The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 293

‘Ugh, so cringey.’

Regardless of what Jin-hyuk was thinking, Jin Seon-gyu wore a happy face.

「Light-Speed Human, Return of the Hero」

The people, clearly sent by Hong Ki-joon, wore capitalist smiles. Of course, they seemed to have a high content of natural extracts. The banner that read ‘Return of the Hero’ probably represented their feelings to some extent.

And…

Those who were drawn by the name Hong Ki-joon also showed bright smiles that made onlookers uncomfortable.

They put flower necklaces on Jin-hyuk and Jin Seon-gyu and then raised their voices, saying something.

The sound of music, applause, and cheers. In that chaos, they were enthusiastically introducing themselves, even though they couldn’t be heard properly.

Chief Secretary of the Blue House, Chairman of some party, Head of some local government-.

There was no need to wonder why these people were here.

“…I hope we can have a good, progressive, and constructive relationship in the future.”

“I’m a four-term assemblyman. I’m a senior to Chairman Hong at university. We have a special relationship-”

I, I, me, me, me…

Jin-hyuk nodded, sending a message with a vacant look.

I understand what you mean, so please wrap it up and move aside.

And stop shaking my hand.

Internally, he used his father’s teachings as a guiding light, while externally, he followed what Hong Ki-joon had coached him.

「Moths will rush in even if you try to chase them away. There’s no need to try so hard to chase them or avoid them. That’s how your daily life gets destroyed. Instead, just draw them all in and burn them. Be moderately dignified, moderately bright, and have a haughty look in your eyes. The look of a powerful person. What they fear most isn’t votes. It’s not being noticed by a powerful person.

I bet 500 won [approximately $0.40 USD] that there will be guys who will try to manipulate you early on, thinking you’re young and naive.」

Only 500 won?

It feels like the ‘hundred million’ is missing… While thinking that, he remembered Chairman Hong Ki-joon from the past.

Chairman Hong Ki-joon liked to eat cone ice cream at noon, but he hated betting, so whenever there was a bet, he would only bet the price of that ice cream. It was truly stingy, one might say.

After briefly greeting the politicians, he bowed his head to Chairman Jeon Kyung-won.

“Chairman, thank you for everything.”

Perhaps it was because he had just met unpleasant people, but he felt a sense of joy when he saw Chairman Jeon Kyung-won and didn’t refuse the enthusiastic hug.

Chairman Jeon Kyung-won, who had been looking excited since the delegation was walking from afar, maintained a polite tone until the end.

“Athlete Jin-hyuk, you’ve worked hard. Thank you so much. You’ve fulfilled my long-cherished wish. I’ve watched the game footage over and over again with a repentant heart.”

He had just done his best because he participated in the competition.

He loved sports, so he focused on running, and as he ran, his records improved. Because his records were good, he stepped onto the Olympic stage, and as he did, he won a gold medal. Somehow, he became a person who promoted national prestige. It was a normal flow…

‘……If I say that, I’ll sound like a jerk.’

Jin-hyuk also desperately wanted to be on that stage, so he shouldn’t say that.

In this case, a common greeting is better.

“Thank you.”

“We will not spare any support in the future.”

“I will work harder.”

“Haha, I’ve held you for too long. Go to your family. Hey, Seon-gyu! You’ve finally done it!”

He turned away, leaving Jeon Kyung-won reaching out to Jin Seon-gyu behind him.

Jin-hyuk opened his arms wide and approached. Towards his family, who were looking at him with red eyes.

As if to say welcome, Jung-won was clapping his hands.

“Ung-ah! Ung-ah, you came? Ung-ah! Biyuuuung- tata, you came?”

He scooped up the youngest, who was wriggling in his father’s arms to come to his brother.

“Oof- our youngest has grown so much in a month?”

“Don’t even mention it. Every time your brother appeared on TV, he would scream and run around. When he got tired, he would eat, then run again, then eat again.”

Han Yu-young smiled, stroking her eldest son’s cheek.

Her mother’s smile was probably a blessing for Jin-hyuk. She always smiled like the spring sunshine.

“Oh my, our Jung-won played so hard?”

“Play-ed. Play-ed with Jang-gun. The black chicken, I hit it. It cried.”

What is he saying?

Son Kwang-yeon stepped up to translate.

“They showed Jin-hyuk’s games on TV so much that Jung-won had no time to rest, you know? He said the living room was too small, so he played with Jang-gun in the yard on this hot day. I think he wants to become an athlete like his brother. He got pecked on the back for messing with the Silkie chicken.”

“Silkie chicken? Did it escape again?”

“No, I just put out one, you know, to have him do what his brother did when he was young.”

Son Kwang-yeon scratched the back of his head.

Sigh.

Even so, he’s still a young child, and to release a Silkie chicken for him to train with, Dad is something else.

“Oh my, our baby must have been in a lot of pain.”

“He cried so hard that the yard almost collapsed.”

“Cried. Ung ung.”

Cough, cough.

Yu Se-ra, who had been watching the family reunion with a pleased expression, coughed.

“Kwang-yeon oppa, Jin Seon-gyu is here to greet you too.”

“Hello! I’m Jin Seon-gyu!”

Jin Seon-gyu bent his waist until his head almost touched the ground.

Jin Seon-gyu’s feelings, folded like a folder, were vaguely visible.

He was the one who made the shoes that allowed him to enter the 9-second range in an instant and become a medalist. If Jin-hyuk were Jin Seon-gyu, he would have done the same.

“Oh my, our Su-jeong has grown so much and is much prettier than her mother.”

“Heh.”

Leaving Han Yu-young and Hong Su-jeong, who were hugging and catching up after a long time, Yu Se-ra flipped through her notebook. She was muttering that Jin-hyuk’s mom was a good liar.

“We skipped the parade, and we decided to do the press conference… Seon-gyu and Jin-hyuk must be tired. Can you do it?”

Yu Se-ra asked the athletes again about their opinions.

Even if she acted arbitrarily with the authority of an adult, they would have accepted it, but Yu Se-ra actively reflected Jin-hyuk and Jin Seon-gyu’s opinions in scheduling. She was so enthusiastic about her role as an athlete’s representative that she immediately rejected the parade requested by the state.

After putting gold medals around their parents’ necks, they headed to the airport terminal where the reporters were waiting.

“Shouldn’t you be wearing the medals during the press conference?”

“I don’t think we need to.”

He shrugged at Jin Seon-gyu’s question.

They would probably ask them to wear the medals around their necks and pose as if they were biting them.

It wasn’t just because he hated doing that. That was the reason why he was going with just his body, leaving the gold medals behind.

「You can’t tame someone if you give them everything they want. You can only tame them when you give them just a tiny bit of what they want while getting everything you want. If you give them everything they want, you’re the one being tamed. Make them do tricks, lick your toes, and keep watch. While giving them just one grain of food on a gold platter. What they can take is just the food, the ownership of the platter doesn’t change.

Popularity-seeking people crave attention and try to attract attention to maintain their power. Their power is temporary. They are ready to fly around like moths, chasing the halo of someone stronger than them at any time.

Seclusion or mysticism would free you from attention.

But remember this.

The freest beings are the powerful.

Real powerful people are those whom no one dares to look directly at.

Do you want to live freely and normally?

Power is freedom.

Only the powerful can fully enjoy their daily lives.

Only the powerful are shameless.

Only after experiencing it yourself will you know what I mean, what kind of freedom awaits in front of the powerful.

I will unconditionally hand over the power I have prepared.

You deserve to receive it.

Before that, prove that you deserve to receive it yourself.

In front of the world.」

It could be seen as a trial given by Hong Ki-joon.

That was the van sent by the Sein Group, waiting on the runway. It was a vehicle prepared so that they could leave the airport with their family without going through immigration procedures.

In the past, he would have put his younger siblings in the car, fastened their seat belts, closed the car door for his mother, and then followed them into the car.

‘I found quizzes and test questions so fun.’

The personality of a neutered, house cat, perverted, and sarcastic person hadn’t gone anywhere.

Just leaving like that would be disrespectful to the people who were waiting.

The reporters who didn’t get the photos they wanted would be bitter, but if they said they gave the gold medals to their parents first, people would be rather impressed.

Jin Seon-gyu poked Jin-hyuk in the side.

“You’ve already experienced it, but reporters are a bit like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re the kind of people who curse at the athletes while taking pictures.”

“Curses? Did you hear them too, sunbae [senior]?”

“Of course. I went home and cried. I was so angry.”

Jin Seon-gyu shook his head, recalling the past.

It was when he won a gold medal at the East Asian Games, so it was when he was twenty-four, three years younger than now.

– “Hey! Look over here too! Let me take some pictures!”

– “Don’t stand with your weight on one leg, stand straight, you bastard.”

– “Smile, you idiot! Why are you frowning when I’m taking a picture?”

– “Ugh, these days, they don’t have any energy. Why are they all so clueless?”

At the time, his face turned red, and he couldn’t say anything and left the arrival hall.

Jin-hyuk gripped Jin Seon-gyu’s shoulder firmly.

“I’ll make sure they can’t do that again. No, we have to make it together. You said that’s what a senior should do, right?”

“It’s not easy, you know. When you stand in front of the camera and microphone, you can’t think of anything… Reporters have power.”

“That power is also relative. It was because you didn’t have power back then. They say that if you don’t have power, your vision narrows, and you don’t have any room to spare. It’s the same with our stamina when we train, right?”

“That’s right. That’s true, but…”

If you lack stamina, your hands go to your waist, and your head faces the ground.

Your vision narrows, and you only want to run away.

“You said you didn’t want to pass the burden on to your juniors, right? We can change starting now.”

Jin-hyuk smiled and turned around.

Yu Se-ra, Yu-jin, and Hong Su-jeong, who had been following closely, were looking up at him.

Yu Se-ra quietly waved her hand, which she had raised to her chest, like a shy person.

“Go ahead.”

“Aren’t you coming with us? You’re the foundation’s director and the agency’s representative.”

“No. I’ll yield to the medalists today.”

That guy is getting younger, then more mature, I can’t get used to it. Yu Se-ra turned her head to the side and chattered, regardless of whether Hong Su-jeong was looking at her strangely.

“Yu-jin, do you want to go with your brother?”

“Yes! I am Son Yu-jini!”

He put a flower necklace on Yu-jin, who was jumping excitedly, and then lifted her up with one arm.

“Let’s go, Su-jeong.”

“Ah, I don’t think it’s my place to go.”

Hong Su-jeong stepped back.

“It’s a place you can go. You’re qualified, Su-jeong.”

Hong Su-jeong glanced at Yu Se-ra.

She probably wanted to stand together. Yu Se-ra’s daughter, her personality wouldn’t go anywhere. There would also be desires that she couldn’t express, unknowingly, because of her parents who raised her so secretly.

Yu Se-ra smiled kindly for once.

“Look, daughter. It’s your life now. Do as you please.”

“Ah, Dad-”

“Dad’s not here. Mom will take care of it.”

Yu Se-ra shrugged with a nonchalant expression.

“Right, Su-jeong was a cheerleader, right? Cheerleaders are also staff. Let’s go with your uncle.”

Jin Seon-gyu joined in and gave a flower necklace to Hong Su-jeong.

Jin Seon-gyu, who had gained courage while talking with Jin-hyuk, looked like he had a lot of strength in his shoulders.

“Of course, of course. You were a proud cheerleader. It’ll look much better than just stiff old men going.”

Kim Hyung-tak also agreed with the athletes’ decision.

As the translucent gate got closer, the crowd beyond it came into view.

The situation that Jin Seon-gyu was worried about, the situation he had experienced in the past, didn’t seem like it would happen.

Jin Seon-gyu’s mouth, which was wide open, proved it.

“Wow. What is all that?”

Cha-ka-ka-kak-!

Click-!

Numerous cameras were already flashing towards the silhouettes beyond the gate.

Kyaaaaaa-!

And cheers.

The same situation as in the past could not happen.

Kyaaaaaa-!

Waaaaa-!

The people cheering, filling the terminal, and the SSS [Special Security Service], lined up like royal guards in front of them.

The SSS agents were facing away from the gate, preparing for any possible situation, and their motionless, statue-like backs exuded charisma.

‘What is this? If you give me this much support, I won’t even have a chance to prove myself?’

He’s a funny chairman, anyway.

Jin Seon-gyu guessed the meaning of what Jin-hyuk had said.

In that kind of atmosphere, a reporter who made a slip of the tongue or used abusive language would be buried. It wasn’t just social burial, it was an aura that made it seem like they would actually bury them in the ground.

Swoosh-.

The gate slowly opened.

“Sunbae, hand-”

“Oh, oh! Okay!”

He waved his hand, which he had raised high.

Towards the dazzling flashes.

Kyaaaaaa-!

“Su-jeong, Yu-jin too. Smile. Don’t be nervous.”

“Heh.”

Hong Su-jeong smiled bashfully and mouthed words that no one could hear. Hello, I’m Hong Su-jeong.

“We’re back safely!”

Son Yu-jin bowed deeply while being held by her brother.

Kyaaaaaa-!

Cheers also gathered for the living Olympic mascot.

‘Yes, cheer. Towards my people.’

The world had already changed completely.

The economy, society, science and technology, military power. Nothing was the same as before.

It was a change caused by one person, Hong Ki-joon.

He found the pearls buried in the dirt, sponsored them, nurtured them, and eventually transformed a quirky inventor into a genius engineer. Those people gathered and gave wings to the storm that was Sein. This soon became a solid foundation for the power that was Hong Ki-joon.

And Hong Ki-joon began to openly show that all of that effort was directed towards one person. Starting from the Busan competition.

No one can treat Jin-hyuk’s people carelessly.

Until now, Jin-hyuk had been acting like a pushover to make people on his side, but now, there will be people who will try to get Jin-hyuk on their side.

The politicians who came to greet this young athlete were proof of that.

Is it just a simple sports event?

The ability to read the implications is the ability to read the times.

The politicians who came to greet Jin-hyuk could be seen as having some insight.

Moths move towards the fire, and those who seek power move towards the center of power.

By the instinct that has turned into gravity.

That is the way of the ordinary human world.

The gate opened completely, and Jin-hyuk, holding Yu-jin, strode into the press conference hall.

[-He’s here! Please give him a big round of applause and cheers!]

Kyaaaaaa-!

Who is the host?

Is this a fan meeting?