Translator: Dreamscribe
Su-jeong stopped by the reception desk and returned her visitor pass.
'Where do I go now?'
She had gotten what she ca for.
If she had a concrete goal, the rest was simply a matter of filling in the gaps with her own effort.
Just as she always had.
But separate from that, a lonely feeling crept in.
Looking back, it had been a life without a single friend. She thought it was her own fault for putting up walls around herself.
But Seo-ha had always approached her without reservation.
She wanted to see him.
Not watching from a distance, but face to face, greeting him with a bright smile.
But she still hadn't decided what kind of face to wear when she t him.
'Should I just go back?'
She wasn't here for sightseeing, after all.
Su-jeong drew in a deep breath as if steeling herself, then turned her steps toward the hotel.
As she left the campus, the scenery gradually changed.
'It's nice and quiet here.'
Old brick buildings stood at regular intervals. Tucked between them, small cafes, bookstores, and aged restaurants were packed closely together.
Students crossed the street, large backpacks on their shoulders, venti-sized coffees in hand, brushing past her as they went.
Su-jeong glanced to the side.
The sound of tree branches swaying, small puddles ford from lting snow, buses coming and going in a hurry. Everything around her felt monochro.
A feeling of being the only one left out, set apart from it all.
Whether it was the unfamiliar Arican air or her own inability to approach Seo-ha despite being so close, she couldn't say for certain.
The walk to the hotel felt long.
Without realizing it, Su-jeong stopped and looked back.
"Huh?"
Soone was running toward her from far away.
The tiny figure grew larger and larger.
A familiar silhouette, a jacket flapping in the wind, and a face becoming clearer by the second.
"...Yu Seo-ha?"
Where had the neat, composed appearance from just monts ago gone?
His hair was a complete ss, tousled by the wind.
The sound of his labored breathing seed to carry all the way to where she stood.
He was sprinting toward her with everything he had.
Her chest swelled at the realization that soone was searching for her this desperately.
"Su-jeong... noona!"
At last, Seo-ha ca to a stop in front of her.
His breathing hadn't settled; his chest heaved deeply. Despite the cold weather, sweat poured down his forehead like rain.
Su-jeong hurriedly pulled a handkerchief from her bag.
"Why did you run all the way here?"
She hesitated for a mont, then finally leaned in and wiped the sweat from his face.
Seo-ha lifted his head, still catching his breath.
Relief, joy, regret. A mix of emotions filled his eyes.
"You ca all the way here and you were just going to leave without seeing ?"
It seed her assumptions had been wrong.
Seo-ha was still the sa boy from Okcheon.
He looked at her with those gentle, ox-like eyes. The sa gaze as when they first t, one that laid his feelings bare.
"I just...."
Su-jeong didn't know how to explain and trailed off.
"But how did you know I was here?"
She had barely left the campus....
"Theo told . He said a friend ca from Korea.... I figured it had to be you, noona."
Theodore?
That was unexpected.
She had thought he didn't like her.
"Have you been doing well?"
It had taken far too long to say those words.
Seo-ha smiled.
It was a humble but beautiful smile, like a naless flower blooming in a field.
"Of course. I have so much I want to talk about. Noona, did you co to the States alone?"
"Huh? Yeah."
"Then co to our place. Mom and Seo-eun will be happy to see you. It's about lunchti anyway."
Seo-ha took Su-jeong's bag from her as if snatching it away.
"N-no, it's fine."
Su-jeong pretended to resist but followed behind him.
Whoosh-
A fierce gust of wind blew in.
Su-jeong looked around absentmindedly.
It was strange.
She was walking the sa road, yet everything looked slightly different.
The landscape that had been entirely colorless was slowly regaining its hues.
"Hold on a mont. It'll take a while if we walk."
The place Seo-ha led her to was a bicycle storage area on campus.
He unlocked the chain and wheeled out a bicycle.
It was visibly old and worn.
But the chain glead unusually bright, as if soone had been maintaining it with care.
"Hop on."
Seo-ha gestured toward the back seat with his eyes.
"Huh?"
She was caught off guard.
She had never once ridden on the back of a bicycle before.
"This too."
A bright yellow duck helt.
It was Seo-eun's.
Su-jeong pouted as she took the helt.
'I didn't want to take off my hat, though.'
The rough skin from lack of sleep was bothering her.
"All set."
Seo-ha nodded and climbed onto the saddle.
"Here we go."
The bicycle rolled out of the campus.
Seo-ha seed to struggle a little at first, but he quickly found his balance and began picking up speed smoothly.
Su-jeong lightly gripped the hem of his shirt with both hands.
'When did he get so dependable?'
The back that had once been small was now large enough to shield her entirely.
Suddenly, the past year of college life flickered through her mind like a panorama.
"Sweetheart, you're in college now, have so fun too. Why are you just studying like you're still in high school?"
"You still don't have a single friend? You're my daughter, but I really do worry. When I was your age, I managed to do everything while studying."
"Hey, what's up with Lim Su-jeong? She got a perfect score on the CSAT and she's getting wrecked?"
"Her nickna in high school was the Demon King. Give up. You can't beat her no matter what you do. She probably doesn't even know we exist."
Days spent driving herself relentlessly through a cold, dry routine.
A wry laugh escaped her.
'Well, obviously. My goals are different from yours.'
There are people you can never reach, no matter how hard you try.
But she couldn't give up.
The only thing she could do was keep pushing forward in silence.
Now, it didn't matter whether anyone noticed or not.
Clunk.
They hit an uneven stretch of road.
Seo-ha turned back and called out loudly.
"Hold on tight. The road's rough."
"Okay.."
Su-jeong leaned her face against Seo-ha's back.
The warmth she felt through his shirt, an inexplicable sense of comfort; Su-jeong closed her eyes.
It would be a lie to say the past hadn't been hard.
But sitting on the back of this bicycle as Seo-ha pedaled through the streets, she felt, unbelievably, as though everything had been worth it.
'I must be out of my mind.'
She tried to scold herself, but the tangled noise that had been ringing in her head quietly faded away.
The bicycle gradually slowed and finally ca to a complete stop.
"We're here."
"Wasn't that hard?"
"It felt the sa as carrying Seo-eun, though?"
"Hahaha!"
Su-jeong laughed brightly.
Ding-dong-
When she rang the doorbell, the door opened.
Seo-eun, still on school break, saw Su-jeong standing at the door and broke into a beaming smile.
"Smart unnie!"
Years ago, Su-jeong had only played with her once, yet Seo-eun still rembered her.
Su-jeong was pulled inside by Seo-eun's hand.
"Oh my! Su-jeong's here?"
Mi-young's face lit up when she saw her.
Seo-ha felt a pang in his chest for no particular reason.
Even without saying it, the whole family must have been missing Korea.
"You haven't eaten, right? Can you wait just a bit? I'll make sothing delicious."
"Oh.... um."
There was no ti to get a word in.
Mi-young hurried into the kitchen.
"Unnie, play with !"
While the al was being prepared, Seo-eun took Su-jeong by the hand and gave her a tour of the house.
"I'm growing these."
Seo-eun lifted her chin proudly.
In the corner of the garden was a small plot, barely a few square feet.
Naless sprouts poked up haphazardly from the soft soil. There were traces of careful watering, crooked little na tags; it was unmistakably Seo-eun's own space.
"Hmm? What's this one?"
An unfamiliar plant caught her eye.
"That's a pumpkin!"
"A pumpkin? Why?"
Seo-eun grinned, baring her teeth.
The gap where a front tooth was missing made her look adorable.
"We had one in our garden back in Okcheon too. When it gets big, the vines grow really long. The leaves are yummy too!"
A lump ford in Su-jeong's throat.
It couldn't have been easy for this little girl to settle down in Arica.
Su-jeong knelt down to et Seo-eun's eyes.
"What a good girl."
When she stroked her hair, Seo-eun smiled shyly.
"Hehe."
Seo-eun grabbed Su-jeong's hand and tugged her along again.
"Now let's go see my room."
They went upstairs to the second floor and entered Seo-eun's room.
There were far more books than one would expect in a child's room. Among them, a thick Encyclopedia Collection stood out in particular.
"You read stuff like this?"
"Oppa used to read it. He says he knows it all now and doesn't need it anymore. I read it whenever I'm bored."
On the desk sat a familiar gold dal.
"Oh? That's!"
"Hehe. My number one treasure! Oppa gave it to . Do you know what it is too, unnie?"
Su-jeong covered her mouth and laughed.
"Of course! I have two of the exact sa thing."
"Hmph-"
Seo-eun made a sulky face.
Su-jeong thought for a mont, then grinned mischievously.
"Hey, did you know? There's a dal that's waaay cooler than that one. No, you can't even compare them. It's a hundred, a thousand tis more amazing."
"Really?"
Just like that, Seo-eun's eyes were sparkling again.
"Yep! It's so cool that not a single Korean has ever gotten one."
"Hmph, then does that an I can't get one either?"
Su-jeong tutted and wagged her finger.
"If Seo-eun says she really wants one, your oppa will get it for you."
"For real?"
"Yep! Absolutely guaranteed. So let's go ask your oppa."
Seo-eun looked completely hooked.
"What's it called?"
Su-jeong leaned in close to Seo-eun's ear as if sharing a secret.
"The Fields dal."
After that, she went to see Seo-ha's room.
And she imdiately felt ashad of how idle she had been.
"This isn't a room, it's a library."
Papers were piled high, filling every corner.
An open notebook sat on the desk, half-written. She could vividly picture Seo-ha sitting there, buried in research late into the night.
'Was I just being dramatic?'
She had thought her work ethic was second to none, but it seed that had been nothing more than self-delusion.
The words 'Seo-ha, this is just unfair of you' rose to the tip of her tongue.
"Co eat!"
A voice called from downstairs.
"Unnie, let's go! Our mom is an amazing cook!"
Su-jeong took one last look around the room before heading down.
As she descended the stairs, a delicious sll was already wafting up. The dining table was already set.
Seo-ha was busy moving about, carrying dishes to the table.
Steaming kimchi stew, neatly fried donggeurangttaeng, and bulgogi rich with the aroma of the grill stirred her appetite. (TL: Donggeurangttaeng are Korean-style savory patties made with mixed at and vegetables.)
"Let's eat!"
"Thank you for the al."
Su-jeong, who had been starving, quickly picked up her spoon.
A ho-cooked al seeping into a body accustod to cafeteria food; it was the first delicious al she'd had in a long ti.
On the way back to the hotel, Seo-ha ca out to walk her there.
Su-jeong slowed her pace to match his stride.
Being like this with Seo-ha, it felt as though she had gone back in ti.
"Wasn't it hard, being in Arica?"
At Su-jeong's question, Seo-ha thought for a mont, then shook his head.
"It wasn't as tough as I expected. The study environnt is great, and my family adjusted well. Above all, I get far more support for my research here than I did in Korea.
It was a difficult decision, but now I'm grateful for everything."
Su-jeong nodded at his words.
"I see. That makes sense. You love math, after all."
"Huh? What do you an by that?"
Seo-ha looked taken aback.
"What? Am I wrong?"
"It's not that. If anything, noona, you're the person who loves math the most out of anyone I know."
"Huh? ?"
Su-jeong's eyes went wide.
To her, math had only ever been a ans to earn easy recognition from others, hadn't it?
"Yes! I've thought so ever since we first t. 'Ah, this person must really love math!' That's what I thought. Even in that situation, you still asked about the proof process."
The mory of falling flat on her face in front of hundreds of people ca rushing back.
Su-jeong's face turned red with embarrassnt.
"It's been the sa ever since. Noona, you've always been sincere about math. More passionate than anyone, and never willing to compromise with yourself. I've actually learned so much from watching you."
It was the first ti anyone had ever said sothing like that to her.
"No. I'm not like you. Back then, I was just in a situation where I had to do well.... I don't really have much talent. I just worked hard and got that far."
At Su-jeong's words, Seo-ha stopped walking.
"No. You tried to do well because you loved it, noona. Think about it carefully. This is sothing I realized after coming here too, but sotis other people see you more clearly than you see yourself.
And I really hate it when you sell yourself short. I've t all kinds of people at MIT, but there hasn't been a single student more talented than you.
I'm saying this with certainty: you are a born mathematician. One with an extraordinary gift."
Seo-ha's face was full of conviction.
Before she knew it, Su-jeong found herself nodding.
"Okay. Got it. If you say so."
After coming back to the hotel, Su-jeong imdiately began packing her things.
"If there's soone who believes in this much, there's nothing I can't do."
She wanted to hurry ho and study.
She might be a little lacking right now, but with Seo-ha's endorsent, she must surely be a genius too.
Thinking that way, her dreary college life felt brand new. A springboard for a great leap forward.
"Just you wait, MIT. I've never lost to anyone in my life, except Seo-ha."
She hadn't changed one bit.
The only difference from before was that the thing filling Su-jeong's self-worth was no longer anything else, but Seo-ha's recognition.
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