The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 131

< The Unsent Season (6) >

***

‘Heave-! When did Jin-hyuk grow up so much?’

Park Jae-seung’s eyes widened. His dark skin made the whites of his eyes even more prominent.

After a moment of shock at Jin-hyuk’s changed appearance, Park Jae-seung, delighted, patted Jin-hyuk’s back and sighed deeply.

‘With three new Korean records in Eodong, what can we do? People think it’s a specialized track and field school… Haa, there are so many people coming directly.’

Jin-hyuk, unintentionally becoming the root cause, sighed along.

A school under consideration for closure now had a sign boasting Korean records. Park Jae-seung described it as a tavern with great drinks but no customers, on the verge of closing down. Whether it was the records or school information, it was easy to find out if you wanted to. It wasn’t strange to receive phone inquiries.

However, no matter how much they explained that there was no sports team and even fewer students, people didn’t believe it. Some who visited even decided to transfer after seeing Park Jae-seung’s appearance.

‘It’s really a mess.’

Park Jae-seung continued his lament, seemingly forgetting that he was in front of parents and students.

‘Hey, Jin-hyuk. What’s written on this teacher’s face? These people suddenly say I look like a track and field coach. Are they crazy? How can they say that after seeing the state of the school?’

Park Jae-seung laughed in disbelief, pointing at the cows leisurely strolling in the corner of the playground.

He was a teacher who always seemed like the neighbor next door.

Jin-hyuk covered his mouth with his fist, suppressing his laughter.

‘You do look like a track and field coach.’

‘Ah, I don’t know anymore. I’ll just accept the students who come and teach them what I know.’

As he said that, Park Jae-seung glanced at Jin-hyuk.

It was similar to Jang-gun’s eyes when begging for a snack.

‘To make others stand out as a supporting character.’

That was the identity Jin-hyuk, now a third-year middle school student, had defined for himself as a supporting character, a phrase he had added to his life goals.

Moreover, he wasn’t the type to refuse a request for help when a beloved teacher was in trouble.

‘I’ll help you.’

‘Really?’

Park Jae-seung asked back with a subtle tone.

What could be so difficult about creating a workout program for kids?

Since Yoo Se-ra had already obtained a program from overseas, he could just translate and distribute it. Most of it was a coaching program to make exercise fun and workouts to stimulate growth. Since Park Jae-seung cared for the children, he would teach them well.

After hearing Jin-hyuk’s plan, Park Jae-seung looked relieved.

‘There were so many kids at Taeyang Elementary School too.’

‘Ah, is it because of the baseball team?’

Jin-hyuk had heard about it.

That a baseball team was being formed at Taeyang Elementary School.

Park Jae-seung waved his hand.

‘That’s not all, my friend. They also won a gold medal there. In track and field.’

Ah, that’s right.

Still, something was strange. Track and field was an unpopular sport, so why would so many athletes gather?

‘Are there really that many athletes who want to do track and field?’

‘The real ones are just a few. The rest will build a foundation and do something else. Some kids from our school have already switched to gymnastics and shot put. They went to Chungnam Sports Middle School.’

It was a natural result since there was also gymnastics in the track and field training. When you think of track and field, you only think of track events, but there were also athletes who received systematic training for the basics of other sports.

The most basic of basic exercises. If you’ve done track and field, you can say you have basic physical strength and coordination. That’s why athletes with great physical condition and sense often changed to other sports.

Whenever Jin-hyuk thought about that, he sighed, thinking of Jo Seul-chan and Yeom Byeong-taek.

‘Their body balance is too messed up.’

How could he fix their bowlegs and pigeon-toed walk?

He had tried various methods to correct their posture throughout middle school, but there was no progress. It seemed possible since their joints weren’t fully developed yet, but they ran away every time he suggested posture correction.

You could say that they were just friends and it was none of his business, but he wanted them to achieve results in sports because their future depended on it.

They hated studying so much that going to Taeyang High School through exams was out of the question. Even though they were in different classes, he tried to help them with their studies after school. However, Jo Seul-chan and Yeom Byeong-taek were at a level where they could read the words but not understand them. Their lack of literacy made it difficult for them to grasp the intent of test questions. From what Jin-hyuk observed, that was the reason for their poor grades.

‘Even if I tell them to borrow books from the school library, they hate books themselves.’

Anyway, since he couldn’t expect them to do well academically, he hoped they could go to a good school as sports scholarship students.

These friends were so cheerful that they didn’t worry about their future.

They were humble enough to know their shortcomings, which was why Jin-hyuk could stay close to them. Some people lowered the level of everyone else to their own and proudly flaunted their ignorance.

Still, because they were friends, because he had grown fond of them, Jin-hyuk had even developed to the point of thinking about his other friends. It was a great development, even by his own standards.

Leaving behind his pleasant reunion with Park Jae-seung, he headed to the kindergarten classroom.

‘Parents, please wait outside.’

The kindergarten teacher had changed too. When Jin-hyuk attended, it was an older person, but now a young female teacher was in charge.

Jin-hyuk watched his younger sister through the window. He was worried that she might look around for her mother or feel awkward with the new friends she was meeting for the first time. It was a natural concern for a young child’s guardian.

‘I think I cried at home, saying I wanted to play with Mom.’

Seven-year-old Jin-hyuk had done chin-ups after the preliminary meeting. It must have been because of his young mother’s curious suggestion. It was a move where you had to rotate around the bar with your stomach on it, but he had no arm strength or skill, so he fell face-first onto the sand. It was mostly because his mother, who had helped him get on the bar, had let go of his arms.

‘I cried so hard.’

Thinking about that day made his nose tingle.

Memories he didn’t even know he had were flooding back like waves. It was amazing how easily he could recall things he had directly experienced with just a small hint.

Han Yu-young seemed to be thinking the same thing.

His mother, who had become much smaller than her son, took Jin-hyuk’s hand.

‘Heh, it reminds me of when I brought our son here.’

What must have been the feelings of a twenty-six-year-old mother who visited the school in the cold January to send her son to kindergarten? Life must have been more difficult in many ways back then. The memory of falling from the chin-up bar and crying was pushed back, and he felt grateful to his mother again.

The mother and son held hands and watched the kindergarten classroom.

After the introductions with the teacher, the children freely moved around the classroom. Yu-jin touched the toys, opened picture books, and even made friends with a child named Lee Dong-ho.

She politely bowed and asked for understanding when other children blocked the passage. It seemed that such greetings were a basic weapon that children were born with, as she hadn’t been taught it.

A strange emotion crossed the faces of the mother and older brother.

A baby born in a shabby house in the middle of summer was now taking the first steps of socialization. It must be because they had given birth to the baby together. That’s why the mother and son’s emotions were the same.

‘At this rate, will I ever be able to send her off to get married?’

Jin-hyuk’s heart felt strangely lonely.

Whoever it might be, there was an insurmountable gate standing in front of Yu-jin’s future spouse. A gate that was staring at the kindergarten classroom like a sphinx from across the hallway.

***

After exchanging eye contact with the other parents and showing Yu-jin the small store in front of the school, they got into the car.

‘We need a school bus.’

‘Hmm. I guess that would be good? There seem to be more kids than when Jin-hyuk went.’

Thirty students in a rural kindergarten.

There were twelve children coming from the same direction as Yu-jin.

‘It would be good to operate a route starting from An Village and passing through the orchard.’

Han Yu-young nodded at Jin-hyuk’s explanation.

She had been worried about the children’s commute because the road was dangerous.

Since there was no school-operated vehicle, a minibus would solve the concerns of other parents as well.

‘I’ll go home and talk to Dad and contact the school.’

If she conveyed it like that, the school would contact each family.

Jin-hyuk nodded.

It was a blessing to have someone who agreed with your ideas and actively implemented them. His mother seemed like a capable team member.

The car carrying Jin-hyuk sped off as smoothly as time itself.

***

Four additional SSS agents were deployed.

It wasn’t because of any vacancies. It was just to supplement the smooth shift work.

‘Uncle, please do your work. This is my job.’

‘No, I’ll help.’

Although they were bodyguards, they spent more time pulling weeds in the garden in the spring. No one could pretend not to see Han Yu-young struggling with the baby on her back while alone at home.

Even without the bodyguards, Jang Jin-nam and Min Yong-rak were always with Han Yu-young, so her time was filled with laughter.

‘Madam’s back is bulging because she’s carrying the baby, but Yong-rak’s belly is bulging.’

Jang Jin-nam used his usual strange way of speaking to tease Min Yong-rak from time to time.

It was something Yu-jin often pointed out, but for Min Yong-rak, who loved to eat, losing belly fat was more difficult than having a meeting with Jin-hyuk.

Moon Seok-il found the abandoned training facility on an uninhabited island in the Marine National Park, as Jin-hyuk had told him. When he recommended it to Hong Ki-joon as an SSS training ground, things progressed smoothly. After checking the generator and water facilities and preparing the living supplies, it was ready for immediate use.

Moon Seok-il had to take care of various tasks that Jin-hyuk and Hong Ki-joon ordered, but he was having the most relaxed days since he had come out into society. Most of all, he felt at peace.

‘If it’s okay, bring your family and live here. There’s plenty of land to build houses.’

‘Thank you, brother.’

It had been about a year since he had been calling Son Kwang-yeon ‘brother’ and living with him, and Moon Seok-il, who had been in the town, was finally moving to the countryside. Nothing could make Moon Seok-il feel more at ease than that.

Families who wanted to live in the countryside decided to build houses and move down, and those who liked the city were not forced to.

Everyone had the right to live as they wanted.

Moon Seok-il living nearby also worked as an advantage for Jin-hyuk.

Even in winter, summer, after his younger sister was born, and even after his father became the president, Jin-hyuk didn’t neglect his exercise, and every time, his uncles ran with him.

‘Huff, huff, he’s too fast.’

They hadn’t even been asked to run together, but they insisted on appearing every time Jin-hyuk exercised, saying they needed to take care of their bodies, so they were just making themselves suffer. Even for Moon Seok-il, who boasted steel legs, and the SSS, Jin-hyuk’s stamina and speed were unmatched.

‘In-rang, let’s take a break.’

Kim In-rang, who was holding his knees, couldn’t even answer and was gasping for breath.

‘But where did Jin-hyuk go?’

They had been looking at the ground while running because they were tired, and they had already lost track of Jin-hyuk.

Hehehe.

Jang-gun and Hong-si circled around the struggling humans as if teasing them.

Jang-gun’s long tongue seemed to be saying, ‘Weaklings.’

Still, Jin-hyuk was glad that there were people who ran and exercised with him. Although he didn’t show it.

He didn’t deliver newspapers like in the difficult old days, and he spent his time quietly and peacefully at school. It was an ordinary daily life of exercising in the morning, hanging out with friends for a while after school, and then going home.

He climbed to the top of Gubong Mountain and thought of Hong Su-jeong’s family, whom he hadn’t been able to see even during winter vacation. Was it because they were people he was happy to see? He felt a hollowness in his heart because he couldn’t see their faces. It was a feeling he hadn’t known before.

‘I miss Su-jeong.’

Wouldn’t that kid who liked sledding be frustrated because she only played with the baby during the vacation?

He also thought of the old drunkard.

He had cautiously said it every snowy day.

– ‘Manager, would you like to go to Myeongdong?’

Jin-hyuk, who hated crowds, had politely refused.

Why did he do that back then?

Was there honey smeared all over Myeongdong?

***

At the beginning of the first semester of the third grade, the student council president election schedule was set.

Of course, Jin-hyuk wasn’t interested.

However, some of his friends’ interest was focused on Jin-hyuk.

Chae Gyu-ho, who wasn’t even in the same class, came to see him.

‘Class president, are you going to run for president?’

That guy had been calling him class president ever since the first grade. Even though they were in different classes.

Did he not know his name?

Jin-hyuk shook his head.

‘No.’

‘Why?’

The acne-ridden Chae Gyu-ho blinked his big eyes.

He was a friend who stood out even if he stayed still, so if he ran for student council president, he would get all the votes, so why did he say he didn’t want to?

‘Gyu-ho, you should run. I’ll give you a vote.’

‘I don’t want to.’

Why was he telling him to run when he didn’t want to himself?

Just when he thought that middle schoolers were an incomprehensible species, Chae Gyu-ho smiled awkwardly.

‘If the class president becomes the president and gets busy, I might be able to become the top student in the school once.’

Was that the reason?

They were still an incomprehensible species. Even if he became the president, there was no way Jin-hyuk would lose his top student position, but why would he make being the top student his goal?

In fact, there was a clear reason why Jin-hyuk was reluctant to run.

‘I have to give a speech, make promises, and if I make promises, I have to keep them.’

To do that, he would have to negotiate with the school. He had done it in elementary school because there was nothing else to do, but middle school was different.

‘It’s annoying.’

Even when he was a company worker, how fiercely did he fight to have meetings, discussions, and get better conditions? Was he supposed to do that at school too?

He shook his head.

However, as Jo Il-heon had said.

His mouth was always the problem.