The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 15

“Oppa! Jinhyuk oppa!”Bwaaaaaah-.That little rascal Hong Sujeong was finally wailing at the top of her lungs. Yoo Sera was holding her by the waist as she struggled, her shoes flying off, but she showed no signs of calming down.It would be nice if she could at least say my name properly.‘Oh, my head.’Little Hong Sujeong wasn’t satisfied with hugging Son Jinhyuk all night; she was now stubbornly refusing to let go. Both Jinhyuk and Yoo Sera couldn’t hide their perplexed expressions. Still, in situations like this, it was up to the mother to soothe her.”Sujeong, let’s sleep for ten nights, and then come see oppa again.”Ah, the infamous ten-night promise that crushed the dreams and hopes of children had appeared. Wasn’t that a notorious proposal with a fulfillment rate of nearly 0.01%? Jinhyuk thought that even the wealthy were no different.However, Hong Sujeong was not an easy child to deal with.”No, no! Jinhyuk oppa!””If you keep acting like this, Jinhyuk oppa won’t play with you again, okay?”Even that woman, Yoo Sera, was calling me Jinhyuk.Anyway, the Hong Sujeong that Jinhyuk knew wasn’t the kind of kid who would fall for such a lame threat.Stop.-She did.Like a lie, she stopped crying and firmly closed her mouth. Her big eyes were filled with tears.Jinhyuk tried to soothe the crying Sujeong.”Sujeong, oppa has to go to school anyway. Come visit again when oppa has a vacation, okay?”Nod, nod.As Hong Sujeong nodded her head vigorously, the tears that had welled up fell like raindrops.There was no West Coast Expressway, and the road conditions weren’t good, so it was a three-hour drive by car. Even if the fathers were close, it would probably be difficult to see Hong Sujeong often.‘She’s still young, so she probably won’t even remember me in a few days.’That’s how relationships are in life.Jinhyuk knew that Hong Sujeong would become distant once she got a little older. No, it would be amazing if she even remembered him.”I’ll come often!””Don’t come often! Farmers are busy.”Behind the fathers’ farewells, the mothers also couldn’t let go of each other’s hands, feeling sad. Mother Han Yooyoung eventually teared up.”No one has ever given me this kind of affection…””I’ll come visit often. Don’t be sad, Jinhyuk’s mom.”Brumm-.Just when it seemed like she was holding it in well, Hong Sujeong finally burst into tears in the departing car.”Oppa!”Whether the little one cried or not, Jinhyuk felt a sense of liberation.The pity, the fluttering, and the regret he had felt for Hong Sujeong in his previous life. He was able to shake them off to some extent.Sniff, sniff.This little one even drooled on my arm while sleeping.The father, who was waving at the departing car, asked Jinhyuk.”What do you want to be when you grow up, Jinhyuk?”A soldier? A president? A scientist?He was confident he could support him in whatever he wanted to do. He was young, and his son was smart.Come to think of it, he hadn’t asked his son what he wanted to do or what he liked. He was always a kid who did things on his own.Jinhyuk’s heart pounded.He had a mother and a father, and even a pretty younger sister.‘I just need to do well.’Jinhyuk, watching Hong Gijun’s car disappear in a cloud of dust, looked up at his father.”Dad, I want to live an ordinary life.””Okay.”That’s the hardest thing to do.Son Gwangyeon stroked his son’s head with a gentle smile.***In September, the 88 Seoul Olympics began.Watching the final torchbearer, Jinhyuk felt a lump in his throat.The marathon runner, who had stood on the podium with the flag of the enemy who had stolen his country’s sovereignty, took each step firmly on the track of his homeland.”Oh my! What should we do?”A mother holding her baby was startled. It was because of the infamous live pigeon burning ceremony. In fact, records revealed that only one pigeon died at that time. But who would believe it now, even if he said it?The father, who was watching with him, seemed to swallow hard, but he must have misheard.Somehow, he had a feeling that the vinyl greenhouse farming would fail this winter.[Hand in hand, over the wall-]Listening to the Olympic theme song on live broadcast was a different kind of moving experience.There were times when he thought harmony and peace were someone else’s stories. It was strange for the word peace to resonate with a child whose heart was being torn by the cold wind, unable to find peace within himself. But now, it seemed like he could turn his attention outward. Peace had come to Jinhyuk’s heart.After that, he had to check the Olympic news only through newspapers.It was a choice for Yujin, who had to sleep most of the day.「”Ben Johnson too?” The world is shocked, the biggest doping scandal in history… Where is the world record for the 100m?」「Increasing use… ruining athletes’ careers. Ben Johnson’s “shock” as a lesson on doping and performance」History was repeating itself.Unfortunately, Ben Johnson would clearly never be able to run on the track again because of this incident. Still, he seemed to remember hearing that thanks to this incident, the doping test technology of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology became known, and we were able to conduct doping tests ourselves at major events such as the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2011 Daegu World Athletics Championships. There was no way to confirm it, so he just assumed it was true. It could be someone’s nationalistic rumor.Like this, there were always light and shadows everywhere.It was the same with the social pages of the newspaper.‘There are only articles about the boisterous festival.’There wasn’t a single line about the weak.Now, he was the son of a family that had emerged as a strong force, but in his previous life, he was a weak person who couldn’t receive anyone’s protection. When he belatedly encountered the tears of those hidden in the shadows of the festival as an adult, he even gained a selfish comfort that he wasn’t the only one with a sad life.As he was flipping through the newspaper with a serious expression, his father stroked the back of Jinhyuk’s head.”You can change the world, and you can destroy it. But you can only do anything after you create your own world first.”What did he know? His father was definitely not an ordinary person.Jinhyuk nodded silently. Just being able to have this kind of conversation with his father was enough to make him happy.”Dad, shall we play Go?””Uh… Dad has to go to the field for a bit. Let’s play in the evening.”His father couldn’t win a single game against Jinhyuk.Jinhyuk once picked up a Go record that had fallen out of his father’s pocket. He would surely sit on the rice paddy ridge and practice Go with a pencil on paper. By the end of September, there was little to worry about in the rice paddies. He was worried about the typhoon, but natural disasters were hard to prevent even if you knew about them. He had drained most of the water, so there was less concern about pests. The scarecrow and shiny ribbons chased away the sparrows.”Go ahead.”It would be best to give him some alone time in situations like this.His father cherished the time he spent with his family, so how desperate must he be to go study on his own?‘Should I have gone easy on him?’No.The world of competition is ruthless.Even Janggun always ran desperately, so how could a human be careless?‘I suggested playing for Dad’s sake. I should have suggested something Dad was good at.’But what was Dad good at?Throwing cuckoos?***The loneliness, longing, and even the sadness of his previous life.It was as if Jinhyuk’s life was filled with happiness as if to compensate for everything.Jinhyuk’s day started with jogging.Getting up early in the morning and going to the top of Gubong Mountain, which was several kilometers away. It was not an easy task even for an athlete, but he was trying to stimulate his growth plates by doing so.‘I was too short when I was young. My younger sister will grow up soon too, so I have to make sure no one bullies her.’Because he was her older brother.The mixed-breed dog Janggun was still running ahead of and behind Jinhyuk. As expected of a dog, Janggun’s start was unmatched, while Jinhyuk was superior in sprints and endurance.Several vacations had passed.Contrary to expectations that it would be difficult to see her again, Hong Sujeong clung to Jinhyuk every vacation. Looking at Hong Sujeong, Jinhyuk was reminded of the leeches that stuck to his ankles and wouldn’t let go when he went to the rice paddies with his father.Those leeches wouldn’t let go even after sucking blood until their bellies were full. They were so tough that they wouldn’t burst even if you stepped on them, and they wouldn’t cut even if you hit them with a shovel.‘I guess that’s why the phrase “like a leech” was created.’The mothers also became close, boasting a sisterly bond that could put real sisters to shame.”Sister, please rest well while you’re here. Don’t bother looking for a guesthouse.””Thank you every time, Yooyoung. Sujeong keeps nagging me to go see Jinhyuk oppa-.”Jinhyuk’s house was expanded into a fancy three-story house.It was thanks to having a father who had a knack for making money.He would predict crops that would have a surge in demand or a shortage in supply that year, put in workers to farm them, and go out of his way to find merchants who would pay more. Son Gwangyeon made money by using his business skills, bought land, and even built a new house. The interior was finished with loess [a type of soil]. It was because of Jinhyuk’s insistence, who knew from his previous life that loess was beneficial to the human body.”Has Sujeong already gone to Jinhyuk?”Han Yooyoung looked around for Sujeong, but the Seoul kid had already disappeared.As soon as Hong Sujeong greeted Jinhyuk’s mother, she searched the house with a fire in her eyes.”Jinhyuk plays with our Sujeong better than her cousins.””He’s an oppa who takes care of Yujin so much even normally. I guess he sees Sujeong as a younger sister too.”Hong Gijun’s family stayed for more than a week every vacation. Hong Gijun showed off his friendship by helping Son Gwangyeon with his farming, despite his clumsy skills.Kindergartener Hong Sujeong showed the same unchanging obsession.Thump, thump—As soon as Hong Sujeong climbed the wooden stairs and found Jinhyuk on the second floor, she clung to him like a perfect leech.”Oppa, I’ll be a first-grader next year.””Are you excited about going to school?””Yeah! But there’s so much to do, you know? I have to do homework, play the piano, and swim-.”Chatter, chatter-.He shouldn’t have asked. Jinhyuk sighed softly and closed his book.”Sujeong, do you want to go pick wild strawberries with oppa?””Yeah! Those are delicious.””Sujeong, do you want to go to the stream?””Yeah! Let’s go catch fish.””Sujeong, shall we go to the sea?””Yeah! Let’s go catch crabs.””Sujeong, shall we make a snowman with oppa?””Yeah!””Sujeong, do you want to go sledding in the rice paddies?””Wow! That sounds fun!”She was a child who didn’t know how to say no.Hong Sujeong even followed Jinhyuk when he went running in the morning and evening. With those short legs of hers. Eventually, she had to be carried home on Jinhyuk’s back.When he carried her on his back, she would swing her legs excitedly.”Oppa, do you like running that much?””Yeah.”It felt like he had heard that question somewhere before.The difference was that Jinhyuk had answered this time.”Who do you like more, Sujeong or running?”What was she saying, that little thing?Jinhyuk closed his mouth again.He thought it was fate, but maybe it was a bad relationship.He suddenly felt like he was getting old.”Oppa!”She still cried when they had to part.***The daughter, who had been causing a ruckus in the car heading to Seoul, became quiet. Yoo Sera shook her head, looking at Hong Sujeong, who had fallen asleep with her neck bent to the side in the back seat. She didn’t forget to touch her forehead.”Ugh, who did she take after?”It was a statement that could spark a marital fight, but Hong Gijun didn’t say anything. He just alternated between looking at his crumpled little daughter in the back seat and his wife sighing in the passenger seat.His daughter once, his wife once.His daughter once, his wife once.Then, he made eye contact with Yoo Sera.A woman who looked exactly like the little rascal Hong Sujeong, who had been causing a scene because she didn’t want to be separated from Jinhyuk oppa, was sitting in the passenger seat.The troublemaking woman, who had been staring at Hong Gijun, raised her chin when their eyes met.”What?””Sigh-.””What’s with that sigh?”Her cat-like eyes glared at Hong Gijun.”It’s nothing. I think I ate too much.”He had to make excuses to survive. It hadn’t been long since the power dynamic in their relationship, which had been swayed by Yoo Sera’s hands and background, had reached a balance. Hong Gijun pretended to loosen his belt and sighed again.Yoo Sera nodded.”Jinhyuk’s mom is a good cook.”And pretty too.”She looks familiar, but I can’t quite place it.””Isn’t it because you see her often?””She looked familiar from the first time I saw her.””Is it because she’s a beauty?”Hong Gijun quickly pressed his lips together.However, Yoo Sera didn’t take issue with Hong Gijun’s statement, as her mind was elsewhere.”Hmm, did she run away with Gwangyeon oppa after being an actress?”Yoo Sera crossed her legs and folded her arms. It was an action she took when she wasn’t in a good mood. Anyway, Hong Gijun, who had overcome the crisis, was relieved inside.”You’ll keep coming every vacation to see oppa’s family, right?””What about work?”Hong Gijun, gripping the steering wheel tightly, asked while glancing sideways.His wife was also swamped with work, as she had recently taken on a major role within the group.”I’ll just take another vacation.”Well, who would stop the chairman’s daughter and son-in-law?They could just take another vacation in the winter.”Thinking about it again, the world is scary.”Yoo Sera’s way of speaking was like this.She would cut off the beginning and end and just blurt out a word. The people around her would struggle and sweat to figure out the background and true meaning of those words, but if they knew what Yoo Sera was thinking right now, it wouldn’t be difficult.”I know. Who would have thought Gwangyeon would be living in a place like that?”Hong Gijun was by far the best at reading Yoo Sera’s mind. That’s why he was able to overcome numerous competitors and win the beauty of the century. Hong Gijun’s heart still boiled whenever he thought about the day Yoo Sera accepted his proposal.”But it’s too far. It must be hard for you to drive.””The roads are still inconvenient, but the distance is probably about 100 kilometers.””It would be nice to have something like a broom.””A broom?””To ride and fly around.”As expected of a mother who was a great sorceress.As if she was really imagining flying on a broom, Yoo Sera narrowed her eyes from her arms-crossed position.From the back seat, the sound of a kitten mumbling in its sleep could be heard.”Umm, me too, a broom. Jinhyuk oppa.”Oh my.Who did she really take after? Yoo Sera mumbled.Hong Gijun couldn’t respond and scratched the side of his head nervously.