The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 101

It wasn’t quite talking to a wall, but this was close to being a sickness.

This shadow had no learning ability.

It claimed to be a perfectly complete being, unable to develop further, but Hong Ki-joon thought that was just its opinion.

Hong Ki-joon bit his lip tightly to suppress the rising frustration.

Huuuuh-.

A sigh that couldn’t escape through his mouth leaked out through his nostrils.

“Then that’s a big problem. Paradoxically, this friend needs this friend’s help to live happily.”

【Do not interfere. The life of the suitable one I have chosen must flow entirely as he chooses.】

Poof-, the shadow added as Hong Ki-joon sighed.

【The prohibition remains. You must never tell him that you have returned.】

It was just for a moment.

Hong Ki-joon wore a thoughtful expression, then quickly composed himself.

“I understand. There’s no other way.”

【You understand, so you’re not a monkey or a dog after all.】

The shadow spoke in its usual dry tone. But it seemed to have a hollow laugh mixed in.

“My life is precious too, so I can’t die. But, will we meet again?”

【There will be no more meetings. He has now grown enough to stand on his own.】

“That’s a shame.”

【The day I lift your prohibition will be our only remaining meeting.】

“I understand. So I’ll see you when I’m old.”

A regretful sigh escaped him.

It wasn’t a great conversational partner, but it was nice to be able to talk openly, and now it was the last time. Tsk-, Hong Ki-joon clicked his tongue.

【Farewell, old man. May you also remain in a happy era.】

“Dugele, Adzeh······”

【You’re late.】

Ehem-.

The shadow, grinning, left a fake cough and slipped into the gap between Jinhyuk and the bed.

***

“Ugh-ugh-.”

Hong Su-jeong woke up with a sore jaw, moving it from side to side.

She had slept with her head on her brother’s arm, and her jaw must have been dislocated, her mouth hanging crookedly. She had drooled so much that it smelled sour.

Sniff sniff-.

“Ew-.”

In the darkness, only the slow, steady breathing of the two Son siblings could be heard.

Still drowsy, Hong Su-jeong pondered for a moment how to sleep comfortably. She thought about turning her back to her brother, but then she felt like she would be upset. Then she discovered a space that had opened up like a bunker. Ah, if she lay down there, her jaw wouldn’t hurt, and her body would sink in comfortably! It was a space she used every time she woke up early during vacation.

Hong Su-jeong crawled into the bunker. When she put her head on the bulging top of the bunker, something soft yet firm supported the back of her head like a pillow.

‘Hehehe-, this is fun.’

She lifted her head and shook it from side to side, enjoying the cushioning.

As expected of my prison oppa [a term of endearment for an older brother, often used by younger siblings], Hong Ki-joon, my dad, would scream in pain if I did this, but this giant doesn’t budge.

Kaah- Hong Su-jeong fell back into a deep sleep.

*

Hong Su-jeong sleeps deeply when she sleeps with her prison oppa.

Is that why she grows taller every vacation?

She seemed to have slept soundly for quite a long time without moving today as well. When she opened her eyes, the window was bright. But why was this happening? Her head kept falling to one side. It was strange, it had been soft in the early morning, but now it was as hard as a tree root, making her head very uncomfortable.

Was it when she begged her mom and dad to go camping? She had rolled over while sleeping in the tent and slept with a tree root as her pillow. The feeling on the back of her head was similar to that time.

‘What’s there? It’s uncomfortable.’

Hong Su-jeong crawled to Jinhyuk’s feet.

***

It was a night of turmoil, both in body and mind.

Jinhyuk woke up at dawn. A habit ingrained over several years wouldn’t allow him to oversleep. That’s why they say habits are scary.

“Ugh-ugh-ugh-.”

It was when Jinhyuk was stretching while lying down.

Thump-.

Squawk-.

“Huh?”

What was that sound?

Jinhyuk was startled and sat up at the sudden sound of a frog dying.

He was so surprised that he was wide awake.

The lingering scenery of the dream also faded away.

His eyes scanned the source of the sound, and he saw a large frog sprawled out on the floor in the dawn light. It was Hong Su-jeong, sprawled on the floor at the foot of the bed.

“Oh my, Su-jeong-ah-.”

It seemed that she had been pushed by his foot when he stretched, as if something had caught on his foot. She already had a bumpy back of her head, and if there hadn’t been a thick carpet, she might have been in trouble again.

‘She’s not unconscious, is she?’

He put his ear close to her to check her breathing, and then checked her pulse by pressing his index and middle fingers on her carotid artery.

‘Whew, that scared me. Why is this kid sleeping there?’

She was a strange one. Even during vacation, when he woke up, Hong Su-jeong would always be curled up at his feet like a puppy.

He carefully laid Hong Su-jeong next to Yujin.

Yujin was lying facing the wall, her tiny hand groping at the wall. Her gesture resembled Papillon [a reference to the character from the movie Papillon, known for his relentless pursuit of freedom] groping for bugs in prison. She kept babbling something, but it was still incomprehensible.

‘It sounds like she’s calling someone.’

Jinhyuk straightened the crooked pillow and covered the children with the blanket up to their shoulders.

Angles are important.

‘Now the angles are right.’

He nodded in satisfaction, then sat cross-legged and took a long breath.

It felt like someone had been lying between his legs while he was sleeping, but it wasn’t the first time, so he figured it was nothing. Still, he had to be careful when sleeping at someone else’s house. He felt like his workout pants had slipped down a bit while he was sleeping. He couldn’t deal with such unexpected situations, so he always had to be on his guard.

Whooo-.

Damn hormones.

He felt like he had a strange dream last night, but like all dreams, it seemed to be highly volatile, and he couldn’t remember anything. It felt like someone was saying something about if you wish hard enough, but was he Paulo Coelho or something, talking about wishing hard?

Amidst the lack of any particular memory, there was one thing that vaguely surfaced, making Jinhyuk feel frustrated.

‘Someone hit me on the forehead.’

It must have been one of the two naughty kids with bad sleeping habits. Jinhyuk rubbed his forehead and glared at the kids. He put Hong Su-jeong’s hand on his forehead, then Yujin’s hand. He had intended to find the culprit, but their hands were so similar that it was difficult to tell.

He felt like he had a fun, unfair, and frustrating dream, but after being tormented by the kids, his shoulders were just sore, and he couldn’t remember the dream.

Nhaaaa-.

Jinhyuk yawned widely and lay down again.

‘Hehehe-. It’s peaceful.’

Seoul is quiet in the morning, without the sounds of roosters, dogs, or tractors.

Very occasionally, when he tried to sleep in, the sound of a tractor, “taltaltaltal-,” made it hard to be lazy in the countryside.

As he fell into sleep like being covered in fog, fragments of the dream that he couldn’t recall no matter how hard he tried whispered to him. Like the day he had returned to being nine years old······.

The corners of the sleeping Jinhyuk’s mouth twitched upwards.

‘Are they stupid? It doesn’t seem like I’m sealed or anything?’

But something felt unfair.

Wasn’t that dark thing using his shadow like free public transportation while ostracizing him? Next time, he would wish desperately, wish desperately for it to appear. He must never forget the dream.

However······.

Thump-.

“Jinhyuk! Su-jeong! Yujin! Time to eat!”

“Tteoh-!”

Startled by Yoo Se-ra’s booming voice, he jumped up, and the memory of the dream was reset once again.

***

Slurp-.

The two men slurped their soup as if in a competition.

He hadn’t drunk too much, but the feeling of his stomach reacting to the dried pollack soup with plenty of bean sprouts wasn’t bad.

“Su-jeong’s dad, are you thinking about work even when you’re eating?”

“Huh? Oh, no. Eat a lot.”

Hong Ki-joon smiled awkwardly, watching Jinhyuk, who was trapped between the two kids, munching on his food.

‘It said not to say that I’ve returned. It meant not to interfere with daily life, not to not receive help.’

Hong Ki-joon pondered, recalling his conversation with the shadow.

Even though he was suffering from overwork, Hong Ki-joon was in a different position than a salaried worker. He was happy at home and at work, and he had no desire to die. Anyway, it was clear that he needed help, but it was hard to find a talent with that level of insight among the executives of other companies. The executives of Korean companies were more like bureaucrats than bureaucrats.

The truly useful guys lived hidden. Because there was no place to recognize them, because their reputation wasn’t good, or because they wanted to.

He glared resentfully at Son Kwang-yeon, who was slurping his rice in soup like a pig.

‘He said he was just going to farm, but now he’s saying he’s going to do his own business.’

Traitor, my friend.

His gaze shifted back to Jinhyuk, who was alternately placing rolled omelets on Hong Su-jeong and Son Yujin’s bowls. He was a big deal in the past, so wouldn’t his talent still be there? Would it be impossible because he was too young?

His heart was heavy, and he couldn’t swallow his food.

‘It was too sudden, so I couldn’t properly steer the conversation my way.’

There were so many things he wanted to ask and complain about, but it was so sudden that he didn’t take advantage of last night’s opportunity.

*

As he was about to leave for work, Jinhyuk approached him.

His posture, with his hands clasped in front of him, was polite, but his way of speaking was still direct.

“When will the Gyeongho-dong construction start?”

“It should start right away.”

He was showing interest because he was starting work near his house. Hong Ki-joon chuckled, finally seeing it as the curiosity of a teenage boy.

“You’ll need someone to manage those people, right?”

“Manage? The team leader is there, so he’ll do well.”

Jinhyuk smiled and shook his head.

“Someone to manage attendance and take care of welfare issues. Wouldn’t you need someone to communicate with headquarters? Not a bodyguard, but a smart person. I thought it would be good for Dad to have someone to talk to who is on the same level.”

Hong Ki-joon’s eyes widened as they lit up.

It wasn’t just because Jinhyuk had spoken at length.

‘That’s a good idea?’

Attendance management wouldn’t require a manager. Attendance was within the team leader’s discretion, and personnel matters would depend on the contract.

But if he could put someone in the middle······. Couldn’t he get advice without having to reveal his situation, and without interfering with his friend’s or this kid’s daily life? Wouldn’t it be possible to borrow a long-term perspective?

What if someone with a good ear could write down what this kid was saying as a report?

Like a commentary.

Hong Ki-joon quickly made a decision.

“Okay. If you’re far from headquarters, management can become lax, so that’s a good idea. I’ll look for the right person.”

“Yes.”

“Okay. It would have been nice if you could have gone to the 63 Building and Namsan Tower while you were here. I’ll show you around next time.”

“Yes. Have a good day.”

He patted Jinhyuk’s back, who bowed, and turned away.

‘Could it be that this kid knows my worries?’

No way.

Son Kwang-yeon sometimes said that it was strange how his son seemed to see through him, so it must be a similar case.

Hong Ki-joon tilted his head for a moment, then got into his car with a light heart.

‘Anyway, there’s a suitable person for that kind of job.’

The person who had volunteered to be Jinhyuk’s right-hand man, even though they were almost a decade apart in age.

Meanwhile, Jinhyuk muttered as he watched the car carrying Hong Ki-joon drive away.

Sealed, my ass.

***

After breakfast and Hong Ki-joon had left for work.

Jinhyuk asked his dad, who was drinking coffee.

“Why don’t you go to the department store with the moms?”

“Huh? Why?”

Whyyy-? Whyyyy-?

Ha, this dad is really. If it weren’t for his face, he wouldn’t have been able to get married. Mom was young and naive, so she met him, but in my time, if you were that clueless, you wouldn’t even be able to date!

Not that Jinhyuk, who had never actually dated, intended to scold his dad.

“You came to Seoul for the first time in a while. If you just leave, Mom and Se-ra Ajum-.”

Jinhyuk paused for a moment. It was because he had sensed the smile disappearing from Yoo Se-ra’s face in real time.

“-Mother will be disappointed too.”

“Is that so?”

His dad scratched the back of his head and looked at his wives.

Han Yu-young didn’t express it, but her lower lip was protruding about 10% more than usual, as if she was sulking. It was clearly written in her eyes. I want to go to the department store.

Yoo Se-ra was a given. Judging by the way she was staring with her drowsy eyes, Son Kwang-yeon had no choice.

“I’ll take care of the younger ones.”

He had already confirmed the security vehicles that followed them while coming to Seoul. It was a very natural tail in Jinhyuk’s eyes. He was sure that they would accompany them to the department store without even seeing it.

“Dad will buy a catch ball!”

Perhaps it was because he had inherited the blood of his grandfather, who was a decorated soldier, but Jinhyuk, who was about to say that catch ball was a noun that meant an action, so he should correct it to buying a glove and a ball, just nodded. Well, as long as they understood each other.

With that, he was left in charge of the two kids and two dogs after sending the adults away.

At someone else’s house.