The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 138

Even the most irresponsible and indifferent teachers, even in a purely nominal track and field club, I thought they would have at least taught the basics. A single word from them should have been enough for the kids to pick things up quickly. But Jo Seul-chan and Yeom Byung-taek were no different from when they were in elementary school, except they had grown taller and their legs had gotten thicker.

Maybe they were just left as they were because they were considered beyond help.

‘Let’s try a little harder, though.’

It was something he could give up on if his friends said they absolutely couldn’t do it.

Jin-hyeok was frustrated with how haphazardly things were still being done. He wanted to film with the camcorder at home and analyze it in slow motion, but it would take too long to do it alone.

‘It would be so simple if I just had a smartphone.’

Such things didn’t exist yet in the 20th century.

Kids were playing soccer or basketball instead of smartphone games, and the rebellious students were smoking or huffing glue in secluded places.

‘It would be nice if those guys studied a bit.’

It was said that it would be difficult for Jo Seul-chan and Yeom Byung-taek to get into Tae Yang High School. This was the opinion he had carefully confirmed with his friends’ homeroom teachers. He had simply thought that if they had any achievements in competitions, it might help them get into high school.

Since he couldn’t help them with their studies, he wanted to help them with sports.

‘What’s the fun in being the only one who’s doing well and living well?’

***

Yoo-jin had long arms and legs, so she had a pretty good physique.

Her mother always lamented that if they had lived in the city, she would have enrolled her in ballet like Hong Su-jeong, because she was an active child who liked to exercise. Because they lived in a remote village, there was no way to send her to a ballet or dance academy, which didn’t even exist in the town. There were no after-school classes either.

The instructors at home were all experts in martial arts. Even Jang Jin-nam, the most mild-mannered of them, was teaching Yoo-jin Wing Chun [a form of Chinese martial arts], claiming he would teach her a relatively feminine sport.

In the end, her brother stepped in.

“Hoom-pah-, hoom-pah-. Like this?”

“That’s right. When you go ‘hoom,’ close your mouth and exhale through your nose. When you go ‘pah,’ turn your head to the side like your brother and inhale through your mouth.”

Jin-hyeok was doing his best to teach Yoo-jin how to swim.

No matter where you looked, you could see water. Unless you deliberately went in, there was no chance of falling in, but you never knew when an accident might happen. It was just last year that he had jumped into the water without thinking to save Hong-si, who had jumped into the waterway to cool off. Hong-si was just trying to escape the heat.

That just showed that accidents didn’t always happen intentionally.

And since kids were the type to jump around excitedly whenever they saw water, he thought swimming was essential for safe water play.

On the other side of the pool, Choi Mi-kyung was still fidgeting, but she had improved a lot compared to before.

‘She’s moving forward little by little…’

Compared to six months ago when she was just sinking, Choi Mi-kyung was a true embodiment of rapid progress and remarkable improvement.

Compared to Choi Jang-hwan and Kim Soon-bok, who were learning the butterfly stroke, Choi Mi-kyung, who hadn’t even mastered the freestyle, was like a jellyfish in front of a dolphin, but there was a reason for that. In Jin-hyeok’s eyes, the problem was Choi Mi-kyung’s fear.

When Choi Mi-kyung was eight years old, she had fallen into a puddle called a ‘dumbeong’ [a small, muddy puddle]. She probably did it while picking snails with Jin-hyeok. The dumbeong was a puddle in the corner of a rice paddy, so it wasn’t wide, and it was only a little deeper than her height, so she could have gotten out with a little movement. But could a human be calm in that situation? Especially a child?

At the time, Jin-hyeok, who was smaller than Choi Mi-kyung, had grabbed his friend’s hair and pulled her out. He had grabbed onto the roots of the grass, his body submerged in the puddle. If you think about it, he was her savior. But Jin-hyeok had never mentioned it. Because Choi Mi-kyung had been terrified and had a fit.

Anyway, Jin-hyeok saw Choi Mi-kyung differently.

‘She’s my friend after all. She’s brave.’

Just by overcoming that fear and getting into the pool, Choi Mi-kyung deserved applause. That’s what Jin-hyeok thought.

On the other hand, Yoo-jin wasn’t afraid of water.

It was probably because he had filled a basin and a bathtub with water since she was a baby and stayed by her side so she could play in the water to her heart’s content. Even as a baby, Yoo-jin had stubbornly played in the water even while drinking it.

“Yoo-jin, water is scary.”

“No, it’s not scary.”

“Um, well, what I mean is…”

He wanted to tell her not to take it lightly, but he also wondered if he was just scaring her for no reason.

As he was pondering what to say, Yoo-jin spoke clearly.

“Jin-nam ajitjji [a term of endearment for an older male friend] said you can’t improve if you’re scared.”

Even her way of speaking was starting to resemble Jang Jin-nam’s.

If the person who spent a lot of time with Yoo-jin was Min Yong-rak instead of Jang Jin-nam, she would have been snacking all day, and if it was Yang Kang-wook, she would have been saying, ‘I am Sun Shangxiang of Dongwu!’ [a reference to a character from the Chinese classic, Romance of the Three Kingdoms].

“Jin-nam ajitjji said he was hit by junk food when he was little, so he was scared of people. So he said he exercised to not be scared.”

Jin-hyeok nodded involuntarily.

Jang Jin-nam had looked into his own heart and accurately diagnosed the reality of his fear. In the end, he overcame it and even completed his military service as a UDT [Underwater Demolition Team] member.

It was a relief.

He was relieved that there were good teachers by Yoo-jin’s side.

“What are you scared of, oppa [older brother]?”

It was an unexpected question.

It was natural since they had never had a conversation on this topic, but it was also surprising that Yoo-jin had reached an age where she was curious about others.

“Well…”

His brow furrowed.

There was nothing that came to mind that required him to pause and think.

‘What am I afraid of?’

He was indifferent to the world.

Therefore, he had always lived his life maintaining a distance from everything, as much as he was uninterested. Whether it was people or things. He would give a beautiful woman or a fancy car, which most men would long for, a look that was worse than looking at a stone.

“I know what you’re scared of, oppa.”

“Oh-. Really? What am I scared of?”

She knew something that even he didn’t know, was his little sister a genius after all?

Jin-hyeok’s eyes widened.

“Oppa, you’re scared of donkatsu [a Japanese dish of deep-fried pork cutlet].”

Cough-.

The saliva he was swallowing went down the wrong pipe and blocked Jin-hyeok’s airway.

The little one was unnecessarily sharp.

But Jin-hyeok, who couldn’t possibly be afraid of donkatsu, smiled with a relaxed expression.

“Yoo-jin, I like donkatsu. I’m not scared of it.”

“Why?”

Yoo-jin’s eyes widened.

Wow.

What should he say?

*

He watched Yoo-jin practicing ‘hoom-pah’ with her hands on the edge of the pool, lost in thought.

‘Fear.’

The fear of losing someone.

It wasn’t just his family.

Moon Seok-il and SSS, and the friends he was making new memories with.

A desire arose that they wouldn’t get sick and wouldn’t leave his side. It must have been a dream that had been growing in his heart for a long time, but it had come to mind anew because he had deliberately avoided making it concrete.

What would life mean if they weren’t in his future?

He nodded his head with a long exhale.

Thinking of the people who were inevitably filling his heart.

‘I should call Su-jeong today.’

He had always just received calls and had never called first.

But what should he say to an elementary schooler when he called? As he was worrying about that, Yoo-jin called out to her brother.

“Oppa, the clock has passed.”

“Oh, already?”

Yoo-jin was a child who was as eager to exercise as her brother.

He had promised her that if she practiced ‘hoom-pah’ for 10 minutes, he would let her float in the pool, and she had done it without stopping. Because the basics were important, he hadn’t allowed her to fully enter the water yet. Jang Jin-nam and Myung Hyun-woo had taught her the kicking well, so it seemed like it was time to move on. Even though the basics were important, kids would easily lose interest if it wasn’t fun.

Finally.

Son Yoo-jin entered the water without relying on the side of the pool.

“Kyaaaaaa-! I’m so excited!”

The dolphin’s ultrasonic waves filled the gym.

Choi Mi-kyung, who was fidgeting in the distance, was startled by the sound and sank.

She had entered the water holding her brother’s hand, but it seemed like a new experience for the child. And it was with her brother, whom she relied on the most, not another coach.

“Yoo-jin, relax your neck. You have to lower your head more. If you hold it stiff like that, you’ll sink.”

“I can’t-! I’ll drink water!”

It seemed like she was scared once she got into the water.

Yoo-jin shouted back, flailing her arms.

It looked like she was talking back to her brother.

“You learned ‘hoom-pah’.”

“I’ll try-”

Jin-hyeok spoke kindly, not losing his smile.

He had to proceed slowly, one step at a time, so she could naturally move forward.

If he yelled or shouted, Yoo-jin might get scared and give up.

“Pah-!”

Bloop bloop-.

She did drink some water, but Yoo-jin wasn’t scared and did well as she had learned.

“Pah-!”

Bloop bloop-, gulp gulp-.

She did drink a lot of water…

“Now, grab the kickboard and do the flutter kick while doing ‘hoom-pah’.”

“Okay-, cough cough-”

She did drink some water…

Well, you can’t learn to swim without drinking water.

Her swimming skills would improve in proportion to the amount of water Yoo-jin drank.

***

The hand holding the phone trembled for no reason.

He had called Seoul for other reasons, such as asking Chairman Yoo Myung-sun how he was doing or calling Vice Chairman Hong Ki-joon for business purposes, but this was the first time he had picked up the phone to talk to Hong Su-jeong.

But the trembling didn’t last long.

“Oh, really? Su-jeong went to bed early?”

– Whine whine-.

“Yes…”

Jin-hyeok had called with a big heart, but he got back from Yoo Se-ra that she had fallen asleep while playing with the baby.

– Jin-hyeok is going to the competition, right?

“Yes. Just the 100-meter and 200-meter events.”

– If you want to participate in other events, just tell me. We can just change the rules.

“No, it’s better to just focus.”

As expected of Yoo Se-ra, she was saying something outrageous about changing the competition rules. It wasn’t a privilege or a flaw to participate in multiple events in track and field. However, last year, there was a recommendation to refrain from participating in multiple events to protect athletes and enhance professionalism. So, Yoo Se-ra was trying to coax him into participating in multiple events, boasting that she would change the non-existent rules.

“I’m just going to do the sprints.”

It wasn’t because the sprints were easy.

Jin-hyeok was weakest in the sprints.

Someone might call it a boast, but Jin-hyeok had felt a limit to his explosive power at some point.

It might have been since he was thirteen, when he participated in his first competition.

His breathing and muscle strength were sufficient, but his heart would tingle and feel like it was about to burst, and in the end, the energy wouldn’t explode. It was a feeling that only those who had experienced it could understand.

That tingling, strange feeling stimulated his competitive spirit.

It was comparable to a sneeze that wouldn’t come out or constipation.

He had the stamina to sprint a kilometer, so he was confident in the 400 meters and middle-distance events, but Jin-hyeok wanted to leave his name in the 100 meters and 200 meters. It was the flower of track and field, wasn’t it?

The same was true for the long jump.

He had been practicing for fun every day, and he had recorded a jump of nearly 8 meters. Of course, it was a practice record from the gym, so its reliability was somewhat questionable. Still, it was a record that was hard to come by. According to the data Yoo Se-ra had given him, the best record in the middle school division was about 7.2 meters.

Yoo Se-ra didn’t ask much and didn’t recommend other events to Jin-hyeok. She had already had in mind that he would focus on the sprints.

– Okay. Min Yong-rak will accompany you to the competition this time.

“What?”

– You need a manager. He’s my athlete.

He wasn’t even under contract yet, but she was calling him her athlete.

No, even if that was the case, what was a manager doing at a middle school track and field competition?

Besides, Min Yong-rak was…

‘Ah!’

Jin-hyeok had received Min Yong-rak’s recently updated business card.

It was a pinkish-pink business card from Sein Sports Foundation. The white and light pink colors met in a gradient on the diagonal. To put it bluntly, it was a business card that was like Hong Su-jeong.

According to Min Yong-rak, he was working concurrently in the Sein Group’s strategy office and the SI Foundation, but Jin-hyeok seemed to know Hong Ki-joon and Yoo Se-ra’s intentions.

‘It means he’s my exclusive manager.’

When there was only silence for a moment, Yoo Se-ra urged him on.

– Do you understand?

“Yes…”

– Why is your answer like that?

“Heh! Yes!”

She was so persistent that it made him feel like he was talking to Hong Su-jeong.

Just as he was about to hang up, Yoo Se-ra’s voice grabbed his eardrum and wouldn’t let go.

– Is there anything difficult?

“It’s harder to teach than I thought.”

He could hear a sigh on the other end of the line.

Jin-hyeok realized he had made a mistake.

He was afraid she would say, ‘You should take care of yourself first, why are you trying to teach someone else?’ That’s what most adults would say, wouldn’t they?

– You have to lower your standards. A great athlete doesn’t necessarily become a great coach. If you base it on your own skills, there won’t be many people who will be satisfied.

It was a surprisingly mature answer for the immature Yoo Se-ra.

There was a ‘hmm-‘ sound and a rustling sound. It seemed like she was looking through reference materials.

– It’s because of your friends, right?

“Yes. That’s right.”

– It’s not as easy as it sounds to bring out the strengths and fix the weaknesses like in theory. In that case, you should focus on one thing. If you do just one of them, it will show in your skills. Strengthening your strengths is the way to make you a unique athlete, and let’s see… to create a team, you have to fix the weaknesses to standardize the team. It’s in this MIT engineering paper.

Does MIT publish such research papers?

Anyway, it was a valid point.

“I should focus on fixing their weaknesses as I’ve been doing.”

– That’s right, that’s right. You’re so smart.

With only a few months left until the competition, even though he should be focusing on improving concentration for reaction speed and managing his condition, the two clumsy people had reached a strange conclusion.

“Thank you for the advice. I feel a little better.”

Jin-hyeok was secretly impressed.

She was someone he had once thought of as an immature adult, but he thought that adults were adults after all.

A sense of respect for Yoo Se-ra naturally sprouted.

– Yes, if you set your standards too high, the world won’t be fun. If you only look at beauties like this mother, what woman in the world will look pretty-.

Click-.

Respect canceled.