The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 269

There was a time when I valued the fighting spirit and the will to never give up as the highest virtues.

But as always, excessive desire brings trouble.

It was the last day of adaptation training.

With his hands on his hips and shaking his legs, Jin Seon-gyu muttered as if to himself,

“Who the heck came up with the phrase ’empty your mind’?”

Jin Seon-gyu, who was greatly encouraged by his first Olympic appearance and training with American athletes, seemed to be in a state of mental turmoil.

Simply put, Jin Seon-gyu was having a hard time with image training and mind control.

“You might need to change your way of thinking.”

“How?”

“If it’s hard not to think at all, then just think about one thing. If you worry about everything, your head will hurt, things won’t get organized, and in the end, you’ll end up with nothing. So, how about focusing on one thing?”

“What do you focus on?”

“Senses.”

Jin-hyuk skipped the detailed explanation.

Who would easily believe if he said he was using his sixth sense beyond the five senses to sharpen his hearing?

Jin Seon-gyu, who couldn’t look at Jin-hyuk, looked around the track.

‘Senses, huh…’

Thump, thump-.

Slap-! Slap-!

Squawk! Screech!

A runner just running, a runner slapping his cheeks hard, a runner shouting something.

Whew-.

Was I too excited? In the heat where even the sounds seemed to hold their breath, Jin Seon-gyu’s muttering disappeared into the scorching sun.

“My mind is a mess. It’s a mess.”

Jin-hyuk quietly left him alone.

‘You have to figure it out yourself.’

He was, after all, a national representative athlete.

Who would dare to advise him?

He had expected such a role from the coach and the manager, but they seemed to have fulfilled their duty by confirming that Jin Seon-gyu and Jin-hyuk were training fiercely with the American athletes. The reason why their expressions looked satisfied from afar must be because of the presence the American team was exuding.

“Starting tomorrow, it’s training to boost our condition, right?”

“Yes.”

Jin-hyuk named the training that would start the next day as ‘Next Level’.

The adaptation training that was being conducted until today was a relaxed training.

Train moderately, rest moderately.

The Next Level training was to train briefly and take long rests.

Once in the morning, once in the evening. It was a time allocation that matched the rhythm of the competition.

It was the same dead point he reached every day, but Jin-hyuk was planning to experience the dead point several times in that short training.

He was going to push himself with the thought of ‘Let’s die’ rather than ‘I feel like I’m going to die’.

“If you’re done warming up, let’s go.”

“Okay.”

When Jin-hyuk and Jin Seon-gyu finished warming up, the innocent-looking American athletes approached, swaggering like gangsters, as if they had been watching.

Thump, thump-.

Four neighborhood thugs.

Jonathan Drummond, Jeff Williams, Dennis Mitchell, Michael Marsh.

“Hey-! Sun and Gyu!”

Once training started, Jin Seon-gyu was the first to drop out. Muttering that he needed to clear his head.

Then, his best friend, the crazy Jonathan Drummond, would come looking for Jin Seon-gyu, cursing.

Fucking, fucking-.

“It’s fucking hard!”

The next in line was 100m runner Dennis Mitchell.

“Hey, Jo! Here comes a guy with weak stamina!”

Even while dripping with thick sweat, Jeff Williams chuckled, pointing at Dennis Mitchell.

And then.

“Here comes another one!”

Soon after, Jeff Williams also shook his head and dropped out. He raised his hand and pointed to his head with his thumb.

The last two were Michael Marsh and Jin-hyuk.

Sprinting training, exercises to twist the waist and lift the thighs in between sprints, and balance programs to flexibly rotate the hip joints and waist while walking sideways in that posture. They did 30 sets of that, and Jin Seon-gyu, Jonathan, Dennis, and Jeff were the four who couldn’t complete the program and dropped out.

Having completed the grueling training, Jin-hyuk, with a flushed face, spoke as if spitting out words.

“Michael, let’s do the finishing training. We’re going to train tomorrow too, right?”

“Of course.”

For training spikes, he wore the domestic products he used to wear in domestic competitions.

It seemed better to refrain from revealing his secret weapon during the local adaptation period.

For the finishing exercise, he took a leap of faith and wore the running shoes his dad had made for him.

The upper that held his feet snugly and the cushioning that completely relieved the fatigue of his soles.

If they started mass production, it might become a hit product that would dominate the world’s sneaker market. If only the design was improved.

“Son, I’ve been watching you, and your shoes are unique. They look good.”

“My dad made these for me.”

Though the design is a bit crappy.

The design is even stranger than the old Super Kamit [a fictional brand or model of shoe].

The upper, which looks like knit from above, is made by compressing synthetic fibers into multiple layers, and when you put your foot in, the silhouette is captured according to the shape of your toes. Why wouldn’t it be? It was a shoe made by modeling Jin-hyuk’s foot.

“Oh-, your daddy is a shoemaker?”

“No, my dad threatened-, asked a shoemaker to make them.”

“Those shoes look very comfortable. Though the shape is not very nice.”

Yeah, I know the design is crappy.

Jin-hyuk took off his shoes and handed them to Michael.

“Do you want to try them on?”

Try it, try it.

“Will they fit?”

Probably. You and I have similar shoe sizes. Jin-hyuk nodded.

“Oh-.”

Michael, wearing Jin-hyuk’s running shoes, let out a soulful exclamation.

And then, he kicked off the ground strongly and jumped up.

Thump! Thump!

“I could wear these to a competition!”

Hey, stop running, the shoes are going to tear. That’s a unique grade item, man!

There’s only one in the world, so it’s a unique grade, right?

Michael, reading the rough thoughts in Jin-hyuk’s anxious eyes, took off the running shoes quietly. He smacked his lips as if he was disappointed.

“Can I order one of those?”

“Contact me after the Olympics.”

While Michael continued to show interest in Jin-hyuk’s running shoes, Jin Seon-gyu and the other athletes joined for the finishing exercise.

They also showed interest in Jin-hyuk’s running shoes, but they all picked on the design.

“Are those shoes from hell?”

“Are they Korean Nikes?”

“Oh, my God. What did you do to the shoes?”

The clown Jonathan was about to cross the line.

“What the fuckin’ idiot made this trash?”

“My dad…”

My dad, you son of a bitch. If you don’t watch your mouth, you’re dead, you son of a bitch. You know what I’m saying, you son of a bitch.

He didn’t scold him because he probably didn’t know, but Jin-hyuk felt pretty sucks.

“Ahem-, sorry. The words I use, like idiot or trash-”

“You mean idiot and trash.”

Jonathan’s ‘talula’ [a Korean slang term for a failed attempt to play a joke or trick] failed.

“Umm- yeah, that’s right. Anyway, I said it without thinking. I hope you don’t misunderstand.”

“It’s okay. Let’s leave it at that.”

When Jin-hyuk showed his hand and chuckled, Jonathan finally relaxed.

“Hey guys, I tried these shoes on, and they’re really amazing. They’re light and the cushioning is great.”

Michael Marsh quickly gave a review to change the mood.

Everyone listened to Michael’s review and exclaimed, “Ohh-” with admiration.

“So, what they just said was…”

“Ah-. I roughly understood when they said something about hell and looked for Jesus.”

Jin-hyuk was more out of breath translating the American athletes’ reactions to Jin Seon-gyu than when he was exercising.

*

When they were parting after training, Jonathan Drummond called out.

“Son and Gyu! Tomorrow is the next level warm-up, right?”

Did they really unleash the CIA? How do they know the training schedule?

Jin-hyuk, who was tilting his head, realized that Jin Seon-gyu was ignoring him.

This senior is secretly a blabbermouth.

He had been hanging out with Jonathan for days, saying he was improving his English, and it seems he spilled everything.

“If you’re okay, come indoors. Come to the football stadium over there. No filming allowed. There are athletes from other sports too.”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course. Gyu and I are friends. You’re my friend too.”

What is he saying, he’s almost an old man who’s a decade older than me.

Jin Seon-gyu, who heard Jin-hyuk’s translation, readily nodded his head.

“Great! It’s a special treatment! It’s good for the body to alternate between indoors and outdoors.”

Jin-hyuk also agreed with Jin Seon-gyu’s reaction.

Training is more enjoyable when there are more partners as well as the environment.

Moreover, aren’t they all bound by the greatest interest on earth, which is short-distance track and field?

Jin Seon-gyu shouted in a much louder voice than when he first met them.

“Jonah! Thanks a lot, you bastard!”

“No problem, Gyu!”

After the American athletes had moved away, Jin-hyuk spoke cautiously.

“Senior, Drummond is probably two or three years older than you.”

“Hey-, what does it matter? This is America. The land of freedom! What’s age in America?”

Jin Seon-gyu spread his arms and raised his voice as if to show off.

Other foreign athletes looked like, ‘Are they fighting?’, but he didn’t care.

‘He’s a person with a dramatically changing tension.’

Is it because the track is home for track and field athletes? The person who was quiet and calm when he was on the plane and when he unpacked his luggage at the mansion had his tension raised to an excessive level as he continued to train.

It was also in contrast to the morning when he was blaming himself for not being able to clear his head.

‘It’s a good sign.’

The only pace setters are not the people who run together in a marathon. Those who help with mental and physical management can also be called pace setters.

He judged that a style like Jin Seon-gyu’s could improve or worsen depending on how he was controlled by those around him.

How many team members had he led and cared for, and how many athletes had he taught after returning? How could Jin-hyuk not know that?

‘I have to take care of him.’

Jin-hyuk, holding the handle of the wheeled icebox, caught up with Jin Seon-gyu, who was leading the way with his clothes and towels.

And he put his hand on his shoulder and patted him a couple of times.

Pat, pat-.

“Good job, Gyu.”

“Jin-hyuk, that’s a bit…”

“Freedom, Gyu-.”

Freedom is good.

Wasn’t that why Mel Gibson shouted freedom in the movie Braveheart?

To be equal to each other.

“Jin-hyuk, but between us-”

“Hmm? Here is America.”

Jin Seon-gyu shook his head and laughed as if he couldn’t win.

“It’s hot. Let’s go home quickly, take a shower, and take a nap.”

“Go, go, go-.”

He didn’t speak informally to Jin Seon-gyu directly, he just expressed it in an American way. That’s why he didn’t feel much guilt.

‘Hehehe-. It’s strangely fun?’

This is all a noble effort by the Confucian boy Jin-hyuk to maintain Jin Seon-gyu’s tension.

Really.

“Gyu! Let’s go-!”

Jin-hyuk was even more excited and playful because the other person was accepting it.

Jin Seon-gyu, as if he had thought of something, asked Jin-hyuk, who was walking ahead, on his back.

“Hey, but is Yu-jin doing well?”

“Yes, she was bragging about eating a hamburger at Disneyland for lunch?”

Again?

***

A month, which is a time that parasites on the human body, is quite long.

‘Hamburger.’

‘Let’s eat a hamburger.’

‘Baby, hamburger.’

‘You want a hamburger right now. You want a hamburger right now…’

The shadow, who accepted Son Jin-hyuk’s request, possessed Son Yu-jin.

The original purpose was just to watch. It would be easy to explain if the plan was to appear only when Son Jin-hyuk, who had been filling his power and living, desperately sought it, but to be constantly activated while watching Son Yu-jin.

But there was a problem.

The power that resided in Son Yu-jin’s body was far too small.

This was a problem.

Only the shadow was hanging in this world, but if they were connected, Son Yu-jin could also get hurt, just like Son Jin-hyuk, who had lost his power, would faint or have a nosebleed due to the shadow’s presence.

It was something that could threaten the life of Son Yu-jin, who was young and physically weak, so the alternative was possession.

Possession was different from possessing and controlling another person’s body or moving a soul.

The shadow’s method was simply to silently, lower its presence to a state of nothingness, and stay with only a part of its consciousness. It was like having multiple souls.

It was about sharing Son Yu-jin’s senses.

Sharing senses such as sight and hearing was essential to recognize threats.

They also shared other senses and emotions such as taste, but anyway.

During Hong Su-jeong’s middle school interview, he helped Son Yu-jin understand English.

It was a consideration for the child who was curious about what kind of conversation was going on.

“Wow-. The teacher says Su-jeong is good at English. She can enter right away?”

“Yu-jin, did you understand all of that?”

Hong Su-jeong, Yu Se-ra, and Yang Gang-wook’s eyes also widened.

“Is it because I ate a lot of hamburgers? I could hear the words-”

It was an ability that would disappear again when the shadow left.

This was the same principle as when a possessed spirit leaves the body and becomes a normal human being.

‘Baby, your body temperature is too high. You need to rest.’

When inducing actions, he used suggestion.

This was also a choice to minimize the impact on Son Yu-jin. If he spoke directly or gave orders, she might be confused.

“It’s hot-”

“Right? Shall we drink something cool?”

Since he was sharing the senses of the body, the shadow also gained pleasure.

‘Baby. That, what is it. Drink one more cup of that black, fizzy drink.’

It was a drink that did not exist in the shadow’s world.

Fortunately, Son Yu-jin seemed to like it too, so he didn’t hesitate to suggest a refill.

‘Hot dog.’

‘Hamburger. One more hamburger.’

‘Cola.’

‘Stop eating.’

The child’s stomach looked like it was about to burst, so he held back even though he wanted to eat more.

Seeing the world through the child’s eyes was indeed a pleasant thing.

Everything was bigger than her, so the perspective of looking up at the world that she had always looked down on was fresh, and wandering around the big land while being bound by the slow child’s body was also a small pleasure.

“Wow-! It’s so wide!”

It was called Disneyland.

A place where humans wearing animal masks work and humans not wearing masks play.

I should make one too.

After staying for a few days and accepting Son Yu-jin’s admiration and emotion, he naturally fell in love with it.

The laughter of humans mixed with music was noisy, but the shadow’s ears perked up at the sound of happiness.

But an unexpected problem arose.

The problem caused by the sharing of senses was not just Son Yu-jin’s stomach, which was bulging from hamburgers.

“Aaaaaaah!”

【Aaaaaaah!】

He ended up shouting from the other world in the haunted house.

It was an unexpected situation even for the shadow that looked down on the world, to make a mistake in this tiny world. When Son Yu-jin screamed, it was an unavoidable reaction as an assimilated being.

“Owaa-. I was surprised-. Was Bear Team Leader scared too?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes, ehehe-. You screamed-. I heard everything.”

“Oh, I did. Well, yeah. It’s scary.”

Thanks to the bear-shaped human who was yawning while guarding the child, he was able to avoid the crisis.

But another crisis soon came.

Kyaaaaaaa-!

Crash, crash, crash-.

What is that loud noise?

“Yu-jin, let’s go ride that.”

“Yes, ehehe-. It’s scary, heheng-.”

“It’s okay. When else will we come again?”

“Oh! That’s right! My brother said life is only once-”

That woman.

The reason why the right person could endure for 300 years, the reason why she could exist.

Thank you, woman.

If I can repay you, what’s the big deal about hanging out with that woman?

…That’s not it, Son Yu-jin is being dragged, so as an assimilated being, I have to go.

‘Fear is an illusion without substance. Overcome it.’

He suggested that, but since Son Yu-jin was scared, as an assimilated being, he was also scared.

His eyes and legs were not his own, but the shadow, closing his eyes tightly, was dragged by Hong Su-jeong’s hand and boarded the ride.

The roller coaster.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!”

【Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!】

A month for a human is quite long.

“Ughhhhh-! Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!”

【Ughhhhh-! Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!】

There are still two weeks left.

“Mommyyyyy-!”

【Mommyyyyy-!】

I will never possess again.