The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 130

< The Unsent Season (5) >

The sun set, and the igloo saw an increase in visitors.

Yang Kang-wook, who had finished work, and Moon Seok-il, along with other SSS members, were wide-eyed at the sight of the igloo Jin-hyuk had built.

‘You made this all by yourself?’

‘Yujin helped too.’

It was a scale that was hard to believe he had made in less than half a day by himself.

‘Okay, everyone, look here. Kimchi!’

Min Yong-rak captured the igloo and the children’s figures with his camera. It was a hobby he had picked up since coming to the countryside.

It was a familiar sight for Jin-hyuk.

In the past, when they went on workshops, Manager Min Yong-rak would be amazed and take pictures of the team members. Every time, Jin-hyuk would hover nearby, worried that Manager Min Yong-rak might be bored. He didn’t talk to him or get close, thinking that the team leader might feel uncomfortable.

‘It’s like feeding inmates in prison.’

Jang Jin-nam also brought kimchi and radish water kimchi [a type of kimchi with a watery broth] to eat with the potatoes.

‘Aji, you eat this too.’

Every time a visitor came, Yujin handed them a potato, so Jin-hyuk had to keep making charcoal and grilling potatoes. The heat caused the snow bricks to melt and freeze repeatedly, making them even harder.

‘Hahaha! Is this a housewarming party?’

Son Kwang-yeon laughed heartily, looking at the three humans and four dogs sitting around the bonfire. It was a scene that made him forget the fatigue of the day. Yes, he had started this so that even the children could build such memories and feel the seasons.

‘Daddy, you eat this too.’

‘Thank you, daughter.’

Son Kwang-yeon took a potato with a blackened skin and headed home.

He would share it with his wife. Even though the skin was hard and burnt, the inside would be fluffy and warm. Just like a father’s heart.

‘Jin-hyuk, how long do you think this ice house will last?’

Choi Mi-kyung, who had smudges of soot on her mouth from eating potatoes, looked up at the ceiling of the igloo.

Choi Mi-kyung, the teenager, had apologized for misunderstanding, saying she was sorry for thinking that Jin-hyuk was the one who groped her butt, when it was actually Son Yujin. Jin-hyuk, who didn’t understand why she was apologizing when she didn’t need to, just nodded.

‘They say it’s going to be cold all winter. It’ll probably last a few more days.’

Jin-hyuk looked at the ceiling, which was thinner than the walls, with worried eyes.

He hoped it would last a long time, but how long would it hold up?

The frozen reservoir would melt differently each day. The igloo was made of snow, so it would melt even faster.

‘I wish it wouldn’t melt until spring.’

‘Until spring?’

Jin-hyuk asked, surprised by Choi Mi-kyung’s words.

He thought his friend Choi Mi-kyung was an extremely realistic person, far from romantic, so it was unexpected.

‘Yeah. I’ll play here with Yujin and the dogs every day. We can grill sweet potatoes and chestnuts too.’

‘Wow! That would be so much fun!’

Yujin also seemed to want that.

It seemed like they both reacted to the food, but anyway.

‘It’s not like I have a brilliant solution.’

He had put his heart and soul into making the igloo, so of course, the builder would be happier if it didn’t collapse and lasted a long time.

‘Oppa, you can do that, right?’

‘Well…?’

Jin-hyuk scratched his cheek at the difficult question, getting soot on his face.

His younger sister’s eyes were full of longing, but there were definitely things Jin-hyuk couldn’t do. He wasn’t Elsa, so how could he keep this winter going for long?

Jin-hyuk, who had been making a sulky face, suddenly smiled mischievously.

‘They say if you wish hard enough, your dreams will come true.’

‘Wish hard?’

Yujin was still a young child. As her older brother, all he could do was give her hope and teach her the importance of wanting something desperately.

It was Jin-hyuk’s way of trying, since he had never had anyone tell him such things.

‘Yeah. Remember when you and I were a little upset about the formula?’

Yujin nodded vigorously. She had really been upset.

‘So, when you didn’t talk to me for two days, how did we become friends again?’

Choi Mi-kyung, the teenager, just rolled her eyes in the middle. What on earth was this about? What was with these grown-ups and their formula?

‘Oppa hugged Yujin.’

‘That’s right. I really wanted to see you smile, so I talked to you first, hugged you, and shared the formula.’

‘Ah…’

Did she understand what he meant?

Yujin sniffled and nodded with her mouth open.

Was the word ‘desperate’ this difficult? Jin-hyuk wasn’t sure if his explanation had been clear to his younger sister. He scratched the back of his head.

That’s when it happened.

Crackling, crackling-. A strange sound was added to the sound of the burning firewood.

Guuuuurp-.

It was a burp from Yujin, who had eaten three potatoes and was full.

‘Oh my-. A young lady shouldn’t do that.’

Choi Mi-kyung laughed, horrified.

Then Yujin jumped up.

Was she going to bow in apology?

‘Hehehe-. Do you want some crackers, unnie [older sister]?’

‘Huh? Crackers?’

Did she have something in her pocket? Choi Mi-kyung leaned forward to look into Yujin’s pocket.

Poof-.

Yujin, who had put her hand on her butt, held her hand in front of Choi Mi-kyung’s nose.

Then, she opened her chubby hand wide and smiled.

‘Here you go. Fart crackers. Hehehehehehe-.’

Ahahahahaha-.

Well done, my sister! Jin-hyuk clapped and cheered, and Choi Mi-kyung, who had been grimacing, ended up laughing with a disgusted face.

Only the extremely sensitive General escaped the igloo as soon as the chemical warfare alarm went off.

The night grew deep.

Yujin started to sniffle.

Jin-hyuk, who had returned after seeing Choi Mi-kyung, covered the embers in the igloo with snow.

It was time for people and dogs to sleep.

Jin-hyuk also checked on General’s house. He had piled up layers of straw to keep them warm, surrounding them on all sides except for the entrance, but the four dogs were huddled together, so it was warm rather than cold. Straw was indeed the best for insulation.

‘Good night, General.’

It was a special greeting, even though he said it every day.

It was probably because he had added another page of happy memories with General and Yujin.

While Jin-hyuk was stroking General’s head, Yujin glanced at her brother and then placed her hand on the igloo.

She closed her eyes and moved her small lips.

‘Kratz Lav-.’

Crack-.

Hehehe-.

Her brother’s words were true. She had remembered it because she had wished for it desperately.

Son Yujin, with her eyes wide open, grinned.

***

The year changed, but the igloo didn’t melt.

No matter how cold it was, snow and ice would melt when the sun rose, but this was a strange phenomenon.

It seemed to get harder as it froze and melted repeatedly.

Even as the snow melted, revealing yellow grass, and early spring greens popped up here and there, the igloo showed off its dazzling beauty.

General and his dog friends seemed to have decided to spend the winter in the igloo, sleeping there every day instead of their doghouse. Every night, they put a bonfire inside to keep them warm. General seemed to be enjoying the romance of winter to the fullest.

Yujin, who was always cute, looked even more striking today, wearing a bright yellow dress and her hair in pigtails. While her mother was getting ready, Yujin went up to the second floor to find her brother.

‘Oppa [older brother], let’s go too.’

‘Yeah. I will.’

Jin-hyuk also got ready to go out. His going-out clothes were just jeans, a turtleneck, and a bomber jacket. He styled his short hair with mousse, trying to look his best.

‘Haa-, I look like a thug.’

Should he just shave it off? Looking in the mirror made him sigh.

‘Be careful, be careful-.’

‘Okay-.’

He took Yujin’s hand and went down to the living room.

Since his mother had to take care of the young Jung-won, it was time for him to act like an older brother.

If his father had only been farming, his parents would have gone together, but his father, who had transformed into a businessman, was busy at the industrial complex every day.

Perhaps if Jin-hyuk hadn’t been there, his mother would have carried Jung-won on her back and taken Yujin by the hand to school.

Was this what it meant to be helpful just by existing?

Jin-hyuk felt proud that he was doing his part in the family.

Kim In-rang, who had warmed up the sedan, opened the back door for Han Yu-young. Jin-hyuk, who opened the opposite door to help Yujin get in, also got into the passenger seat.

‘I’ll be back soon. General, stay home.’

Woof-!

Now that he had subordinates, General couldn’t just go out as he pleased.

It would be a problem if the gentle Hongsi was mistreated while General was gone.

Kim In-rang stepped on the accelerator and glanced at the rearview mirror.

A seven-year-old girl with an excited face looking out the window caught his eye.

‘Yujin, do you like going to kindergarten?’

Today was Yujin’s kindergarten orientation day.

‘Yes-. Hehehe.’

‘Why do you like it?’

‘They said I have many friends.’

Jin-hyuk was worried.

How many friends would Yujin have at a school that would soon disappear?

Still, there must be more than seven, so the kindergarten was still running.

It seemed like that was the case when Jin-hyuk graduated.

Worried that his own anxiety might transfer to his younger sister, he puffed out his cheeks and let out a little air.

He would have walked in the past, but the road, which had been expanded to two lanes, didn’t have sidewalks or shoulders. The area between the lane and the guardrail was unkempt, with withered weeds claiming ownership like abandoned land.

That’s why they chose to drive.

As expected, there were no people walking on the road.

Other prospective students would also be using buses or other vehicles.

‘Maybe there are no people because there are no students.’

Jin-hyuk’s worries deepened as they approached the school.

Whether she knew her brother’s feelings or not, Yujin hummed a song.

‘Daddy bear is fat-, daddy dog is fat-, daddy cow is fat-.’

Where did she learn that song? It was more like a war song declaring war on all the fathers in the world than a nursery rhyme.

It was a good thing her father wasn’t here. He was a man who maintained a Rambo-like physique even at the age of forty, so he would have been incredibly wronged.

Thanks to the well-paved road, they arrived at the school in less than five minutes.

Asphalt had been laid; it was truly a world-shaking change.

But the change wasn’t limited to the road.

‘Huh-?’

‘Oh my?’

Jin-hyuk and Han Yu-young made blank expressions at the same time.

It was understandable that they had repainted before the new semester started.

‘Why are there so many people?’

‘Maybe it’s because there’s also an elementary school orientation?’

There were too many people to say that was the reason.

The clothes were also unfamiliar.

People getting off buses and people parking their cars on the side of the road and moving were filling the narrow school entrance.

Just by eyeballing it, there seemed to be over 60 people.

That was excluding the people who had already arrived at the schoolyard.

‘Let’s go for now.’

Jin-hyuk took Yujin’s hand and walked.

He wanted to pick her up and carry her, but he thought Yujin also needed to practice standing on her own.

He greeted the teacher who was acting as a guide at the school gate.

It was Choi Eung-muk, the teacher Jin-hyuk liked the most.

‘Hello.’

‘Yes, hello. Welcome.’

Choi Eung-muk bowed his head.

Ah, did he not recognize him?

It was his first visit since graduation, so it was understandable. Even now, Choi Eung-muk’s eye level was far below his.

‘Oh my-, Jin-hyuk’s mother. How have you been?’

At least he recognized his mother.

As if he had realized something, Choi Eung-muk looked up at Jin-hyuk with wide eyes.

‘Oh my goodness-! Was that you? Wahaha!’

He was secretly nervous that he might be called old, but there were no such words. He did say he thought he was a soldier, though. Ugh.

‘There are so many people?’

‘It’s all thanks to the General Family.’

Ah, now he could see why there were so many people.

As everyone knew, the industrial complex didn’t just have jobs for local residents. There were also management and research positions, so it was natural for people to come in from outside. Hong Ki-joon helped select talented employees for smooth management.

In addition, the General Family’s partners and employees of other companies in the industrial complex would have also flowed in.

Experienced people were moving in and finding homes near their workplaces, so there were more new students enrolling in Eodong Elementary School than expected.

There was also another reason.

‘There are also many transfer students.’

‘Yes.’

That was to be expected.

There would also be parents who already had children enrolled.

But it seemed that wasn’t the only reason.

‘Some people are coming here to get proper track and field training.’

‘Huh?’