The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 251

Idol

More tractors appeared behind Jo Il-heon.

“The rice planting is just around the corner, and I need to till the fields, but this is going to ruin the harvest! Should we have a good old-fashioned brawl! You sons of bitches!”

“Where did those bastards, those little shits, crawl off to? I can’t see them!”

“You’re about to taste the fury of the Vietnam Tiger Division!”

The neighbors were also on the side of the head of the household.

It was a miscalculation by the reporters, who didn’t know that this neighborhood was a place even Yoo Myung-sun couldn’t control as she pleased.

Too closed off, you say?

Those who haven’t seen the crazed white eyes of a farmer who has missed his timing cannot even begin to fathom that anger.

Non-fiction always surpasses fiction. If farmers, busy with their livelihoods, were to show altruism and understanding towards the unexpected situation of a surprise visit by the press, that would be a fiction with zero plausibility.

Kim Sang-ho, having gotten through one commotion, turned his shoulders to release the tension in his trapezius muscles.

“Isn’t it just a matter of giving an interview?”

“There seems to be a complex calculation involved.”

“Calculation?”

Kim Sang-ho’s eyes lit up at Yu Tae-hwa’s words.

Yu Tae-hwa was the close aide to Han Yu-young.

Was it psychological warfare or a political calculation? This man must know something hidden that a common criminal wouldn’t understand.

“The reporters came because they wanted to, but someone also pushed them.”

“Who are you talking about?”

Yu Tae-hwa chuckled.

It was okay to tell him this much.

“Our Chairman.”

If the Chairman sent them, shouldn’t they be met?

Kim Sang-ho’s eyebrows twitched behind his sunglasses.

“Think of it as a tempering. There’s nothing more to know.”

“Yes, well. That’s how things are.”

A curious cat hastens its demise. No matter how close he was to the VIP’s family, it was best for a bodyguard above bodyguards not to be interested in the private stories between VIPs.

Watching Kim Sang-ho retreat without any complaints, Yu Tae-hwa recalled the previous night.

***

When Hong Ki-joon was on the phone in the study, Son Kwang-yeon didn’t dismiss Yang Kang-wook and Yu Tae-hwa.

It was his intention that they should know the inside story.

Jin-hyuk also sat across from his father with his arms crossed.

– A lot of reporters will go. Half of them are the ones I’m sending.

“I understand what you’re up to, but don’t send too many.”

– It’s something that has to be done. You said to raise them and use them, right? Then you have to acknowledge some of my discretion.

“What are you talking about, you jerk! Did I say I’d ignore you? If there are too many, the narrow neighborhood will be a mess! Do you want to see the villagers rise up?”

– Ah, is that what you meant?

During the first birthday party of the youngest, Jung-won, the entire neighborhood was paralyzed because people from Seoul, the town, and local political circles visited. Back then, it was summer, so it was relatively quiet, and it was a party that all the villagers attended, so it wasn’t a big problem.

When Yoo Myung-sun returned to her hometown, the neighborhood was paralyzed when reporters flocked there during the busy season of preparing for the year’s farming. At that time, Yoo Myung-sun had contributed a lot to the region with the medical center, training center, and donations, so the residents tolerated it.

– A jewel can shine on its own, but it’s worth more when a craftsman polishes it well. I respect the privacy of the other family members. I’m telling you, the head of the family should overcome that much on his own.

“Respect, my ass–.”

Son Kwang-yeon, who was about to speak as usual, glanced at his wife sitting next to him.

Hmm.

If Son Kwang-yeon gave the word this time, the neighbors would endure it.

It’s not that Son Kwang-yeon didn’t want to, but he didn’t.

“I’m going to kick them all out. It means to get used to being in the spotlight, not to cooperate.”

– Yeah. Who are you that I need to explain it at length? Tell Jin-hyuk to film a good documentary, though I don’t know when the broadcasting station guys will use it.

“Did you send the guys filming the documentary too?”

– No comment.

No comment, my ass.

“Hang up!”

After ending the call, Son Kwang-yeon gave Han Yu-young an apologetic look.

His wife, who wanted to live in a place where no one knew her, was now going to be harassed by reporters.

Jin-hyuk was also worried about his mother and siblings, not his father or himself. Whether they responded to the coverage or not, there was no guarantee that the lives of the family, who were not the main characters, would not be seen as expendable. It was not an overestimation to expect that the world would see it that way. That was the usual treatment that ordinary people received.

So, he wanted to prevent his family from being exposed as much as possible.

Han Yu-young, who knew what the father and son’s gazes meant, spoke first.

“It’s okay.”

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

“There’s no peace without discord. If we respond once or twice, there will be requests from everywhere, and then our lives could be greatly disturbed, right? Even if it’s a bit noisy and we get cursed at, we need to make our intentions clear so it doesn’t happen again.”

As always, his mother was a contradictory being, both weak and bold.

No peace without discord…

Jin-hyuk silently listened to his parents’ conversation, nodding at his mother’s words.

“I’m not good at explaining things in detail, but people’s hearts can change from dislike to like, and once they like something, their greed is endless. Those people will keep making up lies to get attention. And then they’ll get into trouble… Especially, young Yu-jin or Jung-won might get some crazy ideas…”

“I understand what you mean.”

Son Kwang-yeon, who had been frozen, placed his hand on his wife’s shoulder.

Then, he looked at Yang Kang-wook and Yu Tae-hwa alternately.

“I’m counting on you.”

Jin-hyuk remained silent until the end.

He thought it was nothing, but after listening to the conversation and thinking about it, his mother’s words were not wrong. He had chosen a regular high school to prevent his younger siblings from being hurt, even before it had happened.

It was enough for him alone to stand in front of the media.

‘It seems like Ki-joon is subtly trying to feed the reporters.’

He seemed to understand the feed and the club mentioned in the email.

It meant they were being trained.

Then, he should cooperate.

Frankly, if he were a powerless and innocent ordinary high school student, he would have been intimidated by the reporters’ power. That’s how the world still works.

But should Son Jin-hyuk, with Hong Ki-joon backing him, have to be mindful of them?

‘Nope.’

The reporters had no place to criticize Jin-hyuk’s actions.

Thanks to the outdated internet, the portal news service was being delayed day after day.

If they wrote an article complaining about being mistreated, they would be told to go to the entertainment section.

***

The press, having gained nothing, loitered around the school, but it was a pointless challenge.

At the school, gatekeepers who had been hardened by the struggle with reporters since Son Jin-hyuk was in middle school were waiting. The guards leisurely stood with their hands behind their backs, having closed the school’s main gate. Even if someone hadn’t asked them to do so for a large sum of money, they wouldn’t have allowed reporters to enter without prior approval. They were professionals, after all.

“Can’t you just call the student out for a moment?”

“Did you contact us in advance? If you want to film for school promotion, the procedure is to send a cooperation request as an official document first. But we haven’t received anything? Why are you doing this?”

“The more educated they are, the more they ignore the law and rules, or so they say. That’s what these guys are like.”

The guards calmly engaged in banter, even with the swarm of reporters in front of them.

“Oh, come on. You don’t know anything. There’s no such thing as that in reporting!”

“Yeah. We’re ignorant, so we don’t know. But that’s your problem. We have our own rules.”

“If we let those strange people into the school, we’ll get fired, you guys. If I get fired, who’s going to pay for my youngest daughter’s college tuition?”

It was strange.

The reporters felt like they had landed in a strange neighborhood.

Everywhere they went, they could pass through by showing their press cards or business cards, but it didn’t work here.

“We just need to talk for a few minutes!”

“Why didn’t you call and ask to meet for a few minutes first?”

“Those useless people came without an appointment and are making a fuss.”

One spoke politely and gently, while the other cursed as if talking to himself. The reporters seemed to have had their fill of the trouble they had gone through.

But they couldn’t get into a physical fight with the guards.

“Please, just tell him we’ll just talk for a moment and leave!”

“How are we supposed to tell him? It’s not like we can put it in a container. You’re asking for too much from someone you’ve just met.”

“Ah, you can’t go outside the school during lunchtime without a permission slip. That’s all for the protection of the students. That’s how it is everywhere in South Korean schools! Student. Protection. Don’t you know that? Anyway, no, no.”

The guard’s waving arm was pathetic.

Even a fly would have chased them away with more effort.

The reporters, who somehow managed to enter the school through the back gate and a hole in the fence, were grabbed by Lee Byung-se and Sung Bu-hyun.

“Oh my, our reporters have arrived? Why don’t you take some nice pictures of our middle school athletes?”

“Our school is famous for its wrestling team. Why don’t you take a look at the wrestling team? I’m from Seoul, so I’ll treat you well.”

The reporters also had to deal with the onslaught of middle and high school students who had gathered like a swarm of bees to watch during break time. At this point, the roles had been reversed.

“Mister, is that camera made in Japan?”

No, this is made by Sein–.

“Japanese? A pro-Japanese person has appeared! Long live Korean independence!”

“Hey! Look at that! The red light on the camera is on!”

“A communist has appeared! Long live Korean independence!”

Are they crazy…?

“Did you come to see Jin-hyuk? He’s busy signing autographs right now. Other broadcasting stations were following him around, so why couldn’t you guys get in?”

“Should I say something to the country?”

“How much money do you have in your pocket?”

“What kind of cigarettes do you smoke?”

“That’s a Pilot fountain pen. My dad uses that too.”

“Do you have to go to the Department of Journalism to become a reporter?”

“I’m in the science track, can I be a reporter?”

“You don’t look Korean, but you speak Korean very well?”

Chirp, chirp!

Where am I, who am I?

As the reporters experienced out-of-body experiences while sober, the problematic girl appeared, parting the sea of students.

“Get out of the way, you guys.”

Looking at the girl’s eyes, which were not unfocused but somehow hazy, the reporters had a sudden sad premonition.

And as always, sad premonitions never come true.

“Have you seen a UFO? An alien tried to artificially inseminate our family’s yellow cow, but it got bitten by a Dosa dog [Korean Mastiff] and left an arm behind. Skynet took that arm. That’s why the movie Terminator came out. But why aren’t you writing this down?”

The reporters had no choice but to turn back.

Someone muttered.

“It’s clear…”

“What is?”

“Looking at the students’ condition, this is a strange place.”

“Hey, Ahn, do you think Seoul is any different? We were like that in our school days, weren’t we?”

Another person, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.

“We were worse back then. They’re normal.”

Was that so…?

“If they’re like that at that age, they’re decent.”

“If there are two thousand students, less than fifty of them would be like that, and those kinds of troublemakers become reporters later. They don’t care about what others think and just say what they want.”

Hehehe.

Everyone started to shrug their shoulders.

The Athletics Federation released a statement.

「A Warning to the Media That Infringes on Students’ Right to Learn」

It stated that they should not disturb the peace of schools and homes by visiting without prior notice and causing a disturbance. It took a conservative and gentle tone, as if making a request.

If the federation was taking such action, Yoo Se-ra wouldn’t stay still.

Yoo Se-ra was someone who always responded strongly to those who were rude.

「No Press Releases Will Be Issued to Uncooperative Media Outlets」

Despite having made an official statement through press conferences and press releases after the competition, she took a strong tone, criticizing the media for excessively infringing on the privacy of a minor athlete. The end of the statement included a subtle, cute threat that she could tell her husband to cut off all advertising and sponsorships.

She had temporarily changed her course from trying to make the athlete famous and profiting from it.

To create a more advantageous future, following her husband’s advice.

***

Several days passed.

The public broadcasting documentary team, which had been following Jin-hyuk like a hawk, monitoring his home, school, and gym, withdrew, promising to return for the next competition.

Having finally gained some free time, he sat back-to-back with Yu-jin.

“Hehe, it’s comfortable.”

His younger sister liked to be carried on his back and lean on him, so what was the big deal about letting her lean on his back?

Beep! Beep!

Haeng-un was busy these days.

Jin-hyuk and Yu-jin sat on the hill behind the house, watching Haeng-un build its nest. Jang-gun and the other dogs were also mesmerized by the strange sight.

“Haeng-un is a boy.”

“I guess so. His tail is longer than his partner’s.”

Unlike other reed warblers, Haeng-un had started building its nest on the windowsill of Yu-jin’s room, not in the reed forest of the reservoir. It carried reeds and various small twigs, but it didn’t come even when Yu-jin called it while shaking a bug.

“He must be in a hurry.”

“Yes. They say they lay eggs right after building their nest.”

It would lay pretty, jewel-like turquoise eggs.

And Haeng-un’s juniors would come out of them.

“Haeng-un is smart.”

“Will the cuckoo not come here if it builds here? Cuckoos are quite fierce. They’re scary birds.”

“I think he believes I’ll protect him.”

Even animals that can’t speak can communicate with their hearts.

Sometimes, when he looked at Jang-gun’s or the other dogs’ eyes and expressions, he could understand what they were saying. Although he didn’t know if he understood them correctly.

“Why do you avoid reporters, oppa? Are you scared of reporters? Are reporters like cuckoos?”

“I’m not avoiding them. There’s nothing I’m scared of in the world.”

If there was anything he was scared of, it was his family’s safety, but it was best not to say such things out loud. They said that loose lips sink ships.

“What the reporters want isn’t about your sports.”

“Then what is it?”

“Fantasy.”

“Fantasy? What’s fantasy?”

“There’s such a thing.”

In the deep night, when a dog that couldn’t cross a stream swollen by a downpour was barking, a baby who hadn’t even been potty-trained walked across the stream to save the dog… Well, that’s a fantasy. It was a masterpiece he submitted as a summer vacation assignment, but he was suspected of having his father write it for him. Thinking about it again, it was unfair.

“Anyway, there’s nothing I’m scared of.”

Jin-hyuk stroked Yu-jin’s messy hair as if tidying it up.

It was so messy that it was a wonder that Haeng-un didn’t build its nest on top of Yu-jin’s head.

“What’s with this princess’s hair?”

“Hehe, they say it’s like dog hair because I take after mom.”

He combed through it with his fingers like a rake.

Yu-jin, who had been bobbing her head following her brother’s touch, asked as if she was nagging.

“Really, really, is there nothing you’re scared of?”

“I told you there isn’t?”

Hey, she’s trying to lead me on?

“Ouch!”

Oh, no, because I put too much force into it, my sister’s head was thrown back.