The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 214

< Dead Point (2) >

***

Middle schoolers Shin Min-sung, Noh Kyung-ho, and Kim Yo-han.

Two were from Taeyang Elementary School, and Kim Yo-han was from Eodong Elementary School. They were in 6th grade last year, and it seemed they were unfamiliar faces to Jinhyuk, who hadn’t seen them before.

‘Were the kids who came to Gongju back then 5th and 4th graders?’

He should have paid more attention. He only answered their questions without even introducing himself. He thought he was being kind back then, but looking back, it was a mechanical response. It was inevitable since his ingrained interpersonal skills were so dry.

He had only watched them for a few weeks.

The kids watched Jinhyuk train alone, and Jinhyuk watched the kids secretly peeking.

‘I can see you, you guys.’

This time, he stopped far away and called the kids over with a hand gesture.

Why were these guys, who came running as if they had been waiting, hiding in the first place? Their appearance, like a puppy running with its tongue out every time it was called, made him laugh.

‘You don’t have to run so fast.’

This older brother isn’t a scary person, you know.

‘See that bag on the bench over there? There’s chocolate milk in there. Have one each.’

Not two. One is mine.

*

Watching the guys drink their chocolate milk on the bench, he recalled what happened a while ago.

Lee Byung-se, who had returned from training, earnestly asked.

‘There’s a world of difference between someone who only has knowledge in their head and someone who has it ingrained in their body. Teacher Lee will learn from you too, so please help out a little. Things are different now than before. It’s an official track and field team, so we need to take care of the kids properly. They’re still in first grade [Middle school first grade], so there’s no rush, but we need to start preparing slowly, right? Just get them into the habit. The habit of exercising.’

How many people could refuse when a teacher asked for help with such humility? Unless they had serious flaws in their character.

In the past, when Team Leader Son Jinhyuk was recruiting team members, there were three virtues he focused on reviewing.

Character, emotional intelligence, and intellect.

These were absolute indicators, qualities that couldn’t be objectively measured.

He simply looked at their eyes like a fortune teller, listened to their reputations, and threw out a few keywords to hear their thoughts. And then, he made judgments based on his own standards.

In his own opinion, these were virtues that Jinhyuk lacked. Perhaps Jinhyuk was trying to fill his own deficiencies through others. Maybe that was how he wanted to live among people.

What could he do, even if it was an unproven method?

He had no one to trust but himself.

He didn’t even remember if he had chosen them well, but his former team members were kind and never hesitated to help others, recommended inspiring books to each other, and had their own standards of judgment that weren’t swayed by the world. Even if their values differed.

Using the influence they had on Jinhyuk as a stepping stone, Jinhyuk was now back, slowly learning one step at a time, like a baby learning to walk.

‘To teach is to learn twice.’

That’s what Joseph Joubert said.

It doesn’t matter what the background of that saying is or why he said it. A famous saying is meant to be used as needed, isn’t it?

It was hard to ignore Lee Byung-se’s request, and he also felt the need to close the distance with the kids who were still afraid of their senior. If so, teaching them what he knew wouldn’t be bad.

By teaching, he could learn once more himself.

*

He thumped his thigh with his fist and moved to the bench where he had left his school bag.

‘Can you guys gather around here?’

There was a forecast that the rainy season would come, but our weather forecast always misses the mark. It didn’t rain, and the humidity was high.

It was the kind of humidity that would turn a dried squid back into a semi-dried one if left outside.

Jinhyuk, also fooled by the infamous weather forecast, went to school with an umbrella that would make even a British gentleman cry.

While waiting for the kids to gather, he tapped the sole of his sneakers with his umbrella.

Perhaps it was because of his broadened perspective or his brighter personality. Even the trivial sight of sand grains falling out of the grooves in the sole was amusing.

‘Hoo-. It’s so humid since July. Right?’

‘Yes-.’

Kim Yo-han smiled, flapping the collar of his t-shirt.

It seemed that they had become more comfortable with each other, thanks to keeping a moderate distance but making frequent eye contact.

What should he say first? After rolling his tongue in his mouth for a moment, Jinhyuk opened his mouth, looking at his juniors with the warmest eyes he could muster.

‘I’m not an outstanding person. I’m not as perfect as you think.’

The three middle schoolers sitting in the shade just rolled their eyes. They were fiddling with their empty milk cartons.

In their eyes, there was no better athlete or role model than him, but since he was saying he wasn’t, they couldn’t think of anything else to say.

‘I can give you advice on posture and breathing. You have to do the other exercises on your own.’

It might seem like he was drawing a line, but Jinhyuk needed to be careful.

Everyone’s body is different, so he couldn’t just force his own methods on them.

Their ways of thinking were also different, so their ways of enjoying it would also be different.

‘You might see me as a successful person, but I’m not a finished product either.’

At his sincere words, the somewhat distracted kids began to shine their eyes.

‘Don’t neglect your studies. Are you tired from exercising? Then, even if you take a break from exercising, I hope you don’t skip studying.’

Tsck-. After saying that, he felt bitter thinking about Yeom Byeong-taek and Jo Seul-chan. He should have taken care of them sooner.

‘You don’t know when you’ll get injured, or when you’ll get tired of exercising and quit. You need to keep other paths open.’

He thought of Lee Seung-hoon and Shin Woo-sung from the past, who couldn’t bloom their talents.

‘Do I need to explain in detail?’

The kids shook their heads in unison.

‘Okay, that’s enough if you understand. You know that people often say athletes are stupid, that they’re bad people, and that they’re rude, right?’

‘Yes.’

Kim Yo-han nodded, not avoiding Jinhyuk’s gaze.

‘At least make sure I don’t hear those words about my juniors.’

Noh Kyung-ho and Shin Min-sung chuckled slightly.

He was still a difficult person, but the way he spoke gently and logically didn’t make him seem as scary as the rumors said.

*

He moved the location to the wrestling training area with his juniors.

‘Coach, can we have a meeting in the training room? It’s too hot outside.’

‘Yeah, sure. Is the middle school track and field team finally getting started?’

Sung Bu-hyun, who was eating a Choco Pie and reading the manga Slam Dunk in the training room, smiled kindly and left.

Jinhyuk pointed to the chairs for the kids and then sat on the desk.

‘I have a few questions to ask.’

Alright, let’s start the interview now.

The juniors straightened their upper bodies.

‘Why do you guys exercise? Do you enjoy it? Most people find it difficult.’

He looked at each of them in turn to hear their answers.

‘It’s fun. I also like being able to run faster than others.’

‘I think Min-sung is right. I’ve just been doing it since I was young because I was fast, but as I did it, I liked the feeling of my heart pounding when I went to competitions.’

Kim Yo-han’s answer was different from the other two.

‘It’s hard, but you know, there’s that feeling. When you’re doing it, your chest hurts like you’re about to run out of breath, and your heart hurts like it’s about to burst out of your ribs. But when you push through that, you suddenly get strength from somewhere. That’s so thrilling.’

Kim Yo-han was a 3000-meter long-distance runner.

Is this guy a pervert?

No, that’s not it.

‘Is there a time like that?’

Jinhyuk only questioned it inwardly.

Even when he pushed his body to the limit to the point of throwing up, he didn’t think he had reached that point.

‘When you run middle or long distances or marathons, that happens often. The other kids are sprinters, so they might not know since the races are over quickly. But even sprinters probably feel it often during training. Ah, what was it called? It was written on the paper that Teacher Park Jae-seung carries around, it was in English…’

Kim Yo-han scratched his head.

‘Dead point.’

Jinhyuk mulled over the word that vaguely came to mind.

It was an expression that also appeared in middle school physical education textbooks.

‘When I’m gasping for breath, I just need to get through that moment, but Teacher Park Jae-seung tells me to stop, so I get annoyed sometimes.’

It seemed like it was worth researching.

Both the athlete Kim Yo-han and the dead point he mentioned.

‘Okay. Since you say you enjoy exercising, you’ve passed for now. Now it’s your turn to ask questions.’

That was Team Leader Son Jinhyuk’s interview method.

He placed more importance on the attitude and content of the questions than the attitude of answering them.

The relaxed kids raised their hands, not wanting to be outdone by each other.

***

Son Yu-jin has many companions.

Jung-won, who is walking with her left hand in her older sister’s, Haeng-un, who is on her right shoulder, and the mutt Jang-gun and the large dogs following behind them.

Son Yu-jin is always energetic, but today she walked even more vigorously.

It was Saturday, so she was in a good mood, but Uncle Jang Jin-nam had told her that moving her body a lot would make her feel even better.

‘Hello, Mr. Kim Chun-sam.’

‘A-tte-tte-o-.’

Following her older sister, Jung-won greeted the cow-raising man and wiggled her hands.

Even the way her eyes disappeared when she smiled was exactly like Son Yu-jin.

‘Eui-? Our Yu-jin, it’s hot, where are you going with a little kid? And I’m Kim Chun-sik-.’

The man, who was cleaning cow dung and watering the cowshed, wiped his sweat and smiled.

‘Ah? Are you Mr. Kim Chun-sik?’

Ah, she got it wrong.

They weren’t twins, but these men looked exactly alike.

Black faces, two eyes, one nose, one mouth.

Even the sharp-eyed Son Yu-jin frequently got their names wrong.

It would be nice if they wore different clothes, but they always wore checkered shirts and chest waders.

‘Where are Jang-gun and that other one, Se-ppa-tto, today?’

‘Cheonma has no energy. Jang-gun is next to Cheonma.’

‘Why does that strong dog have no energy? Is it because it has a lot of fur? It’s a tough season for dogs because it’s so humid-.’

Huff huff huff-.

Hong-si and Gwang-ma, who were secretly nibbling on cow feed, stuck out their tongues as if to say, ‘Look over here.’

It was less than last year, but July was a humid and hot season that was hard for both people and animals. If the scorching sun was the only thing bothering them, they could just find shade, but the high humidity made their bodies feel heavy like waterlogged cotton.

‘Mister, do you have cow bones? I have money-.’

Son Yu-jin struggled to put her hand in her shorts pocket.

She had brought five reddish bills that she had saved up little by little. 5,000 won was a huge sum for an eight-year-old.

‘Cow bones? What do you need bones for?’

‘Cheonma likes cow bones.’

Kim Chun-sik rubbed the tip of his nose.

This young girl had come to get precious cow bones for her dog friend.

‘But you should look for cow bones at the butcher shop-. Wait a minute… I wonder if there’s any I stashed in the freezer? Hey, let’s ask Chun-sam over there. Chun-sam!’

Kim Chun-sik, with his neck stretched out, called his younger brother who appeared at the entrance of the cowshed.

‘I’m Chun-seop!’

‘Aigo-, it’s confusing-. This one and that one look exactly alike-.’

Kim Chun-sik was the eldest of the three brothers, and Kim Chun-seop was the youngest.

*

Although she had walked a long distance with her younger sibling on a hot day, Son Yu-jin was happy to have gotten cow bones for free. She walked home triumphantly, showing off the aura of a victorious general. She held her younger sibling’s hand in one hand and the cow bones tied with a string in the other.

‘Jung-won, Cheonma will like this, right?’

‘This. Tteom-ma. Do-a-.’

Jung-won also pointed at the cow bones and babbled, so it seemed like she had the same thought as Son Yu-jin.

‘I hope Cheonma won’t be sick after getting this.’

Son Yu-jin didn’t know why Cheonma was ailing.

She had heard from her older brother that Cheonma was older than Jang-gun. He had also said that he was like a grandfather in human years. Still, even though it was hot and he was old, it didn’t feel good that the energetic fellow was ailing.

Son Yu-jin had checked on him from time to time, but she hadn’t found anything particularly wrong.

Her older brother wasn’t an expert, so he shook his head, saying he didn’t know, and every time Son Yu-jin encountered something her older brother didn’t know, she felt a pang of fear.

– ‘I’ll contact the vet when I get out of school. It could just be because he’s old.’

He was drooping and excessively drooling, but there were no other visible symptoms.

That made her even more frustrated and upset.

When she listened to the adults in the neighborhood, they said that old people also ailed like that before they passed away.

‘You can’t stop getting old.’

Exhausted in body and mind from the heat and worry, Son Yu-jin’s eyes trembled sadly.