The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 201

I didn’t have any friends when I attended private high school.

It was a fiercely competitive academic environment focused on college entrance exams, so perhaps it was inevitable. The teachers, who were only focused on entrance exam results and not on the students’ personal lives, also contributed to that atmosphere.

Because of the environment, teachers didn’t pay attention to individual students or show favoritism. Although, there were teachers who would single out some students as troublemakers and beat them.

“That’s a good idea? You’re definitely class president material!”

The homeroom teacher I met this time was different.

Despite the students’ quiet resistance, Jinhyuk’s scheme passed without a hitch, thanks to the teacher’s favoritism.

‘Yes! That’s great.’

Jinhyuk had a feeling that his ordinary high school life had begun.

In the past, his high school years had flown by like a flash of light, so much so that he couldn’t even remember them.

That was partly because he had been cooped up in the dorm, studying all the time, regardless of weekdays or weekends, but it was also true that it had passed in the blink of an eye.

Maybe it was because he had no one to rely on back then.

He glanced at Lee Seunghoon, who was sitting next to him.

‘That guy-.’

This big, wrestler-slash-model student was muttering while flipping through his math textbook. Studying might be a talent, but Lee Seunghoon seemed to have the tenacity of an athlete; once he sat down, he would bury himself in his books until his head was spinning.

I knew he was smart in the past, but he wasn’t considered a top student. It was after meeting Jinhyuk that he found another aptitude and changed.

If I were to visualize Jinhyuk’s past and present lives, they would be like the number ‘8’ or the letter ‘X.’ The two characters don’t seem alike at all, but they share a common point of contact.

That point of contact is Lee Seunghoon.

A friend who had been connected to him from middle school to the very end in his past life. Even though their circumstances had changed, they were starting at the same point again this time.

Thanks to meeting Lee Seunghoon in middle school, his two lives had briefly intersected, and now that they were attending high school together, things were starting to flow in a different direction. In a completely different way.

Well, it was just his own personal musings, so it didn’t really matter.

‘He’s next to me then and now.’

Now, Choi Mikyung had taken the position of his best friend, but Lee Seunghoon was the only friend he could call a true friend in both of his lives.

Thump-.

With a light fist, filled with a refreshing feeling, he tapped Lee Seunghoon’s shoulder.

Startled, his friend looked at Jinhyuk. With kind and bright eyes.

“Huh? What’s up, President?”

“Just telling you to work hard. Ask me if you don’t know something.”

“Ah, that’s perfect. I was just looking at this system of simultaneous quadratic equations, and it’s a bit-.”

What a cheeky freshman.

“Within the curriculum.”

That meant not to ask about topics that hadn’t been covered yet.

Only Jinhyuk could get ahead of the curriculum.

I can’t lose first place.

***

Screech-.

“Sorry to bother you during break time.”

Even though it was break time, the first-year students couldn’t leave their seats.

Because the second and third-year seniors were packed in front of and behind the classroom.

There were also many female students among them.

A third-year female student went up to the podium.

“Can the first-year juniors pay attention for a moment?”

The friends who were new to high school, and Jinhyuk, who was experiencing it for the second time, were confused and rolled their eyes.

Is this like the Seven Princesses? [A reference to a popular trope in Korean schools where a group of popular and powerful girls hold sway.]

Surely they’re not trying to extort us?

“Since you’ve come to high school, it would be good to know what student departments and clubs there are at our school, right? So, we came to introduce and promote them. Relax and sit comfortably and listen. Should we start with the disciplinary committee?”

A male student, introduced by the female student, went up to the podium.

His neatly pressed, faded navy uniform seemed to boast, “I’m a third-year.”

“I’m Goeul, who was the head of the disciplinary committee until last year. We’re recruiting disciplinary committee members. The disciplinary committee guides fellow students to maintain their dignity as students and live a righteous life-.”

That’s when it happened.

Kikik-. Ehehehe-.

The gentle Lee Seunghoon was laughing while banging on his desk.

The friends thought he was acting like that because the name was unusual.

The disciplinary committee members glared at him with hardened expressions, but for some reason, Lee Seunghoon didn’t seem to want to stop.

“Hey, hey. What’s wrong with you?”

“The senior is talking, control the air in your lungs.”

The classmates were worried and tried to stop Lee Seunghoon, but Jinhyuk, who knew why his friend was laughing, crossed his arms and stared out the window. He sighed at the unbearable absurdity.

‘Talking about living righteously. That’s the guy who used to smoke in the middle school bathroom.’

That’s right.

The high school student who had clashed with Jinhyuk had become a third-year and was visiting to scout first-year students before his retirement.

Ehehehe-.

“Jinhyuk, this is why they say the world is interesting.”

The reason Lee Seunghoon could laugh so freely was probably because he trusted Jinhyuk, who was next to him. His laughter was cheerful, but there was a hint of disdain on his lips. Even the good-natured Lee Seunghoon couldn’t stand the hypocrisy.

As if he couldn’t take it anymore, the disciplinary committee members approached Lee Seunghoon.

They seemed to be trying hard to hold back their harsh words, probably because they were concerned about Lee Seunghoon’s affiliation. Even if he wasn’t in the wrestling club, he was someone they couldn’t mess with just based on his physique.

“Hey, you. Even if you’re in the wrestling club, you’re still a first-year, and our senior is talking, so you shouldn’t be like that…”

Screech-.

Jinhyuk, who had been listening quietly, stood up from his seat.

All eyes in the classroom turned to Jinhyuk.

The guy who was about to scold Lee Seunghoon recognized Jinhyuk and hesitated, stepping back.

They knew who Jinhyuk was, but seeing him in person was truly intimidating.

Goeul on the podium also recognized Jinhyuk and looked flustered, but the generous Jinhyuk understood. He had grown taller and his uniform had changed… no, but still, how could they not recognize him? With that kind of eyesight, they’re in the disciplinary committee?

‘I want to give him a hard time, but I have to hold back.’

Wearing the uniform made him feel more upright than he had in middle school.

He politely asked the second-year student who was looking up at him, “I have a question. What does the disciplinary committee do?”

“Maintain dignity, guide proper school life-.”

Whew-.

He didn’t intend to argue.

They were probably just doing what they had always done out of habit.

“I have another question. Who created the disciplinary committee?”

“Uh… probably the student council seniors from the past? Are you interested?”

Feeling relieved by his gentle tone, the second-year student acted quite kindly.

However, Jinhyuk’s interest was elsewhere.

“Then it’s possible for the student council to abolish it, right?”

“That’s right. If it goes through the student council executive meeting, it’s possible to establish or abolish a student department. It’s democratic.”

Democracy is good.

They act like school police, checking other students’ hair and uniforms from the morning and locking the doors if they’re even a little late for school. They make both boys and girls do push-ups.

Jinhyuk, who always arrived at school the earliest, had been watching and waiting since middle school.

I need to get rid of the disciplinary committee next year. He muttered to himself so no one could hear, then tapped Lee Seunghoon’s back.

“Stop laughing.”

“Ehee-, okay. I think I’m going through puberty, once I start, I can’t stop like a pee. Aigoo-, sorry seniors-.”

What a useless guy.

Jinhyuk chuckled and raised his voice towards Goeul on the podium.

“Sorry for interrupting. Please continue.”

They still had to listen to the introductions of the other department heads, and if they were going to listen to the club introductions as well, the break time would be short. If they delayed the time, only the innocent friends would suffer.

Isn’t interrupting better than telling them to quit smoking? He nudged Lee Seunghoon’s side with his elbow, who was giggling. Jinhyuk was also laughing.

He didn’t understand why his friend was laughing when it wasn’t even that funny, but when his friend laughed, he strangely felt good too.

*

Art club, choir, cross-stitch circle, poetry club, guitar club, and so on.

There were a variety of hobby clubs in high school. The co-ed nature of the school was reflected in that diversity.

There was also the reason why the female seniors came to promote the clubs to attract male students.

“We’re going to have a poetry and art exhibition later. We’ll draw pictures and write poems-.”

Even Jinhyuk found the clubs to be fascinating and unfamiliar, so how much more would his friends?

“Noona, you’re pretty-!” [Noona is a Korean term used by males to address older females.]

“Noona, what grade and class are you in?”

“Noonaa-, do you have a boyfriend?”

Well, it seemed like they were more interested in the freebies.

Noona, noona, noona-.

What a bunch of perverts.

Still, the atmosphere was definitely softer than in middle school, which was all boys.

In middle school, there was Oh Jongdae, wasn’t there? There was no one barging in to challenge him to a fight.

Screech- Thud-!

When it was lunchtime, another guy barged in.

“Where’s Son Jinhyuk!”

Who the hell is that again….

“Let’s go eat lunch with noona!”

It was Choi Mikyung, the high school girl.

***

It was the day Lee Seunghoon experienced the biggest shock of his life.

It was because of Choi Mikyung, the high school girl.

When all the students’ attention was focused on Choi Mikyung, who was blocking the back door and shouting for Son Jinhyuk, Shin Woosung appeared behind her.

And then, that tiny girl, like an acorn, fearlessly started a scuffle with Shin Woosung.

“Hey! I came first! Did you rent this place? Just because you’re big doesn’t mean anything!”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I was just asking you to move out of the way…”

It wasn’t so much a scuffle as it was Choi Mikyung’s one-sided harassment of the innocent Shin Woosung.

Curiosity flickered in Lee Seunghoon’s eyes.

Did that woman, who fearlessly barged into the boys’ classroom and was yelling at the top of her lungs, have guts? Or did she not have any guts? Was it because she was so small that there wasn’t enough room for her guts?

“You can just say it, why are you pushing me! Do you know who my friend is? Do you know Son Jinhyuk? I’m the one who helped him when he was little and his zipper got caught on his thing and he cried!”

What a crazy person?

Using Choi Mikyung’s rant as a springboard, one of Jinhyuk’s dark pasts, which he had completely forgotten, was automatically revived.

‘Damn it. Maybe I should have just gone to science high school….’

Kikikikik-.

The classmates all looked at Jinhyuk with wide eyes.

‘Where’s a mouse hole? Ugh, this damn concrete building. There aren’t any holes.’

Peace like a river.

Jinhyuk squeezed his eyes shut and touched his temples.

The fiercely furrowed brow expressed Jinhyuk’s inner feelings.

Shin Woosung didn’t raise his voice and scratched the back of his head.

“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to push you, but my stomach just happened to…”

It seemed that Shin Woosung’s stomach had touched Choi Mikyung’s back.

It was hard for the son of a butcher and a heavyweight wrestler not to have a belly.

The only person who could calm the situation was Jinhyuk. He had to soothe the tearful and hesitant Shin Woosung and stop the fighting cock, Choi Mikyung.

“Stop it. We can go together.”

It wasn’t difficult to reconcile them.

Because Choi Mikyung forgave him, pretending to be unable to win against the wrestling club.

“Introduce yourself. He’s Taeyang hyung’s younger brother.”

“Wow-.”

“Really?”

Shin Woosung’s eyes sparkled with admiration, and Lee Seunghoon reacted with disbelief.

Jinhyuk’s lips curled up as he observed Lee Seunghoon’s expression.

Well, who would believe it?

‘I don’t believe it either.’

The difference in physique between Choi Taeyang and Choi Mikyung was too great.

Just like Jinhyuk and Yujin when they were young.

“Yaa-. It’s real, so would it be fake-?”

Choi Mikyung’s tone, which was about to flare up, lowered.

Jinhyuk seemed to know why Choi Mikyung had suddenly become gentle.

‘Seunghoon has a similar vibe to Taeyang hyung.’

His pale face without any stubble, and his build.

The high school girl, Choi Mikyung, was probably thinking of her older brother while looking at Lee Seunghoon.

Seeing that he could even make such an assumption, Jinhyuk thought that he had become more human.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Shin Woo-.”

Jinhyuk quickly grabbed Shin Woosung’s arm and cut him off.

That way, Shin Woosung would be less embarrassed.

Even now, Choi Mikyung was only looking at Lee Seunghoon.

“I’m Lee Seunghoon?”

“Where do you live?”

Choi Mikyung started interrogating Lee Seunghoon openly as she headed towards the cafeteria, as if the other friends were not in her eyes.

“I live alone?”

“Really? Can you cook ramen well?”

“What’s so hard about that? Boil water, put in the noodles and the soup base…”

Put in abalone, scallops, sea squirts, a crab, and if there’s rockfish, put that in too, and the rockfish liver is a must… Lee Seunghoon’s voice, reciting his fisherman-style ramen recipe, trailed off.

His face was flushed red, and he couldn’t look at Choi Mikyung properly.

Hmm-.

Jinhyuk, who was following behind with his arms crossed, narrowed his eyes.

‘Seunghoon, that bastard….’