The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 36

“You, you little…”Choi Mi-kyung glared at me as if she wanted to eat me alive.It seemed this wasn’t the right answer after all.”Uh… I also have to exercise and go home to see my younger sibling…”It was a lame excuse by anyone’s standards.”Ah, right. Yujin is young.”But it seemed to work on Choi Mi-kyung.Though she couldn’t hide her disappointment, Choi Mi-kyung didn’t push further. Knowing Jinhyuk’s usual behavior, she could easily give up. In that aspect alone, she was a mature friend in many ways.Because of Jinhyuk’s running habits, they didn’t commute together often, but Choi Mi-kyung frequently visited Jinhyuk’s house. They would do homework together, pick wild rose buds to eat in the spring, and put flowers in Yujin’s hair. It was the kind of behavior typical of a girl her age.”Mi-kyung, eat a lot.””Thank you.”Since Mom was always home, Choi Mi-kyung didn’t do anything suspicious that Jinhyuk worried about. She would glance at Jinhyuk’s face as he effortlessly helped with the problems, but since he wasn’t a brazen kid, her expressions of interest stopped there.So, Jinhyuk didn’t push Choi Mi-kyung away or act coldly towards her.Watching his friend get ready to leave after finishing their homework, Jinhyuk thought,’I think I overreacted.’Feeling like he had misunderstood, he felt sorry towards Choi Mi-kyung.”Jinhyuk, I’m leaving. Yujin, your sister is leaving. Be good.””Sis, bye-bye.””Be careful going home.””……”Her strange way of speaking was still the same though.***Dad was thrilled.Every evening after the competition, he would be on the phone, bragging.”Wahahaha! I’m telling you, that’s what happened. My son, at the track meet this time… Aigoo, some middle school wanted to meet him, but my son didn’t want to, so I had a hard time refusing…”Judging by the way he was speaking informally, it seemed he was talking to Mr. Hong Ki-joon this time, but how many times had he said that? And I heard that Hong Ki-joon was very busy with plant projects in the Middle East and Southwest Asia right now.So what if he won four gold medals at the provincial track meet?The daily life of a farmer’s son, a country boy, didn’t change overnight. And that was the life Jinhyuk wanted.If it were the 21st century, there would have been a brief news report about a Korean record being set in the elementary school long jump, but there wasn’t even a pager, let alone the internet, yet. And apart from the fun he felt while doing track, Jinhyuk didn’t want to become famous.’Because I decided to live an ordinary life.’And it was more fun to carry his younger sister Yujin around and teach her words than it was to do track. Jinhyuk thought that if he got married and had children, he would have been a good father.”Butterfly.””A-bbi.””Flower.””F-low.””Cluck-cluck.””C-low.””Frog.””A-woo?”It seemed it would take some time to have an intellectual conversation with Yujin. I thought she was a genius at learning to speak quickly, but why did it seem like she was becoming a baby again?Whenever he had time, Jinhyuk would wrap his younger sister in a carrier and take her for walks in the fields and paddies. Dad was still writing something in his notebook, and Mom was smiling happily beside him. The way the workers who had finished transplanting rice seedlings took off their hats to greet Dad looked like they were attending to a company chairman, which made Jinhyuk feel pleased.”Mom, is Yujin sleeping? She seems so still.””Aigoo, our daughter. How comfortable must your brother’s back be for you to be sleeping so soundly, even drooling.”No wonder it felt damp.Perhaps he was worried because his wife and child were both out, Son Kwang-yeon, who had been talking to the foreman, reluctantly opened his mouth. He spread his arms and gathered his family together, hugging them.”Let’s go home. I have to play Go with my son today.”He looked too excited for someone who was reluctantly going home.*Was it when I was nine years old?I started playing Go with Dad because he looked bored playing alone while watching books or TV.”Hahaha, I lost to Jinhyuk again.”Dad, who was happy that his son wanted to learn Go, had given Jinhyuk nine handicap stones and held the white stones. But by the time Jinhyuk turned ten, it became natural for him to hold the black stones. Furthermore, he reached the point where he would admit defeat without counting the points, even with a three-stone handicap.Son Kwang-yeon stroked his chin and stared at the Go board.The white stones had built a fortress in the upper left corner and were encroaching on the center. It was a very aggressive move, not the strategy of a seasoned Go player by any means.’People with some skill tend to play more stable games.’It was the kind of game you would see from children who didn’t have a set pattern and came up with fresh ideas. Dad, who had no idea what Jinhyuk was thinking, just thought that. He only knew one thing and not the other, so it couldn’t be called the right answer.’Dad, I don’t know anything about playing a game to please you.’Jinhyuk was the type who wouldn’t give in even in a game against a group chairman.Jinhyuk pretended not to notice and peeled a banana, taking a bite as he stood up. He had eaten so many, but it was still palatable for his young taste. He had to eat to supply nutrients to his tired muscles.”Jinhyuk, let’s play one more game. Huh?””It’s time for jump rope in the yard.””Then Janggi! Shall we play Janggi? Janggi finishes quickly.”He can’t even win one game, and he’s doing this again.Jinhyuk reluctantly sat down again. If Dad was this happy, he could play a hundred games of Janggi.The match ended quickly.”Dad, checkmate.””Haa-, it’s a checkmate. I lost again.”Still, there was no giving in. Filial duty was filial duty, and the game was the game.Mom, who was preparing dinner, covered her mouth and laughed silently, and Dad scratched the side of his head. The general piece, cornered in checkmate, seemed to be trembling pitifully.Tap tap tap-.A sound of scratching against the living room window was heard.It was General.In this house, you couldn’t just shout ‘General’ when playing Janggi [Korean chess].***The test results came out quickly this year.It was understandable that they were testing because many roundworms were found in the children of the rural school. They said the reason was that the number of students had decreased due to the population decline. The number of students in each grade was decreasing, with the first grade recording 11 students. There were six children registered in the attached kindergarten.’I think it was closed down when I was in high school.’Jinhyuk couldn’t hide his dismay at knowing the fact that the school would close down in advance. And he was also heavy-hearted for another reason. Because.”Park Jung-im-“The teacher was handing out deworming medicine.The 30 sixth-grade elementary school students were nervously watching the teacher’s mouth. The girl whose name was called lowered her head and went forward. She seemed embarrassed, her lips pursed inward, making her dimples deepen. Her eyes were also wandering around, unable to find a focus.Teacher Choi Eung-muk smiled as he gave Park Jung-im three white pills.”Yo, yo- what is this young lady eating-“Still, the teacher didn’t go into details, so as not to hurt the children’s feelings.Kang Jin-soo, who was sitting in the front row and sniffling, looked like he had gained the whole world. And for good reason, since they were numbering by surname, they skipped Kang Jin-soo and didn’t call the next friend.The children whispered.”Hey, it seems Kang Jin-soo didn’t have any-“”He used to get a handful every year, what a mess, what a mess.””Did he clean his intestines?””Did he drink bleach?”Son Jinhyuk put his hands together and closed his eyes tightly.Why am I so nervous about this? After Park, it’s Son.”Sung Gong-han.””Eeeek-“The guy whose name was called screamed and ran out.Ah, there was a Sung among the surnames. What a unique guy, answering with a scream. My heart was pounding, I was nervous. I’ve been through this every year since elementary school, but I can’t seem to get used to it. If I were younger, would I have just laughed it off? Maybe I was nervous at this moment even back then.After Sung Gong-han went in, the next student with roundworms was called.”Yuk Sung-chan.”That rascal, I knew it when he was picking up and eating everything.Whew-. Jinhyuk let out a long sigh and leaned back on his chair. A sense of relief washed over him that he had passed safely. His rapidly beating heart also calmed down.Whew-. Choi Mi-kyung also felt relieved. Ah, I’m alive. She muttered that to herself. Is this how it feels after finishing hard labor? Choi Mi-kyung was more nervous than when she got her BCG shot [a vaccine for tuberculosis].’Since Kang Jin-soo didn’t get caught, Mi-kyung will be fine too.’Jinhyuk looked around the classroom with a relaxed feeling. Every time someone was called out, the children clapped and cheered. It felt more like encouragement than teasing.They were all kind and gentle kids without any sharp edges. It had been about 3 years and 7 months since he had returned to the past, and these gentle friends had contributed to his ordinary and peaceful life. After this year, the boys would go to the same middle school, and he would have to part ways with the friends who were going to the girls’ middle school.’It was nice knowing you.’He said goodbye with his eyes, looking at the back of each one. He hadn’t even finished the first semester yet, but he was suddenly feeling sentimental, it must be because his hormones were flowing like lava. Jinhyuk couldn’t help but be a victim of nature’s assault.Teacher Choi Eung-muk called the last student.”Hwang Jin-hee.”Wow-, clap clap clap-.The annual event, which was as embarrassing as the physical exam, was slowly coming to an end with applause. The children whose names weren’t called and the children who had taken a lot of medicine all relaxed their expressions in relief.However.”Kang Jin-soo, Choi Mi-kyung, you two come out.”Huh?It seemed it wasn’t over. Teacher Choi Eung-muk, who had called out two names at once, frowned deeply. His arms were trembling, and the test papers in his hand rustled.”You two…”The teacher couldn’t bring himself to speak.Jinhyuk, as well as the other friends, looked at Choi Mi-kyung with surprised expressions. It was understandable for Kang Jin-soo, but why the neat and tidy class vice president? Kang Jin-soo and Choi Mi-kyung were also dumbfounded. The two friends went to the teacher’s desk hesitantly.”Take one of these each.”As if no further explanation was needed, Teacher Choi Eung-muk handed out a whole adult-fist-sized deworming medicine and left. He muttered something about disgracing the Gangneung Choi clan.It was then.Choi Mi-kyung’s eyes, glaring at Jinhyuk, were filled with murderous intent.’Ah… I’m screwed.’I had asked Kang Jin-soo, who was struggling in the bathroom, to hand over Choi Mi-kyung’s stool sample bag, but I didn’t expect things to turn out like this.Choi Mi-kyung returned to her seat with eyes that looked like she was about to burst into tears. She was holding a whole deworming medicine in one hand.Jinhyuk carefully opened his mouth, watching his partner’s mood.”Uh, Mi-kyung. That’s-“”Deuk-cheu-“Choi Mi-kyung moved her Adam’s apple with her teeth clenched.Jinhyuk sat up straight, listening to the message sent by the master.”Uh, I understand. That would be better.”Even when it was break time, Choi Mi-kyung only stared at her desk and didn’t scold Jinhyuk.Jinhyuk grabbed Kang Jin-soo and asked him what had happened.”Eee, boss. What happened was-, no matter how hard I tried, it wouldn’t come out.”Okay, that’s enough. Jinhyuk patted Kang Jin-soo’s shoulder to comfort him.Fortunately, Choi Mi-kyung didn’t say a word until the end of all the classes….It seemed she was trying to gather all her anger and explode it.*”Hey, you bastarddddddddd!”On the way home, Choi Mi-kyung didn’t take the bus and ran after Jinhyuk.Feeling sorry, Jinhyuk didn’t sprint but ran slowly. He adjusted the distance so that Choi Mi-kyung was just within reach.’I can’t run too fast.’Choi Mi-kyung might fall and get hurt if she chased too quickly. It was Jinhyuk’s consideration for his friend.”I told you to get my poop, not Kang Jin-soo’s poop!”Choi Mi-kyung was usually gentle and cute, but once she got going, she could swear very well.She had even called those who envied Jinhyuk as idiots who had never experienced social life.”Stop right there, you bastarddddddddd!”Jinhyuk was pleased to see Choi Mi-kyung’s transformation. Her swearing didn’t sound like swearing.Her voice was also good.Woof woof woof- woof woof woof!Look at that, all the dogs in the neighborhood are responding to Choi Mi-kyung.Jinhyuk was truly satisfied as he ran with his friend on the paved road that cut through the wide field. So this is what it’s like to run together. Realizing this anew, how could he not be happy?”Eheheh-.”An inexplicable laugh burst out of Jinhyuk’s mouth as he ran without stopping, with Choi Mi-kyung behind him. He was definitely sorry, but it was strangely fun? What kind of fun is this? It was a feeling he was experiencing for the first time.’Choi Mi-kyung must be enjoying it too, that’s why she keeps running.’The smell of cow dung from a nearby barn wafted in on the spring breeze.It was the fragrant smell of home.Choi Mi-kyung must have been happy with that smell too.”Uweeeck! Son Jin-hyukkkkkkk! Stop right there, you- uweeeck!”Eheheh, nehehehehe-.He kept laughing because he was so happy. It was a different feeling than when he ran with General. He turned his head and shouted, without slowing down.”Mi-kyung-. Do you want to run with me every day?””Shut up and stop right there, you-!”Nehahahahahaha-.I think I understand a little bit about romantic feelings.Try to catch me-.”Uweeeck!”