The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 168

* * *

A schemer cannot rest.

It’s troublesome to rest. Ensuring things proceed as planned is the priority.

After using the restroom, Hong Gijun quenched his thirst with lukewarm water and picked up his phone.

“Ah, Deputy Minister Jung? This is Hong Gijun. Release the Seonggu Bridge article in the morning papers the day after tomorrow and start construction. Yes. Okay then.”

He received repeated promises, no, vows, to make the news as sensational as possible.

They were called the ‘New Boss Faction’.

They were the gang that Moon Seokil and Jang Jinnam had turned into a pulp in a teahouse and then at a rural town’s nightclub.

‘These guys dare to attack my friend’s company?’

A week ago, a report came in that some of their Seoul members tried to stage a show of force at the industrial complex, only to be thoroughly beaten by Yang Gangwook and Myung Hyunwoo. They must have cleverly pieced together the General and Taeyang Group puzzle to find them, but they couldn’t have imagined that a monster like Yang Gangwook would be there.

He even considered dismissing it as a minor squabble and ignoring it.

Once they knew that Sein Group was behind it, they would back off on their own. No matter how powerful a gang is, they’re nothing but dust before a giant corporation.

– I’m so scared I can’t even pee, you jerk!

But when his friend called during lunchtime, whining, Hong Gijun couldn’t just sit still. There were two beings scarier than gangsters to the vice-chairman of Sein Group. One was his wife, Yoo Sera, and the other was…

– It’s your employee’s doing, so take responsibility for it, you jerk!

My whiny friend.

They were all people working for his family, yet he was treating them like employees of another company and passing the buck.

Heh heh-, his cute sophistry made him laugh.

‘You bastard…’

Hong Gijun’s lips curled up in a pleasant smile as he looked out at the street.

Two days.

In two days, the New Boss Faction would disappear without a trace.

***

[Ta-a-ang!]

Legendary.

It wasn’t that he was starting after hearing the starting gun; it was like he was a device connected to the starting gun.

Whoa-a-a-!

Anyone who saw Jinhyuk’s start would think the same.

Shh-shh-!

His breathing was slightly uncomfortable due to the hot, dry air, but he wasn’t tired at all.

It’s not like he was holding back.

Holding back in a big competition like the National Games would be nothing but arrogance.

It felt like he could pour out more, but it was blocked. But it’s not like his current ability was lacking compared to other athletes, so he didn’t know whether to call it a shame or frustrating.

It felt like it was about to come out.

There was definitely something more, but it was teasing him like a booger that cleverly avoided his finger.

‘Ugh, this is annoying.’

Should he try it like Sanggi?

“Su, Sujeong-.”

Ah, I can’t do it.

Jinhyuk shut his mouth and thrust his chest forward, breaking the finish line tape.

[Ta-ang!]

Dubadubadubak-.

Along with the gunshot announcing the winner, the other runners arrived in their lanes.

The distance was quite large, but they were all incredibly fast, with only about a second difference from the first place.

Clap clap clap-.

As half-hearted applause poured in from all directions…

Poo-o-ong! Fizz-zz-.

Suddenly, celebratory fireworks went off in the stadium.

They were fireworks prepared by Sein, the official main sponsor.

They said they had only prepared two, to be launched only when a Korean record was broken.

– “Each one of those costs three million won, you know?”

Jinhyuk smiled and shook his head, remembering Yoo Sera, who had boasted with wide eyes.

Her bright, mischievous face overlapped with his.

***

「10.40 Junior High 100m Korean Record」

Shin Jonghyun, who had been dozing off at the competition record booth, became as busy as a startled foal after checking the scoreboard.

“Damn it-. Why isn’t there any data-.”

Since electronic records had been introduced, there was no rush. A record keeper, as the name suggests, only needed to focus on recording and preserving the data. However, the strangeness of the record made Shin Jonghyun unable to sit still.

After making a mess of his desk for a while, he eventually gave up on finding the data and called the office.

“Get me Deputy Director Joo Hyogeun of the competition department, quickly!”

The celebratory fireworks announcing the new record had passed, and the announcements continued. But he couldn’t hear any of it. Shin Jonghyun watched the record holder with his eyes, waiting for the person on the other end of the line to appear. He needed someone like a refreshing rain to quench his burning heart.

– Oh, Manager Shin? What’s the matter?

“The junior high final record is strange, so what’s the high school 100-meter Korean record?”

– Let me see…

A moment later.

Shin Jonghyun, with a blank face, slumped into his chair.

In his hand was a memo with the high school record and Son Jinhyuk’s junior high record written on it.

“Ah-a-a-, so it was him.”

That was the guy Deputy Director Jang Yeonbae from the support department had talked about.

He had said he saw a monster in Daegu three years ago, and if he hadn’t switched to another sport, he would have been seen in junior high. He thought he had changed sports since he hadn’t been seen for two years, but he had appeared like this.

“Ha-, what a waste. He’s too tall… Baseball, basketball, soccer… He’s too tall.”

The recruitment of fast players for popular sports usually takes place at the elementary school level. This is because time is needed for basic training.

However, there are exceptions where scouts are made at the junior high or high school level.

‘He’s incredibly fast.’

Can’t you just keep doing track and field?

It was the day a junior high record faster than the high school record was set, but why were all the reporters gathered in the VIP seats?

There are days when the weather and people are unhelpful.

Like when you get caught in a downpour on the way to a blind date and your new suit gets soaked, or when the person you meet is so beautiful that you feel even more pathetic…

For Shin Jonghyun, a track and field enthusiast, today was one of those days. It was the second time since his blind date.

***

‘Today, even the darkness won’t help you.’

The days were still long, and the sun would rise soon.

The eastern sky was already tinged with the blue of dawn.

It was hard to find anyone walking with a clear head in the streets, which were still bustling from the night’s revelry.

Jung Sangtae chewed gum, looking up at the sign of a large nightclub in Apgujeong [a wealthy district in Seoul].

‘It’s big, really big.’

It was a place he had never visited. He had no interest in entertainment.

He had wondered what kind of people played in such places, and what drew people to them.

‘Is it good?’

He didn’t particularly want to know now.

He hated noisy places and they gave him a headache. Even the sound of music thumping from passing cars sometimes gave him a headache.

As the closing time approached, the youth who had enjoyed the night poured out like a receding tide.

He had obtained and studied the blueprints in advance, and even considered possible illegal modifications, completing his understanding of the internal structure.

He pressed the call button on his secure phone and waited for a moment before a voice came from the other end.

– “Are you going?”

“I’m going.”

That was all. After conveying the necessary information, the call with Moon Seokil, who was hiding in the shadows near the New Boss Faction building disguised as a legitimate construction company, Jeoksong Construction, was over.

“Don’t kill them.”

Jung Sangtae spat out his gum, put his hands in his pockets, and strode forward. SSS agents silently followed him from the shadows of the city. Black shadows rushing in like a rising tide where the ebb tide had receded.

‘Did they say it would be in the morning papers tomorrow?’

Not the New Boss Faction, but the bridge construction news.

The New Boss Faction was to be treated like a virus that would be annihilated without leaving a trace. If the virus wasn’t eradicated, the country would be in an uproar.

‘That must mean they want me to succeed no matter what.’

Some would suffer injuries worse than fractures, and some would surrender.

There would be no escape.

Jung Sangtae entered the first basement floor hall and called out to a young man in a waiter’s uniform who was cleaning.

“Yo-, piggy. Tell the other piggies to gather.”

Huh? Seriously-.

The young piggy tore off his name tag and threw it to the floor in a fit of pique. He made a dumbfounded expression with his face turned sideways.

– “Uncle Sangtae has good reach. Instead of grappling or fighting with strength, just extending your arm is threatening enough. Relax and throw your punches accurately and quickly. You have to keep your eyes on the target until the end. Think of it like launching a guided missile.”

It was during sparring with Jinhyuk.

It was something he already knew. But there was a world of difference between a sports commentator just talking about it and a professional athlete demonstrating and explaining each move.

Fast but light, Jung Sangtae threw a punch.

Thud-!

– “If you’re going to kill them, why bother fighting so hard? Just gouge their eyes out or break their necks. If you’re just trying to subdue them, isn’t the jaw the best? If their skull is shaken, who can stay standing?”

The waiter collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

‘You should know you’re alive thanks to Jinhyuk.’

He had heard that Son Jinhyuk’s security clearance level and decision-making authority were higher than Moon Seokil’s. It wasn’t surprising. Jung Sangtae himself was already living in such a strange world.

Vice-Chairman Hong Gijun had argued that it would be better to kill them to eliminate any future problems, but Son Jinhyuk had pressured Moon Seokil. He had told him to only instill fear in them so that they would never dare to rise up again.

‘It’s only possible to have that kind of leeway because he has power. It’s easier to just kill them.’

Thump-.

The giant fell over, setting off the fireworks that announced the start of the festival.

Big guys rushed out.

“What the hell are you doing!”

They even had a fancy operation name for them.

Yang Gangwook had named it, taking inspiration from the vice-chairman’s words.

The Last Festival.

Like someone who had found their long-dreamed-of hometown, like a beast that had smelled blood after a long starvation. Jung Sangtae’s lips curled up.

Jung Sangtae licked his lips and muttered to himself.

“We are…”

He pulled up a chair and sat down, tearing open a new pack of gum and stuffing it into his mouth.

“…office workers.”

Yeah-!

Crunch-.

It was a rare piece of music that he liked.

Jung Sangtae nodded his head to the beat.

In the festival of shouts and explosions.

***

It would be best to leave adult business to the adults.

Although a new day had dawned, Jinhyuk didn’t glance at the newspapers displayed at the stadium.

‘They’ll handle it well on their own.’

It was possible because he trusted Moon Seokil and Yang Gangwook.

He was also already aware of Hong Gijun’s intention to train the SSS agents.

He was already struggling to handle the pressure of the competition and focus, so how could an athlete with an important race ahead of him check on how adult matters were progressing? That was something only an AI could do.

After a light warm-up, Jinhyuk went to find his friends and Lee Byungse.

“Teacher, are we going straight back after the morning race?”

“Yeah-, we have to. Jinhyuk can’t rest and has to go to school, so what are we going to do?”

“I’m fine.”

Lee Byungse, Yeom Byeongtaek, and Jo Seulchan had disappeared somewhere after Jinhyuk’s race yesterday and then reappeared. They had gone to the indoor amusement park at Jamsil Station and also looked around the department store.

“Well, I want to go home and stretch my legs.”

Thanks to that, Lee Byungse had been acting as a babysitter for the kids. They were middle schoolers, so he could have let them play on their own, but considering the safety of these country bumpkins, it wasn’t a good idea.

His only joy was a beer with Min Yongrak in the evening. He had been so excited about Seoul, but there was nothing special.

Whether he knew the teacher’s feelings or not, Jo Seulchan was lost in his own thoughts.

“Ah, I want to go to Lotte World again. Yeom Byeong, let’s live in Seoul.”

“It’s Lotte, not Lotte, you idiot!”

“Ah, what are you saying-. Lotte or Lotte, Byeongtaek or Yeom Byeong-!”

“It wasn’t that great, we went there on our sixth-grade field trip. I didn’t like it because the air was sticky.”

Listening to his friends’ conversation, Jinhyuk smacked his lips.

Lee Byungse had kept him away to manage his condition, so he couldn’t go to the amusement park with them, and he hadn’t been able to go on the field trip because his school was different.

‘I’ll go with Yujin later.’

He would probably have to act as a guardian, but that was what the role of a person around him was anyway.

That being said, in his previous life when Jinhyuk attended Taeyang Elementary School, he was sure they had gone on a field trip to a mountain in the town. This time, it seemed like the school had some money. How much money would it have taken to take that many people to an amusement park for a field trip?

“Ah-a-, that sausage was so delicious. I want to eat it again.”

“It’s a hot dog, you idiot, a hot dog.”

“Isn’t a hot dog just something you dip in flour and fry in oil?”

“I don’t know. Maybe people in Seoul eat them naked. The way the girls dress is like a hot dog, too?”

Hehehehehe-.

Jinhyuk couldn’t help but laugh at the guys who were constantly putting on a comedy show.

‘I’m going to miss them a lot.’

He couldn’t help but feel the absence of Park Sanggi, who hadn’t come with them.

He had said it was a family gathering, but to Jinhyuk, it seemed like a religious reason.

That guy Sanggi was a surprisingly devout Christian. He didn’t know what kind of prayers he made at church.

Still, the people he missed the most were his family.

It had always been that way, and it would continue to be that way.