After lunch, Minjun returned to his desk and found a small bottle of banana milk waiting for him. Beside the drink was a neatly folded note. His curiosity sparked, and he picked up the note and unfolded it.
It read:
"Banana milk to give you energy. I hope you enjoy it." -Sara
Meanwhile, Mun Sara was peeking in from the doorway just outside the classroom. Her heart raced as she saw Minjun discover the milk and read the note. Watching him appreciate her small gesture filled her with confidence.
She ducked around the corner, unable to contain her joy, whispering to herself, "He liked it. He really liked it!"
Minjun, completely unaware of her happiness, sipped his drink and relaxed in his chair.
###
When Lee Deji discovered Minjin's remarkable intelligence, she wanted to share it with a few trusted students. Minjin started assisting senior students with their assignments, and they paid her a small fee in exchange. To keep it discreet, they met in a private music club room that few people frequented.
Lee Deji became Minjin's manager, overseeing negotiations and requests. Minjin devised a clever strategy to avoid raising concerns: she didn't aim for perfect assignment scores. By including a few incorrect answers, she made her results appear more believable, which her clients appreciated. The older students, who didn't always excel academically, were happy to see their grades improve with minimal effort.
Despite Minjin's growing fame, her clients kept her true identity as a "genius" closely guarded. They promised not to reveal her talents to anyone else.
One day, Choi Ye-Joon confronted Lee Deji in the hallway. "That kid will face serious consequences as soon as the school finds out about this. Do you really not care about Minjin-ah?"
Lee Deji leaned calmly against the wall and replied, "It's fine. Everyone promised to keep quiet."
###
Minjun sat at his desk, curiously gazing at the box of cookies, feeling a blend of curiosity and confusion.
The note attached read:
"I hope these make your day sweeter! - Sara."
He let out a small sigh, a hint of confusion in his eyes. The other day, he had been enjoying banana milk, and now cookies were on his mind—both delightful treats he had never shared with anyone.
Before he could think about it further, Bang Eun-kyung settled beside him with a bright grin. "Sara's been showering you with treats lately."
"Yeah, but...I've never shared this with anyone."
Bang Eun-kyung's interest piqued. "Do you enjoy cookies?"
Minjun nodded slowly. "Y-Yeah, I liked them when I was younger."
Bang Eun-kyung blinked in astonishment. "Why have I never seen you eat them?"
Minjun hesitantly answered. "G-geunyang."
He thought it was indeed true that he seldom enjoyed sweets in the presence of others.
So, how did Mun Sara know?
Bang Eun-kyung teased him gently. "Perhaps you should simply enjoy it, Minjun-ah. Free snacks and everything."
"Yeah, you might be correct," he replied.
A small part of him questioned whether someone else was behind this—someone who understood him more deeply than he realized.
###
The next day during their self-study session, Mun Sara approached Minjun at his desk. She handed him the envelope, and his eyebrows raised in curiosity as he slowly opened it to reveal a slip of paper filled with an unusual sequence of letters and numbers.
"What is this?" he inquired, glancing up at Mun Sara.
"It's a code. I believe it could be a clue to something significant, but I don't know how to decode it."
Minjun examined the paper, his mind already working to understand the peculiar arrangement of characters.
"I'll give it a shot," he said with a hint of a smile.
Mun Sara nodded. "Thank you, Minjun-ah. I was sure you'd be the right person to help."
Minjun gazed at the equation in astonishment. He had anticipated a straightforward math problem or perhaps a small favor, but this was something entirely different—a complicated expression that resembled a riddle rather than a straightforward question.
He looked up just in time to see Mun Sara waving before disappearing out the backdoor.
He muttered to himself, looking at the paper, "What does this mean?"
As he examined it again, he tried to grasp the equation's significance. While collecting his belongings, he was curious about Mun Sara's viewpoint.
Minjun took a deep breath. He sat at his desk, opened his notebook, and wrote down notes. As he worked on the equation, he found certain terms confusing. The expression felt unusual, almost designed to confuse him. It was not just a standard math problem; it resembled a puzzle instead.
His curiosity deepened. With each effort to decipher the equation, he began to suspect that it concealed a hidden secret. Leaning back in his chair, he took a moment to rethink the equation and search for patterns. A realization struck him: the variables seemed to form a shape when plotted. He quickly grabbed a piece of graph paper, plotted the points, and found that it resembled a heart.
"A heart," he murmured softly to himself. He carefully folded the paper, put it in his bag, and stood up. "Something doesn't feel right."
###
Minjun noticed light spilling from the music room as he walked down the dim hallway. Students were exiting, each carrying their notebooks and books. He found it odd to see academic materials unrelated to music.
When Choi Ye-joon stepped out of the room and saw Minjun, he greeted him. "Oh, Jeoha, you're still here? You really are a dedicated student. No surprise you're number 1."
"Why are you still here?"
Choi Ye-joon paused before responding, "We're practicing; we've been taking music seriously."
Before Minjun could probe further, a group of students appeared. "Ye-Joon-ah, we're heading home," one of them called out.
Choi Ye-joon waved them off, saying, "Alright, see you tomorrow."
Minjun then resumed his walk home.
###
Mun Sara gazed at the notebook Minjun had placed in front of her. His neat, handwritten solution revealed the hidden shape within the complex equation: a heart.
"Wow, you figured it out?!" Mun Sara inquired.
"Yeah. Where did you find this equation?"
Mun Sara paused briefly, her smile wavering a bit. "Uh, a friend asked me to solve it for her. I couldn't crack it, so I thought I'd ask you."
Minjun nodded, but he sensed that Mun Sara was hiding something. It was clear to him that there was more to the story, and some details remained concealed.
"Araso," he replied, maintaining a neutral tone.
Mun Sara returned his gesture with a grateful smile. "Thanks, Minjun-ah."
As he walked away, curiosity nagged at Minjun regarding the true reason behind the equation.
###
Mun Sara was sitting at her desk in her room, the dim light revealing a frown and anxiety on her face.
She was staring at the heart-shaped equation that Minjun had solved. A nagging feeling in her gut had bothered her ever since she noticed how much Minjun seemed to enjoy every gesture she made for him.
She sighed repeatedly, realizing that Minjin might know Minjun better than she had expected.
For the past few days, she had noticed Minjin solving those problems with ease. She knew Minjin had secretly finished every senior's calculus assignment.
Sitting before her laptop, she suddenly wanted to search for Park Minjin.
To her surprise, the results were in English. However, her eyes widened in shock when she saw a headline stating that Park Minjin was recognized across America for her intelligence in physics, boasting an IQ that surpassed Einstein's.
Her heart began to pound, and a wave of pain washed over her as the realization sank in.
Minjin and Minjun shared a bond that was deeper than friendship.
She felt torn about upsetting Minjin for his lack of honesty, especially since Minjun still wanted her. This explains why he had turned down other girls over the past few years.
Another realization hit her, and she lowered her head to stare at the heart-shaped equation. Minjin might have felt the same way about Minjun. She swallowed hard. But then she resolved that Minjun should not discover that Minjin had returned to Korea.
Still, she wondered if she could keep this secret forever, especially since Minjun was also her friend.
###
While having lunch in the cafeteria, Bang Eun-kyung overheard whispers about the music club that piqued his curiosity. Students were buzzing about a junior and the club's activities. When he got to the table where Minjun and Mun Sara were sitting, he couldn't help but bring it up.
"Everyone seems to be joining the music club," he remarked.
"Yeah, I noticed that last night," Minjun replied.
"Really?" Bang Eun-kyung asked.
Noticing Minjun's reaction, Bang Eun-kyung decided to investigate further. Throughout the day, he spoke to different students about the music club. Some students were evasive or dismissed him, heightening his suspicion.
After classes, Bang Eun-kyung decided to wait in the classroom for a few hours. He noticed a light on in the music room and walked toward it. Just as he was about to open the door, a group of students showed up.
"Bang Eun-kyung? Are you also going to have Minjin help you with your assignment?" one of the students asked.
Bang Eun-kyung stammered, "Y-yes! I am!"
The student knocked on the door using a specific code. When Choi Ye-joon opened it, he appeared surprised to see Bang Eun-kyung.
"Are you here to ask Minjin for help with your assignment?" Choi Ye-joon asked.
Bang Eun-kyung nodded, and his curiosity about who Minjin was grew even stronger. He was eager to learn more about the mysterious figure behind the academic assistance and the secretive activities of the music club.
As Bang Eun-kyung entered the room, he noticed a crowd gathered around a girl with a boyish haircut who was focused on a complex calculus equation. To his amazement, Minjin solved the problem with incredible ease.
"Boya, who are you?" Bang Eun-kyung asked, bewildered by the scene.
The students surrounding Minjin turned their attention to him, and one of them spoke up. "Isn't she such a genius?" the student said.
"Park Minjin?" Bang Eun-kyung asked, his voice filled with awe and confusion.
###
Minjun, the class representative, and Mun Sara went to the teacher's room to submit the collected notebooks. As they approached the desk, Minjun overheard a group of teachers discussing the calculus scores of some senior students. The teachers seemed confused and surprised by the students' sudden improvement in their performance.
Minjun listened intently to the quiet conversation. Mun Sara called out to him, breaking his concentration. He turned to face her, momentarily distracted from the mysterious topic.
###
After class, Bang Eun-kyung happily stood up, eager to head out.
Before he could, Minjun called out, "Hey, let's go home."
Bang Eun-kyung hesitated and looked back over his shoulder. "Um, n-no, the coach wants to speak with me," he replied, stammering slightly before quickly leaving.
As he left, Mun Sara smiled and approached Minjun. "I'll come with you," she said.
Minjun nodded in agreement.
Later, Bang Eun-kyung cautiously approached the music club room, where several students awaited Minjin's arrival. When Minjin came in with Lee Deji, the students parted, forming a path for her to the seat that had been set aside. A student offered her a bottle of water, which she accepted gratefully.
After taking a few sips, she looked up.
"So, who's going first?" Minjin asked.
She briefly studied the topics and equations in a calculus book before she started explaining and answering questions with ease.
Bang Eun-kyung, standing at the back, watched her in amazement. "Wow, you're even smarter than Minjun," he said.
Minjin chuckled at the compliment and shook her head. "No, he's smart in his own way," she replied.
"Do you know Minjun-ah?" Bang Eun-Kyung asked.
"Who doesn't know him?" Minjin said as she focused on solving the calculus notes.
Bang Eun-Kyung nodded. "Yeah, you have a point."