The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 205

< Luck (2) >

I was going to show Yujin a boat show made of water and pine resin, but after something in the water swallowed a pine sprout under the rippling waves, the siblings’ conversation took an unexpected turn.

A child doesn’t need laws.

It’s not that they can live without laws.

“They say if you get hit once, you have to hit back once.”

“That….”

Ha, what should I say in this situation?

Jinhyuk tilted his blank face to the side.

Jo Ilheon must have taught him that.

Or maybe it was Dad.

“It was a good thing the snakehead went and hit them.”

“Since they were officially imported, we can’t say we were hit.”

“Why did they import them?”

“That….”

Oh, my head.

No one can withstand Yujin’s infinite question barrage.

Even Jinhyuk’s pupils were starting to dilate; who else could handle it?

“Huh? Why did they import them?”

“I think they said it was to supply protein….”

“Ooh? Are bass delicious?”

“Oppa hasn’t tried them either.”

Someone, please stop her. That’s what Jinhyuk’s eyes seemed to say.

Being pretty is one thing, but she completely drains your energy.

But unfortunately, Son Yujin was as oblivious as her brother.

“Let’s try eating bass later.”

“Okay. I’ll learn how to catch them and cook them for you.”

It’ll be easier to catch than a wild boar, right?

“But what do bass eat?”

“They say they eat anything they can swallow because their mouths are big.”

“Eek-. Then all the fish in our country will disappear.”

I can definitely answer that question.

I remember reading a paper after being intrigued by an article I stumbled upon in the past. Time and events that I let flow by are hazy, but it’s funny how events I observed with interest are still partially clear in my memory.

“Well-. The greatest ability a living thing has is adaptability. People wear thick clothes when it’s cold and look for cool places when it’s hot, right? Our fish will eventually survive by getting bigger and swimming faster to avoid being eaten. Then the bass will have nothing to eat, so they’ll end up eating snails or small crayfish and get smaller. In a way, isn’t adaptability the greatest weapon and luck that nature has given us?”

They say that even if the world ends, creatures that adapt well will survive.

Like cockroaches.

The Amur bitterling is the one that eats up native fish like crazy, but because it’s not easily seen, the bass is taking all the blame. Seeing that, the bass is really unlucky.

“Yujin and Oppa adapted too.”

Mutants acting like normal people. Should we call this camouflage?

Whatever happens to the bass, nature, the universe, will balance things out, so it wasn’t a problem for Jinhyuk to worry about seriously. However, as someone who could also threaten the ecosystem, and as someone who had the greatest luck of regression, he might have wanted to defend the bass in his own way.

“Ummm-.”

Yujin furrowed her brow again. Muttering about adaptation, weapons, and luck.

She’s probably going to use it somewhere again.

Jinhyuk waited quietly until his sister’s brow unfurrowed.

It seemed like she had memorized everything, but the mature Yujin noticed her brother’s serious expression and changed the subject.

“Oppa-. I like rowing boats better than motorboats.”

“Huh? Motorboats?”

In Jinhyuk’s bewildered eyes, his sister’s resin-sticky hand came into view.

Ah, Yujin seems to think of the pine sprouts that push through the water as motorboats.

“If it’s a rowing boat, Oppa knows something about that too!”

Jinhyuk dusted off his bottom and stood up.

Janggun and Hongsi, who were waiting quietly on the stairs, and Cheonma and Gwangma, who were sunbathing on the track, also jumped up.

“Oh, you guys. You’ve worked hard protecting our Yujin. ······ Huh?”

Before moving, Jinhyuk’s face slightly contorted as he vigorously petted the dogs.

Because of the black tan, who was sticking out his tongue and wagging his tail like crazy, now looking like an adult dog.

Heheheh-.

But why are you still following me, Geomma?

Gamma is at your house.

***

Heheheh-.

The track by the waterway is hard, so no matter how much they scratch with their front paws, it doesn’t dig in like the ground.

So, Janggun and his subordinates rub their bodies on this red track every night.

Sometimes, you can hear a crackling sound as fleas or ticks burst, and that sound is so pleasing to the eardrums that it’s crazy.

Even now, Cheonma and Gwangma are rubbing their bodies on the hot track, rolling their eyes back.

Are you guys that happy, you mutts? Anyone would think you’re crazy dogs.

However, Janggun, as Son Wangwang’s [a playful nickname for Jinhyuk, meaning ‘Son Puppy’] friend, ensures his safety and at the same time….

Anyway, he has to watch over him. The way the giant child plays.

So, he sits majestically and quietly with his tongue out.

It’s not about loyalty or devotion or anything like that.

But Hongsi is Janggun’s daughter, so that’s understandable, but that black thing that suddenly rolled in is also imitating Janggun quite well.

Woof-.

He was a little bigger than a cat, so it must have been since the dog theft incident, probably.

When that guy named Geomma crawled into Janggun’s house.

He’s a guy who receives a lot of love from Son Aeng-aeng [another playful nickname for Jinhyuk, meaning ‘Son Whimper’].

Hongsi, Cheonma, Gwangma, and Geomma.

Janggun isn’t Son Aeng-aeng’s subordinate, so he’s not interested in love or anything like that.

Woof-.

It’s nice if you pet him, but he doesn’t like it.

Janggun is a sensitive dog, so he can express such complex emotions.

Anyway, Geomma didn’t live in Janggun’s house from the beginning.

For the first few days, he came to Janggun’s house and looked around cautiously.

It was a natural reaction for a rootless mongrel, with fierce dogs lurking around.

But as everyone knows, Janggun is a generous dog.

So, he allowed it.

To pick up the feed that fell on the dirt floor.

Woof-.

No, but this bastard is gradually eating the feed in the bowl too.

How did Nurungie raise his child?

Geomma, who was just picking up feed, started staying longer and longer.

One day, two days, three days, four days, five….

The number isn’t important now.

The important thing is that Geomma is still staying.

The first floor of Janggun’s house is full with Hongsi, Cheonma, and Gwangma, but Geomma was also hanging around. First in the yard, then under the eaves, then just sticking his head into the first floor. That’s how Geomma started living in Janggun’s house. Even after he grew bigger than Janggun.

Woof-.

One day, Geomma whined.

He wanted to learn the spirit of a fierce dog, so he asked to be taken in?

No, what kind of dog talk is that?

And, after staying for several months, he’s only now asking for permission?

Heh-.

Ha- sigh.

I’m already going crazy because the ones I have can’t control their poop and pee, and now you want me to take in another one?

So, I took him in. As Janggun’s son.

Well, I wasn’t interested in breeding anyway, so it’s good if I can breed like that.

Back to the main point, I don’t care about Son Aeng-aeng.

But it seems like even Son Wangwang is favoring Geomma.

Grrr-.

Damn-.

I can’t throw him away because he’s already bigger than Janggun.

Thinking of him as Janggun’s son, he seems cute too….

Janggun is a generous dog, so he knows how to endure.

“Oh, you guys. You’ve worked hard protecting our Yujin.”

It seems like Son Wangwang is finally going inside.

As expected of Janggun’s friend, Son Wangwang!

He’s petting Janggun first!

The child, who was petting Geomma last, tilted his head like Janggun.

“Huh? Why aren’t you going home, Geomma?”

Ah, no.

Geomma is my son now!

Woof-.

Geomma, you have to make a good impression on this big human!

Otherwise, you’ll be separated from your mother!

Heheheh-.

He said he understood.

He’s a rootless guy, but it’s a relief that he understands what I’m saying.

***

It’s a shame that Sunday is gone, but walking with Yujin and listening to her sing at the top of her lungs is a happy thing.

“The moon is bright on an autumn night- a village girl has run away with the wind-.”

It seems like Yujin’s left and right brains work separately and then meet at a suitable point. Even now, she’s naturally mixing two songs that Jinhyuk doesn’t know. Yujin would do well as a composer.

“Our Yujin, are you that happy because you’re with Oppa?”

“Yes! On school days, I can’t walk with Oppa when it’s this bright-.”

I just asked to test her, but she’s explaining in detail, so it seems like she’s sincere.

Jinhyuk smiled contentedly and took his sister’s hand, who was singing a strange song, and moved to where the trifoliate orange tree was.

It’s the place where the bamboo thicket is, which was used when making the mudskipper drying rack and when fishing for catfish with Jo Seulchan. Even Janggun, who has a wide range of activities, only comes here when he’s with Jinhyuk, so it seems like even the dogs don’t find it because of the trifoliate orange tree that’s close to the bamboo thicket.

“Oh-, Geomma is brave?”

Geomma walked ahead of Yujin, not afraid of the sharp and hard thorns that formed a fence around the trifoliate orange tree. Like a brave dog who checks for danger in advance.

Geomma walked a few steps ahead, then turned around, stuck out his tongue, and wagged his tail repeatedly. As if to say it’s safe to come here.

Considering that Janggun and the other subordinates stay as far away as possible, Geomma is showing truly amazing behavior.

“Geomma, come play often. I’ll give you lots of delicious things.”

Heheheh-.

It’s probably just my imagination that Janggun seems happier.

“Shall we go to the mountain to catch fish-.”

Yujin, who is happy just being with her brother, sang without stopping. I’m worried that she might lose her voice.

‘Was I like that too?’

I lived as a rascal, but I don’t think I sang songs.

Yujin, who was walking side by side, shook her brother’s hand and looked up at him.

“Oppa, when is your next competition?”

“Hmm. Probably around September?”

“Wow! You’re not going to competitions during vacation?”

“Of course. During vacation, I have to play in the water with our Yujin.”

“Wow! I’m so excited-! Let’s eat watermelon and Korean melon too!”

Heheheh-. Okay. Let’s eat them all and make them extinct.

Jinhyuk had to calm down his sister, who was jumping up and down, thinking about the vacation that hadn’t even come yet. If she slipped, she might slide towards the trifoliate orange tree fence.

Participate in 3 competitions a year.

That’s the content of the contract with SI Sports.

Jinhyuk can choose the competitions to participate in from national-level or higher competitions.

The qualification for the main competition is based on the previous year’s best record for the first half of the year and the best record of the first half of the year for the second half of the year, so there is no need to go through a separate preliminary round.

The problem is international competitions.

In this competition held in Incheon, Jinhyuk won the right to represent the Asian Junior Championships, beating out the strong 2nd and 3rd graders. But the training camp period for the competition overlaps with the first semester’s final exam period.

– “The number of days you’ll miss class due to the competition will be quite a lot, so you can’t not take the exam. I want to take the exam with my friends.”

That’s what I told Yoo Sera.

After all, is there a reason for an athlete who trains individually without a coach or partner to have to go to a training camp? If it’s a necessary process for teamwork or a sense of belonging, I’m willing to participate. Because office workers also go on workshops to eat and drink. Even so, I can’t give up the exam. It’s not about the desire to be first, nor is it for the thrill of taking the exam.

‘They said we have to walk together in time.’

If an older brother doesn’t know what even a young sister knows, can he really be called an ordinary person? I’m already receiving more than enough special treatment at home and school. Even if I understand it due to the nature of being a track and field athlete, it’s definitely an unusual treatment.

– “I’ll try to negotiate first. What will you do if it doesn’t work out? Your opinion is the priority.”

Jinhyuk couldn’t answer and returned home. He needed time to think. Anyway, it’s a blessing for an athlete to be able to freely express his opinion and have an agent who takes care of things like his own.

“Oppa, are you making a boat out of bamboo?”

“No. Today, we’re going to make it out of leaves.”

“You’re making a boat out of bamboo leaves?”

“Oppa will show you.”

You can make a boat out of ordinary bamboo leaves, but the leaves of the Sasa borealis [a type of bamboo] are longer and wider than ordinary bamboo. So, you can make a bigger boat. If you want to get bamboo leaves, you have to go all the way to Cheon Gilyong’s house, but it’s lucky that the Sasa borealis is nearby.

Thud-.

As I tore off one leaf, the Sasa borealis, which was standing firmly towards the sky, swayed from side to side.

“You fold it like this. This side too, and this side too.”

Jinhyuk folded both sides of the Sasa borealis leaf. So that the folded ends slightly overlap in the middle.

“Now, you tear the folded part a little so that it becomes three parts. You have to tear the middle part thinly, leaving only the core. How much do you tear it….”

It’s fun.

Doing something I used to do when I was young, after a long time, with my sister, made my cheekbones rise without me realizing it. My tongue also peeked out from between my lips as I concentrated and wiggled my hands.

“You tear it like this and make the torn ends meet each other. If you leave the middle part as it is, it will stick out like this and become like a boat.”

When I inserted one of the torn ends into the gap created by folding and tearing, the bamboo leaf folded up and turned into a canoe.

“Oooo-?”

Yujin is having a lot of amazing experiences today.

Her eyes have no time to get smaller, and her open mouth has no time to close.

“I want to try too.”

“Okay. Be careful not to hurt your hands.”

Jinhyuk grabbed Yujin’s waist as she tried to pick a leaf herself and held her back.

So that his sister wouldn’t roll down the slope.

‘It reminds me of when Soojung used to break reeds.’

I held Soojung’s waist like this back then too.

We also had a big commotion because of the red-banded snake.

Now, even if an anaconda comes out instead of a red-banded snake, there’s no reason to worry.