The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 318

Unlike the weight of his words, Hong Gijun’s smile was as light as Yoo Se-ra’s.

Like they say, couples resemble each other.

The mischievous glint in his eyes, testing the other person’s reaction, was also similar.

Still, I should at least pretend to be surprised out of courtesy.

“Ehhh?”

Jinhyuk deliberately widened his eyes.

Even to himself, his quick wit and feigned surprise were astonishingly sly and deceitful.

Hahaha!

Hong Gijun clutched his stomach and laughed.

“Just kidding, just kidding.”

Seriously, why make such a joke that gets my hopes up?

I knew it was a joke, but I was still disappointed.

‘Not funny.’

Seeing is believing.

I’m confident I could do it if given the chance. Jinhyuk’s lips pouted.

Hong Gijun straightened his posture.

“What I’m about to say is a secret, even from my family. Even though your dad begged, I didn’t tell him, saying it was internal classified information. It’s a secret only I know so far. Now you’ll know too. I was going to tell you on your first day of work, but I thought that wasn’t quite right.”

Hmm-. This guy is getting into his little games again.

A surprise show. I used to do that a lot in my past life.

There was even a time when I showed up with a bouquet of reconciliation flowers at a dinner with Executive Director Hong Su-jeong on her birthday. …The ending wasn’t pretty.

Jinhyuk tried to guess Hong Gijun’s plan.

‘He’ll probably assign me to the same division as Manager Min Yong-rak. If so, I’ll be working with him, and since I won’t be able to stay in my position for long due to training or competitions, Manager Min Yong-rak will probably be my mentor and assistant. So, will I start as an assistant manager?’

If I were a mid-career hire, a manager position would be possible, but Hong Gijun wouldn’t be able to ignore the morale of the other employees.

Assistant manager at a major corporation. Not a bad deal for a twenty-year-old just starting out in the workforce.

“I won’t tell anyone.”

“The hiring exam includes a question set by the chairman. You’ll have to prove in the hiring exam that you’re qualified to receive this. If you’ve mastered all my lectures, you’ll be able to solve it easily.”

Hong Gijun tapped his chest with his index finger.

“And I’ve been thinking about the job I want you to take for a long time, and I think that’s the best choice…”

Hong Gijun’s expression was so serious that Jinhyuk listened silently without showing any emotion.

***

I couldn’t refuse the offer to be taken home by quadron [a personal flying vehicle].

I would have declined at any other time, but I really wanted to see my family.

‘It feels like only good and exciting things will happen from now on.’

There couldn’t be a moment when the cliché phrase ‘a hopeful future’ felt more fitting than now.

The anticipation of being able to go out into the world and have fun.

I graduated high school, got my license, and even finished military training.

I have a strong network and wealth that guarantees success, so what is there that I can’t do?

‘And I have my family too.’

Jinhyuk smiled contentedly as he saw his house getting closer.

His younger siblings, who were playing in the yard, were jumping up and down after spotting the quadron.

Even though it flew slowly, it only took 20 minutes to get home from the rooftop of the Seyin Group headquarters. The pilot dropped Jinhyuk off in the garden, not the training center, and then left.

“It’s oppa! Oppa! Oppa!”

“Ungaaaaa-! Unga! Unga!”

Woof! Woof!

I hugged the kids tightly, so happy to see them.

It’s only been four weeks, but why am I so happy to see them?

‘My family.’

I petted Janggun and the other dog friends in turn.

“You guys worked hard protecting my siblings. Janggun, Hongsi, Gwangma, Geomma…”

But Cheonma is nowhere to be seen.

Ah, no way….

The image of Cheonma struggling to get up and see me off on the dawn of the day I entered the training camp flashed through my mind.

“Yujin, where’s Cheonma?”

Yujin, who had been smiling brightly at her brother after seeing him for the first time in a while, had a shadow cast over her face.

“Cheonma is weak-. He doesn’t eat either. It’s been a long time.”

“Ungaa-. Cheonma didn’t drink water, so Son Jeong-won fed him like this.”

Jeong-won mimicked scooping water with both hands.

The image of the child pouring water into the mouth of the old dog lying on its side was vivid in my mind.

“Oh no-. Our Cheonma is not doing well.”

Jinhyuk, who quickly became tearful, hurried his steps.

Cheonma was lying weakly in front of his doghouse.

Hie….

After discovering Jinhyuk, he tried to get up several times, but then collapsed.

The trembling limbs no longer showed the youthful and healthy appearance of the past.

He was doing material things just last year….

Is this what it feels like to have your heart cut by a knife?

Jinhyuk bit his lip tightly and quickly ran over, kneeling down and patting Cheonma.

“Cheonma, it’s okay. Don’t get up.”

Kkiiii-.

Cheonma struggled to open his eyelids and looked up at the owner of the voice.

But it seemed difficult even to open his eyes, he licked Jinhyuk’s hand once and then breathed roughly.

Shhh- shhh-. Only the hot breath proved his life, Cheonma no longer showed the might of a fierce dog.

“Oh, you… Were you holding on waiting for me?”

In an instant, my eyes welled up and my throat choked.

Kkiiii-.

The metallic sound of the old dog was accompanied by the pain of a rusty nail scratching my eardrum.

‘Come out.’

[Saniel is dying.]

Even though I summoned him in my bare body, I was able to withstand Dugu Elil.

It was just a slight headache, and there was no pressure crushing my heart.

It must be because the connection has weakened, as he said. Or maybe it’s because I was so desperate that I was able to endure it easily.

‘Is it difficult? To extend his life… to let him live for another 10 years or so.’

[It is impossible. Each world has its own set of rules. Lifespan is also a rule of the world.]

He was too firm.

His dry tone, as if to exclude even a shred of hope, made me stubborn.

‘Can’t you do something like life extension? Like when you saved my friend?’

[Returning a soul and extending a given lifespan are completely different powers. I can do it with my power, but it is a power that cannot be exercised through another’s body. Even if it is your body.]

‘You can come directly. I’ll apologize for cursing and talking informally. Please come and-.’

[It is unlike you to lose your composure. I am also imprisoned and being punished. And if I manifest, that world will not be able to withstand my power and will be destroyed. Didn’t you hear it from the old man?]

He was firm, but he was always careful in his tone, as if he knew Jinhyuk’s desperation.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t hear any hopeful words in the end.

Tears welled up as I saw Cheonma’s tongue, which was covered in dirt and hanging limply.

Death.

The final gateway of life that no one can avoid.

An inevitable end as a humble life, even if you don’t want to face it.

“Oh no-. Cheonma. Cheonma-. Oh, you… You only suffered before leaving. Waaah-.”

Uncontrollable tears flowed.

Even after I grabbed Cheonma’s tongue, brushed off the sand, and put it back in his mouth, Cheonma’s tongue kept sticking out. Jinhyuk’s sobs also leaked out at the sight.

In an instant, tears covered my vision and snot dirtied my lips.

“Hiiiiiing-.”

“Waaaaaaah-.”

When Jinhyuk cried, Yujin and Jeong-won also burst into tears that they had been holding back.

Kkiiii-.

Cheonma, squeezing out his strength, licked under Yujin and Jeong-won’s eyes once, as if telling them not to cry, and then slumped again.

[He is a loyal fellow. He is sorry that he cannot protect these young ones any longer.]

‘Can you understand dog language?’

[Can’t you understand?]

‘Of course! What else? Is there anything else?’

I shook Cheonma, who was limp and powerless.

“Cheonma! Say more! More-!”

Kkiiii-.

[He says he was waiting for you to return. He was happy with you all.]

At those words, tears burst out like a hot spring.

My face, which had become clearer after washing, was also distorted ugly.

“Oh no! Cheonma! Let’s live together a little longer, you-!”

Jinhyuk didn’t even know what he was saying.

He was just babbling whatever came out.

How could someone who had been so happy be composed when faced with an unexpected death?

Hiii….

[I will protect your family even in death.]

Those words were even sadder.

“Noooooooo-! Waaaaaaah-! Nooooooo-! Cheonma!”

The guy who would always be the first to get up and wait at the door when I left in the early morning to catch the bus to school. The guy whose snout was so black that he looked like a bearded papa bear. The guy who always sat upright, making me wonder if he ever slept.

Cheonma, the shepherd who had given his loyalty to the end, fell asleep without a single word of resentment, leaving only loyal words.

All Jinhyuk could do was hug Cheonma’s limp head and wail.

“Oh my, this guy, this is not good-.”

“Waaaaaaah-. Cheonma-.”

“Cheommaaaaa-. Ummaaaaa-.”

Yujin and Jeong-won also clung to Cheonma like babies looking for their mother’s arms.

Woowoooooo-!

Woof woof!

Woowooooooo-.

The Janggun guys also stretched their necks. It was a howling mourning the death of a friend.

[He has already passed away.]

‘I know. That’s why I’m sad. Will this guy go to a good place? A place without suffering and safe?’

[I guarantee it. I will take care of it.]

Woowooooooo-.

The dogs’ wails tore at Jinhyuk’s heavy heart even more.

“Oh no-. What are we going to do with our poor Cheonma-.”

“Waaaah-. Oppa. Cheonma is not breathing-.”

It would have been nice if it had rained, but the spring evening, when cherry blossoms were beginning to bloom, was cruelly clear.

***

Between the shyly emerging light pink petals, an ordinary sunset hung.

However, the sky, which was gradually turning colors, was clear and beautiful.

Like living things that change from birth to death, the sunset also burned its life.

Thud-! Thud-!

I wiped the runny nose with the back of my hand and focused on shoveling.

Sometimes sobbing with the lingering tears in my heart.

Cheonma liked water, so I wanted to bury him on a hill where the waterway was clearly visible.

It would be nice if it was a place that was also visible from the house. So, I chose a burial site near where Yujin used to dig holes and hide.

“It’s digging well…”

Moon Seok-il, who had come to help Jinhyuk, kept his words to a minimum.

He was a guy who rarely showed weakness.

But now, because the dog he had raised had died, he was keeping his mouth shut and shedding big tears. While suppressing the rising sobs. The sight of him crying silently was even more pitiful and heartbreaking.

‘This must be what it means to be human.’

Was it the contagion of emotions? Moon Seok-il’s eyes were also bloodshot.

Sniff-.

Yujin and Jeong-won, whose eyes were swollen, sat huddled nearby with their knees hugged. The siblings were talking to each other while watching the digging of the grave.

“Nuna-. Did Cheonma go to heaven?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Son Jeong-won, can’t see Cheonma anymore? Cheonma, won’t pull Son Jeong-won’s sled?”

In the winter, Jeong-won used to enjoy riding a fertilizer bag sled on the snow piled up in the yard.

The method was for Cheonma to bite and pull a long rope connected to the fertilizer bag. Cheonma would repeatedly look back to see if Jeong-won had fallen, even though it wasn’t fast. The image of Cheonma was vivid in Yujin’s eyes.

“Uh-huh. We can’t see him anymore-. Nuna will pull the sled.”

Son Yujin, who didn’t want to show weakness in front of her younger sibling, smiled as she stroked Jeong-won’s forehead.

Her younger sibling’s bangs were growing long and looked like they were poking her eyes. I should tell Mom to trim them.

“Jeong-won. But Cheonma will be able to see us. Cheonma lived happily before he left. Oppa said so.”

“Cheonma, happy?”

“Yeah!”

When Son Yujin nodded her head bravely, the tears that had welled up in her big eyes fell in a flurry.

“Jin-nam ajusshi [a respectful term for an older man] said that when Cheonma dies, he goes to the Murim world [a fictional world of martial arts]. He probably went there.”

“Cheonma, Murim, uh, went, but can Son Jeong-won see him?”

“It seems like you can see from there. You’ll be able to see our house too.”

Jeong-won pondered over her sister’s words.

It was a statement that she didn’t readily understand.

However, she clearly understood that Cheonma could see this place.

“Nuna, Cheonma, like flowers?”

“Ah? Shall we plant flowers on our Cheonma’s grave?”

Son Yujin, who wiped away her tears and jumped up, grabbed her younger sibling and pulled her up.

There are a lot of flower seeds that Mom and I collected every fall in the storage.

***

The sun had set, but it wasn’t dark because of the streetlights.

Usually, they weren’t turned on to help the plants grow, but I flipped the switch for the work.

I made a coffin out of wood with Jo Seul-chan, who had come home from work.

I carefully wrapped Cheonma in the canvas that Jang Jin-nam had given me and laid him in the coffin.

“Ungaa-, Cheonma, not stuffy?”

“Yeah. He’ll be okay.”

Han Yu-young put colorful flowers in Cheonma’s coffin.

She had run out after hearing the children’s cries, cried with them, and then went to Jo Il-heon’s greenhouse to get the flowers.

“This place gets a lot of sun, and the waterway is clearly visible, so Cheonma will like it.”

Some might criticize it for ruining the scenery, but Han Yu-young supported her son’s decision.

I also cleaned the bone that Cheonma cherished and tied a black ribbon around it before placing it next to Cheonma.

When Son Gwang-yeon, who had come home from work, joined us, we closed the lid of the coffin.

Tap- tap- tap-!

It would be a problem if the sound of nailing the coffin lid sounded cheerful. So, Jinhyuk deliberately hammered slowly.

“Oh, you. Why didn’t you live with me until I died of old age-. I was so excited because it was the day my son was coming home, but what is this-. Oh, waaaah-.”

Because of Son Gwang-yeon, who couldn’t hold back his tears while stroking the coffin, it became a sea of tears again. But no one made fun of the tears. Even the cold Moon Seok-il was moved and wiped away his tears.

We put the coffin in the neatly dug hole and took turns shoveling.

Yujin and Jeong-won knelt down and sprinkled dirt with their small hands.

“Cheonma, thank you for playing with us. Let’s meet again-.”

“Cheomma, thank you? See you again?”

Learning from death must be for times like this.

I wanted my younger siblings to learn about death slowly. Later, when they were older.

However, even while letting go of their beloved Cheonma, Yujin and Jeong-won were composed. Isn’t it a posture of confirming with their five senses, responding with their emotions, and finally accepting it as providence? They also gave meaning to the memories of the dog that had left.

As Dugu Elil said, what does it matter if they are insignificant beings?

Dugu Elil defined life as giving meaning to trivial things and adding weight to the soul.

Jang Jin-nam and Jo Seul-chan, who had become very fond of the dogs, also saw Cheonma off on his way.

“Still, I believe that the life of a beast wouldn’t have been bad after meeting a good owner.”

“Cheonma, see you again-?”

The Janggun and dog friends seemed to have calmed down, put their tongues back in, and watched silently.

The sight of the fierce dog, who had stayed as a friend without coveting the position of leader, entering his rest.

Flap-.

Some of them occasionally dropped their snouts and cried, but they seemed to be enduring well overall.

Perhaps they had been preparing their hearts because they were always together.

Just like how Yujin and Jeong-won quickly found stability after seeing Cheonma weakening day by day.

The mound was raised, and Jinhyuk and Jo Seul-chan covered it with sod they had collected from the yard. Jang Jin-nam and Moon Seok-il also helped.

“Oppa, can we plant flowers?”

“Ungaa, Cheonma like flowers?”

“Ahaha, my siblings make me laugh. Okay, let’s plant them.”

We planted flower seeds around the grave and watered them.

It’s a bit late for the season, but it’s a good season to plant seeds because it’s warm. In the summer and fall, flowers will bloom on Cheonma’s grave.

Jeong Sang-tae, who had shown off his sawing and hammering skills for the first time in a while, appeared with a sign.

“Yujin, I made what you asked for.”

It was a sign made of a wooden plank the size of a notebook, with the end cut diagonally so it would be easy to stick into the ground.

“Thank you, Sang-tae uncle.”

“Yujin, what are you going to do with that?”

“It’s to tell who’s grave it is-. Oppa, can I put this in?”

Ah, I didn’t even think about a tombstone or a grave marker. Yujin is more thoughtful than I am.

I nodded to Yujin, who was asking for my permission, and watched silently.

Pop-.

Yujin, who had pulled out the cap of the magic marker, drew a pattern on the edge of the plank.

A pattern that looked like a maze to others.

Swoosh- swoosh- swoosh-.

“Leme Elil. Leme Elil. Leme Elil.”

Only Jinhyuk understood his younger sibling’s muttering.

‘Second sky? Second heaven? Small sky?’

Yujin, who had drawn the repeated pattern on the edge, wrote the epitaph in Chinese characters at the bottom of the plank.

「天麽塚」

“I learned from Grandpa Cheon Gil-rong that the character ‘ma’ in the name uses the character for ‘small’. I’m going to write it in Korean too.”

Without anyone asking, Yujin, true to her nature, explained kindly and then wrote it in large Korean letters above the Chinese characters.

Scribble- swoosh-.

No one laughed because Yujin’s expression was serious.

Jinhyuk stroked the head of his beautiful and admirable younger sibling, even though she was eleven years old.

「천마총」

It’s a fitting name.

No, it’s too wonderful.

Hee-yoo-.

Perhaps it was because she missed Cheonma’s absence, Janggun, who was lying flat on the ground, sighed.