Geniuses Are Lonely
Psychological Counseling Center.
Swinging my legs back and forth in the waiting room, swish swish, Teacher Park Ji-su finally came out.
"Hello, Teacher."
"Hewwo, teachew!"
"Oh my, you're back again. And Yoo A-rin is here too."
"Ah, hewwo..."
A-rin mumbled shyly and bowed her head.
Still, seeing her greet first made me feel like A-rin was growing up.
"Come on in."
We settled into the counseling room.
Mom explained the recent events. What happened at the Kids Cafe, and the story about A-rin's social skills.
The teacher nodded calmly throughout, her expression unchanging.
"It's to be expected. It's common for gifted children to struggle with socializing with their peers."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Yoo A-rin, like Yoo A-yeon, has exceptionally advanced brain development. Top 0.27% intelligence. For kids like her, peers aren't defined by biological age.
From Yoo A-rin's perspective, three- or four-year-olds just don't seem rational at all. They don't communicate, they throw tantrums, act impulsively..."
"Th-that's wight... They scweam and thwow stuff, evewyone's so dumb..."
"A-rin, no!"
"Eek!"
"So, Teacher, how can we develop A-rin's social skills?"
Mom asked with a worried look.
"We need to change the approach. Yoo A-rin's mental age is far ahead of her actual age. In educational theory, social skills develop best when interacting with people at a similar intellectual level. She'll only experience the joy of conversation with big brothers, big sisters, or adults who she can really talk to."
"Yeah... I wike sistews I can talk to bettew too."
A-rin nodded along in agreement.
"One more thing to watch out for: forcing Yoo A-rin into groups of kids her biological age can backfire. Their unpredictable behavior can cause anxiety and stress. Adults or teens, on the other hand, follow rules and communicate rationally, so it feels safer for her."
"Aha... I see."
In other words, the Kids Cafe was just a stress factory for A-rin.
No wonder she was going nuts when we told her to play with the other kids there. I should've noticed sooner... Sorry, A-rin!
"So, what should we do?"
"It's best to find groups with rules and structure where she can naturally connect with older kids. You mentioned she's really into board games lately? Look into local board game clubs, a Chess Club, or a Baduk Center. Those could provide stability while letting her practice interactions."
Hearing Teacher Park Ji-su's advice, a thought bubbled up.
'Raising even one genius is exhausting...'
Both me and A-rin, beings way off the average curve, came with all sorts of growth pains.
Mom had joined mom cafes and studied up on parenting info diligently. But with both daughters being outliers beyond three sigma... Regular kid-rearing tips just didn't apply. She must be suffering big time.
The session ended.
We thanked the teacher.
"Thank you for the kind explanation."
"Teachew, tank you~!"
"Th-thank you..."
Park Ji-su smiled brightly in response.
"If any issues come up as she grows, feel free to visit anytime. Oh, but... is Yoo A-yeon okay?"
"Huh, me?"
"Yes. The problems your little sister had... weren't they the same ones her big sister went through first?"
"Ah, haha... I'm fine though."
Awkwaaard. I scratched my head and answered.
For me... well, I had the cheat of past-life memories, so no issues.
As a professor, I'd lectured plenty of college students. Even during my PhD in the US, I'd survived that bloodbath of a thesis defense.
Talking to strangers? Piece of cake.
I just preferred solitary contemplation, so I'd never felt the need to join any groups.
...But saying it out loud makes me sound like such a loner.
Hing, I'm not a loner... just a happy homebody who loves her house...
We left the counseling room.
Creeeak. The moment we stepped out, A-rin shot me a grumpy look. Then she pouted and vented her complaint.
"...S-sis has no friends eithew... why pick on me only..."
Oof!
"N-no, that's not twue? I got friends?"
"Then say a friend's name. Anyone."
"Ugh... wait just a sec..."
I pondered deeply.
'What name do I even say?'
Couldn't exactly say Yoo Jin-hu. Dad was a friend from my past life, not this one.
Professor Park Mu-yeol? Even worse.
"Hmm... Sis weally got no friends?"
"No way..."
After agonizing, what came out of my mouth was...
"...Eeung eeung... One one... One eight two..."
"...Huh?"
"Eeung eeung one one one eight two! Friend's name!"
It was that throwaway nick, Anon(121.182), from my keyboard battle months ago.
...Y'know, they say you make friends after fighting, right?
A keyboard battle's basically a fight, so Anon(121.182), who fought me, counts as a friend. Totally logical!
Right?
"Sis, your friend's name is Eeung Eeung One One One Eight Two?"
"Uh, yeah..."
"F-fow weal? Sounds weiwrd."
"It's... mystewious...? I think it's mystewious too-. Ahahaha..."
Super embarrassed, I cleared my throat and averted my eyes from A-rin.
'Please just buy it...'
"Pfft, pffft."
Mom, who'd been listening, covered her mouth to stifle her laughter.
A-rin seemed to sense something off, but... with her limited worldly experience, she couldn't quite pinpoint it. A three-year-old wouldn't know about gallery floaters anyway.
"...F-fine fow now."
A-rin gave up pointing out my contradiction.
'Heh. That's the gap between verbal IQ 160 and 133, A-rin. Don't even think about beating me in a word fight!'
I sighed in relief and wiped the cold sweat from my forehead with my sleeve.
Lately, A-rin had been showing tons of interest in board games.
Partly because I'd scoured board game databases, starting her with easy entry-level ones and gradually ramping up the difficulty.
But mostly, she seemed to love the family bonding time.
"Daddy! I need wheat! Twade fow my wood!"
"Oh, A-rin. Daddy really, really wants to trade wheat for wood too. But I have to build a wheat village. To block you right away. Such a sad affair."
"Ughhh-! Daddy meanie!"
"Kekekeke. Who told you to rush ahead? Take the checks like a good girl!"
And as the games got more strategic, I could practically see three-year-old A-rin's brain heating up, all toasty.
Toasty toasty~
"Heehee. A-rin, your forehead's suuuper warm-!"
"Ugh... Sis, I'm focusing wight now..."
Plus, her competitive streak was fierce—she'd review every game for about ten minutes, win or lose.
"...Ah, if I'd done this hewe, I'd have won, wight...?"
My little sis, but such a promising genius. Can't wait to see her grow.
Meanwhile, our family was scouting communities for A-rin, per Teacher Park Ji-su's advice.
"Board game clubs might be tough. Games with lots of rules are hard for A-rin to grasp, and as social clubs, they probably won't take a three-year-old."
"Then maybe the Chess Club or Baduk Center nearby?"
Hearing that, I raised a question.
"But is there a Chess Club around here? Chess is super niche in Korea. Hardly anyone plays."
"A-yeon, that's old news. Chess is huge with young people now."
"Huh? Since when?"
I tilted my head, puzzled.
"Ah, right, you were born in 2020, so you wouldn't know. Around then, there was a Netflix drama about chess. Queen's Gambit, I think? It was a massive hit, sparked a chess boom worldwide. Lots of young folks jumped in."
"Whaa... For real?"
"Yeah. Check this out."
Dad pulled up his smartphone and showed promo pics from the Chess Club.
Most of the chess players in the photos looked young. Not just kids—plenty of college-age adults too. Probably elementary to university students.
Back in my day, chess was this ultra-hipster game for diehards only. When did it blow up like this?
The flow of the times, I guess...
"Anyway, let's teach A-rin chess and baduk, then take her to clubs for games she likes."