The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 263

‘That’s an interesting guy?’

【I am a serious being.】

Ah, right.

He’s still here.

I thought he was just frustrating because we couldn’t communicate, but maybe it was because he was so unpredictable that I never knew where the conversation would lead.

Like when you talk to someone with a different way of thinking, intellectual level, and personality.

I endured the splitting headache and asked,

‘Is there a difference in my desperation?’

He said that in the past, he would appear, just observe, and then disappear. He said it was because it didn’t seem like I needed help.

But after the carbon monoxide incident, he didn’t appear at all.

And now, it’s strange that he’s popping up so easily.

Jin-hyeok, who had called out Dugu Elil several times when he was alone, was certain that he hadn’t appeared. If he had shown up, I would have felt his presence, which I should have felt even without him fully charged.

Even if I fell asleep after calling him, there were no dream-like conversations.

It must have meant that I didn’t meet the conditions.

【You were not desperate. Not even for a single moment. In situations that were for your intellectual curiosity.】

Is this about going to an English-speaking country?

The word order of the shadow, which was strange before, has become even more bizarre.

Still, my prediction that he didn’t appear because the conditions weren’t met was correct.

My heart felt like it was about to burst as I endured the time with my bare body, but I waited quietly, hoping he would say more.

【You are not curious about the future. You don’t want to know your lifespan. You are not curious about records. You do not believe in fate. What you are curious about is tomorrow’s weather, side dishes, things to prepare, a lost umbrella, and the life or death of a chickadee.】

To overcome the pain, I closed my eyes gently and listened to the sound tickling my heart with my mind’s ear.

【You are curious but not at all desperate. As a human, you fear the unknown tomorrow, and as a human, you live with expectations for tomorrow. You are satisfied with that. Because today is happy. You are.】

In the midst of all this, I felt something hot on my philtrum.

I wiped it away with the back of my hand, and just as I was about to ask what it was,

【You have refused my help, and you refuse it.】

Jin-hyeok nodded slightly.

‘So, my heart that has curiosity or pursues selfish desires isn’t desperate, but my heart that worries about my sister is sincere.’

【You are clever. You are worthy of being the one I chose.】

‘The one you chose… When are you going to tell me about that? What exactly did I do?’

【Della-vi nanna⬛ ne e⬛tel-luy-zeu-heu ne⬛ moss ed-bwi-el-le-bwe⬛ nah-.】

What the hell is this bastard babbling about?

Jin-hyeok’s brow furrowed.

【Look. You don’t understand at all.】

‘That’s true. When will I be able to understand?’

【When the old man is released, your connection with me will be severed.】

‘Okay.’

【That is also your strength. You don’t stubbornly cling to things you can’t solve right away. Yet, you are calculating in your head how to solve it.】

Jin-hyeok didn’t bother to argue.

Partly because the headache was severe, and partly because the shadow’s words were correct.

【As promised, I will look after the baby. The nanny is for a month. A nanny is someone who feeds, puts to sleep, and protects from danger-.】

‘Thank you.’

He was a chatterbox in strange ways, so I cut him off as if stamping a seal.

【You should take care of your nosebleed.】

‘What?’

【I will see if it is interesting.】

With those threatening words, the splitting headache and the pressure that felt like it was crushing my whole body disappeared.

At the same time, the hand on Yoo-jin’s forehead became warm.

‘He’s gone. That’s a relief. I can rest easy now.’

Throb-.

The pain returned.

【I have not gone. I have only touched the baby. I have no substance there. To define the absence of substance as movement is-.】

‘I get it!’

I understand everything without you explaining!

That bastard is quite the chatterbox.

Drip-.

As the pain subsided, I felt a warm liquid on my philtrum again.

It seemed to be a side effect of the pressure.

I quickly covered my nose with the back of my hand and spoke softly to Yoo-jin, who was looking at her brother with concern.

“You need to close your eyes to fall asleep.”

***

For the first time in her life, Son Yoo-jin experienced her first flight, one landing, and then her second takeoff.

How could she miss home after only a few hours of being away?

‘My mom, dad, Jung-won, Jang-gun… and Chun Gil-ryong, Heavy G….’

Her tiny fingers folded and unfolded as the family tree unfolded in Son Yoo-jin’s mind.

‘I miss Haeng-un too.’

Everyone else was sleeping soundly, but Son Yoo-jin couldn’t fall asleep.

Then, a shadow fell over her face, and a giant’s hand was placed on Son Yoo-jin’s forehead.

It was rough from calluses, but it was warm.

Her brother, who seemed to be thinking about something with a frown, relaxed his expression and said,

“You need to close your eyes to fall asleep.”

“I can’t fall asleep….”

【Sleep.】

Kaaa-.

Feeling her forehead become warm and heavy, Son Yoo-jin lost consciousness.

Ding-.

When this sound is heard, the cabin lights turn on, and the captain speaks or a flight attendant gives something. Son Yoo-jin is a smart child, so she has already learned the rules of the airplane.

Ding-.

Sleep and then eat.

Ding-.

Eat and then sleep.

Ding-.

Sleep again.

The airplane is not very good.

There is no wind and no birdsong, so it’s boring.

‘Where is Haeng-soon?’

My baby Haeng-un is working hard to feed her babies all alone.

It’s like a mother-in-law worrying about her son who is suffering because of his runaway wife.

They say a woman’s enemy is another woman, but is this the right time to use that saying?

Who cares? Jjo-rong ahjussi can say anything he wants, and the police don’t arrest him.

‘My sister said I have to sleep on the plane-.’

She couldn’t sleep because of all these worries.

【Sleep.】

Kaaa-.

In a delusion that someone was commanding her, Son Yoo-jin lost consciousness again.

That command was like her mother’s touch when she was a baby, soothing Son Yoo-jin when she was fussy.

Lullaby- Lullaby- our baby-.

Hehe-. Mom came out in my dream.

Son Yoo-jin smiled like a baby in her sleep.

***

Chun Gil-ryong and Yoo Myung-sun, the two old brothers, ambled to the Son family’s place after receiving a call from Han Yu-young.

– “Chairman, don’t stay in that stuffy place without any employee training. Come over and have some tea.”

In the old days, he would have been the age to nag the young people with his farming knowledge and clear his throat, but Chun Gil-ryong’s experience was limited to tending a small vegetable garden.

Even that was mostly just drinking during the day and passing out after Yoo Myung-sun came down. In the end, the vegetable garden would turn into a weed patch or wasteland, so Yook Sung-chan or Son Jin-hyeok would occasionally take care of it.

“It’s best for us old folks to stay out of the young people’s sight.”

“Haha, is that so? If you come, wouldn’t everyone be busy greeting you instead of working?”

“It seems to me that Chairman Yoo is also quite respected. Ahem-!”

The two old men, exchanging compliments, sat down on the porch.

On the porch, a Go board, a fan, and refreshments prepared by Han Yu-young were laid out.

“Instead of wandering around and getting in the way, let’s play Go here.”

If they went to the village hall, the other old people would bow to them, which was very uncomfortable. But while staying at the Son family’s place, they could keep a reasonable distance, which made it easier to move around. Han Yu-young and Jang Jin-nam also treated them to delicious food, so it was the perfect senior center for the two old men.

Tok-.

Yoo Myung-sun, with his upper body upright, carefully placed a Go stone.

“Aren’t you disappointed that you didn’t go to America, senior?”

This guy is talking nonsense again. If Jin-hyeok isn’t here, I have to protect the place-. Chun Gil-ryong sent down his desire to scold him with a sip of cool oga tea [a traditional Korean tea made from the fruit of the oga tree].

Oh, it’s sour. Ahem-!

“Airplanes are nothing. Just because you go high doesn’t mean you see a lot, and just because you go far doesn’t mean you’re at an age to learn about a new world, right? Isn’t that what Chairman Yoo thinks too?”

“Well, I…”

I’ve been abroad a lot. Yoo Myung-sun trailed off.

Chun Gil-ryong was evaluating him at a similar level, so he didn’t know what to do.

Tak-!

Still, seeing the powerful snap of the Go stone, it was clear that he saw him as his junior.

“President Son is surprising. I thought he would drop everything and go.”

“It seems that Chairman Hong recommended it. But the eldest son said that he is no longer a child and refused to be cared for by his father. The second son also said that he should grow up outside of his parents’ shadow, or something like that….”

“Hmm-. That makes sense in his own way.”

Chun Gil-ryong nodded.

Jin-hyeok was also causing trouble in the neighborhood at Son Yoo-jin’s age. He changed his innate luck with his own hands and influenced his family and neighbors. There was nothing bad about the light he emitted. Even the rotten-smelling intruders were eventually embraced and made his own.

‘That is yang energy.’

It doesn’t just refer to the energy that emanates from sunny places or the bodies of young men.

The vibrant energy that makes all things alive and moving.

Therefore, it drives away the dead and melts away all kinds of killing intent. Chun Gil-ryong felt that yang energy from Jin-hyeok when he straightened the twisted bamboo forest.

‘That is also establishing oneself, and entering the divine.’

He was ready to do anything at an age barely past the age of learning. Chun Gil-ryong was getting hit with a cane by his brother Chun Ki-ryung for causing trouble at that age.

By that standard, Son Yoo-jin is much faster. She has already flown to a foreign country.

As Chun Gil-ryong’s lips curled up like a sulking child, Yoo Myung-sun added,

“He also asked who would take responsibility for the company’s affairs that would unexpectedly arise if he only took care of his own children, and who would look after the employees. I would have done the same if I were his junior.”

“That’s right. President Son is quite something-.”

“His wife was the one who decided that first.”

“Right, right. The real elder was there.”

Chun Gil-ryong took a big gulp of oga tea and pursed his cheeks until they were hollow.

Ugh-, it’s sour.

He couldn’t spit out the water given by the real elder, so he quickly grabbed a cookie and put it in his mouth. The sweet and chewy yakgwa [a traditional Korean honey cookie] quickly restored the balance in his mouth.

“Ahem! How far will he go? I mean Jin-hyeok.”

“Hahaha, he hasn’t even fully bloomed yet, so we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?”

“It seems like he’s already fully bloomed.”

This young man is so innocent.

“Do you think so, senior?”

Yoo Myung-sun hasn’t spent much time with Jin-hyeok.

The only time they had a deep conversation was when he visited Seoul when he was a middle school student.

‘That makes sense too. He has bloomed.’

He is a busy guy with various things to do.

It wasn’t that Yoo Myung-sun was difficult to approach like other kids.

“Isn’t that why Chairman Hong is rushing?”

“What….”

“I can’t tell if you’re pretending to be innocent or if you really don’t know this time.”

Chun Gil-ryong, who had briefly taken his eyes off the Go board and made eye contact with Yoo Myung-sun, straightened his back.

“Chairman Hong is trying to do something on the land of the Westerners. Last night, when I looked at the stars, I saw a cluster of stars flying over there. Not stars, but a hazy cluster of stars-.”

As he said that, Chun Gil-ryong twisted his wrist repeatedly, which didn’t suit him. Twinkle twinkle little star.

Yoo Myung-sun nodded indifferently without replying.

‘He’s a man who reads fortunes by looking at not only the stars but also the clouds, so it can’t be a lie.’

Not long ago, he had said, looking at the clouds in the early evening sky, ‘The Earth God is staying in the south, so there will be an earthquake in the land of the Japs in two days. A dozen people will die,’ and it had come true.

Exactly two days later, news of a magnitude 6 earthquake in a place called Miyagi Prefecture heated up the newspaper pages.

“It was so strange that I thought it was something flying for the Olympics, but the color was different. The color was dull and the size was big. As far as I know, Chairman Hong is the only one in this world with such a cluster of stars. Even the president can’t do that-. No, there’s no comparison.”

Umm-.

Yoo Myung-sun frowned as he looked at the Go board.

He had heard that his sons, Yoo Moon-shik and Yoo Joon-shik, would be going to the United States with their families next month. But his son-in-law, Hong Ki-joon, hadn’t said anything.

“So, are you saying that Chairman Hong has gone to the United States now?”

“Ahem-, I taught you so well. Tsk tsk-. Only the cluster of stars went. The star hasn’t gone yet. It will go soon.”

“Ah, yes.”

Tok-.

Yoo Myung-sun placed a Go stone with an embarrassed expression.

He talks about great luck and constellations, but I can’t understand any of it.

What’s the point of teaching difficult words to an old man with a stiff head?

It seems that no one will ever be able to match Chun Gil-ryong’s eloquence and insight into the world.

“Ha-, this game of Go is so mysterious-.”

“I won again-. Hehehe-.”

Still, Yoo Myung-sun is better at Go.

“Hehehe-, would you like to play another round?”