Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Duckie's Far Journey?
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[If I awaken a thousand years from now, this is the first thing I will ask.]
"Has the Riemann Hypothesis been proven?"
—David Hilbert, at the 1900 International Congress of Mathematicians in Paris.
I had a strange dream.
The bald old man I'd only seen in photos grabbed me by the collar and grilled me about what the hell had happened to the Riemann Hypothesis.
The German mathematician David Hilbert presented 23 problems for 20th-century mathematicians to tackle at that conference in Paris.
Over a hundred years later, 13 have been solved, 7 partially resolved, and 3 remain unsolved.
'Why'd Grandpa Hilbert grab me like that? Does he have a grudge against the Riemann Hypothesis or something?'
Probably the most famous unsolved problem in human history.
To crack the Riemann Hypothesis, nearly every great mind of the 20th century threw themselves at it.
But no one could topple that impenetrable fortress.
Maybe that's why Hilbert grabbed me in the dream?
"What the hell have you all been doing for a hundred years? Why hasn't it been proven yet?!"
The old man's booming roar echoed right in my ear.
Brrr—
A chill ran down my spine. Looked like I needed some of Mom's herbal medicine.
I was discharged from the hospital after just a week.
Before heading back to school, Mom grabbed me with a stern expression.
"If anything like this happens again, we're going straight back to Okcheon together. I'm not kidding—keep that in mind. I'll drag you back if I have to."
I felt ashamed. I never wanted to worry her...
I promised Mom this would never happen again.
She made me swear it several times before leaving with my sister.
Seeing Seo-eun's eyes welling up, saying we were separating again, broke my heart.
"Let's play a ton when vacation hits, bro!"
I pinky-swore.
Back at the dorm, the building was empty.
'Oh, class time!'
It was Thursday. I'd taken two extra days off and planned to start classes next week.
'Hm?'
Opening my door, cards spilled out from under it.
Flipping through them, they were all from people I knew.
[Seo-ha, come back quick and let's play soccer!]
[Weird not seeing you at the library third-floor window seat. Feels like an NPC vanished.]
[Newspaper club here. Still no thoughts on that interview?]
[Hey! Don't go too far ahead. At least let us see your back so we can follow!]
[Meet in the music room when you're back.]
My chest tightened with emotion.
I read them for a while, then tucked them carefully between book pages.
'Class probably hasn't ended yet.'
With nothing to do, I trudged down the path to the music room.
At the hospital, no one gave me a pen or notebook—adults must've agreed on something. They didn't even bring books, so I haunted the kids' library.
That's when I thought of the piano.
I asked for sketch paper and drew full-size keys on it.
All that was left was practice.
Opening the music room door after the path, cool air and chalk dust hit me.
Click.
Flipping the light, the piano gleamed like black waves.
I pulled the hospital sketchbook keys from my bag.
Sitting on the hospital bed, I'd practiced piano on this paper all day.
Now, matching my mental image to the real keys.
I lightly tapped 'Do' with my thumb.
Ding—
Left hand: Do-Sol. Right: Mi-Re-Do.
Repeating the moves I'd done thousands of times on paper. Tricky at first, but it got familiar. The textbook I'd memorized helped a ton.
Ducky had gone quiet since that day.
But I knew he hadn't vanished. The gnawing hunger—like nails on metal—had just been sated for now.
Should be smooth sailing for a while.
Ducky's theme was a melancholic piece.
He especially loved piano sonatas—the slow movements where the left hand lays down a low, repeating motif while the right hand's melody faintly comes alive. The structure: bass descending note by note, building a path as the melody layers on late.
'Safe descent.'
That's the vibe.
Did I think that as I sank into my subconscious?
Then, it surges violently toward the light.
"Not bad at all."
Turning, Winter was there.
Her hair in a ponytail unlike usual, sneakers on.
Breathless, cheeks flushed.
She walked in casually, setting her bag on a chair.
"Heard piano on my way by."
She offered the excuse first, like justification.
Seo-ha decided to thank her upfront.
"That CD you gave me helped a ton. So many things to be grateful for—any way I can repay you?"
Winter glanced at Seo-ha, eyes narrowing slightly.
"You solved that seven-year problem in the end, huh?"
"Save the favors for later. Might need 'em. But keep playing piano."
Winter adjusted Seo-ha's wrist angle with a light press.
Seo-ha steadied his breath and restarted "Ducky's Theme."
"Piano sonata? You compose it yourself?"
"Yeah."
"I like it. You told me before—good at music means talent for math too? Seems the reverse holds. Your left-right hand separation is spot on."
Using both hands separately requires the brain's hemispheres to alternate signals.
For Seo-ha, it was second nature.
"Really?"
"Yeah. So many struggle with that. I suck at math, but I dig your composition."
"Didn't expect that."
Seo-ha thought Ducky's piece was too dark and static.
"Clear musical theme. Left hand ticks like a clock, steady, while the melody atop shifts bit by bit. This ostinato—repeating bass—with variations on top? Baroque passacaglia or chaconne lineage. Even echoes Bach."
Seo-ha stared blankly at Winter. That was exactly what Ducky referenced.
"Figuring that out from hearing it? Impressive."
Seo-ha was genuinely awed. Winter looked pleased at his expression.
"Harmony has Romantic vibes too. Intriguing on multiple levels."
Seo-ha turned toward her; Winter hastily straightened up. Guiding keys from behind had brought them too close.
"Alright! Try again. Still unfinished, right? Let me know when it's done—I wanna play it."
Winter glanced at her watch.
The minute hand passed the room's reservation time.
But this was practice too, so no big deal, she figured.
High Math Institute, 3rd-floor conference room.
Seo-ha got an early morning call. Polite request to come over for some questions.
'Something about the verification?'
Sitting in a chair, waiting, Eliya Kronen entered himself, carrying two steaming large mugs.
Thud.
"Cocoa okay?"
"Yes!"
Facing in person the figure he'd only known from papers, Seo-ha couldn't help tensing.
He'd heard the man was terrifyingly intense, but Kronen kept a gentle expression, asking trivial things.
What subjects at school, how he learned math as a kid, any friends?
Finally, unable to hold back, Seo-ha spoke first.
"Um... isn't there something you wanted to ask about the proof?"
Kronen burst out laughing.
"Hahaha!"
Seo-ha had no clue what face to make.
"You know it's complete, I know it is. Why waste more time?"
"Huh?"
"Capable colleagues will handle verification. Today, I just wanted to meet a promising young mathematician."
Kronen shifted expression, eyeing Seo-ha.
"But you've read my paper. Nailed the zeta function's oscillation with Fourier transforms."
Seo-ha's eyes widened.
"Yes! Exactly. Was stumped on handling the diverging tail at limits, but that transform cleared the noise perfectly. Genius idea!"
Talking math, Seo-ha's eyes sparkled like a child's.
Kronen's lips curved up.
"You think so too, huh?"
Several theories went into proving the Four Color Theorem, Kronen's "oscillation suppression transform" key among them.
Kronen spent ages with Seo-ha on how he reached that theory, then bragged about his current research topics.
It was a delightful chat.
The first time Seo-ha met someone he clicked with so well.
"So, what's next for you?"
Kronen worried if, like Perelman, Seo-ha might lose research drive after a big proof. Glad it was unfounded.
He could see it:
The face of a mathematician itching to dive into new work.
"I've got tons to learn still. Tackling Millennium Prize Problems right now would be arrogant."
Kronen heard it differently.
'But give me time, and I could solve them anytime.'
"Still, there must be problems you want to solve?"
He was curious.
What this boy had in mind. If it overlapped his own, he'd advise.
"If I had to pick, the Riemann Hypothesis interests me."
"Hmm."
A low sound from Kronen.
'More ambitious for glory than he seems?'
Riemann Hypothesis: mathematician shredder.
But solving it brings unmatched fame. Kronen saw it as understandable.
"Why?"
Seo-ha hemmed and hawed, mumbling.
"Truth is, I've long been into primes. Tried Goldbach conjecture solo. Hit a dead end."
"What?"
Kronen startled.
[2+2=4, 3+3=6, 3+5=8...]
The Goldbach conjecture—"every even integer greater than 2 is sum of two primes"—simple, yet brutally hard to prove.
"Proving that requires rewriting number theory from scratch?"
A whole new system, enough to overhaul math textbooks.
"So..."
"Ah!"
Kronen exclaimed in realization.
"You cheeky kid!
You're saying Riemann's way easier than Goldbach! Plan to use Riemann hints to crack Goldbach ultimately."
Riemann ties deep to prime distribution.
Solving it gives massive clues for Goldbach.
This kid treated history's most frustrating problem as a mere stepping stone.
Seo-ha flushed.
"W-Well, Riemann's had tons of research..."
Centuries of challengers meant mountains of data.
Tens of thousands of Riemann papers—Seo-ha believed hints lurked there.
"And?"
"Kinda felt like I could solve it."
"Felt like."
Innate intuition only the gifted know.
Tap, tap.
Kronen drummed the table.
"Math's greatest spark. But dangerous too."
"Heard you're tackling a Millennium problem too, Professor."
"Curious why?"
Kronen grinned at Seo-ha.
"A bit."
"Promise to come to Princeton, and I'll tell all. Progress included. We're pretty close, heads up."
"Pass."
Seo-ha shook his head, disappointed.
Kronen failed his first-ever student scout.
"Hey, kid!"
He grabbed Seo-ha rising to leave.
"Yes?"
"Listen well. If serious about Millenniums, form a team eventually.
Solving one is like sailing open ocean for a single island. Captain can't hoist sails and row alone."
Seo-ha paused, pondering, then nodded.
"Thank you."
Seo-ha bowed politely and left the room.
'Team members...'
Second time hearing this.
One name came to mind. Far-future talk, maybe.