Professor Cheon put Na-me to sleep and returned to the guardian’s room to brew some coffee.
His hand, attempting to drop a cube of brown sugar into the cup with a teaspoon, hesitated for a moment.
The rising aroma of steam was sweet enough already.
“Hehe…”
Even as the bitter black liquid slid down his throat, a smile remained on Professor Cheon’s face.
[Thank you for listening… Father… No, Dad…]
The prickly sound of a title he thought he’d never hear still lingered in his ears.
‘Na-me wasn’t uncomfortable with me…’
The relationship of professor and student always comes with a big discomfort.
There’s an insurmountable gap between them, confirmed by the gazes of the students.
‘Since when… No, it’s not about when.’
Human relationships are not discontinuous; they are continuous.
The bond between Na-me and Professor Cheon grew every day, every hour.
But people often fail to realize that without some sort of ‘trigger,’ relationships can change.
And the trigger created by Na-me would be a lifelong event that Professor Cheon would remember.
‘Should I make today an anniversary?’
The thought, which seemed fit for teenagers or those in their twenties, made him chuckle.
He could now naturally call Na-me his daughter.
While Professor Cheon’s fiancée hoped for a son, he had wished for a daughter like Ham Cho-rong.
Perhaps the wish from thirty years ago had crossed generations to be fulfilled.
Yet he decided to erase all memories of the past.
Especially, he pledged never to project lost fiancée and child onto Na-me.
So that she could settle in as something far more precious.
Professor Cheon had a restless night because of this.
The heavy dose of caffeine wasn’t the only thing keeping Na-me’s sincerity from leaving his mind.
Finally, in the early dawn, he turned on his phone and checked the wallpaper.
It greeted him with a picture taken in front of the main gate on the day of Sephiron Academy’s entrance ceremony.
[Do you know who’s the flower? Want to see?]
[If you keep that up these days, someone will say I look old.]
At that time, Na-me seemed a bit shy, standing stiffly in front of the cherry blossom tree.
A far cry from her present self.
Only after setting an anniversary on one side of the wallpaper was he able to finally fall asleep.
This was a day of rebirth for him, not just as a professor, but as a proper father.
And the next day, the thing waking Professor Cheon up early in the morning wasn’t an alarm but a flurry of calls.
As he listened in a daze to his fellow professors shouting, he came to his senses.
The gist of it was that Na-me had outright rejected the Wolf Prize.
*
Jean-Paul Sartre famously turned down the Nobel Prize in Literature.
He was wary of his compassion and support being replaced by the authority of the Nobel Prize, which represented the Western world.
Gregori Perelman rejected the Fields Medal.
He cited a desire not to become a spectacle for others, but in reality, he had grown disillusioned with the politics and media play of mathematicians.
Thus, the act of refusing an award carries a powerful message to society as a whole.
And Na-me’s reason for refusal was as follows.
[NoNaMe_11]
[NoNaMe · 6.95 million followers]
[If I don’t receive the award, I can become much more famous, right?]
Her post on social media shook all of Korea.
Korea is still a nation dominated by nationalist ideology.
Even when an individual or group wins an award abroad, government agencies and politicians congratulate on behalf of the people.
By attributing their glory as glory for the whole nation, they can boost the pride of the Korean people and enhance the stability of the national system.
But to refuse an award? For such personal reasons?
People couldn’t believe it.
– How about thinking again? The first ever Wolf Prize winner from Korea!
– Some can’t earn an award even after studying their entire life…
– I think Na-me just doesn’t want to receive an award as a Korean.
└ True, what have we learned in Korea anyway?
– When she was taken to the hospital, was she hurt in the head or something…?ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Just refusing an award to become famous?
A moment’s thought reveals how disconnecting that statement is.
This was enough to pique the curiosity of the masses, and reporters seized upon it as fuel.
“Clearly, there must have been some dissatisfaction somewhere.”
“Where could that be, I wonder?”
“What else to say? The government.”
With such shallow stereotypes, reporters hastily penned columns criticizing the state of Korean education.
But did they ever imagine that the arrowhead dominating public sentiment would be lodged in their backs?
[NoNaMe’s adoptive parent under police investigation for child abuse.]
└ What child abuse? lol
└ The headline seems ordinary but the content is downright malicious; what grudge does that professor have?
└ Moreover, I heard he treated the cops to Bacchus after the investigation, lol
└ The media’s standard is just terrible.
└ People’s comments flipping like this is chilling. Looking back, everyone was quick to badmouth the father…
└ Na-me’s father is truly a remarkable person. Anyone who has seen the Genius Discovery Team show can’t deny it.
└ He didn’t threaten Na-me with a knife to study; he supported what she wanted in every possible way!
└ If you think about it, isn’t the fact that she rejected the Wolf Prize their fault too?
└ Seriously, if her dad had been a greedy person, she would have received that award despite anything.
└ Check her Instagram, lol She looks super happy.
Na-me’s consistent posts on social media over a week sought to turn public opinion around.
[NoNaMe_11]
[After being discharged, went for a walk with Dad at Han River Park. The weather is so nice today.]
[Comments]
– Na-me, so cute! That hat suits you so well!
– Princess Na-me, you’re so pretty!ㅠㅠ
– This old man… has decided to protect Na-me…
– That plush toy in the doll store resembles you… cute and pretty, haha
– The two-person bicycle in front, is that your dad? You two look so close!
– Thanks for being so kind and signing for me! Seeing him in person, he’s so handsome and his voice is great!!!
– Dad should pay 100 times the taxes. Stay happy~
The father-daughter duo of Na-me and Cheon Kyu-jin captured the attention of passersby just by riding their bicycle through Han River Park.
Na-me rushed to the water’s edge under the pretext of training her Aura Heart, tossing her shoes and socks onto the asphalt.
With a white floral dress held in both hands, she graciously walked barefoot on the water, enveloped in aura.
When she returned to land after ten steps, the spectators who had been holding their breaths finally sighed in relief.
As Na-me received a round of applause, she flashed a big, beaming smile and flashed a peace sign to the cameras.
[NoNaMe_11]
[Beef Wellington with Dad. Right now, I’m spreading mustard on the meat.]
[Comments]
-(Young Man from England): I can bring a whole cow for Na-me.
└ This guy is sharp, looking for that collab, hahaha
└ British food… But can’t resist Beef Wellington, right?
– She can cook too…! What can’t you do, Na-me!
– That meat is as thick as Na-me’s torso, haha. Better share some with the neighbors!
– The kid looks too thinㅠㅠ Is she really eating three meals a day?
– That apron is so long, it drags on the floor; too cuteㅠㅠ
‘Did I ever have any real memories with Professor Cheon?’
The sudden thought that flashed through her mind sent Na-me into contemplation.
Having discussions over dinner about papers was something a professor and student did; it didn’t feel like a task a father and daughter would share.
If this went on, later, if someone asked about her father, she might blurt out, “Professor Cheon always cooked for me!”
Na-me proposed they cook together.
The target was the ‘Beef Wellington’ dish, which would require five-star difficulty in a game.
Na-me, exuding a strange sense of pride in survival cooking, stubbornly diverted the dish towards an entirely different outcome.
Yet, such adorable moments were captured on Instagram, allowing yet another memory to be collected.
[NoNaMe_11]
[Hello, I am NoNaMe.
I realize I haven’t properly greeted all of you who wait for me every day.
I’ve been spending precious moments with my only family while taking a break from broadcasts.
Life as a public figure still feels burdensome, so I haven’t set any return date.
Once the rumors circulating die down a bit, I’ll quietly return to show myself on screen.
I’m always grateful for the fans who recognize and support me on the street.
I’m currently picking a costume for tomorrow’s trip to Neverland.
Which of these suits the Demon King’s Horn best?]
“Adella, you share your opinion too. Which one do you think looks best?”
Adella was sprawled out on the carpeted floor.
Na-me, lying across her back, asked.
“Ugh, I can’t breathe… just pick anything! They all look gloomy anyway!”
But Adella was too busy writing up the ‘Field Trip Report’ for ten days to be submitted to the Sephiron Academy administration office to care.
The frazzled look on her face was evident.
Na-me lightly rose and plopped down onto Adella’s waist.
“Ahhh, this is really…! My back is breaking!”
“Who’s the one making this project? Can’t you cooperate properly?”
Tomorrow was the day the Korea Magic Corporation would officially launch the three-circle ‘Demon King’s Horn.’
They had to maximize marketing effects along with pre-ordering customers.
“Isn’t that why I’m cooperating? Why is there so much to write?”
“It’s only five pages of report a day!”
“That’s a problem when it’s for ten days!”
Adella, who was obliged to write a total of fifty densely packed pages, was already dreading it.
“What else has horns?”
“Um, devils? Demon kings?”
“I already looked all of that up.”
“Then how about vampires…? But did vampires even have horns? Or maybe a Bicorn?”
“What’s a Bicorn?”
Adella averted her gaze.
“Uh… it’s something you don’t have to concern yourself with!”
“All of those things are overly Western.”
“Isn’t Halloween originally from the English-speaking world? That’s a given.”
Na-me contemplated as she lay on top of Adella again.
The basics of marketing start with benchmarking.
What has been the most successful in Korea?
It doesn’t matter which sector.
Music, cooking, games, comics, movies…
‘Movies?’
The Korean film industry operates mostly within its own domestic market.
She recalls the lists of films that attracted the most viewers in Korea.
‘The top three were all about the Imjin War or independence movements…’
With a good idea popping into her head, Na-me slapped Adella’s head and shouted “Eureka!”
“You little bastard!”
“Ouch! Why are you hitting me again! Hmph, I’m leaving, move over!”
The next morning, Na-me donned a modified Hanbok and set off for the Neverland theme park.
No relation at all to the Demon King’s Horn… but who cares?
It would suffice to show a united front of Koreans, both human and demon, to repel foreign powers.
