The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 155

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***

Slurp-.

‘Ah, this is the taste-.’

Jin-hyuk, sitting alone on the wooden platform, dangled his legs, enjoying his freedom.

In a world where many adults say that drinking coffee keeps you from sleeping and stunts your growth, he secretly drank coffee whenever he wanted. Even though his parents would say he was good at everything, Jin-hyuk, who wasn’t oblivious, knew that it wasn’t because he was genuinely good.

During the final exam period, he was making a game with C++ to clear his head, and after seeing his mom pinch his earlobe, saying, ‘Oh, you’re doing well,’ he realized once again that he shouldn’t take words at face value.

Anyway, coffee is delicious.

The sweet, bitter, and hot taste soothed a man’s solitude. It was hard to get his favorite espresso, but having even instant mix was a blessing. Since he always tired his body out with exercise, he always slept well, and instant coffee was a great source of energy when exercising. It was especially effective when doing weight training to stimulate his joints and muscles.

‘I don’t know if it’s thanks to the coffee or the creamer. And it’s none of my business.’

While his siblings, exhausted from the heat and playing all day, were sprawled out in the living room, the leisure of enjoying a cup of bitter coffee while burning mosquito repellent in the yard was sweet.

– ‘Pour it all out. Keeping things like that bottled up can make you sick.’

As a son and the eldest, it was advice he sincerely gave to his mother.

Even though they were well-off and had connections that anyone in the world would envy, there were shadows under his mother’s eyes. She sometimes sighed, and Jin-hyuk comforted her and listened to the whole story. Some of the things he already knew from Hong Ki-joon were actually misreported. He figured it was because his mother’s shock was so great that her memory was distorted.

– ‘I had an older sister, and I miss her. Sometimes, I get a call where they don’t say anything and hang up, and I think it’s her.’

His mother said that and cried like a babbling baby. Her nose and eyebrows turned red, and she cried silently, unable to make a sound. Seeing her so upset, Jin-hyuk decided to let go of the ill feelings he had harbored.

What did it matter if they weren’t blood-related?

If someone was missed so much that it made your heart ache, weren’t they family?

It was presumptuous of him to even guess how his mother felt, but Jin-hyuk persuaded her with those words. He wanted his mother to be happier than himself.

‘After all, I’ve never met those people this time around, so it’s enough if Mom forgives them.’

If his mother forgave that family, Jin-hyuk planned to forget about them too.

Even in his past life, Jin-hyuk hadn’t bothered to go find them to harass or curse at them.

If anyone knew Jin-hyuk’s situation, they might point fingers and call him an idiot, but now, it was something that didn’t exist or happen in Jin-hyuk’s current history. Although light and shadow cannot be separated, he was trying hard to forget the dark memories, fearing that they might tarnish his enviable happiness.

‘I’m living my second life, but Mom only has one. I’m happy when Mom is happy.’

Slurp-.

Ah, good.

‘Should Jang-gun have a sip too? But if you drink this, you won’t grow taller. Our Jang-gun is already short-legged-.’

Grrr-.

Jang-gun narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth.

‘That’s an impulsive outburst. Try to see the world more beautifully.’

Grrrrr-.

However, the world didn’t seem beautiful in Jang-gun’s eyes.

Jin-hyuk decided to ignore Jang-gun and just sip his coffee.

This mutt is like this even when I tell the truth.

If you’re so upset, grow taller.

Just as he was enjoying the flavor of his instant coffee while ignoring Jang-gun, Yu-jin approached, dragging her mismatched slippers.

‘Oppa, I want to drink coffee too.’

‘No! You won’t grow taller.’

***

Kim Eung-nyeo and Han Yu-young, who had been crying for a long time, sat down again with calmed hearts. This time, they weren’t facing each other but sitting side by side, as if embracing each other.

It was thanks to Son Gwang-yeon giving them space, and his red-eyed dash to the bathroom seemed like a consideration for the sisters to talk comfortably.

Kim Eung-nyeo, while talking about her mother who had died in a hit-and-run accident over ten years ago, glanced at Han Yu-young. It was the kind of expression someone who had done wrong would make while being cautious.

‘Was it you, unnie, who sometimes visited our mom and dad’s graves?’

‘Well, yeah. She was so good to me…’

It was thanks to her son Jin-hyuk that she had the courage, but the courage to unlock her heart and step outside required her own decision. If she hadn’t found the flowers left by someone unknown every year, every season, Han Yu-young might not have come today.

‘Seeing Ga-yoon and Ga-young, I realized I can’t keep living like this. They both did well in school and went to Taeyang High. The second one is graduating this year. Since they were little, they’d come to the teahouse after school to help Mom, but there’s cigarette smoke and they see a lot of things they shouldn’t. I have to make a living, and I don’t have any skills. I had to do it to teach the kids, but I’ll quit after Ga-young goes to college.’

Han Yu-young smiled involuntarily, remembering her childhood, at her sister’s way of speaking, which was a mix of dialect and Seoul speech, something she hadn’t heard in almost 20 years.

‘How is Ga-yoon doing? I haven’t seen her since she was a baby.’

‘She went to college. She could have gone to a university in Seoul, but she went to a national university in Daejeon because the tuition was expensive. She even works part-time and buys her mom cosmetics. She’s already a junior?’

A faint smile appeared on Kim Eung-nyeo’s face as she subtly bragged about her daughter.

Han Yu-young’s face, which had turned slightly red, was just as bright.

She thought she had done well to come and pour it all out, just as her son had said.

Since the customers had left after Kim Eung-nyeo’s outburst, only quiet music and the voices of the two women flowed quietly in the hall.

Her husband had accompanied her, and there were two sturdy and agile bodyguards, and when she actually came, she didn’t see the person she had feared.

‘……What about your husband?’

‘Oh, that good-for-nothing…’

Kim Eung-nyeo sighed deeply and wiped away her tears again.

‘If I save up money, he takes it all, even the money for the kids’ study materials, and gambles it away. If I hide the money, he punches me to make me give it up…’

‘Unnie, you’ve been through a lot.’

‘I just endured it for the kids. They’re good at studying, so it’d be a waste if they couldn’t go to school.’

Han Yu-young nodded, stroking her sister’s wrinkled face.

Both Kim Eung-nyeo and Han Yu-young had graduated from the same commercial high school, and back then, commercial high schools had higher competition rates and were more popular among female students than academic high schools. Kim Eung-nyeo must have had a good head for studying to have graduated from high school in those days.

Han Yu-young smiled, vaguely remembering Kim Eung-nyeo with her hair in pigtails, wearing a green hair clip and a navy blue girls’ high school uniform.

But now, she was a middle-aged woman clinging to her sanity while riding the tiger of reality. Han Yu-young’s eyes showed pity.

‘How did my sister end up meeting such a man?’

Kim Eung-nyeo had met a gangster when she was working as a clerk in a small architectural office after graduating from commercial high school. Old habits die hard, and he was still acting like a thug.

‘Once, I knelt down and begged him. I told him that the daughters were all grown up, and to live without shame for their sake. After that, I don’t know if he came to his senses, but he seems to be going around doing some business, but I don’t know if he’s doing business or gambling…’

‘Does he bring money home?’

‘Oh, that’s all nonsense. That man bring money? It’s a blessing if he doesn’t take out loans… I barely managed to stop this place from being taken away once. Once he leaves, I don’t see his face for a month. It’s more comfortable not seeing him.’

Sigh-.

Both women sighed at the same time, as if it were natural.

They held each other’s hands tightly.

‘Ga-yoon would be happy to see her aunt when she comes. Wait a minute. I should at least introduce you to Ga-young.’

‘She’s a senior in high school, so just leave her be. But it seems like Ga-yoon is home for vacation?’

‘Yeah, even during vacation, she tutors during the day and meets friends in the evening. All her friends went to universities in Seoul. But lately, it seems like she’s been seeing some young man for a few days.’

Han Yu-young’s expression turned serious at those words.

They say that mothers and daughters have similar fates, and she was worried that she might meet someone like Kim Eung-nyeo’s husband, Hwang Young-mo.

‘He’s not a strange person, is he?’

‘He doesn’t seem like a strange person. He’s tall and handsome. He sometimes comes to our teahouse and quietly drinks tea without hitting on the girls. He doesn’t seem like he’s from this neighborhood.’

Han Yu-young just nodded, thinking that was the case, and didn’t ask any more questions, even though she was curious. She thought it wasn’t polite to ask in detail just to satisfy her curiosity when she didn’t know what Kim Eung-nyeo was thinking inside.

‘If she likes him, there’s nothing I can do, whether it’s about age or job. My mom couldn’t break my stubbornness either…’

Kim Eung-nyeo couldn’t continue her words.

It was a story they both knew without having to say it.

***

After promising to meet again, Han Yu-young comforted Kim Eung-nyeo and left the teahouse.

Myung Hyun-woo was behind the wheel, and Han Yu-young’s personal bodyguard, Yu Tae-hwa, was in the passenger seat.

Son Gwang-yeon stroked his wife’s hand as if comforting her.

‘Do you feel a little better?’

‘Yes. It feels good to eat the food unnie made…’

She genuinely felt good, but the aftertaste wasn’t pleasant because of Kim Eung-nyeo’s lamentations about her life.

She kept apologizing for being deceived by Hwang Young-mo, ruining her life, and watching the remaining assets of someone who had been family for a long time being taken away. She said she was glad that they were doing well and thanked Son Gwang-yeon while holding his hand.

Whether Han Yu-young believed Kim Eung-nyeo’s words now was not important to her.

‘It’s a matter of forgiveness.’

‘Jin-hyuk said that?’

When Son Gwang-yeon asked back, Han Yu-young nodded with a blank face.

She couldn’t help but have a blank face.

‘Can I forgive them?’

Could the distorted memories from nearly 20 years ago be healed, even if the wounds were healed? It was an incident that had been a greater shock and terror because she was so young.

Her son Jin-hyuk had told her to be brave for the sake of her family. He said that fate was scary, and that people you thought you would never meet could suddenly appear in front of you. He asked if she would run away in fear even then.

‘I can’t keep doing that forever.’

While she believed that the words about forgiveness were right, she also wanted to believe Kim Eung-nyeo.

Among the things she learned today, there was the fact that Kim Eung-nyeo was pregnant with her second daughter at that time. That made her want to believe her even more. She knew from experience that a woman with a baby in her womb could become tough for the sake of the baby, but she would also be careful even when sneezing. How could such a person actively engage in dangerous things?

The image of Hwang Ga-young, a modest high school senior who shyly greeted her aunt for the first time, also added to the persuasiveness of Han Yu-young’s thoughts.

Adopting and trusting the statement was in the realm of reason.

As someone who had the most influential person in the region as her husband, she could now dismiss her past as an insignificant matter.

However, Han Yu-young accepted today’s reunion as a major development in her life.

It was like a gain in the mental and emotional maturity that she would hardly experience again.

Emotional purification.

It was as if she was taking a walk barefoot on soft soil under the warm sunlight, or as if she was taking a stroll in her bare skin wearing only a silk gown in front of a gentle breeze. She felt much more comfortable and peaceful.

She was grateful to her son for giving her courage.

Han Yu-young’s eyes naturally curved when she thought of Jin-hyuk.

‘Our son is a lucky charm.’

The eldest is bound to be reliable, but could such a child ever be born again?

‘Our family’s fortunes improved drastically after Jin-hyuk was born, so you could say he’s always been a lucky charm. But lately, he seems a bit strange…’

Son Gwang-yeon, pouting his lips and narrowing his brows, trailed off.

After a moment of catching their breath, the couple spoke at the same time.

‘He’s become more affectionate.’

‘He’s become a goofball.’

Hmm?

The parents had conflicting opinions.

To his mother, he was an affectionate son, and to his father, he seemed like a goofball.

However.

When they arrived home, the couple had the same thought when they saw Yu-jin running towards the car, crying.

‘Waaaaaah-! Oppa won’t give me coffeeee!’

The couple noticed their son, who had been sitting on the wooden platform, quickly chugging his coffee after spotting the car.

‘Aish, that brat…’

He shouldn’t have let his younger sister see him.

Those who make children cry always act so annoying, as if they’re teasing them right in front of their eyes.

It didn’t even take a minute for their lucky charm son to turn into a bad older brother who made his younger sister cry.

***

The five family members gathered in Jin-hyuk’s room.

The baby and the little one fell asleep, using the sound of insects from beyond the window as a lullaby.

‘What about helping them?’

Son Gwang-yeon stroked Yu-jin’s forehead, who was sleeping next to Jung-won, hugging a bear doll.

Han Yu-young kept her mouth shut and didn’t say anything. She needed time to sort out the remaining emotions, and more than anything, it was because of Hwang Young-mo’s existence.

Then, Jin-hyuk, who was specialized in reading his mother’s mood, couldn’t help but step forward.

Jin-hyuk, who was peeling off the callus on his big toe, acted somewhat curtly.

‘They should live their own lives. What are we going to help them with…’

Forgiveness was forgiveness, and financial support was a separate issue.

No matter how much his mother considered them family, the reality was that they were strangers. It had to be approached differently from the way he sponsored Jo Seul-chan out of a good heart. Jo Seul-chan was a minor living in difficult circumstances, while Kim Eung-nyeo was already an independent person who had built her own life.

‘How is Ga-young noona doing?’

‘Um, she’s good at studying- How do you know her name?’

‘Ah, that… You mentioned her name briefly earlier.’

Was that so?

Han Yu-young just thought that was the case and thankfully didn’t ask any more questions.

‘She’s ranked first in her class. It seems like she could go to Yonsei University, but she says she’ll go to a national university like her unnie because her mom is having a hard time.’

It was shocking.

The first daughter, Hwang Ga-yoon, used to go to a high school in a remote rural area where you could get in just by applying, and she used to use glue and gas. She was someone who would ride on the back of a male student’s motorcycle in hot pants, regardless of weekends or weekdays, and speed through the town.

‘But, what? She’s going to college? On a scholarship to a national university?’

She even buys her mom cosmetics with the money she earns from her part-time job.

The image of her being hit with a broom for touching the teahouse safe was still like a black and white movie in his mind, but now she was a model student and a filial daughter.

The second one was the same.

She was smart but had lived without studying, but now she was a top student in her class.

Jin-hyuk felt like he could hear thunder in his ears.

It was a world-shaking shock.

It seemed like they weren’t the people Jin-hyuk knew.