The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 156

Late at night, when even the neighborhood dogs were asleep, Jin-hyuk wandered around the rooftop.

The only companion keeping Jin-hyuk company as he got bitten by mosquitoes was Jang-gun, who was crunching on moths. Jang-gun was swatting at the moths drawn to the rooftop lights with his front paws, displaying a one-shot-one-kill skill. Anyone who didn’t know him might mistake his movements for those of a cat or a tiger.

*Hoo-oo-oo-.*

No matter how many times he sighed, his chest felt heavy, as if layers of ash had accumulated.

‘What the heck is going on?’

No one could understand Jin-hyuk’s feelings. His two older sisters, who were not only rebellious but downright wild—or rather, the people who *used* to be his sisters—were now model students, the best in the world.

“Jang-gun, does this make any sense?”

Jang-gun, who had swallowed a moth, seemingly enjoying the taste, and was smacking his lips, looked up at Jin-hyuk and tilted his head. It was an expression similar to when he had looked strangely at nine-year-old Jin-hyuk, who had been complaining after realizing he had returned to the past.

“People don’t change. Just look at me. My physical age is younger, but my mental age is still that of an old man, right?”

He was definitely getting younger little by little.

But they say men are kids even when they get old, so who could actually feel themselves getting younger? There isn’t even an absolute scale to judge mental age.

He remembered what Mrs. Choi Mi-kyung, a married woman, had said: ‘Don’t be close to people who say they’re young at heart or those who label others as old-fashioned while claiming they’re different.’

– “You especially need to be careful. You don’t meet many people, so you’ll be easily influenced.”

Ah, is this how I became such an old man, hanging out with Manager Min Yong-rak back in the day?

Anyway, Jin-hyuk hadn’t changed much in terms of personality since before he came back.

“But my sisters have become completely different people…”

Ah, could it be.

Is it because of me?

Could it be that because they don’t know me and aren’t connected to me, they’re living different lives following their original destinies? Jin-hyuk’s thoughts went there.

‘Then, in the past, was I the bad guy who turned them into villains?’

Am I the only trash?

It was a strange conclusion.

To correct the logic that was flowing in the wrong direction, he tightly closed his eyes and shook his head vigorously.

‘There’s no problem with the logic.’

The premise was wrong.

There was a variable that Jin-hyuk hadn’t considered.

‘Hwang Young-mo.’

Judging from the stories he had heard from his mother, it seemed that he was the only one who hadn’t changed.

He was still being violent towards his aunt and taking away the money she had earned.

‘When I lived there, he must have become even more greedy.’

Because he had land that he could sell as he pleased.

Just like someone with a lump sum of money would increase their stakes, his greed must have grown, and he might have become even more violent, obsessed with the land deed that Jin-hyuk had hidden.

‘Yeah, he was definitely that kind of person.’

Hwang Young-mo used to vent his anger on Kim Eung-nyeo and her daughters.

He was the one who made Hwang Ga-yoon and Hwang Ga-young, who were at a sensitive age, become estranged.

Like a crackling radio, the loud voices of the past seemed to echo.

It was the voice of a drunken Hwang Young-mo, cursing at his aunt and yelling that she had conspired with Jin-hyuk to hide the land deed.

When Jin-hyuk was at an age where he didn’t even know what a land deed was, Kim Eung-nyeo gave him some documents and a stamp, earnestly asking him. She had lowered her voice even though there was no one else to hear. She had asked him not to take them out until he became an adult and not to tell anyone about them.

‘It seems like my aunt never even looked me in the face properly.’

Maybe it was because seeing Jin-hyuk reminded her of her younger brother, with whom she had been close.

She had taken Jin-hyuk’s family photo but had said she would return it later. Maybe the reason she hid it in plain sight was to let him see it if he wanted to. If she had really intended to take the family photo, wouldn’t she have torn it up instead? If she had wanted to torment him, why would she have entrusted him with important documents?

‘Did I misunderstand my aunt back then?’

Even so, it wasn’t Jin-hyuk’s fault.

He didn’t have the time to look around.

The Kim Eung-nyeo of the past no longer exists. There’s no way to confirm her true intentions.

However, a person’s logic doesn’t only flow when there’s direct observation or recorded evidence. Once a channel is opened, the heart tends to go where it wants, even if reason doesn’t.

‘Maybe the reason my aunt was so harsh with me was because she was having a hard time? Her husband was trash, and her daughters were estranged?’

The circumstances of the changed past and the present were pointing to one person. A person who was an alcoholic, a habitual gambler, and a perpetrator of violence.

“I already knew it, but this guy is a real piece of trash, isn’t he?”

Knowing how the lives of the three women had ended in his previous life, Jin-hyuk’s heart became uncontrollably heavy. Just because the lives of the three had changed didn’t mean it would be the same in this life, but as long as Hwang Young-mo existed, it might repeat.

‘Well, even if he acts up now, I’m not scared.’

He even had a desire for him to act up.

There were plenty of ways to teach him a lesson.

*Woof-.*

Perhaps Jin-hyuk’s expression was too serious, Jang-gun warned him with a worried bark.

However, Jin-hyuk, having sorted out his thoughts, felt quite relieved.

“Jang-gun, let’s go. You should sleep too, you little rascal. If you sleep late, you won’t grow taller.”

*Grrr-.*

Jang-gun growled behind him, and Jin-hyuk, feeling a chill down his spine, quickly ran to his room on the second floor.

‘I guess I have gotten younger.’

I’m always teasing Jang-gun.

It was a personality he didn’t have before.

*

Until the window turned a bluish color with the dawn, Jin-hyuk sat leaning against the headboard with Azzi-bear propped up, lost in thought.

“Ah…”

Thinking calmly, there were so many strange things that he wondered why he hadn’t realized them sooner.

‘Why didn’t I realize it when I saw Ga-young at school?’

In both his past and present lives, Hwang Ga-young attended the same high school as Hwang Ga-yoon.

However, the school name was different from now.

From a different school to Taeyang High School, from a delinquent student to a top student.

It was Jin-hyuk’s fault for assuming that people don’t change. They hadn’t changed; they were just different people with the same names. It didn’t seem right to compare the sisters of the past, who had gone astray because of their father’s greed for money, with the sisters of the present, who were devoted to their studies, feeling sorry for their mother.

If he had realized it a little earlier, he could have moved faster for his mother.

Regret washed over him for having judged people too quickly.

“Ugh! You idiot!”

*Thump thump thump-!*

As if it were his fault, Jin-hyuk relentlessly punched Azzi-bear’s belly.

It was a punch with enough force to cause a ruptured bowel if it had been a person.

Even though it wasn’t his fault, he strangely felt ashamed.

*Thump thump thump thump thump!*

Jin-hyuk’s punches continued until the stuffing exploded from Azzi-bear’s side.

“Ugh, seriously. They should have made it sturdier.”

His voice, grumbling as he stuffed the cotton back in, was surprisingly light.

It was a self-deprecating remark, trembling with guilt for not understanding the situation of Kim Eung-nyeo and her daughters, even though no one was watching. It was also because he had somewhat cheered up.

“Well, if they’re good people, I can find a way to help them.”

But not yet.

As long as Hwang Young-mo was around, there was no telling how the help might be twisted.

‘If I think about it a little, there are many ways to help.’

Now that his relationship with his mother had been restored, they were people he would have to meet sooner or later. It was an unwelcome meeting, but it wasn’t like he lived alone, so Jin-hyuk couldn’t just avoid them without a reason.

He could listen to the adults’ conversations and discuss it with his father.

Help is about giving what is truly needed.

‘Ah, I need to throw this bear away.’

It was torn too much, and the stuffing kept oozing out like fat.

*

*Clunk-.*

When Park Sang-gi opened the bus ceiling and Jo Seul-chan opened the window, Yeom Byeong-taek’s face, which had been scrunched up, relaxed.

“Ugh, I feel alive.”

Even a hot breeze felt refreshing.

The intercity bus had great air conditioning, but the bus going to Jin-hyuk’s house was way too hot. Even though there were only three middle school students as passengers, it was as stuffy as a sauna.

“Summer is supposed to be hot, what’s with the fuss?”

“Being in an air-conditioned house and then going to our stuffy house is driving me crazy. Houses with tea rooms have a weird structure.”

Park Sang-gi nodded as he listened to his two friends’ conversation.

The summer was special, even though training was hard, because they could eat delicious food to their heart’s content, take a refreshing shower, and spend time under the air conditioner. Even in the soccer team’s dorm, they used to get through the summer with just a few wall-mounted fans.

“My grandma really liked it. I mean, I used to have diarrhea and stuff during the summer, right? But she liked that I ate well even without side dishes and didn’t get stomachaches.”

Jo Seul-chan’s words were met with nods of agreement from his friends, who had also experienced the effects of the training. All sorts of muscles they didn’t know they had were twitching, and the experience of being able to control individual muscles with their own will was not something that just anyone could do.

Even on weekends, their eyes would open on their own, and even after suffering from the heat and high humidity, they would feel refreshed after a short nap.

Thanks to the rectus abdominis and external oblique muscles that tightly held their stomachs, the mild abdominal pain they had experienced from their internal organs vibrating whenever they ran intensely had also disappeared.

“It’s like, the feeling is like, how should I put it? Like the five-spice braised pork is perfectly aligned?”

“You mean the five viscera and six bowels are aligned, you idiot. If you dismember your internal organs, you’ll die!”

*Hee hee hee hee-.*

Jo Seul-chan, who had been raised by his grandmother, often used words with strong Japanese influences and dialects that children didn’t usually use, which was one of the reasons why his friends teased him. Yeom Byeong-taek, who had been exercising with him for a long time, would correct him each time and just laugh it off. He was Jo Seul-chan’s best friend.

Park Sang-gi, who had gotten used to their chatter, smiled faintly.

“…That’s, that’s an exercise that all sports teams do… We were just living comfortably.”

Park Sang-gi knew well how much high-intensity training and sweat students who dreamed of becoming athletes endured under the plausible name of elite sports. He was just taking a break, but that was his background.

Seeing Park Sang-gi, who rarely spoke at length, even talking so much, Yeom Byeong-taek and Jo Seul-chan had no choice but to agree. They were only called the track and field team, but it was the first time they had done any real training. Thanks to their natural talent, they were able to participate in competitions as the fastest middle schoolers in the military.

Even just looking at the wrestlers, they were in an atmosphere where they took hard training for granted.

Every morning, they would do duck walks around the field ten times, climb ropes, do pull-ups, and pull tubes. Even now, the wrestlers were spending their weekends at the dorm, sweating profusely.

The effect of training was something they only realized after confirming that their bodies had improved. The problem was that it was so hard at the time that they wanted to run away.

While soothing their muscles, which were eager to exert themselves during the weekend, the friends could understand Jin-hyuk’s intentions.

That the training camp was a program prepared solely for them.

“Looking back, last week was doable. Because we ate well and slept well, the hard parts were only temporary. My grandma’s eyes widened when she saw my chest and stomach all firm. In the evening, I even carried my grandma on my back and went for a walk around the neighborhood. It wasn’t hard at all.”

“My thighs got thicker, and my sisters kept trying to touch me, saying I looked like a bodybuilder. I was busy running away.”

“But what kind of training did he say we’d be doing this week?”

“Jin-hyuk will tell us when we get there.”

Carefree guys. It’s like they’re going to a friend’s house to play, not to train.

Even while thinking that, Park Sang-gi kept his mouth shut.

He was in a similar situation as his friends.

‘……What did he say we’d be doing?’

It felt like all his brain function was focused on his muscles; he had only thought about exercising all weekend. Even though he had gone through such a difficult process, he still had energy left over, so he went hiking with his dad on the weekend. The sight of his usually taciturn father panting but looking so happy was a great gain for Park Sang-gi.

Yeom Byeong-taek changed the subject.

“Seul-chan, you’re going to a technical high school, right?”

“Yeah, I’m going to learn a skill and make money to throw a big 60th birthday party for my grandma.”

Jo Seul-chan’s grandmother wasn’t old, but her knees weren’t in good condition.

She had worked hard to raise him, and now that her health wasn’t good, the kind Jo Seul-chan’s only concern was his grandmother.

Yeom Byeong-taek patted Jo Seul-chan’s shoulder.

“Seul-chan is a filial son.”

Yeom Byeong-taek had never been able to invite Jo Seul-chan to his house, even though he had been to Jo Seul-chan’s house several times. It wasn’t like they could play around in a tea room.

“Byeong-taek, are you going to college?”

“I have to.”

Even though he had never lived in the countryside, Yeom Byeong-taek liked trees and gardens.

If you opened Yeom Byeong-taek’s sketchbook, you would find hills filled with trees, flowers, and fountains.

“Sang-gi, are you going to the World Cup?”

Who would send him? He had to be chosen to go. He thought that to himself, but Park Sang-gi smiled faintly and shook his head.

He seemed to know why these guys were suddenly bringing up these topics, but there was no need to break the mood.

“I’m just… doing it because it’s fun. It’s the most fun when I’m playing soccer.”

The two friends could understand Park Sang-gi, who had a happy expression as if he were imagining himself playing soccer. There was no one more enviable than someone who was doing what they wanted to do, thanks to various circumstances.

They weren’t good at studying, and they had been somewhat recognized until middle school because they had fast feet. The guys, who had matured early, knew that once they graduated from middle school, that would be the end of it.

“Thanks to Jin-hyuk, we’re preparing for the last competition in a big way.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. I’m going to give it my all.”

“It’s my first time at a track and field competition…”

It was the first and last time.

Whether Park Sang-gi said something to break the mood or not, Yeom Byeong-taek, who was sitting in the middle, put his arms around his two friends’ shoulders.

“Let’s keep in touch even when we go to high school.”

“Okay.”

“You’ll see him every weekend, you rascal.”

“No, I’m going to be busy too. I’m going to go to an academy to learn a skill.”

Jo Seul-chan had already had a consultation about his future with Han Yu-young.

Han Yu-young, with a stern expression, had told him that if he was really worried about his grandmother, he shouldn’t play on the weekends and should go to an academy. She had also told him not to worry about the tuition.

Park Sang-gi rummaged through his bag and took out a notebook.

He was going to exchange addresses and phone numbers.

“Sang-gi, I’m getting motion sickness. Let’s do it when we get there.”

“Yeah. If I look at letters in the car, my forehead throbs.”

While the three friends were chatting in the back of the bus, Choi Mi-kyung’s house, which was close to the bus stop, came into view.

*Beep beep-.*

Park Sang-gi reached out and pressed the buzzer.

“Let’s go! Let’s burn it up!”

“Yeah!”

“…Today’s dinner menu is braised short ribs.”

*

One, two, three.

All the friends had returned.

Jin-hyuk, who had been sitting on the porch sewing, got up to greet his friends.

Son Yu-jin, who had been watching her brother with her arms crossed, pointed at her brother.

“Hey-! Finish what you were doing. Bring my Azzi-bear back to life.”

“Okay…”

Jin-hyuk obediently sat back down.

Following coffee, he had been caught with another weakness by Yu-jin: Azzi-bear.

In front of people who made him helpless, besides Hong Su-jeong, Jin-hyuk had no resistance whatsoever.

‘A guilty man should just be obedient and sew…’

When his dad got scolded, he would also curl up and touch his toes.

When they lived in the mud house, he had even sewn up his own socks with holes.

They said that a man cries three times in his life and that there are three things he should not use carelessly. Jin-hyuk realized once again that one of them was his fist, looking at Yu-jin’s sharp eyes.

‘I should have gone to the gym and hit the sandbag…’

He had been refraining from hitting the sandbag because it kept tearing and ripping. If it tore, Myung Hyun-woo, who liked sandbags, would smack his lips.

But seeing the scary Yu-jin, he thought it would have been better to do that.

A tough No. 5 nylon fishing line began to weave zigzag patterns across Azzi-bear’s side, breathing new life into it.

“Put more of this in.”

“Okay…”

Yu-jin, with one leg propped up, pointed to the cotton she had taken from the blanket.

“Make sure there are no scars. It has to be done before dinner. I’m going for a walk with Hong-si.”

“Where are you going?”

“Mi-kyung unnie said she’d give me a chestnut ice cream bar.”

“Okay, eat well and come back slowly.”

One side of Jin-hyuk’s mouth curled up into a sly smile as he looked at the pile of cotton.

It seemed that Azzi-bear would be resurrected healthier and fatter than before.