The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 193

*

“This house is really nice.”

“It’s big, but cozy.”

Hwang Gayoon and Hwang Gayoung, upon entering the house, couldn’t stop marveling.

Their expressions showed they hadn’t expected such a mansion in the countryside, and there was even a sense of unfamiliarity, as if they had stepped into a medieval castle standing on a desolate cliff.

Jinhyuk found their reactions, full of surprise and wonder, strange. He had never felt such emotions. He might have felt a small envy for friends who enjoyed simple affections, but he was a cynical person who wasn’t easily impressed by material things.

“Sister, try this on.”

“Oh my-, you must be busy taking care of the kids, why are you even taking care of me?”

Even while saying that, Kim Eungnyeo was quite touched as she accepted the cardigan Han Yooyoung had offered. The little girl who used to have her hair brushed and taught knitting by Kim Eungnyeo when she was in high school was now a mother of three, taking care of her older sister.

“Is my luck finally turning around…?”

“Sister, that’s just silly. Don’t say things like that.”

“Okay, okay.”

Hwang Gayoon approached Son Kwangyeon, who was watching them with a pleased expression, hesitantly.

“Um-, Mr. President.”

“Hey. What’s with ‘Mr. President’ to your uncle?”

Son Kwangyeon, who had been gently touching the sleeping Jungwon’s hand, feigned a stern look.

Hwang Gayoon had become a researcher at General Farm.

It was a struggling local company, and there were hardly any applicants, so Son Kwangyeon was so grateful for his choice that he felt like bowing in thanks. He was even more grateful after seeing his wife’s joy at the news of Hwang Gayoon’s hiring.

“Um-, Uncle. I heard about it during the interview, but I have a question.”

“Yeah. What is it? Go ahead.”

“The company housing in town. Can families live there too?”

Hehehe- Son Kwangyeon burst into hearty laughter.

“You have to live together to be a family. Of course, your mom and sister will move in too.”

“That’s great.” Hwang Gayoon murmured, holding her sister’s hand tightly.

“Our company’s benefits are pretty good. Maybe even better than Sein Group’s?”

That was a given.

General Farm’s welfare system was designed by Jinhyuk, who had worked at the future Sein Group, before it even existed. Even Hong Gijoon was seeking advice from Son Kwangyeon.

“It’s an apartment, so it’ll be comfortable. The commuter bus also leaves from the apartment parking lot.”

‘Will Gayoon be driven to work by Inrang more often?’ Son Kwangyeon wondered, then looked at Kim Eungnyeo, who was fidgeting with her sweater.

“Sister-in-law, you can live comfortably now.”

“Oh my-. I’m so grateful and sorry…”

Kim Eungnyeo trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

Jinhyuk, holding the sleeping Yoojin, sat on the sofa, simply observing.

People who couldn’t fully express their emotions under a veil of appropriate tension.

‘My heart feels a little ticklish.’

It was like watching a race between two turtles, one slightly ahead of the other, a tediousness that made his palms sweat. The fact that it wasn’t frustrating was probably because he could see their inner feelings.

Those were the actions of ordinary people who knew how to control their emotions.

There was no hint of jealousy in the sisters’ expressions as they looked around the house. It wasn’t much different from Yoojin’s reaction when she was amazed during the General Farm tour, and it was so innocent that it was enjoyable to watch.

‘It seems like things have settled down well.’

He felt relieved every time he saw them, but he was only now feeling at ease.

Even though no one was wary of him, he had worried and pondered several times.

The deep-seated distrust of people that was ingrained in him acted as an obstacle, preventing Jinhyuk from opening up easily.

‘It’s my personality that’s the problem.’

He no longer had any doubts or suspicions about Kim Eungnyeo’s family. He felt at peace, and there were no more warnings from the top of his head.

His mother wanted it, and there was no reason to oppose it. It seemed like he could now fully accept them as family.

*

Hwang Gayoung, who had been circling near the fish tank like a malfunctioning robot, approached him.

Hwang Gayoung, sitting on the sofa, stroked Yoojin’s forehead. Then, looking around cautiously, she whispered just loud enough for Jinhyuk to hear.

‘Aren’t apartments expensive?’

Hwang Gayoung’s eyes trembled as if she was scared, as she asked carefully.

Oh my, what a country bumpkin.

Jinhyuk quickly suppressed the laughter that was about to burst out.

She was about to go to college after taking the college entrance exam, but she still looked like a timid girl. It seemed that she was comfortable with Jinhyuk because they had spent time together every morning before the break, building a sibling-like bond.

Well, how much would a twenty-year-old know about the world? Even the past Jinhyuk couldn’t even fathom the size of the world he had stepped into at that age.

Jinhyuk spoke softly, considering Hwang Gayoung’s feelings.

‘It’s the countryside, so the land isn’t that expensive, and I heard it was built by a construction company where Dad knows the president.’

The president of Sein Construction was someone else, but there was no need to explain it in detail.

That didn’t mean that the construction costs were free or drastically reduced. Hong Gijoon was the type to keep transactions transparent, even if he added his own money.

Jinhyuk just wanted to ease Hwang Gayoung’s mental burden.

‘There are many companies in the provinces that provide company housing. Some companies even provide housing in Seoul.’

It was a very small number, but there were companies that did that as a special perk.

‘You know a lot.’

Of course, he knew a lot.

He had lived in company housing until he got his own officetel [a studio apartment] under his name.

It was an apartment that was ambiguous to call company housing. It was a house that Executive Director Hong Sujeong had found separately for Jinhyuk. With company money.

While the adults were enjoying refreshments separately, Hwang Gayoung didn’t leave the side of the sleeping Yoojin and Jungwon.

“They’re so pretty. I’m so happy.”

She said that even though they weren’t her biological siblings, she was so happy to have an aunt and siblings, since she had no relatives. Also, thanks to her sister getting a job, she could leave the teahouse. Now, Hwang Gayoung would stay in the apartment during breaks, and she had relatives and neighbors to visit during holidays.

“I’ve never envied other friends. But having them is so great.”

“You can think of it as an entrance gift.”

“That makes sense.”

Jinhyuk was feeling something similar.

On top of that, the resentment that only he had felt seemed to have washed away, so it could be called the icing on the cake.

“But Yoojin is sleeping so soundly. Jungwon is just wiggling his arms and legs.”

“Yoojin made a snowman this morning.”

“In this weather?”

“If the weather wasn’t like this, she wouldn’t be sleeping. She has so much energy. She must be tired from the wind today.”

Jinhyuk glanced at Kim Inrang, who was sipping yuja tea [citron tea] at the table. It seemed that the uncle hadn’t mentioned that he had caught a cold from playing with Yoojin. Was it some kind of male pride?

“Yoojin is only seven years old, but she’s so tall?”

“She’s taller and weighs more than when I entered school.”

Yoojin’s physical condition was better than her brother’s when he was in third grade.

It must be because she eats well and sleeps well.

The family’s financial situation was also much better than when Jinhyuk was young.

“I’ve never seen babies this close before, it’s amazing.”

Jinhyuk smiled gently.

Even though he had watched them grow since the day they were born, he couldn’t believe how much the children had grown.

‘When did that thing that couldn’t even open its eyes and just ate, slept, and pooped grow up so much?’

Rolling over, crawling, standing on two feet. And then, as if she had always been able to, she started running around.

Was it because it was time to send her to school? The image of his younger sister’s growth flashed like a panorama.

The more videos he recorded and the longer the playback time, the more blurred the memories of the past became, until they lost their three-dimensionality at some point.

Like a forgotten secret history of a faraway land, Jinhyuk’s past life had turned into a dry timeline with only the points of events and the line of time.

From nine to sixteen years old.

Now, Jinhyuk’s film had been replaced with a new one.

‘What did I do on the first day of the new year when I was going to high school?’

Did I deliver newspapers?

Hwang Gayoung’s voice pulled Jinhyuk’s mind back to the present, which was still fumbling through the black and white film.

“Does Yoojin have a secret to being so tall? I’m so jealous of her height.”

“She’s energetic. It seems like she’s stimulating her growth plates a lot.”

Yoojin still runs around until she’s exhausted these days.

It seems like she’s trying to grow taller before entering elementary school.

The sleeping Yoojin scrunched up her face.

Jinhyuk and Hwang Gayoung inhaled, but it didn’t seem like they were the reason for disturbing her sleep.

“Ughhh-. Mija, I’m sorryyyy-”

It seemed like she was having a nightmare about being tormented by a tentacle monster.

Yoojin had eaten a lot of sea anemone stir-fry.

Even in December, Jinhyuk had to wear a chestnut vendor’s hat and catch sea anemones.

Not to encourage his father, but because the sea anemones had captured the taste buds of the whole family.

He had wondered if he was using his superhuman physical abilities too insignificantly, but there was nowhere else to use his strength.

A world without adventures to defeat monsters and save princesses, an era where there were no barbaric wars of territorial expansion or power struggles by turning the entire continent into a war zone.

Excessive and violent power was nothing more than unnecessary baggage. He would soon become the monster and the target of elimination.

“Uwaaa-. You immature thinggg-”

Jinhyuk imagined Yoojin struggling, caught by a giant sea anemone tentacle, and chuckled. He used to be afraid of having nightmares and was wary of even his dreams, but now he was having comical imaginations.

‘Oh my, once I get hooked on something, I keep associating it with everything.’

Even after seeing off Kim Eungnyeo’s family as they left in Kim Inrang’s car, Jinhyuk’s imagination continued.

Son Yoojin, the poop villain, being chased by a sea anemone division.

“Mijaaa- I’m sorryyyy-. Oppa, help meeee-”

Ah, Yoojin.

You have to take care of your own dreams.

No.

I can’t help you.

Go back.

“Ughhhhhh-”

Yoojin, still lying on the sofa, reached out her arms into the air.

But should he hold the hand of his pretty younger sister who was struggling?

As he held her small hand, Yoojin also squeezed his hand.

Po-ahng-.

“Ehehehe-”

Umm-.

Hey. You’re not sleeping, are you?

Wow! That smells amazing.

***

What are the advantages of the winter break between middle school and high school?

That the break is long? That there are no supplementary classes?

“It’s so great that there’s no homework for the break. Hehehe-”

At the end of the year, and at the beginning of the year.

Choi Mikyung, a teenager on break, lived like a mole in the mole den.

There were several high-performance computers, so she could play games and use the internet that she had learned from Jinhyuk, so this place was heaven.

“Jinhyuk, manga dot jpg? Is it okay to download this?”

On the black background of the monitor, there was a neon green frame, and inside it, red text.

Jinhyuk leaned over and looked at Choi Mikyung’s monitor, then quickly snatched the mouse from the teenager.

The blinking prompt, as if telling her to press the enter key, was licking like the devil’s tongue.

“Th, that, that’s, um, that’s- not good.”

“Why? It’s a manga, they say?”

That’s not that kind of manga!

Jinhyuk had also downloaded it, wondering what it was, and had spent several nights tossing and turning, feeling uneasy. Anyway, that’s what happened.

Although it was in black and white, it was the kind of manga that Yeom Byeongtaek would like.

Jinhyuk had to soothe his mind and body, which were trapped in a darkness deeper than pitch black, with meditation. He kept repeating, ‘May peace like a river flow through me.’

Fortunately, even if it wasn’t a .JPG, there were plenty of things for Choi Mikyung to play with.

“Shinobi is boring. It gets hard from here.”

But she played that game every day.

“The karaoke accompaniment is so old-fashioned.”

But she sang it every day.

Choi Mikyung, like a Gen X teenager, had mastered all the top 10 songs on the music charts, and she showed her passion by singing until her voice was hoarse.

Still, Choi Mikyung’s singing was pleasant to listen to, so Jinhyuk would stop what he was doing and listen.

Choi Mikyung didn’t just play solo.

There were many people to play with.

Tatatatatadadak-!

When she played Tetris with Min Yongrak, the sound of the keyboard breaking could be heard.

“Stick! Stickkkkk! Give me the stickkkkk! Uwaaaaaa! Those Soviet bastards, dieeeeee!”

“Oh my, you’re going to make me deaf.”

Min Yongrak’s left hearing was actually weakened, so he was using his right ear when talking to his girlfriend on the phone. He had thought about switching seats, but he decided not to switch because it was better to keep at least one ear safe.

After enjoying various things and spending time, Choi Mikyung would move on to the final stage.

Choi Mikyung, who was lying down reading a comic book, called out to Min Yongrak with a hoarse voice.

“Ahem- ahem-. Ahem-. Uncle Yongrak, is there no new Young Jump?”

Her voice sounded like a heron’s cry.

“The one you’re reading is the latest issue.”

“Ah, that’s too bad.”

In the mole den, there was a room full of comic books and magazines that Min Yongrak always kept stocked.

How could one give up the happiness of lying on a warm floor, peeling tangerines, and reading comic books on a cold winter day?

“Eat this while you do it-”

“Wow! Uncle, you’re the best!”

Jang Jinam provided snacks that teenagers liked, such as tteokbokki [spicy rice cakes] and fried food, so the addictiveness of the mole den was unparalleled. Maybe it could be compared to the smell of a leather watch strap in the summer. Sniff sniff- that smell that you kept smelling.

‘Could it be? Is the mole den the origin of PC bangs [internet cafes]?’

Jinhyuk was having such absurd suspicions, as Choi Mikyung seemed so happy in the mole den.

She would roll around in the mole den as if she was going to solve her lodging and meals there, and she would often take naps. Since she had friends, she came to play every day, and she ate and slept comfortably. Like a bear hibernating.

Of course, next to her was Yoojin, who was always stuck to her brother.

Todotok- Yoojin crawled over to her brother, who was tapping on the keyboard.

“Oppa, are you, are you- programming?”

“Um-. You could say that.”

If you open a programming language textbook and tap on the keyboard, isn’t that programming?

Or not.

“What kind of programming is it?”

“That’s…”

Hello, world!

If you type it in as the book says, that’s what comes out.