The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 107

< Foundation (4) >

*

– “You’re too good to waste away in the military. It’s not that you don’t fit in, but that you’re capable of succeeding at anything. Think about it again. If you still want to serve longer, come find me.”

The battalion commander’s eyes were filled with warmth and regret as he tore up the long-term service application. He was a special forces soldier who had chosen this place because it was quiet and tiring enough to help him sleep well. It was also a place where he could save his entire salary. It was a shame. It was the most comfortable place for him to get a good night’s sleep.

Although he was disappointed, he was also grateful that they recognized his worth. He wasn’t afraid of going out into the world anyway. He had earned enough to live on his own for a while.

Clack-!

He saluted the commander. It was the first time Son Jin-hyuk had smiled slightly since his parents had passed away.

‘Thank you.’

He didn’t want to go back to school.

He couldn’t bring himself to sit in a crowded lecture hall again. Some of his classmates had contacted him, but Jin-hyuk left his gratitude for his college friends who hadn’t forgotten him behind and went out into society.

Yang Kang-wook.

Perhaps because of him, he could have met Hong Su-jeong in the past and lived a personally successful life.

*

There was no need to wonder why Yang Kang-wook, who should have been in the military, was here. The world had changed as much as the time that had passed. Jin-hyuk was just glad to see him.

As Jin-hyuk remembered, he was the most soldierly man.

He was smart, warm, and stronger than anyone else.

Yang Kang-wook had a habit of saying something to his agents.

– “Be proud of your comrades. I envy you all for having such reliable warriors as your colleagues, whom I, the battalion commander, can trust and rely on.”

He had said that he was lonely because no one understood his meaning.

Jin-hyuk didn’t miss the way Yang Kang-wook’s eyes wavered. He realized that the saying about captivating people with just a few words was true when he saw him.

‘He’s still the same.’

It was a bit strange to say he was the same since it was his younger days, but he was a person with clear beliefs and consistency.

He must have been scouted by Sein Security Services after they showed him a list of outstanding talents. He must have been swayed by them. It wasn’t hard to understand Yang Kang-wook’s feelings. He was smart but had simple emotions.

Jin-hyuk’s tension eased as he felt like all the soldiers who would protect his family and land were gathered, and the final puzzle piece had fallen into place.

Jin-hyuk picked up a soccer ball.

“Team Leader, would you like to play foot volleyball?”

“Ah. Aah-.”

Yang Kang-wook slowly backed away. His face was flushed red.

Jin-hyuk’s lips curled up on their own.

‘He’s definitely the one, judging by how he’s backing away.’

Yang Kang-wook was a pushover.

Jin-hyuk bowed to the other guards as well. Although they weren’t as imposing as Moon Seok-il, they had an aura that ordinary people couldn’t approach. Even Jin-hyuk’s former colleagues who had served with him in the past would be considered ordinary combat soldiers compared to them.

After saying that he was in their care, Jin-hyuk carried Yu-jin and moved to the waterway construction site.

“Baby, I’m sorry.”

Yu-jin looked at her brother’s eyes as if asking what he meant.

The cement paste incident was the final straw. He realized that they had been neglecting Yu-jin too much, each using their busy schedules as an excuse. Although her mother played with her, the absence of her father and brother, who used to play with her energetically, must have been relatively significant.

‘I was too over the top, even though I’m not the one doing the construction.’

He had been too immersed in the site because he was sad that the place where they used to play was changing.

Jin-hyuk also didn’t play alone until his father brought Jang-gun, his dog. He had wanted his younger sister not to be lonely because of that, but he ended up not taking care of her, so he couldn’t help but feel sorry.

“It looks like it’s almost done. I guess all that’s left is the water seepage prevention work?”

“It’s almost done, right?”

Yu-jin repeated her brother’s words as usual, as if she wasn’t upset.

Even though it was called water seepage prevention, all that was left was to harden the bottom and water it to prevent large amounts of water from leaking out of the waterway. Jin-hyuk asked the Sein Construction manager to add a layer of gravel and sand and plant grass before filling it with water. The waterway bank was built with stone, and he thought that if they took care of the bottom, they might be able to see relatively clean water. Of course, it would become murky as loess and mud flowed in over time.

– “Won’t the grass die in the water?”

– “It won’t die.”

– “How is that possible?”

Because it’s grass.

In the past, he had seen a report that the weeds planted as decoration in the apartment complex pond had survived in the water. The water quality was also good where the grass was, and it also provided shelter for the fish, so the residents’ response was positive. It was an example of how an impromptu decision led to unexpected praise.

The dredging was nearing its end, as evidenced by the constant stream of dump trucks.

It wasn’t very deep, so it was a small scale compared to the civil engineering work for power plants or large apartment complexes, but the amount of excavated soil was enormous.

‘Still, it’s inefficient to dig up the reclaimed land again.’

Was this also an occupational hazard? He chuckled, thinking about efficiency, just like the old Team Leader Son Jin-hyuk used to do.

He stood where the urethane track would be and looked at the seawall that blocked the sea. The waterway reached the lagoon that met the floodgate. If they broke down that bank, a little seawater would mix in during high tide. Then they could see mullets and carps swimming together.

‘I should go fishing with Dad.’

He had stood and massaged his legs while fishing for gobies because there was no time to rest, but the thought of sitting on a fishing chair and enjoying leisure made him grin.

Yu-jin woke up her brother, who was having happy thoughts.

“Brother, what’s that?”

“Huh?”

Jin-hyuk turned his body in the direction Yu-jin was pointing.

The construction of the sports facilities was in full swing, and he heard that later, they would put up walls and only leave a door in the direction of the track. It would be nice to watch the sunset over the waterway through the windows that would be installed in various places.

“Multi-purpose-.”

What would be an easier way for Yu-jin to understand than a multi-purpose sports center?

“You can run, and you can lift weights-.”

“Lift weights?”

“Yeah-, it’s also called weight training, and there are machines and free weights in weight training-.”

“What’s that?”

Even though he was explaining with great effort, Yu-jin didn’t seem very curious. Even though her brother hadn’t finished explaining, she pointed to the waterway again.

“Waterway.”

“Waterway?”

“Yeah. It’s a place where water is stored and used to irrigate the fields. It also flows-.”

“Is there a stream there?”

Yu-jin immediately thought of a stream when he said flowing water.

It was a natural reaction since she had grown up seeing streams a lot.

“Yeah. It’s like a stream, but there’s a lot of it.”

“If there’s a lot, can we go tubing?”

She seemed to be thinking of the beach water play she had seen in picture books.

But wouldn’t it be dangerous to play in the waterway?

Jin-hyuk turned his body around while holding Yu-jin and pointed to the swimming pool.

“You swim there. The water is clean, so it’s good for Yu-jin to ride a tube.”

“Yes-. I’m excited-!”

Yu-jin seemed excited at the thought of playing in the water. It was a natural reaction since she wasn’t allowed to go to the stream because there were many rocks and snakes. When the sports center was completed, she would be able to swim even in the winter. Yu-jin would be happy.

Holding his younger sister, he walked along the gravel laid on the place where the track would be, following the sun.

He wanted to walk on it himself, but it looked dangerous for children to walk on. It wasn’t round gravel, so if they fell, they would get scratched.

“Yu-jin, how long do you think it would take for this place to fill up with water if it only rained?”

“Um······.”

Was it too difficult of a question? Yu-jin frowned and folded her fingers one by one.

Still, she somehow finished the calculation with her genius brain and opened her small mouth.

“Twenty-five thousand years.”

Hehehe-!

Is this Waterworld? The Earth is doomed.

Well, it would take a long time if it was only filled with rainwater. Jin-hyuk stroked his sister’s head, proud of her. Yu-jin, don’t even think about going into science. He muttered.

“If there’s a lot of water, can we ride a boat?”

Yu-jin’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the huge waterway with her clear eyes.

‘A boat······.’

It seemed safe.

There were no waves, and there were guards.

“Do you want to ride a boat, Yu-jin?”

“Yes! If we ride a boat, can we go to Treasure Island?”

Yu-jin was the type to play Silver Captain with a wide-brimmed hat before going to bed. He could guess what she meant.

Well, I should have asked them to make an island in the middle of the waterway.

“Let’s make a boat later and ride it together, Brother.”

“Yes, ehehehe-.”

First, I need to prepare for the final exams.

He had been running too fast.

Before he knew it, the year was already coming to an end.

The autumn that had filled the fields was erasing its traces.

***

Jin-hyuk was busy.

This was because Hong Ki-joon and Son Gwang-yeon had joined forces to pass the control of SSS to Jin-hyuk.

Jin-hyuk was practically begging on the phone. It was something he wouldn’t have even dreamed of in the past, but it seemed that Jin-hyuk’s personality of speaking his mind had come back to life since he found out that Hong Ki-joon was the same person from the past.

“What do I know? I’m a student, so I have to study, and I have to take care of my younger sister-.”

In fact, Jin-hyuk was also paying attention to it for his busy father, who was preparing for his business. It was a family matter, and who else would step up if not Jin-hyuk? However, the burden of doing it voluntarily and being given responsibility was bound to be different.

So, he decided to refuse appropriately.

– I’ll pay you a salary.

“Um-, I’m still young, so I don’t really have much use for money-.”

It was funny to say that he was young himself, but wasn’t it true?

He was slightly swayed by the word money, but he was still going to refuse-.

– I’ll pay you in dollars.

“Specifically, what can I do to help you, Father?”

Jin-hyuk knelt down in front of the phone.

Call.

He couldn’t resist the reserve currency.

Anyway, there was no need to nag every single agent. All he had to do was win over Yang Kang-wook, the team leader. But it wasn’t even necessary to go to Yang Kang-wook. Even that bear-like Yang Kang-wook couldn’t make a peep in front of Moon Seok-il. He seemed to be calling him a beast senior or something.

Discussions mainly took place in Jin-hyuk’s room, but they didn’t discriminate against locations. The space where Jin-hyuk and Moon Seok-il were together was their office.

“Um-, should I convey it like this, ‘We will not recruit additional guards, and we will only fill vacancies caused by transfers or long-term absences’?”

“Yes. And please request the deployment of medical personnel, whether they are doctors or nurses.”

“Medical personnel?”

Moon Seok-il, who was carrying Yu-jin, who had fallen asleep in the yard, and holding a notebook, blinked his eyes.

He looked strangely good with brown sunglasses and a baby carrier.

It was amazing when you looked at it. It was his first time carrying a baby, but he was swaying his body without anyone teaching him. It seemed to be a parenting instinct embedded in human DNA.

“There are so many people, so we need to take action if a patient occurs. A medical team is essential.”

“Okay. I’ll convey that.”

“And cooks too.”

“Essential.”

Moon Seok-il nodded and scribbled in his notebook. He was still hunched over and swaying his body. The baby carrier kept slipping down because his chest was different from a woman’s.

Jin-hyuk chuckled and checked the current situation and plans in his head.

Since one hobbit bunker was left, it would be helpful to have medical personnel stationed there in case of an emergency. It would also be helpful to the neighbors. There were many people who suffered from heatstroke in the summer, and there were also accidents involving snake or dog bites.

The agents were mostly married and of age, so they commuted from the town. This meant that there was no shortage of living space. The hobbit bunker was only a workplace, and Son Gwang-yeon had requested that they not provide excessive close protection, so SSS’s job was to stay in the comfortable underground space. With their eyes wide open.

It was a bit of a restless job for them.

“Are there any suspicious movements?”

“Um. There are kids riding motorcycles, but my brother told me to leave them alone unless they’re doing something bad, so I’m leaving them alone. Mr. Kim Chun-sik’s cow had a miscarriage, but we haven’t been able to confirm if it’s because of them······.”

Jin-hyuk nodded his head involuntarily.

He had also frowned many times because of the sound of the 125cc motorcycles with holes in their mufflers. Kim Eun-jeong’s cow had also had a miscarriage after those guys appeared. But he couldn’t tell the special forces to beat up the high schoolers.

Son Gwang-yeon said that it was all just a phase and told him to leave them alone. He said that it was strange that his son didn’t know how to play. Wasn’t his father, who was like a Buddha, someone who really didn’t know how to get angry?

“Are there any requests from the agents?”

“They seem restless.”

They were in a comfortable, well-insulated hobbit bunker covered with soil and plants, but they were confined, so it was understandable. The times when Son Gwang-yeon occasionally looked around the cultivated land were the only times the agents could get some fresh air. It seemed like they needed a solution for them.

“Let’s do this.”

Jin-hyuk, who had been doing push-ups, jumped up.