The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 145

< Child Adult (2) >

Now, Hong Ki-joon wasn’t just an old man asking Jin-hyuk to take care of his daughter. As a dignified member of society, as an adult, he was making a request of Jin-hyuk.

For Jin-hyuk, there was no reason to feel rebellious.

“I’ll become a minority that doesn’t incite.”

He didn’t have to worry about making a living anyway.

Even if he sold just ten square feet of land a month, he’d be rich enough to support several generations, so why would he need to seek power? Such a life wouldn’t be ordinary. His family could get hurt because of the power he gained. With no one watching, Jin-hyuk shook his head.

– Right. The work you’re planning through Team Leader Moon isn’t just an attempt to satisfy your own greed, is it?

After ending the call, Jin-hyuk replayed Hong Ki-joon’s words. Some might call it being petty, but it was a method Jin-hyuk, who had learned about the world alone, used to avoid falling behind.

Every word had meaning, but one phrase in particular stuck in Jin-hyuk’s mind.

– “Just keep doing what you’re doing. Do you know what a chairman does? People think a group chairman just loafs around. They think they just occasionally show their face in front of a camera, meet with politicians and shake hands. They think they’re like people who go to factories and wave their hands or go to universities and give lectures, acting all high and mighty. Many people do act like that, so it’s not really a wrong perception, but there are also people who create important history that doesn’t get recorded. Our Chairman Son is doing that right now, isn’t he? Just keep doing what you’re doing. Like a child, like an adult.”

It couldn’t have been an excuse for Chairman Hong Ki-joon himself from his past life.

It was a short conversation, but it contained the most meaningful proposition among all the messages Hong Ki-joon had given Jin-hyuk throughout his entire life.

‘Chairman Son, huh…’

Even his friends call each other class president or student council president, is this old man copying them?

Is it fun to call him that?

Whatever. What he’s called doesn’t change who he is.

‘Chairman.’

He knew that it was an attempt to instill a plausible goal in him, to keep him from dreaming of revenge. It was a statement that would make anyone’s heart flutter, not just Jin-hyuk’s.

He turned off the computer and threw himself onto the bed.

Like the air being cleansed by the monsoon rain, his stuffy heart felt refreshed.

He even felt like he had just gotten his license and was going out for a road test with a pounding heart.

‘Ah, I haven’t really driven much.’

His only experience was driving Executive Director Hong Soo-jung’s car a few times. Was it when they went to Gangneung for grilled clams? Anyway, that’s what it felt like, metaphorically speaking.

Hong Ki-joon’s voice, which sounded brighter and more carefree than ever, was also unusual.

He could gauge how much Hong Ki-joon had been suffering.

‘I should have sent a signal sooner.’

Now that he knew that even shadows weren’t restricted as long as there was no direct proof of existence, he was confident that there wouldn’t be any major limitations in communicating with Hong Ki-joon.

Facing each other.

It was a call that had re-established their relationship, allowing them to have an open and honest conversation while maintaining a psychological safe distance, free from the gaze of pretense.

Knock knock-.

While he was diligently recording past events, he heard a knock.

Jin-hyuk quickly opened the door.

“Did our Yujin come?”

“Yes, ehehe.”

Yujin, who must have been tired from playing all day, came to her brother’s room with half-closed eyes. In one arm, she held a pillow, and in the other, she clutched a bear doll she had named ‘Azzigom’. It felt wrong to name it Team Leader Yang, and ‘Bear-Azzigom’ was too long, so she named it that.

“Now, our Yujin is a big girl, so she should sleep alone, right?”

“Oppa said it’s okay until I go to kindergarten. I’m still a little kid.”

“Okay.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at his sister, who called herself a little kid.

Jin-hyuk was understanding and letting it slide for Yujin, who had her mother taken away by his younger sister, Jung-won. Even without that, Yujin had her own reasons for seeking out her brother.

Now, Jin-hyuk also knew why Yujin was tired and why she came to him. It was because of the memories of Yujin’s past actions that he had come to realize it. The moments he had been unsure about had suddenly fit together like a puzzle.

“Who did Yujin pet today?”

“I petted Gwangma. I went to the back mountain and got my nose bitten by a badger.”

Jin-hyuk laughed silently. What an admirable sister he had.

She had healed the Doberman she played with after it was bitten by a badger. Gwangma, being a guard dog, must have attacked the badger to protect Yujin.

Even on days when she was tired from exercising a lot, Yujin would recover her strength on her own and then fall asleep with her head on her brother’s arm, her hand on Jin-hyuk’s chest.

“Oppa, go to bed early.”

“Okay.”

He had to sleep since his sister was going to sleep. Jin-hyuk lay down on the bed, pulled up the blanket, and lifted the edge of the blanket so Yujin could come in.

As the high-performance battery lay down on the bed, Yujin turned off the light.

“It’s a secret from everyone else. There’s no one else in the world with that talent, so you always have to be careful. And take just a little bit. Oppa has to go to school tomorrow-”

“Tandog, Loreub Nime-”

“Oppa’s not done yet-”

-But I’m not finished.

Ah, Yujin.

Could it be that the strange words Yujin was muttering meant ‘shut up and go to sleep’?

Before he could even think about it, Jin-hyuk’s neck went limp and his head turned.

Kaa-.

***

Son Jung-won’s first birthday party was held as a neighborhood celebration.

The village youth association set up tents and tables across the yard and lawn. Even the SSS [Special Security Service] agents helped out from the morning, wiping tables and setting out spoons.

‘Ah, I should have taken the envelopes.’

Jin-hyuk roamed the yard, hating his father for deciding not to accept congratulatory money.

He had a camera around his neck and a camcorder in his hand, walking around the house and filming the star of the first birthday party.

The host parents had to greet the guests, and during such family events, it was customary for the uncle to hold the camcorder. Well, he wasn’t an uncle, but a brother who was uncle-aged, but Jin-hyuk knew it was his duty as a bystander, so he didn’t complain.

“Early on, this family made this place a sunny spot worthy of the village’s name, and may that glory continue through the generations…”

Elder Chun Gil-ryong, dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, recited the congratulatory speech. Although many villagers closed their eyes during his speech, Chun Gil-ryong proudly showed his stamina by reciting all 5,500 words of the speech.

‘Did he read for about twenty minutes?’

‘It feels like he read for that long.’

‘Isn’t that old man’s stamina better than ours?’

Because of the early heat, people might have collapsed from heatstroke if there hadn’t been tents. While Chun Gil-ryong’s speech was going on, the SSS medical staff remained on high alert to assist with the head of the family’s event.

Although it was a first birthday party, it was a casual neighborhood celebration with no special procedures.

Before lunchtime, the villagers, who had filled their stomachs with food prepared by Han Yu-young, Jang Jin-nam, and the neighborhood women, and quenched their thirst with cool makgeolli [Korean rice wine] and beer, were wide-eyed.

“Huh? What’s that?”

“It looks better than President Son’s car?”

No less than five black luxury sedans lined up and entered.

They were precious guests who had come from Seoul. Not that any guest wasn’t precious, but they were special to Son Kwang-yeon. It was Chairman Yoo Myung-sun.

Chairman Yoo Myung-sun and Hong Ki-joon’s family had visited with their entourage.

While Son Kwang-yeon and Han Yu-young, holding Yujin’s hand, greeted the guests from Seoul, Jin-hyuk kept the camcorder rolling.

“You live in a nice place.”

“I didn’t expect you to come in person.”

“What’s so difficult about an old man who isn’t busy moving around? I just have to get in the car. I hope I’m not disturbing the young people’s fun.”

Ehem-.

At that moment, Chun Gil-ryong looked at Son Kwang-yeon from behind with a displeased expression. As if to say, ‘What’s with this young whippersnapper talking about young people?’ Chun Gil-ryong was a full ten years older than Yoo Myung-sun.

The villagers buzzed.

They said he was someone they had seen on TV, in the newspaper, that he was as famous as the president, that he was famous, so he was Yoo Myung-sun…

Yoo Myung-sun, who had bowed to the guests, offered a handshake to Chun Gil-ryong.

“Oh ho ho, I didn’t know there was an elder here. I apologize for my rudeness.”

“Ehem! What elder? Since you’re here, let’s have a drink of makgeolli together, old man to old man.”

Jo Il-heon, who had come to the party with Kwak Hyang-rim, jumped up and guided Yoo Myung-sun to a seat.

It was a strange sight for the SSS agents who had come down from Seoul with the chairman’s family.

A guest was guiding another guest, and they were carrying food together.

For them, who had only used wedding halls or funeral homes for private events and had only attended hotel weddings while escorting a chaebol [family-owned conglomerate] family, it was a refreshing scene.

Yang Kang-wook and Moon Seok-il greeted the entourage, who were busily moving their eyes behind their sunglasses.

When Yang Kang-wook offered a handshake, the SSS Seoul team leader grasped his hand with a restrained motion.

“I’m Yang Kang-wook from S Team.”

“It’s an honor.”

The agents, who had seen Yang Kang-wook, a founding member of SSS, and Moon Seok-il, the training director, straightened their backs again.

“You guys should eat comfortably too.”

At Moon Seok-il’s suggestion, the Seoul team leader looked at Hong Ki-joon. When Hong Ki-joon nodded, he told the agents to sit down comfortably.

The chaotic introductions were over, and Jin-hyuk saw Hong Soo-hyuk’s face for the first time.

He was aiming the camcorder at the baby.

‘He looks like Soo-jung, but not quite.’

Does he look like his mother?

He also saw Hong Ki-joon’s face in his gentle, drooping eyes and wide earlobes. His chubby cheeks were plumper than Jung-won’s. Even now, Hong Ki-joon, who was holding Hong Soo-hyuk, was sweating profusely.

Because there were so many people and the atmosphere was chaotic, it wasn’t appropriate to have a private conversation, so Jin-hyuk only exchanged brief greetings with Hong Ki-joon. It was just a brief exchange of glances as Hong Ki-joon patted Jin-hyuk’s back, but it was a more special and affectionate look than ever before. He didn’t dislike the moment of facing each other with their hearts beyond their eyes.

But.

‘Why is this kid like this?’

Hong Soo-jung only glanced at Jin-hyuk, and her tomboyish appearance was nowhere to be seen.

She had grown so much that she was tall, but that didn’t matter. It was awkward that the kid who always came up to him first and acted up was so quiet.

However, Jin-hyuk didn’t hide his joy at seeing her after a long time.

“Soo-jung, have you been well?”

“Yes, hello…”

Wow.

Hello, she said.

Hong Soo-jung even bowed as she greeted him.

Jin-hyuk, who was speechless at the sight of Hong Soo-jung, who had been so lively, turning into a well-behaved young lady, unconsciously stepped back. Could she have changed this much just because they hadn’t seen each other for about two years? Even though they hadn’t seen each other’s faces, they had still talked on the phone often until a few months ago.

“Sister, let’s play with me after you eat.”

“Okay, sure.”

She even treated Yujin like an adult.

Hong Soo-jung took good care of Yujin and looked around the changed countryside house.

‘It’s disappointing.’

Sigh.

Jin-hyuk chased Hong Soo-jung with his eyes, clicking his tongue in disappointment. The kid who used to sleep with her head on his arm every vacation was suddenly being distant, so he couldn’t help it.

‘Did I do something wrong?’

He hadn’t done anything particularly strange.

This was also something he had never experienced before, so it could be called a new experience.

“Wow! It looks like he’s going to be a judge!”

As the guests watched, Jang Jin-nam raised her voice when Son Jung-won grabbed a toy hammer.

It was a toy hammer instead of a gavel, but to Jin-hyuk, it seemed like she had grabbed it because she was curious about the hammer that made a ‘squeak’ sound. Well, maybe that was just wishful thinking.

‘Kid, you should have grabbed the thread. You don’t have to be successful.’

Yujin had grabbed a stethoscope at her first birthday, and Jin-hyuk had grabbed money.

Even the preferences of siblings with the same parents were so different.

As the party was coming to an end, Jin-hyuk was alone again.

Why wouldn’t he be?

The fathers were together, the mothers were together, and the daughters were together.

Baby Son Jung-won and Hong Soo-hyuk were hugging each other and babbling while their mothers watched.

“Bba-! Tte tte!”

“Ooo ooo-”

It seemed like Hong Soo-hyuk was yelling ‘bbaek’ and Jung-won was comforting him, and the mothers were clapping and laughing.

That scene was captured in Jin-hyuk’s camcorder without missing a beat. Because the main characters were the babies.

‘Who am I going to play with…’

Now that he was used to socializing with people, he could play with them, but his peer Choi Mi-kyung was busy chatting with Kwak Hyang-rim, who was going to marry Jo Il-heon in the fall, and Jang Jin-nam was chatting with the SSS Seoul team. Min Yong-rak was busy taking pictures with his favorite camera.

‘Is Jang-gun my only friend after all…’

When most of the guests had left and the party was winding down, Jin-hyuk filled a plastic bag with plenty of food.

However, when he found Jang-gun, he was furious with betrayal.

This bastard is going to burst.

Jang-gun was lying under an oak tree, panting, and his belly was more swollen than when he was pregnant. Next to him, Gwangma, who was also swollen, was sitting as if on guard, and Hongsi and Chunma seemed to have gone swimming to escape the heat.

‘Ah, damn it…’

Annoying.

Loneliness in the crowd.

He was never the main character anyway, but it seemed like Jin-hyuk was being pushed further down the list every time his younger siblings were born.

He handed the camera and camcorder to his father and decided to clean up the tables.

Doing something was better than doing nothing, so it would lessen his loneliness.

He was quietly helping with the cleanup when Hong Soo-jung approached him.

“Um-”

Um, what, why, what.

Hmph! I should act cold.

I’m not in a good mood right now!

Childish Son Jin-hyuk turned to look at child Hong Soo-jung with a sulky expression.