The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 34

The second day of May.

The sky was a clear blue, and the air felt crisp and refreshing. ‘Is this what the countryside is like?’ Jinhyuk wondered, taking in the fresh air of the undeveloped area. Even as someone who grew up in the country, he was impressed as he warmed up. He carefully rotated all his joints, from his neck to his ankles, and relaxed every muscle, from his trapezius to his plantar fascia.

[In a few moments, at 10 AM, the finals for each event of the Chungcheongnam-do representative selection, which also serves as the preliminary for the 12th National Athletics Competition for the Minister of Physical Education and Youth, will begin. Ssshh-.]

The competition’s name was ridiculously long. It was so lengthy that even the announcer had to pause for breath.

Mr. Kim Young-tae and the kids had found seats, but they were only holding their bags. They had left their belongings to cheer on Jinhyuk, who had advanced to the finals, and were now milling around near the finish line. This privilege was usually reserved for coaches and athletes. Of course, they couldn’t get too close.

“Shouldn’t you be at the starting line, sir?” Jo Seul-chan asked, unable to hold back his question.

“Why…?” Mr. Kim Young-tae responded, looking somewhat bewildered.

“To encourage the athlete, you know, to help him relax, and say some inspiring words!”

Park Ji-beom, who had been listening to Jo Seul-chan, chuckled.

Even Park Ji-beom, who was usually mature for his age, couldn’t resist blurting out, “Hey, who’s going to relax who? You look like you’re about to cry, sir.”

“You brats!” Mr. Kim Young-tae exclaimed.

Wahaha-.

The teacher and students, who had been together for so long, laughed, easing their trembling hearts. The finals. It was their first time witnessing it.

‘That’s right, Ji-beom. Who’s going to relax who?’ Mr. Kim Young-tae thought, his gaze fixed on Son Jinhyuk, standing tall at the starting line in the distance.

*

Jinhyuk pressed his front foot firmly onto the track.

The feeling of the solid track reaching his heart through his calves, knees, thighs, and abs was strange. ‘I’m a little nervous,’ he admitted to himself.

Just because he had lived a life before didn’t mean he wouldn’t feel nervous. He hadn’t done everything just because he had lived before; in fact, hadn’t he lived a rather limited life?

“Sssuuuup-. Hooo-.” He deliberately took a deep breath, making a sound.

A sense of power and elation rose from his lower abdomen, through his chest and heart, to the top of his head. ‘Let’s run at a moderate pace,’ he decided.

The official holding the megaphone approached the starting line to begin the finals.

Jinhyuk glanced at the supervisor, then at the sky, and then smiled slightly at his friends and teacher waving their fists near the finish line.

And behind them.

‘Mom? Dad? Yujin?’ He took a deep breath.

Family. He could recognize them even from afar. They were more precious than anything in the world. He had decided to live for them.

An indescribable emotion surged in Jinhyuk’s chest, hitting his uvula hard.

Jinhyuk quickly raised his hand towards the supervisor and called for a time out.

“What’s wrong? Will it take long?” the supervisor asked.

He couldn’t answer right away. He cleared his throat and barely explained the situation. “Ahem-! No, something got into my shoe.”

“Okay,” the supervisor replied.

Jinhyuk quickly took off his spikes and shook his shoes. What could have gotten in? It was an artificial synthetic track without any sand. The spikes fit his feet so well that no track granules could get in. He just needed time to calm his overwhelming heart.

‘It’s really my mom and dad. And my sister, Yujin.’ It felt like something had gotten into his eyes, not his shoes. He had to calm his breathing. If his breathing was off because of his overwhelming emotions, it could affect his running. Even so, he couldn’t take his eyes off his family.

How could he not be so happy to see them after only two days?

His eyes welled up, and the corners of his mouth rose into a grin on their own.

***

“What do we do? I think he saw us,” Han Yu-young said, her voice filled with concern.

“I know. We should have gone to a place where we couldn’t be seen,” Son Gwang-yeon replied.

It just so happened that the place they had settled in after entering the stadium was there. Jinhyuk’s parents had just taken a seat anywhere when they heard that the race was about to start. It seemed like their son had recognized them. Had they put pressure on him?

However, seeing their son getting ready and taking his stance, their anxious hearts were somewhat relieved.

“Isn’t our son the most handsome?” Han Yu-young asked, her eyes sparkling with pride.

“Haha! Of course! Whose son is he?” Son Gwang-yeon replied, beaming.

Blue uniforms and white number tags with 91 marked in black, top and bottom. Their precious son was standing at the starting line alongside the best track and field athletes in the province.

“What place do you think our Jinhyuk will get?” Han Yu-young asked, her voice filled with anticipation.

“They’re the best runners, does the ranking matter?” Son Gwang-yeon replied, his focus solely on his son.

Han Yu-young nodded at her husband’s words. Her gaze was fixed on her son.

[On your marks-.] The command was faintly carried by the wind.

Jinhyuk’s mother, Han Yu-young, clasped her hands together as if praying. She could see her son crouching at the starting line in lane 3.

[Set-.] Everyone held their breath.

Son Gwang-yeon tightened his arms around his daughter, Yujin. ‘The result doesn’t matter. Just don’t be discouraged, our son,’ he thought, his heart filled with love.

For some reason, Yujin was clapping her hands at lightning speed. “Oppa-ppa-ppa-!” she cheered.

The sound of the gun rang out when Yujin’s cheering reached its peak.

[Bang-!]

It was the gunshot signaling the start of the 200-meter final.

It was strange. It seemed like the athletes were jumping out faster than the sound of the gun.

Son Gwang-yeon and Han Yu-young’s son. The fruit of love created during the time they loved each other most passionately. Son Jinhyuk shot out of the starting block like lightning.

At that moment, the young parents jumped up like springs. “Wow wow wow!” they exclaimed.

“Oh my! Oh my!” Han Yu-young cried out, her eyes wide with amazement.

He was definitely their son, but it felt like he wasn’t their son. The way he burst out as soon as the gunshot was heard was like he was someone else’s son.

Son Jinhyuk’s legs kicked the track roughly as if they were made of steel, and track granules flew up every time his feet left the ground. The muscles in his shoulders and chest boasted a sculptural beauty reminiscent of summer melons. And his posture. The dynamic figure, cutting through the air powerfully and refreshingly like the athletes they had seen at the Olympics, made everyone watching feel like they needed to pee.

Waaaaa-!

Fortunately, the race ended before anyone peed their pants. The winner was decided too easily. When Jinhyuk came out of the curve, there was already no one around him.

“Kyaaaaaaaa-!” Son Gwang-yeon was startled and turned around at the scream coming from behind him. ‘Wait, why are those ladies making such a fuss when our son came in first?’ he wondered.

***

Mr. Kim Young-tae and his friends rushed over. Jinhyuk, without even a hint of being out of breath, put his arms around his friends’ shoulders and patted their backs, sharing the joy of victory.

“Wahaha! Jinhyuk is so fast! It looked like he was 20 meters ahead of second place!” Jo Seul-chan exclaimed.

“Hey, Jo Seul-chan! What’s with ‘so’? You little punk!” Mr. Kim Young-tae playfully scolded.

“Ah, sir!” Jo Seul-chan replied, slightly embarrassed.

“Huh? Ah, never mind! Jinhyuk, you did great! You did great!” Mr. Kim Young-tae said, his face beaming with pride.

Beeeep-.

[For smooth race management and athlete protection, family and relatives who came to cheer, please do not come down to the field-.]

Just then, some ladies who seemed to be the mothers of the Taeyang-gun athletes were coming down to the field. It seemed like they had made the announcement from the control room because of them. The men, who seemed to be the fathers, scolded them and pulled their spouses back up to the stands.

‘Mom and Dad?’ Jinhyuk, who had been looking around for a moment, saw his family. His parents were calmly watching from the stands. They weren’t even clapping, like everyone else. ‘Weren’t they happy?’ he wondered.

Looking closely, that wasn’t it. His mother was covering her mouth and crying as she looked at her son. And his father. ‘Oh, father…’ He was sobbing, his head bowed and his shoulders shaking.

Jinhyuk took off his spikes and went up to the stands. “Oppa-, oppaaa-” Yujin called out.

After tapping his nine-year-old sister’s cheek, he opened his arms wide and hugged his parents. “Don’t cry. Why are you crying?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.

His mother looked at her son with tearful eyes and stroked Jinhyuk’s cheek. His father, who couldn’t even lift his head, put his head on his son’s stomach and patted his back. “Oooohuhuhuh-” he sobbed.

Jinhyuk could even understand the mumbling of the drunk Managing Director Hong Su-jeong, but he couldn’t understand what his father was saying at all. What child could know the heart of a parent? What parent could perfectly know the heart of a child?

Moreover, Jinhyuk had no parents in his previous life, and he hadn’t married either. He didn’t know the hearts of parents, nor the hearts of children. However, ‘I’m so happy,’ he thought.

He knew that they were crying because they were happy. So Jinhyuk didn’t cry. Because he had decided to laugh a lot in this life.

*

Leaving his parents and teacher, who were having a meet-and-greet, Jinhyuk went down to the track. Mr. Kim Young-tae also had work to do, so he only greeted the parents and followed right after.

25.01 seconds. Kim Young-tae frowned as he looked at the record. In the case of elementary school students, the 200-meter record of an athlete who competes in two events tends to be higher than twice their 100-meter record. This is because they cannot maintain their initial momentum until the end. It was a problem stemming from a lack of strength and stamina. It was different from middle school athletes and above.

‘But it’s too slow?’ Jinhyuk’s 100-meter record was close to 12 seconds flat. He was strong, not to mention his physique. Then he thought his 200-meter record would be at least in the mid-24s. ‘The more I see him, the more I don’t understand him,’ he thought.

Did he save his strength? Or does he get better records on sand? That couldn’t be. Kim Young-tae was about to ask Jinhyuk but stopped. He looked at Jinhyuk, who was stretching, standing with his legs straight and bending at the waist. He was an ordinary elementary school student, laughing and chatting with his friends. It was strange that he wasn’t out of breath even though he had run 200 meters.

‘Well… he’ll figure it out on his own,’ Kim Young-tae thought, deciding to let it go for now.

*

The high jump final was temporarily suspended, and the 100-meter final was held. It was the last track event before lunch. A single match decided in 13 seconds after the gunshot.

“Wow! Jinhyuk is a triple crown winner!” Yum Byung-taek raised both arms in the air. At the end of his gaze was Son Jinhyuk, receiving a gold medal without a hint of being out of breath. It was as everyone had expected. The parents and athletes from Taeyang-gun had no choice but to cheer.

12.50 seconds. It was exactly half of his 200-meter record, as if cut with a knife. ‘It wasn’t intentional. But it turned out that way,’ Jinhyuk thought.

Jinhyuk confirmed that the many men who had been watching the race from the upper part of the stands had disappeared. It was either Mr. Kim Young-tae’s iron wall defense, or they had confirmed his skills enough and were waiting for the future. ‘I wish they would think that my true potential has come out,’ he thought.

Jinhyuk didn’t know what they were thinking, but he wanted to prevent Mr. Kim Young-tae from getting tired by the middle school sports club officials. At the same time, he chose a way to repay his debt. He didn’t particularly want to be noticed by the sports club leaders either, because he wanted to live an ordinary life.

Whatever the record, first place was first place. Two more gold medals were hung around Jinhyuk’s neck. The recorder, who had been secretly expecting a record after the long jump record, threw his pen on the desk and leaned back in his chair.

Jo Seul-chan looked around and said, “I don’t see those guys?”

“Who?” Park Ji-beom asked.

“The sunglasses guys-, the ones who paid for our meal yesterday,” Jo Seul-chan replied.

The people who were said to be baseball coaches, who had tried to get in line by even paying for their meal, were gone. Kim Young-tae looked at Son Jinhyuk with suspicious eyes. ‘No way, there’s no way that young kid calculated that far ahead and ran like that,’ he thought.

The soccer coaches in their tracksuits were still shining their eyes, though. Jinhyuk’s record and the disappearance of the baseball coaches must be purely coincidental. ‘Even professional athletes can’t control their records to that extent,’ Kim Young-tae thought. They had to play with 1/100th of a second; there was no way that was possible.

***

Lee Hae-dong, sitting in the stands, mumbled while puffing on a cigarette. “Hey, Bong-su. Doesn’t it seem like number 91 saved his strength?”

“I don’t know if he saved it or not, but he definitely didn’t use his full strength,” Jeong Bong-su said, chewing gum. No matter how good his physique was, what elementary school student could finish first in the 200-meter and 100-meter races and not even put his hands on his waist? His chest wasn’t even heaving. ‘Who was he trying to fool?’ Jeong Bong-su wondered.

‘He didn’t run,’ he thought. It must be because of the relay race. Jeong Bong-su’s eyes shone even brighter. Such a cunningness to only take the ranking between record and ranking.

***

In fact, what was calculated was only the appropriate speed. It was the first race held when his condition was good, but he couldn’t give his all in the 200-meter final. When he had run about half of the straightaway, Jinhyuk felt his left thigh getting heavy. He was able to pass in first place because he had pulled up his record sharply at the beginning, and also because there were no strong competitors.

‘The cramp in my thigh must be a nutritional problem,’ he thought. The curve was a left-hand curve. There was no big difference when running slowly, but if you tried to get out of the curve quickly, the muscles in your left thigh could tighten. The closer you were to the inside lane, the greater the tendency. He realized that fatigue had accumulated from accelerating to overtake his competitors on the curve. He had never run 200 meters like this before, so it was a problem he couldn’t have known before.

He thought he should find out how to prevent muscle fatigue in a short time and how to improve muscle endurance. Perhaps in his previous life, he remembered that consuming bananas and orange juice together reduced muscle fatigue.

‘Track and field is fun,’ he thought.

And the bright faces of his parents that he saw after crossing the finish line made Jinhyuk so happy. When he saw his little sister, who didn’t seem to know anything, clapping her hands and calling out to her brother, his heart tingled. ‘It’s thrilling!’ he thought. Hehehe-.