The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 309

The Past (2)

***

With two weeks left until the college entrance exam, high school seniors were given self-study time even during regular class hours. The intention was for each student to make up for their weak subjects.

Ding-dong-daeng-dong-.

“Woosung, it’s break time. Take a rest and then study,” someone said.

“Ugh-. Okay. Oh my, is it spring fever already?”

What is he talking about? It’s almost winter.

Shin Woosung, who had already decided which university to attend, showed no concern for the college entrance exam or his grades. He said that the final exam of the second semester of his senior year wouldn’t be reflected anyway? It was typical coolness from a guy who wears short-sleeved shirts even in the dead of winter.

Similarly, Lee Seunghoon, who also had his school decided, wrestled with his books until the very end, saying that a true college student should be able to get into their desired university based on grades alone, not just as a sports scholarship student.

Those two are always so contrasting.

“Hey, class president, where are you going?”

Shin Woosung’s question mark flew and landed on Jinhyuk’s back as he left the classroom.

“I’m just going to the library.”

“You’ve read all the books there!”

“There’s still something I haven’t read.”

Shin Woosung made a face that said he couldn’t understand at all.

Son Jinhyuk always gets perfect scores on tests. He even got a perfect score on the last mock college entrance exam, but it was so common that everyone just took it for granted. The teachers were even heard whispering that there was nothing more they could put into that guy’s head.

“Seunghoon, what book do you think the class president is going to read? I’m not curious about the content, but I am curious about the title.”

“Just sleep.”

“The class president told you to rest and then sleep.”

*

Poetry collections and school magazines.

I never even glanced at them, thinking there was nothing to learn.

But now that the fire is on my feet, I’m ready to read even a flea market pamphlet.

“Hooh-. Why is this guy here?”

While flipping through the school magazine in the library, I found a familiar name.

「Choi Taeyang. The Story of a Solitary Wrestler」

Kuh-, the title is awesome.

「…I felt a strong vitality from the tree roots that had endured the barren soil and harsh winter…」

Hyah, look at this?

Not bad, huh?

「…When I left the forest, the wind blew.

The wind, carrying both winter and spring, was sweet.

It cooled the sweat that hadn’t yet dried and soothed the heated engine.

After parting with my neighborhood younger brother, Jinhyuk, and coming home, I…」

Kuhhh-, the emotion is off the charts.

I never knew this side of this guy.

「…came down with a body ache.

The kudzu wine I made then was confiscated by my father.

He shared it with Grandpa Cheon Gilyong and the other adults in the neighborhood.

I never even got to taste the kudzu wine, and I’m so curious about its taste.

I still don’t know.

Who was that kudzu root for, anyway?

-End-」

What’s with the sudden ending?

I don’t know where I’m supposed to find the solitude in all of that.

‘Haa-. I shouldn’t have read it.’

But I did gain some confidence.

If Choi Taeyang can write, there’s no way Son Jinhyuk can lose.

When it comes to learning, mastering, and imitating, I’m confident I won’t lose to anyone in the world.

Even that silly guy, Dugu Elil, is doing a pretty good job of imitating humans these days.

– 【Returnee, have you ever been to a place called a karaoke?】

– “Yeah… once.”

Was it when I was in the second year of middle school?

My family went to karaoke to celebrate my dad’s birthday.

Jinhyuk had to cover Yujin’s eyes and turn his head away.

– 【It was very good. I even made one in my world.】

– “What’s so good about it? Do you like singing?”

– 【There were scantily clad women on the screen. They were all beauties with otherworldly figures.】

Jinhyuk knows too.

That’s why he covered Yujin’s eyes.

I could see why minors are required to be accompanied by a guardian to enter a karaoke.

– “So, you’re a male too?”

– 【I had no desires. But as I dwelled in your younger sister, desire began to sprout again. But about those karaoke women. Their lower parts were covered…】

Why are you so disappointed!

– 【They were women from another continent. I found out they were a species called models from a country called Playboy…】

Crazy.

– 【In my world, I created them in real life, not just as videos. When I play music, they…】

That’s kind of enviable?

Isn’t a guy who’s supposed to be punished living in too much of a paradise? That’s a heavenly prison that makes even the emperor’s labor cry.

– 【To create another world, I need reference materials. Imitation is the mother of creation, isn’t it? Disneyland and karaoke were good reference materials.】

I was planning to go to karaoke with my friends after the college entrance exam, but I might have to change my plans. Or maybe I should find a place that only shows wholesome videos. It would be fun to sing with my friends.

Anyway, if Dugu Elil can imitate humans, there’s no way Son Jinhyuk can lose.

I shook my head to shake off the conversation with the shadow and flipped through the book again.

‘Haa-. He’s a poet for a reason.’

The level was too high for Son Jinhyuk, the emotionless guy, to imitate.

A sigh escaped me.

*

I went to the faculty office and asked the Korean language teacher for help.

“A poem, you see, is about expressing the emotions and thoughts that arise from nature or life in a concise and rhythmic language…”

I came to ask for tips on writing poetry, but why are you reading from the Korean dictionary?

I turned my head to hide a yawn, and my eyes met the calendar. The calendar, with a nail hammered into its forehead, was glaring at Jinhyuk as if it would devour him.

The deadline is next week.

When Son Jinhyuk, the office worker, rarely felt pressure, it was when he had to write a report with an approaching deadline. It seemed like the stress of his past life as an office worker was starting to creep up.

I have a personality that makes me do my homework no matter what, so I can’t just act tough.

‘There’s no such thing as a blank in my dictionary!’

***

On Saturday afternoon, I wandered alone by the canal, feeling like a solitary poet.

They say that some people are tormented even by the wind blowing through the leaves, and others are inspired by the sight of stars brushing against the wind and write in one stroke?

‘Please, give me inspiration, inspiration-.’

The realm of creation, where the subject matter is not specified, was like an unknown universe to Jinhyuk.

‘Ah, crap-. Should I have not become the class president?’

It’s been a long time since a sophomore took over as the new class president, so I can’t just resign now.

If a guy who’s finished his term resigns, he’ll just become a laughingstock. I’ve given enough laughter with 6,000 keychains. I don’t need to give any more.

How much did I struggle with writing assignments when I was a kid?

Back then, the only people I could ask were my mom and dad.

But still…

The situation is much better now.

“Yujin-.”

“Yes, yes, yes-! I’m coming!”

Yujin, who was riding her bike with Jeongwon on the canal-side track, sped up and approached.

I taught her how to ride without training wheels, and because she has good balance and leg strength, Yujin quickly got the hang of riding a two-wheeled bike. On the carrier, she had her best friend, Ajji Bear, tied tightly with a luggage strap.

Swish-.

Her skill in using her feet to brake is also quite good.

“Why don’t you use the brakes? Are they broken?”

“This is fun-. When I brake like this, my feet get hot and it feels good.”

Is it good if it’s hot?

She’s my ten-year-old sister, but it’s still hard to understand what Yujin is saying.

After checking that Jeongwon, who was pedaling with Geomma on the back of the tricycle, was having fun, Jinhyuk revealed his purpose.

“Can you help me, bro?”

I sometimes sneak a peek at Yujin’s diary, and she has a pretty good writing style.

It might be good to include a child’s sensibility. A children’s poem is still a poem.

“Ehehe-, what can I help you with?”

“I have to write a poem, bro-.”

Well, a poem is better than an essay, right?

Jinhyuk nodded inwardly and handed her a notebook and pencil.

“Ahem-. Let’s see-.”

Yujin squinted her eyes like Cheon Gilyong before picking up a brush.

Huh-. The weight of a ten-year-old’s life was felt in the deep sigh that came from her stomach.

“Bro, I learned from Grandpa Cheon Gilyong that a poem needs a subject or a theme, you know? It’s called a ‘shije’ [poem subject],” she said.

“Shije? I know that. So what?”

“We need a shije.”

“Since it’s practice, can’t you just do it with something you like? My topic is also free.”

“Hmm-. Should I?”

Yujin poked her tongue with the pencil and then started writing.

“When I gave the poem I wrote to Grandpa Cheon Gilyong, he said, ‘Ohoho-, Yujin is already a ‘gaebyeok’ [a person who has opened a new world]!'”

What the heck does that even mean?

Anyway.

Jinhyuk was shocked to see the pencil dancing across the notebook.

That’s some amazing shorthand!

Even the cultural shock of someone encountering a new civilization wouldn’t be this bad.

Yujin is indeed an all-around genius!

Isn’t this the moment we’re witnessing the birth of a genius literary girl…?

「Title: Ajji Bear

Ajji Bear’s butt is round like the moon

He walks with his clumsy butt

Ajji Bear’s colorful undies are stained and dirty

He needs new, clean, and confident undies

My pretty ribbon undies are for girls

My baby brother’s fluffy diapers are gone now

Bro’s tight undies don’t fit

Dad’s baggy undies are too big and loose

Ajji Bear is sad because he doesn’t have colorful undies

He left home crying

Ajji Bear, come back

I’ve shortened Dad’s undies」

The shock of ‘gaebyeok’…

‘This is too otherworldly of a sensibility?’

And Ajji Bear is tied tightly to the bike, so he can’t even run away.

Genius literary girl, my foot, Yujin is definitely more suited to be an engineer.

“Bro, how is it? Does it make you wet your pants? Bro? Bro? Where did you go?”

Jinhyuk had already disappeared.

I’m still young, I can’t be suffering from incontinence.

He sighed involuntarily as he headed towards Jeongwon, who was riding his tricycle with Geomma in the distance.

“Is there no one who can help me…”

The sun was still in the western sky, but a hasty moon peeked its face above the water’s surface.

The days are getting shorter by the day.

*

My dad, who had come home from work, showed interest.

This was an option that Jinhyuk absolutely did not want to choose.

I already experienced what kind of sensibility this dad has back in elementary school.

That’s when I escaped to the village hall with Janggun.

“Hahaha! You can just talk to this literary dad about that!”

He still offered to help, and it wasn’t right for a son to refuse, so we held a roundtable discussion in the middle of the track.

Heheheh-.

My yellow dog son, Geomma, also sat on the back of the tricycle, watching the three Son men.

“Let’s see-. Isn’t your dad a literary person to the bone? A poem, you see, has to touch the heart.”

It’s a relief it’s not about incontinence.

Well, it seems like he’s right, so Jinhyuk nodded mechanically.

“When I look at the poets of my generation, I wonder if that can really be seen as poetic sensibility. They look at a mountain peak and think of breasts, and they look at a flowing river and talk about a milk vein or something, but what kind of sensibility is that? Ugh-, I hate that kind of stuff. How many people would look at that kind of poem and say, ‘Oh, I see’? It seems like the strange desires of a pubescent male are projected onto it, doesn’t it? They put in strange lines under the guise of poetic license, calling it metaphors or double meanings.”

Ooh-, Jinhyuk’s mouth formed a circle.

That was unexpected.

Jinhyuk also thought of his dad as someone with the sensibility of a pubescent male.

“But if you add some sensuality, people like it. When you imagine a scene or an atmosphere, your brain gets subtly and gently wet, and dopamine is released, and it also prevents Parkinson’s disease, and also-”

Is there any basis for that?

Jinhyuk, who was wiping his youngest brother’s snot, narrowed his eyes.

“You have to properly arrange sensibility and sensuality so that you can strike, no, capture both the body and the soul.”

I have no idea what this guy is talking about.

Jeongwon, do you understand?

I looked at my brother with that look, but Jeongwon was just sniffing his snot with a blank look.

“Jeongwon, while Dad and your brother are talking, why don’t you go see your sister over there?”

“Yes, ehehe-.”

Darurururu-.

As the tricycle wheels made noise, Yujin, who was making a crown out of reeds for Ajji Bear, waved her hand at her brother.

As the little boy moved away, Son Gwangyeon continued to speak as if he had been waiting for this moment. He moved his index finger as if drawing a picture on the track.

“Ahem-! Sensibility and sensuality, after all, are like that.”

“Like what?”

Jinhyuk leaned towards his dad.

“When you see a dazzlingly bright moon, you think of your lover’s smile, and when you hear the sound of rippling water, you think of that- that thing of going into the water up to your pelvis and taking a bath. How’s that? Visual, auditory, that’s called synesthetic imagery, right? But besides that, there’s something, something-. That something- that scene, it’s like, isn’t it?”

I know that kind of stuff too.

I’m asking you to teach me the practical skills, but you’re just spouting theories.

And honestly, I don’t see the difference between what my dad pointed out about other poets and what he’s saying.

Son Gwangyeon sighed as he looked at his son with a blank expression.

“Haa, do I have to explain it in more detail? Listen carefully-? How elegantly and nobly you express the beauty of a well-made ceramic, with its slender curves that taper down and then protrude provocatively- the firm and smooth curves-.”

Th-that’s enough!

This dad is starting to say weird things again!

As the lecture turned into a suggestive genre, Jinhyuk covered his ears and jumped up.

Darururu-.

Just then, Jeongwon, who had made a U-turn, was coming back.

Good. I’ll use my brother as an excuse to get away.

I made a megaphone with my hands and shouted.

“Jeongwon, do you see the bear gym entrance over there? Shall we race to there?”

“Yes-, ehehe-.”

Son Gwangyeon, who was pleased with the time he was spending with his two sons, also got up from his spot as he watched Jeongwon pedaling adorably.

At that moment.

Thud-.

The tricycle wheel mercilessly ran over Son Gwangyeon’s instep.

“Aack!”

My dad grabbed his foot and sat down again, but the two sons, knowing it was an exaggeration, pretended not to hear and focused on the race.

To a young son, his dad’s pain is his pleasure.

Jeongwon, who glanced back, raised one corner of his mouth. It was a smile that didn’t look like a five-year-old; it even looked sly.

“Ehehe-, Daddy is a fool-.”

“Aww-! That rascal just ran over his dad and left!”

Son Gwangyeon swung his fist in the air.

Jinhyuk, who was jogging lightly after his brother, felt a tingling sensation on the top of his head.

Oooo-.

This is what they call inspiration!

「Title: My Brother’s Bike is a Filial-Impiety-Powered Vehicle

This damn bike is going to kill his dad…」

Haa, what is this-.

I haven’t even started, and I’m already having a brain fart.

Ah, crap, what am I supposed to write-!

***

It’s been over a year since the three siblings have been living in one room.

Yujin is on the bed with Ajji Bear, and Jinhyuk is on the floor with Jeongwon in his arms.

Yujin has her own room, and Jeongwon is still at an age where he should be looking for his mother’s embrace, but these guys always peek into Jinhyuk’s room when it’s time to sleep.

It’s not like we’re living in poverty in a one-room apartment, so why are they doing this?

It’s an environment where I can’t help but become a model citizen against my will.

“Unga-. Are we going on a boat tomorrow too-?”

“Yeah, yeah. You have to sleep early to go on a boat. That’s right, good boy. Sleep-, sleep-.”

Snore-.

After confirming that his siblings were completely asleep, he took a breath.

He called out desperately, with a heart full of anxiety.

‘Come out.’

【What is it?】

‘Can you write poetry?’

【Is this a contract?】

Ugh, Yujin, Dad, and Dugu Elil are all transparent, so transparent.