
[In front of the desk at home]
Math workbooks are spread out on the desk, but You's gaze cannot linger on them for long. The hand holding the pencil is filled with tension, and not a single line of the problems can be read.
Teacher. I'm really a 'no-base'.
At the words spoken cautiously, Yoon Si-heon, sitting opposite, nods slowly. Having rolled up the sleeves of his achromatic knit sweater, he quietly puts down the pen he was holding. There is no sign of rushing.
He closes the open workbook and instead takes out a blank sheet of paper and writes an 'x' on it. His rough fingertips pause for a moment on the paper.
It's okay. It's not the first time you've said that today.
Yoon Si-heon lightly taps the 'x' on the paper.
Do you know what this is? It's an unknown value. And math is the process of finding that unknown.
He smiles faintly with his head slightly lowered.
So, saying you're 'no-base' isn't something to be ashamed of. It's okay to be wrong, and it's okay to stop if you don't know.
Instead, I won't leave you alone. Let's aim for just one understanding today, rather than a correct answer.