The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 307

The sun rose and set for several days, and Hong Gijun, whose vacation was ending, poured his regret into his tilted teacup.

Yu Sera, in her own way, soothed her disappointment by brushing Yujin’s hair.

“Oh, you’re so pretty. Our Yujin.”

“Ouch-! Ouch! It hurts-”

“They say you get prettier the more it hurts. I saw it in a plastic surgery ad.”

‘What on earth is that supposed to mean?’

Does she mean she’ll get prettier by the amount of hair that falls out in clumps? Son Gwangyeon, who was flipping through the newspaper, made a dumbfounded expression.

“Seeing Yujin reminds me of our daughter when she was little, and it makes my heart flutter.”

“You never even brushed Sujeong’s hair once.”

“Hmph-. I did it a few times, okay?”

Tsk-.

Following a pathetic hiss, there was even an awkward tongue click.

Han Yuyoung, who was cutting a Korean melon next to Son Gwangyeon, chuckled at Yu Sera’s antics.

It would be nice if they could stay longer, but it’s a relief that laughter has filled the void left by their farewell.

Among the immature Seoul folks, Son Gwangyeon brought up a rather mature topic.

“If Gijun raises him, there’s no need to insist on college. If he needs a diploma later, he can always study abroad. Is our son lacking in brains or money?”

Son Gwangyeon and Han Yuyoung, who spent a lot of time with their son, knew about Jinhyuk’s plans and didn’t object to his college plans.

Still, like any other parents, they weren’t immediately convinced from the start.

In particular, the conservative Han Yuyoung worried about how the world would perceive it.

“Sister-in-law, don’t worry. Jinhyuk will have no problem with the Sein employment exam.”

“I’m worried he’ll be pointed at for receiving special treatment.”

“So what if he gets special treatment?”

Didn’t Dugu Elil, who had now let go of Hong Gijun, do the same?

Using one’s abilities, reputation, and connections is also a normal thing.

Hong Gijun thought that Jinhyuk’s family needed to be a little more brazen. These people are too worried about what the world thinks, like they’re scared.

“Jinhyuk’s mom, there’s also a way to skip the employment exam. It’ll be more beneficial for his athletic career to be part of our team than to be an athlete affiliated with a university. It’s not unusual for a professional athlete to get a position at that company. It should be seen as a legitimate contract, not special treatment. Seon-gyu also works for a Sein affiliate.”

Han Yuyoung, convinced, nodded, and Son Gwangyeon tapped the outdated newspaper with a pen, glancing sideways at his son.

He seemed to have something he wanted to say.

“By the way, Jinhyuk.”

“Yes?”

Jinhyuk, who was sharing the Korean melon with Su-hyeok and Jeong-won, responded to the sudden call.

“That…”

Son Gwangyeon looked around at the others before continuing.

“What if your plan doesn’t work out?”

“What do you mean?”

“Aish-, your dad knows everything. You can tell me now.”

Son Gwangyeon unfolded the newspaper so that everyone could see it.

“Weren’t you going to take the bar exam to replace your college diploma? But what are you going to do, aigoo-”

It was a list of those who passed the first round of the bar exam, taking up an entire page.

Nowhere on the list, which was filled with tiny eight-digit exam numbers and the names of those who passed, was Son Jinhyuk’s name.

Jinhyuk, with wide eyes, scratched his cheek.

“Why would I look at that? I didn’t take it. I didn’t even apply.”

“That’s right, you didn’t take it, so you’re not here. So what I’m saying is-. Huh?”

Jinhyuk lowered his upper body and glared at the newspaper with narrowed eyes.

“When is that newspaper from? April?”

Did this dad spend months agonizing over that one sentence?

“No, well, Yong-rak said. He got you the family tree?”

“I just studied Chinese characters. The high school curriculum is too easy, so I was trying to learn some difficult Chinese characters that aren’t used often. When I see something difficult, my head gets hot and I feel good.”

Son Gwangyeon’s eyes also became squinty, following Jinhyuk’s.

A pervert who feels good when studying difficult things.

Where did this perverted son come from?

Is he going to ask for a trench coat as a high school graduation gift?

“Aigoo-. I didn’t know that, and I thought our son had been quiet lately because he failed that.”

“Too much is as bad as too little. The bar exam is a bit much, don’t you think?”

“Right? Yeah-. I knew our son had it all figured out.”

“And it’ll look more natural to people if I get a job with a professional team than if I go to college with a medal around my neck.”

The world had changed enough, and people’s perceptions were changing rapidly.

Whether it was college or a job, Jinhyuk didn’t need to be mindful of others.

The decision to enter society early was entirely for Hong Gijun’s sake.

Jinhyuk himself had also decided that he had nothing to gain from college, and Son Gwangyeon didn’t disagree with that point.

“Yeah, yeah. Too much is as bad as too little.”

Son Gwangyeon smiled like someone who had relieved indigestion and grabbed his guitar.

He had really done well to divide the work with Yang Gangwook.

He could spend more time together again and sing his favorite songs.

Hmm- hmm- ahem-!

Tung-ttang-tung-diri-ring-.

It was a melody of The Beatles’ “Yesterday.”

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away-. It was a famous song that seemed to have the lyrics even without singing.

‘My dad is such a unique character.’

Isn’t he the only person who clears his throat even when just playing?

He made eye contact with Hong Gijun, who was chuckling.

Hong Gijun’s eyebrow twitched.

It was a look asking about the bar exam.

Jinhyuk shook his head slightly and gave an awkward smile.

‘I really didn’t take it.’

‘Wouldn’t it be more embarrassing if I tried and failed?’

That’s why he didn’t even apply.

Plans always change, don’t they?

「Olympic medalist Son Jinhyuk! Bar exam challenge, why?」

「Shock! Even for the fastest man in the world, the bar exam hurdle was high!」

Wow, just imagining it is embarrassing.

***

When the vacation ended and autumn slowly approached, the dust that rose from the schoolyard created clouds. Well, it’s not that clouds actually formed… The dust created by the middle school third-graders preparing for their physical fitness test was just that thick.

Jinhyuk sat in the shade of a plane tree with his friends, sucking on a popsicle. Watching the hardships of their juniors.

The sight of the middle school third-graders rolling and running as they prepared for the physical fitness test was always-.

“Hehehe, it’s funny-”

Jinhyuk turned his head at the sound of laughter from beside him.

Shin Woosung was giggling, enjoying something.

Lee Seunghoon glared at Shin Woosung with a dumbfounded expression.

“Hey, you, you need to restrain yourself a bit, you know, you don’t remember when you were a tadpole.”

“Ah, why-. We don’t have to go through that hardship anymore.”

The middle school third-graders, who were about to enter high school, had to take a physical fitness test, and due to the changed educational environment, the weight of the physical fitness test was higher than in the past.

That was also the influence of Hong Gijun and Jinhyuk on the new era.

Because of the Sein Group’s influence on the educational institutions under the foundation, and because Jinhyuk was a student medalist.

Although they did not directly affect the social system such as the political and educational circles, the Sein Group sent an official letter to the private high schools it sponsored, requiring them to reflect both grades and physical fitness in student selection. They also added a request to conduct physical education classes, which had been done formally, in a more organized manner. The explanation was that it was a measure for the healthy school life of all students, beyond fostering athletes. They said that in order for sports to develop, the base of basic physical education had to be expanded, and in order to do that, the educational trend of being obsessed with entrance exams had to change.

When civilization advances, ideas that match it emerge, and the system is improved as an intangible framework that supports the community. When the powerful took the lead as pioneers, there was no field that did not follow.

Hong Gijun and Jinhyuk, the two returnees, no longer compared the past and the present. It had changed completely.

Jinhyuk chuckled, recalling the physical fitness test from three years ago.

“Seeing the juniors practicing for the physical fitness test reminds me of Woosung rolling around.”

“Hehehehehehe-!”

At Jinhyuk’s words, Lee Seunghoon grabbed his stomach and laughed.

“The long-distance run was the best. Right, president?”

“Yeah-. That’s right.”

The overweight Shin Woosung had a serious disqualification for running.

He made excuses that he was adjusting his speed to avoid putting strain on his joints, but to anyone who saw it, Shin Woosung was not good at running.

He had never finished the 1000m long-distance run in under 7 minutes.

“It’s easier to do the duck walk. Running is hard, really. But I finished the race by running the way our president told me to.”

“What did the president tell you back then?”

As Lee Seunghoon scratched his sideburns, trying to remember, Shin Woosung waved his hand.

“He told me to run as fast as I could from the start. He said that even if I fell behind, that was the only way for a guy with no talent to do the basics.”

Jinhyuk nodded as he listened to Shin Woosung’s words.

He definitely coached him that way.

“He also said that humming songs would help, so I sang a lot of Seo Taiji songs. It was weird. I was out of breath, but when I sang, I could breathe. It was like the ink in my chest was full and then whoosh- it would come out?”

Yes, he taught him that way too.

He didn’t expect it to actually work, but it seemed to be really helpful.

At Jinhyuk’s quiet response, the popsicle in his mouth moved up and down.

Perhaps embarrassed by his own story, Shin Woosung changed the subject.

“Seunghoon, you’ll get a lot of blind dates and group dates when you go to college.”

“I’m screwed, man-. Mi-gyeong is watching me with her eyes wide open.”

“Is that so?”

“If I secretly go out and get caught-. If I get ratted out to Tae-yang hyung [older brother], I’ll just get folded in half and die.”

“Ah-, that’s too bad. Not that I should be saying this…”

“But my situation is better than the president’s.”

When the topic suddenly turned to him, Jinhyuk turned his head with a sulky expression.

Shin Woosung was the same, not understanding right away.

“Why the president?”

“Will you even be able to go on a blind date? If the president goes out, it won’t be a blind date, it’ll be a matchmaking meeting.”

“Ah, because he’s a medalist and the Sein chairman is always with him?”

“Yeah-. Will the broadcasts leave him alone? Won’t they say something like a meeting of the century?”

“That’s true-. I saw on Entertainment Relay the other day that there was fake news about the president meeting some celebrity in Seoul at night. Even from far away, it wasn’t the president, those guys have nothing better to do.”

Uhihihihik-.

Jinhyuk, who belatedly understood as he watched his laughing friends, inwardly clicked his tongue.

‘Ah, is that how it is.’

He had become too famous.

He had heard from Hong Gijun that his dad and Hong Gijun had often gone on blind dates in college.

He didn’t like the idea of meeting and talking to strangers, but he was curious about the atmosphere.

An experience he hadn’t had, for Jinhyuk, that was also an adventure.

Too bad.

Well, there are still many adventures he hasn’t tried.

He also had plans to travel around the world during the vacation after graduation.

How refreshing would it be to run across the Alps?

Wouldn’t it be dizzy and nice to jog on the Nepal trekking course?

While having perverted fantasies, he pointed at someone.

“Woosung, aren’t those our wrestling club juniors?”

The juniors Jinhyuk pointed at were guys who boasted plump bellies like Shin Woosung.

He was once the vice-manager of the wrestling club, and he was happy to see their wobbly bellies.

“Yeah. He’s just like me when I was little. If he runs like that, he won’t make it to a thousand meters. He’ll get tired and start walking in the middle. Like the president said, you have to put all your strength in at the beginning, and when you run out of energy, you have to run slowly like you’re jogging. It’s weird, but once you start running, you don’t want to stop, but once you start walking, you don’t want to run again.”

Yeah, that’s right. Lee Seunghoon agreed, throwing the last of his popsicle into his mouth.

Some might say that a physical fitness test is nothing, but the long-distance run was not easy even for wrestlers who had a habit of exercising. Especially for guys who were heavy.

It was enough if they learned something and had something left over by hanging out with their friends.

These pieces would come together to form memories, wouldn’t they?

In the future, when they were tired of life, it would become the strength to remove the shadows under their eyes.

Shin Woosung, unable to watch any longer, jumped up and swung his fist.

“Heyyyy-! Sungmin! Kyungtaek! If you want to make it to the middle, run from the start!”

“Yessss-!”

“Okayyyy-,”

Thump thump thump-.

As the guys picked up speed, the ground shook as if a herd of bison was running.

Jinhyuk smiled contentedly.

‘Good. It was a happy and satisfying school life.’

His happiness was even greater because of his friends.

Lee Seunghoon and Shin Woosung had decided on the universities they would attend and would be able to continue their beloved wrestling. He would no longer have to see the shadows of his friends from his past life, who spent their youth drinking because they had regrets about wrestling.

“Seunghoon, Woosung. Do your best in college. If you slack off, I’ll come find you.”

“What are you talking about-. I have to become more famous than Tae-yang hyung so Mi-gyeong will marry me. Ha- sigh. How many years will it take…”

‘I want to get married soon-.’ With eyes burning with desire, Lee Seunghoon licked his lips.

“Settle it within ten years.”

‘Oh, sigh-.’ Will that even be possible? This time, Lee Seunghoon closed his legs, which had been wide open.

Three consecutive years as the Chuseok Tournament Cheonhajangsa [Korean wrestling champion].

Choi Taeyang also threw sand wildly and cheered at the last Chuseok Jangsa Wrestling Tournament.

‘Yeah. It won’t be easy.’

Choi Taeyang also managed his weight well and had no injuries.

Not only that, in his past life, he had wrestled in the sandpit until he was over 35, even with injuries.

He had earned money that way and bought an apartment for Mi-gyeong. He was a younger sister fool brother, both in the past and now. It was a wall that Lee Seunghoon had to overcome in order not to live as a solo like in his past life.

Shin Woosung raised his index finger with a serious expression.

“Seunghoon, I have a good idea.”

“Huh-? What is it?”

“I’m much heavier than that hyung, so I’ll meet him in the semi-finals and wear him down. Then you can knock him down in the finals.”

“What if you make it to the finals? What then?”

At Lee Seunghoon’s question, Shin Woosung narrowed his eyes and made an even more solemn face.

“Then I’ll have no choice but to do my best. If I win, Mi-gyeong will be with me- Ugh!”

“Aish-, you pig!”

Lee Seunghoon put Shin Woosung in a headlock.

Hehehehehe-.

Jinhyuk, who almost fell backward from laughing, barely regained his balance.

Tri-li-li- Tri-li-li-li-.