Chapter 75
At last, the promised day had come.
After back-and-forth emails with the president of Seoul National University, the day we'd agreed to meet had finally arrived.
The reason I picked Seoul National University out of the countless universities was simple.
If I was going to be a professor anyway, it might as well be at a domestic university.
And among domestic universities, Seoul National University was the one closest to home, so I decided it was the best choice.
Besides, Seoul National University was also Professor Shin I-jun's alma mater.
An extra 10 points for inner familiarity.
Anyway.
I had decided to have a direct conversation with the Seoul National University people, who desperately wanted to recruit me as a professor.
In academic terms, isn't this called a meeting?
Of course, not the kind of meeting where a man and a woman in their prime get together to hit it off, but a stiff, businesslike meeting.
So my super-cute Yoo A-yeon unicorns don't have to worry about their horns breaking.
✒️✒️✒️
We visited Seoul National University.
Pitter-patter-.
Holding Mom's hand, I crossed the spacious, steep campus.
Knock-knock-.
When we knocked on the prearranged meeting room, the door opened as if they'd been waiting.
Three middle-aged men were waiting for us inside the room.
‘Come to think of it, it was the president, the vice president, and the dean of the College of Natural Sciences. Did the three of them want to talk together?’
“Hellooo-! I'm Yoo A-yeon!”
“Hello. I'm Han Seol-ae, A-yeon's mother.”
Bow-.
Mom and I greeted them side by side.
Then the men sprang to their feet.
Oh?
All three of them must have had seriously heavy behinds.
And yet I made those important people jump to their feet in one shot.
I felt like I'd become some incredibly amazing person, and it made me happy.
“Welcome, Yoo A-yeon.”
“We sincerely welcome you to Seoul National University.”
The men were being almost excessively courteous.
According to the superintendent of education, everyone was worried I'd dash off overseas in a hurry.
The salary Seoul National University offered was indeed the highest among domestic universities.
But even so, it was only about one-fifth of what American universities offered.
If I'd valued money above all else, I might've packed my bags to the brim and headed to America by now, right?
Hmph. But I'm someone who puts family first. Besides, it'd be hard to eat Korean food over there, too.
Mom and I sat primly in the chairs we'd been offered.
The real conversation began.
✒️✒️✒️
The people from Seoul National University seemed absolutely determined to keep me.
The president spoke first.
“Let me get straight to the point. Seoul National University wants to bring Yoo A-yeon on as a professor.”
The vice president beside him hurriedly chimed in.
“We'll set the salary at the highest level in the country. To be honest, you'd be hard-pressed to find a domestic university that pays better than this.”
“Ooh-.”
When I sneakily glanced at the numbers written on the paper, it was indeed a jaw-dropping amount.
At this rate, Dad might get jealous and start whining.
Or maybe not? I think Dad would go, 'Hee-hee, sweet deal-' and smash his Nentendo.
The dean also said.
“And there won't be any teaching duties at all. You won't have to worry about undergraduate lectures or administrative busywork.”
“Huh, really?”
“Yes. You just need to be affiliated with our school. You may do research whenever you want, for as much as you want.”
Just hearing it, it was quite a tempting offer.
For one thing, I'd be making way more than Dad did.
And compared to Dad, who sometimes came home late because of overtime, the workload was much lighter.
Besides, math research was something I liked anyway, wasn't it?
In short, even if I rubbed my eyes raw and searched, there wasn't a single reason to turn down this professorship offer.
However.
As always, what gave me pause was the Labor Standards Act.
What really bothered me was that I was still just a little kid who had only recently turned six.
My aunt said that, under the Labor Standards Act, children under fifteen can't be hired as workers.
And a professor is, without question, a worker employed by the school.
I decided to casually fish for how they planned to get around this part.
“By any chance, President, do you have a way to solve my legal issue?”
The president replied as if he'd been waiting for that.
Looks like he'd prepared everything in advance.
“Of course. We can solve it by treating Yoo A-yeon not as a worker, but as a sole proprietor.”
“A sole proprietor?”
“Yes. Instead of signing a formal employment contract, we'd sign a service contract with you as an independent research partner.”
The president explained step by step.
“That way, Yoo A-yeon won't be a worker subordinate to Seoul National University, but a freelance expert. So the Labor Standards Act won't apply.”
“Ohh...”
“Seoul National University would be paying Yoo A-yeon not a salary, but consulting fees and service fees for research results. And publicly, your title would be Special Professor.”
The dean added from the side.
“You know those child actors who appear on TV? They all get registered as sole proprietors like this too, so they can legally receive appearance fees. It's the same structure.”
They had prepared quite well.
Actually, just in case, I'd already asked my aunt about this beforehand.
And my aunt had predicted that the school would probably come out this way—and the method the president just brought up was almost exactly the same.
As expected of our aunt!
“Aha-. That's a good method.”
With this, I could neatly get around the legal issue.
I nodded happily, smiling brightly at the proposal.
The three men must've thought the negotiation had succeeded when they saw my face, because the corners of their mouths slowly lifted.
Right then.
Mom, who was sitting beside me, opened her mouth.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I'd like to propose one more condition.”
“...A condition?”
“I'd like to pursue a doctoral program under Yoo A-yeon.”
Mom said calmly.
“Then I can stay right next to A-yeon and take care of her. And as a bonus, I can achieve my own academic goals, too.”
The three men looked a little flustered.
It wasn't an outrageous request, but it was an unforeseen variable.
“Um... could you wait a moment? We'd like to hold a meeting among ourselves. That proposal was something we hadn't anticipated, either.”
“Yes-!”
“A-yeon, let's wait outside.”
At their request, Mom and I stepped out into the lounge outside and waited for a bit.
Swing-swing-. Sitting in the chair, my feet, which couldn't touch the floor, swayed back and forth.
But can these tiny legs even reach the floor?
I want to sit primly in a chair like a proper little lady too!
✒️✒️✒️
How much time had passed?
The dean came all the way to the lounge himself, saying that the discussion was over.
So the dean, who had the lowest rank among the three, got sent out.
Even at the dean level, there's no escaping the hierarchy. How cruel.
Flop-.
We went back to the meeting room and sat down again.
“We discussed it among ourselves. To get straight to the point, your proposed condition is entirely possible.”
“Gasp? Really?”
They took it far more coolly than I'd expected.
I thought there'd be something that wouldn't work because of some law or other.
“Um... there's one more thing I'm worried about...”
“Please, go ahead.”
If I became a six-year-old professor.
Sure, it sounds nice to call it a special professor, but wasn't it really just a title that restricted all the rights ordinary professors enjoyed?
I mean, formally opening a class.
Making midterms and finals difficult.
Dropping grade bombs on the students.
Taking graduate students into the lab.
And stamping the diplomas of those hardworking graduate students with a thump.
If there were restrictions on things like that, I might reconsider choosing this university once more...
I honestly laid out that concern.
Then the president shook his head from side to side.
“No. A professor's right to open classes, assign grades, and take graduate students isn't something defined by law; it's a right that comes from the authority I confer when I appoint someone as a professor.”
“Oh, is that how it works?”
“Yes. So if Yoo A-yeon comes in as a special professor, we'll of course guarantee all of those rights.”
The president continued.
“If we anticipate a legal conflict, we can invoke an exception clause using the president's authority. So Yoo A-yeon, don't worry about a thing and just come as you are.”
At the president's declaration that he'd do absolutely everything.
It felt as if a perfectly straight red carpet were being rolled out before my eyes with a swish-.
“Woohee-. I like it!”
I happily agreed to the proposal.
Being treated like this... surprisingly, no, quite a lot, was actually pretty nice?
It was a different kind of pleasant feeling from being showered with applause.
“I'll do it.”
Mom had always wanted to return to academia anyway.
And if she could even commute to work with me, it would be even better, so she nodded without a word.