The Path We Walk Together
'Huh...?'
To ensure fairness, the school's math competition was proctored by teachers from different grades and classes.
For that reason, the teacher who entered Class 5 of the fifth grade was a fourth-grade teacher.
And this teacher happened to be Min-jun and Ha-rang's homeroom teacher from the previous year.
'Since all the questions are short-answer, they couldn't have just guessed...'
The exam time was sixty minutes.
With thirty minutes still remaining, both boys' pencils had stopped moving.
Looking at their expressions as they reviewed the questions, it didn't seem like they had just scribbled down random answers.
Intrigued, the teacher quietly walked over and peered at their exam papers.
'Wait, what?'
The teacher's eyes widened slightly.
Although they had missed a few questions, they had correctly answered all five of the "killer questions" designed to separate the top ranks.
A quick glance suggested that with scores like those, both boys were well within the range to win an award.
'Wow, what kind of magic did they pull?'
They had been at the very bottom of the class back in the fourth grade...
The proctor shook his head in disbelief.
Then, he turned his head to look at the small back of the head of the boy sitting in the very front row.
The boy who had finished the entire test in less than twenty minutes and had been busy spinning his pencil ever since.
'Well, it's a guarantee that the grand prize for the fifth-grade competition is coming from Class 5.'
He had caught a glimpse of his paper earlier, and the boy had a perfect score.
"Why is the fifth-grade head teacher in such a bad mood?"
"The grading for the math competition just finished."
"Oh. How did it go?"
"Five students from Class 5 won awards in the fifth grade. The grand prize, one silver, one bronze, and two honorable mentions."
"Whoa... Weren't there only nine kids in that class? Five of them won?"
"Exactly. Class 1 usually sweeps all the top spots in every competition, so their pride took a massive hit. A lot of the kids in Class 1 even win awards in external competitions. But to be beaten by Class 5 of all classes? Of course they're in a foul mood."
"I guess that makes sense. Hardly anyone in Class 5 does advanced study, right? Mr. Ko is seriously amazing."
"No, Mr. Ko is one thing, but they have that kid in their class."
"Ah, Chul-jun?"
"Yeah. Chul-jun got a perfect score and won the grand prize. Apparently, he's been tutoring the other kids."
"He actually teaches them?"
"I heard most of the kids in that class stay behind for over an hour after their after-school programs to study like that. And they say he's an incredibly good teacher."
"Wow... I should go take a look sometime."
"Yeah, I want to see it too. Let's go together."
"Hell yeah..."
Min-jun stared at his award certificate with a dazed expression.
It was the first time he had received anything from the school since his appointment certificate as vice president of his class in the second grade.
"Th-this is insane..."
"Yeah. Bronze can get lost."
Ha-rang grinned widely and held up his certificate.
Ha-rang had won the silver prize.
In any case, it was the first time either of them had received an award in front of the entire school.
Both of their gazes drifted toward the very front row.
Sensing their eyes on him, Chul-jun turned around.
He casually lifted his own certificate to show them.
Ha-rang and Min-jun quickly gave him two thumbs up.
Chul-jun beamed.
When Chul-jun stood in front of the entire school to receive his award, he had felt incredibly happy.
He had never received that much applause and congratulations in his entire life.
But in truth, the exam itself hadn't been very fun.
The answers had simply presented themselves; it was far too easy.
Honestly, he had expected Min-jun and Ha-rang to get perfect scores too, so he was quite disappointed that they had missed a few questions.
He had taught them everything on it.
Regardless, teaching the other kids had made him realize something.
He used to think mathematics was just about finding the correct answer, but he discovered that explaining it to others was actually quite enjoyable.
—That is what a proof is.
He had realized it after hearing his teacher's words.
A proof was not just a logical process of finding an answer; it was a way to make something only you could see visible to others as well.
'Mathematics wasn't meant to be done alone.'
A proof required an audience, and through that, connections were forged, just like this.
'Wow...'
In that moment, mathematics began to look entirely different to him.
A neat, clean answer wasn't everything.
The process of guiding Min-jun and Ha-rang when they asked questions—that was it.
In math, the answer wasn't everything; the path leading to that answer was far more important.
And that path was not one to be walked alone, but a path to be shared and walked together with someone else.
Watching Min-jun and Ha-rang walk along the path he had paved, he felt for the first time that mathematics was not lonely.
The truly exciting part of mathematics was not the destination, but the journey itself.
Suddenly, he thought of his tutor, Cha Se-young.
He had asked her so many questions back then.
And to answer those questions, she had walked that path right alongside him.
'Teacher Se-young must have had so much fun back then too, right?'
As his thoughts reached this point, Chul-jun's eyes widened.
'The reason I first found math fun...'
The very first question mark that had sparked his love for mathematics flashed in his mind.
'Why did I forget about it?'
He had been so overwhelmed by the sudden influx of fascinating new things that he had completely forgotten.
'That's right. It was because of the stars that math became fun for me.'
As the memory rushed back, Chul-jun unconsciously clenched his fists.
He remembered what he had been curious about out of pure, personal desire, not for anyone else.
In that moment, he recalled Si-woo's dream of walking, and Arin's dream of looking up.
It was hard to define it strictly as a "dream," but regardless, he now had something he wanted to focus on with all his might.
Just thinking about it made his heart race.
For the first time, he had a clear goal.
'I should call Teacher Se-young first.'
Chul-jun smiled brightly.
"Hey! Did the plot compile?"
"I got it, but... why does it look like this?"
"What? Did you not run the simulation?"
"I think there's a bottleneck in the pipeline. The noise is way too high."
"Sigh... The signal is completely buried. You expanded the parameter space too much."
"Ah..."
"The professor is going to lose his mind again."
A musty, stale odor.
A pitch-black room shrouded by blackout curtains.
Flickering monitors.
Whiteboards covering every wall.
Printed research papers scattered across the floor.
Trash cans overflowing with empty energy drink cans and the sticky remains of instant coffee packets.
Piles of un-cleared instant noodle cups.
And people with hollow, gaunt faces who clearly hadn't washed in days.
No telescopes, no beautiful photos of stars—just a horribly messy computer lab. This was the reality of one of the few independent, pure astronomy department research labs in South Korea.
Suddenly, the door to this haggard space swung open, letting in a flood of bright sunlight.
Everyone's eyes darted toward the entrance.
Perhaps because the sunlight was blinding, the figure who suddenly appeared seemed to radiate light.
And for good reason—she was a young woman dressed in a fresh, stylish outfit that didn't belong in this dungeon at all.
One of the squinting men recognized her and raised his hand slightly.
"Oh? Cha Se-young? Long time no see."
"Ugh, why didn't you answer my calls? Ah, hello everyone."
Se-young bowed politely to the lab members, her brow furrowing as she tried to find a clean spot to set down the bag she was holding.
Every single table looked like a landfill.
The man watched her, tilting his head.
"What's that?"
"Pork trotters."
"Oh!"
Everyone in the lab descended upon it like hungry ghosts.
"What? An elementary schooler?"
"Yeah. Remember when I kept calling you to ask all those random questions? That was all because of him."
"Huh? That was an elementary schooler too?"
"Yeah. I told you back then."
"Did you?"
Cha Se-young stared at the man, who looked like a vagrant, with a look of utter pity.
Despite his disheveled appearance, he was actually one of South Korea's rare talents in the field of astronomy.
Dr. Cha Sun-hyuk, who had completed his postdoc in astronomy at Leiden University in the Netherlands, was currently working as a research professor in the astronomy department at Seohan University because a tenure-track position hadn't opened up yet.
He was Se-young's cousin, and he had been a huge help when Chul-jun was asking all those highly mathematical questions about stars.
Cha Sun-hyuk stroked his stubbly chin, his brow furrowing, while Cha Se-young let out a deep sigh.
"Shave, will you? Did you even wash your face?"
"Doesn't it look sexy?"
"No. It looks filthy."
"But... an elementary schooler?"
"How many times do I have to tell you?!"
"The stuff you asked me about back then was celestial mechanics and spherical astronomy, though?"
"Yeah!"
"Not a high schooler, but an elementary schooler?"
"Oh, seriously! Yes, I'm telling you!"
"An elementary schooler asked about that?"
"Yes!"
"Come on, stop lying..."
"You'll see for yourself when you meet him."
Cha Se-young shook her head.
She felt it every time, but talking to this man was truly exhausting.
"Fine, let's say that's true. So, this kid wants to learn about astronomy in earnest?"
"Yeah."
Sun-hyuk's eyes widened.
"Why?"
"He says he's curious!"
Sun-hyuk shook his head vigorously.
"No. This isn't the way. Tell him to turn back before it's too late."
"Sigh... Looking at you, I want to stop him too. He's such a cute, precious kid..."
"Yeah, I get it. It's normal for kids that age. The stars look pretty and sparkly. They go crazy when they see the moon through a telescope. The vast universe shown on YouTube looks absolutely magical. They lose their minds when they visit an observatory. He's just a kid... Sure, astronomy must seem incredibly cool to him right now."
Sun-hyuk waved his hand in the air as if shooing away a fly.
"But that's where it ends. It's all an illusion."
Se-young agreed with his words, but she didn't nod.
There was no way her brilliant Chul-jun would have called her in such an excited state over some superficial sentimentality like that.
"The thing is, he's different from other kids."
"He's still just an elementary schooler."
"Don't you know about the massive uproar in the College of Natural Sciences recently?"
"Nope, no idea. We don't keep up with the internal affairs of the College of Natural Sciences. We're basically the black sheep of the family. Our lab is shoved into the deepest corner of the building."
"Sigh... Oppa, listen to me carefully."
"Yeah, I'm listening."
"If you manage to win this kid over? The Dean of the College of Natural Sciences might literally come massage your shoulders."
Sun-hyuk let out a dry chuckle and wrinkled his nose.
"What kind of snake oil are you trying to sell me?"
"It's true! Go ask the math department what happened recently. Ah, wait, actually, you shouldn't win him over..."
Sun-hyuk raised an eyebrow.
Seeing her speak with such conviction made him think there really might be something to this.
"Is he good at math? What, is he a prodigy?"
"Yeah! He's better than any prodigy!"
"Then why is a kid like that interested?"
"I told you. He's curious."
"But if he comes here and sees the reality of astronomy, he's going to be completely disappointed."
Se-young nodded eagerly.
"Exactly. That's the goal."
"Oh. My dear Se-young! You had a plan all along."
"Yep!"
There was no way she could let that precious child be dragged into this dark, gloomy abyss.
Taking a quick look around the lab just now, it was even worse than she had imagined.
Once Chul-jun saw this grim reality, he would surely shake his head and run the other way.
Sun-hyuk smirked, stroking his beard as he looked at Se-young.
"Okay, I can definitely do that. But what's in it for me?"
"Hey, it's just showing a kid around and answering a few questions, what more do you want... I literally bought you pork trotters!"
"Is, uh, Ye-ji still dating that guy?"
"Yeah. She says they're getting married."
"Ah, dammit..."
"Anyway, go wash up. If you do a good job with this, I'll set you up on a blind date."
Sun-hyuk snapped his head up.
"Bring him over! A tour and a few questions are nothing! Ah, you want me to kill his interest in this field, right? No problem at all! I'll prepare everything perfectly!"
Se-young shook her head.
"So, is it okay if we come tomorrow afternoon?"
"Yeah. I'll keep the lab exactly as it is today."
From what she had seen, it had probably been in this state for the past year anyway.
Se-young smiled and stood up from the bench.
"See you tomorrow!"
"Yeah. Go on."
Sun-hyuk waved his hand dismissively.
South Korean astronomy was developing at a snail's pace, but its future was far from bright.
For starters, only a tiny handful of universities had an independent department of pure modern astronomy.
It couldn't be helped.
It was an incredibly unpopular major.
Astronomy belonged to the absolute purest branch of the basic sciences.
In other words, unless one went on to do a postdoc abroad after graduating, there were almost no career paths outside of graduate school.
Recently, with the rise of astronomical research utilizing big data and AI machine learning, astronomy majors had found opportunities in data analysis or software development, but that was hardly utilizing their actual major.
Therefore, it was extremely rare for someone who had completed a postdoc abroad to return to South Korea without a secured professorship.
Normally, unless they had a guaranteed position at KASI (Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute), going to the US, Europe, Japan, or Taiwan was a much better choice.
The gap in the research environment compared to other countries was simply astronomical.
"Honestly, I have no idea why I came back."
Sun-hyuk muttered to himself, staring blankly at the pork trotter bones strewn across the lab table.
"Are you guys even human?"
Sun-hyuk scowled deeply.
"I forced myself to come back to South Korea just to look after guys like you! And you ate every single bite before I could even touch it? You greedy pigs!"
Just then, one of the graduate students, who had been completely ignoring Sun-hyuk's rant while staring at his monitor, raised his hand.
"We've got a dip in the plot!"
Sun-hyuk's eyes went wide.
"Did you check the pipeline?"
"Yes! It's definitely interference from another star!"
"What about the date data?"
"The period matches!"
"That's the one the Japanese team dismissed before, right?"
"Yes!"
Sun-hyuk quickly sat down in front of the monitor and began clicking around frantically.
The graduate students in the lab crowded around him.
They had been constantly ignored lately, but if this data was solid, they might finally be able to hold their heads high...
However, as Sun-hyuk stared intensely at the screen, his expression turned cold.
"Ah, dammit. It's just noise."
"Ah, looks like there's a bug in the code too."
Getting excited, cooling down, hoping again, writing predictive code, calculating formulas, getting excited when a plot came out, cooling down again, and then...
Without showing much disappointment, as if they were used to it, the graduate students dispersed.
This was a daily occurrence in an astronomy lab.
They had no telescopes.
They merely stared at data until their eyes turned bloodshot, dreaming of witnessing a conversation whispered by the universe from beyond the monitor—a miracle they might only encounter once in a lifetime, if ever.
And to think a future hope of the nation, a math prodigy no less, was coming to visit such a shabby place.
'If you're good at math, you should dream of becoming a doctor...'
Sun-hyuk chuckled dryly and shook his head.
The next day.
"I definitely warned you beforehand."
"Yes!"
"It's super messy there!"
"Yes!"
"And it smells bad!"
"Yes!"
"And there are no telescopes!"
"Yes!"
"There are only people who look like vagrants there."
Chul-jun grinned.
Hearing her description, he was reminded of the bustling, chaotic markets on the outskirts of Yanbian.
"Yes!"
So he wasn't worried at all.
Se-young looked at Chul-jun's face and let out a soft sigh.
'I don't think he understands what he's getting into at all...'
Surely, he would be deeply disappointed once he saw it with his own eyes.