The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 19

It was an unusually mild winter.

It was so warm that Jinhyuk often worked out in just a short-sleeved t-shirt, breaking a sweat even with light exercise.

Although the family rarely caught colds, no matter how cold it got, for some reason, Hanyoung was coughing every night. Both the local clinic and the city medical center diagnosed it as just a cold. However, even with medication, her cough wouldn’t subside easily.

Since Mom complained of chest tightness and couldn’t sleep, Yujin often slept in her older brother’s room on the second floor. It wasn’t a difficult decision, as she preferred her brother to her mother anyway. It was also for Mom’s sake, who worried about her young daughter catching a cold.

“Honey, should we go to a big hospital in Seoul?”

“Oh, why bother? It’s normal to catch a cold during a mild winter. I just need to rest a bit.”

Hanyoung, a country person through and through, waved her hand, saying it was nothing serious. Her voice was hoarse and raspy.

“Yes…”

Son Gwangyeon could only nod. He was the type to do anything if Hanyoung asked. He was also relieved because his wife’s complexion was good and she had no other symptoms besides the cough. Still, he couldn’t help but worry, so Son Gwangyeon’s expression was not good.

Like his father, Jinhyuk’s face also darkened.

‘It hurts so much.’

My mom shouldn’t be sick. I wish I could be sick instead. Jinhyuk took his younger sister off his back and put her on the floor.

“Yujin, your brother is going to-”

“Mom, Mom-”

Before he could even ask for her understanding, Yujin toddled over to her mother. As if she had read her brother’s mind. She was a remarkable little sister in many ways.

He put on his work clothes. A thin flight jacket he wore when helping with farm work in the fall.

He gathered a shovel, pickaxe, saw, and sickle from the shed.

‘I need to use some strength.’

He tied the tools together with a tube made by thinly cutting a tire. He shouldered them all at once and headed to Choi Mikyung’s house.

Heheheh-.

Of course, Janggun was right beside him, walking along.

Heheheh-!

As soon as they reached Choi Mikyung’s house, Janggun charged towards the dog bowl of the house’s mutt. He wasn’t even starving, so why was he acting like that? He was a real gangster dog. Jinhyuk tried to ignore it and knocked on the door.

Hum hum-. He cleared his throat, calling out to the homeowner. He tried to use the most childlike tone possible.

“Excuse me. Is anyone home?”

The business-like tone that came out of his mouth was natural. He was pleased with himself, and the corners of his lips slightly turned up.

The door soon opened, and a huge shadow fell over the entrance.

“Who-? Hiiik! Are you Jinhyuk?”

It was Choi Taeyang, Choi Mikyung’s older brother. He was home on a rare day off from his winter training camp. He was wide-eyed at the sight of Jinhyuk, who looked as big as a middle schooler. He repeatedly looked back at his little sister, Choi Mikyung, who was peeking out from behind him. She’s small, but you’re big.

It had been a while since they had seen each other. Still, even if kids grew a lot during winter break, how could a kid going into sixth grade be this big? He figured it was because they were well-off, so he must be eating well and growing well. Choi Taeyang had grown up in a similar environment.

He was nodding to himself when he heard Jinhyuk’s subtle voice.

“Hyung.”

Come to think of it, Jinhyuk had never used the word ‘hyung’ [older brother or older male friend] before.

The term that the neighborhood kids used came out very naturally.

For a moment, Choi Taeyang grinned from ear to ear.

“Are your parents not home?”

“Um-”

“Mom and Dad went to a daesatjip [a place for a wedding or funeral].”

Choi Mikyung’s answer was quick. Only her voice could be heard, hidden by Choi Taeyang’s large frame in the doorway.

“Ah…”

Daesatjip meant they had gone to a wedding or a funeral. The fact that they had left their children at home meant it was likely a funeral. Jinhyuk turned away, feeling disappointed. He had wanted to ask the uncle for a favor.

Then, Choi Taeyang’s voice stopped Jinhyuk.

“What are you going to do with those tools?”

*

Thud! Thud!

Huff huff-.

Choi Taeyang was strong. He had a good physique, so he transferred to Taeyang Elementary School in the town at the age of eleven and joined the ssireum [Korean wrestling] team. He was still active as a ssireum wrestler in high school. It had already been seven years.

Whenever he tried to help with farm work, his parents would wave their hands, worried that their athletic son might get muscle pain, so even when he was home, he would just pull on tubes in the yard. That was why all the ginkgo trees planted around Choi Mikyung’s yard were bent inward.

The village shaman grandfather had named him Taeyang, telling him to become a hero of Taeyang town.

Anyway.

“Aigo-, this isn’t easy.”

As you can see, he was clumsy with the shovel.

A hero was someone who grabbed the satba [wrestling belt], not someone who grabbed a shovel.

Although there was a big age difference, he felt close to the kid named Son Jinhyuk because his younger sister Choi Mikyung had been talking about him non-stop. It was similar to how you might feel close to Hong Gildong, whom you’ve never met.

Anyway, he had asked because he was curious about the tools, but.

‘I didn’t mean to offer to help…’

He never thought he would be digging and shoveling in a forest full of weeds. He couldn’t pretend not to care when he heard that he was going to dig up kudzu roots for his mother, who had a bad cough. It was also because his heart had softened at the word ‘hyung’.

He was breathless and his back felt like it was breaking. Labor and exercise were not the same. The muscles used were different, and breathing was not easy. But Son Jinhyuk was amazing.

‘Is he one with the shovel?’

It was as if the person and the shovel had become one. He was skillfully clearing away the vines, kudzu stems, and fallen leaves. There were more rocks than dirt in the forest. But he didn’t care.

The target was hidden behind thick, oddly shaped tree roots, crossing through a gap in the rocks. Yet, the elementary schooler was using all available tools—pickaxe, shovel, sickle, and hands—to dig persistently, like…

‘A grave robber.’

Choi Taeyang, catching his breath, nodded. He must be good at studying because he was so persistent. My sister Mikyung must be good at studying because she’s persistent too. Choi Taeyang stood there blankly for a while, admiring Son Jinhyuk’s grave-robbing skills.

While Choi Taeyang was repeating his admiration and contemplation, a kudzu root as long as an adult’s arm revealed its majesty. Judging by its shape, the thickest part seemed to be still buried. It was hard to guess how thick it would be.

“Jinhyuk, come here. I’ll do it.”

Choi Taeyang rolled up the sleeves of his short-sleeved t-shirt above his deltoids, showing off his thick arms. Even if he was clumsy with a shovel, he was strong. He had collected over 20 trophies from national competitions since he was thirteen, and he could lift rice sacks with ease. This little weed root was nothing.

“Heukkeuheunya haing- haheutseuhaheung-!”

He’s gonna poop, he’s gonna poop. Jinhyuk thought to himself.

His posture was the perfect squat. If he actually did poop, there was a shovel and dirt, so he could just bury it.

Heuheo-heueu-heueu-. Choi Taeyang, breathing heavily, looked pathetic. He was so weak that he could only become a Baekdu Jangsa [a top-level ssireum wrestler]. I’m strong because I do farm work with my dad whenever we have time. I could lift a millstone with one hand when I was nine. He was lost in thought, admiring Choi Taeyang’s flushed face and arms.

Heheheh-.

Janggun also seemed to look down on Choi Taeyang.

Even though the ssireum wrestler was straining with all his might, his thick legs trembling, the deeply embedded kudzu root wouldn’t come out. It was too tough to break and too thick to cut.

Jinhyuk patted Choi Taeyang’s shoulder and said like a child,

“I’ll do it.”

“Heok- Heogeo-, this is really tough, maybe we should just cut the top-”

Choi Taeyang was squatting, panting, his face red.

Jinhyuk grabbed the kudzu root with both hands and gave a short shout.

“Hup!”

Urrung-.

It sounded like thunder was rumbling from the ground. The ground vibrated thickly under their feet, and clumps of dirt rolled around.

Udu dududududu-dududuk-.

The roots hidden in the ground were all pulled out. It was a giant kudzu root over 2 meters long and as thick as an adult’s thigh. It was strange to see the monster that seemed impossible to pull out come out so easily.

Choi Taeyang mumbled with unfocused eyes. Why did we even dig the ground…

“If you pull it out from the beginning, it’ll break.”

Choi Taeyang nodded, thinking it made sense.

I could have come alone. Jinhyuk dusted off his hands. He also wondered if his hormones were surging, making him even stronger.

He cut the kudzu root in half with a saw.

He handed the heavier piece to Choi Taeyang and said like a child. After all, he had recently learned that children should speak politely.

“You worked hard.”

“Uh…, yeah.”

Choi Taeyang unconsciously received it with both hands, politely. Wasn’t his tone and strength too adult-like? Still, Choi Taeyang was happy to have gotten something. He was going to make alcohol secretly from his father.

Saaa- A cool breeze blew as they left the forest.

The high schooler and the elementary schooler closed their eyes at the same time and took a deep breath.

“Take care.”

“Uh…”

Watching Jinhyuk walk away with long strides, Choi Taeyang thought.

‘I almost pulled it all out.’

It would have come out if I had just given it a little more strength.

I failed because I was distributing my strength to my sphincter.

***

Son Gwangyeon was making a fuss. His son, who had disappeared, had returned with a tree root that looked more like a serpent than a serpent. The way he was forcing his feet into his wife’s slippers was adorable. Dad even had hair on his toes.

“Hiii-, it’s so big! Look at this thickness.”

Son Gwangyeon lifted the kudzu root and compared it to his arm and leg.

When he put it somewhere near his groin, he even pouted his lower lip. His eyes were full of competitive spirit, but it was a pointless challenge.

Jinhyuk sighed and turned his head. Why was he putting it there?

“Did our Jinhyuk dig this up thinking of Mom?”

Just then, Mom came out holding Yujin. Dad had returned to being a sophisticated Seoul man, as if nothing had happened.

“Mom, if you boil this and drink it-”

“Yeah. It looks delicious. But Mom doesn’t cough anymore.”

He had only gone to dig up kudzu roots, but had she eaten something good in the meantime?

Her voice was actually clear. It wasn’t the raspy voice that had been hurting his heart.

“I think I got better because I was warm holding the baby.”

Is that even a thing, Mom? Jinhyuk’s lips trembled involuntarily, as if he was making a tutting sound. Country folks say things that are hard to understand like this.

Still, it was a relief that she seemed really okay.

He thought that Yujin, who was smiling brightly while patting her mother’s neck, must be a lucky charm.

“Jinhyuk, what should we do with this?”

“Let’s make alcohol or something.”

Uncle Hong Gijun would like it.

Jinhyuk cut the washed kudzu root with a billhook and spread it out on the porch. He planned to make tea with it when it was dry enough.

While Jinhyuk was working, Son Gwangyeon was…

Tsk tsk tsk-.

“Hmm-. It’s juicy and a little bitter, delicious-”

“……”

***

On cold days, they went sledding, and on mild days, they caught loaches all break long.

The neighbors went to the town market to sell them for extra income, but Jinhyuk and his dad, who didn’t need the money, just caught a few for fun, as exercise and play.

On particularly mild days, Mom, Yujin, and even Janggun would come along and watch from the rice paddy ridge. At those times, Dad would take out his film camera and keep pressing the shutter.

“Whee-, what’s the name of that beautiful young lady over there?”

“Oh my, hohoho.”

He didn’t forget to flirt in a way that only an old man would. Wasn’t he too old-fashioned for someone who wasn’t even forty yet? He probably kept doing it because Mom played along, but I shouldn’t be like that. That’s what he was thinking when Hong Gijun, who had come down from Seoul yesterday, yelled.

“Wahahak-! This is fun. Sujeong! Dad caught a loach! Euhahahahaha!”

Hong Gijun couldn’t be excluded from shoveling. No, he seemed to be enjoying it. He was advertising as if he had caught a big one, making the whole neighborhood shake. The neighborhood dogs barked at Hong Gijun’s loud shouts.

Hong Sujeong, who was stuck to Jinhyuk like a leech, didn’t even look at her dad.

‘Raising a daughter is useless…’

Hong Gijun, feeling embarrassed, decided to catch loaches. His posture and movements were too perfect for a Seoul person; he was a veteran, after all.

While Hong Gijun was shoveling furiously, Jinhyuk skillfully dug holes, and Hong Sujeong quickly put the loaches in a basket. They were a fantastic pair.

“Oppa, is this delicious?”

“Yeah. It’s delicious.”

“Do you dry this and eat it like a mudskipper?”

“No. We boil it down and eat it as a soup.”

“Oppa, this one looks like a snake.”

“It does.”

It was a swamp eel.

They often appeared when catching loaches. They were similar to loaches but much longer, slippery, and firm. Old country folks used to throw them away, saying they were inedible, but there was also a saying that if you boiled them like eels, they were great for joints.

Even though it was something to be disgusted by, Hong Sujeong wasn’t scared and observed it carefully.

“Can we eat this snake too?”

“Sure, we can eat it. Anyway, if we boil it and break it down, no one will know who’s who.”

Hong Sujeong, squatting on the rice paddy floor, looked up at Jinhyuk.

This oppa [older brother or older male friend] has been talking more lately. He always spoke in short answers, making me feel constipated. I guess it depends on the woman.

She remembered what her mom and dad had said. It was when they were fighting over the last piece of pizza. I think Mom won.

– “Whoever puts their saliva on it first gets it.”

– “I put my saliva on you, and you’re mine, so the pizza is mine too.”

The Seoul kid, having an epiphany, nodded with a serious expression.

She took off the sock she was wearing on her hand as a glove.

Then, she licked her finger and poked Jinhyuk’s cheek, who was busy shoveling.

“Huh? Why?”

Jinhyuk asked, not knowing what the sudden attack meant, but the little kid Hong Sujeong just lowered her head and giggled. Muttering pizza, pizza.

Click-.

Son Gwangyeon didn’t miss the moment and pressed the shutter.

Yu Sera, who had watched all of her daughter’s mischievous actions, narrowed her eyes.

‘That little brat?’