The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 136

Not expecting any interest, there was no reason to put effort into the consultation. Since the other party wasn’t being polite, Jin-hyeok didn’t feel the need to lower himself either. This wasn’t a consultation but a debate for mutual persuasion.

Jin-hyeok spoke calmly.

‘Doing well on tests isn’t a talent. What’s the point of being good at studying? You need to be human. You can live well without goals like success.’

In the past, he had sought to escape reality, but now, Jin-hyeok was no longer a soul dreaming of escape, having become accustomed to going hungry.

‘Hey, you need to have a goal—’

‘You need a goal to study to achieve it. Then, if you don’t get the grades you want, you’ll get scolded and frustrated. If you wander even for a moment, instead of waiting, they’ll curse and point fingers. If you return to your place, it’s because the adults taught you well, and if you stray, they treat you like you don’t exist. It’s fine if others treat me like I don’t exist. I’ll go where my heart leads me.’

Maintaining a relaxed expression and tone throughout, Jin-hyeok laid out everything he wanted to say. Don’t interfere whether others walk sideways or backward. If my family believes in me and waits for me, I don’t need anything more.

The teacher let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair.

It felt like he was being lectured by a student. Still, he wasn’t about to back down like this; he was a teacher in Korea, after all. Just as he was about to take a breath and impart some golden wisdom,

‘I won’t be separated from my family.’

Jin-hyeok left no room for further negotiation.

He knew that saying he wanted to live an ordinary life wouldn’t work anymore, so he kept it to himself.

‘I’m not confident either.’

He hadn’t gone to a science high school, but in his past life, he had graduated from a prestigious private high school and had never been out of first place. However, science high schools were where the real geniuses went. Jin-hyeok drew a strict line for himself.

It was a school he might have considered in his past life, but his current brain didn’t think only about studying like it used to. He wasn’t pure enough to be absorbed in academics, nor was he desperate enough to cling to one thing.

Taeyang High School was a small local school, but its entrance cut-off was quite high. He had friends he had become close with from elementary to middle school, and he intended to go to high school with them, if only to have a good influence on Lee Seung-hoon and Shin Woo-sung’s lives.

‘And my siblings.’

If Jin-hyeok did too well, his siblings might live with feelings of inferiority, being compared to him. In his previous life, how much had he been cursed for being smart, for being better at studying than their own children? He had also received countless sharp glares from his stepsisters.

He could understand the glares. They were originally people with that kind of personality. But behind those sharp glares was a resentment that weighed heavily on Jin-hyeok’s heart. It was resentment for making them be compared to him because he was so good at studying. So, he couldn’t help but feel sorry.

Regardless of whether he became a rich older brother or a good older brother, he wanted his siblings to live happily without being compared to anyone.

Perhaps Jin-hyeok’s silent aura of defiance was seen as rebellion; the teacher gave up, rolling a pen across the desk. With a sulky face, the teacher reluctantly asked.

‘Well… still, isn’t there something you like or are exceptionally good at?’

So flustered, the teacher from Seoul even used a dialect that didn’t come naturally to him.

Well, except for dating, I’m good at everything.

‘There is something I like.’

Something that Mom, Dad, and Yoo-jin like too.

Jin-hyeok, who rarely smiled, relaxed his serious expression and smiled slightly.

Heh heh.

***

‘Ouch—!’

Son Yoo-jin fell again.

Her arms and legs were longer and stronger than other kids, but she fell often. Her mom said it was because she was too eager to run fast. Come to think of it, she didn’t fall when walking, only when running.

‘Oh my, our friend fell. Are you okay?’

Lee Dong-ho, who was running towards the jungle gym with her, helped Son Yoo-jin up.

Lee Dong-ho was a friend who acted just like the kindergarten teacher taught him. Helping a friend who fell, and even talking like the teacher read from a book. Was it because he was from Seoul?

Brushing herself off, Son Yoo-jin looked at the jungle gym.

Chirp chirp chirp—.

The sight of kindergarteners and elementary school students all mixed together looked like a flock of sparrows clinging to a persimmon tree.

‘I’m going to run.’

Sparrows were pretty, but they would fly away if you got too close.

For the peace of the sparrows sitting on the jungle gym, Son Yoo-jin decided not to go near it. If she couldn’t play today, she could play tomorrow. Son Yoo-jin was a smart kindergartener who knew how to wait for the next time.

Son Yoo-jin ran around the playground, moving her arms and legs as her older brother had taught her.

She had to put strength in her stomach and lift her legs high to kick the ground strongly.

She had to think of pushing off the ground, not stepping on it, and put strength in her ankles.

‘Running is hard, after all.’

Lee Dong-ho, who was running behind Son Yoo-jin, made a breathless sound.

Kim Ho-jin, who had joined them, also put his hands on his knees.

Ugh—.

Kim Ho-jin, who was gagging, asked.

‘Why is Son Yoo-jin running?’

Son Yoo-jin stopped. It was because she had to answer kindly if someone asked.

Putting her hands on her hips, she answered as her older brother had told her.

‘A person who runs well can run for a long time.’

What are you talking about…

Could that be a reason?

It was a strange answer, but Kim Ho-jin and Lee Dong-ho hadn’t yet developed the intellect to point it out. They just thought she was a unique friend.

Ding-dong-dang-dong—. When recess ended, Son Yoo-jin looked back at her friends.

‘Let’s go.’

Brushing the dust off her sneakers, Son Yoo-jin walked towards the kindergarten classroom.

She took a long breath.

Running was good, but she still had a long way to go to beat Jang-gun.

‘I have to beat Jang-gun to beat my older brother.’

It wasn’t a desire to compete with her older brother.

It was just that she felt sorry that her older brother couldn’t run freely and had to walk slowly because of her.

Son Yoo-jin had realized after spending a lot of time with her older brother. To walk with someone, you had to be similar or faster than them so as not to be a burden.

Hong Su-jeong, who lived in Seoul, also said that was why she exercised. To be able to run alongside Son Jin-hyeok, not be carried by him, she had to be healthy.

Someday, Jeong-won would also run around, and her mom told her that when Jeong-won grew as tall as her older brother, there would come a time when he would be faster than his older sister. If that was the case, Son Yoo-jin would also be a burden to her younger brother.

Her older brother loved Son Yoo-jin dearly and matched her pace, but Jeong-won might not do that since he was her younger brother. It was called ‘downward love’? It was a difficult word, but Son Yoo-jin understood.

So, she had to get faster.

To run as fast as her older brother and run for a long time.

That way, she could walk with her younger brother.

It was a very simple story.

‘I’m going home to exercise with Jin-nam ajitzi [a term of endearment for a male friend or brother] today.’

She was also learning to swim, and exercising was so much fun.

Her older brother had said he wanted her to grow up slowly, but Son Yoo-jin wanted to grow up quickly. So as not to be a burden.

***

Shin Woo-sung was hanging onto Lee Seung-hoon again today, spinning around.

Because of the difference in height, once he was lifted, there was no way to stop it.

‘Waist! Waist!’

Son Jin-hyeok, who was watching, shouted.

He was telling him to put strength in his waist and pull his legs up, but how was he supposed to do that?

‘Don’t bend your knees!’

It had already been over two years since he started exercising as Son Jin-hyeok had instructed.

The exercises mainly focused on strengthening his thigh and calf muscles, and thanks to that, Shin Woo-sung had grown to the point where no one could match him in his weight class. The only reason he was being played around with by Lee Seung-hoon was purely due to the difference in weight and strength.

Shin Woo-sung had once asked Son Jin-hyeok.

Why he was helping so diligently.

– ‘I feel like I owe you.’

He was a strange guy.

He had never borrowed a single won, so what did he mean by owing him?

Anyway, Shin Woo-sung was training with Lee Seung-hoon today as well. In a place where Son Jin-hyeok was watching.

At first, he was naive and did as he was told, and later, he realized that the training methods Son Jin-hyeok taught him were helpful, so he became more proactive.

He had said he would only help during middle school.

That he wouldn’t be able to help anymore when they went to high school.

Shin Woo-sung had realized the reason early on.

It was because of his grades. To continue wrestling, he had to go to Taeyang High School, but they didn’t just accept special admissions students. He had to get the required score on the entrance exam to be admitted.

Just thinking about it made him feel sad. Not being able to wrestle itself, and the fact that he would have to be separated from these friends.

Coaches and seniors didn’t explain things clearly or demonstrate accurately, but Son Jin-hyeok and Lee Seung-hoon were different. It must have been because they were friends.

If they went to Taeyang High School, they could be together in high school too. It was a very simple truth.

So, after training, Shin Woo-sung stayed up late studying.

The seniors looked at Shin Woo-sung, who didn’t put down his books even during training camp, with curious eyes, but as he did it, studying became fun.

Lee Seung-hoon also helped.

– ‘You gotta understand what the guy who made the problem is saying before you try to find the answer. How come you’re trying to pick the answer first? You, man, you need to think more systematically. If you rush, you’re gonna fall. Wrestling and studying are the same.’

Lee Seung-hoon had started talking like a teacher as he spent more time with Son Jin-hyeok. But when you listened, you couldn’t help but nod, and it made you realize that he was originally a smart guy.

Like that.

Thanks to his friends, Shin Woo-sung had become a top student to the point where he could aim for a good high school even if he wasn’t a special admissions student in sports.

He planned to continue exercising.

It was something he had been doing since he was young, and he had never thought about a future where he wasn’t a wrestler.

Whoosh—!

Lee Seung-hoon was thrown down nicely.

Son Jin-hyeok became tougher when teaching Lee Seung-hoon.

Was it because he had a body that could be thrown around?

Even Shin Woo-sung thought Lee Seung-hoon was sturdy.

He was probably the second most solid body after Son Jin-hyeok.

Usually, middleweight athletes looked more like Zhu Bajie [a character from Journey to the West, often depicted as overweight] than athletes, but Lee Seung-hoon had a well-sculpted body. Looking at Lee Seung-hoon reminded him of Choi Tae-yang, who graduated two years ago. He had become a national celebrity, rising to the top of the national wrestling championship at a young age.

‘National Champion Shin Woo-sung.’

Son Jin-hyeok called out to Shin Woo-sung, who was blankly watching his friends.

The satba [a wrestling belt] he wore over his blue shorts suited him quite well. He was also Shin Woo-sung’s personal coach.

‘Train, focus, review.’

Shin Woo-sung repeated the three words that Son Jin-hyeok had instilled in him since the first grade and headed to the sandpit.

Son Jin-hyeok called himself a lousy coach, telling him to learn properly from a coach, but Shin Woo-sung knew. It was none other than this friend who had greatly influenced his improvement.

‘I’m going to be a national champion like Tae-yang hyung [older brother].’

Ah, but if I become a national champion in the future, Seung-hoon won’t be able to.

***

Jin-hyeok, who had a three-round match with Shin Woo-sung, nodded inwardly.

‘He’s grown a lot.’

His center of gravity had lowered.

Shin Woo-sung, whose long legs had always acted as a weakness, now didn’t waver even when his knees were bent.

It was thanks to his strong core from long training.

Now, Shin Woo-sung would be able to go to high school and continue wrestling.

Still, he couldn’t let his guard down yet.

‘Woo-sung, you always have to take care of your knees to wrestle for a long time. Just remember that.’

‘Yeah. I have the best jumping ability in the wrestling club. I jump higher than the high school seniors.’

It was a confidence that the Shin Woo-sung of his past life could not have shown.

He would have already given up on sports due to a knee injury.

‘How many competitions are left this year?’

‘Three.’

Shin Woo-sung held up three chubby fingers.

Jin-hyeok nodded and pointed at Shin Woo-sung with his index finger, smiling.

Shin Woo-sung shouted energetically.

‘Knees!’

It was Shin Woo-sung’s own slogan that he shouted every time they finished exercising for the past three years.

Along with the joy that today’s exercise was over, Lee Seung-hoon rubbed his stomach.

‘Boss, let’s go eat some oxtail soup at Woo-sung’s place.’

Jin-hyeok hesitated for a moment.

He usually went straight home after exercising because he missed Yoo-jin and Jeong-won, but the suggestion to go to Woo-sung’s parents’ restaurant was bound to cause conflict.

Shin Woo-sung’s parents had opened a restaurant because their butcher shop was doing well, and the food was amazing. Above all, he liked that there were a lot of ingredients in the soup dishes. The wrestling team, which had frequent get-togethers, had become regulars and sold them almost daily, so their sales were good.

‘Okay. Boss, let’s go too. Mom said you and Seung-hoon are welcome anytime.’

When Shin Woo-sung grabbed his arm and pulled him, Jin-hyeok was dragged along, pretending he couldn’t resist.

Heh heh, Woo-sung has gotten strong. He scratched the back of his head.

To persuade the great Son Jin-hyeok, it felt like his naive friends had improved their negotiation skills as they experienced the world.

‘Woo-sung, I’ll have the beef head soup…’

It was good to get a free meal, but oxtail soup was a bit expensive after all.