The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 13

Hanyoung was anxiously holding her daughter, Son Yujin.

The sound of a car outside had made her uneasy.

‘Could it be him?’

Over ten years ago, when Son Gwangyeon would find lodging in a nearby house during summer breaks and come down every weekend during the semester, passionately courting Hanyoung, she had experienced a trembling fear.

– “Don’t you dare flirt with Gwangyeon. Don’t you women have any pride? Just because you live in a lowly place doesn’t mean you have to be vulgar.”

That was what a woman who arrived in a fancy foreign car from Seoul had said.

She hadn’t even flirted.

The memory still made innocent Hanyoung’s blood boil.

‘It’s infuriating. I couldn’t say a word back then.’

She had tried to direct that anger towards Son Gwangyeon.

But because of his earnest gaze and the pure soul hidden behind his sad eyes, Hanyoung had ultimately swallowed her humiliation.

When she accepted his courtship, Son Gwangyeon willingly stepped into the remote countryside with no connections. Behind that decision was Hanyoung’s earnest request.

– “I want to live somewhere where no one knows us.”

She didn’t want to see her unblood-related sister, nor Son Gwangyeon’s family. It was a hard path they chose, looking only at each other. Hanyoung never told Son Gwangyeon about the humiliation she had suffered that day.

‘But why aren’t they coming in?’

The car had been turned off for a while, but no one was opening the gate. She cautiously opened the paper door [a traditional Korean door made of paper over a wooden frame] and stepped into the courtyard, where she could hear voices chatting outside.

“Oh, my, how can she be so smart?”

The sudden female voice startled her.

However, the voice was kind, not hostile, clear and not venomous. She decided it wasn’t the same woman from back then.

‘Should I go out?’

She glanced back and saw her sweet daughter sleeping soundly.

***

“Ooh, baby, baby. So cute.”

Hong Sujeong mumbled.

Shouldn’t a five-year-old be speaking well? Little Hong Sujeong was bright, but her speech was still clumsy. But wasn’t that part of a young child’s charm?

“Sujeong, this is my younger sister, Yujin. Son Yujin.”

Hong Sujeong was still young, so she didn’t seem surprised that Jinhyuk knew her name.

“Son Yujin. Oppa, Hong Sujeong.”

Hong Sujeong pointed at each of them in turn, clearly stating their names.

“Ah, oppa?”

Then, she pointed at Jinhyuk, making a round shape with her mouth.

Her habit of pointing and widening her eyes seemed to be ingrained from a young age.

Jinhyuk immediately understood what the little one’s actions meant.

“Ah, I’m Son Jinhyuk.”

“Son Jinyuk-”

“Not Jinyuk, it’s Jinhyuk, Sujeong.”

When else would he get to hear the name of the great sorcerer [a reference to Jinhyuk’s past life]?

Jinhyuk, who had almost ended up in prison, stayed by his younger sister Son Yujin’s side with Hong Sujeong, who had followed him into the room.

“Oh my, the baby is so pretty.”

Yu Sera, who had come in at some point, sat on the edge of the porch, looking at the baby in the room. It was obvious she wanted to hold the baby.

“I should offer you something to drink…”

Mom was holding a fruit basket. There were bananas and pineapples in the basket, rare fruits that were hard to find even at the market in the countryside back then.

‘Ugh, I’m sick of bananas.’

Jinhyuk, who had eaten six bananas a day while exercising in his previous life, suppressed the urge to gag and quickly stood up for his mom.

“Mom, I’ll make some juice.”

“Oppa.”

Hong Sujeong followed Jinhyuk again.

“Oh my, your son is so handsome and smart. Hoho.”

“Haha, should we have a son too?”

Yu Sera and Hong Gijun’s words flew and landed behind Jinhyuk as he headed to the kitchen.

They should take care of their own daughter. It was annoying how she kept following him.

‘Even if you have one, there won’t be a son like me. Ahem!’

That’s right. Where else would there be an old soul like him? Thinking that, Jinhyuk shrugged his shoulders. He was chuckling so much that his hand trembled as he put the juice powder into the glass.

He served juice made by dissolving orange-flavored powder in water.

Hong Gijun was petting the growling Janggun, and Yu Sera was holding the baby, her eyes full of affection.

“Jinhyuk, would you like to go see your dad in this uncle’s car?”

“Yes.”

It seemed that a conversation between adults that Jinhyuk didn’t know about had taken place while he was taking care of the baby.

Since Mom had said it was okay, it must be fine.

Jinhyuk took off his slippers and put on his sneakers.

“Ah, baby. Ah, oppa. Ah ah-”

Hong Sujeong hesitated, then.

“Oppa.”

She got into the car with Jinhyuk.

Yu Sera decided to stay at the house with Jinhyuk’s mom.

*

They drove along the bus route, past a small forest, towards the rice paddy where his dad was working. The unpaved road was full of potholes due to the many tillers and tractors, but the Benz powerfully broke through.

‘I’m riding in a Benz at this age.’

More than that, it was surprising that he was riding in a car driven by Hong Gijun.

Wasn’t he the owner of the group he had once been a part of?

Jinhyuk had been in the back seat of Chairman Hong Gijun’s car right before he returned to the past.

There was a loud noise and the shock of his body shaking. He didn’t remember anything after that.

‘Did I die that day and get sent to the past?’

At the time, Chairman Hong Gijun seemed like he had something to say to Jinhyuk. He was curious because he never got to hear it. It was probably about his marriage with Hong Sujeong, but only the people involved knew the truth.

‘Was Chairman Hong Gijun safe? Does that world exist separately and move independently? If so, it would be sad since Mom and Dad aren’t there. Ah, but I would have died there too, so it wouldn’t matter.’

It was a question he couldn’t answer.

Even if he knew, there was nothing he could do.

While reminiscing about the past, he held Hong Sujeong tightly in the back seat. She was wearing a seatbelt, but her body was shaking because of the bumpy unpaved farm road.

Hong Gijun, who had been glancing at the rearview mirror, broke the silence.

“Jinhyuk is a good boy. He takes good care of his younger sister, even though he just met her.”

“She’s a weak baby.”

It’s not like I just met her.

Jinhyuk turned his gaze to Hong Sujeong. The little one with wide eyes was staring intently at Jinhyuk. To look at the great Son Jinhyuk with such direct eyes, wasn’t she braver than the Hong Sujeong from his previous life? She didn’t take her eyes off Jinhyuk, even though she should have been feeling carsick. Is this little one’s standards high?

Thump-!

The car’s chassis hit the ground as it passed through a rather deep puddle.

“Oops-”

Hong Gijun made a folksy sound. It was because he hadn’t slowed down in advance while looking at the rearview mirror. Hong Gijun seemed nervous, but he had a strange smile on his face.

As expected, men from Seoul don’t hold back their emotions. Is he that happy to see his daughter being taken care of? Jinhyuk, who was thinking that, suddenly perked up.

“He’s over there.”

Jinhyuk pointed to where his dad was spreading fertilizer in the rice paddy. Even though he was rich, his dad was a farmer who insisted on growing his own food for the family.

Hong Gijun stopped the car near where Son Gwangyeon was working and got out.

Son Gwangyeon, who had been tilting his straw hat and watching carefully since the foreign car approached, widened his eyes when he saw who got out of the car.

A strange tension flowed between the two men.

Jinhyuk in the car also sensed the strange atmosphere.

‘These dads are somehow…’

They looked like men about to have a duel.

It wouldn’t be strange if someone drew a sword first.

Feeling an inexplicable anxiety, he tightened his arms around little Hong Sujeong.

Neither Hong Gijun nor Son Gwangyeon could speak first.

How long had the silence lasted?

Son Gwangyeon frowned fiercely, pointed at Hong Gijun, and opened his mouth.

“Hey, you bastard…”

It was the first time Jinhyuk had ever heard it.

His dad was swearing.

It was the first time he had seen it.

His dad, who was afraid of mudfish and sparrows, had eyes that turned as fierce as a tiger.

***

Yu Sera was holding the baby, not knowing what to do.

“Oh, how can she be so pretty? I wonder if my daughter was like this when she was this age.”

“She looked like a doll earlier. She must have been pretty as a baby too.”

“I only have memories of being tired and annoyed. It’s not because of the baby, but you just get worn out. Didn’t Jinhyuk’s mom feel that way?”

“Jinhyuk was so gentle that I didn’t even realize it was hard. When he was a baby, he was even prettier than Yujin, like a girl.”

It might have been partly because she didn’t do much hard work and focused on childcare at home. But was childcare ever easy? Hanyoung’s words that it was less difficult because the baby was gentle weren’t entirely unfounded.

“Looking at his features, it’s understandable. He looks a lot like his mom.”

It wasn’t just flattery.

Yu Sera thought that Hanyoung was too beautiful to be sleeping in this countryside. Her face also looked familiar for some reason. Where had she seen her?

“Jinhyuk looks like his dad. I only look a little like her.”

If she had to pick, her eyes, nose, and mouth might resemble her mom. Her ears too…

She thought it was fortunate that her son resembled her handsome husband. Anyway, he looked like his dad.

“Um… but you still haven’t told me how you came here.”

Hanyoung said cautiously.

They had suddenly barged in, given her a fruit basket, and then the woman was holding the baby, and the man had taken her son to meet her husband. Her husband, who had come to court her every day back then, was also forceful, but these people were no less so.

Are all people from Seoul like this?

“Ah, ahaha. Was that so?”

“Yes, the president earlier only said he wanted to meet Jinhyuk’s dad.”

Yu Sera’s face showed an embarrassed smile.

Why did she come?

She had fallen asleep in the car her husband was driving and ended up here.

Yu Sera quickly tried to recall.

While enjoying their vacation in Haeundae [a famous beach in Busan], her husband had received a call from somewhere and urged Yu Sera. At first, she thought he was going to visit his parents.

– “What? We have vacation until the day after tomorrow, why are you going up already?”

– “I have a place to go. They say there’s a lot of good and cheap land.”

Her husband, Hong Gijun, said he was going to look at land.

He said he had asked his secretary to look for good land on the West Coast, saying that he should use his power as the chairman’s son-in-law. He also added that the call was from the secretary’s office.

‘This guy has been acting strange lately.’

He was sincere without any cunning. He was also quite smart and kind, which was why she decided to marry Hong Gijun. It was a rare love marriage in a chaebol [a large family-owned business conglomerate] family where arranged marriages were common. Thanks to her father, who would do anything his youngest daughter wanted, there were no obstacles.

But suddenly, her husband was enthusiastic.

He had quit his well-paying job and, without saying a word, had gone to his father-in-law and asked for a position. He had probably asked politely, but anyway.

He had joined Se In Construction as the head of the overseas sales department and had been busy ever since. But suddenly, land during vacation?

What was even funnier was that Yu Sera herself had been excited when her husband said he was going to look at land.

– “That’s great. It would be nice to build a company training center in a scenic place.”

– “As expected of Mrs. Yu Sera! You understand me well.”

She had a cold and aloof image, but Yu Sera had a strangely lacking side. That was also part of her charm.

She had nodded off in the passenger seat until her neck was stiff, and that was how she had arrived in this remote village.

From Busan to the coast of Chungnam. How many times had they stopped at rest stops, and how many times had they opened the map book?

Yu Sera couldn’t forget her husband’s expression when they arrived.

He had a bright smile like someone who had found treasure.

Was it her imagination that he looked brighter than when he had accepted her proposal?

– “I found it.”

– “Who? Do you know him?”

– “No, the land owner’s address that the secretary’s office gave me is here.”

It was strange that someone living in a shabby house in this remote village was a landowner, but he was happy to have found the landowner. Was he having a manic episode due to extreme work stress? He had changed too much, becoming too proactive.

‘It’s nice that he’s become proactive at night too, though.’

He seemed to have been conscious of his position as the son-in-law of a chaebol and the eyes of those around him since their marriage, but it was good that he had become brighter.

While Yu Sera was frowning and trying to remember while holding Yujin, Hanyoung fanned her daughter with a fan, feeling resigned. As expected, people from Seoul were strange. When she asked about their purpose, they were staring blankly like sick chickens.

After organizing her rather complicated thoughts, Yu Sera finally opened her mouth.

“About the land…”

“Land?”

There were many lands under the Son family’s name. But was it that difficult to say that? Seoul women were strange. Scary.

Hanyoung quietly grabbed Yujin.

‘Jinhyuk will be safe.’

He’s smart and fast, so he’ll run away if it’s dangerous.

Her heart was pounding for no reason.

No, but this Seoul woman was holding Yujin tightly and wouldn’t let go.

Hanyoung’s arm tightened even more.

Whether it was because she had eaten meat since she was young, the Seoul woman’s strength was formidable.

Unaware of the women’s burning tension, Janggun just wagged his tail.