The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 191

***

In the past, Jinhyuk had read almost every book in the middle school library.

From novels to general interest books.

Should I call it a folktale? There’s a story that comes to mind now.

I remember it being a region deeper into the coast than Jinhyuk’s neighborhood.

‘Was it Iwon-myeon? Or was the old name Ibuk-myeon?’ [Myeon is a type of administrative division in Korea, similar to a township.]

A long time ago, there lived a filial son named Son, whose father was seriously ill. No matter how good the medicine was, it didn’t work. There was no way to carry him to the big village with a doctor, so one day, he begged and brought a doctor.

The doctor said, “If the stool tastes bitter, he will live longer, but if it tastes sweet, he won’t have much time left.” The filial son, after checking his father’s stool, cried because it tasted sweet.

Swoosh, swoosh. Thud, thud.

While digging in the drained sea, Jinhyuk didn’t know why that story came to mind, but he thought it was fortunate.

‘Now there are many hospitals, and a medical center will be built soon, so I don’t have to do that.’

Even if I can’t be like that filial son, I can catch sea anemones for my cowardly dad!

I’ll catch sea anemones and make a potion of courage!

“Haaigooh-, my back.”

As expected, labor and exercise had different reactions on the body.

It was the moment when the superhuman body proved that the old people who told young people to work instead of wasting money on exercise were wrong.

If there was a status window, it would probably be like this.

‘You have gained muscle pain from exercising for 1 gold. You can convert muscle pain into muscle by using an additional 1 gold. Would you like to use it? (Yes/No)’

Exercise and labor use different muscles, so the logic flow is also different.

‘As a reward for labor, you have gained 1 gold and a bone ache, and spent 3 gold on treatment costs.’

In the end, only the result of spending 2 gold is the same.

“Hoo, let’s take a breather for a moment.”

Jinhyuk, who was enduring his back pain with absurd imaginations, finally straightened his back.

As expected of a younger sister’s fool, he first looked for his sister, who was wandering around the mudflat.

No matter how wide the mudflat was, it wasn’t difficult to find his sister. She was hopping around like a rabbit and yelling at the top of her lungs.

“Mijaaaaa!”

Yujin was poking around the mudflat barefoot.

Last Sunday, he had only gone to see the sea with Yujin until sunset before returning home.

He skipped stones and let his sister splash in the water with her pants rolled up.

He needed to soothe Yujin, who had come with high expectations but was looking at the full sea water in vain.

She liked the sea but couldn’t play often because it was dangerous, so it was a meaningful time for Jinhyuk to be able to spend time like that. He also felt a natural sense of reward seeing his sister happy.

Heheheh-.

Today, Janggun and Hongsi also followed.

Janggun is a clever guy, so he must have known that the water hadn’t receded last time and didn’t come along.

“If it was a day when the water didn’t recede, you should have told me, you rascal.”

Crunch-.

The heartless Janggun was just chewing on a crab. Still, the amazing thing was that whenever he caught something, he would always come next to Jinhyuk to eat it. It must mean it’s a safe place.

His snout, whiskers, and belly fur were all covered in mud, but Janggun didn’t seem to mind. Is it because he’s a dog that he doesn’t care?

Squeak!

He got his nose bitten by a crab again.

“Hahaha-! Eat the claws first, you rascal.”

Hongsi, who doesn’t know the taste of crab, was just digging in the ground while chasing after Yujin.

Ah, just thinking about bathing those long-haired guys makes me feel overwhelmed.

“Oppa! The sea anemones here are really big!”

“Okay, I’m coming.”

Sea anemones are mysterious creatures.

They live in mudflats, sandy lands, and even in tight rock crevices.

Isn’t it good for health because of its vitality that doesn’t discriminate against its habitat?

Still, he was still skeptical about the thought of ‘Can I eat sea anemones?’

“Kyahaha-.”

Yujin was enjoying herself by sticking her fingers into every sea anemone she found. When you touch it with your finger, the tentacles stick to it, and the body rapidly contracts and tightens around the finger, which she found fun.

“It looks like a butt hole.”

“Hehe-, I know. They say a sea anemone’s mouth is its butt hole. It eats and poops there.”

“Ooh-?”

Yujin turned her head and looked at her butt. With a rather shocked expression.

Ah, Yujin.

She must be imagining eating food with her butt hole.

Don’t wiggle your butt!

There’s no creature as crazy about farts, poop, and butt holes as children.

Yujin claps and enjoys herself every time Jungwon farts. I should be thankful that she doesn’t show interest in her own butt hole.

“Oppa! Sea anemones are so easy to find!”

“Oh-, did our Yujin learn the secret?”

“Yes!”

Yujin nodded her head vigorously.

“Sea anemones are only in places where water has collected!”

“Ooh?”

Jinhyuk thought about the places where he had dug up sea anemones so far.

Indeed, although there was a difference in size, the places where sea anemones were located were slightly sunken as if they had been hit by a tiny meteorite. And there was seawater collected there.

In fact, they also exist in places where water doesn’t collect, but there was no need to point out that Yujin’s words were wrong.

“Thanks to Yujin, we’ll be able to dig up a lot of sea anemones.”

“Hee-.”

Digging up sea anemones was not difficult at all.

You just need to put a shovel or hoe in at a suitable depth and lift it up.

It was just tiring to bend over and keep digging without rest.

“Aigoo-, it broke.”

“Aigoo-, it must hurt. I’m sorry, Mija.”

“Ahaha-, is it called Mija because it’s a sea anemone?”

“This one is Misuk. That one is Mikyung.”

Still, isn’t Mikyung a bit much? Jinhyuk muttered, then put the shovel deep to pull up Mikyung by the roots so it wouldn’t break.

“Haaigooh-, my back. Let’s take a break.”

“Hoo-.”

Whenever he tried to rest his stiff back, Yujin would pat the sore spot.

She pinpointed it accurately without an error, and Jinhyuk, who didn’t even know where he was stiff, couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Can you see it, Yujin?”

“The sore spot is where my heart beats.”

Well, she says that every time she asks, so it must mean she can distinguish the affected area.

“You know you shouldn’t tell other people, right?”

“I know. You said bad uncles will take me away if I tell them.”

He nagged her repeatedly, but no matter how many times he repeated it, it wasn’t excessive.

If anyone were to set their sights on a child who was practically a mutant, peace would be broken. The same concern was embedded in Jinhyuk’s restraint of his power.

Even if he could somehow get himself out of trouble, his family, who were just ordinary people, wouldn’t be able to.

Anyway, thanks to Yujin, he couldn’t take a break as much as he wanted.

A brief rest was over with a glance at the mudflat and sandbar, which were dazzlingly illuminated by the clear autumn sunlight. He also rinsed his lungs with the musty air mixed with the smell of fish.

Hmmm-haa-. When he smelled the stinky mudflat, his eyes would get hot and he would feel satisfied, as if he were a natural-born country bumpkin.

“Shall we see how much we’ve caught?”

“We have to fill it to the brim.”

“To the brim?”

The bamboo basket was already almost half full.

Is Yujin planning to exterminate Misuk and Mija? Even Mikyung?

“There are a lot of people.”

Yujin’s eyes were firm.

“Sorry. I was short-sighted.”

To take care of Mikyung and the others at SSS, even filling the basket to the brim wouldn’t be enough.

He couldn’t leave out Grandpa Cheon Gilryong either.

“What are those adults doing sitting on the ground? They’re doing a duck walk.”

“That’s where they farm clams. It must be a day for digging clams.”

“Ah-, clams-. Cockles-.”

Yujin might start calling Jo Ilheon ‘Jo Ilheoni-‘ soon.

Since some time ago, she’s been adding ‘-i’ after words ending in a consonant, so she must have learned something at kindergarten. Or maybe it’s the influence of calling Janggun.

The adults wearing sun caps and towels were busily moving their hands in the direction Yujin was pointing. They farm clams in a place where sand, small stones, and mud are mixed appropriately, and since they farm in such a wide area, the harvest season is not greatly affected by the season unless a heat wave hits.

“I remember digging clams there with Oppa when it rained a lot.”

“Yeah, we did. And we went home quickly, right?”

It must have been before the rainy season started.

The fishing village would sometimes open the farm to the villagers, but it happened to be when the rainy season started, so he remembered carrying Yujin on his back and evacuating when it suddenly started pouring rain.

“The kalguksu was delicious-” [Kalguksu is a Korean noodle dish.]

“Yujin, are you hungry?”

“No?”

It would be strange if she was hungry.

It hasn’t even been two hours since she ate breakfast.

“Let’s dig clams next time and make kalguksu again. And put it in ramen too.”

“Hee-.”

Yujin has no greed.

She was a child who was satisfied as long as she could eat her fill, wash herself clean, and sleep comfortably. One Achi bear doll was enough for her.

‘Is it natural that she has no greed because she has everything she needs?’

It’s the same for Jinhyuk.

Every time he comes to the sea, he always thinks of deprivation.

In his current life, Jinhyuk has everything that others have.

Not only wealth, but also his older brother and sisters, although they live separately.

‘Now, my only deprivation would be humanity.’

Humans are still difficult.

That’s why Yujin still feels more like an adult.

A child who writes the traces of humanity on a blank canvas from the beginning, without having to add anything. So, a soul that learns and accepts the world in order, without errors.

The traces of the past engraved in Jinhyuk’s cells are too deep, so no matter how much he rewrites, it doesn’t cover it up.

That’s how big the difference between Yujin and Jinhyuk was. As big as the gap between a bright child and an old man with a bad temper and eccentric beliefs.

“Wow-. It’s heavy. I can’t lift it-”

Yujin, who had tried to lift the bamboo basket that was full, stuck out her tongue.

There was no more room to fill, so it was time to go home.

“It’s a relief we filled it before lunch.”

Jinhyuk looked at the traces of his digging once more.

“Whew-, I dug a lot.”

Even after restoring the ground after digging up the sea anemones, there were still traces of the many Mija, Misuk, and Mikyung who had lived there, which were not completely hidden.

Hehe, Mina, whom I secretly left behind, will be fine.

Be happy, Mina!

***

A sea anemone processing factory was suddenly set up at the yard’s water tap.

Han Yooyoung, Jang Jinam, and Kim Inrang joined Jinhyuk’s work.

“Cut it in half like this with scissors.”

Han Yooyoung also followed along, watching her son’s demonstration. She had eaten it before, but this was her first time cooking it. She had learned from Kwak Hyangrim, but it was easier to follow Jinhyuk’s demonstration, who had been trained together.

“It’s better to remove the inside. There’s a lot of mud and sand. Roughly remove it, and the rest will come out if you wash it with salt.”

It had a body that was comparable to the flesh of a razor clam in terms of obscenity, but no one was giggling and everyone was seriously engaged in the work. There was no fool who would talk about the sea anemone’s body in front of Han Yooyoung.

Snip snip- Swish swish-.

For a while, only the sound of scissors cutting was heard.

“But, what does it taste like?”

“I haven’t eaten it since my mom made it for me when I was little, so I don’t remember.”

Han Yooyoung couldn’t solve Jang Jinam’s curiosity either.

Who could blame her when she said she didn’t remember?

‘Mom doesn’t remember anything.’

If she went to a hearing, she could easily become a minister.

From Jinhyuk’s point of view, his mother’s generous objectification was gradually turning into a bad memory.

While the adults were busily moving their hands, Jinhyuk separately took out two fistfuls of uncleaned sea anemones and washed them with coarse salt. He said this was how to remove impurities.

Now, it was time to dry them on a fish drying rack.

“I know that. You’re going to dry them and grill them, right?”

Yujin, who was bathing Hongsi, asked.

“Yeah. You’re so smart, our Yujin.”

But where should I string them?

The stakes in the pepper field were too thick, and the metal skewers were unsanitary.

‘Let’s think slowly.’

Even if I grill them on a grill and stick them on chopsticks, Yujin will like it.

He gathered the cleaned sea anemones and sprinkled a lot of coarse salt on them.

Now, it was time to spread his legs wide, bend his back, and wash the sea anemones in the large tray.

Swish swish swish- Slap slap slap-.

“It’s clean. I think that’s enough.”

“Yes.”

Han Yooyoung stopped Jinhyuk, who was washing the sea anemones as if he were at war with them.

Since there was a lot of it, they decided to cook it in a pot hung in the yard.

Kim Inrang lit the fire, and Jang Jinam re-hung the washed pot.

“Oop-.”

“Hya-. As expected of Senior Jang! You’re so strong, you can lift the pot so easily.”

“It’s not that I’m strong. It’s that Inrang is weak.”

“Yes…”

Jang Jinam, who was holding two long wooden spatulas like twin swords, stepped forward, saying he would cook.

“The person who usually cooks should do it, it’ll taste better.”

It would be better to leave it to him since he said so.

Jinhyuk, who stepped back without complaint, sent a suspicious look.

It’s not that he didn’t trust Jang Jinam.

‘Can we really eat that weird thing?’

Once a doubt took root, it didn’t disappear easily.

Jang Jinam, who checked the temperature of the pot with his palm, nodded and poured sesame oil into the pot.

Swish swish swish-.

He stirred the spatula a few times to spread the sesame oil evenly, then poured in the sea anemones.

Sizzle- Chwaaa-.

A fatal white noise. And a rapidly rising mist that maximized the effect.

A spatula show resembling a sword dance unfolded in Jang Jinam’s hands.

The sea anemones, which were the size of one bamboo basket when they arrived home, seemed to have increased in quantity after being cut in half and washed.

However, in front of Goliath Jang Jinam, who was holding a spatula instead of a club, they were just cooking ingredients more insignificant than David.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle-.

“The fire seems too strong.”

“Yes! I’ll take it out!”

Kim Inrang, who answered cheerfully, took out a few pieces of firewood.

Even though he couldn’t go to see Hwang Gayoon because it was a weekend shift, Kim Inrang was constantly smiling, as if he was having fun.

Is that what a pro is like? Jang Jinam hardly opened his mouth when he was cooking. He must be doing it so that no saliva gets in. Jinhyuk, who interpreted it as he pleased, thought that there was something to learn from everyone.

“Senior? But aren’t you going to add water?”

“I’m doing it the way Jinhyuk told me. He said a lot of water comes out of the sea anemones.”

“Ah! It’s already shrunk.”

Indeed, even though no water was added, there was a lot of broth, and the plump sea anemones had noticeably shrunk.

Kim Inrang looked around for a moment.

Han Yooyoung and Son Yujin were bathing Janggun at the water tap. Hongsi was docile, so Yujin could do it alone, but Janggun was so unruly that someone had to hold him tight.

After confirming that the two mothers and daughters were far away, Kim Inrang leaned towards Jang Jinam and whispered.

“That… it’s similar to how it shrinks after you take out the water.”

“Euhahahahahahaha-!”

Without having to think about what it meant, Jang Jinam squatted down and grabbed his stomach.

Thanks to his flexibility in distinguishing between what he could and couldn’t say, he had been holding back, but he had been thinking that he looked manly because of his long and plump appearance.

If Zhang Fei of the Three Kingdoms were to wear an apron and laugh, he would look like that. [Zhang Fei is a famous general from the Three Kingdoms period, known for his boisterous personality.]

Kim Inrang, who was satisfied with his dirty joke, also patted Jang Jinam’s back and laughed.

They didn’t care whether Son Jinhyuk saw or not.

That sleepyhead is too dull to understand anyway.

‘What’s so funny?’

He was close by and had good hearing, so he heard everything. But since the subject was missing from the conversation, Jinhyuk didn’t properly understand what they were saying.

What shrinks when you take what out?

Did they take out money and their bank balance shrank?

Hey, let’s laugh together.