The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 242

Moon Seokil was lost in thought, a spicy soft tofu stew in front of him.

He knew Jinhyuk was extraordinary, but the guy who used to be clumsy and do strange things had suddenly become calm and serious.

On his days off, he would sit young Yujin on his lap and chat, and although he wasn’t good at making up stories or embellishing them, you could feel his childlike purity. That must be why he got along so well with Yujin.

When Cheon Gilyong visited their house, the siblings would both open their eyes wide like rabbits and listen to the stories, looking like two little kids of different sizes. Sometimes, Jinhyuk would be more surprised or scared than Yujin.

But now, he had changed to be surprisingly cold.

‘It must be because of his friend.’

That was the reason Jinhyuk had changed like this.

He remembered Jo Seulchan, who had participated in the summer camp.

He was the guy who would complain about muscle pain but still keep making silly jokes and make his training buddies laugh.

Chop chop chop-.

“Ouch, it’s hot-”

He looked at Jeong Sangtae, who was gobbling down the soft tofu stew next to him.

He used to scold him for eating so messily, but today, for some reason, it felt endearing.

‘Could I do the same as Jinhyuk?’

He probably could.

Because they were friends who had been through thick and thin together.

That’s why he could understand the coldness emanating from Jinhyuk. If he had shown his usual peaceful demeanor, it would have been stranger.

The monster-like guy now seemed human.

“Kuh-uh-, this place makes good soft tofu stew! Hyung [older brother or close male friend], are we moving right after eating?”

“Let’s make a plan first.”

After answering Kang Heonchang’s question, he picked up his spoon.

It seemed like there would be a lot to do for Jinhyuk in the future.

He also felt like he could finally start earning his keep. After all, this was a much more difficult task than buying incubator parts, picking wild peaches for little Yujin, gathering acorns, or carrying Jeongwon on his back.

“We’re going to the office after eating.”

After buying the building where Kim Eungnyeo’s teahouse used to be, they tore down the old building and built a five-story building. Of course, this was done by Hong Gijun at Jinhyuk’s request.

The first floor was rented out as a clothing store, the second floor as an academy, the third floor housed the SSS branch office, and the fourth floor was Moon Seokil’s personal office. That was also done with Hong Gijun’s approval. He didn’t know why the building was registered under Son Jinhyuk’s name, though.

“Is Jinhyuk going to school?”

Jinhyuk, who was munching on a mouthful of rice, just nodded at Kim Inrang’s question.

His eyes were wide, and his cheeks were puffed up like a squirrel, which made Moon Seokil smile. It reminded him of the gluttonous, big-eyed Son Yujin.

Even though he was extraordinary, had a good physique, and had changed, he was still a kid.

Still, he had to confirm the mission.

Because he was the boss.

“What do you think is the best way to handle it if we find them? You’re not thinking of handing them over to the police, are you?”

If he was going to hand them over to the police, he would have reported it already.

But that was a completely pointless thing to do. There was no telling how long it would take from the case being filed to the investigation.

Already on his fourth bowl, Jinhyuk, who had been scraping the bottom of his bowl with a sullen look, hardened his expression. He slowly lowered his hand and stared at Moon Seokil.

“Those guys…”

He thought he would hesitate.

Because he was the kind of person who wouldn’t even hurt Moon Seokil’s group.

“If the culprit is confirmed and they resist…”

He briefly ran his tongue over his gums.

It seemed like he had chewed too much rice, and rice grains were stuck here and there.

“You don’t have to be careful.”

Even when dealing with gangsters, Jinhyuk didn’t want anyone to get seriously hurt or die.

It was the same even for the people who had tried to harm him directly.

It wasn’t a generosity that anyone could imitate.

“Unfortunate incidents are unavoidable.”

Jinhyuk, who had changed from before, was no longer generous to everyone.

“Don’t you want to hear their story?”

“If you listen to everyone’s story, their crimes become lighter.”

It sounded like he was telling them not to bring them at all.

Jinhyuk, who had been focused on eating, stopped and sighed lightly.

“I haven’t lived long, but those who say things like ‘try to understand,’ ‘let’s be nice,’ or ‘it’s all good’ are usually shady. They’re the ones who do wrong and then try to get away with it. They’re irresponsible and selfish compared to the power they have. I don’t want them as neighbors.”

A rather long speech flowed from the mouth of the guy who rarely expressed his thoughts.

Everyone except for the smacking Kim Inrang straightened their backs and listened attentively.

“They’ll probably say they did it to survive. The only time I’ll listen to their story is before they do something bad, or when nothing has happened. It’s only a luxury I can afford in situations where I can stop it.”

It was a declaration that he had no intention of showing leniency for what had already been done.

Everyone except for the oblivious Kim Inrang nodded almost imperceptibly. It sounded like he was talking about them. ‘You guys almost died if you had messed up.’ Jinhyuk’s voice seemed to echo in their heads.

“If they tried to kill someone who was asleep and couldn’t resist, just to survive…”

Jinhyuk rinsed his mouth with water.

“They have no excuse to live.”

Moon Seokil, nodding, picked up the earthenware pot and began to scoop up the soft tofu stew.

‘This place is good.’

A kill order had been issued.

It was an order he had only heard from Hong Gijun.

***

As he walked through the school hallway, friends who had heard the news brushed past Jinhyuk, as if patting his arm. Jinhyuk gave an awkward smile at the touches that were quite comforting.

Lee Seunghoon and Shin Woosung also appeared, stomping down the hallway.

“President! Is Seulchan okay?”

“Yeah. He’ll be okay.”

“Class President, should we go visit him later?”

“Let’s call the hospital and decide.”

But what was with the Class President?

He hadn’t even been able to keep his seat because he was late on the first day. He should just call him President like he always did.

“Have you guys eaten?”

As always, food was important to Jinhyuk.

He knew these big guys wouldn’t go hungry, but it was the most important thing to ask.

“I was so worried about Jo Seul that I only ate twice.”

For the gluttonous Shin Woosung to only eat twice on his tray, he must have been really worried.

“I’ll go see the teacher first.”

“Okay, okay. Our Ong-aegi [toad] is a nice person, so he won’t say anything.”

Lee Seunghoon saw him off, and he headed to the faculty office.

The homeroom teacher for the second grade was an ethics teacher, and he had a bulging belly and a face that somehow resembled a toad. So, his nickname was ‘Ong-aegi.’ As far as Jinhyuk knew, ‘Ong-aegi’ was a local dialect for toad.

“Sniff-. Oh, I heard the news. The Class President must have been very surprised, huh?”

His voice was full of nasal sounds, and his way of speaking was somehow like a toad.

That’s why he felt a sense of familiarity.

But Class President?

“Sniff-. Is Kim Eunjeong from Class 3 your neighborhood friend? She came with Jinhyuk’s bag and kept pushing it at me, ugh-. And Choi Mikyung from the general class, and Lee Seunghoon too. Ugh-, I don’t know if I should say you have good friends or scary friends, Class President.”

The homeroom teacher shook his head so much that his cheeks jiggled.

“What do you mean…”

“Kuh-ung-. Kim Eunjeong said, ‘Ong-aegi teacher! Class President Son Jinhyuk said he was leaving, so you’re responsible for getting him elected, huh!'”

Cough-. Jinhyuk made a snorting sound.

It wasn’t similar at all, which made it even funnier.

“‘If Jinhyuk doesn’t become Class President, then it’s fate, and I’ll have to do it.’ That’s what she said.”

Choi Mikyung wasn’t that bad, but why was Kim Eunjeong really like that? Could she have been abducted by aliens and brainwashed?

Anyway, the personality of confidently approaching other homeroom teachers might be a characteristic of the girls in the neighborhood.

“And did you teach Lee Seunghoon Japanese?”

“Ah… Just a little.”

“He brought a Japanese newspaper and said, ‘In Japan, a dead person ran for office and got elected,’ and I don’t know Japanese, so how would I know what he was talking about? But I couldn’t ignore the words of a good student, so I was in a difficult position.”

These guys… they’re really something.

“Choi Mikyung is even worse. She said that in Taeyang County, even if you named a dog Son Jinhyuk and sent it to the National Assembly election, it would get elected-. Oh my, I’ve been a teacher for so long…”

Ong-aegi let out a dumbfounded laugh and touched his forehead.

Jinhyuk, barely holding back his laughter, let out a sigh through his nostrils.

It wasn’t just a message of intent to run, it was pressure to get elected, wasn’t it? It was just plain intimidation.

“Sniff-. Anyway, you had to leave your seat for a good reason, so you deserve praise. Kim Eunjeong already registered for a proxy election and became Class President, so keep that in mind, huh?”

“Other friends might think it’s unfair…”

“Unfair? There were no other candidates. If you were you, would you want to compete with you?”

What was there not to do?

They used the same Korean language, went to the same school, and ate the same food. They were the same people.

The only thing Jinhyuk could show off to the public was his Korean records in the 100m and 200m. He also had a gold medal from the Asian Junior Championships.

Ah, when he thought about it, it seemed like quite a weighty achievement.

“Jebeopmua [all things are without self]. You know that saying, right? We learned it last year.”

Ong-aegi suddenly threw out a maxim.

Jebeopmua (諸法無我)…, as an ethics teacher, he brought out quite difficult characters.

“Sniff. ‘I’ is not something that exists by my will or my intention. The ‘I’ that relationships think of is the true ‘I.’ That’s what it means. If your friends have recognized you to that extent, it’s okay to accept it willingly.”

It seemed like he had learned it that way…

The textbook content also seemed to be about the universe and everything. Whatever the interpretation of the book, Jinhyuk’s thoughts were not much different from the toad’s.

“Sniff. No matter what award you’ve won, or what great things you’ve done with your skills, it might not be that impressive to your friends. How your usual behavior is perceived is more important to your classmates. A good guy showing off how good he is is not as good as getting along well with his friends.”

“Yes. I understand what you mean.”

He answered and then shut his mouth. It was a relief that he wasn’t being criticized for his unexpected absence. He also wanted to escape from the nagging that was slowly starting.

‘Well… is it a good thing?’

Now, it seemed like all that was left was for Jo Seulchan and his grandmother to wake up safely.

As he was about to turn around, Ong-aegi handed him a sketchbook.

“Sniff, please sign one more here before you go.”

“I did it last year-”

“Sniff. This is for my daughter.”

“Sniff, okay.”

Oh my, he unconsciously imitated him.

*

He was able to attend two afternoon classes.

Since they had already covered the material, the classes themselves weren’t important. The sense of belonging he felt sitting in his classroom chair was good. It was like a feeling that soothed his tired heart.

There was no night self-study at the beginning of the semester.

Jinhyuk, who had called the hospital to check, headed to the bus stop with light steps.

His grandmother had woken up and fallen asleep again, and Jo Seulchan was crying because he was too hungry.

‘That guy is the saddest when he’s hungry.’

Despite the tears in his eyes, a smile appeared on his lips.

Woosh-.

Choi Mikyung and Kim Eunjeong were next to Jinhyuk, followed by Lee Seunghoon and Shin Woosung, and a few other friends who were close to Jo Seulchan.

Even though they were students, Jinhyuk felt comfortable walking with his friends. The sense of belonging and stability of staying where he should be gave him a satisfaction that was hard to describe lightly.

Kim Eunjeong, who had taken the right side of Jinhyuk, started her nonsense.

“Jinhyuk, I’m the one who raised you.”

What was that supposed to mean?

“That’s right, what Eunjeong said is true.”

Oh my, even Choi Mikyung.

It seemed like Kim Eunjeong was making a fuss because of the Class President election.

What was so special about that Class President position that they were making such a big deal out of it?

“Okay. Thank you, Eunjeong. But shouldn’t you go home? The bus will be different, right?”

Jinhyuk, who had regained some peace of mind, teased Kim Eunjeong by imitating her tone, but Kim Eunjeong didn’t seem to care. Or maybe she was just insensitive because she didn’t care about other people’s opinions.

“It’s not like I’m raising cows, and even if I go home early, I have nothing to do, so I’m thinking of going to the medical center. There’s definitely a UFO buried two hundred meters underground there, tilted at about ten degrees.”

Kim Eunjeong spread her palm and even explained the angle at which that ‘UFO’ was tilted. It looked like it was about 30 degrees. Was his lack of visual acuity a limitation of the humanities?

Anyway, if the nonsense was this specific, he should believe it. That’s probably how multi-level marketing and pseudo-religions do their business. If Kim Eunjeong ever brought an jade mat, he should buy a couple. Because she was his friend. She even pressured Ong-aegi to make Jinhyuk the Class President.

Did Jinhyuk’s frowning expression look like he was seriously considering her words? Kim Eunjeong, who was excited, stuck close to him.

“It’s the result of logical reasoning that there can’t be so many doctors stationed there otherwise.”

Yes, whatever you say.

Jinhyuk’s expression as he boarded the bus was completely different from the morning.

It was time to meet his friends and return to his daily life.