Translator: Dreamscribe
One early Saturday morning in December,
Yu Seo-ha woke up earlier than usual.
It was strangely bright outside the window. The light seeping in through the curtains was different from usual.
“Huh?”
When he opened the window, the whole world had turned white.
It was the first snow. And it had snowed quite a bit.
The persimmon tree in the yard, the flowerbed in front of the gate, and even the rooftop, everything was covered in snow as if wrapped in a soft cotton blanket.
“Waaah!”
A scream came from the next room, it was Yu Seo-eun.
Soon, the sound of footsteps running followed.
"Oppa! It's snow, snow!"
Yu Seo-eun, still in her pajamas, ran into Yu Seo-ha’s room.
Her cheeks were flushed, glowing pink like rouge. Her sparkling eyes and continuous exclamations showed how excited she was.
“It barely snowed until yesterday, but I guess it poured down overnight.”
“Let’s go outside and play!”
Seo-eun looked up at Seo-ha with an eager face.
Seo-ha liked this expression on his sister. A face that firmly believed her oppa would grant her every wish.
“Let’s go after breakfast!”
“Really?”
Seo-eun jumped up and down with joy.
Mi-young, who had approached before anyone realized, looked at the siblings with a contented smile.
“Seo-eun, do you like snow that much?”
Mi-young had been worrying about shoveling the snow since last night, but seeing her daughter so happy eased her heart.
“Yeah! I love it so much! Mom, come play with us too!”
“I’ll stay and roast some sweet potatoes. You go with your oppa and come back.”
After breakfast, the siblings bundled up in winter clothes.
Seo-eun was fully armed in a baby pink padded jacket, a fur hat, and mittens.
“Ready?”
“Yeah!”
As they stepped into the yard, the cold air brushed against their cheeks. But the snow-covered scenery was so beautiful that both of them forgot about the cold.
“Waaah!”
Seo-eun looked around in wonder.
Then she began waddling around.
“You look like a penguin.”
Wearing many thick layers, puffed-up Seo-eun flapped her arms in joy.
At first, Seo-ha only intended to play with his sister for a bit, but before long, he was absorbed too, running around and building a snowman with her.
After playing for a while, both of their clothes were covered in snow.
“Achoo!”
Seo-eun’s nose turned red as she sniffled.
“Let’s go in now.”
Seo-ha brushed the snow off his sister’s body and lightly picked her up.
Seo-eun clung tightly to her oppa’s body.
When they entered the house, the savory scent of roasted sweet potatoes tickled their noses.
“Had fun? Hurry up and go change your clothes.”
After changing into soft, dry clothes, Seo-eun excitedly told their mom all about playing with her oppa outside. Then, sipping warm cocoa, she smiled happily at the sweet taste of roasted sweet potatoes.
Seo-ha filled his eyes with all of today’s scenery, so he could remember this joyful day for a long time.
‘Will Seo-eun forget about today when she grows up?’
As he got older, Seo-ha became aware that he was different from ordinary people.
He had an extraordinary memory and did not experience infantile amnesia, which typically occurs by age four.
Even concepts that adults found difficult to understand, he could grasp after seeing them just once.
Now, he felt like he understood what people who had expectations of him wanted.
But Seo-ha was just happy in this moment.
Even if Seo-eun forgot about today in the future, Seo-ha thought he would tell her the story again and again.
***
“Oppppaaa! Don’t gooo!”
The year changed, and in January,
Seo-ha received a notification of his passing the second round of the Korean Mathematical Olympiad, and a letter arrived at home instructing him to enter the winter school.
“Moooom! I’m going too! I’m going with oppaaa!”
Seo-eun clung to her oppa’s clothes, refusing to let go.
Seeing Seo-eun wailing like she’d never see him again left their parents in an awkward situation.
“Seo-eun, oppa will be back in two weeks. Just fourteen nights, and he’ll be home, okay?”
Mi-young gently tried to console Seo-eun.
“Nooo! Seo-eun is going with oppaaa!”
Seo-eun’s cries filled the whole house.
With her face covered in tears and snot, she clung tightly to Seo-ha’s shirt, it was a pitiful sight.
“Seo-eun…”
Seo-ha was overwhelmed with emotion.
Since birth, the two had never been apart for long.
“Hold on a second.”
Yu Seo-ha took a small box out of his bag.
It was a small duck plushie he had bought at a souvenir shop not long ago. Its yellow fur and orange beak looked cute.
‘I got this just in case something like this happened. Good thing I did.’
“I bought this for you, Seo-eun...”
Seo-ha lowered himself to meet Seo-eun’s eyes.
When he placed the duck plushie in her hands, Seo-eun’s crying stopped. She looked at Seo-ha with tear-filled eyes wide open.
“Duck?”
“Yeah! If you play with this, I’ll be back soon. Promise.”
Seo-eun held back her tears and extended her tiny pinky finger.
***
The KMO Winter School, like the second-round exam, was held at KAIST.
It was a rare event where gifted students selected from all over the country gathered in one place.
Vrrrrrr-
A luxury German sedan came to a smooth stop in front of the dormitory. The area was already filled with luxury vehicles.
Clack.
A girl neatly dressed in a school uniform opened the heavy car door and stepped out.
Her sleek black hair and delicate yet stubborn-looking face stood out.
Hooo...
Lim Su-jeong took a deep breath.
Around the dormitory, students and parents were bustling about.
Most were familiar faces.
Su-jeong thought they were all strangely tied together since elementary school.
After placing their luggage in the dorm rooms, the guardians gradually started to leave.
Su-jeong also waved at her departing father and walked toward the lecture hall, the designated assembly area.
Click.
When she opened the door and stepped inside, a massive blackboard came into view.
Four giant boards were connected as one.
Fortunately, they had upper and lower rails, so they looked usable even without a ladder.
Glance.
Su-jeong looked around. Then she walked straight toward one side.
“You’re here?”
Before the other person could respond, she pulled over a chair and sat down next to him.
The scent of shampoo still lingered from her recently washed hair.
“Hello.”
A pleasant voice.
For Seo-ha, there was no trace of nervousness or excitement that would be typical for someone experiencing this for the first time.
He simply looked around the large lecture hall, seemingly fascinated.
Su-jeong felt a bit annoyed by Seo-ha’s relaxed demeanor.
As time passed, students started entering the room one by one.
Su-jeong nonchalantly threw out a comment.
“Ko Chang-seok, 12th grade. He’s ranked first in all of Jeju Island.”
When Seo-ha looked at her with a curious expression, Su-jeong gestured with her eyes toward one direction.
A short, skinny student was quietly sitting there.
With his neatly groomed hair and thick-rimmed glasses, he looked every bit the model student. He already had his notebook and pen ready in his hand.
“That over there is Seo Ji-ye from Busan, top in the region. I heard she’s more into physics than math, but looks like she’s going to the IMO this year.”
Su-jeong grumbled, saying the number of competitors had increased.
All of them were people she had on her secretly kept list of the top 20 in mathematics.
While explaining the key individuals, Su-jeong suddenly frowned upon seeing someone. Then she quickly turned her head.
But the other person clearly noticed her.
“Hey! Lim Su-jeong! Long time no see.”
The person confidently closed the distance without hesitation.
Tall height, pale skin, friendly eyes, and a solid build.
Seo-ha thought he was a very good-looking person.
“I get it, so go away!”
Su-jeong waved him off as if she couldn’t stand the sight of him.
But the guy grinned slyly and casually brushed off her gesture.
“Oh-ho! This must be him, right? Yu Seo-ha.”
Seo-ha stood up and bowed politely.
“Hello.”
“I heard about you from the hyungs. Said you gave them a hard time? Nice to meet you! I’m Sung Ji-hoon.”
“I’m Yu Seo-ha.”
Looking around, Seo-ha saw nothing but unfamiliar faces.
He was genuinely relieved that Su-jeong was here.
“He went to the same Gifted Education Institute as I did. I think he took first place in the Gyeonggi-do competition this time.”
In recent years, high school students hadn’t performed well in the Olympiads.
Maybe as a response to that, Su-jeong’s generation had many outstanding talents.
Ji-hoon was one of them.
“Is that all you’re gonna say? You should’ve told him I’m your rival.”
The two had long been known as gifted students among their peers.
“I don’t sit at the same table with losers who couldn’t even make it to the IMO.”
At Su-jeong’s words, Ji-hoon gave an awkward laugh.
“Well, yeah, back then I was kind of out of it, right? I was so shocked that, for the first time in my life, I studied without anyone telling me to. And boom, I got first place. Saw that? That’s me.”
“Sure, sure. If you say so. I only compete at national-level contests, so I don’t count local first places.”
Though she said that, Su-jeong was actually quite wary of Ji-hoon.
At Su-jeong’s cold reaction, Ji-hoon clicked his tongue and simply sat at the desk next to her.
Soon, the lecture hall grew quiet.
As the students found their seats, a sense of tension filled the room. Determination to be among the final six selected for the IMO team was evident on everyone’s faces.
Click.
The door opened, and a middle-aged man entered.
With gray hair and a kind expression, he exuded the calm demeanor of a professor.
“Hello. I’m Professor Park Chul-min from the Department of Mathematical Sciences.”
Professor Park stood in front of the blackboard and looked around at the students.
“You’re all math prodigies from across the country, so there’s no need for a lengthy introduction. I’ll be with you for the next two weeks.”
The professor wrote the date in small letters at the top corner of the blackboard.
“The purpose of this winter school is not just solving problems.
Our goal is to understand the essence of mathematics, the beauty of proofs. Naturally, your skills will improve through that process. Of course, in the end, we will select six of you to form the national IMO team.”
A quiet stir spread among the students.
‘National team.’
What a thrilling phrase.
It was an irresistible temptation.
“Well then, let’s begin right away.”
Professor Park began writing a complex equation across the first blackboard.
[Number Theory – Existence of Solutions to Diophantine Equations]
Scratch scratch.
Inside the lecture hall, only the sound of chalk and pens brushing against paper could be heard.
All the students were focused, taking notes and trying to understand the explanation.
Even Ji-hoon, unlike his usual self, had a tense expression as he followed the professor’s explanation.
Then he glanced to the side.
‘Huh?’
Yu Seo-ha was looking at the board with a sullen expression.
His notebook was open, but completely blank.
He wasn’t holding anything in his hands.
‘Even if he’s good, I guess he’s still just an elementary schooler? Looks like he can’t keep up with these higher-level concepts yet.’
Ji-hoon quickly erased Seo-ha from his thoughts. The proof problem he was tackling was too difficult to be distracted by others.
But Seo-ha was thinking something else entirely.
‘Why is the professor using that method?’
In Seo-ha’s mind, a far simpler and more elegant method of proof had already surfaced.
It was just logic that the other students wouldn’t be able to follow.
‘If I use an elliptic function, I think I could prove this much more cleanly.’
Unable to hold back, Seo-ha began verifying his own proof method in his head while listening to the lecture.
After finishing his long explanation, Professor Park looked around at the students.
“All right, up to this point is the classical approach. Any questions?”
Silence followed.
At that moment, Professor Park’s gaze rested on Seo-ha. He was the only student not taking notes.
“Yu Seo-ha?”
Startled by the sudden call, Seo-ha quickly straightened up.
“Yes?”
“You’re not taking notes. Is there a problem?”
Most of the people in the lecture hall had only heard of the name Yu Seo-ha, this was their first time seeing him in person.
The students turned their eyes to Seo-ha with a mix of curiosity and judgment.
Not knowing how to respond, Seo-ha stammered.
Su-jeong had a troubled expression on her face.
She sighed and placed her hand on her forehead.
*****
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