The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 192

< Slowpoke (2) >

“Hehehehehe-. Euehehehe-. Hiccup-.”

If someone saw Jang Jinam from afar, they might have thought a woman with a perm was squatting and crying. That’s how intense Jang Jinam’s reaction was. He was the most sensitive person among the SSS, and also a man who reacted strongly to dirty jokes.

Jang Jinam, wiping his tears with his apron, glared at Kim Inrang.

“Humph! A young man shouldn’t talk like that. Don’t ever say such things in front of your sister-in-law. She seems like an innocent young lady.”

“Yes! I will correct myself!”

It was an amazing change of attitude.

The two men put on solemn expressions as if they had never been giggling.

Because Han Yooyoung was looking at them with a bewildered expression.

Thanks to Jang Jinam’s diligent stirring, the sea anemone’s color changed evenly.

The first step of the sea anemone stir-fry, lightly cooking it over low heat to prevent it from becoming tough, was complete.

“Give me the red pepper powder.”

“Powder, powder! Red pepper powder!”

“Green onion.”

“Green onion!”

“Garlic.”

“Your garlic!”

Sigh-. That uncle is quite the troublemaker. Jinhyuk, glancing at Kim Inrang, soothed his bewildered heart with a small sigh. General Jang must have felt like this when he looked at Choi Taeyang. The image of him going out to dig up kudzu roots and falling flat on his face was vivid in his mind.

Boil, boil-.

A surprising change occurred inside the pot.

The broth had increased so much that the many sea anemones had almost disappeared, as if submerged.

‘It was supposed to be sea anemone stir-fry, but it turned into a soup.’

Jinhyuk peered into the pot, parting the steam that rose as if reaching the sky.

“There’s really a lot of water. Wow-! It smells delicious.”

“I know. It smells really good.”

Jang Jinam, who was also making sea anemone for the first time, was just as surprised.

Now it was time to season it.

Jang Jinam added coarse salt with his thick hands.

Then, he pulled in the rising steam as if fanning it with his hand. That’s how he smelled it.

“Why are you smelling it?”

“That’s how I check the seasoning. I can tell by the smell.”

Oh-. That’s amazing.

Jinhyuk also had a keen sense of smell, but he thought you had to taste it with your tongue. The idea of checking the seasoning with smell was fresh and shocking.

After smelling it a couple of times, Jang Jinam drizzled soy sauce using a ladle.

“Huh? You’re using regular soy sauce?”

Jang Jinam nodded with a simple motion.

“Yeah. Regular soy sauce has seasoning in it, so it’s good for adding flavor.”

Wow, I’m learning a lot.

To think I’d be learning about the advantages of regular soy sauce and cooking from a muscular UDT [Underwater Demolition Team] veteran.

“Now all the ingredients are used up. All that’s left is to stir and simmer it so it doesn’t stick.”

“Okay. Then I’ll clean up-.”

Jinhyuk began to clean up the bowls and seasonings that had held the ingredients.

Kim Inrang approached Jinhyuk, who was cleaning up around him. Then, he pointed at Jang Jinam’s back, who was diligently stirring the pot.

“Hey, doesn’t Jang Sunbae [senior colleague] look like an old lady?”

“Pfft-.”

Earlier, they were giggling with Jang Jinam about the sea anemone, but now it seems it’s Jang Jinam’s turn.

Jinhyuk’s face turned red, unable to laugh openly.

Jinhyuk was also imagining that image. A muscular housewife with a perm.

Slurp-. Jang Jinam, tasting the broth, muttered.

“I can hear everything, you know?”

“Ah! Yes! I will correct myself! I didn’t mean anything bad!”

He seemed too happy for someone who said they would correct themselves.

Clang! Clang!

Finally, Jang Jinam shook off the seasoning on the ladle by hitting it against the pot.

It was a signal that the cooking was finished.

“Hmm-. I think it’s done.”

The savory and spicy aroma stimulated not only the sense of smell but also the stomach.

Jinhyuk unknowingly leaned his nose over the pot and sniffed.

‘Kuh-. The smell is really amazing.’

Jang Jinam picked up a well-cooked sea anemone with a spatula.

Then, he picked up the result with his hand and turned his body. It was the gesture of a chef looking for someone to taste it.

“Brave Jinhyuk will taste it, huh?”

Was it possible he used teleportation?

The brave coward Jinhyuk was already a few steps away.

‘I like it, but I don’t want it!’

The smell was good, but knowing the identity of the tentacle monster, he had no desire to eat it.

“Inrang, why don’t you taste it?”

“Yes!”

Fuu-fuu-.

The brave Kim Inrang blew on the stir-fried sea anemone a few times to cool it down, then bravely put it in his mouth.

Hot, hot, hot-. So hot-. Chomp, chomp, chomp-.

‘Is it… edible?’

Jinhyuk carefully observed Kim Inrang with narrowed eyes.

“Ummm… Hmmm-.”

Kim Inrang’s expression, who was making groaning sounds, gradually changed strangely.

The chewing speed slowed down, and eventually his lower jaw stopped.

‘I knew it, the taste must be weird!’

I have to run.

That’s when it happened.

Kim Inrang, who had swallowed it, muttered with hazy eyes.

“Auntie… please give me one more.”

***

They sat around the dining table to avoid the cold wind.

Jang Jinam, who had cooked, and the troublemaker Kim Inrang, who had worked hard together.

Jang Jinam, who called himself a ‘man without appetite,’ was moving his spoon relentlessly.

“Wow-. This is the most delicious thing I’ve ever had.”

“It’s all thanks to the chef for making it so delicious. There’s a lot, so take some home.”

Son Kwangyeon and Kim Inrang seemed to have forgotten how to talk as they were busy eating rice with the sea anemone stir-fry.

Jinhyuk sat on the living room floor with Yoojin.

“Yoojin, ah-.”

“Owaang-.”

“How is it?”

“Sss- It’s spicy, but it’s so delicious-.”

Yoojin’s eyes welled up with tears, whether from the spiciness or the deliciousness.

It was heartwarming and happy just to watch his younger sister munching, but Jinhyuk’s chopsticks couldn’t rest.

‘Should I eat a big one?’

Jo Ilheon’s assessment that it was a taste like no other in the world was accurate.

It was an imprecise expression, but there seemed to be no other way to describe it.

‘There’s no taste to compare it to.’

It wasn’t tough at all for Yoojin to chew, and thanks to its thickness, the crunchy texture was quite good.

However, the seasoning was too spicy for Yoojin to eat.

Jinhyuk put rice in a bowl and finely chopped the stir-fried sea anemone with scissors. A lot.

Then, he sprinkled seaweed flakes on top, drizzled sesame oil, and mixed it all together. He couldn’t leave out a few spoonfuls of the remaining broth either.

Tap, tap, tap-.

The combative sound coming from the living room caught Han Yooyoung’s ears.

The sight of the siblings sitting on the floor in the living room, eating rice with a bowl between them, was so beautiful. They looked like beggars, but the dirty appearance of the country children who had been to the mudflat was not ugly.

The reason Jinhyuk ended up catching sea anemones was strange, but as a result, it brought another happiness, so Han Yooyoung couldn’t hide her satisfaction.

Tap, tap, tap-.

The sight of her big son, scraping the remaining rice grains from the bottom of the bowl to feed his younger sister, was also so lovely.

What the heck? It’s going into his mouth?

“Yoojin, do you want to eat more?”

“No? I’m full?”

“Okay. Oppa [older brother] is full too.”

“Oppa, let’s go catch sea anemones again-. It’s so delicious-.”

Even while making a ‘hissing’ sound because of the spiciness, Yoojin kept smacking her lips.

Jinhyuk had the same thought anyway.

“Okay. Let’s go. Let’s go in the winter and in the spring.”

Jinhyuk’s eyes blazed as he licked the seasoning from his lips.

It seemed that Mina wouldn’t be safe next time either.

Ugh, I’m so full-. Son Kwangyeon, patting his stomach, turned his head to the living room.

“It’s not that I’m against it, but aren’t you going to make the sea anemones extinct?”

“We can go around to other neighborhoods and catch them. Ilheon said there are a lot of good sea anemones in Cheongpodae. They don’t even look at sea anemones in Seunghoon’s neighborhood, so they’re everywhere.”

“Cheongpodae Beach? It’s sandy there, can you eat them?”

Jang Jinam, who was also moved by the sea anemone stir-fry, stepped in to help Jinhyuk.

“I learned how to prepare them properly today, so it’s okay. Just cut open the belly and wash it with salt.”

Hmm-. Son Kwangyeon nodded.

‘It’s an unforgettable taste. It’s so delicious.’

It was a taste that even Son Kwangyeon, a Seoul bumpkin who drooled over sparrow skewers, was completely captivated by.

Still, people who live by the sea need to have a mindset of preserving coastal resources. If they catch everything they can just because it’s profitable and delicious, what will be left in 10 or 20 years?

That was one of the reasons why Son Kwangyeon, who loved the mudflat and fishing more than anyone else, spent time at home with his family instead of going out on his days off. He wondered if his restraint would save resources, but it was better to show it in action rather than just talking about saving.

‘I should also research sea anemone breeding.’

Protection was important, but he couldn’t give up eating them.

The marine resources research institute he had established separately was also researching coastal fish farming technology to respond to climate change and overfishing. It was the first private company’s independent research without government funding.

There were related laws for the protection of marine resources, but prohibiting it by law without the will to crack down was like a fence without pillars. Since the authorities didn’t even pretend to crack down, he had the idea of increasing the population so that they would be preserved even with overfishing.

Because he knew that human greed was endless.

“Oppa. Let’s catch more next time-.”

“Ahaha, okay. Oppa will catch them hard. Yoojin, you look for them diligently.”

There seemed to be no need to worry about the amount they would catch being small.

Screech-.

The sound of a pot lid opening was heard from the yard.

The mole family seemed to be still hungry even after finishing two pots already.

‘If they have any conscience, they’ll help with the catching.’

The guys who always come back empty-handed when they go fishing were eating what our son caught so well.

Burp-. Oh, I’m so full.

But why does my heart beat so fast and my blood feel like it’s boiling? I’ve been so lethargic lately, like a hibernating reptile, because of excessive fatigue, but it’s strange.

‘It’s similar to a Herxheimer reaction?’

It was when Jinhyuk was about five or six years old, so Son Kwangyeon was around thirty.

Son Kwangyeon was severely ill. When he lay on the floor, he felt like his body was being sucked into the ground, and he had severe fatigue. Because of the high fever and chills, the wet towel never left Han Yooyoung’s hand.

The hospital said there was nothing wrong.

There was only the neighbor’s guess that he was sick because his constitution was changing from a city person to a country person, from a student to a farmer.

‘That’s right. It’s similar to that time.’

Anyway, the feeling of his body warming up and gaining strength after eating the sea anemone was similar to when he was resurrected like lightning after taking the herbal medicine that Kim Soonbok had brewed for him when he was sick.

***

Whistle-.

From the beginning of the new year, strong winter winds blew from the sea, fields, and mountains.

With heavy snow and strong winds. The winter general was showing off his fierce momentum as if trying to erase the traces of the terribly dry and hot summer.

We all know it’s winter even without that fuss.

‘Grandpa Dangun was really talented.’

Jinhyuk, wearing a chestnut vendor’s hat and sweeping the yard with a broom, clicked his tongue at Grandpa Dangun, whom he had never met. It wasn’t just Jinhyuk’s grumbling.

Almost everyone who lived in this land had to have clothes and shoes suitable for the season. That was the same in the city and the countryside.

And we can’t forget the change of seasons. The moment you forget a light outer layer, a cold sticks to your body. And what about having to take care of both heating and cooling?

‘If it’s a talent, it’s a talent.’

How could you choose such a land no matter where you settled?

It seemed that making future generations suffer with a momentary choice was a national tradition that had been passed down from the founders.

Thanks to that, they devised well-insulated houses and floor heating, so should I be grateful?

Or should I call them short-sighted pioneers who made their descendants suffer?

‘They must have settled here in the fall when the weather was nice-.’

It was a place to live for thousands of years, so they should have lived there for at least a full year before deciding.

Still, I don’t have the heart to actively criticize them.

Even though it’s inconvenient, the air is good and the scenery is excellent.

People must be feisty, no, full of fighting spirit, because they have to adapt to the climate that goes between heaven and hell.

“Aigo-, my back.”

To rest his stiff back and warm his frozen hands even though he was wearing gloves, he straightened his upper body for a moment.

He had cleared the snow from the yard to the bus road to prevent it from being slippery, but the land that Grandpa Dangun had chosen was mocking him by scattering snow again.

Crunch, crunch, crunch-.

He turned his eyes to the hill at the sound of a heavy car body stepping on the snow.

Kim Inrang’s car was slowly coming down the slope like a glacier.

It was a ride to bring Kim Eungnyeo’s family as guests.

The wheels were rolling slowly as if they were precious guests.

Thump-.

Son Kwangyeon and Han Yooyoung carefully opened the front door and came out.

“Mom, are our babies still asleep?”

“Yeah. They’re knocked out.”

Son Kwangyeon and Han Yooyoung greeted Kim Eungnyeo’s family warmly.

Jinhyuk’s attention was only focused on his mother’s expression.

‘It’s similar to when she came back from her trip to Hawaii.’

To be exact, it was similar to Yoojin running towards her mother whom she had met after a long time.

Yeah, it’s enough if Mom is happy.

That’s what Dad said.

That family isn’t just about blood ties.

“Jinhyuk-.”

Hwang Gayoung, who got out of the car, waved her hand.

The chestnut vendor who was sweeping the yard smiled awkwardly at his aunt and sisters.