The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 20

I persuaded my stubborn mom to go to a big hospital in the city.

Yu Sera also chimed in.

She used a strange logic, saying it was even weirder that she suddenly felt better.

“I’ll take care of Yujin, so go when the weather is nice.”

“Yes, sister…”

Hanyoung, usually quiet but incredibly stubborn, became a lamb in front of Yu Sera.

With Yu Sera’s support, Jinhyuk grabbed his mom’s arm and pulled her. He thought, as always, that the way Seoul people shut you down with their words was the best.

Out of the blue, they drew blood and took a urine sample.

They also did an X-ray and an ultrasound.

It was because Jinhyuk insisted, even though they said it wasn’t necessary and could be over-treatment.

“Do it. Just do it. No matter what. Dad will pay for it.”

Son Gwangyeon just nodded enthusiastically, with a ‘I’m rich’ look in his eyes.

The doctor, unable to ignore Jinhyuk and Son Gwangyeon’s fierce gazes, asked a few questions.

“Do you feel dizzy or…”

“No.”

“Nauseous or…”

“No.”

Hanyoung shook her head firmly. She didn’t actually hurt anywhere. How many hospitals had she visited just because she coughed for a few days? She had gotten six shots in her butt because of her husband and son’s fuss, and her butt was numb. One more shot and she might curse.

After the interview and examination, the doctor spoke with difficulty.

“I’m… I’m sorry, but what exactly is wrong with you?”

“I’m really fine. These men dragged me here. Doctor, please help me.”

Hanyoung cried out as if she had been waiting for this. She grabbed the doctor’s sleeve tightly. She pointed at her husband and son, looking wronged. It was a masterful performance, full of her desperate and earnest feelings.

It was a natural reaction for someone who was dragged away from watching TV while eating tangerines.

They even drew her blood.

If a stranger saw them, they would suspect human trafficking. It was a time when the trafficking of women was a social issue. Just yesterday, the evening news led with a high school kidnapping case.

The doctor sighed, looking at the family that resembled each other.

“Look, if other hospitals said it was a cold, you can trust them.”

He was begging them to listen.

People in this area had a ‘stubbornness’ to visit all the hospitals and still not believe it, so they came to big hospitals. For old age or a cold. And to the doctor, this patient looked healthier than he was.

“Yes…”

“Sorry…”

Son Gwangyeon and Jinhyuk bowed their heads.

They learned a lesson that they shouldn’t ignore the local hospitals. They came just in case, but they were only given the side-eye for being healthy and young.

‘So what if it’s overprotective! Why! What! I’ll overprotect my mom!’

They said that coughs and colds were common in the warm and dry winter. There were especially many patients this year. They also suggested that the indoor temperature was too high because of the baby.

However, the doctor couldn’t explain why the cough suddenly disappeared and her voice returned to normal.

“I’m not sure either… Maybe there was some mistake…”

The doctor shut his mouth. It was because of the distrustful looks he was getting, as if he were a quack.

The three of them left, promising to come back when the blood and urine test results were out.

Although they were scolded, Jinhyuk was relieved to hear the doctor’s opinion directly. He thought the results would be fine. Maybe he brought his mom here to reassure himself.

It was still weird that his dad was getting a shot in his butt, saying he would get one since they came to a big hospital.

“Kuh-! Sss-.”

‘Is Dad a pervert?’ Jinhyuk narrowed his eyes, watching his dad rub his butt with a pained expression.

***

“Oppaahhh-!”

Weeeeee-.

Hong Sujeong wailed, putting her hand on the car window.

Yu Sera seemed used to it. She was sitting in the passenger seat with her arms crossed, looking comfortable.

‘She’s eight years old now, how long is she going to cry like that? If she’s going to act like that, she shouldn’t have come.’ Jinhyuk let out a long sigh. Pretending he wasn’t sad.

Seeing Hong Gijun’s family leave meant that school was starting soon.

The longest but most enjoyable fifth grade was coming to an end.

“Jinhyuk, did you finish your homework?”

“Yes.”

He lied, even though he hadn’t finished his writing assignment.

It was because he didn’t want to repeat the pain of last summer vacation.

The genres his dad threw at him were too much for Jinhyuk to handle.

***

The weather, which had been mild all winter, suddenly turned cold during spring break.

It was harsher than the coldness his mom had been radiating after the test results came back as very good.

The only accomplice free from that coldness was Yu Sera, who had left for Seoul.

Even though the late winter cold usually hits during spring break, it was especially severe this year as he was about to enter sixth grade. Jinhyuk, who used to climb Gubong Mountain even when it rained or snowed, stayed indoors and only spent time with his younger sibling.

‘They say three cold days followed by four warm days. Is it still winter?’

On the third day of his seclusion, Jinhyuk went outside, thinking he should exercise, but shook his head. It was still cold. The temperature itself was around -10 degrees Celsius, but the wind chill was severely low. It was probably because it felt colder after the mild weather suddenly dropped to below zero.

It was good for his health and growth, but it could be dangerous to climb the mountain in the sudden cold weather.

So, Jinhyuk decided to clean up dog poop.

‘Amazing.’

He was inwardly impressed as he scooped up Janggun’s elegant poop with a shovel.

It hadn’t even been out for a few minutes, but it was frozen solid like a rock. If it was this cold, there was a high chance that sparrows would infiltrate the warm greenhouse.

‘Dad’s going to drool again.’

He checked the greenhouse. All clear.

Jinhyuk had a concern these days.

Janggun had a designated ditch that he used as a toilet. But these days, he was doing his business near his doghouse. It couldn’t be just because of the cold weather, because he had been displaying his poop around his house like that long before the cold came. As if to show it off.

“Janggun, you’ve changed.”

Hehehe-.

Even when Jinhyuk said he was disappointed, Janggun just grinned and wagged his tail. ‘He poops and then sings about plum blossoms.’ It was like the saying was made for Janggun. [This is a Korean saying that refers to someone who is carefree and enjoys life.]

‘She says she doesn’t hurt anywhere, so why is she like this?’

It wasn’t good to see the smart dog not being able to distinguish between poop and pee. He wondered if he was sick, so he called a vet to the house two days ago. The vet who came to artificially inseminate Kim Eunjeong’s cow was there, so he asked him to check on Janggun.

– “Oh my, this fella is handsome. Hold still, now-?”

The vet thoroughly examined Janggun’s eyes, nose, teeth, and even his butt. The whole family frowned when he poked Janggun’s butt with a thin white plastic stick and sniffed it.

But the vet was a professional, and professionals were different. He closed his eyes, slowly shook his head left and right, and sniffed, looking more like a perfumer. Even if his name wasn’t Park Buro, you could see his professionalism. [Park Buro is a common name in Korea, and the author is making a pun on the word ‘pro’.]

Park Buro finally touched Janggun’s muscular legs. He made an ‘ooh’ sound of admiration. Although they were short dog legs, Janggun’s body was like it was made of steel fiber, nothing less than horse muscles.

Finally, Park Buro gave an impressive diagnosis.

– “Huh, I’ve never seen a dog this healthy in my 25 years of experience? I’d believe you if you said he was a lion.”

Regardless of the vet’s opinion, Jinhyuk was relieved to see Janggun growl at the word ‘mongrel.’ It meant that there were no problems with communication.

Anyway, he was a friend as precious as family, so it would be a problem if he was sick.

But why did this guy change his toilet?

It would be nice if he could read his mind. Janggun understood Jinhyuk’s words, but Jinhyuk couldn’t understand dog language.

“Go poop over there, you rascal.”

Hehehe-.

He pointed to the ditch he used to use and scolded him, but Janggun just stuck out his tongue and wagged his tail.

*

The next day, the weather warmed up like a lie.

It seemed like the three cold days and four warm days cycle was real. [This refers to a Korean saying about the weather pattern during late winter.]

Water from the melting icicles dripped and made impact craters under the eaves.

After cleaning up after Janggun, Jinhyuk headed to Gubong Mountain.

Janggun was lying down in the ditch he used to use, as if he had understood Jinhyuk’s words.

‘Did he really understand?’

It didn’t seem like it.

He was just lying in the ditch Jinhyuk had pointed to, and he was still displaying his poop around his house. He was told to poop there, not just lie there. Since communication wasn’t smooth, Jinhyuk was frustrated.

In the past, when he worked at Sein Group, if someone didn’t understand after one explanation, he would harshly downgrade their evaluation in his mind. He didn’t show it, but now he realized that he treated them like dogs or monkeys just because they didn’t understand. Even though he knew they were pretending not to know because they didn’t want to work, a sense of shame sprouted in his heart.

Anyway, it was an unkind thing to do. He also thought it wasn’t something a person with character should do.

‘How embarrassing.’

Was it because of hormones? Thinking about it made him reflect on the past again.

What was it about dog poop?

How could dog poop bring up such a topic? How could dog poop make him reflect? Was this why they called it dog poop philosophy?

Jinhyuk called Janggun with a softened expression.

“Janggun, let’s go exercise, bro.”

Was there a rift in the emotions between the dog and the person? Janggun ignored Jinhyuk.

It was clear dog-ignoring.

Even when Jinhyuk ran up the hill, Janggun was unmoved.

Jinhyuk felt inexplicably sad.

It was perhaps natural to feel that way since he was ignored by Janggun, who he used to exercise with every day. This might also be because of hormones.

“I shouldn’t scold him anymore.”

He muttered and sprinted towards Gubong Mountain.

He stretched his shoulders and threw punches as he ran. He was releasing the sadness and guilt he felt towards Janggun into the air. Every time he threw a punch, there was a ‘whack’ sound of the wind tearing.

Gubong Mountain had more rocky sections than dirt. It meant that the course wasn’t flat. So, it was said that it was a mountain that even the old woodcutters avoided, not to mention the elderly and weak. Jinhyuk had only encountered a handful of people in the year he had been going up and down Gubong Mountain, which showed how few people visited. Although there weren’t many hikers anyway.

He stopped by the spring to drink water and admired the scenery from the summit.

The city was visible to the northeast, and the sea was to the west.

To the southwest was the village where Jinhyuk lived.

‘Is no one here?’

He looked around for a moment, feeling like a North Korean spy.

It was embarrassing to shout loudly when no one was around.

It was still unfamiliar for him to show off his existence.

Ahem! Aaa- He cleared his throat.

“Yoo-hoo!”

Yoo-hooooo-.

The mountain was the only entity that understood Jinhyuk’s words as they were, without distortion.

A child’s voice echoed throughout the mountain valley.

“Heehee-.”

He looked around again to see if anyone had seen him.

It was fun and exciting, like he was stealing something. In the old days, they didn’t let you shout because it would scare the wild animals. Soon, that kind of news would come out again. He had to bother the wild animals as much as he could before it became common sense.

No one was telling him not to, but his heart was pounding at the thought of committing a transgression.

‘It feels empty.’

It felt lonely without Janggun, who always howled like a wolf next to him. It must all be because of that wretched thing called hormones.

He had shouted, so it was time to go home. He had to give Janggun some mudskippers.

Was it because of the warm weather? A thick fog began to form.

It wasn’t even noon yet, but the blue sky had turned dark like dusk.

‘What strange weather.’

It was a phenomenon he often saw on the coast. Still, he decided to hurry back for safety.

He was on the flat mid-slope after passing the steep incline when he met a familiar face. It was someone he hadn’t expected at all.

“…Grandma.”

It was Choi Mikyung’s grandmother.

She was climbing the mountain without a cane, looking comfortable and not tired at all.

She was wearing clothes that exuded a noble elegance, not her usual work pants. It reminded him of the winged clothes he had seen in the old tale of the woodcutter and the fairy. [This is a reference to a Korean folktale.]

‘Did she get out of bed?’

He had heard his dad say something a while ago.

Mikyung’s grandmother had been bedridden for over a month.

Unlike usual, her back was straight, and her wrinkled skin was full of elasticity. Her brown skin, which had been tanned from a lifetime of farming, was white and fair as if she had put on makeup. It was so different that it was normal not to recognize her, but Jinhyuk recognized that she was Choi Mikyung’s grandmother at a glance. It was something that couldn’t be explained by saying they looked alike, but rather by intuition.

“It’s our Jinaek.”

Choi Mikyung’s grandmother smiled at Jinhyuk.

A chilly wind suddenly blew.

Jinhyuk felt that the voice calling him was echoing.

The sudden change in weather, the strange appearance of the grandmother, and his hazy consciousness as if he were drunk. There was something he expected, and his mind went cold.

‘Maybe it’s a serendipity.’

He was calm and without fear.

To be honest, he had experienced death and returned to the past. There couldn’t be any more serendipity or mystery than that.

Strong-hearted Jinhyuk decided to satisfy his curiosity rather than run away.

“Where are you going when you’re not feeling well?”

“I have a place to go, so I dressed up.”

The grandmother sat on a wide rock and patted the spot next to her.

She started talking as if she had been waiting, as Jinhyuk carefully sat next to her.

“I was born in a village called Motbat beyond this mountain. I got married at fifteen to escape the Japs… My friends were dragged away by the Japs…” [Japs is a derogatory term for Japanese people, used during the Japanese occupation of Korea.]

Jinhyuk’s face turned foolish at the sudden outpouring of stories.

He looked like a country bumpkin from Seoul.