The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 38

「11.35」

From the stands, I saw Dad and Mr. Kim Young-tae cheering and patting each other on the back. Jinhyuk chuckled at the joyful scene.

‘Heh heh. Are they really that happy?’

Even when I was left alone, and after saving my parents, I had been running non-stop, reveling in the feeling of being alive. It felt rewarding to see that obsession bear fruit like this.

‘So, this is what sprinting feels like.’

The thrill after pouring all my strength into a short moment warmed my core.

Lee Ju-geun sat on his chair, his face contorted in a scowl. His lips were moving, as if he was cursing. The kids who came with him from Gongju glanced at the coach for a moment before running to Jinhyuk to congratulate him.

“Wow! You’re really fast.”

“Congratulations!”

Jinhyuk exchanged greetings with the kids by hugging them once.

Fatigue rushed to his waist, and his chest heaved erratically.

“Whew, that was tough.”

He placed his hands on his waist and took a deep breath. Had there ever been a time when running 100 meters was this hard? It meant he had given it his all. His broad upper body also took a lot of resistance from the headwind.

The awards ceremony followed immediately after the race.

After a short rest, he moved to the podium set up on one side of the stadium.

The awards ceremony was simply confirming the athletes’ names and records before handing out the medals.

“Wow, another new record?”

The event staff grinned as they placed the gold medal around Jinhyuk’s neck.

Jinhyuk recalled that he had also set a new record in the long jump yesterday. He wasn’t excited, so he had just brushed it off.

“Let’s shake hands.”

“Thank you.”

“Ha, this kid. So calm, he’s going to be big.”

His expressionless face was seen as boldness by the event staff.

Son Gwang-yeon kept snapping photos, capturing his son’s image with his camera.

‘Well done, my son.’

He blinked hard, tears welling up in his eyes.

He didn’t forget to strike up conversations with the strangers sitting around him.

“Hahaha! That’s my son.”

“My goodness, he’s incredibly fast.”

A man with a strong accent, from who knows where, gave a thumbs up. Son Gwang-yeon received far more congratulations than Jinhyuk.

The competition for today was over.

Jinhyuk packed his clothes and bag and headed to the stands where his dad was.

‘Mr. Kim Young-tae must have left.’

He had said that staying for more than two days would be pushing it. He was just starting to enjoy making friends, so it was a shame. Still, the thought of having a delicious dinner with his dad made the corners of his mouth turn up. He remembered the pork rice soup he had with his dad; it was so delicious.

‘I should go eat gopchang [grilled small intestines] with Dad today.’

He should have been with the team, but no one was looking for Jinhyuk, so he made this decision. For Jinhyuk, it was a deviation that required a big decision.

‘Let’s just go for it!’

The sun setting in the west cast a long shadow behind Jinhyuk.

***

Day 4.

Today, the headwind was strong on the straight track as well.

However, for Jinhyuk, who ran even in a typhoon, it was just a breeze.

He also set a new record in the 200 meters.

「23.17」

A man in a suit and a white baseball cap grabbed the microphone. He was the announcer in charge of the event schedule and emceeing.

[…Attention, distinguished guests in the stadium. Following yesterday, a new Korean record has been set in the track event today. Greatly shortening the previous record…]

Clap clap clap— The sound of applause broke through the wind.

It was the first time a record in the 23-second range had been recorded since official records were measured.

He was more than a second ahead of the second-place finisher.

“Wow, this is going to be hard to break for about 30 years, right?”

Jang Yeon-bae, the competition record keeper, shook his head.

He thought that since it was an elementary school, it was a school not known for track and field. But there were no officials from that school. Given the reality, it was natural that no staff knew where the school was. He was a student who had been selected as a representative of South Chungcheong Province and came with students from a region with no ties to him.

“It’s amazing. It seems like he’s saving his strength at the end.”

“That can’t be it. Elementary school students’ 200-meter records are usually more than double their 100-meter records. Because of stamina.”

Jang Yeon-bae’s colleague nodded casually at his explanation.

“What are the records in other countries?”

“I’ll have to check when I get to Seoul. I think Park Heung-sik, the section chief of the competition record department, would know. That guy is crazy about track and field. By the way, is Carl Lewis coming out of our country?”

“Nah, we’re hopeless in our country.”

It was the same with any sport, but there was a widespread perception that basic sports were difficult and unprofitable. Any athlete who was even a little fast and tall would go into profitable sports like baseball or soccer.

It was so bad that even winning a gold medal in the short distance at the Asian Games would be treated as a once-in-a-century sports hero. In such a country, what Carl Lewis?

“Anyway, it’s an amazing record.”

Jang Yeon-bae emphasized once more, looking through past records.

It was the first time a record in the 23-second range had been recorded since 1985, when systematic record-keeping began, and it was 0.71 seconds faster than the previous best record of 24.09 seconds. What sport will this kid go into? He’ll be good at soccer and baseball.

“But it doesn’t seem like there are any reporters around?”

“They said they just asked for press releases after the competition.”

“That’s strange? If they come on a business trip and take a few photos, they can eat for free for a day?”

“Who knows? Maybe they went to another competition. A reporter named Joo hinted that a big shot pressured them not to even look at this competition.”

“A big shot? Who?”

“I don’t know. Who else would be a big shot to reporters other than politicians or advertisers?”

Jang Yeon-bae scratched the back of his head. He didn’t know the reporters’ habits, so he had no choice but to think that was the case.

His colleague gestured with his chin, looking indifferent.

“It seems like those two places are the only ones that came to film.”

An athlete was seen giving an interview in front of a broadcast camera with a calm expression. He seemed relaxed, as if he had a lot of experience in front of the camera.

Jang Yeon-bae turned his eyes back to the new record once more.

“Whew. The record is amazing. Who’s going to break this?”

There was also an unchecked factor. In the days when wind speed was not yet recorded, the record of Jinhyuk running with the wind was never recorded.

The flags hanging everywhere were flapping like crazy.

***

“Can my son ride with me in my car?”

“Sure.”

Lee Ju-geun remained stiff to the end.

Of course, he would be. His students had been eliminated in the preliminaries. He must have been annoyed by Son Jinhyuk, who set new Korean records in the two short-distance events, the flower of track and field, and the long jump, which had not been broken for a long time, and yet remained calm.

“Get in the car, you brats!”

Lee Ju-geun scolded the innocent students.

Throughout the competition, Lee Ju-geun had also blocked any approaches from people who claimed to be middle school sports officials. He had even resolutely rejected the temptation to buy him his favorite alcohol. As a result, middle school sports officials were unable to approach the promising athlete. Among them were Lee Hae-dong and Jeong Bong-soo.

Unintentionally, Lee Ju-geun had protected Son Jinhyuk.

The kids in the car waved timidly at Jinhyuk.

A bitter smile appeared on Jinhyuk’s face as he watched them.

‘Grow up well.’

He probably wouldn’t see those friends again.

Jinhyuk waved back at the kids and then got into the car with his dad.

The three gold medals were already hanging around his dad’s neck.

“Don’t you want to watch the closing ceremony?”

“No. I don’t know anyone there.”

Each province had a small number of athletes, some with dozens, others with over a hundred, but the competition dates for each event were different, so they couldn’t feel a sense of unity as a team. All that was left for Jinhyuk were three gold medals and a uniform printed with South Chungcheong Province.

Memories? This time, sitting in the car with his dad and talking, was much more valuable. He had been told by the competition officials that he would likely be selected as the most valuable player, so he should stay for the closing ceremony, but he wanted to see his mom and sister, so he left the stadium early.

As they entered the highway and merged into the fast lane, Son Gwang-yeon asked.

“Jinhyuk, do you like doing track and field?”

“I like running, but I don’t like training like those guys.”

He thought it was a problem with some coaches, but since the coach he had witnessed was like that, it was hard to have a good impression. The disappointment he felt towards the coaches who had no consideration for the students at such a sensitive age was hard to put into words. Even if he liked track and field, he would refuse if he had to belong to a team and be treated like that.

The reason he agreed to the interview was also because he wanted to say one thing.

Stop hitting them. Do you know how it feels to be hit? Have you ever considered the feelings of a child who blocks with their hands for fear of being beaten to death, and then has their fingers broken and their head split open?

Cough-. Jinhyuk coughed deliberately, pulling up his voice that was about to sink.

“Dad, do you like me doing track and field?”

“Dad will support whatever our son wants to do. That’s why I’ve been working so hard. I didn’t get to play with you much when you were little, so I’m going to help you out a lot from now on.”

Heh heh, why is this guy avoiding the point?

That’s the problem with smart and emotional people. They prefer to express themselves indirectly rather than directly. Jinhyuk looked at his dad, who was more versatile than him in many ways, and asked again.

“You like cheering for me, right?”

“…Hehehe. Yeah. I really like it.”

Son Gwang-yeon finally burst out laughing at his son’s persistence. It was the same kind of good-natured fool’s laugh that had appeared again. He laughed so hard that the three gold medals jangled. But he didn’t forget to add to it so there would be no misunderstanding.

“Jinhyuk. You can do it if you want to, and you don’t have to if you don’t want to. Dad has the ability to help you no matter what our son does. But it was so cool to see you outrun all the other athletes. Dad was also good at running when he was young, and I even got notebooks at the sports day. But Jinhyuk’s grandmother wouldn’t let me. She said I’d get hurt…”

Son Gwang-yeon trailed off, as if he had brought up his grandmother’s story, which he usually never talked about.

Jinhyuk nodded, barely noticeably.

‘Dad must have had something he wanted to do too.’

How many people are there who are good at something and have something they want to do, but can’t easily pursue their dreams? Just looking at Jinhyuk from before, he had spent his growing years not even being able to do what he wanted, but just hoping he wouldn’t go hungry.

‘Who was it…?’

Jinhyuk recalled some of the sports athletes who had left a strong impression on him in his past life. Athletes who were not so much affiliated with a team, but for whom a team was formed, athletes who made a name for themselves in individual events. Was it swimming and figure skating? There might be other sports if he looked, but those were the only athletes that came to mind right away.

“Dad, if I don’t have to go to a school in another region, I want to keep participating in track and field competitions.”

Because I enjoy running, and my parents are so happy watching me.

“Is that possible?”

“It’s probably possible.”

Would there be any school that would stop an outstanding athlete from competing in competitions under the school’s name?

“Dad will look into it. Mr. Hong Ki-joon knows a bit about that too.”

Chairman Hong Ki-joon? That was news to him. He would have understood if it was Chairwoman Yoo Se-ra.

Chairwoman Yoo Se-ra had established a foundation to foster basic sports with the capital of the Sein Group and had become the chairwoman herself, working to nurture young athletes from disadvantaged backgrounds. Jinhyuk had also had experience supporting the project, taking charge of the detailed planning for the foundation’s operation at the strategic headquarters under the direction of Chairman Hong Ki-joon.

Ah, was her husband’s support behind her in the past?

‘But is the Archmage doing well?’

***

“Soo-jung, how was school today?”

“I don’t know! It’s boring. The kids are childish.”

Pfft-.

Yoo Se-ra found her daughter’s grumbling, who was only eight years old, adorable.

She had gone to the trouble of completing the admission procedures for a school that many children from wealthy families attended. But then she had been met with her husband’s opposition, who wanted her to go to a normal school near their home. He was worried that if she went to a school for the rich, she wouldn’t make many friends and would grow up lonely later? In the end, the school they chose was also near a wealthy neighborhood, so it wasn’t even a normal school.

She followed her husband’s opinion that it would be better for her only daughter to have many friends.

Anyway, her daughter, Hong Soo-jung, would grumble like that, saying that the level of her friends was too low.

“Ah, I wish it was vacation already.”

“Why? Do you miss Jinhyuk oppa [older brother]?”

“Yeah! Jinhyuk oppa is tall and handsome! He’s also good at teaching me.”

What is she going to be when she grows up, already judging men by their looks? She’s probably using studying as an excuse. What kind of studying is a first grader doing?

As if she was aware of her mother’s gaze, little Hong Soo-jung added.

“Jinhyuk oppa, um, um. You know. He talks like an adult.”

That was true. Even Yoo Se-ra was surprised when she first met Son Jinhyuk, wondering if he was really only ten years old.

‘More like an old man than an adult.’

His demeanor wasn’t like a child’s, and he wasn’t careless. And what about his manners?

“And he’s handsome.”

She already said that, why is she saying it again?

“He does everything I ask him to do.”

Yeah, she’s never seen him refuse.

‘There’s no one like Jinhyuk.’

He should be tired of the immature Hong Soo-jung, who goes to play every vacation, but he always hugs her like a real brother without showing any signs of dislike. What’s a real brother? Yoo Se-ra’s real brothers were arrogant and rude, so they were more like enemies than brothers.

“And he’s really handsome.”

Oh my. She’s going on and on. If she keeps talking, she’ll make ‘Jinhyuk oppa is handsome’ into the national anthem. She was ready to devote all her affection with this spirit and heart.

“Our Soo-jung, if you go to school diligently and go to piano, violin, art, English, and ballet lessons regularly, Jinhyuk oppa will play with you during vacation.”

“Ugh, okay. I’m going. Mom’s daughter, Hong Soo-jung, is going to her lessons!”

Little Hong Soo-jung, who shouted powerfully as if she was putting in a battle cry, finally left the house with her school bag.

Mr. Kim, who had been fidgeting in front of the gate, took the bag and bowed to Yoo Se-ra.

‘Who did she take after, being so picky?’

I was gentle. There’s no evidence, though.

Yoo Se-ra sighed as she looked in the mirror to get ready to go out.

A woman in her 30s, who looked just like Hong Soo-jung in the mirror, was holding up two earrings and comparing them.

‘I liked the handsome Gwang-yeon oppa when I was young too.’

Tsk-.

If I had known he liked gentle women like Jinhyuk’s mom, I would have acted coy. Would a son like Jinhyuk have come out if I had? Yoo Se-ra chuckled, thinking all sorts of things.

‘It’s just when you’re young. She’ll grow out of it.’

Preferences change, and nothing is permanent.

Yoo Se-ra was living proof.

As she pouted her lower lip and chose an earring, the housekeeper came with a cordless phone. It was a hit product of Sein Electronics, which was running TV commercials more than six times a day, beating Maxon and Battel.

“Madam, you have a call. It’s the president.”

The president’s president, it was an explanation that only people in this house would understand.

Yoo Se-ra made a circle with her mouth and imitated a snobby madam with a nasal voice.

“Oh, Department Head Hong? When are you coming?”

– Hehehe-. I have a video to review-.

“What is it, what is it? If it’s good, let’s watch it together-”

Yoo Se-ra made a fuss without even listening to the whole thing.

Yoo Se-ra and her husband were connoisseurs of overseas erotic movies every weekend night.

– Hehehe-. It’s not that kind of thing. Our Jinhyuk was on TV, but it’s a local broadcast, so it was hard to get-.

“Ugh, okay.”

Click.

Yoo Se-ra also didn’t give her husband a chance to hang up first.