The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 202

Choi Mikyung is a fascinating creature.

From the time she started toddling, little Choi Mikyung would come to find Jinhyuk every day. Her tiny hands would hold a plastic bag filled with puffed rice or senbei [a type of Japanese rice cracker], and unless there was a cataclysmic storm, she never missed a day of visiting her friend.

Until Jinhyuk disappeared, they went to kindergarten and school together, hand in hand, every single day.

Even when Choi Mikyung became a working adult and met Jinhyuk again, and even when they occasionally saw each other after she got married, they would laugh happily while reminiscing about their childhood. But her eyes always held a hint of sadness, probably out of pity for her childhood friend with whom she had suddenly lost contact.

She might seem stubborn and picky at first glance, but she easily opens her heart to those she likes, and she is a soul who endlessly pours affection on those she has given her heart to.

‘That’s probably why she couldn’t dump that goody-two-shoes and ended up marrying him. She’s too soft-hearted to get a divorce.’

Jinhyuk and Choi Mikyung would pick wild greens in the spring, snap off and eat the young shoots of the rose bushes, and in the summer, they would go pick wild cherries and raspberries. In the fall, they would pick figs and search the mountains for hazelnuts. In the winter, they would build snowmen, go sledding, and when their cheeks were red and frozen, they would huddle together in front of the fireplace, roasting potatoes.

Before entering kindergarten, the mischievous little Choi Mikyung loved to run around wearing only her underwear and a cloth like a cape. If Jinhyuk fell while following her, she would come back, help him up, and put her saliva on his scraped knees.

Even after his second life began and they gradually grew older, the daily lives of his childhood friends in the countryside remained unchanged. Jinhyuk had even played in a molehill with Choi Mikyung until the day before school started. Perhaps Jinhyuk, who had returned to his childhood, was confused by the emotions that didn’t match his body, but he did his best to get along with Choi Mikyung as a way of repaying such a friend.

Jinhyuk watched them with a strange and affectionate gaze.

Two of his most precious friends walking side by side.

“Wow-. You guys put all sorts of things in your ramen? My brother doesn’t even put in an egg. Ah, my brother used to make ramen for me often.”

That’s right, when Choi Taeyang came home, that punk would always be walking around with swollen eyes.

Every time, Jinhyuk would tease him, calling him a ‘navel-eyed’ and run away.

Choi Mikyung was a better runner than Chicken Johnson, so she was useful as a training partner.

“Really? Ah, can you get me your brother’s autograph?”

Lee Seunghoon, his face now flushed red, stammered.

That bastard, he’s not interested in the autograph, he’s just trying to find an excuse to talk to her and see her again, isn’t he?

Typical Lee Seunghoon. Is this what it’s like to be a wrestler?

Choi Mikyung raised her arm and playfully tapped Lee Seunghoon’s shoulder.

“Heh, you little rascal. That’s nothing. Should I get you one of my brother’s wrestling briefs?”

“Huh? Really?”

“Hey, just say the word. What color do you like?”

“I like that, uh, blue color.”

As a town by the sea, blue was the color that symbolized Taeyang, and because of that, the athletes’ uniforms were also predominantly blue.

“Hey! I’ll get you all the colors of the rainbow!”

No matter how you look at it, it’s an unfamiliar sight.

‘They went to the same high school in the past.’

In the past, Lee Seunghoon said he didn’t know Choi Mikyung. He especially didn’t know that she was Choi Taeyang’s younger sister. It’s probably because both Choi Mikyung and Lee Seunghoon were quiet and reserved during high school. And considering that they were five years apart and Choi Taeyang wasn’t that famous when he was young, it wasn’t that hard to understand.

‘I’m the reason they became friends.’

As an outsider, there’s nothing more rewarding than this.

It’s a relief that Shin Woosung, who was scolded by Choi Mikyung, is laughing, so it seems like he doesn’t have any emotional scars.

“What’s your specialty?”

“I’m good at the under-leg throw.”

“Hey, a man should be good at the hip throw! Have you seen my brother do the hip throw? Isn’t he like someone who was born to do the hip throw? Last year during the Chuseok [Korean Thanksgiving] match, he just slammed that fatty!”

“Oh, oh-!”

Choi Mikyung, who was clumsily imitating a wrestling move, stumbled, and Lee Seunghoon caught her so she wouldn’t fall. In that moment, a gaze exchange that could only be seen in a third-rate romance took place, and the way those cheeky kids’ lips curled up was quite annoying.

Shin Woosung, who was patting his belly at the mention of ‘fatty,’ was the only one with a bitter expression.

The picture is disgustingly good. Jinhyuk, who was quietly following behind, muttered.

Hey, but I taught Taeyang hyung the hip throw.

Shin Woosung, who was as oblivious as Son Jinhyuk, seemed to have noticed something and whispered to Jinhyuk.

‘Boss, I think they’ve got the hots for each other.’

He’s quick to notice.

Shin Woosung is probably the only person who is slower to notice things than Son Jinhyuk.

Jinhyuk nodded in agreement without saying a word.

Shin Woosung has grown up quite a bit, hasn’t he? Even if he’s slow to notice things, it’s an insight that makes you nod in agreement.

Chirp chirp-.

Hehehe-.

They’re having a good time.

‘Ugh, it’s so noisy.’

It seems like I’ll have to eat with Shin Woosung alone.

Chirp chirp chirp-!

Hehehehehe-!

Choi Mikyung and Lee Seunghoon were giggling and walking ahead, enjoying themselves.

The way they walked together was like…

Eh, never mind.

***

With her arms crossed, Son Yujin held her chin with one hand.

Her eyes, unusually sharp, were glaring at the desk. It looked like there was a bug on the desk, but the only thing in her line of sight was a piece of paper.

「Introducing My Family」

A monumental first assignment as a student.

What a touching moment.

“You should go home and ask your mom or grandma for help. Tell them, ‘The teacher told me to do this homework.’ Okay?”

“Yessss-.”

Even though the first graders in Class 1 were shouting energetically, Son Yujin didn’t answer. She just kept glaring at the homework with her eyes narrowed.

Hmm-. Can’t I do it myself?

Unable to suppress her curiosity, she raised her hand.

“Teacher!”

“Yes? Yujin, what is it?”

“Do we have to get help?”

The teacher, who had looked puzzled for a moment, quickly changed her expression to a smile.

It had only been two weeks since the first semester started.

The difference in achievement among the students was so great that some children could fluently read the ‘Right Living’ textbook, while others still couldn’t read at all. The difference in writing skills was needless to say.

“Those who can do it themselves can do it themselves.”

Son Yujin smiled at the homeroom teacher’s answer, as if she understood her heart.

Then, she scrunched up one cheek so that her cheekbones rose.

‘Ouch-. Why does my tooth hurt?’

She moved her jaw and touched it with her tongue, but the pain from just now didn’t come back. How can I treat it if I don’t know where it hurts?

She couldn’t afford to relax and take her time to find the painful area.

Because.

“Have a good lunch, and see you tomorrow. Okay, class leader!”

The class leader has to stand at attention and salute.

“Attention-. Salute to the teacher-.”

And there’s something more important to do.

“Class leader, they’re serving hay rice today.”

It’s time to go eat.

“Hey, Lee Dongho. But why is hay rice called hay rice?”

“I don’t know either.”

Kim Hojin and Lee Dongho are still too young to know.

A highlight is a collection of only the most interesting scenes.

Hay rice is a collection of only the most delicious foods.

Son Yujin is a smart class leader, so she knows that too.

– “No matter how delicious it is, if you put it all together, it’s dog food. These days, city folks go to buffets a lot, but if you put it all on one plate, what does it look like? Dog food- dog food-.”

It must be my imagination that I hear Jjorongi’s voice somewhere.

I think I’ve been hanging out with that old man too much.

I need to distance myself.

Before leaving the classroom, Son Yujin opened the cleaning supply closet.

“Jin Dojun is the leader of the fourth group, right?”

“Yeah. We’ll clean up and go.”

The first graders, who only have four classes in the morning, go home after eating, just like kindergarteners. They can apply to participate in after-school classes, but she hasn’t applied because there aren’t any courses she likes yet. She wanted to learn piano, but they don’t offer that.

Lee Dongho, her classmate, followed Son Yujin as she walked briskly toward the cafeteria.

Lee Dongho, whose legs were still short, asked with difficulty as he tried to keep up.

“Class leader, are you just going home again today?”

“Yeah. Lee Dongho, let’s go to my house.”

Why would I need to stay in the after-school care classroom when I have my mom and many uncles at home?

It’s more fun to swim with my uncles at the bear gym and run around with Hongsi and Geomma than to stay at school doing nothing.

“Lee Dongho, you should learn to swim too.”

“Should I? Will my mom buy me a swimsuit?”

“What’s wrong with a kid swimming naked?”

“Is that so…?”

Lee Dongho thought Son Yujin’s words sounded plausible.

The friends he met after moving to the countryside ran around wearing only their underwear. Even the girls.

“I’ll learn too-. When I went to the bear gym and saw the class leader swimming, it was different from splashing around in the sea-. It was so cool.”

Unlike Lee Dongho, Kim Hojin, who saw Son Yujin as a rival, joined in.

“Let’s eat together and take the yellow bus.”

“Okay. I like that. If I go to the class leader’s house, there are a lot of dogs, and my uncle will take me home.”

“Hoo-hoo-. Why do you need a reason to say all that? A man should keep his mouth shut. Like Son Yujin’s older brother.”

What is he talking about? He’s the one who talks a lot.

Son Yujin, who glanced at Kim Hojin as if he was absurd, stretched out her arm to stop her friends. To prevent them from advancing any further at the entrance of the cafeteria.

“Why?”

“Let’s go in after the kindergarteners go in first.”

“Oh, oh-. We should. It’s brotherly love-.”

Kim Hojin, who had learned a thing or two from Cheon Gilyong, nodded his head strongly.

It was a difficult word, so no one objected.

***

The fact that he had entered high school made the day feel short.

The class periods were 5 minutes longer than in middle school, and there were also more regular classes. Soon, when the night self-study starts in April, Jinhyuk would have almost no time to play with his younger siblings.

“Hmm-. Yujin did this homework herself?”

“Yes!”

Behind Yujin, who answered energetically, her mother, who was cooking in the kitchen, smiled contentedly. As someone who had witnessed it firsthand, as a mother, she seemed very proud of her daughter.

“When I asked her to show me her homework, she just showed it to me, and said she would write it herself. It seems like she’s going to become a more hardcore study bug than her brother.”

No, mother, hardcore?!

Even if you’re a direct ascendant, your words are too much.

Jinhyuk, who twitched his nose, looked at the homework that Yujin had handed him.

「Introducing My Family」

– Introduce your family and write what they are good at.

Perhaps she wanted to show off the English she had learned from Min Yongrak, as she had written an English word at the top with a fairly neat hand.

「PARTNER」

‘Not family?’

Jinhyuk only questioned it in his mind because Yujin was looking at him with sparkling eyes.

The first line that Yujin had written herself was unusual.

Jinhyuk closed his lips tightly to hold back his laughter, making his dimples deepen.

The handwriting, which had looked like worms flying around, had become quite refined, but…

「Dad: Son Gwangyeon, he farts well.
Mom: Han Yooyoung, her hands are spicy, Dad is scared of her.」

The names of Moon Seokil, Yang Kangwook, Jang Jinnam, Min Yongrak, as well as Jung Sangtae, Kang Heonchang, and Kim Inrang were also there. Moon Seokil’s specialty was ‘wearing sunglasses well.’ Yang Kangwook ‘helps Dad well.’ The names of agents who were not seen often, such as Joo Shinyoung and Kim Sangho, were also on the list of uncles.

「Brother: Son Jinhyuk, he explains things well.」

What?

I guess it means that I explain things kindly.

Still, I’m her brother, isn’t it too short? I’m starting to feel a little sad.

「Sister: Son Jungwon, she smiles well.
Sister: Janggun, he drools a lot.」

Well, it seems like Yujin considers Janggun her younger sibling, but I don’t think Janggun feels the same way.

Hongsi, Cheonma, and Gwangma were also proudly listed as younger siblings.

「Sister: Hongsi, she only follows me around.
Sister: Cheonma, she catches fish well.
Sister: Gwangma, he’s very timid.
Sister: Geomma, she’s cute.」

She was so greedy for them, she even put Geomma, the dog from another house, on the family tree.

“Hmm-.”

Can I submit this as a family introduction?

Well, it’s a meaningless assignment, but the teacher might find it strange.