The Genius Girl from Samcheong-dong
The genius girl from Samcheong-dong sensed the subtly changed atmosphere. Was it since that day? Kim Mi-yeon had sidled up to me and quietly left a bag of snacks behind.
"What's this?"
Jeong Hae-won from the Hyun-do family stared at the snack bag with a jealous expression, looking like someone who'd had her cherished treasure snatched away.
"Uh, I dunnooo."
"Hmmm~?"
The Regional Academic Competition was just two days away. The final practice exam had been held, and rankings were announced. First place: Han Seoyeon. Second: Gwang-woo. Third: Jeong Hae-won. Fourth: Kim Mi-yeon. Fifth and below were the rest... The unexpected part was Jeong Hae-won taking third instead of second. She wasn't lacking by any means, but the upperclassmen's study drive was on another level. Gwang-woo oppa was spilling nosebleeds every other day. As for Mi-yeon unnie... how should I put it? Ever since that incident with me, her personality had changed dramatically. She approached everything with a relaxed air now, yet she dug in even more obsessively than before. She seemed to step back at first glance, but the moment she faced a problem, she pierced straight to its core faster than anyone.
Oh Se-jun teacher smiled in satisfaction at the results.
"Good. Seoyeon's been on a whole other level from the start, so we'll set her aside. But Gwang-woo and Mi-yeon, your scores jumped a lot from last time, huh?"
"I worked hard."
"Me too."
"Right. Nothing's impossible for humans. If impossible things were everywhere, Korea couldn't have achieved economic growth after the Korean War—not even a speck. You get what I mean?"
"Yes!"
The supplementary class students chorused loudly.
"Anyway, our principal's taking a big interest in this regional competition, so I hope you all bring back great results. Today's the last supplementary class, so I'll treat you big time."
"Woooah!"
After that, a snack party broke out with all sorts of drinks. It was also the moment I unveiled my secret weapon: my ramen recipe.
"Seoyeon, you sure know how to boil ramen well."
"Hehe~ Eat up!"
Oh Se-jun teacher took one bite of the ramen I'd made and polished off the whole bowl in no time. The upperclassmen were in the same boat. Kim Mi-yeon especially dove into her bowl like a food demon had possessed her.
"I-it's delicious!"
Well, now. Unintentionally, I'd gained another little ramen slave.
＊
The day of the regional academic competition arrived. I got into the car amid send-offs from everyone in the mansion.
Today, we'd gather at Yeonhwa Elementary School first, then take a bus to a nearby facility under the education office.
"Uwaaah, I'm so nervous!"
Jeong Hae-won, who'd placed third in the final practice, didn't hide her tension at all.
"In that case, have a warm glass of milk."
"Ugh... Drinking milk in the morning might make me need the bathroom during the exam...."
The weather was perfect for testing. The sun blazed, and the sky was clear without a single cloud. The competition was on a Sunday. From the back seat of the bus, I gazed at the people passing by outside and suddenly had a thought.
The genius girl from Samcheong-dong is supposed to be coming too, right?
I was intensely curious. Just how much of a genius was she to spark all those rumors? In my past life, I'd seen plenty of so-called geniuses from top Korean universities. See one, know ten. I'd observed students from various regions, gauging their levels firsthand. Their attitude toward problems. The flow of their solutions. The hesitation before reaching the answer. I knew those tiny differences piled up into what we call talent.
Maybe that's why, despite the rumors about the Samcheong-dong genius girl, a corner of my mind stayed oddly calm.
"We're here. Get off slowly from the front."
Oh Se-jun teacher led as representatives, and we disembarked one by one.
Is this it? The venue for the regional academic competition?
Central Academic Training Center
(Under Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education)
A ton of competitors had already headed into the training center. The front was like a mini battlefield. Kids who looked like peers gathered in groups of twos and threes, debating. Some muttered formulas; others stared blankly at the sky.
There sure are all kinds of people in the world...
These were the so-called geniuses everyone talked about. I paused and slowly scanned the surroundings. Around 150 students were checking their exam rooms.
"Seoyeon, what's your room?"
"Room 302."
"Ugh! I'm in 301. Right next door."
My two upperclassmen finished checking and came over. Gwang-woo oppa and Mi-yeon unnie.
"I'm in 404. Mi-yeon's in 402?"
"Yeah. Weird how we're all split up. To prevent cheating, maybe?"
Were the assignments random? The room numbers weren't grouped by grade or school—they seemed completely scattered.
"Alright, do well on the exam, and we'll meet back here after."
"Yes!"
I headed to my assigned Room 302. About ten kids were already there, reviewing predicted questions.
Everyone's working hard.
I couldn't lag behind, so I meticulously checked the past papers Oh Se-jun teacher had given us. After about ten minutes, the room suddenly got noisy.
"Hey, hey, is that the genius girl from Samcheong-dong?"
"For real? She's super pretty up close."
"Rumor is she finished the entire elementary curriculum at four."
"Nah, that's exaggerated, right?"
"No, seriously. She even solved middle school equations before starting elementary."
Unable to contain my curiosity, I glanced at the girl who had just entered. Short bob haircut. Sharp, intelligent eyes. A tall frame, a head taller than her peers. How to describe her? Like compressing an adult Miss Korea into kid size.
Drag!
The Samcheong-dong genius girl pulled out a chair and sat. The problem? She was right next to me.
Uh... I don't wanna be at the center of drama. I just want to take the test quietly and go home quietly.
But contrary to my wishes, the kids in the room spotted me next to the genius girl and erupted all at once.
"Oh? It's the ramen girl!"
"..."
I'd appeared in the ramen CF multiple times. My face had surely been on TVs nationwide. So many wild guesses: Who was that kid? A chaebol heir? Which one? Whoa, really? Han Sung-cheol's only granddaughter from Hansung Group? Life on easy mode. No worries about food or shelter if you're born into that. How much money do they have? I'd been at the center of national buzz once, sparking endless speculation.
"Hehe~ Hi!"
These were potential customers of mine. My lips twitched upward awkwardly, like invisible strings were yanking them. Luckily, my natural charm kept the room from exploding into chaos right away.
"Quiet."
The Samcheong-dong genius girl muttered at me sidelong.
"Okay, exam's starting soon, so everyone take your seats."
The proctor entered and calmed the kids. They sat, and the earlier commotion vanished.
"Flip the test paper right when the bell rings and start. Solving early counts as cheating and disqualification. Got it?"
A brief silence fell. The kids held their breath, staring at the papers neatly laid on their desks.
Mumble mumble—!
A weird sound made me sneak a glance. The Samcheong-dong genius girl was muttering like a shaman chanting a spell.
Ding dong dang—!
"Begin the exam."
I felt strength grip my pencil hand. I flipped the paper and skimmed the problems.
Smirk!
Without even parsing them closely, the solutions and answers organized themselves in my head, guiding me. The pencil glided across the paper. No hitches at all. One problem flowed seamlessly into the next.
Too easy?
Around me, kids were still wrestling with the first problem. To me, this exam was just transcribing answers.
***
Unlike regular exams, the regional academic competition used a mixed format. Multiple-choice for basics, subjective for skill sorting. It looked objective on the surface, but the real battle was in the subjective parts. That's where depth of thought, direction, and polish were laid bare.
The Samcheong-dong genius girl—Cha Eun-seol—had scoped out potential rivals before entering the room. She paid special attention to the kids from Yeonhwa Elementary. When assigned to Room 302, she learned Gwang-woo, her would-be rival, was in 404.
Huh? Han Seoyeon?
From Yeonhwa, the youngest first-grader alongside Jeong Hae-won in this competition—mostly fifth-graders and up. No way she'd gotten here by luck.
Cha Eun-seol's gaze locked on Han Seoyeon. Name: Han Seoyeon. Rumored chaebol heiress. First-grader. She'd starred in Hansung Group's ramen ads multiple times, her cute looks and heiress buzz putting her alongside starlet Yoo Ha-rin.
How good is she?
Here just because of family pull? Or real skill? Before the exam started, Cha Eun-seol burned Seoyeon's face into her mind, determined not to miss a thing. To judge if it was genuine or fake.
Huh?
Unlike the tense others, Han Seoyeon was eerily calm. Not the face of a first-time exam kid.
"Begin the exam!"
At the proctor's voice, even Cha Eun-seol, the so-called Samcheong-dong genius, bowed her head.
Scribble scribble—!
Less than a minute in. The only pencil sounds came from right beside her.
Solving without even reading? Instinctively, she turned her head. Her jaw dropped at the scene before her.
I-impossible!
Cha Eun-seol's eyes froze in shock. Han Seoyeon's solving speed shattered all common sense. While others floundered on number one, Seoyeon was breezing past number five.
Cha Eun-seol realized it naturally. The one to watch most here was none other than that Han Seoyeon kid.