Chapter 2 - Episode 1: The Library Corner

October 17, 2005

10:47 AM

Blue Bird Orphanage Library

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The donor visit unfolded with practiced choreography.

Je-hoon watched from the second-floor window as the black Mercedes disgorged its occupants: a woman in a tailored wool coat, a man with the polished sheen of inherited wealth, and between them, a girl in a navy dress with white collar.

𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙨:

· 𝙈𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧: 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙔𝙤𝙤𝙣-𝙟𝙪𝙣𝙜, 38, 𝙃𝙅 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥 𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨

· 𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧: 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙅𝙤𝙤𝙣-𝙝𝙤, 42, 𝘾𝙊𝙊 𝙃𝙅 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥

· 𝘿𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧: 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙎𝙤𝙤-𝙟𝙖𝙚, 9

· 𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡: 2 (𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚, 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙩)

· 𝙈𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖: 2 𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙙 15 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙨

Director Kim greeted them with the bowing enthusiasm of a man whose funding depended on this moment. Cameras flashed. The girl—Soo-jae—stood perfectly still, a polite smile fixed in place. But Je-hoon saw what the cameras missed:

𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤-𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙨:

· 𝙀𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 (𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙮)

· 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤-𝙩𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 (𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨)

· 𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣 𝙞𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧 (𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙤𝙢)

She was performing. Like him.

Interesting.

---

𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙚. 𝙉𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝙍𝙞𝙨𝙠-𝙧𝙚𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤 𝙪𝙣𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚.

Je-hoon turned from the window. The library was his scheduled location—Monday mornings he reshelved books while other children did group activities. A small privilege earned through perfect behavior.

The library was a single room with sagging shelves, donated books in various states of decay, and one corner with decent natural light. That corner contained the science and mathematics section. His territory.

He began reshelving, hands moving with new precision. ZEO cataloged each book as he touched it:

· Advanced Calculus, 1978 edition: Pages 112-114 missing

· Introduction to Organic Chemistry: Marginal notes useful (former medical student)

· The Feynman Lectures: Volume 1 only, spine cracked

He was aligning volume 2 of a physics set when the door opened.

Not Director Kim. Not a staff member.

Park Soo-jae slipped inside alone.

---

𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙨: 𝙀𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩. 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖. 𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮: 𝙡𝙤𝙬. 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙡: 8-12 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙨.

She stood just inside the door, taking in the room. Her eyes passed over him—just another orphan boy doing chores—then settled on the shelves. She moved toward the literature section, fingers trailing over spines.

Je-hoon continued working. No sudden movements. No eye contact. Standard orphan behavior: be invisible.

But he observed. ZEO recorded:

· Gait: Balanced, ballet training (3+ years)

· Posture: Corrected (reminders from etiquette coach)

· Breathing pattern: Relaxed now (away from performance context)

· Focal points: French literature section (interest genuine)

She pulled out a volume of Victor Hugo in the original French. Opened it. A small smile touched her lips—different from the camera smile. Softer.

She read for exactly two minutes, then sighed. Returned the book. Looked around again. This time her eyes lingered on his corner. On the physics texts.

She approached.

"These are advanced," she said, her voice clear, educated. Not condescending. Observational.

Je-hoon kept his eyes on the shelf. "Some are."

"You read them?"

"When there's time."

A pause. He could feel her studying him. The orphan uniform versus the physics textbooks. The contradiction intrigued her.

"Which is your favorite?" she asked.

Je-hoon considered. 𝘼𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨: 1) 𝙎𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 (𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙡), 2) 𝙃𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 (𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠), 3) 𝙍𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩.

He chose honesty. "The Feynman Lectures. Even with only volume one."

Her eyebrows lifted slightly. "You understand them?"

"Parts."

She reached past him—not too close, respecting space—and pulled out the battered volume. Flipped to a random page: diagrams of quantum probability amplitudes.

"This?" she pointed.

Je-hoon glanced. "The path integral formulation. All possible paths a particle can take contribute to its quantum behavior."

He said it matter-of-factly. Like commenting on weather.

Soo-jae stared at him. Then at the page. Then back at him.

"You're ten," she said.

"Approximately."

"Orphans don't—" She stopped herself. Recalibrated. "How?"

Je-hoon finally met her eyes. They were brown, intelligent, curious. Not pitying. "Books don't care who reads them."

A voice called from the hallway: "Soo-jae-ah? Where did you go?"

She didn't move. Kept looking at him. Something in her expression shifted—the performance mask fell away completely, replaced by genuine curiosity.

"Come back next month," she said quietly, quickly. "Same time. I'll bring better coffee than the instant they serve here."

Then she was gone, slipping out like she'd entered.

The library door clicked shut.

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𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙨:

· 𝙄𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚: 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙨

· 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡: 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙚 (87% 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚)

· 𝙍𝙞𝙨𝙠 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩: 𝙇𝙤𝙬 (𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙)

· 𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙜-𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢 𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡: 𝙋𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚

Je-hoon returned to shelving. His hands didn't shake. His breathing remained even.

But something had changed.

A connection point established.

She wants better coffee, he thought. Interesting priority.

---

𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚. 𝙉𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙚: 𝙎𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡.

The walk to public elementary took 24 minutes along the route ZEO optimized. Je-hoon moved at a consistent 1.4 meters per second, minimizing energy expenditure while maintaining schedule.

School was an exercise in patience. Fourth-grade curriculum moved at glacial pace compared to his current processing speed. While the teacher explained single-digit multiplication, Je-hoon used ZEO to:

1. Memorize the classroom's 38 textbooks (front to back)

2. Analyze the structural weaknesses in the building (post-1980s construction, seismic rating suboptimal)

3. Calculate the exact nutritional deficit in his lunch (protein -12g, calcium -300mg)

4. Plan his evening study sequence (chemistry → programming basics → medical terminology)

The teacher, Mrs. Lee, noticed his distraction.

"Kim Je-hoon," she called. "Problem seven on the board."

The class turned. Orphan Boy being tested. Some snickers.

Je-hoon stood. Walked to the board. The problem was: "If a train leaves Seoul at 9:00 AM traveling 80 km/h, and another leaves Busan at 10:00 AM traveling 100 km/h toward Seoul, the distance being 400 km, when do they meet?"

He picked up the chalk.

𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙨: 𝙎𝙞𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨. 𝙎𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝: 3. 𝙊𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙡: 𝙍𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙙.

He wrote:

Relative speed = 80 + 100 = 180 km/h

Distance traveled by first train in 1 hour = 80 km

Remaining distance = 400 - 80 = 320 km

Time to meet = 320 / 180 = 1.777... hours = 1 hour 46 minutes 40 seconds

Meeting time = 11:46:40 AM

He added the unit conversions for completeness. The work took 11 seconds.

Mrs. Lee stared. The class was silent.

"That's... correct," she said slowly. "But we haven't taught relative speed yet."

Je-hoon placed the chalk neatly in the tray. "I read ahead."

He returned to his seat. The whispers began.

𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙨: 𝙎𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙. '𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙪𝙨 𝙤𝙧𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙣' 𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.

He nodded imperceptibly. Noted.

The school day ended at 2:30. Most children rushed to play. Je-hoon walked to the public library instead.

---

15:17, Seoul Public Library Branch #3

The library was his true classroom. While ZEO could absorb information from any text instantly, the physical act of reading provided cover. A ten-year-old staring into space for hours drew attention. A ten-year-old reading books did not.

Today's targets:

1. Basic Programming (C Language) - for understanding system logic

2. Human Anatomy (Illustrated) - foundation for medical knowledge

3. Economics Principles - to understand capital flows

He selected a carrel in the back corner. Opened the programming book.

𝘼𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮...

The knowledge flowed in. Syntax, logic structures, memory management, algorithms. Within minutes, he understood C at university sophomore level. He closed the book, moved to anatomy.

A hand touched his shoulder.

Je-hoon didn't startle. ZEO had detected the approach 8.3 seconds earlier.

"Reading grown-up books again?"

It was Choi Min-soo, 12, from the orphanage. Bigger, stronger, with the particular cruelty of those who feel powerless seeking weaker targets.

𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙨: 𝙈𝙞𝙣-𝙨𝙤𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩 - 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 (94%), 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙞𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙩 (6%). 𝙈𝙪𝙨𝙘𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙡𝙮.

Je-hoon turned slowly. Made eye contact. Said nothing.

"Give me your permit," Min-soo demanded. "I want to use the computer room."

The library permitted two hours of computer time weekly per child. Je-hoon's time was tomorrow.

𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚...

𝙊𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 1: 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙮 (𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠: 𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣)

𝙊𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 2: 𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙨𝙚 (𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠: 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣)

𝙊𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 3: 𝙍𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩 (𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙡)

Je-hoon's expression remained calm. "The librarian is watching," he said quietly. "Section 3, camera angle covers this carrel. Your record already has one strike for fighting."

Min-soo blinked. Glanced toward the front desk. The librarian was indeed looking their way.

"You're lying," he muttered, but uncertainty crept in.

"Check for yourself," Je-hoon said. "But if you get banned, Director Kim will assign you toilet cleaning for a month. Again."

A memory surfaced in Min-soo's face—last month's punishment, the smell, the humiliation. He backed off.

"This isn't over," he mumbled, retreating.

Je-hoon returned to his book. The confrontation lasted 23 seconds. Energy expenditure minimal.

𝘿𝙖𝙩𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙙: 𝘾𝙝𝙤𝙞 𝙈𝙞𝙣-𝙨𝙤𝙤 - 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮. 𝙉𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙: 5-7 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨. 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨.

He read anatomy for another hour. Memorized the muscular system, circulatory pathways, neural layouts. ZEO integrated the knowledge, cross-referencing with chemistry data from this morning. The human body became another system to understand, optimize.

At 5:30 PM, he began the walk back to the orphanage. The evening streets of Seoul were shifting from day to night, office workers heading home, shopkeepers preparing for dinner crowds.

Je-hoon walked at his optimized pace, but today, he observed differently. ZEO's passive scan processed the environment:

· Street vendor (tteokbokki): Profit margin 32%, daily revenue approx. ₩180,000

· Office worker (late 30s): Stress indicators elevated, pre-hypertensive

· Real estate office window: Listing prices per pyeong, neighborhood trends

· Coffee shop: 14 customers, average spend ₩4,200, machine efficiency 78%

Capitalism in motion. A system with rules. Rules could be learned, then utilized.

He paused at a crosswalk. Next to him, a businessman spoke on his phone:

"...futures dipped but recovered before closing. The 200-day moving average held..."

Futures. Moving averages. Financial terminology. Je-hoon filed it away. Another domain to master.

The orphanage gates appeared ahead. Dinner in 18 minutes. Then study hours. Then lights out.

Then tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.

---

𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙨:

𝙀𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙚: 100%

𝙋𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩: 0.002% 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚

𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙:

· 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 (𝘾): 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚

· 𝙈𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙮𝙢: 𝘽𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙘

· 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮: 𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡

𝙎𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨:

· 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙎𝙤𝙤-𝙟𝙖𝙚: 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙

· 𝙎𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: '𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙪𝙨' 𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙

· 𝙊𝙧𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙮: 𝘽𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙

𝙉𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙤𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨:

1. 𝙀𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 (𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩-𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙯𝙚𝙙)

2. 𝙀𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 (𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙘 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣)

3. 𝘼𝙘𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 (𝙡𝙞𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩)

Dinner was kimchi stew with sparse pork slices. Je-hoon ate slowly, calculating protein intake versus growth requirements. He noted Min-soo glaring from another table. Noted which staff members were distracted. Noted the kitchen's inventory levels (meat stocks low).

After dinner, during study hours, he didn't open a school textbook. Instead, he used scrap paper to sketch:

1. A basic algorithm flowchart (sorting mechanism)

2. Human muscular system (highlighting fast-twitch versus slow-twitch fibers)

3. A budget projection (if he could earn ₩5,000/week, compounded...)

At 8:55 PM, lights-out warning sounded. Children shuffled to dormitories.

Je-hoon lay in his bed. The orphanage settled into night rhythms. Tae-woo snored softly in the next bed. Distant traffic hummed.

He closed his eyes. Didn't sleep immediately. Instead, he reviewed the day's data.

The most significant variable: Park Soo-jae.

A wealthy girl. A potential connection. But more interestingly: someone who recognized intelligence without pity. Who offered coffee instead of condescension.

She'll be back in approximately 30 days, he calculated. Probability: 72%.

He needed to be ready. Not just with physics knowledge. With something... reciprocal.

An idea formed. ZEO processed it:

𝘾𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙧𝙮 - 𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙤 𝙫𝙨. 𝙖𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨. 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙫𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨. 𝙍𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙨. 𝙈𝙞𝙡𝙠 𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.

He would learn coffee.

Not just how to drink it. How to understand it. Another system to master.

Outside, a light rain began, tapping against the window.

Je-hoon breathed evenly. The orphanage around him slept.

But he was awake.

Awake and calculating.

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𝙄𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡 24-𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙙𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚

𝙎𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮: 99.98%

𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮: 𝙊𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙣.

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End Episode 1