The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 308

Rattle-rattle-rattle-.

Rattle-rattle-rattle-.

Thanks to playing with his older siblings from a young age, Jeongwon had unusually strong legs. He was so nimble that even when playing tag with Hong Suhyuk, who came to visit from Seoul, he was never caught.

The little tyke sped along the canal-side track on his tricycle.

Rattle-rattle-rattle-.

The melted ice on the water’s surface and the long, drawn-out sunset seemed to blush red, excited by Son Jeongwon’s spirited race.

Swish-.

A gust of wind made the reeds by the canal sway.

“Ooh-! Stick-.”

Touching that dark brown stick is so soft and fun-.

Heheheh-.

Geomma, who was riding on the back of the tricycle, also admired Jeongwon.

“Mi-gae noonaa-.”

He waved at Choi Mikyeong, who was sitting side-by-side with Kim Eunjeong, chatting away. Jjam-jjam-.

“Aww, my sweetie-. Did you call for noona?” [Noona is a Korean term used by younger males to address older females.]

Choi Mikyeong, who had rushed over with quick steps, lowered herself and wiped under Son Jeongwon’s nose with her hoodie sleeve. Swish-.

“Whyy-? Our Jeongwon? What can noona do for you? Should I give you a kiss? Mwah-.”

“Give me that, that one over there-.”

It was a fruit that looked like a sausage, or a stubby, long stick.

Jeongwon, pointing at the cattail fruit, put his hands together, palms facing up, towards Choi Mikyeong. Along with a smile that could charm even a ghost. Please-.

“Ahaha-, should I break that off for you?”

Choi Mikyeong, who had turned her lips inside out like a chicken’s butt, awkwardly touched the back of her head.

“Yes, eheheh-. Son Jeongwon is majestic-. Hyung, don’t go in, Mom will scold you-.”

“That’s right. It’s dangerous for little ones. Noona will break it off for you, wait here.”

“Yes, eheheh-.”

Choi Mikyeong went down the steps and soon came back with two cattail fruits.

“Our Jeongwon, be careful riding your bike-.”

“Yes, eheheh-. Thank you, Mi-gae noona-.”

Rattle-rattle-rattle-.

Jeongwon, pedaling the tricycle with his short legs, rode away along the track.

Woof-!

Geomma in the back barked once at his former owner, Choi Mikyeong.

I guess that means ‘good job’.

Choi Mikyeong, having solved the sudden task, sat next to Kim Eunjeong.

“Haa-, refreshing.”

Hmmm-.

She took a deep breath and then made a nasal sound, revealing her white teeth.

“Mikyeong, that nasal sound of yours is very suggestive. It makes me feel strange.”

“Eunjeong, it’s not like your voice is wholesome either.”

“My provocative voice, which makes even the cytoplasm, nucleus, and mitochondria tingle, is my forte. There isn’t a single playboy I can’t seduce over the phone.”

Kkkkkkk-.

Two test-takers, driven mad by the pressure of the approaching college entrance exam, giggled as they exchanged nonsense.

Swish-swish-swish-.

“Haa-. I like the smell of the autumn wind.”

“I don’t. When the wind blows, it smells like cow dung.”

“It doesn’t smell much around Eunjeong’s house, though?”

“It’s true that it smells less since they started feeding them the feed from Son Gwang’s company. But I still feel like it smells like cow dung when the wind blows, ever since I was little.”

Kim Eunjeong pouted.

When she had just entered kindergarten, Kim Eunjeong had cried every day because the kids teased her, saying she smelled like cow dung.

Kang Jinsu, Im Hyungseop, and what other little brats were there… Those bastards who don’t even wash well… Kim Eunjeong mouthed curses.

Back then, Son Jinhyuk fought with those kids for teasing Eunjeong in our neighborhood, and he ended up getting beaten up instead. He was smaller and cried more than the other kids.

If Choi Mikyeong hadn’t stepped in and scolded those two, he would have kept crying while hugging Son Jinhyuk.

“It’s a sight to see. That guy has become such a big deal.”

He must be a big shot…

Choi Mikyeong shook her head.

She’s thinking to herself and talking to herself again. The way she acts is starting to resemble Jo Seulchan more and more.

But it’s good that she has a lot of friends.

While other rural areas are becoming empty, the neighborhood where Choi Mikyeong lives is bustling with people, and the laughter of children and adults never stops.

“Eunjeong, how’s your college prep going?”

“Well, I’m fine since I can cover my lacking scores with the essay.”

The influence of Hong Gijun, a powerful figure who leads the world.

He had only changed the corporate culture and revised the personnel system related to hiring and evaluation, but there was no area of society that was not affected.

Even the college entrance exam and job market.

These two test-takers hadn’t grasped it to that extent, but they vaguely sensed that the world was changing rapidly.

“Should I not go to college either?”

“Mikyeong, are you thinking of getting a job right away?”

“Yeah. There are many companies where you can apply even if you’re not from a vocational school, and you can get a college education while working.”

“That’s easier said than done.”

“My cousin said that even if you get into a company, you don’t immediately work with what you learned in college. He said that a guy who graduated from college got scolded for not even knowing how to use a copier.”

“If you can read as many books as that guy and spout sentences that you can use in an essay, you might be able to get a job. And that’s not all. That guy has several medals too.”

Kim Eunjeong pointed her index finger at Jinhyuk in the distance like ET.

The big deal, ah- the big shot, sitting by the canal with a book open, Jo Seulchan.

“Right? It’ll be difficult if you don’t prepare separately, right?”

“There’s no difference in salary unless you have a doctorate, so it might be okay to get a job right away. The problem is that it’s almost impossible to get a job. I heard that even those who prepared separately are failing. There must be something to learn in college for us humanities students. We’ll gain a lot.”

It’s essential to go to college to get high-level information that will help with getting a job. Kim Eunjeong mumbled, chewing on a withered reed leaf. She looked like a calf chewing on fodder.

“Okay. Let’s go… to college. We have to go through it to become professionals. I heard that in a few years, only people who want to become scholars will go to college, which is a shame.”

“It’s the fate of those on the periphery of the transition. We have to adapt to the world.”

Choi Mikyeong nodded, agreeing with Kim Eunjeong’s old-man-like words.

Although she spoke as if college was no big deal, Choi Mikyeong had already decided to go to medical school.

I should secretly go on blind dates when Seunghoon goes into training camp.

“Haewon, who got a job at the credit union, said that big companies require you to submit a paper on the entrance exam. You also have to take a personality test, but I won’t pass because of my personality. I’m confident in my essay, but I won’t pass the interview either. That’s why I need a college degree.”

“What’s wrong with Eunjeong?”

Choi Mikyeong’s eyes widened.

Her way of speaking and thinking is usually strange, but in formal settings, she’s more logical and intellectual than anyone else.

“It’s good to hear you say that, Mikyeong.”

Kim Eunjeong, who had jumped up, dusted off her bottom and stretched.

“Udadadadat-! This wretched school uniform is finally over!”

What’s with the girl who wears her school uniform even on weekends…

Choi Mikyeong quietly sighed.

“This uniform, it creates a gloomy shadow and kills my skin tone. Mikyeong, you don’t understand my feelings.”

“Yeah…”

How can I understand a 4D person like you?

“It’s about shedding the shadow. It’s called desertion.”

Is it the military?

As expected of Kim Eunjeong, she uses strange expressions as soon as she opens her mouth.

“I’m planning to transform into semi-hip-hop after graduation. I’m going to dye Jo Seul’s hair brown like our cow. Just thinking about it makes me happy.”

Yeah, do it a lot…

“Today- I’m happy- I’ll always pray when I open my eyes in the morning-.”

Kim Eunjeong hummed a song and walked towards where Jinhyuk was.

She’s doing something impulsive again after talking. She’s a friend, but she’s someone I really can’t understand. Choi Mikyeong, who had sighed repeatedly, followed behind.

“Beautiful- it’s a constraint-. I have things to do on my days off-.”

Hey, you! Stop singing so weirdly!

*

How wonderful is the joy of reading a book in a scenic place under the sun?

It’s a rather cool breeze, but Jinhyuk isn’t one to give up that pleasure.

Jinhyuk was helping Jo Seulchan with his certification exam.

It’s not that Jinhyuk has a wealth of expertise, so he’s helping.

“You have to understand the problem first.”

“Eee-, the answer is easy, but the problem is sometimes difficult, you see-.”

It’s similar to teaching the elderly who are preparing for the certified real estate agent exam.

It’s similar to interpreting for people who don’t understand the meaning of key vocabulary made up of Chinese characters, so they can’t understand the problems.

“Why did you get this problem wrong?”

“Eee-, this one had ‘open circuit’ and ‘short circuit’, and I know what an open short is, you see? But when it’s written in Chinese characters, I don’t know what it means. They both start with ‘short’, you see-.”

“Ah, it was difficult because it was in Chinese characters.”

“Eee-, even Seungchan from the inner village got this wrong, you see. Heheheh-.”

Seulchan, it’s not Seungchan, it’s Seongchan-.

Jinhyuk drew a line on the ground with a stick.

Then, he erased the middle with his finger, breaking the line.

“What’s this?”

“Open.”

“In Chinese characters?”

“Open circuit.”

“That’s right, open circuit. It means the line is broken.”

“If I look at it alone, I know, but I get confused with short circuit too. I think the ‘short’ character looks like ‘fall’, so it doesn’t seem like ‘open’, that’s what I’m saying. Open, short, it’s open, closed. How easy is that?”

Yeah, I understand. Jinhyuk nodded.

If you don’t write the Chinese characters together, anyone who thinks of commonly used Chinese characters would understand it that way.

「短絡」

Jinhyuk wrote the Chinese characters on the ground.

“Short ‘short’, connect ‘connect’. Let’s understand it like this. Two things are too close, short, and narrowly connected. That’s why it’s a short circuit.”

“I understand it that way when I study, but when I actually take the test, I can’t remember it, you see-.”

“In English, you use ‘short’, which means short. This Chinese character uses ‘short’. Memorize it by putting ‘short short circuit’ together.”

“Short short circuit, open open circuit.”

“Yeah, like that. Is this part okay now?”

“Eee, I have to memorize it-.”

“Okay, then. Next problem-.”

Are there any difficult problems? It feels good when my head gets hot from difficult problems. Jinhyuk hummed a tune.

Since he wasn’t actually solving the problems himself, but just helping Jo Seulchan understand them, anyone with a strong grasp of language could help.

“V is IR. This is a formula that comes up even in middle school science.”

“Aish-, I just get dizzy when I see Chinese characters and alphabet abbreviations, so I just-.”

“Just memorize it. Seulchan, you have good dexterity and creativity, but you’re weak in writing. That’s why I told you to read more books.”

“I guess I have to memorize it by writing it down-.”

Our Joker leader is starting to nag again. Jo Seulchan grumbled silently.

At that moment, Kim Eunjeong, with her hands in the pockets of her school uniform jacket, swaggered over.

“Hey, Jinhyuk.”

“Yeah?”

“Did you do that?”

“That? What?”

“Didn’t the school newspaper club tell you?”

“Ah!”

Jinhyuk’s mouth opened wide without a sound, like a general who had stepped on a chestnut burr.

His eyes also widened.

Oh crap. I’m screwed.

It was a tradition of the student council.

Those who had served as student council president and literary club president had to contribute a graduation commemorative piece to the school newspaper, that is, the school magazine.

“Noo-, can’t I submit a paper or something? I’ve written a few of those-.”

“Jinhyuk, are you crazy? What crazy person puts a paper in the school magazine? You submit that to an academic journal-.”

You have to submit prose or poetry.

“It’s a tradition, a tradition.”

“Yeah… Did you submit yours?”

“I already submitted mine. Ahem-.”

“Eunjeongaa…”

“Jinhyuk, you’re making me flutter when you call me like that. Don’t call me so affectionately. That affection is only allowed for Jo Seul.”

“Can’t you show it to me just once?”

“Jinhyuk, you’re quite lewd. Is it because you’re a male?”

What on earth did she think I meant by ‘show me’?

That’s why the subject is important.

“What you wrote, that.”

“I’ll show you if you guess the genre I submitted.”

Kim Eunjeong pointed her thumb at her chin and smiled slyly.

“Sci-fi.”

Jinhyuk answered without taking a breath.

Kim Eunjeong, if it’s her, then it’s definitely sci-fi with aliens and UFOs.

“Jinhyuk, you’re not in your right mind. Who submits a novel? What I submitted was an essay.”

I’m screwed.

I was going to plagiarize it.

Kim Eunjeong, who had a sly smile on one side of her mouth, never revealed that the title of the prose she submitted was “UFOs and Calves.”

Jinhyuk looked at Choi Mikyeong with pleading eyes.

Choi Mikyeong shrugged.

“I’m a science major.”

Who doesn’t know that?

Are you the only science major?

I’m a science major too!

Haa-.

He sighed and flipped through Jo Seulchan’s notebook.

Jo Seulchan was used to taking notes and sketching, so he wondered if there might be any inspiring drawings or useful phrases.

「Her lips are bright red cherries
Her breath is sweet cotton candy
Her chest is a lump…」

Whoa, look at this guy.

Is this a dirty novel?

Jinhyuk, horrified, looked at Jo Seulchan, who was busy writing down the wrong answers, and said nonchalantly.

“You have to look at the title-.”

Jinhyuk, having checked the title, quickly switched to remorse mode.

「Mom in a Dream」

That guy, Jinhyuk wiped the tip of his nose.

He’s sensitive and creative, but he has difficulty with tests because he lacks literacy.

He couldn’t just laze around when he had a fire on his feet.

“Seulchan, I have homework too, so let’s stop studying here today.”

“Eee, okay. I’m only going to do it until here today too. I’m going to pick persimmons with our Eunjeong.”

Mom told me to pick persimmons-. Jo Seulchan put the certification exam workbook in his bag.

“Wow! Can I bring a basket too?”

Choi Mikyeong, the test-taker who loves persimmons and whose butt gets clogged up frequently, was delighted.

“Mikyeong, are you going to help too?”

“I’ll pick them together. They say you can go crazy if you only study. You have to use your body too.”

“That’s true. Whoever said that said something good.”

“My brother…”

Kim Eunjeong tilted her head like a chick looking at a caterpillar.

Did that brother ever study?

If that’s true, it’s a world-shattering event.

“That’s a surprising and new fact.”

The world is indeed vast. Kim Eunjeong, who had muttered that, linked arms with Jo Seulchan. The movement was as smooth as flowing water.

Jinhyuk and Choi Mikyeong turned their heads at the same time.

My eyes are ruined-.

‘Hey, no, but seriously, this is a big problem?’

Life is indeed a series of suffering.

How can Son Jinhyuk, an emotionally illiterate person, write an essay…?