The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 226

Sprint (7)

*

I need to stay calm.

Though I’ve changed a lot with the new winds blowing through my body and soul, Jinhyuk’s strength remained unshaken by the wind. Getting angry in a hurry won’t solve anything. It will only worsen the situation or mess things up. With a pounding heart, I first checked if Yujin was safe. Then, I mulled over the clue my sister had given me.

“A group of evil…”

“Yes. Agemuri.”

Reaching the yard with the streetlights, I examined Yujin’s mouth.

Just like Janggun when he was on top of the dog thief, she was drooling excessively, so I thought it was the effect of a mental shock, but one of her lower teeth was crookedly facing forward.

‘Ah, no wonder. Her pronunciation was inaccurate because of the pain.’

Yujin didn’t have any particular injuries.

Now it was time to check on the safety of the rest of the family.

I was almost home, but I couldn’t see any signs of life.

Neither Cheonma and Gwangma, who would have wagged their tails to greet me, nor Mom, who would be knitting in the rocking chair in the living room, nor Dad, who would be smiling like a fool while touching Mom’s feet, nor baby Jeongwon, who should be hitting Dad’s back and laughing.

‘It’s too quiet.’

The car was still parked in the garage.

Even though I tried not to think ominous thoughts, I couldn’t help but feel the anxiety rising.

“Where did Mom go? Where’s Dad?”

“I don’t know-” Yujin replied in a faint voice, shrinking her neck.

Her fear-stricken appearance pierced her brother’s heart even more sharply.

“Let’s look for them together with Oppa [older brother].”

“We shouldn’t look for them-. Waaah-”

We shouldn’t look for them? What was that supposed to mean?

How scared must she have been to talk such nonsense?

Perhaps because my face, which had turned cold to maintain composure, looked scary, Yujin struggled in my arms.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. We have to find them.”

I kept patting my sister’s back and moved towards the gym.

If something had happened, of course, no one should be there—but.

“Huff! Huff!”

“Pwash-”

Huff two, huff two-. Oompa oompa-.

‘There are so many people…’

Kim Sangho, who was in charge of security, was playing badminton with Kim Sunbok, and Kang Heonchang, who liked jogging, could be seen across the swimming pool.

After running half a lap around the track, Kang Heonchang approached, a smile plastered on his face.

“Oh? Yujin was here?”

Even though she was already in her brother’s arms, Yujin hugged her brother’s neck even tighter.

I was still bewildered, but Jinhyuk’s sharp eyes relaxed, and a comfortable breath escaped his lips.

“Do you know what happened? I was worried because no one was home.”

“Everyone went to look for Yujin. Only Sangho and I are left here. We have to take care of the residents. This little one is so quick that your sister-in-law has been chasing her all day…”

No, what is this all about…

Jinhyuk frowned as Kang Heonchang’s explanation was about to get longer.

But I couldn’t interrupt him, so I listened quietly, patting my sister’s bottom.

“…It seems like her tooth has been loose for quite a while. Your sister-in-law told her to go to the dentist. But she ran away. When Taehwa hyung [older brother] went to look for her, she was already gone. So everyone scattered around the neighborhood to look for Yujin.”

Ah, I hadn’t realized it because my siblings were asleep when I came home from school these days.

“I didn’t hear anyone calling for her?”

“They’ve looked everywhere nearby, so she must have gone far. And if they call out loudly, wouldn’t she hide even more?”

“Aish, you little rascal.”

Jinhyuk lightly tapped his sister’s head.

“Waaah-”

Yujin pretended to cry and tightened her arms around her brother. She clung to him even when I tried to pull her away.

“Don’t pretend to cry. Do you know how worried Oppa was?”

“Yes-, ehehe.”

Sometimes, when I look at the back of babies’ heads, I wonder, ‘What are they thinking right now?’ I had that thought when Yujin was a baby, and I have it when I look at baby Jeongwon. Looking at their backs, full of life’s worries and anxieties, I sometimes think that even though babies can’t speak, they know everything.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Putting aside the fact that she had labeled Mom and the SSS uncles as a group of evil, if she was worried about her brother, who was worried and even angry that something bad might have happened, wasn’t that an excessive measure?

“Because I only have Oppa.”

But Yujin is currently eight years old, and she will only be nine in three months.

She’s still a baby. I don’t know what her life’s worries were, but her actions were those of a cowardly child.

“What?”

“The person I run away to.”

I had forgotten because it was such an old memory.

Jinhyuk also had a childhood, and when he was in trouble, he ran to his mother. Yujin was waiting for her brother to protect her because her mother was trying to pull out her tooth.

“I’m sorry for getting angry.”

“It’s okay. You weren’t angry at me-”

From the hazy threads of memory, Jinhyuk pulled out a strand of recollection.

Living in a small mud house with no lawn, just a small yard, there was nowhere for Jinhyuk to hide from his mother’s grasp when she tried to pull out his tooth.

‘I also cried and resisted.’

I think I sat huddled in a corner of the room, burying my head and somehow pulling out the tooth myself with my tongue and fingers. My face was covered in tears.

Now…

There are hiding places everywhere. Yujin’s field of vision and range of activity are incomparably wider than her brother’s, so if she hides, it would be harder to find her than a North Korean commando.

Just then, Yoo Taehwa, who had received a call from Kang Heonchang, appeared with Han Yooyoung.

Jeongwon was asleep in her mother’s arms.

“Oh my, you little rascal. We went all the way to the old man’s house in the village.”

Since Janggun was also missing, Han Yooyoung had gone to Cheon Gilyong’s house and even the training center, which was much further away, just in case.

Jinhyuk’s heart grew anxious.

I had to soothe Mom, whose eyes were bloodshot.

“Let’s do it tomorrow. There’s no self-study on Saturday, so I’ll try to persuade her.”

“Sigh, okay. I was scared out of my wits, really. I had no idea where she went-”

While half-listening to Mom’s complaints, Jinhyuk straightened his resolve.

After all, the tooth had to be pulled out, that was his belief.

It was like the fighting spirit of a real man who would chase and kill a fly that was disturbing his inner peace.

‘I can’t be the only one to suffer.’

Eheheh-.

A rare, mysterious smile escaped from Jinhyuk’s nose.

***

I was curious.

No matter how fast Yujin was, she was still a child with short legs, so how did she avoid Mom’s grasp?

Taptap-.

“Uwee-”

After noon on Saturday, Yujin, who was playing in the yard, spotted her brother coming home from school and immediately ran towards the waterway.

It seemed she had been preparing to run away after hearing Mom and Oppa’s conversation yesterday.

‘Oh my goodness…’

Jinhyuk could see it.

The bluish star clusters that were breaking apart and scattering from his sister’s body, especially her legs.

It was more mysterious than the plankton breaking on the night sea, and more beautiful than the moonlight scattering in the stream.

‘Did she embody it?’

Yujin’s heart was sending that power to her legs.

But it didn’t seem that fast.

Anyway, it was a power she had had since she was a baby, so it was inevitable that she would learn it quickly.

“Owee-”

While constantly rubbing her belly with one hand, Yujin moved her feet busily.

She might not be faster than an adult, but it seemed enough to escape Mom’s grasp.

‘It only works as a supplement after all.’

Nothing like the bullets flying out in cartoons happened.

It was a level of speed that made Jinhyuk, who was watching, yawn.

Taptap-.

She’s just a shorty no matter how much she runs.

Jinhyuk slowly walked in the direction his sister had run away.

Owee-.

I watched blankly until the sound of her gagging, which was getting further and further away, disappeared, then I admired the waterway reflecting the blue sky and waited with Janggun.

Until Yujin, who had escaped with Hongsi and Geomma, returned.

*

“It’s chilly because of the wind.”

Even after about 30 minutes, Yujin hadn’t returned.

Then I had no choice but to go look for her.

I slowly walked along the track, enjoying the autumn scenery.

The smell of water, the smell of grass, the smell of soybean paste stew cooking in someone’s house.

“Hmm- it’s nice-”

Heheheh-.

Janggun followed me, drooling from his tongue.

It wasn’t difficult to find Yujin.

This little one, who knew that she couldn’t outsmart her brother, gave up on escaping and was hiding in a secluded place.

‘Wow, amazing.’

The area next to the track was mostly a field bank, so the ground was high.

Yujin was hiding in a place that was not visible from the entrance of the gym because of the gentle bend. In a pit with a roof made of long grass and a door covered.

It was a pit, but it was dug sideways, so the floor level was the same as the track.

‘When did she dig this?’

It seemed quite old, but it was so well hidden that you wouldn’t notice it unless you looked closely.

She even dug a bunker, Yujin was a more skilled sibling than a North Korean commando.

Hongsi and Geomma must have helped her dig the bunker.

‘She even does the same things as me.’

When Jinhyuk was young, he also dug up the area near his house with a shovel, trying to make a secret underground tunnel.

He never succeeded, but seeing his sister reminded him of his childhood memories, and he was happy.

Even without his keen eye, it wasn’t difficult to find Yujin.

Hongsi and Geomma were smart enough to understand if Yujin told them to be quiet, but Haengun was different.

Beep-.

“Shhh-”

Beep-.

“Ah, be quiet!”

Beep beep-!

“Haengun, you! Can’t you hear Mom?”

I can hear you, you little rascal.

Oppa can hear you very well, even if Haengun can’t.

Jinhyuk sat next to the pit and chuckled for a long time.

While gagging Janggun’s mouth so he wouldn’t bark.

***

Son Yujin returned home on her brother’s back.

It was a piggyback of trust, made possible because she believed her brother’s promise not to force her to pull it out.

“Ah, is that so? Then I’ll be there soon.”

Son Yujin, who was sitting at the dining table coloring, rolled her eyes.

It seemed like Dad had definitely called the dentist.

“Yujin, shall we go eat pork cutlet with Dad?”

Heart thump-!

Look at that, look at that.

Son Yujin’s eyes became glazed.

Oppa had said.

If Mom or Dad ever asked Yujin to go somewhere alone with them, she should run away no matter what.

Especially when they said they were going to eat pork cutlet, she should run for her life.

‘I don’t like pork cutlet, no, I like it. It’s delicious. I want to eat it twice.’

She repeated the words Oppa had practiced in her mind, but Son Yujin, who couldn’t lie, kept reciting them differently from the script.

Still, her body moved as Oppa had told her.

She backed up to the entrance and looked for her sneakers-.

“Yujin, what are you doing?”

In that instant, Son Yujin sensed that she was doomed.

Behind her, Oppa, who was ready to go out, was standing and blocking the entrance.

What should I say in this situation?

I learned it at school.

Yes, they said that if the men blocking the path in front and behind tried to grab you, you should shout this.

“Help meeee!”

*

Anxiety, nervousness, tension.

I want to go to the bathroom.

Still, I felt pretty good because the whole family was going out.

“Umma [Mom], umma-. Cow, cow-” Jeongwon, pointing at the cows outside the car window, also seemed excited.

Half joy and half anxiety.

Aware of his sister’s constantly shaking eyes, Oppa took Son Yujin’s hand.

“Yujin, fear is an illusion.”

“What is an illusion?”

“Um…, it’s when you get confused that something exists when it doesn’t.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“It’s your head that’s confused. But your head listens to your heart’s commands, right? If you command your heart not to be scared, not to be scared, then your head won’t be scared anymore.”

Not scared, not scared. Of course, I’m scared. Oh, I’m so scared-.

That’s not it.

“Oppa used to have a loose tooth and pulled it out at home, but pulling it out at home can cause wounds and be scarier. If you go to the hospital, an expert will do it cleanly without hurting you, so don’t worry.”

Without hurting me.

At this moment, there was no more reassuring word than that.

Her heart was still pounding fiercely, but Son Yujin gradually calmed down.

“Ugh-”

There was no way to escape.

Because Oppa had picked her up and carried her into the dentist’s office on the second floor.

***

Jinhyuk, who was holding Yujin and sitting in the examination chair, tightened his arms.

It was because he was afraid his struggling sister would fall.

It wasn’t his intention to prevent her from running away.

“Waaah! Help me! I don’t want to!”

Yujin, who was facing the doctor, finally burst into tears.

What was the point of fear this and heart’s command that?

“I’m scared!”

Mom, who was watching with pity, stepped forward.

“Yujin, if you’re that scared, Dad will show you first. How about that?”

At those words, the doctor and Jinhyuk nodded.

As if they didn’t care about Son Gwangyeon, who had turned pale.

“Okay, honey. I, I am-”

“Shall I help the president with scaling first?”

Son Gwangyeon, led by the contradictory kindness of the expressionless staff, jumped up.

Well, there’s no other way now.

Son Gwangyeon looked back at his children with a solemn expression.

“Hmph, this dad will show you the spirit of a Seoul man.”

His lips trembled, but Son Gwangyeon maintained a greasy smile and lay down on the chair.

“Raise your hand if it hurts?”

Kiiiiing-.

“Aaaaaaaah! Aggrooo-”

Spirit my ass.

Son Gwangyeon’s arm shot up.

Ah, Father.

Jinhyuk’s arm also tightened.

“Oppa, help meee!”

Because Yujin had started using her mysterious power to struggle.