The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 50

When Jinhyuk first saw Yoon Seongdong, he realized that he wasn’t someone you could reason with.

‘Like he’s on glue or butane.’

His eyes, with their bleached-white sclera and prominent blood vessels, and his pupils, which seemed to have a film over them, were a clear sign.

He wondered how he knew such things, but there are times when you just naturally perceive things. His intuition, his five senses, and even a sixth sense beyond that, all helped him make the judgment.

Besides, Jinhyuk had spent time seeing the eyes of someone who habitually inhaled hallucinogens. It was Hwang Gayoon, his aunt’s eldest daughter, who was seven years older than him.

‘Maybe it’s for the best.’

In the end, can people not be fixed? He even thought it was unreasonable to blame Yoon Seongdong, who hadn’t committed murder yet, using Shin Woosung as an excuse. But that was only for a moment.

‘I’m not a sentimental person, after all.’

Jinhyuk wasn’t the type to be so romantic as to expect a guy who had been acting out since childhood, relying on his nationwide gangster father, to turn over a new leaf. And he was in a situation where he had no choice but to confront the situation to settle things.

And so…

Surrounded by seven third-year students and Park Yongseok, a first-year, they headed to the auxiliary field. There were even some guys who had been kicked out of the wrestling club at the beginning of the semester.

Looking at the group surrounding him within arm’s reach, Jinhyuk thought,

‘These bastards really came in numbers. Is it true that there’s no match for a gang beating?’

Was it a gang beating… or a dogpile?

Both words were not something that a straight-laced guy like Son Jinhyuk would use, so he wasn’t sure. Anyway, it wasn’t an important question in the current situation.

While he was frowning and pondering over which word was correct, Yoon Seongdong poked Jinhyuk’s forehead with his index finger.

“Hey, you-”

A foul odor, like glue or alcohol, wafted from Yoon Seongdong’s mouth. To be precise, it was closer to the smell of partially decomposed acetaldehyde [a chemical compound produced during alcohol metabolism].

The sour, nasty stench made him automatically wrinkle his face.

Yoon Seongdong, with both hands shoved deep into his pockets, spat on the ground and swaggered.

He was quite skilled at shaking his legs. Why do people shake their legs anyway?

“You little punk, no matter how good you are, you can’t interfere with our seniors’ sacred business.”

‘Seniors, my ass. You’re making money off your juniors, and you’re talking big,’ Jinhyuk thought sarcastically, raising one corner of his mouth. He glared at Yoon Seongdong.

Yoon Seongdong, who had been acting relaxed, contorted his face in an ugly way.

“This punk is smiling?”

‘You little shit, you’re smiling too, why are you being such a jerk?’ Wasn’t this a country with freedom of expression? Perhaps his serious expression, as he pondered this, made him look like he was backing down.

Yoon Seongdong sighed deeply and spoke in a softened voice, as if lecturing him.

“This ain’t a martial arts novel, and we all know your rumors are bullshit.”

What was he talking about now? Ah, he must be talking about the incident with the wrestling club. There were guys who were there at the time, so how could they call it a rumor? Are their eyes dog eyes?

His inaccurate pronunciation and the way he kept spitting made him feel extremely unpleasant.

Jinhyuk barely held back the urge to punch Yoon Seongdong, who was about his height. He wanted to give him a chance and try to resolve things through conversation.

Barely suppressing his disgust, he said quietly,

“I’ll warn you just once. Don’t do that.”

It was an unexpected statement. The expressions of Yoon Seongdong and his group, who had been acting nonchalant, turned cold.

Yoon Seongdong sneered, distorting his face grotesquely.

“I’ll warn you just once, don’t do that-”

Hehehehehe.

Yoon Seongdong and the others giggled. They looked like zombies with loose screws.

Jinhyuk sighed lightly.

‘Well, that’s that.’

Jinhyuk’s last attempt to resolve things through conversation had failed.

Yoon Seongdong, armed with a twisted smile, bumped Jinhyuk’s chest with his shoulder.

They had the numbers, and he and his friends had plenty of experience.

The guy in front of them, Son Jinhyuk, had a certain presence, but dealing with a kid was easy.

A mocking laugh, a chilling gaze, and a single curse word.

If he lost his temper and attacked first, it would be a blessing.

As he was used to, as he always did, Yoon Seongdong loaded up his verbal attack.

With this one word, the first-year in front of him would cower.

Just as Yoon Seongdong was about to speak,

“You little shit, your mom-”

Crack!

It happened in an instant.

No one saw Jinhyuk, who had twisted his upper body like a tiger, strike Yoon Seongdong’s jaw with his elbow.

‘How dare you!’

The price for saying something you should never say in front of Jinhyuk was high.

Jinhyuk’s fist landed on Yoon Seongdong’s solar plexus. His body reflexively bent over.

As if not giving him a chance to fall, Jinhyuk landed heavy punches on his side, philtrum [the vertical groove between the base of the nose and the upper lip], and jaw. He felt the ribs cave in, the gums give way, and the jawbone crack through his fist. Finally, he slammed his elbow into the back of his bent head.

Only then did Yoon Seongdong gain the freedom to fall, collapsing to the ground.

“Ugh-”

It had all happened in a single breath.

Blood flowed from his nose and mouth, and broken and freshly pulled teeth rolled on the dirt floor.

Yoon Seongdong writhed like a dying man, unable to even scream properly.

Jinhyuk ran a hand through his hair.

‘I still don’t feel anything.’

Even though it was an uncharacteristic action for Jinhyuk, his breathing was calm, and his mind was clear. He had had a similar experience when he grabbed the real estate fatso by the collar.

‘It’s confusing.’

Does power become more desensitizing the more you use it? Jinhyuk, who had never actively used violence before, was extremely bewildered.

“You little shit!”

“Oh! He’s gonna die!”

It had all happened in a split second, so it was only then that Yoon Seongdong’s group realized what had happened and rushed at Jinhyuk. What if they had been further away? Maybe one of them would have been safe. Jinhyuk had no intention of chasing anyone down to beat them.

‘Okay, it’s already happened. Come at me.’

Jinhyuk seemed to bend his upper body, and then one leg shot out behind him.

The guy who was swinging his fist from behind was hit in the jaw, and his head was thrown back violently. There was a cracking sound.

The guy who was trying to give him a back hug was slammed with a hip throw. He fell on his back, not knowing how to break his fall.

The guy who was trying to throw a front kick was hit with a low kick on his supporting leg and slammed his head into the hard ground. There was a dull thud.

The auxiliary field was uneven and hard because it hadn’t been repaired.

But it wasn’t Jinhyuk’s problem. It was the problem of the guys who were sprawled out, suffering secondary impacts from the ground.

He didn’t intend to break any bones.

But through his fist, he clearly felt the ribs cave in.

‘I hit them lightly, but it’s strange.’

This shouldn’t be happening. He knew the fear and pain of being hit better than anyone.

It’s okay, they’re still growing, so they’ll heal quickly.

Even as the voices inside him clashed, Jinhyuk’s fists and feet didn’t stop.

As if to make sure no one could stand in front of him, Jinhyuk stopped only after he had knocked them all down.

Only one person, Park Yongseok, who had collapsed on his own, was someone Jinhyuk hadn’t knocked down. Park Yongseok’s pupils were dilated, and his lower jaw was trembling. He looked like he had seen a ghost.

Jinhyuk scanned Yoon Seongdong’s gang. They were just writhing on the ground like caterpillars, and they didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking again.

He moved towards Park Yongseok.

“You. You should have come when I told you to.”

“Uh-uh- I, I’m sorry, I made a mistake-”

What was he saying? Jinhyuk’s intention to punch him disappeared with a sigh.

Tears streamed down Park Yongseok’s face. The reflex caused by fear was beyond human control.

He sighed again.

It was because he was thinking of his parents and his younger sibling. The last bit of anger subsided, and he finally fully realized the reality of the situation.

‘This isn’t why I was sent back to the past.’

Feeling distressed, he nervously rubbed his face.

He could see teachers running towards them from afar.

‘I really messed up.’

***

Jinhyuk’s homeroom teacher, Kim Sunsook, had a thin voice.

If you closed your eyes and listened, it sounded like a child’s voice. She wore huge glasses and, when she taught, she was the kind of teacher who made students chant, ‘Teacher, you’re so cute.’

It was only her second year after graduating from the teachers’ college, so she was clumsy in many ways, but thanks to Son Jinhyuk, the class president, the kids didn’t rebel or try to challenge her, for which she was secretly grateful.

She wanted to be a friendly teacher, so she never stopped thinking and researching how to make her classes fun. The class test scores were also good, so she was in a good mood. She was humming to herself.

“Hmm hmm-. Shall we have a fun explanation about the principle of lightning today?”

The kids are curious, so as a teacher, I have a duty to tell them.

As Kim Sunsook was preparing for class with a happy heart, a bolt of lightning struck her.

“Teacher Kim Sunsook! I heard your class president was in a brawl?”

“W-w-what did you say?”

It was definitely Korean, but it was hard to understand.

It was fortunate that she hadn’t witnessed the scene. She was so shocked to hear that a brawl had broken out and that the class president and top student of her class was involved that her hands trembled.

“W-w-what should I do?”

“Don’t contact their homes yet. Start with an investigation-”

“Yes, yes. Homes-. Thank you.”

A helpful colleague who was telling her what a homeroom teacher should do. Contact their homes after the investigation!

She took a deep breath and called Jinhyuk’s house.

A woman, who she assumed was Jinhyuk’s mother, answered the phone.

Kim Sunsook’s heart was still pounding.

“I-i-is this Jinhyuk’s house?”

She should say hello, but what should she say when it wasn’t a situation to say hello? She hadn’t learned this at the teachers’ college.

– Who is this?

Thankfully, the person on the other end of the phone asked a question.

How grateful she was to the person who guided the conversation when she couldn’t think of anything to say.

“H-hi, this is the school.”

– Oh my, hello, teacher. Your voice is so pretty, I thought my child was making a prank call. I should have come to see you, but I haven’t been able to.

That’s right.

“It seems like we have a chance to meet, Jinhyuk’s mother.”

Oh no.

Should a teacher be talking like this? She was filled with self-loathing. Why was she such an inadequate person?

Tears suddenly burst out.

“Waaah, Jinhyuk. Jinhyuk was in a brawl. Waaah-”

Lee Byungse, who had been listening quietly, frowned.

He snatched Kim Sunsook’s phone with a nervous gesture.

“Umm, your son is fine, but can you come to the school? Hello? Hello?”

Lee Byungse sighed deeply.

It was obvious that Jinhyuk’s mother would be shocked. She must be misunderstanding a lot. She might even show up with the police because of the word ‘brawl’. He had heard that Jinhyuk’s father was a local bigwig who even the county chief and congressmen went to greet.

“Haa-, shit.”

If the police came to the school, a report would be sent to the education office, and there would be a huge mess. He sighed again. As his panic subsided, reality finally settled in his mind. A natural question also arose.

‘Just what did one guy do?’

There wasn’t even a mop at the scene. Even though he was bigger and more athletic than most high school students, Yoon Seongdong was a guy who was untouchable at school because of his connections. And there were also several guys who had been wrestlers.

Lee Byungse, who had no choice but to hang up the phone, called a young male teacher.

“What happened to those guys?”

“They were all taken to the hospital. Only Park Yongseok here is okay.”

“Is that what you call okay?”

He looked like he was drooling?

Like a child with hand, foot, and mouth disease.

“Did you check which hospital they went to?”

I need to go see them.

It was an incident involving a track and field member, so he couldn’t pretend he didn’t know.

“Central Orthopedic Clinic.”

“Ah, that money-grubbing quack… Ugh, shit-”

Nothing was going right.