The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 209

***

After reviewing various tasks, Moon Seok-il visited Cheonggyecheon [a stream in downtown Seoul known for its markets] for personal business.

‘There should be an agent somewhere around here.’

It was generally known as a place famous for handling tools, but there were also agents who acted as proxies for special orders while traveling to trade ports. These were called ‘offer agents,’ which had a different meaning from the generally known term for agents who adjust transaction conditions between sellers and buyers. These agents could use their influence to obtain goods even from countries with restricted access, as long as they were paid. The types of goods they handled varied, including rare creatures, poisons, and firearms.

Moon Seok-il, after checking on the progress of the task Jinhyuk had requested and finishing the operation Hong Gijun had ordered, searched all over Uijeongbu, Dongducheon, Namdaemun, Dongdaemun, and Itaewon, but could not find the item he wanted. So, the last place he looked was Cheonggyecheon.

‘That knife fits my hand perfectly.’

It was a knife made in the former Yugoslavia, a high-priced item that was impossible to put a price on. Since it wasn’t officially imported, the price was whatever the offer agent asked for.

He had lost it the day before yesterday during the process of dealing with criminal organizations in the Songpa-gu area, as ordered by Hong Gijun. He hadn’t even used it, just kept it on his person.

For Moon Seok-il, it was like a talisman.

He felt uneasy without it, and at ease when he had it. You could say it was a charm for good luck.

‘I have terrible luck.’

Jeong Sang-tae had told him that there was no need for Moon Seok-il to get involved, but he had been itching to do something and went out, only to lose his talisman. He should have listened to his friend…

Or, he should have just stayed home and played with Yujin, or helped Jo Il-heon with the rice planting instead of coming to Seoul.

Thinking that, he felt a pang of guilt, like an uncle who left to avoid playing with a kid, or a younger brother who went out to play instead of doing farm work.

Drrr-.

As he adjusted his sunglasses and looked around, the secure phone in his back pocket vibrated.

‘Is it Yujin?’

The fact that there was a kid who called every time he left, asking when he would be back, gave him a sense of pride that was hard to express with the word ‘belonging.’ Especially if that person was an affectionate and lovely child.

He smiled, thinking of the kid who would ask why he wasn’t coming on a Saturday.

“Hello.”

– This is Jinhyuk.

“Oh, yeah! I’ll be down soon.”

He answered hastily to a question that wasn’t even asked, then laughed at himself, dumbfounded.

It was ridiculous how flustered he was, even though the kid wasn’t even giving him a hard time.

– If you’re still in Seoul, could you stop by Cheonggyecheon?

“Ch, Cheonggyecheo-on?”

Moon Seok-il’s eyes darted left and right, slyly.

Fortunately, no one seemed to be paying attention to him, and only the sound of car engines struggling to climb the overpass could be heard.

– It’s okay if it’s too much trouble.

“No, it’s a bit far, but I’ll make time. But why Cheonggyecheon?”

– I was wondering if you could make a module for an incubator and send it by registered mail. The sooner, the better.

What was he up to now, trying to make an incubator?

Did he find a dinosaur egg or something?

If it was Son Jinhyuk, and in that neighborhood, it seemed entirely possible.

They said that Mr. Kim Chun-sam found a Joseon Dynasty [Korean kingdom from 1392-1897] general’s tomb while digging in the mountains to expand his barn. Among the artifacts found there, the general’s sword was said to be a very expensive item.

– It needs a temperature sensor and a module that links to the on/off switch for the light. And the wires should be at least ten centimeters long.

“What about the thermometer?”

– That’s just for checking, so I think I can use the one I have at home.

“Okay. I’ll make that first and head down.”

– Don’t you have work left?

“I’m done with work. I’m going down today.”

– Thank you.

That kid.

He even knows how to say thank you, he’s becoming a real person.

He was glad he hadn’t mentioned Cheonggyecheon.

This is how you score points.

***

Click-.

After ending the call, Jinhyuk carefully put down the phone. Afraid of waking his sleeping younger sibling, his gesture of putting down the phone was as gentle as a hen cradling an egg.

‘Hmm-. I heard some whispering about some video.’

He also detected the noise about a lottery ticket with his sensitive hearing.

He told this uncle to meet Shin Sang-yeol and check on the return to Daejeong while he was in Seoul, but where is this uncle wandering around?

*

Jeongwon is an interesting baby.

Even when adults talk loudly nearby, he doesn’t wake up, and even when Yujin plays the recorder, he seems to take it as a lullaby, smiling in his sleep.

But as soon as he covers him with a blanket and goes out into the yard, he wakes up as if he knows it. It was as if he was someone who felt anxious when it was quiet.

He had come out to the yard with Yujin to make an incubator, but his youngest sibling had woken up.

Bang, bang, bang-.

“Eung-ah-. Waaah-. Ummaaa-. Daddy boo-boo-.”

Even now, Jeongwon, left alone in the house, is tapping on the living room window.

He was just grateful that he didn’t cry like his sister, since he was so gentle.

“Oppa, I think Jeongwon woke up!”

Yujin, who was wiping the gunk from Geomma’s eyes with a wet handkerchief, made a fuss.

She was busy, so she was pushing it to her brother to go.

She did look busy. Seeing the other dogs sitting next to her as if waiting their turn. You guys, can’t you just lick each other’s eyes?

“Eetchya-. Big brother is coming.”

Jinhyuk, who had been squatting and sawing, got up, supporting himself on his knees.

Mom had gone to town with a load of homemade side dishes, so it was entirely Jinhyuk’s responsibility to take care of his younger siblings. Mom had gone out with peace of mind because she trusted her eldest son.

“Aigoo-, what are we going to do if our baby wakes up already-.”

“Daddy boo-boo-.”

“Ah-, did you wake up because it was quiet?”

Was it possible to interpret baby talk if you heard it often? Jinhyuk definitely heard it that way. Seeing Jeongwon nod, it seemed he wasn’t wrong.

“Our baby, now that you’re awake, shall we go out and play?”

Jeongwon didn’t answer or shake his head.

Silence meant yes.

He put a coat on Jeongwon and put him in the stroller.

When he put him in the stroller like this, Hongsi would come over and wag his tail at Jeongwon.

Jeongwon liked to play with Hongsi’s tail, but now that he was bigger, he seemed to know that he shouldn’t put the dog’s tail in his mouth.

“Where was I?”

Jinhyuk looked at the saw and the plywood, trying to remember.

He didn’t need a blueprint to make an incubator.

The structure wasn’t complicated in the first place, and since he was doing the work alone, there was no need to draw what was in his head.

“Oppa, if you make an incubator, will a bluebird come out of it?”

“Baby boo? Daddy boo-boo-?”

“It’s probably possible.”

He drew a line on the 7mm thick plywood and made a groove with a nail along the line. After cutting along the groove several times with a knife, the incubator walls were finally ready.

“Oppa, can’t you just bend it with your hands?”

“Eung-ah-. Daddy boo-boo?”

“It has to be cut with a knife to make it neat.”

He cut the top of the wall again, which would be used as a door.

“Why are you making a square hole there?”

“Baby boo?”

“I’m going to put glass there.”

“Ah! It’s a window! So we can peek inside.”

He checked to see why Jeongwon wasn’t copying his sister’s words for once, and found that he had fallen asleep. He was holding Hongsi’s thick, fluffy tail tightly.

‘Did they say Jeongwon was a bit slower than other babies?’

That’s what he heard from his mom after she went to the hospital for an infant health checkup.

Looking at Jeongwon babbling, the doctor said that his physical development index was excellent, but his language acquisition was slower than other babies.

Maybe it was because he was sick when he was younger, Jinhyuk and Yujin secretly exchanged opinions, but Mom’s opinion was different.

– “He just doesn’t know the need to talk yet. Even if he says ‘mama,’ he gets fed, and if he poops and tears his diaper, he gets changed and washed. If he stretches out his arms, he gets a hug, and if he yawns, he gets a lullaby. There’s no problem with communication. That’s how babies are. If there’s someone who takes care of them comfortably, they don’t need to talk, so they stay babies longer. Then, at some point, their mouths will open up with a bang.”

It sounded plausible.

Mom also told him about what she had seen and heard while volunteering at the orphanage.

She said that the babies at the orphanage were not even 100 days old, but they were holding their own bottles and drinking milk. Jinhyuk was surprised and heartbroken at the same time.

Only 100 days old.

Not only that, but they cried louder when they were hungry, and they learned to talk quickly.

She said it was an effort to get attention in an environment where there were fewer people to take care of them than babies. They did it for survival. They quickly acquired the means of expressing themselves because it was necessary to survive.

– “Mom won’t be proud if our children are faster than others, and she won’t be discouraged if they’re slower. So, Jinhyuk, don’t worry too much and have fun with your friends.”

How lucky it was to have many people to take care of you and to live with a family that cherished you. It wasn’t a happiness that everyone could enjoy.

‘Jeongwon is happy enough now. That’s why he’s trying to stay a baby longer.’

Because he has a family that does everything he needs without him having to say it.

Following his mom’s words, which were always mature, he decided to stop worrying about it. What did it matter if a baby who slept like an angel was a little slow to talk?

“Oppa?”

Yujin tapped her brother’s shoulder, who had a blank expression for a moment.

“Huh? Uh-huh? Why?”

“Is it a window for peeking?”

Yujin seemed frustrated that she hadn’t gotten an answer to her question earlier.

“Ah, rather than peeking… it’s for monitoring.”

Jinhyuk jumped up and headed into the house.

He was going to put a thin blanket over the sleeping baby.

Like chicks following their mother hen, Yujin followed him, peppering him with questions.

“Monitoring? What is that?”

“Tracking, observing, checking if there are any areas for improvement, and also…”

Ah, she really doesn’t give me a break.

*

While kindly explaining to his curious younger sister, Jinhyuk’s hands didn’t stop.

He cut the wooden pieces to make pillars for the four corners.

Tap, tap-.

Although he was startled, the baby didn’t wake up at the sound of the hammer.

Still, Jinhyuk sped up his work, not knowing when his younger sibling would wake up.

When his brother showed the cube after assembling the walls, Yujin made a circle with her mouth.

“Owaaah-! It’s a big dice.”

“It looks similar, right? Now, we put glass here-.”

Using a glue gun, he attached a piece of glass smaller than Yujin’s palm to the door.

Now, the door just needed to be connected to the body using hinges.

“Is it a bit crooked?”

“Oppa, there’s a gap here.”

“Aigoo, my sharp little sister.”

The door was sagging, creating a gap at the top.

“It’s easier to work together than to work alone.”

“Together, easier…”

“It means it’s easier if we combine our strength.”

Yujin, with her mouth open, nodded.

During gym class, they had a tug-of-war, and when several classmates pulled together, even teacher Park Jae-seung was dragged along.

“What is that?”

Yujin blinked, looking at the black, round object in her brother’s hand.

“This? An incandescent light socket.”

“Is it because it’s dark?”

“The incandescent light will warm the inside of the incubator.”

“Ah! Like when Hongsi was born!”

“That’s right.”

Yujin had a good memory and a good understanding, so there was no need to explain repeatedly.

He inserted the socket into the hole he had made at the top of the back of the plywood and finished it so that there were no gaps. He could make the hole for the temperature sensor after the module arrived…

“Hmm. Perfect.”

A small and cozy incubator was made.

Of course, there was still a long way to go.

Jinhyuk cut the prepared grill with work scissors.

Yujin’s eyes widened.

“Are you going to grill the bluebird? Ah, no, no-. Slurp-.”

“Don’t worry.”

Hey, who would eat that tiny egg? There wouldn’t be anything to eat. But why are you drooling?

“It’s so the egg doesn’t roll around if it’s just on the wooden floor.”

He was inserting the cut grill horizontally inside the incubator.

After drilling several holes in the wall and fixing the grill with wire, he also put in a flat dish.

“Is that the bluebird’s toilet?”

“Hahaha-.”

Should he say she was sharp, or should he say she was quirky?

When he talked to Yujin, he lost track of time.

“I’m going to put water here. To keep it from getting dry. Hmm, you could say it’s for humidity control?”

“Ah-. It’s a humidifier.”

As expected of my sister. No one can compare to her intelligence.

A satisfied smile didn’t leave Jinhyuk’s face.

“Keep an eye on the baby here. I’ll go find something in the storage and be right back.”

“Yes-, ehehe-.”

Anyway, Yujin didn’t seem to have any intention of moving.

She was squatting and looking at the incubator, just like the kindergarten student Son Yujin who was watching the chicks hatch from their eggs.

‘Back then, the chicks that hatched thought Yujin was their mother and followed her around for a long time.’

If Janggun hadn’t blocked them and growled, the chicks would have followed Yujin onto the school bus.

“Ha-, but where did this go? The ghost is high in calories-.”

Even though he had neatly organized everything, it was maddening when he couldn’t find it when he needed it.

That’s it, I found it!

As he backed out of the storage, grunting, he heard Yujin calling from afar.

“Oppa-! When are you coming back-?”

“I’m, I’m coming-!”