The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 237

The Unconscious Self (4)

Jo Seul-chan’s house, though located outside of town, was set back further from the main road. It was less than a kilometer as the crow flies from the bus stop, and even following the winding roads and alleys, it was under two kilometers. The distance wasn’t great, but the road conditions were poor.

‘Running is the fastest way.’

It was early, and the streets were mostly deserted, with hardly any cars.

With nothing to obstruct him, he could run freely.

Tears streamed from the cold wind, and his ears were freezing, but he ignored it and kept sprinting.

The knee-length coat was cumbersome.

Thud-.

He grabbed his chest and ripped the coat open, the buttons scattering as the fabric parted, allowing him to lift his legs more easily.

Huff, huff-.

He quickly left the paved road and stepped onto the bare ground. His shoes slipped on the damp, frozen earth, but his only focus was to keep running.

Running that strengthened Jin-hyuk’s heart and reminded him of his will to live.

And connections.

After passing a few abandoned houses, Jo Seul-chan’s house came into view.

Now, he just had to cross the field in front of him.

Crunch, crunch-.

The frozen ground broke easily under his feet, clearing a path.

The gate would be locked, right?

He placed a hand on the chest-high fence and easily jumped over it.

He crossed the narrow yard and flung open the door.

Bang-!

“Seul-cha… …! Ugh-!”

He covered his mouth and nose with his coat sleeve.

A terrible stench that caused a headache had wafted in.

Like the smell of an unknown plant carried by a sudden gust of wind, it was an indescribable stench.

***

Sniff, sniff-.

Han Yu-young, who was cleaning, doing the dishes, and cleaning the fish tank, sniffed at the terrible stench that suddenly wafted in.

“Oh my, what’s that smell? Is it our daughter’s bathroom?”

“Yes… … Ughh-.”

Yu-jin, who was scared and left the door slightly open while doing her business, was the culprit.

The daughter, who ate until she fell asleep, went to the bathroom every morning with a swollen face.

After seeing off her son to school and her husband to work, Han Yu-young’s day officially began.

The first thing was to wash her daughter, who had woken up early and had a refreshing bowel movement.

“Our Yu-jin, let’s wash your face and brush your teeth.”

“Eheheh-. I want to do it myself-”

She stood in front of the bathroom, blocking it, saying she would do it herself, but the daughter, whose hands were not yet skilled, became a monster if her mother’s hands didn’t reach her. She came out with soap bubbles on her ears and hair, her hair a mess, a beautiful rascal unlike any other in the world.

“Our daughter, now let’s brush your hair.”

“I can do it myself-”

She could, sure.

The problem was that she would only transform from a rascal daughter to just a rascal.

“Ouch, ouch! It hurts-”

“You have to wash your hair often so it doesn’t get tangled when you brush it.”

“I washed it yesterday after swimming-”

“Then why is it so stiff? Didn’t you use shampoo?”

“Um, um-, Dad says it’s because I have dog hair like Mom.”

Hmm-.

Unaware that her mother’s eyes had narrowed, the cheerful Yu-jin focused on relaying what she had heard. She had no tact but a good memory, like a dedicated messenger with a strong sense of duty.

“Mom is um, um-, beautiful everywhere, but her hair is thick and coarse, so it’s like dog hair-”

Yu-jin should know the fate of a messenger with a good memory but no tact.

Probably a swift chop-.

Gritting her teeth, Han Yu-young reached her limit.

“Ouch, ouch! Ouch, ouch! It hurts-”

“Tch… …”

You have to endure to become beautiful.

That’s why Han Yu-young also endured her anger. It was because she shouldn’t frown even when angry to maintain her beauty.

After finishing the furious hair brushing, and tying Yu-jin’s hair with a rattle hair tie, she went to check on her youngest son.

“Oh my, when did you roll over there?”

Looking at his bad sleeping habits, he clearly took after his father, but she didn’t know why everyone said he looked like his mother. Well, the reason why I fall out of bed about twice a day while sleeping is definitely because my husband pushes me with his feet.

She checked if his diaper was heavy, if he had pooped, and covered him with a blanket so he could sleep soundly.

“Mommy-. The news is sad-”

Yu-jin, who was watching the morning news, raised her voice towards her mother.

Yu-jin liked the news, but when scary or sad content came out, she would send a signal like that to watch it together.

“The weather warmed up and then got cold again, so the briquettes got damp. So, a one-room house in Yeomni-dong, Mapo-gu, inhaled briquette gas, and only an adult man lived there… …”

Yu-jin couldn’t continue and covered her eyes with the back of her hand.

Hehee-.

“Oh dear-. Our Yu-jin… …”

At times like this, she could only pat and comfort her.

It was a good thing that her child’s nature was kind, but she was worried because she was so sensitive.

What did the young one know, when she asked if the news was so sad, she got a surprising answer.

– “If the people living there were our family, it wouldn’t be someone else’s problem.”

When Haeng-un hit his head on the clean window and fainted for a moment, she thought he was dead and cried so loudly that the house shook, so how much more would she empathize with the news of someone’s death?

So, Han Yu-young comforted her daughter silently, hoping she would overcome it on her own.

Yu-jin, who had been sobbing for a while, calmed down and looked up at her mother.

“There are no more houses that use briquettes in our neighborhood, right?”

“Yeah. Now we’re doing better, so we switched to oil boilers.”

Ah-! Han Yu-young’s throat felt prickly.

The words that Jo Seul-chan had said last night on the phone, that he had gone in after changing the briquettes, made her throat uncomfortable like a fish bone.

‘Nothing will happen, but.’

Tap, tap-.

She was on good terms with Jo Seul-chan’s grandmother, so she dialed the number in her head as if it were flowing water.

Beep, beep, beep, beep-.

Only a busy signal returned.

“Hmm? Is Seul-chan’s grandmother on the phone with someone from the morning?”

Jo Seul-chan would be at school, and his grandmother would be awake.

Still, the busy signal meant she was probably okay.

Click-.

Ring, ring, ring, ring-.

The phone rang as soon as she put down the receiver.

Thump!

“Oh my, Father!”

– Hahaha! Why are you answering the phone like that?

The lingering doubt disappeared with her husband’s hearty laughter.

“Ahaha, it rang as soon as I put down the receiver, so I was surprised.”

– Were you on the phone with your sister this morning?

“No. I called Seul-chan’s house. Because of the unsettling news.”

– I called because of that too.

“Yes?”

– When I went to Seul-chan’s house with you last time, it seemed like the house was falling apart. It was livable before, but it seems like the durability is gone. A position opened up in the company housing because an employee who got married last time is moving, so I was wondering if it would be a good idea to talk to the elder and recommend that they move to the company housing… …

“Is that okay?”

– Is our opinion important? Seul-chan and the elder have to agree.

Wow, that would be really great.

***

Jin-hyuk, who had covered his mouth and held his breath, quickly rolled his eyes.

‘What is it?’

What happened?

He slid in on his knees without even taking off his shoes.

Jo Seul-chan and his grandmother’s complexions were red, and they didn’t seem to be breathing, as their chests weren’t moving.

‘They’re not breathing.’

He put his index and middle fingers on his friend and grandmother’s necks.

The grandmother’s pulse was barely there, and Jo Seul-chan’s pulse was abnormally fast.

But.

‘Seul-chan’s pulse is also getting slower… …’

While checking the pulse, a change occurred in the grandmother.

Her red complexion slowly turned pale, as if the blood was draining from her face.

Jo Seul-chan’s redness also gradually faded.

‘This is a situation I can’t control.’

It was natural since he had never experienced it before.

A moment passed when even thinking was a luxury.

He quickly took out his security phone.

‘The head of the health center.’

He had a vague idea of the symptoms, but since it wasn’t accurate, a doctor would be better than the fire department.

It was early, but he had seen him exercising earlier, so he thought he might be reading the newspaper in his office now.

Ring, ring, ring-.

‘Please pick up.’

Thump, thump, thump-.

His heart beat in time with the longest second of his life.

Click-.

– Hello, residents, be healthy. The health center that serves you kindly-.

“It’s Jin-hyuk!”

– Oh my! You startled me!

“There’s a smell in the room! A stench! Their faces are red and then they’re turning pale! It’s my friend’s house!”

He could feel Yoo Jae-woon quickly shutting his mouth at the incoherent words.

It must have been the instinct of a doctor who sensed an emergency.

“Grandmother and high school student! They’re lying in the room! Their pulse was strangely fast, but it’s getting slower-.”

– Do they use briquette heating?

“Yes.”

– Ven, ventilate! No! Move them outside! Quickly!

He put down the phone and wrapped the grandmother in a blanket and moved her to the yard. He kept his ears perked. Yoo Jae-woon kept shouting while he was moving the patient.

– It seems like poisoning! They need to breathe fresh air! The windier the better!

What was helpful now was not his superhuman strength but his developed hearing.

Jin-hyuk listened to Yoo Jae-woon’s advice and moved Jo Seul-chan to the yard as well.

‘There’s no wind.’

The yard was so narrow that a car couldn’t even enter, and it seemed to be because of the fence surrounding the yard.

He carried the grandmother, wrapped in a blanket like a cocoon, and headed for the gate.

Squeak- Bang-!

The steel gate opened wide with a nervous sound.

Fortunately, it wasn’t locked, so he could save time.

After moving Jo Seul-chan outside, he went back into the room to get the phone.

His heart was beating too fast and his breathing was labored because he had sprinted and was also shocked. His head was throbbing as if a woodpecker was pecking at it, which seemed to be because of the gas he had inhaled for a short time.

Whoosh- Whoo-.

His eardrums were also reacting strangely, like when he was breathing through a snorkel in the water.

“Whoosh-. Are you there?”

– How is it?

“They’re turning pale… …”

– Hmm… …

Thump-.

Jin-hyuk could hear his heart falling.

He stopped fanning them, wondering if it would help the patients.

The reaction that Yoo Jae-woon, the only person he could trust right now, showed was not just a sigh. Jin-hyuk got the impression from Yoo Jae-woon that he was being quiet about an extremely pessimistic situation.

– Hmm… , any signs of vomiting?

“No.”

– Ah… , what about their pulse?

He checked the carotid artery again.

“It was there a moment ago, but it’s gone now.”

– Oh my… … Do you know CPR? Chest compressions.

“Is that all I need to do?”

As Jin-hyuk answered, his hand moved to the grandmother’s chest.

He put down the phone and placed his other hand on Jo Seul-chan’s chest.

– That’s all you can trust right now. Start quickly.

Press- Press-.

He pressed down on the area where the heart would be, controlling his strength as much as possible.

Huff- Huff-.

Jin-hyuk’s breathing also became labored with each press.

– I don’t know if you can hear me, but it’s probably acute… People who use briquettes usually wake up because of vomiting even if they inhale gas, and they ventilate on their own. The fact that they were lying there unable to do anything means the concentration was probably high… …

A doctor wasn’t a profession that spoke with such certainty.

That frustrating way of speaking sometimes turned people inside out, but that uncertainty also gave hope.

Huff- Huff-.

He shook his head strongly. To shake off the ominous thoughts.

– If you know the address, can you tell me? I’ll call the fire department and get an ambulance.

It was probably a consideration for Jin-hyuk, who was flustered and busy.

Unlike the calm Yoo Jae-woon, Jin-hyuk shouted urgently. It was because of the desperate feeling he felt in his palms.

“Not the fire department, but Se-in Medical Center! Son Kwang-yeon! VIP code 0003! Tell them it’s his son’s request! If they don’t believe it, call my dad! Oxygen therapy vehicle! The address is… …”

Jin-hyuk couldn’t continue.

He could endure his exhausted body from sprinting and his stomach twisting from the nauseating smell.

Ugh- Ugh-.

However, he couldn’t swallow the resentment that was rising uncontrollably.

Because of his frustration with his own incompetence, and because of the two people who were not breathing even as they were being pressed.

He had pressed twice per second, and it had already been over 300 times.

He took his hand off, which had been pressing down so hard that he was worried about breaking the patient’s bones.

His eyes were tightly closed, and his mouth was distorted in an ugly way.

“No… … Seul-chan-ah-”

The reason why there are two legs… …

It wasn’t for walking and running.

It was so that you could bury your head when things were hard. That’s why the knees bend forward. So you can bury your head.

Like a bird hiding its head in its wing feathers.

He didn’t know why he was thinking that now, but he seemed to have fallen into this kind of sentiment sometime in the past.

Ugh- Ugh-.

He sat down on the dirt floor and buried his head in his knees, and sorrowful tears fell in a torrent.

Like a child who had lost his mother, like a dog abandoned alone, hoping someone would look at him, he looked around with a tear-stained face. As if mocking such a heart, the surroundings were silent.

Ugh, ugh-.

The conversations of people chatting while smoking on their way to work were also buried in the mournful cries.

A stillness that seemed as if time had stopped, suitable for a world facing its end.

In that silence, the only things that proved that the world had not stopped were the cold wind that cut through his tear-stained face and the sound of car horns in the distance.

Ugh, ugh, ugh… …

At the mournful sound that couldn’t fully express the pain that was rising from his gut, Yoo Jae-woon on the other end of the line also closed his mouth.

Snowflakes fell, and one or two snowflakes landed on Jo Seul-chan’s face.

When he was young, he was sad that the snow that disappeared instantly in his palm.

But that was a very natural law of nature.

It was proof that he was alive.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh… …”

As if this was also the order of nature, the snowflakes that didn’t melt on his friend’s face were heartbreaking.

That was when it happened.

The world shook dully as if he had been hit on the head with a hammer.

【Someone once said that a person who asks for and receives help when they need it, rather than someone who tries to overcome all hardships alone, is a truly human being.】

A hollow pressure, as if blocking a tsunami with his chest, pressed down on his heart.