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, holding her breath in anticipation. 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 oblivious to her joy, sipped his drink and relaxed in his chair.
###
When Lee Deji learned about Minjin's incredible intelligence, she wanted to share it with a few trusted students. Soon, Minjin began to help senior students with their assignments, and in return, they paid her a small fee. To keep it quiet, they met in a private music club room that few people visited.
Lee Deji became Minjin's manager, managing negotiations and requests. Minjin, being clever, created a smart plan to avoid raising concerns: she didn't aim for perfect scores on her assignments. Adding a few incorrect answers made her results look more believable, which her clients liked. The older students, who weren't always great at academics, were happy to see their grades go up with little effort.
Even with Minjin's rising fame, her clients closely guarded her true identity as a "genius." They pledged not to disclose her talents to others.
One day, Choi Ye-Joon confronted Lee Deji in the hallway. "That kid will face serious consequences as soon as the school learns about this. Do you really not care about Minjin-ah?"
Leaning against the wall calmly, Lee Deji responded, "It's fine. Everyone promised to stay quiet."
###
Minjun sat at his desk, gazing curiously at the box of cookies, feeling a mix 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 was enjoying banana milk, and now cookies were on his mind—both delightful treats he had never shared with anyone.
Before he could ponder 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 frowned. "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. Free snacks and everything."
"Yeah, you might be correct," he replied.
Yet, a tiny part of him mused whether someone else was orchestrating this—someone who understood him more deeply than he suspected.
###
During their self-study session, Mun Sara approached Minjun at his desk the following day. 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 looked it over again, he attempted to understand the equation's significance. While gathering his belongings, he felt a persistent curiosity about Mun Sara's perspective.
Minjun took a deep breath. He sat at his desk, opened his notebook, and jotted down notes. As he tackled the equation, he found certain terms perplexing. The expression felt unusual, almost crafted to confuse him. It was not merely a standard math problem; it resembled a puzzle instead.
His curiosity grew deeper. He began to suspect that it concealed a secret with each attempt to decipher the equation. He leaned back in his chair, took a moment to reconsider the equation, and scanned for patterns. Abruptly, a realization hit him: the variables appeared to create a shape when plotted. He hurriedly took a piece of graph paper, plotted the points, and discovered it resembled a heart.
"A heart," he murmured softly to himself. He meticulously folded the paper, placed it in his bag, and rose to his feet. "Something doesn't feel right."
###
Minjun noticed light spilling from the music room as he walked down the dim hallway. The students exiting, each carrying notebooks and books, sparked his interest. Seeing so many academic materials associated with music practice was odd.
When Choi Ye-joon stepped out of the room and saw Minjun, he greeted him with a warm smile. "Oh, Jeoha, you're still here? You really are a dedicated student. No surprise you're number 1."
A bit confused, Minjun inquired, "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 resumed his walk home.
###
Mun Sara looked at the notebook that Minjun had set before her. His tidy, handwritten solution unveiled the concealed shape within the intricate 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, yet he sensed that Mun Sara was hiding something. It seemed clear to him that there was more to the story, and some details were 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 Minjun about the true reason behind the equation.