The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 183

“What a mess, seriously.”

Heading home, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

It was a relief that a disaster was averted. If Jang-gun wasn’t there, I might have been cursing instead of laughing.

‘Our Jang-gun is the best.’

My steps were light as I strode forward.

I make time to take Jang-gun and Yu-jin for walks. I don’t know why it came to mind now, but I used to carry my sister on my back in a *jiggy* [a traditional Korean A-frame backpack carrier] because she had leg pain. I carried her often to gather firewood and fallen leaves, so the *jiggy* was comfortable.

‘Dad used to carry me like that when I was little.’

Memories.

That was why I was so attached to the *jiggy*, a tool that was now rarely used by my peers and even the older folks in the countryside. Seeing Yu-jin cheer every time she got on the *jiggy*, knowing her brother’s heart, it became something I couldn’t give up.

It’s not just the *jiggy* I carry.

In the fall, I’ve carried rice sacks, and in the spring, I’ve carried seedling trays.

In the hot summer, I’ve carried piles of kudzu vines with broad leaves to feed the goats and rabbits.

‘But carrying a dog thief is a first.’

Just carrying a dog thief on my back brought back memories of my childhood and daily life with my sister. It was strange, this stream of consciousness, for someone who always walked with his eyes fixed straight ahead.

The dog thief didn’t seem to be in any life-threatening danger. His pulse was a bit fast, but his breathing was stable, and his reactions were normal, so I carried him home without any special first aid.

Buzzing, buzzing-.

It was nice to see many men milling around in my yard late at night. At least they weren’t intruders or thieves.

Some were looking at the house, some were standing on tiptoes, pulling branches to pick fruit, and some were petting Nurung and Geomma, making ‘tsu tsu tsu’ sounds. They were the police who had been dispatched.

“The person in charge will be here soon, so please wait a little longer, officers.”

Kim Sang-ho, the on-duty SSS agent, was dealing with the police. He was a young agent who had recently been assigned, and he spoke very well. I had contacted him separately, so he wasn’t flustered and was handling the situation appropriately, which was reassuring.

“There he is. You can talk to him now.”

The police followed the agent’s gesture, found me, and looked bewildered for a moment. But they quickly changed their expressions and saluted.

“Thank you for your hard work. We were dispatched after receiving a report-”

“Take this guy first. He’s a dog thief.”

Two police officers, making ‘uh-uh’ sounds, quickly took Ma Gun-cheon from me.

They couldn’t openly show suspicion, as he might be someone connected to the police higher-ups, but their sidelong glances at me were full of doubt.

Ma Gun-cheon, with his limbs limp, looked like someone who had lost consciousness from a major accident.

“He suddenly fainted. I didn’t hit him.”

“Ah, yes…”

There were no visible injuries or bloodstains, so the police had no choice but to believe me.

Except for the foam with the smell of soybean paste stew coming from his mouth, there were no other symptoms.

“So, what happened was-”

I took a breath and explained the situation.

I felt grateful to Hong Ki-jun once again.

Thanks to the agent, there might be a slight delay, but if it weren’t for Hong Ki-jun, they would have left quickly. They would have passed by a house that was bustling with a feast, not a suspicious movement in the village, and when they arrived at my house, it would have been nothing but peaceful.

“One is in the yard of the two-story house over there. The transporter is about three kilometers from here, in the vacant lot behind the health center. There should be a five-ton truck there, and another uncle is holding him there.”

“Ah, I see. Just a moment. You guys, go to the health center first!”

The person in charge, who seemed to be the leader, gave instructions to another police officer while listening to my explanation.

“The truck is probably badly damaged. Please tell them to contact me if they need compensation.”

Either way, it was property damage.

It was a measure to detain the dog thief, but it was excessive by anyone’s standards.

I was prepared to take responsibility for my actions, which were for venting my anger. With my dad’s money.

“Yes. We’ll keep that in mind.”

Since it was not a matter that the police needed to get involved in before a formal complaint was filed.

The person in charge nodded perfunctorily.

Then, he gestured to another police officer.

“You two, go to that house-”

“I have to go there.”

“Yes? Why?”

I scratched my forehead, as if puzzled, and said to the person in charge who was asking back.

“They only listen to me.”

“Who? The dog thieves?”

*

I led the police along the narrow path between the fields to Choi Mi-kyung’s house.

Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times.

To catch a nimble thief, one dog is much better than a hundred cannons, and this saying does not appear in the Han Shu [a historical text from ancient China].

“Jang-gun, whoa, whoa-. Hongsi, Cheonma, Gwangma, stop it too.”

But what if there were four dogs, not just one, that were smart and brave?

“P-p-please, arrest me!”

The thief would rather choose the police.

At my voice, Gong Seok-doo raised his head and was delighted to see the police behind me.

Following my command, the four dogs quickly moved away from Gong Seok-doo and sat quietly. Their quick and disciplined movements were something even well-trained soldiers would find hard to imitate.

The police who were watching were also amazed.

No injuries were found on Gong Seok-doo, but he seemed to have suffered a lot from Jang-gun’s gang. His hair was disheveled, and his eyes were as hollow as those of a dead fish. It was like seeing the eyes of my high school friends who were trying to stay awake under the watchful eye of a scary dormitory supervisor.

But I had no intention of forgiving him, and since he was caught in the act, I couldn’t forgive him as I pleased. Isn’t this a country ruled by law?

While the police were handcuffing Gong Seok-doo and reciting the Miranda rights, I moved my feet.

After leaving the yard and moving to the road, I stretched out my arm and pointed somewhere.

“Please look over here.”

One of the police officers approached me.

“If you go up this road for about two hundred meters, there are two motorcycles. That’s what these guys came on. I think it’ll be important evidence.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you. You’ve made our work much easier.”

It wasn’t just easier, you did it all. Kim Sang-ho, the SSS agent who had followed, muttered.

The police officer who heard that had no choice but to nod.

They had caught a dog theft gang that was running rampant.

“Thank you for your hard work. The station has been having a headache. This area is so vast, and there’s no police station, so it’s already too late after we’re dispatched.”

“But why do these people steal dogs? Are dogs expensive?”

I nodded after listening to the police’s explanation and asked.

“Wasn’t this summer unusually hot? They sell them to restaurants. Since the supply is difficult, restaurants pay well, and if you steal a full-grown dog, you don’t have to spend money on feeding and raising it. They’re operating as an organized group.”

I barely managed to hold back the dizziness and nausea.

“Bad guys. There are so many other things to do, why…”

“There’s a saying that what you’ve learned is what you steal.”

A police officer interjected at my sighing complaint.

“They’re savvy. They know where to sell the dogs, and who to sell the stolen dogs to without getting into trouble.”

“Ah…”

I see. I hadn’t thought that far.

I didn’t want to analyze such an ugly, inhumane act. Every moment was precious and busy for me, so I avoided unnecessarily adding thoughts and words like idle pleasure-seekers to increase my fatigue.

Anyway.

I thought it was just theft for money, but they were using the knowledge of the world they were in for theft. They must have harmed lives and filled their own bellies like that.

I paused for a moment, touching my forehead, and carefully opened my mouth.

“If you interrogate these people and find out where they sold them, you can catch other gangs, right?”

“Yes. We’ve been having trouble catching their tails, but now that we’ve caught these guys, we’ll be able to root them out.”

Looking at the police officer who was being kind, I realized once again how amazing Hong Ki-jun was.

Because I knew that the police usually answered ‘We’ll take care of it’ in these situations.

It’s not that I’m criticizing their usual attitude. There are also things like confidentiality and security, so I understood the police’s position.

“Kim Woo-don knows. He’s smart.”

Gong Seok-doo, who had been listening to our conversation, opened his mouth like an idiot.

The police officer turned around sharply.

“Kim Woo-don? Who’s that?”

“He’s a wholesaler, and he’s well-connected.”

The police officer’s eyes lit up.

“If you tell me in detail, I’ll take responsibility and talk to my superiors to get you a good deal.”

“Kim Woo-don is a guy who used to be a teacher but got fired and became a dog butcher. He knows a lot of people, so he’s everywhere-”

Ah-. I let out a soft exclamation.

Because I remembered why Kim Woo-don’s face looked familiar.

‘The wrestling coach.’

I didn’t know his name, but when I thought about his face, it was definitely that person.

The wrestling coach from my past life who had refused me when I went to him because I looked small and weak.

“Hey. It would be better to leave out the unnecessary details and give us information that will help the investigation, wouldn’t it?”

“Ah, listen more. I, I can’t speak in a logical way.”

While Gong Seok-doo was rambling incoherently in front of the police officer with a notebook, I stood with my hands on my hips, pacing back and forth.

I realized why the wrestling coach was unfamiliar when I entered middle school, and how the eccentric Lee Byung-se became a teacher full of humanity.

‘It was Hong Ki-jun, wasn’t it.’

I could infer that Hong Ki-jun had used his influence in the education field after my entry into the sports world. That’s how he replaced the leaders who used violence and profanity. For me.

– “You must become the only one.”

– “I’ll help you. You live happily doing what you want.”

– “You can live like that when you’re young. You know you can’t do that when you grow up, right?”

Hong Ki-jun had been working for me for a long time.

I was grateful for that heart. I also felt sorry for realizing it so late.

‘How lonely he must have been.’

I knew too well the loneliness felt by someone who couldn’t say anything and kept the truth to himself, so I wanted to tell Hong Ki-jun that I understood him, even if it was late.

But there was a phrase that bothered me.

‘You can’t do that when you grow up…’

How much are you going to make me work?

I’m still helping diligently because I owe him, but I don’t want to live as a salaried worker.

My shoulders slumped for no reason.

My thoughts didn’t last long.

“Let’s go to the station and talk in more detail.”

“That bastard Ma Gun-cheon is a bad guy. He disappeared to save himself.”

“Disappeared? What do you mean disappeared? He’s already in the car.”

“Really?”

“Have you ever seen a police officer lie?”

“Yes.”

Sigh-.

Gong Seok-doo shut his mouth only after the police officer glared at him.

I approached the agent.

Kim Sang-ho was looking at the thick ginkgo tree leaning towards the yard, exclaiming, “Huh-” in admiration.

“We can’t just let this pass as if nothing happened, right?”

“Yeah, I guess not.”

Kim Sang-ho patted me on the back.

It must have meant that I had worked hard.

“I talked to them before you came, and it seems like there’s a lot of noise about those kinds of guys all over the country. It’s just that it hasn’t been made public.”

It will be made public now.

Then I should ask Hong Ki-jun to make sure it doesn’t get out to the media.

Well, he said he’d help me, so I should live happily, right?

***

The eyes that had reached a state of enlightenment looked down at the garden beyond the study.

The garden in the morning, where autumn had gently settled, the melody of Bach and the rich aroma of coffee, gifting peace to the mind.

“Kuhh-”

“Dad, don’t act like grandpa when you drink coffee.”

Hong Su-jeong, who was reading a book, scolded Hong Ki-jun.

‘Why doesn’t she go out and play, instead of being in my study, telling me what to do…’

Still, my daughter is the best.

She’s staying with me, skipping her workout because it’s her dad’s day off.

Hong Su-jeong’s eyes sparkled.

They resembled the eyes of Yoo Myung-sun, who was curious about the results of the story she hadn’t heard.

“So, what happened? Is Jin-hyeok oppa going to be on the nine o’clock news today?”

“Maybe…”

Hong Ki-jun’s lips curved into a soft smile as he stroked his daughter’s hair.

“It’ll be fine.”

I was still hesitant to say something to Hong Ki-jun.

So, I must have asked Moon Seok-il to make a subtle request.

– “He wanted the incident to be quietly buried.”

Was that even possible?

Organized theft that was happening simultaneously in rural areas across the country.

The police leadership was having a headache due to the flood of complaints.

Even if Hong Ki-jun hadn’t demanded that they make a big deal out of it, there was no way the police, who liked to take credit, would stay silent.

They had to identify the restaurant owners who had bought the stolen dogs, knowing they were stolen, and apply the charge of receiving stolen goods. They also needed time to identify the accomplices who had participated in the crime beyond simple transactions, and whose crimes were serious. Until then, they had no choice but to postpone the reports.

It was expected that the investigation would be difficult because the distributors were not talking and there were no ledgers containing transaction details.

‘I can’t let it be like that.’

Since ancient times, the son-in-law was said to be a thief [a Korean saying implying that a son-in-law is like a thief who steals a daughter].

He’s the guy who’s going to steal my daughter, so he shouldn’t think about living quietly now.

What’s so difficult for a businessman about trading with the current thieves for the sake of the future thief?

He picked up the phone.

“Su-jeong, I’m going to make a call.”

“Don’t ask for permission for that. Make yourself at home, thinking it’s your house. Make yourself comfortable.”

Hong Ki-jun, who had been laughing silently at his playful daughter’s banter, changed his expression.

Because the other party answered the phone as soon as the ringtone started.

“Ah, Commissioner? I’m sorry for calling you on your day off.”

– Oh ho ho! Don’t say that, I’m disappointed.