Dormitory Life Snap!
Everyone in the cramped hospital room held their breath, eyes fixed on the girl.
Click-click-click—
“You're a total genius!”
The clicking wasn't from a camera shutter. Click-click-thud!
“Done.”
“Wooooaaah!”
The moment Nami completed the perfectly solved twelve-sided cube and set it on the desk, cheers erupted from the kids like thunder.
“Hey, you try this one!”
“No way, I asked first!”
“A hexahedron looks too easy for her? Bring something harder!”
The children squabbled over the cubes scattered around the room, all wanting Nami to solve theirs too.
That was the scene Seol Yun-seul had woken up to.
Nami shooed out the kids, who were each a head or two taller than her, and sat by Yun-seul's bed.
“Morning. Slept a solid twelve hours, huh?”
“What... is this a dream?”
Yun-seul pinched her cheek hard. It stung, but nothing else felt off.
“Doesn't hurt, right?”
“Uh-uh. Not really... cheek stings a bit...”
“Good.”
Yun-seul scanned Nami up and down. “What's going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“This isn't VR.”
“It's not.”
“Then why...?”
Yun-seul's mind was a whirlwind of confusion. She was even wondering how Nami had pulled her VR avatar into reality before accepting that she might really be seven years old.
After racking her brain, Yun-seul finally pieced it together.
“You... y-you...! The real Nami? For real?”
“Yeah.”
“What if you have some growth-stunting disease—”
“Nope.”
Nami puffed her cheeks in annoyance.
“I'll get the doctor since you're up. Hang tight.”
A weary-faced doctor gave her a quick check-up. The attending physician then asked when she'd be discharged.
“I can leave anytime...?”
“Yes, you're perfectly healthy. If you still feel drained, stay another day.”
“N-no... I'll discharge right now...”
Yun-seul stared at her palms, blinking. They'd looked badly burned, but they were smooth and unblemished.
“Got a place to go, sis?”
“Home...”
“Your place is probably a wreck right now.”
Nami recalled the state of Yun-seul's apartment. Even one night there would mean inhaling a lifetime's worth of carcinogens.
“Your parents'—?”
“No!”
“Why?”
“Just... no. I hate it.”
Yun-seul hugged her knees, burying her face. Her fingertips trembled faintly. I absolutely can't go back home.
“Wanna crash at my place then?”
“Huh?”
“I'll put you up for a few days. Got a spare room.”
Nami had picked up a wild honeyeater bird or two.
Pet-pet. “Sis.”
Squish-squish. “Yun-seul sis.”
Pinch. “...! Seol Yun-seul!”
“Eek! Why?”
“Stop touching.”
“Sorry...! It's just so fascinating.”
There had to be limits! Stroking cheeks? Fine, maybe. Some elementary kids had those chubby cheeks that begged to be poked—you could barely resist. She'd allow fiddling, thanks to their VR-built rapport.
But pinching hard? Too much.
“Hahaha. Probably 'cause Nami's so cute.”
“Keep it up and I won't let you stay over.”
“No prob, it's my house anyway. House owner permits it.”
“Professor Cheon, that's not fair...!”
Not taking my side?
They stopped by Kariri's to grab essentials, loaded them into a trunk, and headed home.
“Our places are super close...”
Yun-seul murmured, watching the scenery zip by. Just three subway stops away.
Professor Cheon up front looked awkward, so she clammed up after that. He did have a scary first impression. No plans to dye that gray hair?
Professor Cheon broke the silence first.
“You're the friend teaming up with Nami for the gaming tournament?”
“Y-yes...!”
“Heard about it. That scum who deserved worse shows up... must've been rough.”
“N-no...”
“Make yourself at home—no need to mind us. Nami'll help with the rest.”
The perp had confessed during investigation; police sought an arrest warrant for attempted murder. Using magic made it ironclad—no diminished capacity plea.
He seemed educated, yet let schizophrenia fester untreated. Who knows.
“I'll head back once the house is fixed... thank you...”
“Head back? What if they come again?”
The guy rode a train from Busan just to hurt her—not simple stalking; he'd dug up her address deep.
“Your address leaked. Dangerous.”
“It's fine... happens all the time...”
Yun-seul played it off like old news, but couldn't hide her trembling hands.
They got out, each lugging bags from the parking lot. No more hand massages—bliss.
“39th floor. So high...”
“Elevators get annoying waiting.”
“It's okay. With you, I like waiting...”
Yun-seul placed both hands on my shoulders, spouting nonsense. What did that even mean?
[Use this toothbrush. Sharing toothpaste is fine, right? No germaphobia... yeah, doesn't seem like it.]
Nami darted around the hallway, helping unpack Yun-seul's stuff.
[Was this always this messy? This room hasn't been cleaned, so dusty...]
[Guess she'll bunk in Nami's room tonight. Okay?]
[Tomorrow, we'll all come clean when we have time.]
A fluffy blanket spread over the carpet, a pillow with a cute bear print placed just so.
Yun-seul, who'd struggled even to go out in public, was now living in a stranger's home.
Yet it felt like her own place—cozy.
And she had mountains of questions for Nami.
Her head swirled with them, but interrupting Nami's busy flitting felt rude.
Yun-seul huddled in a corner, texting her little sister.
Seol Taeyang was on a 2-night, 3-day school trip and just learned the news late.
Times like this, she didn't mind her sister's worry.
“All unpacked.”
“Oh... y-yeah! Thanks so much...!”
“Relax. Wanna watch TV?”
“S-sure! TV's fine.”
“Professor Cheon's out shopping. No need to tiptoe.”
Nami hopped onto the sofa back, landing dead center. She hooked the remote with her toes, grabbed it, and flipped on a channel.
Yun-seul perched primly at the edge. “Um, Nami... what's your relation to him—?”
“Professor Cheon's my adoptive dad. Been four months. I'm in second grade at Seferon Academy elementary. More questions?”
Info poured out like machine-gun fire before Yun-seul finished. Nami was a pro at explanations by now.
“Yeah... tons... so many...”
Starting with why you're seven...
Yun-seul still needed convincing.
Our final Top 1 topic: 'Genius Mathematician'!
That adorable voice clashing with savage proofs. The video was one of seven from streamer NoName's VTube uploads.
Guess her age?
Not just hard—these are legends. Check the list:
#1 ABC Conjecture & Brocard’s Problem (1876) — 6 days ago
#2 Erdős–Straus Conjecture (1948) — 5 days ago
#3 Weaire–Phelan Structure Optimization (1993) — 4 days ago
#4 Collatz Conjecture Bound to n^0.737 (1937) — 4 days ago
#5 Moving Sofa Problem Upper Bound Improvement (1966) — 3 days ago
#6 Twin Prime Conjecture (1849) — 3 days ago
#7 Strong Goldbach Conjecture (1742) — 2 days ago
"My students keep calling: 'Professor, my world collapsed yesterday!' Heh. First proof: suspicious. Soon astonished. Now thrilled. Can't verify truth yet, but her novel, elegant techniques scream deep math mastery. No scammer—I guarantee."
[Reporter: If all true, Fields Medal?]
"All? One alone's huge. Twin primes or Goldbach? History-maker. ABC, Collatz... lump 'em all, haha."
"Incredible."
"First Fields since Ms. Ham? Congrats in advance."
"Thanks."
The program wrapped with NoName's exploits: World of Arceria feats, tournament rumors.
Yun-seul, glued to the screen, gazed at Nami in her lap pillow, belly-rubbing lazily. Way more amazing than imagined.
“Smells like green peppers. Professor Cheon! Can you skip mine?”
“No peppers in japchae? What's the point?”
“Meat's plenty tasty...”
Classic seven-year-old picky eater.
“Sis, you eat my peppers.”
Yun-seul was starting to get scared of her.