211 - Danielle
"Hmm..."
Professor Fuller spun the chair on the podium with his foot, racking his brains. Emily entered his field of vision every second.
"Professor Fuller. What did you think? Does it seem like a proper proof?"
Even after realizing the shocking fact that 'ㅁㅊㄱㅈㄹ' was 'WLOG', Robert Fuller tossed out additional questions he'd memorized in advance. Nami answered without hesitation each time, leaving the professor struggling to keep up with the interpretations.
It was only after she left that he learned her 'Proxima Non' explanation referred to the zeros of the Dirichlet L-function. Unknown proper nouns like 'Asephite Alpha Group' and 'Kaizen K-function' didn't turn up on internet searches either. There were far too many theories that seemed nonexistent based on their form and structure.
"If Fermat had truly proven his Last Theorem using only 17th-century mathematics, it might look something like this."
Fermat's Last Theorem had only been solved after the establishment of modern mathematics like elliptic curves and the modularity theorem. But what if it could be solved by other means? Surely groundbreaking theories beyond imagination would underpin it.
Robert Fuller snapped his fingers crisply. After long deliberation, he'd found his direction.
Whether this proof was true or false didn't matter. The content embedded in Nami's proof alone painted a clear picture of a future that would shake the mathematical world.
He wasn't the type to gut the golden goose. In other words, he had strong patience.
"I need someone with broader expertise."
After the rise of AI, society had begun demanding specialization from intellectuals once more. The saying went: undergrads study the elephant, grads study its foot, and PhDs study the dirt under its toenail. Human time was finite, specialized knowledge endless, so fields inevitably narrowed. This led to the downside where even fellow elephant experts knew nothing of each other's subfields.
"If only we had someone like John von Neumann or Terence Tao."
"They're both dead. And Neumann wasn't even a mathematician—he was a theoretical magician from a century ago. Why look for him here?"
He needed a deus ex machina who encompassed the entire field of mathematics. Only then could he cross-verify if Nami's theories already existed or were entirely new.
In the end, Fuller sought another approach.
"All that's left is collective intelligence."
If 100 experts gathered, couldn't they roughly sketch the elephant's shape?
"Good call renting the large lecture hall like you said, Professor."
"Yeah. Maybe bring snacks next time."
The balding professor started searching for snacks Nami might like. Glancing at this, Emily muttered unwittingly.
"Takoyaki?"
"?"
"Ah, sorry. I smelled takoyaki somewhere. Definitely not because of your head, Professor..."
"As I've said a million times, I'm not balding—I've shaved it!"
"Yes, I know... Sorry..."
He sighed deeply. Problems that stumped the world got solved, but baldness cures showed no sign until 2051. Smelling the faint takoyaki scent wafting from somewhere, Fuller absentmindedly stroked his shiny scalp. His head spun from spinning the chair too long.
I ignored Woo Da-yeon's desperate plea. Six pieces of cheese takoyaki. I chose present happiness over past favors. People who show sincerity are just more appealing.
We headed to the studio where the 'Bark' channel first launched. Naturally, Woo Da-yeon, who'd followed to the end, got blocked at the building entrance.
"You know Da-yeon unnie?"
"Huh?"
"I overheard you two having a heated talk before I left the lecture hall."
"You heard that too? Nami's got sharp ears! Here, one more bite—ahh~"
"Ahh. Mmm. Thanks, Danielle unnie."
'Danielle', a freshman at Korea University's music department.
"But it's embarrassing, so in front of the seniors later, could you call me Niel or Danielle?"
"Hmm, no."
"O... okay, fine."
"The takoyaki's delicious. The cheese powder on top is a fresh twist."
"Really? Glad you like it!"
She didn't like the name her parents gave her. It's so pretty, though.
"That unnie's in my liberal arts group this semester."
Ah, so that's how they knew each other. No obvious connection, but a shared class changed things. The course was 'Psychology of Human Relationships'.
My ears perked up. I asked what they learned and what labs involved. Did it teach psychological mechanisms when relationships broke? Methods to manage hatred toward enemies? I'd sit in for that.
"Nothing like that! Honestly, I don't even know what we learn in class... It's more like hanging out with teammates...?"
"Hanging out? In class?"
"Yeah! Bowling, VR games, drinking."
"That's it? No way."
"That's it? Why?"
This wasn't college as I imagined! No different from my past life's trash academy, where classes were facades for noble networking. Commoners trampled the weak to curry favor; nobles turned lectures into wine parties. Education lost all meaning.
"Hehe, have fun and ace the credits—that's all that matters, right?"
"Ah... no, it's not..."
"Come audit sometime? The prof would love it!"
Past-life trauma resurfaced, vision blurring. If I'd known Danielle was like this, I'd have gone with Woo Da-yeon. Spilled milk now.
As she said, Bark Studio held several college students and an older woman exuding an aura like Professor Cheon—clearly a university prof.
"Hello."
"Oh, Nami, you're too cute! Hi, so glad to meet you!"
The professor's voice rose an octave at the end. They say people unconsciously raise pitch for babies—being on the receiving end was intensely awkward.
I greeted the other Bark members one by one. They were wildly diverse, hard to find common threads. Long, elegant fingers, maybe?
"Nami, do you know Bark?"
"Yes, I saw your recommended videos before."
"Woooah!"
"See? She said she knows us!"
"For real?"
A million-sub VTube channel back then was unavoidable, especially for me searching classical music often.
The students cheered excitedly. I didn't see what was so amazing about me knowing them.
"When? Which videos?"
"Several, mostly from two years ago."
"Ahh, got it! Wow, two years ago—you were a tiny tot! Six years old is so young... real... wait... ah..."
A senior clasped her hands, hastily covering her mouth.
"A... ahh... sorry..."
Her eyebrows furrowed in an 八, eyes trembling wildly. Legs gave out, collapsing on the cold marble floor.
Why? Oh, right.
"Not just when I was trapped in the capsule. I looked some up even after rescue."
She'd mistaken it for forced viewing from boredom in VR isolation. Wrong. They had ten-million-view hits—popular stuff.
I patted her shoulder encouragingly twice. Then Danielle behind her rolled her eyes back and toppled sideways.
What's with them all? Hidden camera?
Danielle thought: No way two such adorable beings exist in one world.
Even on Korea U's EveryTime, photos with the kid's face artfully cropped kept appearing. Portrait rights kept things self-censored.
So after Nami finished performing and left, Niel planned to meet her again. She bought takoyaki at the main gate, ran back to the natural sciences building under the blazing sun—worth it. Held the cute kid's hand, beat rival Hicks Studio too.
Seniors must be thrilled. Despite appearances, 'Bark' was a drab, depressed group torn between PDs' real-life woes and content duties. Nami's energy was otherworldly.
Overexcited, one senior slipped up. Smiling nonstop Danielle turned serious.
[Not just when I was trapped in the capsule. I looked some up even after rescue.]
Poor kid forcing a smile to avoid awkwardness. Hidden by her striking, cute features: NoName had been capsule-trapped for seven years.
Senior realized her mistake instantly. But words couldn't be unsaid.
Danielle suddenly felt suffocated. Seven years trapped—what agony? Facing 'trauma' so calmly?
Regret for dragging her here surged first. Dizzy from swirling emotions, Danielle fainted.
Some time later, she awoke on the studio mattress.
"Niel, you okay?"
"Nami... where's Nami?"
Niel worried for Nami over herself.
"Playing 'Maestro' with the prof right now?"
"What? VR? Nami's in a capsule?"
"Y-yeah."
"No, I gotta see for myself."
"Hey, don't push it, Niel!"
Niel dashed next door. Legs heavy, but she couldn't stop. Like NoName, she'd grown up nearly trapped in a capsule young. Even risking another blackout, confirming Nami's safety came first.