The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 190

Hong Ki-joon had completed the construction of a site with a search engine through a web-based software contest held by Sein Electronics. It was said that all sorts of oddballs and geniuses, whose skills were hard to distinguish, had appeared from who knows where.

However.

“Why don’t you launch the service?”

Due to the slow spread of the internet network, he kept postponing the full-scale portal site service, saying it was too early. He said that the collection of information to build the database was complete, and there were enough people to input the data.

“The internet connection at the mole’s place and our house is usable.”

Even though he knew it was a selfish and unreasonable thought that only considered his own circumstances, he still grumbled.

“Why can’t we just do it? No one’s saying anything, why all the worries?”

Grumble, grumble.

Even though no one was listening, Jinhyuk rummaged through the mud house’s storage, grumbling.

If internet searching were possible, he could find information about sea anemones. Anyway, Hong Ki-joon was both good and bad. He was delaying the application of knowledge that could widely benefit humanity just because he didn’t like seeing people.

Jinhyuk, who had vowed not to use unknown powers under the slogan of fairness, was applying different standards to Hong Ki-joon.

But power is power, and knowledge is knowledge, isn’t it?

In a complex world, you can’t simplify and equate all phenomena and things, or so smart Yujin said.

Hong Ki-joon was fundamentally walking a different path from Jinhyuk. Jinhyuk knew that. Even if he didn’t say it, he could grasp his tendencies just by observing him.

“Ugh, his tendencies have been the complete opposite of mine since way back. Completely opposite.”

He could just catch the sea anemones, but he was also curious about the cooking methods, and he was worried about whether he would get sick from eating the tentacle monster.

As they say, knowing is power.

And you shouldn’t just know roughly, you need to know accurately.

Kwak Hyang-rim would tell him the cooking methods, but he didn’t like the way they looked.

“Hoo-. I got worked up again.”

He had ended up backbiting Hong Ki-joon, who could be considered a benefactor of his family, just because of a sea anemone. But they say people even badmouth the king in secret, so what does it matter?

“Janggun, let’s go.”

He put on his boots, a straw hat, and a gray checkered shirt, the symbol of a farmer, completing the perfect farmer look.

Now, with a bamboo basket slung over his shoulder and a hoe and shovel in hand, he was ready to go.

“Janggun, let’s go.”

Woof! Woof woof!

Janggun, who was gnawing on a dog treat, just stood up on all fours and barked, not following Jinhyuk. It seemed like the dog treat he bought at the department store was very satisfying.

“We’re going to the sea, aren’t you coming?”

Woof! Woof woof woof!

What is that mutt saying…

Judging by the tone of his bark, he didn’t seem angry, but it sounded like he was saying something, but it was still a sound Jinhyuk couldn’t understand.

“Oppa! Where are you going? Are you going to catch sea cucumbers? Fried sea cucumbers are delicious. Are you going to catch crabs? Steamed crabs are good!”

Well, well? When did Yujin get here?

Yujin, wearing a sweater that Jinhyuk used to wear when he was young, appeared looking like a beggar. Seeing that Yujin had returned home with Kim Sang-ho first, it seemed like Dad was taking a longer walk with Yang Kang-wook.

“Aigoo, you rascal, how did my pretty princess get into this state?”

Jinhyuk knelt on the ground and brushed off the bits of grass and dirt from Yujin’s clothes.

On her days off, Yujin would patrol the neighborhood as soon as it got light, and no matter how much her mom made her a princess every morning, it was useless because she wandered around so much.

One time, she came back from the back mountain with a completely crushed can, looking like a perfect beggar.

“What’s wrong with my look?”

“No, you’re pretty.”

Heh heh.

He couldn’t say she looked like a beggar, so he just had to say she was pretty.

Still, she was a healthy and energetic younger sister, so he didn’t feel sorry for her even when she looked disheveled. Yujin didn’t have any nutritional deficiencies, and she didn’t have a runny nose like other kids.

Jinhyuk went back to the storage and brought out a carrying frame.

She was the type of kid who would insist on following him even to the army if she was with her brother, so he had to take her along.

He put a straw hat on Yujin and put her on the carrying frame, and they set off.

“Shall we go to the sea to catch fish? Shall we go to the mountains to catch fish?”

The kid with a good voice was singing in a high tone, and Jinhyuk felt like his head was about to pop off. But he had no intention of interrupting his sister’s joy. Seeing Yujin happy made Jinhyuk happy too.

Still, he wished she would pronounce things correctly.

“Yujin, it’s ‘catch fish’ not ‘catch to fish’, right?”

“Ah, is that so? I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“It’s ‘on purpose’ not ‘on purpose-‘.”

“Shall we go to the sea to catch fish? Shall we go to the mountains to catch fish?”

He should just keep quiet.

Anyway, even though she had been playing for a while, Yujin wasn’t tired.

“I’ll fill this bottle full and then- yanyanyanyanyanya it’s coming-”

Woof woof woof woof!

She was holding onto the top of the carrying frame and singing at the top of her lungs, and all the dogs in the neighborhood responded to her voice.

She was spending her daytime so energetically, so she must be sleeping well at night.

“Oppa, what do you do with sea anemones when you catch them?”

“You eat them.”

“Wow! Sea anemones must be delicious!”

What food couldn’t Yujin eat?

The little one would drool while looking at every living thing. It was a great relief that she had grown up considering Janggun as family since she was a baby.

She reacted like an old person when she saw ducks floating in the waterway.

“Kuhh-. They’d be delicious if you baked them with mud. Right?”

She boasted strange knowledge while looking at a kite flying high in the sky.

“I saw it on Animal Kingdom, they say that kind of bird is a bird of prey, and Mr. Jjorongi says you have to cook birds of prey thoroughly.”

Did she really have to eat birds of prey?

How much had Jo Il-heon messed up the neighborhood kids?

In the spring, she had said nonsense while looking at a deer running around in the garlic field covered with straw.

– “They say deer taste deer-like. It must be delicious, right?”

As expected, the only person to suspect was Jo Il-heon.

They said the neighborhood kids were running around talking nonsense, but maybe Jo Il-heon was the one who had influenced them.

She had also given countless other reviews.

– “Chicken is more delicious than hamburgers.”

– “칡뿌리 [arrowroot] is more delicious than gum.”

– “Clams are more delicious steamed than in noodles.”

“Ah! What does sea anemone taste like?”

Now she was even saying that sea anemones, which she didn’t even know the shape of, would be delicious.

“Oppa, have you ever eaten sea anemone?”

“No. Oppa won’t eat it.”

“Why?”

It’s scary.

Tentacle monster.

Jinhyuk’s shoulders trembled once while carrying the frame.

“They say only cowards eat that.”

“Hmm-. It must make you brave and strong and give you muscles! That’s why Oppa doesn’t need to eat it!”

As expected, my smart little sister.

Whose daughter is so bright?

Tututututututu-.

When they were about halfway to their destination, having left the waterway and following the bus route, a tractor appeared, filling the road.

Jinhyuk carefully moved off the road, making sure that Yujin on the carrying frame wouldn’t shake. It would be a disaster if they were in a blind spot and got hit by the tractor.

Thump thump thump thump-.

The engine noise got louder, and then the tractor stopped next to Jinhyuk.

“Yo! Isn’t that Jinhyuk and Yujin!”

“It’s Mr. Jjorongi! We’re going to catch sea anemones!”

Thump thump thump thump-.

“What!”

“We’re going to catch sea anemones!”

Thump thump thump-.

“What!”

“Sea ane-mo-nes!”

Beep-!

Ugh, the tractor noise and the shouts from the front and back were only hurting Jinhyuk’s eardrums. Still, Jinhyuk stood quietly to not take away his sister’s chance to speak.

High-tech communication that could only be experienced in the countryside, Yujin, being a country person, needed to experience it.

Trrr-.

Jo Il-heon, who was frowning as if he was frustrated, turned off the engine.

Yujin, who was already used to the increased volume, shouted again.

“We’re going to catch sea anemones!”

“Eee-? Ah, yeah, they’re delicious to eat around this time.”

Jo Il-heon, who had taken off his green pesticide hat, scratched his head and laughed.

His dark face was full of the day’s fatigue.

“Is now a good time?”

“No. You can eat sea anemones anytime. That thing is like wild ginseng from the sea.”

Ooh-.

Jinhyuk’s eyes widened.

Wild ginseng? Is it that good?

But wasn’t sea ginseng a sea cucumber?

“Is it that good for your body?”

“Why even talk about it? Sea anemones eat everything to survive. Everything that comes from the sea, that thing eats it to grow.”

“Mister, mister! Do sea anemones eat crabs too?”

Yujin, whose eyes were as round as her brother’s, asked.

“What’s a crab? What about those porpoises that we see a lot in our neighborhood, who eats them when they die? Anyway, when dead things float around and touch the tentacles of a sea anemone, they get sucked right in.”

Ah, so that’s why sea anemones are good for you?

Jinhyuk learned new knowledge today.

‘Knowledge +1.’

Thinking about it, the sea anemones he had seen when he went to the sea with his dad were each holding something.

Crabs, fish, starfish, and so on.

‘So that’s how they suck them in.’

They were cleaning the sea by being stuck in the rocks, sand, and mud.

“It’s good for your body, but it also has a taste like no other.”

“Is it that delicious?”

Jinhyuk couldn’t help but ask.

“Yaaa-, there’s nothing to compare it to. You won’t know until you taste it. When I was young, I traveled all over the country and ate everything. I even lived in China for a while, where foodies go crazy. But even then, there was no taste like that.”

Did he mean it was unique?

Jo Il-heon’s expressions were so rich, and his face was so earnest. Even Jinhyuk, who had been shuddering at the thought of the tentacle monster, became curious.

It couldn’t taste like eel, right?

“Is it easy to cook?”

His mom said she would learn from Kwak Hyang-rim, but since Jo Il-heon was a know-it-all, he might know other methods.

“Just dry it in the autumn wind like a *matjogae* [razor clam], then skewer it and grill it over a fire. You know that taste, right? Like that.”

Ah, you can dry it and grill it like a *matjogae*. Note to self.

“You can also lightly blanch it and eat it wrapped in lettuce with garlic and chili peppers, like meat? But stir-frying is the best. If you mix it with rice, it’s just amazing. They say some places eat it in a soup or spicy stew, but you shouldn’t add water to good ingredients. Why would you drink alcohol if you’re going to add water to it?”

“I don’t drink alcohol!”

“Aigoo, that’s right. Yujin drinks cola. It’s terrible to even think about adding water to cola.”

“Ah-. That’s really a stupid thing to do!”

He was glad he asked.

Jo Il-heon really deserved to be called a know-it-all.

“Oppa, Oppa!”

Yujin tapped the top of the carrying frame.

“Huh? Why?”

“Skewers would be delicious!”

As expected, skewers were the romance of children. Ever since she had grabbed a wild boar rib and eaten the meat, Yujin had been obsessed with skewers and ribs. That meant the taste and atmosphere had been imprinted in her mind.

Jinhyuk, who had heard Jo Il-heon’s emotionally rich explanation, also became curious about the taste.

Then was there any need to delay any longer?

“Let’s go!”

“Let’s gooo!”

“Catch a lot!”

Trrr-! Thump thump thump-.

Leaving Jinhyuk, who was walking briskly, behind, Jo Il-heon also started his engine.

He was heading towards Jinhyuk’s house, where his wife was waiting!

Thump thump thump thump-.

After driving about 100 meters, he suddenly stopped as if he had remembered something important.

“Heigu-, how can someone walk so fast like they’re using teleportation. He’s as fast as old man Chun.”

The siblings had already climbed the hill.

Jinhyuk was hidden by the hill, and only Son Yujin, who was singing at the top of her lungs on the carrying frame, could be seen.

“Shall we go to the mountains to catch fish!”

Tutututututut-.

“Jinhyukaaaaaaa! Yujinaaaaaaaa!”

Thump thump thump thump-.

“I’ll fill this bottle full and then- yanyanyanyanyanya-”

Was she singing or screaming?

Her voice was loud enough to cover the engine roar. And how long was her breath for a child? Was Yujin doing diaphragmatic breathing?

“It’s going to be a wasted trip…”

Jo Il-heon’s voice didn’t reach Jinhyuk’s ears.

The tide isn’t going out today… Why is that guy acting so out of it and not checking the tide?

Jo Il-heon sped up, worried that he might be blamed.

In the opposite direction from Jinhyuk.

Thump thump thump thump-!

Jinhyuk was one thing, but Son Yujin was scary when she was angry.

If she found out it was a wasted trip, she would definitely unleash a lion’s roar at Jo Il-heon.

He had to run.