The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 39

[What is our young… athlete’s dream?]

[A farmer.]

[Ah… Ahaha.]

The reporter on TV laughed awkwardly. His face was even more embarrassed than when he had hesitated to call him a young athlete. He was a reporter from Daegu MBS, a terrestrial broadcasting station, and he was about the same height as the athlete.

“Heh heh, it seems they couldn’t block that one.”

‘Is it because it’s a local broadcasting station?’ Hong Ki-joon muttered to himself, stubbornly touching his chin. His eyes held a strange glint.

[Still, it’s a waste of talent. Don’t you have any thoughts of contributing to the nation and the development of sports by using your talent?]

[I really like track and field, but I don’t want anyone to be compared and abused because of me. I could also receive such treatment at any time, and bad practices could be passed down to my juniors and the next generation. That’s not contributing to the nation, but rather an undesirable practice of punishing young athletes under the guise of talent development-.]

Click-. Hong Ki-joon pressed the pause button.

He let out a long sigh and tapped the remote control with his index finger.

Min Yong-rak was fidgeting. He had only done as he was told, bringing the broadcast video. It was because the always-smiling manager had an unusually dark complexion.

Hong Ki-joon, who seemed to be pondering something for a moment, picked up the phone. As if he had forgotten that Min Yong-rak was next to him.

“Yes, it’s me, hyung [older brother/close male friend].”

‘Who could it be?’ Min Yong-rak quietly furrowed his brow and tilted his head.

“Thank you. I was a great help thanks to you, hyung.”

As far as Min Yong-rak knew, there were only two people Hong Ki-joon called ‘hyung’.

“Please do me one more favor. Yes. Tell the guy who properly covers the reality of corporal punishment in school sports that we’ll give him activity funds and advertising. Send some honey to Daegu MBS as well. If you do that, other fields will move on their own. Yes, I trust you, hyung. Did you go to Japan as I told you? Well done. After that…”

The person who handles advertising budget execution and public relations and is called ‘hyung’ by Hong Ki-joon.

Min Yong-rak nodded inwardly, thinking he knew who it was.

‘President Yoo Moon-shik.’

The eldest son of the chairman, the president of Sein Chemical and the group’s public relations director.

Hong Ki-joon’s voice paused in the air for a moment.

Hong Ki-joon looked back and forth between Min Yong-rak and the door, twitching his eyebrows.

Min Yong-rak, who had bowed deeply, quietly took out the video tape and left the manager’s office.

‘Whew-. Suffocating.’

Manager Hong Ki-joon is always smiling and gentle, so all the employees like him, but strangely, he has a sharp edge. It’s like his eyes scan your inner thoughts thoroughly.

What would the employees’ reaction be if they knew that the nerdy manager Hong Ki-joon was the real power behind the chairman’s eldest son?

‘No one would believe it.’

Considering the trust he had in him, he shouldn’t tell anyone. The fact that he let him hear such a call while he was next to him must mean he was trying to test him. Min Yong-rak deliberately pursed his lips and moved to his desk.

‘Manager’s ears are donkey ears [a Korean idiom meaning someone is easily fooled].’

***

“Oh, that’s amazing? At the national competition?”

It was the same thing for two days.

After work, Hong Ki-joon had to listen to Son Gwang-yeon’s bragging.

He was a taciturn friend even in college, but now he calls and brags at the drop of a hat. He wondered if a guy without a son would live in such sorrow, but he was also happy to see his friend, whom he had lost touch with for over 10 years, happy.

He was also the one who introduced him to his wife, so he was also a benefactor to Hong Ki-joon. He just laughed and ended the call with words of congratulations and envy.

“Gwang-yeon oppa [older brother/close male friend]? What’s this about a national competition?”

Yoo Se-ra’s eyes widened as she took Hong Ki-joon’s jacket and hung it on the hanger.

“Oh my. He was running around with a puppy every day even during vacation, that’s amazing. Is he going to do track and field?”

She had heard that he was good at studying. In a small rural school with few students, she didn’t think it was a big deal. Regardless, winning a national track and field competition was surprising news.

“It doesn’t seem like he’s thinking of joining a sports team.”

Hong Ki-joon also relayed everything Son Gwang-yeon had said to Yoo Se-ra, including the training of other school athletes and his disappointment with the coaches. He didn’t mention that he had asked his older brother to investigate something. His wife looked down on her older brothers.

“Didn’t you complain while watching the Olympics about why we don’t have such athletes in our country?”

“Huh? I did.”

Yoo Se-ra blinked at Hong Ki-joon’s sudden words.

Hong Ki-joon smiled like a father at his wife’s expression, which was identical to their daughter’s.

“Do you want to try it? Fostering basic sports.”

“Me? I don’t know anything about sports.”

“I’ll help you. Just trust your husband.”

Fostering basic sports for someone who manages department stores and hotels.

Yoo Se-ra thought it was an absurd suggestion, even though her husband had become more proactive.

Knowing her thoughts, Hong Ki-joon said with a glint in his eyes.

“Instead of doing something like a gallery like other group daughters, let’s create a foundation. You hate galleries, right?”

“Yeah. I did.”

She had once been advised by her father, Chairman Yoo Myung-sun, but Yoo Se-ra immediately shook her head. A place where only the brightly lit areas are bright. A place that reminds one of the halls of the gods, where the light and shadow of the world are luxuriously decorated and displayed. She didn’t want to know what kind of words were exchanged in the space prepared separately there, or what kind of stench it emitted, but she had come to know.

“Instead of something you hate, how about fostering and supporting talented future sports talents?”

Yoo Se-ra’s eyes lit up at Hong Ki-joon’s added words.

They were a couple who understood each other in many ways.

“Are you going to create something like a foundation?”

“Considering the sustainability of the business, a foundation would be necessary, right? The foundation is a matter of framework, and the business I’m planning needs a star player.”

“Star player? What’s that?”

Even though it was a combination of easy words and something that could be understood intuitively, it sounded unfamiliar to Yoo Se-ra, who was a novice in sports.

If he explained it in detail here, it could be difficult for both of them. How many couples break up after a guy explains a steal to his girlfriend who asks, ‘Why is that player running?’ while watching baseball together?

“It’s like a luxury brand. You pick a good player and support them. You also attach a manager like a celebrity, do sponsor sales, and have a legal representative.”

It was an agent.

However, for some reason, Yoo Se-ra seemed to react to the word ‘luxury brand’.

“You mean you’re going to manage a star player like a real star? And you think Jinhyuk is the right talent for that?”

Even though she called him ‘yeobo’ [honey/darling], Yoo Se-ra sometimes blurted out ‘oppa’ like this. It meant she was excited, and at this time, there was no need to persuade her further. All he had to do was paint a picture of a honey pot dripping with honey in front of her eyes.

She was a somewhat quirky wife, but Yoo Se-ra was also a child of a chaebol [family-owned conglomerate] family and a CEO. She was someone who made bold decisions if she had something to gain.

Hong Ki-joon knew Yoo Se-ra’s desires.

“If you combine managing and fostering, the promotional effect will be great, and you’ll gain honor.”

“Honor…”

Yoo Se-ra muttered with unfocused eyes.

“Yoo Se-ra, who supports basic sports and fosters talent for the future of national sports. It won’t just end with fame, will it? You’ll gain the honor of being the mother of basic sports in Korea…”

Hong Ki-joon added something else after that, but Yoo Se-ra had already entered her own world, completely disconnected from the world.

‘Honor…’

She had once wanted to be a movie actress, but she had gone to study abroad because of her father’s opposition. The dream of becoming famous. There was a time when she dreamed of being the famous Yoo Se-ra, not the only daughter of the chairman of the Sein Group. She wanted to be famous, and she was managing department stores and hotels well, but only the group’s name was published in the newspaper.

It didn’t matter why her husband was suddenly so enthusiastic, or why he was trying to persuade her to do such a thing.

“If it’s not Jinhyuk, any other athlete will do. Whether it’s a popular sport or an unpopular one. There’s plenty of time and plenty of athletes, so we can look into it gradually. I’ll push you.”

“Pfft-, who does a mere manager think he is, pushing the president?”

Although she answered like that, Yoo Se-ra was still trapped in another world.

‘A sports agency…’

It wasn’t just that Yoo Se-ra was excited, looking at the big market and the future.

‘Sports agency.’

It just looked cool. Even the name was global style.

A foundation that supports and manages athletes. Fostering promising talents and signing separate contracts with those who show potential. The money will come from the group, so it would be good to call it SI Agency, SI Foundation, for now, taking after Sein. Later, I should change it to SR.

‘Then am I the chairman?’

Yoo Se-ra, the chairman of the SI Foundation, the mother of Korean sports.

In her imagination, Yoo Se-ra quickly made signs and nameplates.

Hong Ki-joon narrowed his eyes as he watched his wife walking on clouds.

She was someone who was difficult to have a long conversation with because she would suddenly accelerate into her imagination when concrete questions should be asked. He looked at his wife’s face for a long time and then shook his head.

‘Sigh. That hero complex again.’

In times like this, he had to change the subject.

“Where did Su-jeong go?”

“Chomp-. Uh, uh? Who?”

Yoo Se-ra, who had quickly wiped her saliva, fumbled.

Then, she blinked her eyes strongly and returned to reality.

“Su-jeong is skipping rope in the garden.”

“Skipping rope?”

“Yeah. She said she needs to have strong legs to follow Jinhyuk around during vacation. Sigh-. I wonder who she takes after, already chasing after a boy.”

Hong Ki-joon held back the words that she took after her mother this time as well.

Well, he hadn’t seen Yoo Se-ra chasing after a man, so it was also true.

From the next day, Yoo Se-ra started going around and making phone calls.

She asked for advice on various things from her friends from her study abroad days in Italy, England, and Germany, and also requested papers. Hong Ki-joon decided to look into it since she didn’t know anyone in the United States.

***

When vacation comes, the great magician comes.

“Hello!”

“Our Su-jeong is here. What did you eat to grow so much?”

Han Yu-young hugged Hong Su-jeong tightly and asked how she was doing.

However, the conversation didn’t last long.

Hong Su-jeong was a child with a clear sense of purpose.

“Then, I’ll be going-.”

The Seoul kid bowed to Han Yu-young until her hair touched the ground and then stuck to Jinhyuk’s side. Jinhyuk’s vacation begins with playing the role of a babysitter for the two kids.

“Oppa [older brother/close male friend], do you know what a ghost is?”

“A ghost.”

“Then what is a hemisphere?”

“A hemisphere?”

“How do you know, oppa, when you’re in elementary school?”

“……”

‘What is she talking about, when she’s also an elementary school student herself.’

Hong Su-jeong was receiving all kinds of expensive private education, from early education to gifted education. However, to Son Jinhyuk, who was a genius even in the past, Hong Su-jeong was just a kid. Jinhyuk stroked Hong Su-jeong’s head because he found the kid who dared to stand on equal footing with him cute. Every time he did, Hong Su-jeong would close her eyes like a puppy and put her head in Jinhyuk’s hand.

“Oh my, she hates it when someone touches her head, but she doesn’t do that to Jinhyuk?”

“Huhu. Is that true, unnie [older sister/close female friend]?”

“Yes. That’s right. She freaks out when her dad tries to touch her head or kiss her.”

Yoo Se-ra narrowed her eyes and glared at her daughter. It was also because she was comparing her behavior at home with her father, and because she remembered the incident where she had put saliva on him last winter vacation.

Then.

“Su-jeong, what would you do if Jinhyuk oppa asked you to kiss him?”

‘What was she saying?’

Jinhyuk, who was startled by the words, quickly withdrew his hand that was stroking Su-jeong’s head. He wondered what the heck that aunt was talking about.

‘Did I treat Su-jeong too much like a baby?’

Unlike the flustered Jinhyuk, Hong Su-jeong was staring intently at Jinhyuk’s face. Her reddish-brown eyes were like a cat looking into his soul, making Jinhyuk feel strangely restless.

“Oppa.”

“Uh-huh?”

“Are you going to ask me to kiss you?”

“……No?”

Hong Su-jeong was about to say something when Yu-jin kissed Jinhyuk on the cheek. It was a bold move, like a charging soldier. It was a common scene in this house because she was a younger sister who liked her brother more than her mom or dad.

“Ehehe-, I kissed him, right?”

Yu-jin laughed and clapped her hands.

‘Did I see it wrong?’

Hong Su-jeong’s eyes showed a hint of disappointment before they slowly fell back to her book.