The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 319

People who fail the personality test are fools.

That’s what Jinhyuk thought.

‘It’s not a test to show what kind of person I am. It’s about pretending to be someone who fits into the company and society, someone who’s not edgy but well-rounded.’

All you have to do is choose answers that most people would find acceptable. Answers that give the impression that you’re not someone who disrupts the organizational atmosphere or has a quirky personality. Even he, who thought he had personality issues, had passed it in the past.

The aptitude test is like laying stones on the ground to make a path.

‘I have the qualities of a manager, I’m excellent as a salesman, or I have strengths in customer management.’ The secret is to reveal the tendencies you want to show.

In that respect, there were questions that pricked his conscience.

Because you’re choosing answers that others would find satisfactory, even though you don’t think that way at all. But who can blame whom? After all, isn’t the world a game of deceiving and being deceived with plausible words?

He entered his personal information and clicked the mouse.

He could have checked with an ARS [Automated Response System], but since he had high-speed internet and a PC, he could just check the webpage.

The monitor, which had been filled with a white background, was filled with dark blue letters.

「Pass」

Liar Son Jinhyuk had passed the personality test.

‘Whew-. My personality is safe.’

*

He took the employment exam at a test center that borrowed a lecture hall from a university in Seoul.

The essay-type employment exam had two common topics and one topic specific to aptitude.

As he received the test paper, his lips involuntarily pouted.

‘This is just like the old civil service exam.’

It was almost the 21st century, and what was with this long answer sheet that looked like it could be plastered on a wall?

The questions were also more difficult than the previous ones.

Others’ reactions were no different from Jinhyuk’s.

Sigh-.

Whoosh-.

The sighs bursting from all over the lecture hall were proof.

Like the last breath of a life being dragged into the abyss of the deep sea, their despair was palpable.

「1. [Common] Referring to the passage below, freely describe the following.」

A passage that looked like it could be from a university textbook continued for about two spans below, and under that was the question.

「Define the market, explain its operating principles, and describe a macroscopic survival plan as an individual belonging to the market.」

The first topic seemed to be a question that asked for both the basic knowledge of someone who had gone through the regular education system and the personal insights of someone who had directly or indirectly engaged in economic activities within the social system.

‘Understanding of the social system.’

It was asking the applicants.

How much do you know about the world?

「Beyond the definition of an abstract area where goods and services are traded according to the principles of supply and demand, the current market is facing a tidal wave of supply that ignores demand. High value-added products and intangible goods such as stocks are evidence of this. Even though they are not necessarily needed, consumers respond to suppliers for the sake of ‘fashion’ or ‘dignity,’ or under the pretext of ‘investment’ ······ Ultimately, what supports and drives the investment market is the expectation that the value of the acquired goods will rise sharply ······ However, the stability of the subordinate market is more influenced by the regime than by domestic investors. When security concerns are resolved and external diplomacy shines, foreign capital flows in, increasing the pie, and the market meets expectations ······ Ultimately, in order to make profits with intangible goods, establishing a reliable regime overseas would be the best investment that can be made within a democratic system.」

It was an answer that Hong Gijun would not like. Because he was someone who preferred power concentrated in the hands of a virtuous minority. However, even if there is a virtuous minority, it is not easy for that minority to use power virtuously and appropriately. If they waste time and energy trying to persuade the majority on the opposite side, the minority will either give up power or ask for help from another majority.

‘That’s how it was in the history I lived in.’

As he wrote quickly according to the flow of his consciousness, some ungrammatical sentences occurred.

However, it is difficult to use only perfect sentences in a timed handwritten essay exam. Since there is no right answer and it is a test that asks for thoughts, he finished the conclusion appropriately and moved on.

「2. [Management Support] Select a case of social conflict presented in the passage below, explain the causes, and suggest solutions.」

The second question was in line with what he had learned from his grandfather Cheon Gil-ryong, which he had heard so much that his ears were sore.

He said that all the problems in the human world arise from people trying to be teachers. They should be looking in the mirror and polishing their own minds, but because those who are nothing look at others, judge them, and point fingers, the world is a mess.

‘Mencius. Yes. Let’s write based on that teaching.’

Isn’t a topic that transcends time and penetrates it a true classic?

He had learned about a topic he hadn’t thought about because he lacked interest in the human world through Cheon Gil-ryong, so that grandfather was truly a teacher.

Scribble-scribble-.

Looking at the clock on the front of the lecture hall, he saw that there was plenty of time.

「3. [Common] Suggest one or more sustainable developments, and freely describe the reasons for thinking so and the direction to develop them. (Excluding environment and human rights)」

The moment he saw the third topic, he was sure.

‘The chairman made this question.’

「What is the future we can choose?」

Hong Gijun had said that it was the last lecture and exam.

He said that he shouldn’t try to control the guy who was about to step into society and live his own life, and that there would be no more lectures because humans walk their own way no matter who says what.

Before writing the answer, he put down his pen and closed his eyes. He needed time to organize his thoughts.

‘We don’t exist in the future that Hong Gijun mentioned. The future is the descendants. Will we be ancestors who poop and run away, or will we lay the foundation for a world that our descendants can continue to build, like stacking blocks?’

Of course, it should be the latter. Even a fool who is full of greed would say that the latter is right on the surface.

When thinking about the sustainability of the human world, and as someone who controls the world, it was a concern that he should have. Hong Gijun said that a ruler should look after the current people’s livelihood, and a manager should think about how to build a future that is not even a little dark.

‘Is it about the nation, or about humanity?’

If we take the nation as an example, we must build a country that is not shaken by foreign powers, and military and economic power are essential. We must also have a system that even a foolish ruler cannot ruin. This system is people. How do we raise people? In the end, we have to get involved in education. It is difficult for those in power to directly influence the educational environment. The only way is to change the education market, which is biased towards entrance exams, by changing the companies and institutions that will be their future. That history has already been made by Hong Gijun.

We also have to fight countless invisible wars.

We must check the money that foreign political groups are spreading to incite internal strife, and the groups that engage in distortion, fabrication, and incitement with that money. Various organizations disguised as multi-level organizations or pseudo-religious groups, such as thriving academic societies, research groups, pseudo-media, and incorporated foundations.

Well, these are things that ordinary people know.

If we assume that the future is the whole of humanity, then the environment and human rights are the predetermined answers. Many test takers would take the food problem in preparation for the population explosion as a topic. However, the food problem was also a common topic that resulted in the environment and human rights, so it was a difficult topic to get a high score on.

And since we are facing a population cliff in less than 20 years, Hong Gijun would not want obvious answers like food or famine problems.

He also thought about writing about ‘safety.’ However, since safety was a topic included in human rights anyway, if he wrote about safety, he could lose an entire answer for not understanding the intent of the question.

‘The sea or space would be good.’

Access to the unknown to obtain the key to human survival.

It was an abstract and difficult topic.

‘But there will be a lot to write about.’

Whoosh-.

As he took a breath, the sentences to list came to mind sequentially.

If the old civil service exam had survived to the present day, it would have created this kind of scene.

Scribble-scribble-.

He diligently wiped away the ink from his pen and wrote densely.

Even when people appeared to pat him on the shoulder, when people went to the bathroom with an attendant, and when test takers put down their pens and took a break, Jinhyuk sat firmly and wrote.

There were few things he was better at than sitting down and studying diligently. And he was physically superior to anyone else.

‘I’ve changed a lot too.’

Putting his thoughts and feelings into writing had become familiar and fun.

Perhaps the act of expressing something was more important than solving the test questions themselves.

That’s probably why many of the people sighing will pass.

‘Think, think, and think endlessly. Writing is done by the hand, not the head.’

Jinhyuk, who was internally rambling according to the flow of his consciousness, chuckled.

He felt like he had become a dogmatic philosopher.

***

Heheheh-.

Janggun had been guarding Cheonma’s tomb for two months. He wasn’t just crouching there miserably. He would climb onto the mound, look at the fish in the waterway, and think of Cheonma while looking at the fish.

He pressed down on the grass on the mound so that it would take root. He had seen humans stomp like that when they built a new house in the old days.

He also spread fertilizer so that the sprouts from the flower seeds planted by Son Aeng-aeng would grow well. Squirt-.

“Janggun, you mustn’t dig up Cheonmachong-”

He also received a look from the apron-wearing human Jang Jaeng-jaeng, as if he was trying to dig up the tomb.

No, damn it, does that ignorant human pig think I’m a grave-robbing dog······.

Woof-.

Janggun was guarding the tomb because he missed Cheonma.

And he was also showing his dignity so that moles, roe deer, and wild boars would not approach.

Grrr-.

Kwangma, who seemed to be next in line, was still going strong.

Hee-yoo-.

Heh-, but he might follow Cheonma at any time.

Cheonma was also full of energy until last year.

It was thanks to Son Aeng-aeng.

It was because Son Aeng-aeng touched him every day that he lived healthily until he died without any minor illnesses.

Janggun was a smart dog, so he knew that too.

Whimper-.

He wanted to eat fish.

When he wanted to eat fish, he missed Cheonma even more.

A doctor brother named Yu Jaeng-jaeng said that Cheonma seemed to have lived longer because he had been diving. He said that he got healthier while diving, but also that bad gases were released from his body?

It meant that Cheonma was able to live long thanks to Janggun after all.

Because Janggun made him hunt fish.

Cheonma, let’s see······.

One year old, two years old, three years old, four years old······.

He didn’t know well because he only had four legs, but he lived for more than four years.

If Janggun had a penis between his legs, he could have counted one more.

Heheheh-.

Woof-.

The guys who had finished their patrol gathered.

Now that Cheonma was gone, they had to do their job.

That was the mission of Janggun and the dogs who protected this land.

Woof! Woof woof!

Let’s go, you dogs!

Woof-!

Where are we going to play today? asked Geomma.

This bastard still has a long way to go to be a proper dog.

Grrr-.

There’s no such thing, you bastard-!

We’re going wherever our feet take us!

Let’s go to the training center today.

I smelled something delicious there.

There’s also the handsome Seoul younger dog, Bbomi.

Heh heh-.

Woof woof-.

Kwangma said.

Son Wang-wang is there.

Grrr-.

Ah, so what.

It’s not because Son Wang-wang is there that we’re going.

Really.

***

After completing a three-day training for new employees to learn the organizational culture after the announcement of successful applicants, it was the beginning of summer.

A small party was held in the training center’s yard.

The group hired so many people annually, and there were so many people receiving training together, that it was almost impossible to socialize.

Still, he exchanged greetings with some people he had become familiar with.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“You’ve worked hard. Wahaha! I’m so happy to be a colleague with a famous person.”

“Congratulations on being the top entrant.”

Jinhyuk smiled awkwardly.

He had received the highest score in the blind review by university professors and company executives, but he thought that Hong Gijun’s influence must have been behind it. It must have been a necessary measure to expand Jinhyuk’s influence within the organization in the future.

“Wahaha-! Jinhyuk, are you going straight to Seoul? Have you found a place to live? Of course, you must have found a good apartment, right?”

A college graduate colleague who was scheduled to be assigned to the design department asked.

She was a person who majored in industrial design at a famous women’s university, and her voice was loud and her laughter was unique. It was a hearty personality that didn’t match her long, black hair at all.

“I’ll have to see the dorm tomorrow. I’ll commute from home on the first day.”

He had not left the training center during the training period.

That was the rule. If he went out because his house was close, who would look kindly on him?

Still, he was able to commute from home on his first day.

It was because his mother wanted to tie her son’s tie on his first day of work.

When he asked Hong Gijun, he promised to send a quadron [a type of personal aircraft]. He told him to commute by sky on the first day.

“Hehe- that’s a shame. But since we’re in the same building, let’s be close, sister. I’ll buy you a meal.”

The design department was also in the same building as the Yeouido Research Institute. The design department was under the command of the Future Strategy Headquarters, and the research institute was a separate organization, but it was inseparable from the Future Strategy Headquarters. Therefore, the heads of the research institute and the core departments of the Future Strategy Headquarters were filled with Hong Gijun’s confidants.

“We’ll see each other often.”

Employees related to development were people that Jinhyuk would have to see often due to his work.

Woof-!

“Ahaha, they’re here again?”

“They know when there’s food like ghosts, right?”

“They’re the local celebrities. Thanks to them, even though it’s a rich neighborhood, thieves can’t even come close.”

The training center employees smiled broadly at the appearance of Janggun and the neighborhood dogs.

They were also employees who squatted down and beckoned with their hands, but Janggun and his friends checked their empty hands and didn’t even look at them.

They were capitalist dogs after all.

‘Janggun can’t be left out of the feast.’

Since the training center was built in the neighborhood, Janggun’s fur was full of luster.

That bastard would probably float even if he was thrown into the water because of the oiliness.

“Janggun-. Hyung is here.”

Janggun glanced at Jinhyuk once, then pretended not to see him and looked around the table with a lot of food.

“Janggun? Hyung is here, I said?”

Heheh?

Finally, Janggun turned to Jinhyuk.

“Good boy. Come here.”

···And he bared his teeth.

Grrr-.

What are you talking about? You don’t even have food in your hand, you bastard.

***

Before going home, he greeted Yoo Myung-sun.

“Hehehe-. You’ve become a handsome man. This old man is so greedy that he’s about to die.”

“Please don’t say you’re going to die.”

Jinhyuk laughed at Yoo Myung-sun’s banter.

“Hehehe-. Yes, yes.”

Since he knew what Yoo Myung-sun was up to, there was no reason to be uncomfortable with being friendly. Even if he was awake and open-minded, he was an old man. Even if he didn’t say it outright, he must have wanted to trap Son Jinhyuk in the net called Yoo Myung-sun.

“Chairman Hong didn’t tell me anything. What are you going to do?”

New hires only had access to information about their assignment to a headquarters or department, and the detailed department was determined after they reported to work according to their personnel appointment. He had even told his family to keep quiet, so it seemed that Hong Gijun had not given Yoo Myung-sun a hint either.

“I don’t know either. We’re all trainees.”

“Tsk-, those sly guys. Hehe-.”

Yoo Myung-sun frowned as he looked at Jinhyuk, who was laughing like a mischievous boy.

It was the reaction of an old man who had noticed that the two men were up to something.

“You shouldn’t ignore your youthful vigor just because you’re doing great things. A man shouldn’t just work, but enjoy his youth. Meet friends, meet women······.”

He could understand the friends part, but women? This old man was testing the waters again.

In times like this, be nice!

“Yes. I will meet a lot of them.”

Cough! Oh, dear-.

Yoo Myung-sun pounded his chest as if he was frustrated and sighed.

Was my answer wrong?