The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 49

Hong Gijun disliked betting when playing Go or golf, claiming he didn’t want to burden his subordinates. He even said it wasn’t fun playing against executives who were always trying to curry favor with him, and betting would only make them more anxious.

Maybe that’s why he preferred playing with Jinhyuk, who wouldn’t yield an inch.

“Ahem! What kind of bet?” Son Gwangyeon, startled by the sudden proposal, thumped his chest as if he had choked on his beer.

“Things like the number of Olympic medals, overall rankings, or which sports will win gold medals.”

“What’s with the betting? You’re not usually into that kind of thing, buddy.”

“It’s just for fun. It’d be fun to watch the Olympics together when the kids come down for vacation.”

Jinhyuk tried to recall memories related to the Barcelona Olympics, but nothing came to mind. Maybe a gold medal in the marathon? Archery was always a strong sport, so they probably won there too. He realized he really didn’t have any information. He was always studying, delivering newspapers, and then reading more books in his attic room at night, which didn’t even have a TV.

‘If only I had known the world back then.’

Come to think of it, why didn’t he ever think of escaping that place? The reason he couldn’t escape was obvious, but if he had known how the world worked, he might have been able to play things more cleverly.

While Jinhyuk was lost in thought, Hong Gijun pulled him back.

“Jinhyuk, do you want to join in?”

Looking at Hong Gijun’s shining eyes, Jinhyuk thought.

That confident look.

‘Could it be that Chairman Hong Gijun has also returned [referring to time travel]?’

Maybe he was trying to bet knowing the results. Could he be trying to get revenge on his past self for never losing to him in Go or golf, even though he was the chairman of Sein Group?

Even if he didn’t have the information, Jinhyuk wasn’t stupid. Engaging in a bet with someone like that was something only a fool would do.

Just as Jinhyuk was about to open his mouth, as if he had made a decision.

“I…”

“Sure, go for it. Your dad will chip in some money.”

Oh, boy.

When his dad was this excited, there was nothing Jinhyuk could do. He had no choice but to play along.

They decided to keep it simple and bet on the overall ranking.

“I’m betting on 10th place! We were 4th in the last games, so we should be around there!”

Hong Gijun took 10th place.

Jinhyuk sighed silently. Ah, they must have been 10th in Barcelona. Seeing how confident he was, that old man might know the future. He wanted to ask if he had returned from the past, but Hong Gijun was hard to approach.

‘He’s a bit uncomfortable.’

There were people who acted like shackles even to perfectly normal people. For Jinhyuk, it was his adoptive family, and Hong Gijun was one of those people. Because he was his boss.

“Then I’ll take 6th place.”

“6th place? It’s being held overseas, is that possible?”

“I don’t know. I just can’t be below you.”

His dad was always strange. Even when betting, he had strange reasons.

Hong Gijun looked at Jinhyuk with shining eyes.

“What about Jinhyuk?”

“I…”

Jinhyuk wrote the number 8 on Hong Gijun’s notepad.

“Oh, you’ve set it pretty high. Are you two being very optimistic? Jinhyuk, can we hear your reason?”

“Just because…”

It would be weird if he said it was because he couldn’t remember, and it sounded too lame to say he just picked a number between 6 and 10. And he couldn’t pick a higher number than his dad, or he’d look like a jerk. Anyway.

“Um… but what’s the prize for the bet?”

“Shall we bet your dad’s land?”

“Why are you betting my land as you please, you rascal!”

Jinhyuk could understand why his dad was so angry.

His dad was serious about his land, and Hong Gijun had crossed the line.

He nodded in support of his dad, staring at Hong Gijun with narrowed eyes.

‘Could this old man be a returnee who’s after my dad’s land?’

No way. Chairman Hong Gijun wasn’t interested in real estate.

He thought he had heard that it was mostly due to the influence of his father-in-law, the former chairman.

Son Gwangyeon stepped in to settle things.

“Let’s just do it with money.”

“Then wouldn’t Jinhyuk be at a disadvantage?”

“I have about a million won [Korean currency].”

His dad’s eyes widened.

It was a look that asked when he had saved up that much.

“It’s from the school savings account I got when I graduated, and the allowance Dad gave me.”

“Alright! A million won it is!”

Hong Gijun shouted as if declaring it.

He just said he had a million won, not that he would bet all of it.

Jinhyuk was a man too, but he couldn’t understand the psychology of adult men.

He was about to lose all the money he had diligently saved up since elementary school.

‘Oh well, I’ll bet. It’s not like they’re strangers, and they’re having fun.’

If he needed allowance, he could just ask his mom. His mom was the richest person in their house.

“Hey, let’s make it ten million won. Dad said he’d chip in.”

Jinhyuk’s eyes widened at his dad’s bombshell statement.

Ten million won now, how much was that? Ten million won? No, what was he talking about? Jinhyuk’s circuits short-circuited as he tried to calculate the value.

“Are you serious?”

Hong Gijun, who was taking out a check from his wallet, also looked surprised.

Son Gwangyeon, who was good at drinking, wouldn’t have said something like that carelessly. Even if he was drunk, he wasn’t the type to lose his mind.

Jinhyuk tried to figure out what his dad was thinking.

But as always, the pros didn’t give their opponents time to think.

“Alright, let’s do it! Is Son Gwangyeon the only man here? I’m a man with balls too!”

Why was he showing off his balls at this point?

In his past life, they weren’t that impressive. Back then, he was old and shriveled, but now he was young, so maybe the volume and weight were different.

‘Men.’

Anyway, the unexpected gamble between the old soul and the immature men was decided.

Since Yoojin was starting to doze off, Jinhyuk went home first.

He looked at Hong Gijun with suspicious eyes.

‘He’s suspicious.’

As soon as Jinhyuk got home, he washed Yoojin’s face and hands with warm water. He also washed her neck and ears and helped her blow her nose.

“Hmph!”

Sneeze-.

She was dozing off and then had to wash her face, so she had a right to whine, but Yoojin obediently followed her brother’s instructions. She was a pretty sister in every way.

“Good girl, our baby.”

“Hehehe, I’m good, right?”

She seemed to wake up, but Yoojin soon fell fast asleep.

She was always so gentle. Jinhyuk laid Yoojin down in his mom’s room and left the house.

He took a walk around the neighborhood with Janggun and sorted out his suspicions about Hong Gijun.

It was all because of the Olympic bet. There was no other reason to be suspicious.

“Hey, Janggun. Don’t you think that old man is suspicious?”

Hehe-heck? Janggun just tilted his head.

Ugh, never mind. Jinhyuk sighed.

Looking at him tilting his head, it seemed like he wasn’t suspicious.

‘I should test him soon.’

What would be good to ask?

How should he ask so that he wouldn’t be misunderstood?

Ah, he was an old man who was strangely hard to get close to.

He always hung out with his dad, so it was understandable.

In Dunaeri, there were endless things for adult men who enjoyed outdoor leisure to enjoy. In the summer, they could go to the mudflats and climb the cool mountains, and in the winter, they could dig up kudzu roots or chase mountain animals like rabbits and raccoons, enjoying the feeling of being a predator. Every vacation, Hong Gijun was dragged by Son Gwangyeon to the sea and mountains for adventures. Abandoning his wife and children.

‘Let’s take our time and dig into it properly.’

It seemed like he was thinking more now that he was a teenager.

***

The next day.

Jinhyuk, who had finished his workout early, waited for Chae Gyuho in the classroom.

Park Yongseok was seen waiting for Chae Gyuho outside the classroom.

What was that guy’s role? Probably a recruiter who gathered victims.

‘How should I solve this?’

He ruled out the option of reporting it to the teachers.

The nature of the teacher’s world was obvious. Especially the teachers of this era.

They were the teachers who turned a blind eye even when they knew about Jinhyuk’s abuse. Teachers who actively intervened in problems between students didn’t exist in this era.

‘If I cause an incident, they’ll probably beat me up.’

Even when countless acts of delinquency occurred, the teachers acted like NPCs in a game. They said they were creating a world together, but the poor and weak victim students were not included in that ‘together.’ Corporal punishment was also limited to some troublemakers. It was more accurate to say that they didn’t dare to touch the real problem children.

Jinhyuk made up his mind.

‘Minors who can’t be punished by law.’

Chae Gyuho was seen talking to Park Yongseok.

‘I’m a minor too.’

Chae Gyuho came running into the classroom.

He always reported everything in detail to Jinhyuk, his trusted ally, but for some reason, he didn’t stutter this time.

“Class president! He’s asking for money! He said he doesn’t need the money I gave him yesterday, and he wants interest!”

How dare that little punk try to extort my buddy?

Were those kids running an illegal loan business in the sacred school?

He didn’t say it out loud. But Jinhyuk, who had jumped up, was cursing inwardly.

With a blank face, he opened his mouth like a sphinx.

“You, come here.”

The words that would sound the scariest to a guilty soul came out of Jinhyuk’s mouth.

Park Yongseok, who was coming in to grab Chae Gyuho, flinched and took a step back.

Son Jinhyuk, standing in front of the morning sun, looked as black as a grim reaper.

‘Ugh, damn, he’s scary as hell.’

Jinhyuk’s shadow was too big and dark for him to handle.

Then it was time to run.

Jinhyuk checked the clock on the back of the classroom.

About 20 minutes left before class started.

He started walking, chasing after Park Yongseok.

***

Son Gwangyeon and Hong Gijun were sitting on the porch, enjoying a leisurely time.

They were happy with a cup of sweet instant coffee under the zelkova tree with a friend.

Son Gwangyeon, holding the white stones, slurped his coffee.

“Ouch! Hot, damn it.”

Son Gwangyeon touched his lips while looking around to see if his wife was watching. He couldn’t look bad in front of Han Yooyoung.

After making popping sounds with his lips, he looked at Hong Gijun, who was chuckling.

“How’s the old man doing?”

“He’s doing well. He’s so healthy that he calls me to play Go all the time.”

“That’s good. But he has two sons, why does he favor his son-in-law?”

“He just loves his daughter. My brothers-in-law aren’t good at Go.”

Son Gwangyeon also knew Yoo Myungseon, Hong Gijun’s father-in-law and the chairman of Sein Group, well. He was the one who had sponsored him when he had nowhere to go as a child and had taken care of him in secret, so the word ‘well’ wasn’t enough to describe their relationship. But he avoided meeting him. It had been over 10 years since he had gone into hiding, and he felt too ashamed to go see him now.

Hong Gijun, knowing his feelings, casually threw out a question.

“Don’t you ever think about going to say hello?”

“I don’t know. What kind of face would I show? You didn’t tell him about me, did you?”

“What do you mean tell him? I’m even holding back from saying anything.”

Hong Gijun muttered as if chanting a mantra. His eyes were fixed on the Go board.

“He doesn’t ask about me or anything?”

“What would he know to ask? I take a detour every vacation in case there are any tails [people following someone].”

“Tails?”

“That’s what the chaebols [large family-owned business conglomerates] do. I was tailed a lot after I married Sera. They disappeared for a long time, but since spring? It seems like some suspicious guys are back.”

He didn’t know what their purpose was, but there were definitely tails recently.

He had thought they might suspect him of having an affair, but seeing that they were tailing him even when he was with Yoo Sera, he figured that wasn’t the only reason. But he couldn’t ask his father-in-law directly. Hong Gijun chose to improve his driving skills to shake off the tails.

“I still see some strange guys sometimes. I have no idea what they’re up to.”

“Isn’t it security, not tails?”

“Maybe…”

Hong Gijun nodded. That wasn’t what he thought, but he wanted his friend to feel at ease. What kind of security would hide like that when he wasn’t even the president?

Son Gwangyeon also said it to comfort his friend, and he didn’t think it was security either. How many tails had he had since he was a child until he graduated from college?

‘Chaebols…’

A black stone fell on the Go board.

Hong Gijun clicked his tongue.

“Wow, Gwangyeon, your skills seem to have improved since the old days? I’ve been trying hard, but I can’t beat you. You don’t have any opponents, so what’s your secret?”

“Don’t even mention it. I can’t win a single game against Jinhyuk.”

Son Gwangyeon had been on a losing streak since his son was nine years old.

Hong Gijun’s eyebrows twitched with a meaningful expression, and then he burst into laughter.

“You’ve finally met your match! Hahaha!”

“If we had bet, I would have lost all my land to Jinhyuk. Hehehe.”

While the two friends were laughing cheerfully, the front door opened, and Han Yooyoung came out.

Her face was pale, and she was trembling, looking as if she would collapse at any moment.

Son Gwangyeon’s body shot towards his wife like a horse stung by a bee. He cherished his wife, so he sensed that something was wrong.

“Are you okay?”

“Honey… our Jinhyuk…”

Han Yooyoung’s body finally collapsed to the ground.