Translator: Dreamscribe
Seo-eun wouldn't stop crying.
Flustered, CEO Park tried to soothe her, not knowing what to do, but it was no use. Just then, the sound of the front door opening came from the entrance.
"I'm home."
Seo-ha's voice.
His gaze moved from the crying Seo-eun to the unfamiliar middle-aged man, one after the other.
"Oppaaaa!"
Seo-eun scampered over and burrowed into Seo-ha's arms. Seo-ha stroked her head with practiced ease and calmed her down.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
A strange silence settled over the living room. The ticking of the second hand on the wall clock seemed unusually loud.
The four of them sat gathered around the sofa. Seo-eun clung tightly to Seo-ha's side, wearing a triumphant expression. CEO Park reflected for a moment on how he had failed to rein in his own greed.
After hearing the situation, Seo-ha spoke.
"Thank you for the offer, sir. But publishing it would be difficult."
CEO Park's face filled with disappointment.
"Seo-ha, why don't you give it another thought? Even setting the money aside, in terms of broadening educational opportunities..."
"No, sir."
Seo-ha gently cut him off.
"It's for that exact reason that I'm telling you it can't be published. This book wasn't written for everyone."
Seo-ha had educated Seo-eun with great care.
Unless one is born with an exceptional, innate gift, mathematical intuition can only be acquired by creating an environment where it is naturally absorbed from childhood. By teaching her to accept mathematics not as a game of numbers, but as a language for understanding the world.
Mathematical intuition is ultimately the eye that senses the regularity of the world, the sense that feels its structure. Without that coming first, no matter how hard one tries, mathematics will end up being nothing more than a subject for memorization.
'Was it when she was four?'
He hadn't taught her the multiplication table, yet Seo-eun already understood the concept of area. It was when they were playing a game of drawing a grid in the yard and filling it in with stones.
"Oppa, if you count this side and this side, you get all the stones!"
Seo-ha only smiled.
He had been delighted by the moment his little sister discovered something he'd never taught her. Even after that, Seo-ha had continued to expand Seo-eun's mathematical world through all sorts of games.
So this book was a record that contained the entire process of Seo-eun's growth. One that further nurtured what Seo-eun was good at while letting her naturally learn even the areas she disliked.
"I see."
An exclamation of admiration slipped from CEO Park's lips without his realizing it.
He hadn't understood why she'd suddenly burst into tears, but now it finally made sense. It wasn't about the mathematics, but about her older brother's love.
'Such a kind and patient older brother.'
Who on earth could devote so much time and care to teaching another person?
If he'd had someone like this himself, perhaps he too could have grown to enjoy mathematics.
"...Seo-ha."
"Yes."
"Even now, I still believe that if this book were published, it would help so many children."
CEO Park looked at Seo-eun.
A child clinging to Seo-ha's arm, listening to the conversation with a serious face. What he saw was not the image of a genius girl. Thinking of the child who must have felt fear, the terror that she might lose the world her older brother had created just for her, he felt sorry.
"But more important than the methodology was the heart of an older brother caring for his little sister. That isn't something easily imitated."
CEO Park bowed his head with a smile that seemed deflated, yet on the other hand held respect. Discussing commercial profit before a boy who had melted the cold discipline of mathematics into something so warm for his little sister's sake, he felt like a philistine.
Only then, seemingly at ease at last, Seo-eun lifted her chin triumphantly toward CEO Park. As if to say, 'This is my oppa, and this is my book!'
"Instead, Author-nim."
CEO Park looked at Mi-young, who was watching the children with a contented face.
"This story of these siblings, this special educational journey, absolutely must be brought into the world. Not as a mathematics textbook, but please write about the way an older brother loves his little sister. That alone would be more than enough to cause a sensation."
Mi-young looked back and forth between Seo-ha and Seo-eun and smiled softly. Seo-ha nodded as if to say it was fine. Outside the window, the afternoon sunlight stretched long. The silence of the living room had, before anyone noticed, turned into a warm glow.
* * *
It was time to leave work.
Chul-ho turned off his computer and rose from his seat.
"Yu! Good work today. See you tomorrow!"
A coworker waved and said goodbye.
A natural, everyday routine. His speech still carried a rough Korean accent, but Chul-ho didn't mind. Thanks to his contributions, overtime had decreased. Chul-ho had already become an irreplaceable resource at the company.
"Thanks. See you tomorrow."
Chul-ho started walking.
When he reached the parking lot, the evening sunset was shining down on his car.
A German sedan in a deep midnight blue.
The paintwork, gleaming without a single speck of dust, reflected his figure like a mirror. The silver wheels and clean curves radiated an intense dignity and presence.
"Looks great every time I see it."
Beep.
When he pressed the key button, the door unlocked.
As he settled into the driver's seat, the luxurious leather wrapped softly around his body. Chul-ho suddenly thought of the car he'd driven for over fifteen years back in Korea. The first sedan he'd bought after becoming a civil servant.
He'd dated Mi-young in that car and raised the children. It had been a precious, cherished car, but it was also true that he'd felt embarrassed whenever he drove Seo-ha to Seoul. After all, the parking lots there were packed with expensive cars.
Of course, Seo-ha hadn't seemed to mind in the slightest. Even so, isn't that just how a parent's heart works?
Vroom.
When he started the engine, it growled in a low rumble. A feeling on a completely different level from the used pickup truck he'd hastily bought after coming to America.
His grip tightened on the steering wheel. Even after a year, his heart still raced whenever he drove this car. The year before last, when the royalties from the book came in, Mi-young had said she wanted to buy an expensive car. Chul-ho had waved his hands, saying it wasn't necessary.
"It's money you earned. A car like that is far too good for me."
Mi-young shook her head and laughed.
"I'm a woman with enough means for this much! Let's treat ourselves to a nice car for once."
"Still, it feels a bit..."
Being a kept man wasn't Chul-ho's dream. [TL: "shutter man" (셔터맨) is Korean slang for a husband who lives off his wife's income, essentially only opening and closing the shop's shutters.]
A diligent, responsible head of the household, that was the image of himself he held up as ideal.
Mi-young shot him a sidelong glance.
"You're going to have a lot of picking up Seo-ha and Seo-eun to do from now on, you know?"
"Ah!"
Watching Chul-ho nod, Mi-young laughed to herself.
A husband who had devoted his whole life to his family. Whenever a good side dish came out, he would quietly push it toward the children and her. Even when shopping, he always said he didn't need any new clothes.
She'd wanted to give such a man a little luxury, but just as expected, her stubborn, old-fashioned husband wouldn't accept it easily. Only after using the children as an excuse was Mi-young finally able to get her way.
On the day the car arrived, watching Chul-ho stroke the new car carefully, as if it were precious, Mi-young felt a sting at the tip of her nose.
The car glided smoothly out of the parking lot.
"Allen!"
"Hey, Chul-ho!"
A luxurious house in Beacon Hill, Boston.
The old-fashioned exterior, where red brick and ivy blended together, spoke of the neighborhood's history. This area had been an affluent district ever since Boston was founded.
"Take this first."
Chul-ho handed over the food container he'd received from Mi-young.
Looking at the neatly tied wrapping cloth, Allen's eyes went round.
"Hm? What's this?"
"It's the holiday season in Korea right now. The house is full of food my wife made."
His face brightened.
"I've been missing the meals I had at your place, so this is perfect. Let's have a drink with this as our snack!"
Allen laughed heartily and clapped Chul-ho on the shoulder.
It had already been several years since they first met. The two got along quite well, and neither of them had any friends to speak of. Their becoming companions had been only natural.
Stepping through the entrance, a spacious living room opened up.
An antique chandelier hanging from the ceiling, nineteenth-century paintings on the walls, a Chesterfield sofa in the corner. Standing by the window, Boston Harbor spread out before the eyes like a panorama.
"Wow!"
It was a view that drew a gasp every time he came.
Allen was a successful man. The walls were full of books whose titles he didn't recognize, and inside the cabinet, an expensive whiskey collection gleamed under the lighting.
"Let's drink."
Allen came from the kitchen carrying two glasses.
He was a considerate fellow who kept non-alcoholic beer on hand for Chul-ho, who had to drive.
Clink.
Allen poured a generous amount of amber whiskey into his own glass. The heavy aroma of an eighteen-year-old single malt spread through the living room.
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
The two men drank in silence for a while.
Then, as if grumbling, Allen spoke.
"The mayor's making a fuss, demanding I create something like Oracle."
"Ah... the one Seo-ha built in New York?"
"That's right. The only person on earth who could pull that off is Seo-ha. It's not just our mayor; people all over the world are eyeing Oracle. Though it seems the security is so strong they can't even attempt it."
"Sorry for having such an impressive son."
"Hahahaha!"
Allen laughed loudly at Chul-ho's joke.
"When I first saw Seo-ha, I thought it was a miracle. I simply couldn't tell where the limits of that young child's thinking lay. But now, it's your existence that seems like a miracle to me."
"Me?"
Chul-ho made a puzzled expression.
"Parents who have impressive children generally can't suppress their greed. That's how it is in America. I feel like I could rattle off the names of such people endlessly right now. It probably isn't much different in Korea. And being the parent of a genius like Seo-ha, no less..."
"Is that so?"
"You're not stupid. If you'd set your mind to it, you could have exploited Seo-ha however you liked. But you didn't. And your wife is an incredible writer, too. Ah! Truly, what a blessed life. No, is it that this life found its way to you precisely because you're that kind of person?"
"What on earth are you talking about? You're the very model of a successful elite, aren't you! Everyone must envy you."
"Me?"
Allen wore a bitter expression.
"If there's exactly one person in the world I envy, it's you, Chul-ho."
"Because my kid's smart and my wife's rich?"
He shook his head.
"You only need enough money so you don't have to grovel to others. Having a smart child must be a source of pride, but that isn't my life."
"Then why on earth?"
He set his glass down on the table with a clack.
"A wife you love, the sound of children laughing at the dinner table every evening, a head of the household respected by his family.
At thirty, I didn't know. I didn't know how hard these things are to have. No matter how much success I achieve, I have no one to share it with."
Whoosh.
The wind struck the window fiercely as it passed by.
"The poor and the rich, the dullard and the genius, the good-looking and the plain, it's something everyone finds equally hard to obtain. You did it. And you, Chul-ho, are a man who deserves it."
The hour had grown late.
Chul-ho put on his coat at the entrance.
"Drive safe."
Chul-ho smiled faintly and waved his hand.
Vroom.
He started the engine and gripped the steering wheel.
On the dashboard, he could see the glow-in-the-dark star stickers his daughter had put up. Beside them was the 'Drive safely today, too' note Mi-young had written for him.
Riding along the familiar roads, he arrived home.
Click.
When he opened the front door, his family was all waiting for him.
"Dad!"
Seo-eun came scampering over.
Seeing that her hair was wet, it seemed she'd run out in the middle of using the hairdryer. Chul-ho bent his knees and lifted his daughter up into his arms.
"You're home."
Seo-ha bowed his head politely.
It seemed he'd been studying, as he held a half-read paper in his hand.
"Welcome home. Good work today."
Mi-young came over and naturally took his coat and bag.
"Go wash your hands. I've made plenty of delicious food."
For no reason, tears welled up in his eyes.
'Ah, Allen. You were right. I'm the happiest man in the world.'
*****
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