An old table was unfolded in the room.
Instant coffee was poured into cups of different shapes.
Cheolho, Yunmi, and Uhyeon sat around the table.
While Seoha looked after Seoeun, Miyeong put water on the gas stove for coffee.
“I’m sorry we don’t have much to offer you. Teachers, thank you for coming all the way to this humble place because of our Seoha.”
Miyeong blushed, looking embarrassed.
As everyone gathered their thoughts, steam began to rise from the kettle, and soon it let out a whistling hiss.
Drip, drip.
Yunmi looked at Uhyeon as if urging him to speak already, but he could not seem to pull himself out of his thoughts. The sight of Seoha he had just witnessed had been that shocking.
In the end, Yunmi spoke first.
“Mother, to be honest, in all my years as a teacher—no, even before I became a teacher—I have never seen a child like Seoha. You both know that Seoha is special, don’t you?”
Miyeong blinked, as though momentarily at a loss for words.
Of course, she had thought he was a clever child. But she had not realized he was remarkable enough for such important people to come all the way from Seoul. She had merely been thinking that her son would go to a good university, and that she ought to save up properly for his tuition.
“Does Seoha do better than the children in Seoul?”
The couple looked at Yunmi with expressions mixed with expectation and worry. Their faces said they were wondering whether they ought to send their son to study in Seoul.
‘Yes, this is how ordinary parents would react.’
Yunmi let out a small sigh. How on earth was she supposed to explain this?
“Ah… Mother. The reason we came to see you today isn’t simply because Seoha studies better than the children receiving early education in Seoul.”
“Then what exactly are you trying to say…?”
As she hesitated, unable to bring herself to say, “Your son has the qualities to become a great figure who will go down in history,” Uhyeon cut in.
“He studies well, he’s smart… Seoha isn’t on that level. We’ll have to observe him further to know the details, but at present, I believe that even if I searched the entire world—no, in the last fifty years of human history—there has not been anyone more mathematically gifted than Seoha. At least not at his current age.”
From Uhyeon’s perspective, fifty years was already a considerable concession. He did not want to admit that an even greater monster might have existed in the past.
“Pardon?”
Cheolho and Miyeong uttered the word at the same time. And then…
“Hahahahahahaha!”
“Oh, goodness! Teacher, how can you make such a joke with such a serious face?”
The two of them laughed for quite a while, but Uhyeon did not so much as twitch an eyebrow.
Perhaps sensing that the atmosphere had become strange, their laughter died down.
“I’m not joking.”
In an instant, the air in the room grew subtly heavy. Miyeong and Cheolho looked at each other, then cautiously straightened their backs.
“It’s time you parents knew the truth as well. For Seoha’s sake. I believe Seoha possesses tremendous potential. The history of mankind, especially science, has always advanced through a very small number of chosen people. Seoha is, without question, one of that small number.”
“Even if you suddenly say something like that, from our point of view, it’s bewildering. I know this may be rude, but honestly, I’m skeptical.”
Perhaps realizing things might go wrong, Yunmi hurriedly interjected.
“M-Mother! I understand that he might not look trustworthy, but he is absolutely not the sort of person to make things up. So…”
Uhyeon raised his right hand and cut Yunmi off.
Then he took a bundle of papers from his bag. A memory he had wanted to forget, one that had been sleeping deep in the attic of his house. He had prepared it just in case something like this happened, and he had been right to do so.
The newspaper clippings caught their eyes first.
A still-youthful Uhyeon was smiling brightly with a medal hanging around his neck.
[Sixteen-Year-Old Shin Uhyeon Wins the Honor of Second Place at the International Mathematical Olympiad, His Genius Shining Even Among the Gifted]
Besides that, there were countless certificates and medals.
It was his past, from when everyone had believed he would one day lead the Korean mathematical world.
“Ordinary people may not have much interest in this, but I was once a student expected to be the future of Korean mathematics. Almost every university in the world sent me offers. Each country is allowed six representatives at the Olympiad. When I was a first-year high school student, I placed second among seven hundred gifted students from around a hundred and ten countries, so I suppose those expectations were not unreasonable.”
“You were an incredible person.”
Cheolho picked up the file and read the newspaper article.
Yunmi, too, swallowed and watched his mouth.
“I’m not trying to brag. If anything, I’m ashamed. I failed, after all. I only want you to understand that my words are sincere.”
There was a strange resonance in Uhyeon’s voice.
Gulp.
After a short while, Cheolho regained his composure and asked Uhyeon,
“If what you’re saying is true, then what should we do? Should we send the child to Seoul?”
As the old saying went, horses belong in Jeju, and people belong in Seoul.
But Uhyeon shook his head.
“Do nothing.”
“Pardon?”
“There is no need to boast, to show him off, or to send him to Seoul. It will only burden the child.”
“Then are you saying we should just leave him be?”
“On the parents’ end, yes.
Of course, I will do what I need to do. Looking at the bookshelf, I saw that he’s been favoring only mathematics. It may have been to solve the four color theorem, but focusing solely on topology will not help him in the long run. The era when topology alone could solve everything ended long ago.
Number theory, algebra, analysis, combinatorics, geometry… On the surface, they may seem like entirely different fields, but important theorems and theories are solved only when these various areas interlock.”
“Like Wiles?”
Yunmi asked, thinking it was something she knew.
“Yes. How many theories do you think Professor Wiles used to prove Fermat’s Last Theorem?
Algebraic geometry, number theory, the modularity theorem, Galois representations, Frey curves, Ribet’s theorem, Diophantine equations… With all that involved, it’s only natural that even geniuses of the century like Euler or Gauss couldn’t solve it in their time.”
Yunmi nodded.
“Looking at recent academic trends, the boundaries between fields are collapsing so much that you could call it ‘convergent mathematics.’”
The couple could not collect themselves under the barrage of terms they had never even heard before. As if he understood that, Uhyeon explained in a gentle voice.
“The core point is that he needs to learn mathematics broadly, across the board. This is something I can help with. I’ll send Seoha the books he absolutely must read. Important papers as well.”
“Will that be enough?”
Unlike the grave atmosphere at the start, this did not seem like such a big deal. The only difference was that instead of the books her husband had been buying for him, this teacher from Seoul would choose them.
“Seoha is a child who reached university-level mathematics on his own in the first place. If he’s shown the proper path, there’s no reason he can’t handle it by himself. If he has questions, I can explain them over the phone or by video call.”
“Then we can send him to school as usual.”
“That’s right. Until elementary school, at least.”
“And after that?”
“There is a mathematician named Elijah Cronen.”
At the sudden unfamiliar name, the couple looked puzzled. But Uhyeon continued without paying it any mind.
“He placed first at the International Mathematical Olympiad at the age of thirteen and earned a master’s degree at sixteen. At twenty-three, he was appointed a full professor at Princeton, one of the foremost universities in the world.
Mathematics has no Nobel Prize, but instead, there is the Fields Medal, awarded once every four years. Elijah received it at twenty-nine.
He has solved countless difficult problems so far, and now they say he is challenging the Millennium Problems.”
“The Millennium Problems?”
“They are problems announced by the Clay Mathematics Institute, led by Harvard mathematicians. In the year 2000, after discussions among many eminent mathematicians, they selected seven difficult problems that could contribute to twenty-first-century mathematics.
If you solve one, the prize is one million dollars—well over a billion won in our money. But more important than the money is the fact that the moment you solve one, you remain forever in the history of world mathematics—no, in the history of mankind.”
At the conversation’s suddenly enormous scale, Cheolho shook his head.
“Is there even anyone who solves those?”
“Of course. In fact, one problem has already been solved. A Russian mathematician named Grigori Perelman was the one who did it.”
“T-Then.”
“Yes. I hope Seoha will grow into a mathematician capable of challenging the Millennium Problems someday.”
Perhaps her throat had gone dry, because Miyeong lifted her cup and downed the cold coffee in one shot.
Clack.
“Then what should we do? You said we should just leave him alone.”
If there was a possibility that their son was the genius of the century, what parent would refuse to help?
“I believe Seoha lacks nothing compared to Elijah Cronen.”
As a child, Elijah had received devoted support from his parents, who were a doctor and a teacher. But Seoha would be able to surpass him even without such things. Uhyeon himself could provide small support.
Miyeong thought about their future plans.
“Then at thirteen…”
“No. Just one year… How would you feel about having him move one year faster than Elijah Cronen?”
For the first time, an emotion that could be called an expression appeared on Uhyeon’s face. It was greed.
‘Still, he should at least break the record for youngest Olympiad champion. It’s not for personal reasons…’
“I’ll prepare Seoha until he turns twelve. After that, it will probably be easy for him to go to America. You don’t need to worry about costs. Universities will come begging with bags of money for him to attend. If it comes down to it, I can also help. I may not look it, but I’m a top-ranked instructor, so my annual salary is…”
At that moment, a voice came from behind them.
“I don’t want to.”
Startled, Miyeong looked at Seoha.
“Seoha! What are you saying? The teachers are all doing this for you…”
But Seoha’s words came faster.
“I’ve never once done mathematics because I wanted to enter competitions and win awards, or solve difficult problems.”
And America, of all places…
Was it really all right for his parents, who had lived their whole lives in Okcheon, to move the foundation of their lives so easily? If he let himself be dragged along as that man said, he would surely have no time to play with Seoeun either.
At the unexpected resistance from their normally gentle son, embarrassment was plainly written across the couple’s faces.
“Haa… Somehow, I thought this might happen.”
Uhyeon spread his palm and rubbed his eyes as if tired.
“Thank you for your offer, but studying mathematics on my own is enough.”
Perhaps because of his bad first impression, Seoha’s face was full of defiance.
How did he appear in this child’s eyes right now? An intruder who had barged into his peaceful life out of nowhere?
“Fine. You don’t have to go to America. You don’t have to do what I tell you to do either.”
At his unexpectedly quick surrender, Seoha looked puzzled. But after hearing Uhyeon’s next words, Seoha had no choice but to freeze.
“Six years of elementary school, three years of middle school, three years of high school. Twelve years in total.”
A fire rose in his chest.
Did that child know? That living in a realm an ordinary person like him could never reach was a blessing beyond measure.
“What is?”
“The time you’ll have to waste receiving an education inferior to the encyclopedia in your room.”
“Huh?”
Uhyeon rose from his seat and strode forward. Then he lowered himself and placed both hands on Seoha’s shoulders. And in a low voice, he murmured,
“Now, be honest. Elementary school classes with Yunmi are boring enough to kill you, aren’t they? And you’re supposed to endure that for twelve years?
Even now, if you take just one step, the world outside is full of great problems waiting for you. If you solve them, you might very well change the lives and history of mankind itself.
How far did humanity advance after Newton discovered the law of gravity? If not for Einstein’s theory of relativity, would humans have dared to go into space?”
‘This man’s eyes have gone insane.’
Seoha was terrified of Uhyeon, who was pouring out words with wide, rolling eyes and a maddened expression.
“Hiiik—”
“Inside your head, there may be a key to solving problems humans have been unable to solve for thousands of years. And you won’t even try using it?
Even though the Earth, humanity, and history itself might advance because of you?”
His pupils widened, and the whites of his eyes flashed.
His fingers were gripping so hard that Seoha’s shoulders began to hurt.
“Waaaaaah— Mom!”
In the end, Uhyeon made Seoha cry.