The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 332

There was a reason for Jin-hyuk’s iron wall.

A special reason he couldn’t tell anyone.

Which other woman could capture Son Jin-hyuk’s gaze and interest? It was a common concern among his friends. That guy looks at celebrities like they’re dog’s nostrils.

Jin-hyuk answered with his actions.

Who could dare to covet the feelings he had cherished for so long? No one.

The steel wall that had melted like magic gently spread its wings, enclosing only Hong Su-jeong within.

And several months passed.

“My friends say it’s amazing when they see you, Oppa.”

“What is? Because I’m famous?”

“That too, but they’re amazed at how well you treat me.”

Even though there’s an age gap and they’ve known each other since childhood, Jin-hyuk, who was always kind, seemed like an alien. It was an aspect that couldn’t help but be compared to other men of her age, even without wealth and fame.

“You don’t act like an adult telling me what to do, you just go along with everything I want.”

“Su-jeong is an adult now too. I think we might have been a couple who tragically separated on another planet.”

So, he was doing everything Hong Su-jeong wanted to do, trying to love her without regrets. Not forcing her to do anything, not trying to take her anywhere. He wanted to be someone who stayed by her side, making a gentle, murmuring sound like a stream.

“Wow! Another planet? That’s a cool way to put it. That’s why we met when we were young. So we wouldn’t be separated.”

It’s plagiarism, hehe-.

Hong Su-jeong, who was greatly impressed and moved by even the smallest things, was no different from when she was young, making him feel like he was playing house when he was with her.

The same heartfelt and earnest feelings were in Hong Su-jeong as well.

She didn’t do strange things like cramming her lectures into three days a week or wandering around Yeouido [a major business and investment banking district in Seoul] with a scarf on her head and sunglasses, but when Jin-hyuk was in Seoul, she made an appointment to see him at least once a day.

The meetings between Son Jin-hyuk and Hong Su-jeong didn’t garner any attention, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

If it were broadcast, the viewership would probably be lower than an educational morning program.

Both sets of parents, friends, and Jin-hyuk’s fans just reacted with, ‘I knew they’d end up like that.’

Thanks to that, there was no reason to meet secretly, and they built simple, small memories together. They watched movies, went to see the sunrise on the East Sea, and sat side by side watching the sunset on the West Sea.

On weekends, they watched performances, and when they got hungry, they ate tteokbokki [spicy rice cakes] and fish cakes sold on the street. Wiping off the tteokbokki sauce that had splattered on each other’s clothes and scolding each other for being clumsy, and then laughing like fools, was no different from any other ordinary couple. It was the everyday life that Jin-hyuk and Hong Su-jeong had longed for.

“My classmates look so young, and the seniors who are veterans act like they’ve attained enlightenment even though they don’t seem very mature. Compared to my Oppa, they’re just immature. That’s why I often meet up with my friends I’ve known since I was little. They see me as I am.”

“It seems like the friends I met in college are a bit intimidated by me. So it’s not fun.”

“If you have high standards, this is the problem. Every time I see other people, I end up comparing them to you, Oppa.”

“It’s childish to try to shake someone’s heart with mind games to raise my own value. If they like me, they like me, and if they don’t, it’s over. Why do people play push and pull? Is that fun? That’s just kids’ play. I have to shine through my own efforts. That’s Hong Su-jeong.”

What’s with her, she used to play hard to get when she was younger.

Still, Jin-hyuk diligently nodded his head without arguing, just as he had learned from Yuk Seong-chan.

Yes, yes. Everything our Su-jeong says is right. Ee-ee-.

Chatter, chatter-.

In Yeouido Park, where cherry blossoms were in full bloom, Hong Su-jeong was the most excited and radiant person.

Her bright complexion couldn’t be hidden by her baseball cap, and her figure, which was no longer that of a little kid, sculpted by years of exercise, couldn’t be hidden by her cardigan and loose dress.

In those shining eyes, only one man was reflected.

“Ahem! Have you used all the gifts I gave you?”

Hong Su-jeong, who was walking with her arm linked with Jin-hyuk’s, coughed and asked, glancing sideways.

The gift she gave him on his first day of work.

Jin-hyuk, unable to find a suitable answer, swallowed hard.

“No. I didn’t know what it meant…”

“What meaning? Director Seo Pil-gu said it was a must-have for athletes, so I gave it to you.”

Hong Su-jeong had asked Seo Pil-gu, the track and field coach at the Sein Sports Foundation, what the most necessary item was for athletes who frequently participated in competitions. Asking what a man needed as he was just entering society, she had asked the question based on Jin-hyuk, who was an athlete.

Seo Pil-gu had seriously replied that condoms were the most important thing for both men and women. To a middle school girl at the time.

Having heard that, Jin-hyuk puffed up his cheeks and kept quiet.

‘Even though the world has changed and become more liberal, there’s no one who’s normal.’

Regardless of the truth of the answer, regardless of her mother’s appearance, just the fact that she carried it out so literally proved that she was definitely Yu Se-ra’s daughter. How could you give condoms as a gift to someone on their first day of work? To the eyes of the general public, wouldn’t it look like he was an athlete in a different field?

“I’m not that kind of person.”

“What kind of person are you talking about?”

“Someone who can’t control themselves and is swayed by their desires?”

That’s right. Except when he’s working and exercising, he’s quieter and more like a priest than a priest. No, he’s more like a robot. Jin-hyuk’s head nodded, and her long hair rippled softly.

“Then did you throw away the gift I gave you?”

Hong Su-jeong looked up this time with a hazy gaze.

As if it were a light prepared just for Hong Su-jeong, not the cherry blossoms, her eyes shone like red jewels.

“I didn’t throw it away.”

“Whyyyy? If you weren’t going to use it, you could have given it to someone else?”

When she looked at other people, the curiosity that was strong when they were kids faded over time, but Hong Su-jeong’s tenacity to dig into something once she was interested in it was still the same.

What would be a good answer in this situation?

Jin-hyuk looked at Hong Su-jeong’s expression and pondered how to give a suitable answer.

It’s just a transparent, stretchy vinyl made of rubber, I didn’t think about it strangely or plan to use it in a strange place?

Yuk Seong-chan also used to fill condoms with water and throw them around when he found them in the living room drawer in middle school?

Yum Byung-taek brought a condom he picked up from a teahouse to school and blew it up like a balloon?

Ah, I’m thinking too much.

‘I couldn’t throw it away because it was a gift. It’s even more precious because it’s a gift from Su-jeong, not anyone else. So I couldn’t throw it away, and I couldn’t give it to anyone.’

Kuh- yeah, that’s a normal yet cool answer.

Jin-hyuk, who had finally started thinking normally, smiled more brightly than ever.

“I’m going to use it only for Su-jeong.”

Wow, you crazy bastard.

That’s too direct.

*

Although it ended up being an explicit expression, Hong Su-jeong knew Jin-hyuk’s characteristics.

He wasn’t the only person around her who would blurt out unexpected answers when his thoughts became deep and long.

“Sometimes when you talk, Oppa, you sound like my mom.”

Phew-, it’s a relief she’s not angry.

Hong Su-jeong, adjusting her baseball cap, skipped ahead with her hands behind her back.

Son Jin-hyuk, consider yourself lucky you passed the test. If you had used that, you would have been dead… she muttered.

Her light, skipping figure was very impressive.

Jin-hyuk wanted to pick her up and spin her around like in a movie, but he held back.

He focused all his attention on quickening his pace, worried that the fluttering angel might get lost in the crowd or suddenly disappear.

***

How complex is the human inner self, even if it appears calm and caring on the outside? And how easily they get excited and hurt because they are so simple. The effort to hide one’s weaknesses can be a catalyst for development, but it can also give birth to mistakes.

Jin-hyuk was also human, so he tried to appear indifferent, but his inner self was not, so mistakes often occurred.

In early May, when he participated in a track and field competition overseas, he made a text message blunder.

After finishing the competition and returning to his accommodation, he checked his phone and found several text messages.

Even though he was tired and his eyes were closing, he typed replies to each of the messages from his family and friends. As someone who had decided to cherish and take care of his people as much as possible, it was a natural effort he had to make.

Jin Seon-gyu: “Want to grab a drink?”

└ “You know I don’t drink.”

Why is this guy texting when he’s in the next room?

Grandfather Cheon Gil-ryong: “Walker has fallen. Johnny Walker.”

└ “I’ll buy it when I go down next time.”

It’s amazing how healthy he is even though he drinks so much.

Dad: “Hyung, it’s me, Jeong-won. Dad won’t buy me a phone, so I’m sending this from Dad’s phone.”

Dad: “Hyung, but Mom left the house. She made kimbap [Korean seaweed rice rolls] and left the house.”

Dad: “Mom said she’s going to play at her aunt’s house. That’s why she left.”

└ “Hyung will buy you a phone.”

Wow, I was so surprised, I thought she had run away after fighting with Dad. You rascal.

And it’s ‘daeyo,’ not ‘deyo.’

He was more tired than the day before, probably because it was the day after the last game.

As expected, the mental and physical fatigue increases several times when taking care of a team rather than an individual event.

Yu-jin: “Oppa! Congrats on the championship!”

Yu-jin: “Did you wish Su-jeong unnie a happy birthday today?”

└ “Yeah. I gave her a gift before I left the country. I even sang her a happy birthday song before the competition.”

Jin-hyuk had never missed a single birthday of his family and Hong Su-jeong since they were little kids.

Tap tap tap-.

Sleep was overwhelming him, but he sent replies to all the messages with his dazzling hand movements.

It’s early morning in Korea, so everyone will check when they wake up.

Kkuaaaam-.

Jang-gun’s yawn came from his wide-open mouth.

Ruby: “Congratulations on winning the relay race too! I have to leave early tomorrow, so I’m going to sleep first ^_^”

└ “I’m going to sleep now too. Su-jeong, once again…”

He almost threw his phone away when he woke up and checked it in the morning.

“I’m going to sleep now too. Su-jeong, happy biirthdaay again.”

Oh Jesus….

“Uwaaaaaaack-!”

He clutched his head, but it was already too late.

It was already past noon in Korea, and Hong Su-jeong would have checked the text message as soon as she woke up.

Thump thump thump-.

“Why! Why! What’s wrong!”

Jin Seon-gyu, startled by the scream, came to the door in his underwear.

However, it was not Jin Seon-gyu’s pink underwear that comforted Jin-hyuk, but Hong Su-jeong’s understanding.

Ruby: “Haha, what’s the rush? It seems like you do everything like a race, Oppa.”

Jin-hyuk’s blunders were not just once or twice, and each time, Hong Su-jeong showed the benevolence of a goddess.

‘If it’s not you, who else would understand me?’

That’s why he couldn’t help but cherish her and treat her well.

A person who complements his shortcomings, a love that warmly fills the holes in his heart.

Ruby: “I used to think you were perfect, so it was difficult, but now I like that you have flaws. I don’t hate it.”

It seems that the subtle fragrance that flows even when not intentionally intended is like that. Just like his mother, he was completely intoxicated by her unwavering gaze of trust, her clear voice that soothed his tired soul, and her fragrance, so he couldn’t help but be completely smitten.

Ruby: “You arrive at 2 AM, right?”

└ “Yes, my master.”

Jin-hyuk became a voluntary slave.

Ruby: “Haha, I’ll go pick you up at the airport.”

Hong Su-jeong was no different from Jin-hyuk in status.

Of course, in a class society, it’s normal for slaves to be tied together.

*

Is it because people resemble each other when they are in love? Is that why his mental age was dragged down by Hong Su-jeong’s gravitational pull? Or was it just time?

His peers no longer looked young.

‘I think Chairman Hong said something like that too.’

That the gap between the spirit and the body would be resolved in about five years.

It must have been an insight possible because he was someone who keenly observed inner changes.

Anyway, it’s a welcome thing.

Whether it was due to hormonal adjustments or due to the person named Hong Su-jeong.

“May is green- our children grow up-.”

He started humming more often.

It would be appropriate to say that he had become immature.

Compared to Jin-hyuk, who was becoming immature, Hong Su-jeong somehow became more mature day by day.

On the third Monday of May.

He insisted on having dinner together no matter what and rushed to Hong Su-jeong’s house.

“Ta-da!”

“Huh? Why roses? Why perfume?”

Hong Su-jeong, who had secretly been waiting for today, put on an awkward act. She had to pretend to be surprised so that the person giving the gift would be happier.

“Today is Coming-of-Age Day. I know you don’t like picking flowers, but I bought them because it’s a special day.”

“Ehehe-. It’s pretty. Thank you.”

Jin-hyuk didn’t show any signs of regret even when he was sending Hong Su-jeong in front of her house. It was because he didn’t want the person seeing him off to feel sorry, but if someone saw it, it would have looked like a bluff or a pose. Nevertheless, Hong Su-jeong didn’t scold him.

“It’s late. Go in.”

It was also the brave Hong Su-jeong’s job to act as a problem solver whenever Jin-hyuk acted clueless.

“Are you just going to leave? I think you’re missing a gift?”

Ah, a kiss.

Hehe-. Jin-hyuk scratched the back of his head and smiled like a fool, but he was drawn in like a magnet.

‘Hehe-, I’m glad I ate soft ice cream for dessert.’

It was soft and sweet.

The ice cream, that is.

*

There are people who come like destiny even when not intended, and there are days that come like planned events. Like a gift.

There were no events like being surprised by a rain shower and running together under a jacket, being tempted by ramen, or being stranded on an island, and in Jin-hyuk’s romance, which was not special at all, a major incident occurred when Hong Su-jeong had her first vacation.

Drrrrrr-.

While he was in the midst of enjoying his late-night work, his phone vibrated along with him.

Jang-gun, like a front paw catching a moth, quickly snatched the phone.

“Oh! Su-jeong! Are you enjoying your trip? Is America okay?”

– I’m in Yeouido.

“Yeouido? Why are you back already?”

It had only been a week since he had seen Hong Su-jeong off at the airport for her vacation to her relatives’ house in LA, and she was supposed to be there for another week.

– Ee-eeng-, I missed you, Oppa, so I came secretly.

Secretly, my foot.

How many SSS members are there with their eyes wide open.

Wow. But what is this?

Thump thump thump!

‘My heart is beating too fast?’

Thud- The string of reason snapped.

Not that he fainted.

“Where are you? I’ll come down.”

– The parking lot on the third basement floor.

He threw the documents he was reviewing and rushed out.

Isn’t this the command of hormones?