Farewell Smartphone, Hello Proof
I decided to stop returning my smartphone and investigating Shin Ijun online.
There weren't many mentions of him to begin with. And all of them were stuck in the past, five years ago.
Someone who still talked about a guy who died five years ago wouldn't be inside the internet—they'd be out in the real world.
Past life is past life. This life is this life.
I'm Yoo A-yeon now.
So now it's time for me to throw out the bait myself!
"Nihehe."
"Unni—play with me—."
Shake shake~ A-rin was shaking my body, looking bored.
"Later, A-rinnie."
I immediately hit the write post button.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Typing on the smartphone with my tiny hands took quite a while.
(*Navier-Stokes, P=NP: The other Millennium Prize Problems on the same level as the Riemann Hypothesis)
"Hmm…"
Not the most satisfying reactions.
Which made sense. So many people pull aggro claiming they've solved big problems.
Of course, I actually succeeded in proving it—unlike those flashy-talking trolls. But right now, I have no way to prove that.
Anyway, what's with all the "con" stuff? How many trolls have claimed to solve the Riemann Hypothesis anyway!
After waiting a bit, more comments piled up.
I grinned at that comment.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Huhung."
If someone asks about my IQ, it's only natural to answer graciously.
I'd never reveal it voluntarily to others though—? But if you're that curious, no reason not to tell—?
"Unni— unni— I'm bored—."
Shake shake~
"Just a sec."
More replies kept coming.
"Muu—."
My cheeks puffed out.
Luckily, this was something I could prove.
I jumped up from the sofa. A-rin, who had been shaking me, looked delighted.
"Unni—! Gonna play with me?"
"A-rinnie. Unni has to keyboard battle right now. Wait just a tiny bit."
"What's keyboard battle…?"
I hurried to the master bedroom.
The IQ test results from back then should be in the dresser drawer…
Rummage rummage. Rummage rummage. Rummage rummage. But no matter how much I searched, there was no sign of the results sheet—not a corner, not an edge, nothing.
It had been two years and ten months since the test. I hadn't pulled it out once in all that time. No need, since I knew it was maxed out in every category.
So of course I couldn't find it now.
"Hing…"
Downcast.
I could bail without proof, but that guy would definitely think I was a delusional jammin. And that felt like losing, which sucked.
No choice. If I'm doomed to be a jammin either way, time to pull out the forbidden ultimate jammin move…!
Tap. Tap. Tap.
I carefully typed a sentence, copied it, and pasted it repeatedly.
The guy tucked tail and ran. Victory was mine.
"Huheheheng."
I savored the joy of beating some faceless internet stranger.
The dopamine shower after victory—pure bliss!
And right then, a heartbroken wail came from the living room.
"Waaahheeeeng!"
"Ah, A-rinnie, why are you crying?"
Mom heard and rushed out, scooping A-rin up and patting her back.
"Waaah! Unni… sob… won't play with me! Keeps staring at phone… hic… I hate unni!"
Rumble rumble.
Hate… hate… hate…? Me… hated?
Her words hit like a massive wedge slamming into my chest.
From A-rin, of all people.
Thud. My legs gave out, and I collapsed.
I checked the time on my phone. It felt like no time had passed, but two hours had flown by.
What… was I even doing?
I made my little sister cry. Hurt her feelings.
Realizing that, shame flooded in late.
One day with a smartphone, and I dove into ego searches and gal trolling, ignoring my sister?
The precious little sister I'd held hands with and hugged every day since birth?
Don't forget, A-yeon. You're A-rin's unni. Be the example older sister.
Smack! I slapped both my chubby cheeks hard with my palms.
Ouch—!
Tears welled up from the sting. But if it wasn't this painful, this kid wouldn't snap out of it.
Smartphones and the internet are insanely tempting. Unlike reading books that tax your brain, they shower you with dopamine hits effortlessly.
I'm a kid who knows self-objectivity.
In the marshmallow experiment, I'd probably gobble the one in front of me.
Impulse control isn't an intelligence issue—it's hormones. At least this 5-year-old A-yeon doesn't have the system to restrain desires yet.
Even if I reflect on today, someday I'll neglect family again.
Parents think limiting my phone to under 3 hours a day is fine, but I disagree.
To me right now, the smartphone is poison.
With that thought, I picked up the phone with a resolute face and went to Mom.
"Mommy."
I held out the smartphone.
"Return this for me."
Blink blink. Mom blinked.
"A-yeon, you sure? You loved it so much…"
Shake shake. I shook my head.
"Yeah. Don't need it now. Internet only on Mommy's laptop when really really needed."
Mom peered into my face for a while, then took the phone.
"Our A-yeon's so admirable."
Pet pet. Mom smiled softly, stroking my hair.
Farewell, my iPhone… We only had 2 hours together, but it was fun…
Sorry I couldn't be a good owner. I bid it a short goodbye in my heart.
Then I went to A-rin, who was sniffling in Mom's arms, and met her eyes.
"A-rinnie. Sorry. Unni was wrong. Won't happen again."
"…Really?"
"Yeah. Really. No more phone. Unni gave it up to play more with A-rinnie."
"Sniff… Unni."
"Yeah."
"Hug me then."
Whoosh. I spread my arms. A-rin climbed down from Mom and burrowed into me.
Squeeze. My 5-year-old arms were way smaller than Mom's vast embrace, but A-rin preferred this one.
Her tears stopped before I knew it, and she fell asleep breathing softly.
The proof paper for the Riemann Hypothesis had surpassed 120 pages before I knew it.
Well, after two whole years, it'd be a crime if it wasn't book-length.
The portion from my "unique core idea" that only I could think of? Maybe 10% at most.
Why so long?
Proving a centuries-old unsolved problem is like stacking one more brick of my idea atop the tower of existing foundational theories.
Plus, the logic has to be rigorously mathematical, without a single crack. So I had to reprove every known theorem and lemma from scratch.
That bloated the page count.
Andrew Wiles' proof of Fermat's Last Theorem was 130 pages, right?
Click clack. The paper work with Mom's help was nearly done. Tailored to my standards from my past life publishing in top-tier journals.
Revise, revise, revise again and again.
"Hmm… Hmmm… Hmmmm…"
But unsatisfied, checking for typos, logic errors, review after review.
"Hmmmm…"
"A-yeon, honey, can't we stop revising now? Dad even took it to work to check for typos… Mom's back, neck, shoulders, wrists, fingers are all aching…"
Shake shake.
"No no no… If I publish and there's an error I missed, it'll be embarrassing… Then less applause and praise…!!! I'd have to hide under the covers pounding them for days…!"
"Sob… Shin Ijun prof's scary side is showing in A-yeon…"
"Ugh… Nightmares of prepping for math competitions with Ijun coming back…"
But with paranoid obsession, eyes blazing, poring over the paper, bugging Mom and Dad endlessly.
"Huheheheng! It's done! Really done! Done done done! I'm satisfied now!"
Paper complete.
"Fi… finally…"
Thud. Exhausted Mom faceplanted onto the laptop desk.
"I… it's over, A-yeon? Wooow finally!"
Dad, who helped proofread after work without rest, cheered with a hurrah.
"Everyone worked hard~!"
I had overworked them lately with fine tweaks.
"Shh, quiet. You'll wake A-rin."
Gasp.
Mom's warning made Dad clamp his mouth.
"Nihehe. Mommy and Daddy, all get praise!"
Pet pet. I gently placed my tiny hands on their heads and stroked.