Ch.148143 – The Gap

In reality, there were no legal issues with the video Dayeon uploaded.

This was because when Name first played World of Arsheria, streaming was allowed with video sharing enabled.

Still, she couldn’t deny feeling guilty about gaining views through someone else’s video without permission.

“Well, that’s…”

“I’m just kidding. I’ll forgive you since you gave me candy.”

Name smiled.

After all, it had brought more people to her stream.

“What are you talking about? Do you stream too, kiddo?”

“Whoa, what’s this about? Let’s check it out! What’s your channel name? Can we find you on VTube?”

“Wait, are you NoName…?”

“Who’s NoName? Is she famous?”

“You don’t know NoName?”

One of the four men’s faces turned pale, just like Woo Dayeon’s had. He was a viewer who recognized NoName’s achievements in World of Arsheria, even if he didn’t know her main avatar.

Heejin still stood there looking confused.

“What is it? Is there something else I don’t know about?”

Knock-knock-

Two knocks cut through the noisy room.

The suddenly silent lab was interrupted by Professor Cheon, who peeked his head in and gestured.

“Name, could you pack your things and come out?”

Clunk-

Name quickly gathered her belongings and said goodbye.

“I shouldn’t just reveal my age anywhere. It’s still a secret for now.”

* * *

I thought they’d give me harder problems if I kept getting them right, but unfortunately, they seem to underestimate my abilities.

I’ve always been quicker at mental math than others. Back when I worked at the Magic Tower, I would occasionally put on these mental calculation shows. It’s already becoming a distant memory.

And about my age…

I’ll have to reveal it someday, but several issues come to mind when I think about doing so.

First, explaining what I’ve been doing for the past seven years.

I’m not sure if “explaining” is the right word—maybe “exposing” would be more accurate.

If I’m going to do it, the best time would be when I have everyone’s full attention.

I thought it would be a big deal when I revealed it, but people’s reactions might be more lukewarm than expected here in Korea.

In a world plastered with all kinds of sensational news, my story might be nothing special.

I don’t want to be one of those common cases where I gather attention briefly, only for everyone to forget about me a month or two later.

Some people disparage this Korean characteristic as “pot mentality,” but I see it differently.

Even in the 2050s, there are still tragic murder cases, traffic accidents, and similar incidents happening not just in Korea but worldwide.

People are already too exhausted to care about each individual case, so they inevitably forget.

While I was pondering when and how to best reveal everything, I arrived at the meeting room.

Professor Cheon and another Korean man who appeared to be around the same age stood up.

“Hello, young lady! I’m Robert Kim. Nice to meet you.”

Let me correct myself—judging by his accent, he was definitely American.

I shook his hand and sat down next to Professor Cheon, resting my arms on the cold glass table. I still can’t get used to my feet dangling when I sit in chairs.

“Did the kids play nice with you?”

“What do you mean? If anything, I was the one entertaining them.”

“Hahaha, they’re even more incorrigible than Name. Oh, let me introduce you—this is my friend Robert Kim, and Robert, this is my daughter Name.”

“Translation magic feels too impersonal, so I’ll try my best in Korean even if it’s clumsy. Nice to meet you again.”

“Likewise.”

The man with the comfortable belly smiled brightly.

They must have finished their discussion on the way here, as there was no drawn-out introduction.

“Actually, it’s nothing special. I just stopped by to check if Byung… I mean Kyujin Chan was telling the truth about his daughter being sick. The solid potion isn’t ready for commercialization yet, but he came all the way to New Jersey and begged so much!”

“Is that so?”

“More than that, I was so surprised to hear that Kyujin had a daughter! We actually played rock-paper-scissors, and I won four times in a row to get this Korea business trip!”

He shared his experience in America with his imperfect Korean.

“Tsk! Now that you’ve met her, we’re done, right? I’ll attach the documents when you leave later.”

“Hey, don’t be so mean! After I flew for so many hours…”

After several back-and-forths with Professor Cheon, Robert finally surrendered and left the building.

“You must be happy to have such a really cute daughter, Kyujin?”

“You should pressure your son to give you a granddaughter too.”

“Ha! Jason has declared himself DINK, so that’s not going to be easy!”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“Well, Name, this uncle is leaving now! Bye-bye! Oh, and this is a gift for you—I heard you like sweets, so I’m sure you’ll love it!”

We saw him off until he got into a taxi and left.

“He’s a friend who works at Johnson & Johnson. Despite appearances, he’s incredibly smart.”

Professor Cheon muttered. Well, he did seem that way.

The fact that he was wearing the signature shabby checkered clothes of engineering departments confirmed he was the real deal.

“Are you feeling okay? No heart pain or anything?”

“Honestly, if I hadn’t been diagnosed, I wouldn’t even know I was sick.”

“Anyway, tell me immediately if there’s any problem. And I hear there might be good news soon from pharmaceutical companies about EDMD treatment.”

“That’s great news.”

“Yes, fortunately they’ve been researching it for several years now. We’ll definitely find a cure.”

Despite his hopeful words, he still seemed worried about me.

Well, the main cause of death in muscular dystrophy is heart failure, which is pretty much the end once it occurs.

Robert’s gift turned out to be Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

Along with that, Professor Cheon showed me a small container with black pills.

“These are solid potion samples. What do you think?”

“Wait, am I supposed to swallow these?”

“You could chew them, but then it wouldn’t be much different from drinking the liquid version, would it?”

They looked twice as big as those huge omega-3 supplements.

If I swallowed one wrong, my esophagus would get blocked.

“Can I just try one?”

I took out my tumbler from my bag and looked back and forth between the pill and the water.

A pungent smell was rising from it, suggesting I should swallow it quickly.

“Hup!”

Gulp-

‘Ah, damn. That’s why the chocolate.’

It was still a hundred times better than liquid potion, but even that brief contact with my tongue gave me a tingling sensation in my head.

I naturally swallowed the pill and poured water down my throat.

I felt the unpleasant sensation of the pill scratching my throat.

Only after soothing my tongue with Ferrero Rocher could I think rationally again.

“This is… intensely unpleasant.”

“But you only need to take it three times a day.”

“Three times a day… that’s still major progress.”

At least I wouldn’t have to keep running to the bathroom anymore.

“I’ll drive you home, so let’s head to the parking lot.”

“I can go by myself.”

“They’re forecasting a sudden shower, and you didn’t bring an umbrella, did you? It’ll be quick by car, so hop in.”

A shower in this weather? I could see a small dark cloud in the distance, but it didn’t look like it would pour.

Still, Professor Cheon looked bored, so I got into the passenger seat without arguing.

“Aren’t you coming to work too diligently during your sabbatical year?”

“Should I cancel everything tomorrow and take Name to an amusement park instead?”

“Come on, you know I don’t like walking that much.”

Since I didn’t have much energy, I felt most comfortable and happy when lying down.

“How about a movie then?”

“A movie wouldn’t be bad.”

“Great! Then tomorrow will be a date with Name, so I should clear my entire schedule!”

“Skip the academy tomorrow too? Midterms are coming up soon.”

“Honestly, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course.”

Liking my academy friends and liking the academy itself were two different matters.

Humans naturally feel monotony from consistency.

Since I went to the academy every day, skipping a day or two actually felt pretty good. Sorry, Yuna, I’ll buy you something delicious later.

The main road that had been congested earlier was now clear.

Raindrops began to fall on the windshield. It really was starting to shower.

The sun hid behind pitch-black clouds, and the scenery suddenly turned gloomy.

It was supposed to rain all day tomorrow, so I’d probably have to postpone my date with Adella.

“Professor.”

“Yes?”

“How long have you been friends with Robert?”

“Robert? Let’s see… about 25 years, I think?”

“That’s almost a lifetime friendship.”

“Haha, I suppose so.”

“Is there a secret to maintaining relationships with people for so long?”

From what Robert said, Professor Cheon seemed to know many people in America.

What would it feel like to maintain contact with someone for decades without growing apart?

I felt a bit envious.

“Well… I’d say the most important thing is having no falsehood between you.”

Falsehood, huh.

“I don’t quite understand. It seems like hiding certain things appropriately would keep relationships more comfortable.”

Exposing one’s vulnerabilities was like lowering oneself and revealing weaknesses.

Even friendship requires equal footing—if it tilts too much to one side, I wonder if the relationship can be maintained.

“I haven’t lived that long, but having lived over 50 years, I’ve noticed something. People who try hard to hide things might seem attractive at first, but eventually, an uncomfortable gap forms between them.”

“Then what should you do when that happens?”

“That’s when you have to decide. Whether to maintain the relationship with the gap intact, or take the risk of growing apart by trying to bridge that gap. But this doesn’t apply to all relationships. With 10 billion people in the world, there are just as many different types of relationships.”

So we were back to square one.

As he said, it would be stranger if there were logic that could apply to all human relationships.

What logic would apply to my relationships with my academy friends, my streaming viewers, and Professor Cheon?

After a moment of silence, a warm smile formed on Professor Cheon’s lips.

“I hope someday we can have a relationship where we can be open with each other without pretense.”

He didn’t ask anything or demand anything.

Sometimes, just having someone there with you can be strength enough.

Is that what all parents were originally supposed to be for their children? I wouldn’t know.

‘Professor Cheon, aren’t you curious about how I lived before the orphanage?’

I thought about saying this, trying to gauge that gap by slightly opening my lips, but—

BOOM!

“Whew, the rain stopped, but now there’s lightning in a clear sky. Korean weather isn’t what it used to be.”

I closed my mouth again because of the bad weather.

“Name, I thought I heard your phone get a message, but was it drowned out by the thunder?”

“I’ll check.”

I rarely received messages or calls on my phone.

[Seoul Major Crimes Investigation Office

Case No. 2051-00628

To: Cheon Se-min, No Name

Subject: Notification of Reinvestigation Request Result

We inform you that the following decision has been made regarding your case, and we wish you a swift recovery from your damages.

Decision: No Prosecution Authority

Reason: Prosecution has already been initiated for this identical case.

You may review the attached reinvestigation record (full text/summary) regarding this case.

※Regulation on the Scope of Criminal Investigation Initiation by Prosecutors, Article 2, Clause 6

※Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety, Article 3, Clause 1, Item B]

‘Damn it.’

It wasn’t time to talk about it yet.

Yes, not yet.

“It was nothing important.”

“Oh, really? Are there still spam messages these days?”

“Professor… by the way, I was thinking of entering a competition. Would you allow it?”

“Competition? What competition?”

“A gaming competition.”

Let’s make a big splash.