The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 180

Even if I were to settle my feelings regarding Hwang Young-mo’s remaining family this time, Daejeong is a different case.

They are still a direct threat.

Even now, a fierce battle is taking place in the shadows.

Hong Ki-joon is sniping from a hidden spot, but the behemoth that is Daejeong is holding up quite well. The shield of political power was sturdy, and the scholarship students’ covering fire was quite fierce.

This month alone, there have been three cases of celebrity privacy being exposed. Jin-hyuk knew what these sudden exposures meant. The media, hand-in-hand with the scholarship students, provided cover and muddied the waters, acting as a strong support for Daejeong.

‘If it weren’t for Ki-joon uncle…’

Sein, which had become a massive group, would have been torn to shreds by a pack of jackals instead of attacking Daejeong.

It was because Hong Ki-joon had the support of the world, both in the light with major construction projects and cutting-edge technology development, and in the dark by cleaning up the dirty streams, that he could walk so confidently now.

‘That’s a skill I don’t have.’

Political acumen.

Hong Ki-joon is someone who knows how to make the world his ally.

Jin-hyuk, who lacked social skills, was just someone who was good at his job.

A person who couldn’t even engage in small talk could only strategize within the confines of work. Even if he proceeded flexibly at times and aggressively at others, he would have to climb countless cliffs and avoid pitfalls to achieve great things.

‘I should learn that aspect.’

While proceeding with the plans he had for the future, wouldn’t it be good to also learn political acumen?

The time one can be active as an athlete is short, but life is long, and who knows what one might do in the future.

*

Except for Jo Il-heon’s house, the night was eerily quiet.

His thoughts, one after another, made his wandering longer.

‘By the way, do I have to go to the funeral tomorrow?’

There were times when he was called a cold-blooded person without any feelings, but seeing him worry like this, that wasn’t the case.

What if he wasn’t ruthless?

If he had rushed in to settle some past life’s bad blood over something that hadn’t even happened, with a pathological obsession that was no different from confirmation bias, like some crazy people, he would have become an outlaw and wouldn’t have achieved the happiness he has now.

Of course, if a similar situation were to happen again, he would have the power and the confidence to retaliate.

However, there was one thing.

In the past, he was indifferent even to the news of Hwang Young-mo’s murder and what happened to his remaining family, but now he felt a slight pang of concern.

Because of his mother’s feelings for Kim Eung-nyeo, of all people.

Ughh-.

He groaned and paced outside the gate.

‘Should I go, or not?’

These were people he had hoped to never encounter again after returning, but now he was curious about how they were living and what they looked like. Even without his mother and Moon Seok-il’s testimonies, he was curious about how things had changed from the past.

It was strange to see Hwang Ga-young at school by chance.

She wore horn-rimmed glasses she didn’t use before, dressed neatly, and laughed shyly with her friends like a young girl. She seemed somewhat subdued, but there was no sign of any spitefulness.

She was definitely different from how he remembered her.

Since he had decided to put his bad feelings aside, it seemed like a good idea to settle his bad blood with the remaining thief family as well. In some way or another.

‘If Mom asks me to go with her, I’ll go.’

It seemed like he could judge for himself after seeing how Kim Eung-nyeo treated his mother.

‘Will they have yukgaejang [spicy beef soup]?’

It was out of the blue, but the yukgaejang at funerals is delicious.

Even though he had already devoured two feasts with Yoo-jin, his stomach churned at the thought of the precious yukgaejang.

Wouldn’t it be okay to consider Hwang Young-mo’s past misdeeds as being paid for with yukgaejang?

It was an extremely bizarre train of thought, but Jin-hyuk was serious.

‘I guess yukgaejang is my soul food.’

It was because of a very trivial and mundane reason, yukgaejang, that Jin-hyuk had never missed a funeral of a colleague’s family in his past life. When he ate yukgaejang, a warm energy would flow through his entire body, and the world would look beautiful.

People used to say that Jin-hyuk looked aloof and cold on the outside but was warm on the inside because of that. Because he didn’t know how to comfort acquaintances at funerals, he kept his words to a minimum, which also earned him a reputation for being someone who didn’t create unnecessary gossip.

‘Fools.’

That’s not it. I went to eat yukgaejang.

Of course, he also gave generous condolence money. Because he ate a lot.

He even had the nickname ‘Yukgaejang Lupin,’ I think.

The stream of consciousness that started from the insignificant Hwang Young-mo reached the sea of yukgaejang and surged grandly. Truly, a remarkable pig-like power.

“Jin-hyuk? What are you doing here alone? Are you feeling the autumn blues?”

“Huh? No, just….”

Jin-hyuk mumbled, accepting the bottled drink that Choi Mi-kyung offered. He quickly wiped away the drool that had unknowingly escaped.

Taek-.

Having seen it somewhere, the young Choi Mi-kyung lightly tapped her bottle against Jin-hyuk’s and took a sip.

“Ah, that’s good. Hey, do something about Yoo-jin. I think she’s going to burst.”

“Isn’t our Yoo-jin cute?”

Even though the response was completely illogical, Choi Mi-kyung nodded.

“She is cute. That little thing keeps munching without stopping, and when I told her to eat slowly, she almost peed herself. She glared at me.”

“If she’s cute, that’s enough.”

Even though they were close friends, Jin-hyuk, putting on a comical expression, joked around.

Whack-.

“Ouch, geez.”

Choi Mi-kyung, who had hit Jin-hyuk’s shoulder after a long time, frowned.

It was a natural reaction from someone who had hit a rock.

“I’m telling you to stop your sister before she bursts.”

“It’s okay.”

Ah, what are you talking about? No matter how much she eats, she won’t burst. Jin-hyuk muttered, taking a sip of his drink.

A sweet barley-flavored carbonated drink. To Jin-hyuk’s sensitive palate, it also had a subtle taste of ashtray, which was within his tolerance.

“Eun-jung was asking if you have a girlfriend?”

“Kim Eun-jung?”

Seriously…

She was a friend in the same class for six years, and she could just ask, so why did she have to go through Choi Mi-kyung, the teenager? Is that busybody being shy these days?

“Hey, but isn’t Eun-jung sexy? For a country bumpkin, she’s so fair-skinned. Is it because she grew up eating beef?”

Pfft-.

Jin-hyuk, who spat out the barley drink into the air, glared at Choi Mi-kyung, the teenager.

‘That little thing says the darndest things.’

Choi Mi-kyung had been mature and grown-up since she was young. This easygoing side of her could only be seen after she became a married woman. There was also the reason that their relationship had grown distant due to the different schools they attended and the different lives they led, and it was difficult to see each other’s faces when working.

It must have been around this time after puberty that Choi Mi-kyung started to go off the rails.

After being momentarily flustered by the sudden and absurd remark, Jin-hyuk, observing his friend’s expression, snorted.

Choi Mi-kyung’s eyes were smiling like a mischievous child.

‘Ah, is she testing me?’

Or is she just joking?

Is she just talking comfortably because we’re close friends?

Kim Eun-jung did have a cute side, like a fluffy chick.

Like Mi-kyung said, she was a carnivorous human who grew up eating meat, so her tone and personality were a bit aggressive. And she wasn’t very smart, but she acted like she was, which was sometimes pitiful… Ah, but if she says she’s interested in me, maybe I’ll buy her a burger in town sometime…

It was when Jin-hyuk was letting his imagination run wild.

“Anyway, I told her you have someone. That you’ve got someone precious in Seoul.”

Choi Mi-kyung’s eyes, which had curved mischievously like a crescent moon, narrowed. As if telling him not to have any other thoughts.

“I see….”

But why does my stomach hurt?

If that was the case, why did you even bring it up?

“Let’s go in. It’s been a while since we hung out with our friends, let’s drink some McCol [a Korean carbonated barley drink] all night-.”

“Wait.”

Choi Mi-kyung’s eyes widened, even though he hadn’t called out to her.

Because of Jin-hyuk’s expression, which had turned serious as if the friendly atmosphere had never existed.

Woof woof woof-. Oooo-.

When Jin-hyuk heard that sound, he felt a cold current running through his veins, from his cheeks to his chest.

Jin-hyuk handed the drink bottle to Choi Mi-kyung.

“Take care of Yoo-jin.”

“Huh?”

Tada-dat-.

“Hey! Where are you going!”

Leaving Choi Mi-kyung’s shout behind, Jin-hyuk ran madly through the night streets.

Puhwaaaa-.

Mayflies, mesmerized by the streetlights, hit his face, and the wind ruffled his ears, but he didn’t care.

‘Janggun!’

Woof woof woof-.

That howling, like a wolf’s cry, was definitely Janggun calling.

Janggun had only cried like that once.

Jin-hyuk would never forget that heartbreakingly sorrowful cry.

‘What’s wrong!’

Janggun, who had never worn a leash in his life, roamed freely around the neighborhood day and night.

He not only stole honey from the beekeeping place but also ate the bees, getting stung, and he broke into Kim Eun-jung’s barn and stole cow feed, getting kicked by a cow. When he craved chitosan, he would dig up crab holes in the mudflats or bother crayfish in the stream, getting pinched by their claws.

Even after all that trouble, he never whined or acted spoiled when he came home. Even when he was bitten by a snake, he just went about his business, as if it was something that could happen to a dog.

But once, late at night, he fell into a ginger pit in the middle of Choi Mi-kyung’s field.

Perhaps he was craving vegetable oil, but it seemed he had broken into the peanut field after the harvest and was eating peanuts when he had a one-on-one fight with a mole, his rival.

That was four years ago. He had no way of getting out of the 5-meter vertical tunnel, so he sent out a distress call. While pressing down on the mole with his front paws.

Jin-hyuk, who had been sleeping soundly, woke up to that sound and rescued Janggun.

So, the sound he’s making now. It’s Janggun in danger, calling for help.

Only Jin-hyuk could understand it.

There must be many other dogs, but the fact that he’s crying like that alone shows how serious the situation is.

Jin-hyuk squeezed out his strength, despite his stomach feeling uncomfortable from overeating.

‘Your big brother is coming!’

Hoo-oop-.

Surprisingly, the sensation that had been tickling his chest every time he ran disappeared.

Even though he should have been uncomfortable from eating so much, his solid abs didn’t allow the stomach’s rampage, and his lungs fueled his rampage like a locomotive.

By contracting his abs to their limit, lifting his legs was not at all burdensome.

Pa-aang-!

The feeling of running in the relay final when he was thirteen years old transcended time and found Jin-hyuk today. With arms and legs that were faster and stronger than ever before.

Huh-!

When he focused his strength on his dantian [a point below the navel believed to be the center of vital energy], a distinctly different sensation awakened his body.

A hot energy that cut through the center of a fleeting moment that could not be defined by time.

The power that surged from his dantian and boiled like crazy seemed to pierce through the top of his head and reach the sky.

The power also extended down his legs to the soles of his feet.

A strange sensation of an unknown path opening up on the soles of his feet and a spring gushing forth.

His body, heated to match, must be as hot as a pillar of fire.

Pa-aang-!

Once again, a strange sound rose from the ground.

As if there was no sound or sensation of his feet touching the ground.

Woof woof woof-.

Following Janggun’s sound.

Whoo-oong-.

He just ran like the wind.

*

Kong Seok-doo and Ma Gun-cheon.

Wow, there were so many unique names. But that’s not important right now.

Kong Seok-doo and Ma Gun-cheon were close friends who shared two commonalities: their nationality as South Koreans and their gender as males. If one more thing were to be added, it would be their similar level of stupidity, which was hard to rank.

They were born at different times and places and were different ages, but they might die on the same day at the same time.

Grrr-. Krrr-. Clack clack clack-.

They were cornered against a dead-end wall, chased by three large dogs: a German Shepherd, a Doberman, and even a Retriever, which was known to be a gentle breed.

They had locked the stolen dogs in the chicken coop and were about to move on to their next target when these guys came to greet them. In their frantic escape, they had arrived at their next destination, Choi Jang-hwan’s house.

“Go! Go away!”

“Keep your voice down, you idiot.”

Ma Gun-cheon scolded his friend, but he was just as desperate.

The eyes that gleamed in the moonlight, the saliva dripping from their teeth, and the growls rising from deep within their throats would have frozen even dog breeders and dog meat soup restaurant owners. It was fortunate that they were only maintaining a perimeter instead of attacking.

Like a trained and instructed army, the three fierce dogs surrounded the two thieves and growled. Like wolves hunting in packs, they shifted their positions slightly, taking side steps.

“Ah, geez. I told you we should have just run when we had six of them.”

“I didn’t want to leave them behind, it felt dirty, you idiot.”

Ma Gun-cheon scolded at Kong Seok-doo’s whining.

Of course, once you start stealing, you have to keep going until the box is full or you’ve swept everything clean. It’s a waste to leave anything behind.

Ma Gun-cheon nudged Kong Seok-doo with his elbow.

“Hey, hey. Where’s our motorcycle?”

Woof woof woof-.

“Around there?”

The place where the wolf’s howl was coming from was too far away.

But where did these guys even come from?

“I think they’re the rich family’s dogs.”

“Oh, what a great discovery. Is that what’s important right now, you idiot?”

As Ma Gun-cheon scolded again, Kong Seok-doo’s eyes gleamed meaningfully.

“If one of us runs towards that house, won’t these guys chase him?”

“And then?”

“Look at this house. We can hide in it, and this house is a good one too.”

Kong Seok-doo pointed with his chin at the house they were backed up against.

Perhaps it was because it was a kind neighborhood, but there were no security bars on the first floor.

Ma Gun-cheon immediately understood his intention.

Since things had turned out this way, one of them would distract the dogs while the other would run away with something valuable. If that didn’t work, they could just break in for a while and wait for the dogs to leave. After all, they knew that everyone had gone to the party. If you didn’t know what was going on in this village today, you’d be a fool, since it was being broadcast all over the neighborhood.

“Who’s going to run?”

“Aish, I’m the one with the good knees, so I’ll run. Let’s go!”

Kong Seok-doo, who threw himself towards Jin-hyuk’s house with a powerful shout.

Grrr- Krrack!

“Oh my, shit!”

Was caught immediately.

“Aish! You idiot Kong Seok-doo, you blockhead!”