The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 304

Watching the fire rain descend very slowly, Jinhyuk sneered.

It seemed like they were trying to scare him, thinking he might resist going with them.

“Looks like they’re willing to talk. Let’s hear them out.”

【There is something you must do.】

As Jinhyuk changed his posture, the silhouette’s tone also changed.

“Why does it have to be me?”

【It doesn’t have to be you. I just happened to find you. As the right person.】

He tried to act composed, but Jinhyuk wasn’t exactly calm either.

He addressed the most urgent issue first.

“Can you stop this meteor shower?”

【I can easily eliminate it.】

“What is it that I have to do?”

【I’ll explain as we go.】

“What do I get in return?”

The silhouette raised its arm, which flowed like a curtain, as if to show off.

【If you don’t go, you will be destroyed.】

With those words, the asphalt at Jinhyuk’s feet began to move strangely.

No sound was heard.

Perhaps it was because time had stopped that no sound could be heard.

A space resembling an abyss, with a galaxy studded with stars, appeared in an oval shape at Jinhyuk’s feet.

The swirling sight, beckoning him to come, momentarily shook Jinhyuk’s indifferent eyes.

Even the most daring and cynical person would be overwhelmed by such suffocating fear.

“Do I just go inside this?”

【There is no time.】

Thud thud thud-.

It wasn’t just the fire rain.

The ground was shaking and starting to crack.

“I’ll go, so stop the destruction. And look after the Chairman. He has a lot of people depending on him.”

【I will take good care of him. Hurry. I will explain as we cross time and space. The contract will take effect as soon as the explanation is complete.】

Jinhyuk looked back at the old Chairman.

“The thing I’m best at is comparing and analyzing, but I don’t have time to weigh things now. I hope you make it.”

Jinhyuk said with a grin.

Hong Ki-joon felt a sharp pain in his chest at the sight of Jinhyuk’s rare smile.

There were still so many things he wanted to say.

“Thank you for everything, Chairman.”

Jinhyuk bowed lightly and stepped into the darkness.

“Ughhh-.”

Hong Ki-joon crawled towards the spot where Jinhyuk had disappeared.

【Old man. You cannot go.】

The silhouette flailed its black curtain-like arm and grabbed Hong Ki-joon by the back of his neck.

Hong Ki-joon strained his voice with all his might.

“Jinhyuk-! If you come back, please take care of our daughter-!”

It was ridiculous that he was only now saying what he hadn’t been able to before.

He felt sorry for his stubbornness, revealing his true feelings at the last moment because of his pride.

But he was also relieved.

It seemed that Jinhyuk, who was falling from the edge, looked up and nodded.

The entrance slowly closed, and the solid asphalt returned to its original state.

【Shall we end this now?】

“Wh, what-.”

Before Hong Ki-joon could even question it, the clock started moving again.

KWA-A-A-A-ANG-!

“Aaaah-!”

“Kyaaa-!”

KUGWANG-!

The night sky lit up as the meteor shower poured down.

Raindrops turned into fireballs, melting concrete, and meteorites the size of vans tore through people and cars.

There was nowhere to avoid, nowhere to hide.

KWA-A-A-A-ANG-!

KUGWAGWAA-!

Massive explosions were witnessed all over the city.

In an instant, roads were cut off, overpasses disappeared, and buildings collapsed.

The once-splendid surface was quickly covered in darkness, turning into a scene of chaos.

In contrast, the sky above was shining brilliantly, heralding the end.

“Ah, ah… No. My daughter. You lied, you lied-.”

Tear-soaked Hong Ki-joon alternated between looking at the hellish cityscape and the silhouette, muttering like a madman.

【What is true, and what is false? Old man, can you distinguish? Is your existence true? When existence is false, can its words be called true? I am not true here, and since I did not make a contract with you, I do not bear the burden of falsehood.】

It was hard to understand.

Hong Ki-joon didn’t have the time to ponder it.

【You are nothing but insignificant parasites. I have come under the order of Tulsso to eliminate the contaminated world.】

“Th, then Team Leader Son…”

【I just happened to find a soul that suited my personal purpose. He will live. If he fulfills the contract, that is. Even I cannot go against what is bound by contract.】

“If this happens, even if he lives, there will be no place to return to-.”

【That is not your concern, old man. For a hundred days and nights, the earth will crack, the sea will turn upside down, and fire will pour from the sky as divine punishment. That is the will of God. If you are lucky, you might survive for a hundred days. Flee wherever you can, you insects—in your crude spaceships, underground bunkers.】

The silhouette grew larger, swallowing the surrounding darkness, and gradually moved away from the ground.

As a helpless human, an old man, there was nothing Hong Ki-joon could do.

Except desperately shout at the silhouette.

“W, witness! Please make a witness contract!”

Finding the opponent’s weakness, grasping a clue, and engaging in negotiations.

That was what the insignificant human Hong Ki-joon had dedicated his entire life to, just as the shadow had said.

At the last moment, that was the only thing he could trust.

The headless silhouette seemed to tilt its head.

【Witness contract? There is no such thing. Still, the idea of a contract is intriguing. Explain.】

“Y, you. No, I don’t know who you are—but there’s no guarantee that you’ll keep your promise with that person! Please, please make me a witness!”

【So, you do not trust me.】

“You already lied!”

【Did I?】

The silhouette reacted with an almost irritatingly nonchalant attitude.

“I, I’m begging you, please…”

Hong Ki-joon finally knelt down and prostrated himself on the ground.

【Hoo… That posture is very pleasing. It feels like I am being worshiped.】

Hong Ki-joon, the master of negotiation, didn’t miss the opportunity.

“That’s right! I will worship you, whoever you are, so please make me a witness. Wouldn’t it be meaningful for someone to watch and acknowledge that person’s efforts?”

【Indeed, insignificant things give meaning to every blade of grass and every tree.】

The silhouette extended its arm, and an invisible force enveloped Hong Ki-joon’s body.

【Then it is a contract. You will come with me, old man.】

It happened in the blink of an eye.

When Hong Ki-joon regained his senses, the blue sphere, Earth, was as small as a baseball in the distance.

And countless meteors were trailing towards that sphere.

“Ah, no… Honey, Sujeong… My poor daughter… Where did all those meteorites come from… Oh, my….”

【Those meteorites are another form of me.】

The silhouette pointed somewhere.

A star that was too dazzling and too enormous.

Hong Ki-joon couldn’t open his eyes.

He felt sorrow at the sight of the giant’s rage, recklessly destroying the tiny planet.

“That hell will last for a hundred days… Is there no mercy to end it all in an instant…?”

【Is that merciful?】

Hong Ki-joon stopped crying and looked at the silhouette.

“Yes, it is. It would end without pain.”

【I see. Mercy is a good thing.】

The silhouette extended its arm.

And then lightly clenched its fist.

That was the end of everything.

The world he had lived in until now disappeared without a trace.

Without light or sound, it became cosmic dust.

“Where did all those lives go… How pitiful… Oh, my….”

Fortunately, the silhouette didn’t scold him for crying.

It seemed to be a being without any emotions.

【It will be boring. Until that one completes the contract, you will not age or die. You will not be hungry or tired.】

“Where are we going now?”

【Dit Snyfe Etyuni Ted Roida. To a place where you will be safe from the teeth of time.】

Jinhyuk merely scratched the earlobe where a mosquito had bitten him, showing no other reaction.

From his pouting lips and the way his eyes blinked like a calf, Hong Ki-joon couldn’t read any emotion.

“Are you okay…?”

“Yes. I was just wondering what…”

“You’re not bothered by it?”

Hong Ki-joon widened his eyes as if surprised.

“It’s already happened. I was just curious about the reason, and you explained it. Now I understand. Why you were so good to me.”

Hong Ki-joon chuckled.

A person who was obsessed with trivial meanings but didn’t waste energy on meaningless things.

A person who didn’t bow down to a transcendent being but readily sacrificed himself for strangers.

– 【Humans are both simple and difficult.】

Yes, it’s difficult, Hong Ki-joon murmured with a wistful look.

“I think I understand why you’re so focused on the space development project, why you keep digging into the ground.”

“Hehehe… Let’s just call it a pathological obsession. Thanks to you, I got a pardon, but there’s no guarantee that something like that won’t happen again.”

“I understand.”

Whee-ee-. Jinhyuk even whistled softly, as if to say, ‘I’m really okay.’

It was a very random whistle, but it seemed to say, ‘I’m really okay.’

“You know.”

“Hmm.”

“That’s a memory only the Chairman has.”

“Now it’s a story you know too.”

“Even though you said that, it doesn’t really hit me. It seems like I’ve erased it. It just sounds like a story I heard somewhere a long time ago. Like it’s someone else’s story.”

“I see. If you’re okay, that’s all that matters. I’m relieved. I was worried that the shock might prevent you from returning to your daily life.”

Hong Ki-joon changed his expression to a brighter one.

“Is there anything else you want to do? Oh, do you need to go to college?”

“I don’t plan on going to college.”

“I know how you feel about college, but it’s still a place where you can learn something…”

In the past, Jinhyuk had openly told Chairman Hong Ki-joon, who had asked why he dropped out of college, that Korean universities were not worthy of being called ivory towers. He said they were just places where people paid a lot of money for various certifications and jobs.

He believed that specialized knowledge and skills were not something to be learned but something to be acquired on one’s own, and that studying academics and broadening one’s culture and intellect could be done sufficiently through books, experiences, and people. And that’s how he lived.

“Isn’t there also the romance of campus life?”

Even if a giant wave came, its power wouldn’t be the same as before. Even back then, while everyone said it was difficult, not all college students had a hard time continuing their studies. Jinhyuk already knew that. Just because there was a financial crisis didn’t mean that the college scene was completely bleak.

“You can also make friends there.”

“That’s exactly why I don’t want to go.”

Hong Ki-joon turned around as if asking what he meant.

“Look at those people.”

Jinhyuk’s gaze was directed towards Jo Seulchan, Choi Mikyung, and Kim Eunjeong, who were sitting side by side, casting their fishing rods. They were sitting under the scorching sun, wearing wide-brimmed straw hats.

Choi Mikyung was scratching her mosquito-bitten neck, Kim Eunjeong was staring at the fishing float, her neck stretched forward like a stray cat, and Jo Seulchan was staring at Kim Eunjeong with his mouth agape.

Choi Taeyang was on the boat, struggling to pedal.

“They are friends who have been with me without any conditions since before they knew who I was or who was behind me. If I go to college, will I really be able to meet people who will be my friends with pure intentions?”

“Hmm.” Hong Ki-joon let out a sound of understanding.

Even now, he was receiving reports from his secretary that celebrities and second- and third-generation heirs of famous companies were trying to approach Son Jinhyuk. Of course, it was an attempt that Jinhyuk had no reason to consider. It didn’t even reach Jinhyuk’s ears.

“I always emphasize to my friends and juniors. If they want to show off their friendship with me, they should never make a mistake anywhere. They shouldn’t even think about gaining any benefit by using my name, and if they don’t have the confidence to do that, they shouldn’t even pretend to know me.”

“I think I understand what you mean.”

“I already have many friends, but I’ll make more. Naturally, as I live. Of course, I could meet such friends even if I went to college. But still, even so, I don’t have the confidence to see them without prejudice.”

“That makes sense. It seems you’ve already thought it through. Even though you’ve been busy.”

“I have to think to exist as a human.”

Ah, that’s right. Thinking.

One of the ways to avoid being consumed by darkness.

And Hong Ki-joon found another key.

Not being alone.

How good it was that just having a conversation like this cleared the fog in his head.

He had been so blindly focused on living and suffering from nightmares that he had temporarily forgotten.

“And you know.”

“Hmm.”

“I’ve gotten a lot better, but I still think my peers look young. It’s like they’re my nephews and nieces, and it makes me uncomfortable. It’s only okay with friends like Mikyung, whom I’ve known for a long time.”

I see.

It was the disconnect between spirit and body that Hong Ki-joon had also experienced. Based on his experience, he thought it would probably take another five years for his mental and physical ages to catch up.

“Then… what are you going to do?”

“I want to work. Something fun.”

Even though the world had changed, the atmosphere where college was considered the natural next step after high school was still prevalent. Even though the Sehin Group had taken the lead in eliminating academic restrictions, the barriers to employment were still high. Eliminating academic restrictions didn’t mean that the level of culture and knowledge could also be low.

Still, this guy would be more than capable. Hong Ki-joon was a witness.

And wasn’t there already an organization being prepared?

Hong Ki-joon focused his eyes as he thought about his plans.

Hong Ki-joon, who had been wandering and wavering, was already a thing of the past.

“If that’s the case, will you have achieved everything you want?”

“Even if it’s not, I’ve already achieved everything.”

Hong Ki-joon’s eyes trembled.

Jinhyuk smiled brightly.

“We met like this and I’ve told you everything. I was wondering what lingering feelings I had, and I guess it was this. The king’s ears are donkey ears.”

Hong Ki-joon’s eyes moved quickly.

He looked somewhere above Jinhyuk’s head and also searched the shadows on the ground.

Jinhyuk laughed silently at Hong Ki-joon’s expression, like a frightened puppy.

‘You’re looking for Dugu Elil.’

But the silhouette did not appear.

In front of anyone’s eyes.

***

That night.

Hong Ki-joon, who had been drinking makgeolli [Korean rice wine] late into the night with Son Kwangyeon, Cheon Gilyong, and Yoo Myungseon, fell asleep on the living room floor. It was a deep and sweet sleep, the first in a long time. Even when the ill-mannered Yoo Sera kicked his groin with her heel, or when she snored and ground her teeth in his ear, he didn’t wake up.

It was a peaceful night.

Except for Jinhyuk, who was taking care of his younger siblings.

“Achi bear is fat-.”

Mumbling in her sleep, Yoo Jin, who was hugging Achi Bear, had taken over the bed. Jinhyuk, who had no choice but to take the floor, laid Jungwon and Hong Suhyuk on either side of him.

“Hyung, Sonjeo sleep. Hyung also sleep. Suhyuk sleep.”

“Okay. Our Suhyuk, sleep, sleep.”

He tossed and turned late into the night, patting Hong Suhyuk, who was having trouble sleeping because he was not used to the sleeping arrangement.

‘I won’t hesitate anymore. I won’t worry. The past is just the past.’

What Jinhyuk valued was the present. It had always been that way.

Still… even though it’s the past, he was angry at Dugu Elil’s atrocities.

His eyelids, which had been going up and down several times, finally closed.

【Ta-da-.】

The guy, who had become unnecessarily cheerful, appeared as if he had been waiting.

‘You’re here?’

【Mwahaha-. If I tell you what I found, you might jump out of your sleep in surprise, returnee.】

‘Is that so… I’m already surprised.’