The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 240

‘That’s not what I mean.’

I could tell he didn’t understand what I was saying.

I’d felt it when I eavesdropped on the conversation with Hong Gijun, but this guy was even more clueless than Son Jinhyuk.

【I was willing to listen to anything. However, it was you who asked me not to tell you anything, not to help you with anything, and not to interfere in anything. You may not remember.】

‘Then why did you interfere today? Why did you appear to my underlings? What kind of restriction did you put on the Chairman?’

Beneath Jinhyuk, who was curled up asleep, a small, coiled shadow flickered for a moment.

【As expected… I thought your ego would have eavesdropped on the conversation with the old man. Still, it’s surprising that you noticed what happened to your underlings. Let’s just say that everything, including today, is my small consideration for you.】

‘Consideration, you say, but isn’t that a violation of the promise I made with you?’

【I admit it.】

‘Let them go.’

【The old man is impossible.】

‘Why?’

【The old man’s restriction is due to his repeated petitions and entreaties; the conditions for release have not been met.】

‘What conditions?’

【You are human after all. You already know, yet you’re testing me. I believe your intelligence would have been able to figure it out.】

Jinhyuk’s shoulder twitched.

Though the tone was even and without inflection, there was a force that pressed down even on his subconscious.

‘I really don’t know. You say you know me well? You should know that I’m not the type to be obsessed with wealth or a vain company that I can’t even take with me when I die.’

【Just because it’s nothing to you doesn’t mean it’s not important to others.】

It sounded plausible.

When he was young, Janggun [a dog’s name] used to drop the bones he had hidden in the field in front of Jinhyuk. Even though it was something he liked and was obsessed with. Even now, he sometimes brings the dog chews he has carefully hidden so that other dog friends can’t find them, and then turns away. It wasn’t hard to guess the message that Janggun’s cool-looking back was sending.

‘Are you perhaps a part of my subconscious?’

【You’ve become quite human. Your delusions and jokes are better than mine.】

I couldn’t tell if it was a compliment or an insult.

Well, if he wasn’t a part of my subconscious, then so be it.

If he was another ego of Jinhyuk, it would be creepy.

Jinhyuk had thought that he might be crazy and that this absurd situation was happening. It was absurd that he had returned to the past in the first place. Anyway, it was a relief that it wasn’t the case.

‘How do you appear?’

【When you earnestly desire it.】

‘Is the standard of earnestness that I know different from the standard you judge?’

【Not much different.】

‘Then why didn’t you appear before?’

【I hid in your shadow and watched the situation. I just didn’t reveal myself.】

‘Why?’

【There was nothing to help with. Didn’t you solve it yourself? As you have also experienced, if our two egos coexist, your mind could be destroyed.】

‘So, you didn’t step in because I told you not to interfere in my life back then.’

【That’s correct.】

This guy is quite inconsistent. Saliva dripped from Jinhyuk’s mouth, which was hanging open as he slept.

He said he didn’t interfere, but then he made an exception to show consideration…

‘Thank you for today. For saving my friend.’

【Your will called me, so that is also your merit. Your body has become a great vessel, so you were able to exercise the power of resurrection, which is also your merit.】

Even in his light sleep, he was glad that Jo Seulchan was safe.

‘You wouldn’t know what kind of existence he is to me.’

【He is the existence that makes you human.】

Jinhyuk’s lips curled up slightly.

【I said that I know you better than anyone, so even if I can’t read your emotions, I can guess them. I’ve also satisfied my curiosity about this world. Every time you fell asleep, I left you and roamed the world. A trivial and small world…】

Whirring, whirring.

The shadow calmly told the story of roaming the Earth.

Regardless of the content, it was as comfortable as a lullaby from a friend.

Like when he had returned to the past and fallen asleep holding little Hong Sujeong, a feeling of deep comfort.

‘I think I might know you. You don’t feel strange.’

【What you think and feel is just the instinctive psychological action of a human being, not the truth. You may or may not know me.】

This was like Janggun tasting the seawater.

‘So, you mean you don’t know.’

【You are indeed clever.】

The intonation was strange, like a foreigner speaking Korean, so I really couldn’t tell if it was a compliment or an insult.

‘You are…’

I hadn’t asked the most important thing.

‘Who are you? And what is the identity of the power that has accumulated in my body? And what is that strange language?’

【It seems you’ve finally calmed down. Even if I told you the answer to the question of who you were, you wouldn’t understand because of the restriction. It’s more important to wonder about my identity first.】

‘Answer me.’

【I am…】

***

Moon Seokil, who had arrived in the medical center hallway, pulled out his dagger. The movement was so fast that even his colleagues didn’t see it clearly.

His limbs trembled with fear, and his mouth wouldn’t open.

He had no plan of what to do.

He had just lost it when he saw the black silhouettes filling the VIP ward hallway and Jinhyuk slumped in front of them, seemingly dead.

“D-do you guys see th-that too?”

Jeong Sangtae, Kang Heonchang, and Kim Inrang nodded with pale faces.

As if ice water had been injected into their hearts and brains, the coldness brought on by the fear of that day made their teeth chatter.

Towards Moon Seokil, the silhouette turned its body at a bizarrely slow speed.

“Wh-wh-what are you doing to Jinhyuk-.”

【You are free.】

“Huh?”

At Moon Seokil’s dumbfounded question, the silhouette’s eyes, or rather, the emptiness where eyes should have been, curved at the corners. There were no pupils, but they could feel it. It was looking at Moon Seokil’s drawn dagger and then at the group in turn.

【An interesting world, interesting guys. It seems I didn’t need to step in after all.】

“Wh-what-.”

As if there was nothing more to say or hear, the silhouette disappeared into Jinhyuk’s shadow.

The hallway, which had darkened with the appearance of the silhouette, regained its light.

“Whew-!”

Kang Heonchang, whose legs had given out, slumped down with a sigh.

“I’ve been a slave because of that bastard-.”

“Was it because of him that you were sticking around, you idiot?” Jeong Sangtae scolded Kim Inrang, who was cursing.

“Ah… that’s.”

Kim Inrang, who had helped Kang Heonchang up, scratched his head.

The reason they had stayed around Son Gwangyeon and Jinhyuk. In any case, they had no other choice, and after some discussion, they had made the best choice. Kim Inrang had also met Hwang Gayoon thanks to that.

“Your life has blossomed the most, you idiot. A guy who couldn’t even get a date met a sister-in-law who even went to college-.”

“And you get paid a lot too.”

Kang Heonchang shook his head vigorously as if trying to come to his senses. Then he slapped his cheeks.

“Is that all? It’s the safest.”

Jeong Sangtae’s words were agreed upon by Kang Heonchang and Kim Inrang as well.

If there were soldiers and civilians together on a battlefield, who would be safer?

It was a question their instructor had posed during their training days.

Opinions were divided, but they had come to the conclusion that the soldiers with guns were the safest. Both soldiers and civilians were in danger, but soldiers could defend themselves and decide the life or death of themselves and others. And if they had comrades, that safety was even greater. Both civilians and soldiers could be in danger from stray bombs.

“We have Sein as our backer, sSs [a private security company] as our comrades, and this badge is a free pass anywhere.”

Jeong Sangtae touched the badge with the sSs symbol embossed on it, which was pinned to the left lapel of his jacket.

“In the area, no one dares to pick a fight if we mention your name, hyung [older brother].”

Even without Jeong Sangtae’s addition, they all felt the same way.

They had lived under the order to protect Jinhyuk’s family, intending to hide themselves, but in the end, they were the ones who had been protected.

“Freedom? Safety? Can we be more free than we are now? Is there a safer place than here?”

Jeong Sangtae spread his arms and twisted his waist like a presenter.

It was a world where they could live with their families, not be tense, eat their fill, and sleep warmly.

“No, there isn’t-. Oh, oh! Seokil hyung! Put that knife down!”

At Kang Heonchang’s shout, the eyes of the group, who had been whispering, quickly found Moon Seokil.

Moon Seokil, who had grabbed Jinhyuk’s neck with his left hand, was holding a dagger in his right hand, held in reverse. The blade, shining under the light, was chilling.

It was clear to anyone that Jinhyuk’s life was in danger.

“Oh? Look at my mind. I was so surprised.” Moon Seokil turned to his colleagues and smiled awkwardly, then quickly put the dagger away.

Jinhyuk was sleeping so soundly that the saliva that had flowed from his mouth was stretched out like a nylon fishing line across the hallway.

“Is he skipping school again and getting into trouble?” Jeong Sangtae chuckled.

Even though he had heard the explanation from Moon Seokil on the way, he was just saying it.

Jinhyuk, who finally woke up after Moon Seokil shook him a few times, rubbed his eyes hard.

“Ugh-. My back hurts.”

“It would be strange if your spine didn’t hurt after sleeping in that position,” Moon Seokil said, patting Jinhyuk’s back and laughing.

He was a remarkable guy in many ways. How did he know his friend was in danger and think to rush over at that time?

“Thank you for coming.”

“Are you okay? Did you see anything strange?”

“Anything strange?” Jinhyuk looked at Moon Seokil and tilted his head, looking completely clueless.

It seemed okay to pretend not to know one of their secrets.

That was also the way to protect Jinhyuk’s secret.

“It’s nothing. Sleeping here, you must have been very tired from being surprised by your friend.” Jinhyuk nodded, dusted off his bottom, and looked into the hospital room.

There was still more than an hour left before the oxygen therapy was over.

Jo Seulchan and his grandmother were still, as if they had fallen asleep, but the bio-signs on the panel seemed no different from those of a normal person.

“Let’s go somewhere together. I’ll buy you lunch.”

“Lunch? What should we eat?” Jinhyuk, who was walking towards the outside, chuckled without turning around at Jeong Sangtae’s question.

“It’s cold, how about some hot soft tofu stew?”

They say you eat tofu when you’re released and find freedom, right?

***

I had thought about leaving it to the police. Son Jinhyuk was someone who respected the system.

‘I can’t trust them.’

No matter how well-organized a framework is, or how well-made a machine is, it is ultimately operated by people. Unfortunately, Jinhyuk’s distrust of strangers was deeply rooted and long-standing.

I reached Jo Seulchan’s house and slowly retraced my steps.

There was nothing to see in the field, which had turned white with the fallen snow. Only the footprints of the paramedics who had been dispatched from Sein Medical Center and Jinhyuk’s footprints were left in disarray. Even the place where Jo Seulchan and his grandmother had been lying was covered in snow, hiding what had happened there.

‘The gate was open.’

I suspected, observed the suspicious points, and deduced based on the observations.

In order, and then in reverse order.

I could ask the shadow, but he had told me not to interfere in the first place, to let me live normally. That was what the past Son Jinhyuk had said. What an idiot. Why not live a little more comfortably?

Creak-.

I opened the gate and turned around before stepping inside.

I saw people talking in the distance on the field bank.

‘The uncles must be talking about that.’

The shadow had disappeared without answering Jinhyuk’s question.

– 【As the warden of the Great Prison… they’ve come. Let’s postpone our meeting until later.】

It was a sly escape.

He even had the ability to stop time, but he just ran away, which seemed to mean he didn’t want to talk about it.

Still, I had learned one thing.

– 【Emptying your power was a choice befitting you, who wished to live as a human. I don’t know why you came to wield it, but it’s a dangerous power.】

– ‘Dangerous? What about my sister?’

– 【You can ignore it. It is the power of creation that I gave you in response to your wish to save the baby.】

– ‘Creation? It didn’t seem to create anything.’

– 【Another name for creation is life. What the child possessed was a paltry power that would have long since disappeared into dust, but she is holding onto it with her innate intelligence. I never imagined that she would be able to use it outwardly, but it seems that a part of my ability has been transferred. It was a mistake to underestimate the infinite potential of a fetus.】

– ‘You were stupid.’

– 【……】

I could feel the shadow flinch.

I felt a little sorry for him, since he had saved my sister and mother, only to be called stupid.

– 【Please be careful. It is a power that repeatedly conflicts with the human mind and eventually destroys the ego.】

The unknown power seemed to have been guiding me to strengthen my body and grow my vessel. I could guess why it had acted as inexhaustible stamina.

Not only that.

If I tried to use it for running, it would suddenly produce a speed that transcended human limits, and if I tried to run with just my physical abilities, it would put shackles on me and tempt me to use it. That must have been why I couldn’t control it as I wanted.

‘If I had used it more, I might have been consumed.’

After finishing my thoughts, I saw those who were walking towards me.

Moon Seokil, Jeong Sangtae, Kang Heonchang, and Kim Inrang.

After realizing that there was an entity using my shadow as a passage, there was a time when I thought that the power that filled my chest was a gift from a transcendent being.

But the gift was something else.

What kind of relationships are made intentionally, but if I were to pick the people who had suddenly jumped into Jinhyuk’s life, it would definitely be them. Perhaps even Hong Gijun had not considered their existence.

I raised my hand towards the gift left by the shadow’s consideration.

‘Please wait there.’

“Stop!”

Damn it, my words and thoughts changed again.

It’s all because of the carbon monoxide.