The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 311

Midterms and finals are in-school exams held over a few days during a set period. The exam scope is also defined, so you only need to study that specific range. However, the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) covers the entire high school curriculum, and everything is decided in a single day. Well, everyone who went to school knows this.

Thanks to finishing early the day before the exam, I returned home while it was still bright.

“Oppa, what are you doing?”

A ten-year-old kid, now smaller than me, with Ajji Bear [a popular character plush toy] wrapped in a blanket, peeked into my room.

“Yeah. Did our Yujin come? Oppa is cleaning.”

“You clean every day.”

“Today, I’m organizing my desk.”

Strangely, whenever it’s exam time, I feel like organizing my desk. While mumbling, Jinhyuk wiped the bookshelf and desk with a cloth after taking out all the books.

He also organized the drawers, clattering, and, ah, this magazine was here-. The magazine with a lot of apricot color was well hidden from Yujin’s eyes.

How disappointed would Yujin be if she saw it?

“Does Oppa like unnie [older sister] who aren’t wearing clothes?”

Oh no-, she already saw it.

Still, Yujin doesn’t look too shocked.

Yujin’s abnormally raised mouth corners resembled Jeongwon’s when he’s riding his delinquent-powered bicycle.

“Nooo-. I’m just keeping it for someone who asked me to.”

“That’s why you can’t write poems! Tsk tsk-.”

Sigh, that nag.

She’s grown quite a bit, and she nags whenever she gets the chance, even more than Mom.

‘But is it really true?’

Well, it would be hard to come up with a poem while looking at skin-colored magazines.

Yujin’s point seems valid, so I shouldn’t take out the magazine until I submit the poem.

After cleaning, I sat on the chair and stroked the empty desk with my hand.

‘You’ve worked hard for a long time, too.’

I’ve always faced this desk, but why do I feel this way now?

It shouldn’t be regret.

I studied hard, exercised hard, made lots of memories with friends, and had a school life without regrets, so what is there to regret?

“Huuu-. Oppa, I know what you’re going to do now.”

Yujin, sitting on the bed and watching me as if she was monitoring me, said with a sigh. She was tapping the dust off Ajji Bear with tape.

“What, what-. What? I don’t know….”

I really won’t look at the magazine-. For a while.

“You’re going to read the Talmud, right?”

Yujin knows me too well.

When I organize my desk, I don’t study, but I read light books.

That’s how I clear my head and empty it for a while.

If I focus too much on one thing, I feel like my head gets stiff instead of concentrating.

Today, my mind is very complicated, so it might be okay to clear my head in a different way than reading.

“Yujin, should we bake sweet potatoes?”

“Well, okay. I’ll agree even though I’m busy. I’m hungry right now.”

She’s really something.

*

Jo Seulchan, who is doing his field training in new material management at General Chemical, joined us in front of the fireplace after work.

Crackling, crackling-.

Jo Seulchan, who was staring blankly at the quietly burning charcoal, asked as if talking to himself.

“Isn’t it your exam, Niyul? Is it okay for you to be doing this?”

“What more would I know if I studied now?”

“Are you just being careless because you’re not going to college?”

“That’s also true.”

“Is it because you know everything that you’re not studying anymore?”

“That’s more accurate.”

Oh my-. That Joker Captain always says annoying things without changing his expression. Damn it, he’s not wrong-. Jo Seulchan turned his head.

I can hear you, you idiot.

“Time sure flies-. Being here makes me think of the first day I came to play during middle school.”

“Yeah, it does.”

I played with Jo Seulchan like kids.

It was a summer vacation of playing in the water, catching fish, and eating watermelon and corn in the shade.

At that time, Seulchan said it was the happiest he had ever been.

Jo Seulchan definitely expressed such a sentiment.

On the way back after taking his friend home, Jinhyuk also sent comfort to his past self, borrowing those words.

That was probably the first time. Comfort for myself.

‘It might be okay to write a poem in that direction.’

With the CSAT right around the corner, Jinhyuk thought about the message to put in the poem.

What would be good….

While turning over the sweet potatoes wrapped in foil, Jo Seulchan brought up another topic.

“Last month, when I started my internship, my grandma gave me a bankbook.”

Jinhyuk knew what kind of bankbook it was, so he nodded silently.

After Jo Seulchan and his grandmother moved to this neighborhood, they received land compensation enough to buy an apartment in town, thanks to Moon Seokil’s efforts. It seemed his grandmother didn’t give it right away and passed it on to Jo Seulchan, who had just stepped into society.

“What should I do with it-. My grandma seems like she wants to live here until she dies-.”

“Let’s live here together for a long time.”

“Jinaek is going to Seoul, though.”

“I’ll come every weekend. You come to Seoul too.”

“Should I?”

Unlike his welcoming tone, Jo Seulchan’s face was somber.

Even Yujin, who likes to be mischievous, couldn’t join the conversation.

Yujin was tapping the short tail of Gwangma [a dog] with a stick, watching Jo Seulchan’s mood.

“The day before yesterday, State Uncle [a term of endearment for a close older male friend] came to me. I had asked him for a favor. I was wondering if he could find out something for me-. I wonder if I should have done that….”

I knew what he was going to say this time too.

Because Jinhyuk knew his friend’s situation well.

‘He found his mom.’

Jo Seulchan’s dark face quickly brightened. But it was a forced light.

“She’s doing well-. She even had two kids in elementary school and isn’t having a hard time-. It seems her husband is good to her too.”

Saying that, Jo Seulchan clenched the bankbook tightly.

“Just in case… if she was living hard, I was going to give her this. Me and my grandma don’t have to worry about a house or money. Now I can earn it myself-. But it seems like I don’t have to-. I don’t have to give it.”

It was a heavy topic.

But who else could he say these things to other than Jinhyuk?

The expression of his friend, who had let out his inner thoughts, looked somewhat relieved.

Don’t you want to see her? Jinhyuk couldn’t bring himself to ask and bit his lip.

As if he knew his friend’s heart, Jo Seulchan smiled.

“That’s not going to happen-. Mom has to stay there and live her life-. If I go there as her son, what do you think will happen to that family? Maybe… if I secretly find her, I might meet her. But now, my grandma is healthy, and Eunjeong is here, so I have to stay here….”

Jinhyuk couldn’t even dare to put his hand on Jo Seulchan’s shoulder.

Even Yujin, who probably didn’t understand, hugged Gwangma’s neck tightly, feeling bad.

Still, as a friend, I wanted to ask.

“Does your grandmother know?”

“Yeah-. I told her, and she was really happy. She said that’s all that matters, and she has no regrets even if she dies now. I’m doing well, and Mom is doing well too-.”

Jinhyuk, who had been pondering with his head down, looked up as if he had thought of someone.

“Hey, but what happened to the bike I gave you?”

“Ah, right. I left it at home because I was going to high school, and some bastard stole it-. I was sorry to you, so I couldn’t say anything-.”

“It’s not like you’re going to ride a bike anymore, so what does it matter? It’s good if someone who needs it rides it.”

Isn’t it a national trait to steal a bike no matter what, even if they don’t steal anything else?

Perhaps grateful that his friend had changed the gloomy mood to another topic, Jinhyuk said as if declaring when Jo Seulchan smiled awkwardly.

“Now you have to drive a car. I’ll buy you a car as a graduation gift, so get your license.”

“Huh?”

Jo Seulchan couldn’t hide his surprise at the unexpected declaration.

It was a reaction of not believing what he had heard.

“Don’t go around looking for secluded places with Eunjeong all the time, you idiot. Drive around, you punk.”

“Did you know? No, we were just looking for UFOs-.”

“Are there people who look for UFOs in warehouses?”

Kikikik-.

Jo Seulchan, his face flushed, covered his head with both hands and laughed.

That punk is acting shy now.

“But cars are too expensive-. It’s a bit much to just accept it-.”

“It’s not expensive for me. And I’ll buy you a used one. And when you buy a car, take your grandmother first, not Eunjeong. And-.”

Son Jinhyuk also owns a building in town.

Jo Seulchan, who knew that fact, blinked his eyes with an emotionless face.

“-Go visit your mom and buy her a meal.”

Jinhyuk, who had added a bombshell declaration, looked at Jo Seulchan’s expression.

In his friend’s eyes, there was conflict, not displeasure.

“Why don’t you go secretly and meet her once? You and your grandmother are comfortable, right? Go and show her for sure, and tell her firmly. Tell her that you’re doing well, so she can come anytime if she wants to see you. How relieved would your mother be if you said that?”

“But… would that be okay?”

“I think I would do that if I were you. Isn’t it better than regretting it later? Did you forget what you promised me?”

“I didn’t forget-.”

If there’s something difficult, tell Son Jinhyuk.

Don’t do anything you can’t take responsibility for.

Don’t make any regrets in this one life.

“It’s a matter of courage. You just need to be brave. If your mother says she doesn’t want to, turn around and come back without any regrets.”

“Oh, I have a lot of courage-.”

I even had the courage to hold Eunjeong’s hand and do everything-. Jo Seulchan mumbled.

His face was much brighter.

“The exam isn’t just for me. You’re also taking the exam and becoming an adult.”

“Yeah-. Right. I’ve done well by listening to Joker Captain. I have to listen. Yeah-.”

Jo Seulchan nodded vigorously.

That’s how Jo Seulchan’s world would be turned upside down once.

I thought he couldn’t stay a child who grew up without a mother forever.

And isn’t she the person he misses so much that he even writes poems in his notebook?

‘That’s what they call a cataclysm. It’s about overturning complex feelings, organizing them step by step, and maturing one step further.’

The feeling of organizing a desk before an exam would be no different.

It’s not about cleaning the desk, but cleaning the mind.

Grumble-.

It sounded like thunder was rumbling from the ground.

It was the thunder from Yujin’s stomach, who couldn’t say she was hungry because she was watching her older brothers having a serious conversation.

Yujin and Gwangma were sitting in similar poses, with pitiful eyes.

“The sweet potatoes must be cooked.”

“Ogu-gu-, our Yujin, it’s hot, so Seulchan oppa will cool it for you, okay?”

“Yes, ehehe-.”

*

The morning of the CSAT dawned.

Ah, it’s not dawn yet. It’s dark.

Clunk-.

As I opened the front door, a cold air rushed in.

“Mom, I’m off.”

“Son-. Don’t be nervous and do well on the exam-. Oh my, let me hug my son.”

The warmth that instantly chased away the cold air warmed Jinhyuk’s heart.

Normally, my younger siblings should still be sleeping at this time.

I moved quietly so as not to wake them up, but Yujin and Jeongwon woke up and saw Jinhyuk off.

“Our oppa, fighting!”

“Unga-. Hwaitingdaaeo-!” [a cute way of saying ‘fighting’]

Ah, what is it about these little ones’ cheers that makes my chest feel so warm?

The tension that might have been there melted away at their adorable appearance of raising their small fists. Jeongwon’s posture was like he was giving a middle finger with a potato, but what matters is the heart.

“Ahaha, okay. Yujin, Jeongwon, I’ll be back.”

After hugging my siblings once each, I left the house.

It felt so good to head to the exam hall with the support of my family.

I also carefully took the candy that Yujin gave me yesterday. Oppa, you know-, if you eat this candy, your eyes will become as big as the candy, so you can only find the right answers-.

Well, I’ll find out if Yujin is right when I take the exam.

It’s not enough to say that it’s a completely different world, even if I say it until my mouth hurts.

That’s how much the world has changed.

But there were also things that didn’t change.

‘The CSAT cold snap is scary.’

Even if it’s not exact, I know that the exam date is different from my past life. But somehow, the cold came as if it knew.

Snowflakes were also falling one by one from the dark sky.

“Did you sleep well?”

My dad, who had taken the wheel for the first time in a while, glanced at Jinhyuk and asked.

“Yes.”

Jinhyuk always sleeps well, but after sleeping with Jeongwon, he sleeps even better thanks to his younger brother’s body temperature.

“It’s snowing more and more.”

“I’m worried about when you go to work.”

“I’ll just go slowly. Hyunwoo will drive when I go to the company.”

Son Gwangyeon pointed to Myung Hyunwoo in the back seat with his thumb.

“Jinhyuk will be fine if he just does as well as he usually does.”

That means I should get a perfect score.

“Yes. I’m just going to take it.”

That’s why I was less nervous.

“I feel like I can properly finish high school if I take the CSAT.”

“Yeah. That’s right. Actually, you can say that going to a humanities high school for three years is also for the college entrance exam, right?”

Jinhyuk and Myung Hyunwoo nodded at Son Gwangyeon’s words.

Until now, that was the way the world worked.

Even though it’s a different world, if you look closely, you can find many things that haven’t changed.

Squeak, squeak-.

The tires of the slow-moving car crushed the newly fallen snow.

The sound that came in through the slightly open window sharpened my mind.

‘Wow-, going to take the CSAT in a Benz. I’ve lived long enough to see this-.’

In the car slowly leaving the village and heading to town, Jinhyuk was filled with mixed emotions.

How could I forget the day that was only once in my life?

Even if it’s hazy, it remains like an old fossil.

‘What was his name?’

There was a high school classmate whose father owned a gas station near the exam hall.

I asked that friend and slept in the employee break room, and I had a cup of ramen for breakfast in the early morning.

A cup of jujube tea that my homeroom teacher gave me at the main gate of the exam hall was my last meal.

I tightened my belt to endure my hungry stomach and focused on the exam.

‘I was stupid.’

If I had bought kimbap [Korean seaweed rice roll], I wouldn’t have had to skip lunch.

Why didn’t I think of that?

If I had looked, there would have been late-night food places, and I could have bought bread at a convenience store.

‘You see as much as you know.’

I could blame myself for being stupid, but that was the limit of someone who lacked social skills and didn’t know the world. It was also a mistake that came from the experience of someone who didn’t pack a lunch because they lived in a dormitory.

The snow got thicker and blocked my vision as we left the sun’s influence.

It was still before sunrise, and the thick snowflakes reflected the car headlights, hindering driving.

“Boss, let’s switch.”

“Ah, should we?”

“Yes. It would be better to switch before we get on the outer road.”

Following Myung Hyunwoo’s words, I turned my head towards the outer road, and I could see many cars even though it was early.

“Okay. I’ll leave it to you.”

We arrived at the exam hall safely, joining the slow-moving traffic.