The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 117

< Family's Special Mission (4) >

***

For Son Jin-hyuk, the world’s traces flickered like raindrops on a car window, or like a heat haze. Whether it was the influence of the seal the shadow had mentioned, or because his memories had faded with time, Jin-hyuk only remembered things etched into his very being.

If anything remained clear, it was the long-standing, noisy events. He read the world daily while delivering newspapers, and because of that, he vaguely recalled what happened at each age.

‘It must have been this fall.’

It was something he would never have attempted in his previous life, when he struggled to even take care of himself. But now, he had helpers to prevent incidents, and if he had the power to prevent misfortune and yet stood by, how could he bear the guilt?

‘Thanks to Dad and Uncle Hong Ki-joon, I have more than enough to eat and live on.’

It was a constant resolution, but Jin-hyuk wanted to live selfishly, yet not cowardly. Now was the time to act on that resolution. He had gained the ability to do so.

Future information.

Even if it wasn’t clear, wouldn’t it be okay to use what came to mind?

‘In my own way.’

Late at night, Jin-hyuk sat at his desk, pointing at each of the Gunsan passenger ship company lists that Min Yong-rak had given him. He gently patted Yu-jin, who had fallen asleep on his lap, with one hand.

Suddenly, Jin-hyuk’s jaw tightened.

‘Found it.’

Looking at the company names, he clearly recalled it.

Jin-hyuk’s eyes gleamed as he tapped the company name with his index finger.

「Western Ferry」

***

Including Moon Seok-il, the elite SSS [Special Security Service], Hong-si, and Min Yong-rak, the family that shared the same space had grown. Jin-hyuk’s house was becoming one of the safest places in the world, unless a stray missile came flying.

Jin-hyuk’s state of mind reached a turning point when he heard that Kim In-rang’s mother was ill. It was the reason he began to look outward. Bound by the special name of family, their daily lives no longer seemed trivial.

Perhaps it was the influence of the kind-hearted Son Kwang-yeon.

Son Kwang-yeon had given Kim In-rang a bonus to help with the nursing expenses, and it was in Jin-hyuk’s presence. It seemed to be an intention to have a positive influence on his son.

Moon Seok-il sat on Jin-hyuk’s desk again today.

Usually, they would wander around the yard or take a walk together to discuss things, but recently, they had been having secret talks in the room more often.

Moon Seok-il was busy taking notes and racking his brain, but he never opened his mouth. It was because Jin-hyuk had demanded strict security, so he was even sealing his own lips. It was a habit ingrained in him.

– “Please listen to me as if I’m crazy.”

At first, Moon Seok-il also suspected that Jin-hyuk’s ideas were delusions. But every time this kid ordered something, there was always a result.

Was it when he told Kang Heon-chang to practice kendo [Japanese swordsmanship] in the village hall yard every Sunday? After beating Kang Heon-chang all over his body with a bamboo sword about 218 times, the biker high school students never showed up again.

‘They must have thought it was a neighborhood where crazy old men lived.’

It was embarrassing to do that shirtless in March, but when Mr. Kim Chun-sik thanked him and treated them to a feast with the money he got from selling a cow, he even felt a sense of accomplishment. Like this, there was always a purpose behind the things the kid asked for.

But this time, it was a bit strange.

‘Does he mean to threaten them?’

He tightened his jaw and looked at his notebook.

「A. Secretly contact those involved in ship operation permits.

B. Meeting with the owner. Late at night/secretly.

C. Devise means to disrupt weekend ferry operations – minimize losses for the shipping company.」

‘A’ was Plan A.

The kid emphasized that he shouldn’t think about the rest.

“I trust you. Please keep it a secret.”

“Leave it to me.”

Moon Seok-il patted Jin-hyuk on the shoulder and went outside.

But why did he walk backward in a stooped posture when he closed the door?

‘He’s a polite uncle.’

After Moon Seok-il left, Jin-hyuk touched his forehead.

How fortunate it was to have a capable person he could trust by his side.

Whew-. He blew away the now very small conflict with a sigh.

He decided to dismiss the talk about intervening in history as nonsense. It was not about history, but about saving lives.

‘Help isn’t something you wait for, it’s something you seek yourself.’

When accidents happened, the media would rush to report on the analysis of the causes, but even Jin-hyuk, who had read the newspapers thoroughly, could not possibly remember the details. He didn’t trust the articles that were just after-the-fact remedies, so he didn’t look at them seriously.

‘Still, I could have at least referred to them in times like this. It’s a shame.’

Just in case, he also tried to borrow the power of a transcendent being.

He called out desperately to ask for a way to prevent the incident, but the shadow didn’t appear, and even the fluorescent light didn’t flicker. It seemed that he had really left after saying goodbye to Hong Ki-joon.

‘I guess I’ll have to take action myself.’

Of course, he had to act through his helpers. He was in a position where he couldn’t do anything directly.

Getting the list of passenger ship companies through Min Yong-rak was quick. But the work after that was slow. He learned firsthand how difficult it was to prevent an incident while complying with the law in a country ruled by law.

Killing someone in the name of the government was as easy as flipping a palm, but saving someone was harder than flipping a rock.

That’s why the chess piece he chose was Moon Seok-il, a former operative.

The ship must not be destroyed.

The livelihoods of small businesses and their employees would be cut off, and the sea would be polluted.

Causing a breakdown that would make it impossible to navigate was also a last resort, but since he didn’t know the timing of the accident, that method was also impossible. He only vaguely remembered that it was sometime in the fall. It was the limitation of memories that he had not experienced directly.

Inducing the owner to close down was also something to be avoided. It was called inducement, but it would actually be a threat. But they also had to make a living. He couldn’t block their throats to prevent an accident that hadn’t even happened yet.

In the end, there was only one way to prevent the accident without harming the system or people.

‘I need to increase the number of trips to prevent overloading.’

Human greed is endless, so they might overload regardless of the number of trips. But it was better to try than to do nothing, and that was the best way.

Then, all that was left was the person in charge of the administration.

He was bothered by the fact that he had to do something somewhat illegal, but in Jin-hyuk’s judgment, it was absolutely necessary.

‘Uncle Moon-skill will take care of it.’

He had told him not to break or kill anyone, so he would probably go and talk appropriately, well, neatly, and gentlemanly, wouldn’t he? Whether it was physical or psychological, there were people who were much better at inducing someone’s actions than Jin-hyuk.

‘It must never be known.’

He wasn’t trying to play the hero either. If his actions were revealed, he would be seen as a villain behind the scenes, not a hero.

He just wanted to save them. Those who were someone’s family, those who were currently alive. It didn’t matter what kind of people they were, whether they were strong or weak. In Jin-hyuk’s eyes, they were just a multitude of lives.

Anyway, in order to handle it secretly, it had to be done by people who were also skilled at hiding and moving nimbly.

For that kind of work, Moon Seok-il and the SSS were perfect.

‘Wasn’t it a real stroke of luck?’

Meeting Moon Seok-il, that is. The fact that he came to live under the same roof with them gave Jin-hyuk the wings of freedom on his back.

‘And I have to go to school.’

It was a consistent thought. Students have to go to school.

Hehe-.

One corner of Jin-hyuk’s mouth curled up mischievously as he looked in the mirror.

Only then did he look like a pretty hopeless teenager.

***

It seemed like the morning sickness was gone, but Han Yu-young’s appetite was endless.

Dan-gul [a type of wild vegetable], shepherd’s purse, wild chives, peeled spring bellflower root salad, seaweed stems that were not too dark in color and had a greenish hue from the sluice gate, winter-sleeping frog hind legs, seaweed made with dried laver harvested on snowy days, mugwort rice cakes, sow thistle and Korean lettuce salad······.

The amount she ate wasn’t much, but the menu was diverse. The list Jin-hyuk had organized in his notebook was over a page long.

It was truly the legendary pig power.

Even after school started, Jin-hyuk picked young mugwort whenever he had time.

It was manageable with Jang Jin-nam and Min Yong-rak helping.

‘She also said she wanted to eat castor bean leaf wraps.’

He could just ask the chef Jang Jin-nam for the soybean paste stew, but castor bean leaves were an ingredient that could only be obtained in the summer.

Anyway, there was no one idle in this house.

Son Kwang-yeon had to take care of his business, and Yu-jin had to teach Hong-si how to talk.

“Butterfly!”

Kkieng-.

She was showing him a picture book and was very enthusiastic, but Hong-si only made incomprehensible dog noises.

“Sparrow!”

Heuek-.

If it wasn’t a picture book, she would hold up a Thousand Character Classic [a classic Chinese text used for teaching characters].

“Moon!”

Wol!

“Ooooh-. Tta-chong! Our Hong-si is good at talking, right?”

“It seems like he’s doing okay······.”

Clap clap clap-.

Jang Jin-nam, who had come to get some of the red pepper paste that Han Yu-young had made, reluctantly clapped.

His biceps trembled every time he clapped to please the little one, and it was pitiful.

Anyway, it seemed like Yu-jin, who they thought was a genius, was also going a bit crazy.

‘Is the location bad?’

Jin-hyuk shook his head as he put on his rubber boots.

Grandpa Cheon Gil-ryong had praised the location as being very good, but he suspected that he had said things he didn’t mean because he had received so much.

“Oppa, where are you going?”

“I’m going to the sea with Uncle Jo Il-heon. Yu-jin is tired, so play with Hong-si.”

“Yes-.”

Yu-jin, who liked Hong-si anyway, didn’t seem to have any intention of following him.

‘I’m catching a mantis shrimp in my life.’

Mantis shrimp, originally called ssok, are mudflat creatures that look similar to mantis shrimp but are smaller in size.

The spring breeze was the problem.

Mom, sniffing the spring breeze like a general, had a blissful expression.

– “Hehe-, the mantis shrimp are full of eggs.”

She muttered to herself and drooled.

Son Jin-hyuk, the filial son who brought food to her mouth even when his parents tried to stop her, couldn’t just let it go.

In March and April, the coastal farmers, ahead of the full-scale new year’s farming, would go to the mudflats.

They would dig for clams and catch crabs called neungjae to pickle in soy sauce or mix them, which was the job of women who were not good at shoveling. Men would also catch octopus early, but most of them would go out to catch mantis shrimp.

Jin-hyuk, as a child, had no experience catching them.

‘They’re disgusting.’

They looked like aliens from a movie.

But the texture and taste were to his liking.

‘I thought they would taste similar to mantis shrimp because they look alike.’

If mantis shrimp were like blue crabs, then mantis shrimp were like rock crabs.

That meant it was hard to find similarities in flavor.

The texture and how to eat them were also different.

When Jin-hyuk ate mantis shrimp, he had to suck his fingers to fully enjoy the taste. It meant that he sucked his fingers, which had been flavored by peeling off the hard shell because there wasn’t much meat. But mantis shrimp could be eaten whole, so it was perfect for Jin-hyuk’s taste, who ate as much as a cow.

‘Fried is delicious.’

When you went to a house that was holding a wedding reception, fried mantis shrimp would be served, and Jin-hyuk still couldn’t forget that taste. Now, wedding receptions were no longer held at home, but at wedding halls or restaurants in town, so it was a disappearing taste.

Even Mom, who was completely a country person, liked mantis shrimp. The problem was that no one at home knew how to catch them.

Oaeng-oaeng-.

As he was wandering around the yard, the know-it-all Jo Il-heon appeared on his scooter.

He was the reinforcement who had arrived after receiving Jin-hyuk’s request for support.

“Oh? Jinaek, you don’t have any tools? What are you going to do with that shovel?”

“Yes?”

Tools? Did he have to bring a monkey wrench or something?

Jo Il-heon held out a stick he had taken out of a bamboo basket to Jin-hyuk’s bewildered eyes.

At the same time, Jin-hyuk stepped back.

‘Ooh-yah······.’

What Jo Il-heon had handed him was more like a giant dildo.

If Dad had seen it, he would have definitely compared it to his crotch, wouldn’t he?

‘The thickness seems similar······.’

No, that’s not important right now. Jin-hyuk shook his head vigorously.

The oval, blunt end resembled a man’s symbol, the turtle brother, and the length was a little shorter than a grown man’s arm. The opposite side, which had a T-shaped handle, looked like a sled handle.

“People who live in other places fish with some kind of feather or dog hair, but how many can you catch like that? In our neighborhood, we use this to make a big hole. Then the mantis shrimp will be pulled up. Like a pump-”

Yes, I heard your explanation well. So please put that stick away. It’s embarrassing to look at because it looks so awkward. Jin-hyuk only swallowed ahem- coughs.

‘Somehow, I thought I had seen it somewhere.’

It wasn’t just because it looked like the thing he saw when he peed or showered.

When he followed his dad to the sea, he had pulled out a stick that was stuck in the mudflat and was horrified by its shape. He thought some pervert had stuck a dildo in the mudflat.

Now that he thought about it, it seemed that they had just thrown away broken tools like that.

“These days, they sell ones made of steel at hardware stores, but the ones they sell don’t look as satisfying. Hya-, Jin-hyuk. Look at this. This is something I carved myself, isn’t it as beautiful as a jewel?”

Jo Il-heon smiled contentedly as he stroked the blunt end of the stick.

His expression and actions seemed inappropriate and illegal.

‘S, stop! Make him stop!’

{@PIC:560637}

This is a mantis shrimp catching stick.

I thought an explanation would be needed, so I drew it simply in a ppt.

Peel off the pine bark and carve it with a knife or other sharp tool to make it look like the picture.

To help with understanding, I tried to minimize the suggestive nature and drew it plainly and dryly… but