The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 149

A sudden wave of sadness made me skip my morning workout.

I hadn’t missed a workout, even in bad weather, since the gym was completed, so I guess the internal damage was pretty severe. My solar plexus felt like a stormy ocean, churning and heaving.

I knew that I could manage my turbulent emotions with a good workout, but for some strange reason, my breathing wouldn’t regulate, and I was worried about disrupting my physical rhythm. I also lacked the motivation.

Sigh, sigh- whoo- whooo-.

I sat cross-legged on my bed until the Chicken Johnson Juniors started crying and Jang-gun scolded the late-sleeping subordinate dogs.

‘I need to go to school now.’

Just because the crimson heat that had filled my heart had dissipated didn’t mean I could abandon my life. Despite the unexpected joys and sorrows, life had to go on.

If I had been someone with such a weak disposition, I might have given up on life long ago, or lived as I pleased and become a degenerate or a monster.

But Jin-hyuk wasn’t such a frail person, and he was different from his past life.

“Ehehehehehe-, it’s vacation.”

He was a different person in a slightly different way. Well, different is different.

Jin-hyuk pedaled his bicycle furiously, trying to clear the clouds that filled his mind.

Uphill and downhill, curves and straight roads.

The road I traveled every day was so erratic that it could never be interpreted as a two-dimensional plane, whether viewed from the side or from the sky.

However, no matter how long and winding a road made by humans might be, it could never be as three-dimensional as the twists and turns of life. The 10-kilometer distance was soon reduced to a single point in Jin-hyuk’s mind. At best, it had about the same presence as a stepping stone needed to cross a stream.

“Whew-! That’s refreshing!”

Jin-hyuk, having overtaken a slow-moving car, finally arrived at school.

The lingering sadness from the night before, which had been burned like fuel, had turned to ash and settled quietly.

Thoughts tend to disappear when you focus on the reality at hand, without deliberately trying to get rid of them. Of course, there are individual differences, but Jin-hyuk was a person who was terrifyingly specialized in that area.

‘Focus, focus. There’s a lot to take care of.’

Third-year middle school students had supplementary classes during the summer vacation to prepare for high school entrance exams. You might wonder what kind of supplementary classes a rural middle school would have, but you’d be wrong. Some students, considered gifted, were focused on getting into science high schools or prestigious private high schools, while others aimed to get into TaeYang High School.

However, if they were to have a training camp, Jin-hyuk and his friends would not be able to attend supplementary classes. Students should be studying, and they couldn’t be allowed to neglect their studies because of sports.

Before the first class even started, Jin-hyuk went to find Chae Gyu-ho.

The noisy classroom, celebrating the start of vacation, became momentarily quiet at Jin-hyuk’s appearance, parting like the Red Sea.

“Hello, third-year class two?”

“Oh, uh-, hello, president.”

The students, surprised to see the student council president greeting them first, returned the greeting. It wasn’t illegal for friends to greet each other, but the fact that it was Son Jin-hyuk, of all people, made it feel quite out of place.

Chae Gyu-ho, the head of the student council’s academic affairs department, was delighted.

“Oh? What brings you here, president? Coming to find me first?”

“Do you think the sun will rise in the west?”

“The sun always rises in the west! To be precise, the sun stays still while the Earth rotates-.”

“Ah, never mind. Did the science high school results come out?”

Jin-hyuk quickly cut off Chae Gyu-ho, who was getting worked up over something trivial.

Even the model student Chae Gyu-ho was an unavoidable adolescent boy. These adolescent guys were like rubber balls, making it difficult to have a serious conversation about one topic.

“Not yet. They’ll come out during the vacation. They said it’ll be after Liberation Day [August 15th, a national holiday in Korea]. It was like that when my brother took it.”

Chae Gyu-ho had taken the exam for science high school.

Jin-hyuk had no doubt that Chae Gyu-ho would pass. Several other students had also applied, but Chae Gyu-ho’s academic performance and intelligence were by far the best.

‘He’s the smartest person I’ve ever seen.’

Chae Gyu-ho was a guy who combined academic enthusiasm with creativity and application skills.

He had a family history of being addicted to studying, and he had been tutored by Jin-hyuk throughout middle school. Later, Jin-hyuk felt that it was unnecessary to teach Chae Gyu-ho, but he insisted on continuing until he graduated, so they had no choice but to study together.

He said that a man’s word is his bond, but no matter how hard he tried to remember, Jin-hyuk couldn’t recall ever promising to teach Chae Gyu-ho until graduation. He only remembered making promises to Shin Woo-sung and Lee Seung-hoon.

Of course, the world is wide and there are many people.

There would be talented people everywhere who were better than Chae Gyu-ho.

Jin-hyuk recalled the plan he had instilled in Chae Gyu-ho.

“If you say you’re going to medical school, you know what’ll happen, right?”

“Hey, why would I?”

Chae Gyu-ho’s brothers had all gone to medical school.

However, unlike his seemingly docile personality, Chae Gyu-ho had a stubborn side. At home, he didn’t study and instead focused on his hobbies, such as assembling plastic models and building and controlling RC cars.

Fortunately, Chae Gyu-ho’s parents tended to let their youngest son do as he pleased. Since his academic performance was good, they had no reason to object.

“Won’t your parents object?”

“My mom and dad are old now, so they don’t nag anymore.”

Jin-hyuk had barely managed to persuade the guy, who wanted to follow him to TaeYang High School, to go to science high school. He said that if he went to TaeYang High School with Jin-hyuk, he wouldn’t have to stress about going to academies or getting private tutoring.

That was Chae Gyu-ho’s misunderstanding.

Jin-hyuk was good at memorizing, so middle school was easy for him, but he wasn’t confident about the high school curriculum. In his past life, he had only focused on studying, which was the only thing he could do to survive.

Well, if Chae Gyu-ho’s dream was to become a high-ranking official, he might be able to help. But Chae Gyu-ho was a guy who clearly had the blood of an engineer flowing through him.

“Anyway, you’d better not forget what you promised me.”

“Ah, don’t worry. They’re the ones who care about their older brothers, the youngest is usually allowed to be a troublemaker, right? There’s even a saying, ‘The youngest son of a wealthy family is a troublemaker.’”

Chae Gyu-ho, who had grown up, was quite the smart aleck.

‘But is there such a saying?’

Jin-hyuk’s neck tilted to the side.

It was like witnessing a bizarre hybrid of a zombie and a cyborg.

Chae Gyu-ho said that he dreamed of becoming a robotics engineer.

Jin-hyuk had explained the scholarship program that Sein Group would be implementing in the future and had repeatedly instilled in him that there would be opportunities to pursue his dreams. There was no one who wouldn’t be tempted by the prospect of studying abroad in the United States if they did well.

“Don’t forget to recruit guys like you.”

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head.”

Chae Gyu-ho, with his sly tone, delivered an out-of-place joke.

Even though he looked innocent, he was a sly fox on the inside, so he would probably take care of it himself. Jin-hyuk filled a piece of his future plan with Chae Gyu-ho.

He had been so busy chatting that he had forgotten why he had come.

Jin-hyuk belatedly revealed his original purpose.

“Did you bring what I asked for?”

“Of course! Who do you think I am?”

Jin-hyuk had asked Chae Gyu-ho to summarize and bind the notes he had taken together since the first year. Since Chae Gyu-ho’s entrance exam was earlier than the other students, it would also be a good review opportunity for him.

“Thanks. It must have been a hassle.”

“No problem! When you think about it, we made it together.”

Jin-hyuk planned to use the textbook that Chae Gyu-ho had made for his friends during the training camp.

Chae Gyu-ho struggled to bring five quite thick books from his locker.

“President, here’s the change.”

“Keep the change.”

“What······.”

Chae Gyu-ho stared blankly as Jin-hyuk, with the books tucked under his arm, walked away.

‘The president really has no sense of reality.’

Not only did he give him a 100,000 won check for the binding, but he also told him to keep the nearly 80,000 won in change. The cost of copying and spiral binding didn’t add up to much.

Well, since the president had no sense of reality and no fear, he must have beaten up the seniors in the first year.

‘He’s not going to ask for interest later, is he?’

If I ever get targeted by the president, who will save me······.

Even if a group of people ganged up on him, it wouldn’t work.

The thought alone was terrifying.

Chae Gyu-ho, who had been standing there blankly with the money for a long time, shuddered at the memory of the nightmare from his first year.

Then, after checking the amount, his mouth stretched from ear to ear.

Hehe-.

With this money, how many BB guns could he buy?

Should he buy Lego?

***

Not all students from TaeYang Middle School go to TaeYang High School. High school classes are divided into male and female classes, and the total number of students is also reduced, so even if you only consider the number of students at TaeYang Middle School, more than half of them have to go to other high schools. In addition, students from other middle schools in the area also apply, so the competition rate for TaeYang High School exceeded 3:1.

“Okay, so Park Sang-gi, Yeom Byeong-taek, and Jo Seul-chan will be doing their training camp at Son Jin-hyuk’s house, and they will be excused from the supplementary classes during the vacation. Please inform the homeroom teachers of each class.”

“Vice Principal, is that really okay?”

Jo Seul-chan’s homeroom teacher asked.

“What’s there to worry about when the top student in the school is tutoring them? It’s not like they’re going to drink and play around, and they’re also preparing for the track and field competition.”

“Yes.”

Jin-hyuk had already obtained permission from his parents and the school.

He never thought he could use his position as student council president in such a way, but thanks to the vice principal, who had become friendly with Jin-hyuk, he was able to proceed with the training camp plan without difficulty.

On the day the vacation started, the friends gathered at the school playground.

The track and field team friends had also obtained permission in advance, so there were no absentees.

Jin-hyuk, who had been waiting, greeted his friends.

Moon Seok-il and Kim In-rang, who had each driven their cars, took the friends’ bags and loaded them into the trunk.

“Wow-, nice car.”

“Seul-chan, you got permission from your grandmother, right?”

“Ah-, of course! She was happy when I said I was going to Jin-hyuk’s place. But do I really not have to give you money?”

“If you keep talking about money, I’ll make you sleep in the doghouse.”

Jin-hyuk chuckled as he loaded Jo Seul-chan’s bag into the trunk.

There was no way that the proud Jang-gun would share a room with Seul-chan, so he would have to sleep on the first floor of the doghouse, but it wouldn’t be easy with three large dogs. Jin-hyuk shook his head, seriously thinking about something trivial.

Jo Seul-chan also smiled at the sight of Jin-hyuk, who was rarely seen chuckling.

“What did Byeong-taek’s parents say?”

“They told me to get lost quickly. They said that my sisters can be more comfortable without me around since it’s hot.”

Yeom Byeong-taek mumbled while munching on a sausage.

Yeom Byeong-taek’s family ran a teahouse in the town.

There were a lot of teahouses, and there were many sisters working there. Yeom Byeong-taek called them ‘Sister Kim, Sister Park,’ and so on.

“Sang-gi?”

“Me? Well… they were happy that I made friends.”

Park Sang-gi, who didn’t talk much, answered like that and looked at the distant mountains with a sullen face.

Park Sang-gi never opened his mouth before someone else spoke to him first. He had been working out with them every morning for a few days before the vacation, and he was a shy and quiet guy, though not as much as Jin-hyuk in his past life. It was surprising that such a guy had a girlfriend.

“Ah, there’s a phone there, right? I need to call my girlfriend… Is the house big?… I can’t sleep with someone who snores….”

Mutter, mutter-.

He talked a lot to himself.

“Uncle, let’s go.”

“Okay.”

The TaeYang Middle School track and field team, divided into two cars, set off for Jin-hyuk’s house, the training camp location. Jo Seul-chan, who had rolled down the car window and was enjoying the cool breeze with a bright smile, Yeom Byeong-taek, who was looking around the inside of the luxury car, and Park Sang-gi, who was muttering with his eyes slanted upwards.

They were excited by the thought of being freed from Lee Byeong-se, who had been indifferent to the athletes, and by the anticipation of spending the summer vacation in a seaside village.

When they arrived, it was even better and more wonderful than they had expected.

“Wow-, peach trees, apricot trees, apple trees, fig trees, plum trees, grapevines… This looks like a cherry tree from the leaves?”

Yeom Byeong-taek, who dreamed of becoming a landscape architect, was impressed by the fruit trees planted around the yard. Yeom Byeong-taek had already decided on a landscape architecture major for college. Of course, that was if he could go to college.

“Whoa-. There are three more big dogs? What’s going to happen to Jang-gun? He’s going to have to eat humble pie.”

Jo Seul-chan, who had been there once during the summer vacation of his first year, said something without knowing what he was talking about while looking at Jang-gun. Whether Jang-gun rolled his eyes and sent a disdainful look or not.

Park Sang-gi was interested in the lawn garden.

“······If there weren’t any trees, we could play soccer here.”

The yard was larger than a foot volleyball court, and all kinds of flowers were in full bloom for the summer.

As if they had entered a scene from a fairy tale, the energetic boys were enjoying themselves by smelling the flowers and petting the dogs, which was quite out of character for them.

“Hello!”

“Oh, yes. Welcome. Make yourselves at home.”

Jin-hyuk’s father, holding the hand of a kindergarten girl, and his mother, holding a baby, also welcomed the friends.

“Oppa’s friends are here.”

“Aboo-.”

Jung-won also seemed to be greeting them, following her older sister, who was very polite.

Jo Seul-chan, who was having a special reunion, bowed deeply.

“Mother, Father, how have you been?”

“Oh my, is our Seul-chan crying again?”

Han Yu-young hugged and comforted Jo Seul-chan.

Han Yu-young had been secretly sponsoring Jo Seul-chan, worried that he might be hurt during this sensitive time. Of course, it was quickly discovered.

After finding out about the sponsorship, Jo Seul-chan often called Han Yu-young to ask how she was doing, showing his filial piety. It was fortunate that he was a guy who knew how to accept good intentions.

“Let’s unpack first.”

The children went up to the second floor, guided by Jin-hyuk, to unpack.

There were three rooms on the second floor, one of which was Jin-hyuk’s room. Park Sang-gi used one of the small rooms by himself, and Yeom Byeong-taek and Jo Seul-chan decided to share another room.

“There’s a refrigerator on the second floor too?”

“Wow-, is all this for Jin-hyuk to eat?”

“Oh… bananas….”

The refrigerator was full of fruits, sports drinks, barley tea and cassia seed tea, orange juice and milk, and even ice cream. There was nothing missing.

“Mom filled it up because you guys were coming. Eat as much as you want. Seul-chan, you like bananas, right?”

Jin-hyuk peeled a banana and handed it to Jo Seul-chan, just in case he was being hesitant.

***

“Hiyah-, this is the best summer vacation ever!”

Yeom Byeong-taek shouted as he lay sprawled on the wooden platform.

The other friends thought so too.

Until they arrived at Jin-hyuk’s house, greeted Jin-hyuk’s parents, looked around the house, played in the stream, ate grilled eel for dinner, and lay on the spacious wooden platform to look at the stars….

Until then, it was a wonderful summer vacation.

Before going to bed, Jin-hyuk briefed them on the training camp plan.

There had to be a goal for the training to have meaning. It was a noble plan to motivate them and give them valuable experiences by sharing and engraving the goal of the training camp with his friends.

The presentation skills that had captivated the chairman of Sein Group shone.

「Light Run Summer Camp」

Yeom Byeong-taek asked after seeing the title.

“Summer camp? Is it like a summer bible school?”

“It’s the name of this training camp.”

It was like a code name.

Of course, even a small event had to have a name and a purpose to make it sound plausible.

Who said that only baseball and soccer players could have spring training camps? We have a summer camp.

“Jin-hyuk. What’s ‘Light Run’? Isn’t it ‘Rampage’?”

“Run… like light?”

Park Sang-gi answered Jo Seul-chan’s question.

Jin-hyuk, who was immediately satisfied, passed the chart.

Flap-.

“The first week is strength training, the second week is agility training, and the third week is recovery training. The fourth week will only be track training. That’s the big picture, and we’ll be maximizing each of your strengths and improving your main event….”

The children stared blankly at the training schedule drawn on the chart and then at Jin-hyuk.

They weren’t here to play? That’s what their eyes said.

‘You crazy bastard, why are we doing a four-week training camp for one relay race?’

Yeom Byeong-taek, who could be called a track and field senior, swallowed the words that he couldn’t bring himself to say.

Were they running the air conditioner too high? The children shivered with cold.

Just looking at the schedule filled with text made them feel like they were going to lose their minds.

“Ah, I forgot to call my girlfriend….”

Park Sang-gi’s mind seemed to be elsewhere.