the most.”
Since Mom was an exceptional genius herself, she understood the two sides of genius better than anyone.
How extraordinary talent could pressure a person.
Mom herself knew that better than anyone.
“But… I like math.”
I said it seriously.
And.
I began laying out to Mom and Dad, one by one, the thoughts I'd mulled over alone in the early morning without even sleeping.
That I had spent a long time asking myself whether this enjoyment came from memories of my past life, or whether it truly belonged to Yoo A-yeon.
And yet, in the end.
I realized that, when faced with difficult mathematics, it was none other than Yoo A-yeon’s heart that fluttered and pounded.
“…So. This time too, I want to delve deeper into mathematics. It’s not because someone told me to; it’s what I truly want to do.”
I finished speaking and cautiously checked Mom and Dad's reactions.
Dad reacted first.
Dad listened quietly to what I said, and it seemed he immediately realized that these weren't words I'd tossed out like a child throwing a tantrum.
“Well, why not?”
Dad shrugged.
“Our daughter thought about it that seriously and came to that conclusion. Let’s trust her and give it a try.”
Just as I'd expected from Dad.
Though he was a hopelessly daughter-doting fool, he respected my decisions when it mattered.
“Big sis, you’re a super-genius! Do whatever you wanna do!”
Arin also raised both arms beside me and cheered me on.
Heh.
That's our Arin.
She really was her big sister’s reliable supporter.
“Heh-heh. Thanks, Arin.”
I gave Arin's head a gentle pat-pat-.
But.
Mom still looked displeased.
“But… Ayeon’s safety…”
The nature of Mom's concern had shifted somewhat.
It wasn't about whether mathematics would make me happy.
That wasn't what she was worried about anymore.
It was concern for my personal safety itself.
Well, fair enough.
A six-year-old tyke had become world-famous,
and was going to be a professor commuting to a university where tens of thousands of people came and went every day.
From Mom’s perspective, there must have been more than a few things to worry about.
Honestly, I couldn't think of a good way to solve my own safety problem, either.
What if an emotionless, psychopathic assassin who'd been trained to kill since childhood suddenly came looking for me at Seoul National University?
Yoo A-yeon. You’re too smart, so you’ve been marked for elimination. Eeeek, save meee. No. Slash-.
Then we'd be in big trouble.
“……”
Mom thought long and hard.
Slightly furrowing her brow,
with an expression as if she were carefully weighing something.
Then.
It seemed she eventually decided she simply couldn't overcome my stubbornness.
Haaah-.
Letting out a small sigh,
she slowly nodded.
“…All right, Ayeon.”
Mom smiled gently.
“Mom will support your decision too.”
“Really? Yay!”
Hop-hop-.
I jumped up and down on the spot, shouting hooray.
Mom had finally given me permission!
Now there was nothing left to hold me back.
“But.”
Mom raised her index finger slightly.
“Huh?”
I stopped mid-celebration.
“Mom has a condition too. For Ayeon’s safety, it’s a condition Mom absolutely can’t compromise on.”
Mom's gaze was quite resolute.
That was a look that said there was no room for negotiation.
I tilted my head.
“What is it? What is it?”