The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 54

Son Kwangyeon had to tread carefully around his wife for two days.

It was already July, and the weather was getting hotter, but a cold wind was blowing from his wife. It was worse than when they were going from hospital to hospital because of his winter cold.

‘She’s calling him ‘Sangnyeori,’ right?’

Hehehek-?

It was because Yujin was pointing at Janggun and calling him that strange name.

Even while watching Janggun devour his dog food.

‘Aww, our Sangnyeori is eating so well, isn’t he?’

Even when she was drawing in the yard.

‘Mommy! Yujin drew Sangnyeori!’

Even when looking at picture books, she would point at the dog and say clearly.

‘Mommy, Mommy. This is Sangnyeori, right?’

‘Yujin, that’s a puppy, right?’

Han Yuyoung would just pat her daughter’s head and correct her, but she didn’t scold her husband, acting like a monk in silent practice.

‘Mom, I’m off to school.’

‘Okay, our son, be careful of cars.’

She still smiled warmly at her son as he left for school.

So, Jinhyuk just pedaled away, not knowing what was going on at home.

Watching his wife go into the house with a ‘whoosh,’ Son Kwangyeon pouted.

‘Tch-, she only hates me.’

It was his son who caused the trouble, so why was she acting like that towards him? Was this the loneliness of a head of household? He even felt like he was left alone in the world. He checked his watch, then quietly put the broom he was using to sweep the yard down and headed into the house.

‘It’s time to assert the head of household’s authority.’

That meant it was mealtime.

He had endured the neglect for two whole days, so his wife should be prepared. The misery of surviving by eating unripe fruit in the yard was over. Even though Han Yuyoung was diligently preparing meals, he had been eating half portions due to his own self-consciousness, and now he was seeing stars.

Faced with the powerful plea of a Seoul man, his wife would surely smile as if she had never been in a bad mood and serve him a heaping bowl of rice.

‘Hup!’

Son Kwangyeon, full of spirit, opened the front door carefully and respectfully.

***

Time passed, and some of the people involved in the incident and their parents gathered near the school.

At first glance, it looked like the perpetrators and victims were reversed, but the incident was handled as agreed upon in the principal’s office.

As Hong Gijun had requested before leaving for Seoul, Kang Junseong and a fellow detective were in charge, with the underlying calculation that the wanted criminal Yoon Giljung might appear. They couldn’t ignore Hong Gijun’s sincerity, who had slipped them an envelope, saying that detectives’ pockets weren’t light and that they would be short on investigation funds.

The third-year students, in casts and bandages, lowered their heads as Kang Junseong gave them a lecture. Their parents were the same. They gritted their teeth when the words ‘gas’ and ‘glue inhalation’ came up, and their faces turned red when they heard about the loan shark and debt collector imitations. Some parents were even clutching their chests, as if they were having trouble breathing, when they heard about their children drinking with female students.

‘Do the parents have anything to say?’

‘I hope you won’t be too shocked. I wish the students a speedy recovery.’

Han Yuyoung forced a smile and comforted the students, who bowed their heads almost imperceptibly. They couldn’t bow properly because of their casts.

Son Kwangyeon clenched his teeth, remembering that Jinhyuk’s outburst had been triggered by insults directed at his wife. He kept wanting to grab the glass ashtray on the table, which looked like it had a good grip.

One of the victim’s parents mumbled.

‘…Thank you for the medical expenses.’

Even in their own eyes, their children’s actions were not honorable, so as parents, they had to feel ashamed. Initially, the parents had planned to extract a settlement in addition to the medical expenses, but they had to give up cleanly when they saw the county governor, politicians, and the police chief from a neighboring city bowing their heads to Son Kwangyeon. It was easy to pick off a bone with a bit of meat on it, but if you were tempted by a large, tough piece of meat and tried to bite it, you would break your jaw.

‘Is there anyone among the students who has anything to say? If not, sign the settlement agreement-.’

Jinhyuk had something he wanted to say, but he bit his lip tightly.

‘Let’s not meet again.’

Yoon Seongdong and the third-year students also couldn’t bring themselves to look at Jinhyuk and thought the same thing in their hearts. Just remembering the fear of that day while looking at Jinhyuk’s frosty eyes made it hard to even breathe.

***

Hong Gijun, who had gone back to Seoul, was busy again.

The saying that he needed ten bodies seemed to exist for him.

The first thing he did was find his brother-in-law, Yoo Moonshik.

‘I’ll feel better once I take care of Yoon Giljung.’

According to Kang Junseong, he was a dangerous person who might do anything.

As he waited in the president’s office at Sein Chemical, Yoo Moonshik came in with a smiling face.

Like Yoo Sera, he had taken after their mother and was quite handsome.

‘Brother-in-law, did you wait long?’

‘I just arrived.’

Hong Gijun, sitting on the sofa, opened his mouth, soothing his tired eyes with the steam rising from the green tea. He was in a relaxed posture, as if he were dealing with a subordinate.

‘We need to increase the number of Esteem personnel.’

‘You know those guys get paid more than you, right?’

Yoo Moonshik, sitting across from him, smiled slyly.

‘Wouldn’t Father be furious if he knew?’

‘Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it. Soon, I’ll be in direct control-.’

Hmm. Hong Gijun swallowed his words.

However, Yoo Moonshik knew what he meant and just gave him a good-natured smile. Brother-in-law Hong Gijun was scheduled to take office as the president of Sein Electronics soon. In the public eye, Hong Gijun was described as a strong competitor to Yoo Moonshik.

‘Competitor, my foot.’

Hong Gijun would set him free. That was the maxim Yoo Moonshik had been carrying in his heart for several years.

‘Okay. It’s my brother-in-law asking, not just anyone, so I have to help. But can I ask what those guys have been doing for over a year? You’re not planning a coup, are you?’

That playful expression. He had dreamed of being an actor, and it was hard to tell if his face was genuine or acting. However, looking at the face that resembled Yoo Sera, it was easy to see why Yoo Moonshik’s personality was the way it was.

Should he tell him?

Hong Gijun rolled his eyes for a moment. No. It was something no one would understand.

‘It’s just one of the projects I’m planning. It has to be kept confidential for now. But if I were to tell you, it would be something that would benefit the company. And the family too.’

President Yoo Moonshik nodded with a sullen face.

As expected, he was someone who didn’t understand if you beat around the bush. The way he approached fields he didn’t know well was also similar to Yoo Sera.

Leaving Yoo Moonshik, who was scratching his sideburns, behind, Hong Gijun left the president’s office.

A passing employee bowed.

‘President, hello!’

He was still a department head, but he snorted at the flattering greeting.

After leaving the president’s office at Sein Chemical, Hong Gijun looked for a public phone booth. It was a noisy place with the sound of cars speeding on the eight-lane road, but when he closed the booth door, it was a perfect space of his own.

‘Is Lieutenant Yang, no, Team Leader Yang, there? Yes, I’ll wait.’

He smiled slightly, showing the palm of his hand to the person waiting outside the phone booth.

It was a world where people were stabbed with knives for talking too long on a public phone. He wasn’t as strong as Son Kwangyeon, nor was he as good at fighting as Son Jinhyuk, so he had to be careful.

‘Team Leader Yang? Did you receive the documents I sent by registered mail? How many people would it take to deal with forty gangsters? Originally, there were over two hundred, but it seems the sly ones have all gone into hiding. According to Detective Kang, they’re scattered in places not far from Team Leader Yang’s workplace. The Criminal Investigation Unit also has information, but these guys aren’t moving around in groups. It seems that mobilizing the police force and having them scatter in that wide area would be even more of a headache. It’s different from the city, after all- Ah, is that so?’

A rather reliable answer came back from the other end of the line.

Was this what it felt like to spend money, even if it wasn’t his own?

‘Deal with it somehow and hand them over to the police. Vacation? I’ll find a way for this coming Chuseok [Korean Thanksgiving]. Please keep up the good work. And you have to find Yoon Giljung and take care of him. Yes. I’ll leave the method up to you. Of course, I’ll cover your travel expenses.’

Whew- He sighed. It was hard to protect even one friend.

‘I need to make sure I take care of things so there won’t be any future problems.’

Thinking about how much he was relying on his in-laws, he thought he had married well. He had to treat Sera well.

What was next? Hong Gijun tapped his forehead and reviewed his next plan.

After pressing the redial button to make sure the call was over, he placed the receiver on the body of the phone and came out. It was because he had put in 300 won and had 60 won left. It was going up to 30 won from February next year, but it was still a good means of communication for personal use without having to worry about the company people.

He bowed to the man waiting behind him.

‘I’m sorry it took so long.’

‘Hahaha, it’s nothing!’

The man smiled brightly at Hong Gijun.

As expected, the remaining balance was good manners in a public phone booth.

***

Park Yongseok was given a week of suspension for his involvement.

He cleaned the garbage incinerator and followed Lee Byeongse around, repairing the schoolyard.

He also blocked and repaired the holes in the fence, and when he blocked the holes he had made himself, he couldn’t help but sigh with regret.

‘Teacher, I really saw a grim reaper.’

‘It seems like suspension is comfortable for you, should I send you to a mental hospital?’

After his suspension, Park Yongseok no longer talked nonsense about grim reapers or anything else. Mental hospitals were scarier than grim reapers.

Jinhyuk, thinking it was unfair, went to the student affairs office and requested a suspension. It was because he felt a great sense of guilt. But even that was rejected.

‘You didn’t do anything wrong? Even if it was this teacher, I would have done the same. Do you know self-defense? In such situations, you have to acknowledge the self-help measures of people in unfavorable situations. In that sense, school rules are more flexible than the law. Hey-, what kind of person was this teacher back in the day? Taekwondo, kickboxing-.’

He was a social studies teacher, after all.

Words and information poured out of the student affairs officer’s mouth without stopping. It was all useless information for Jinhyuk, though. Maybe the student affairs officer was giving him a punishment that induced eardrum bleeding.

Jinhyuk said, ‘Yes, yes-‘ and came out of the student counseling room.

Jinhyuk approached Park Yongseok, who was avoiding him and looking around even when they accidentally met in the hallway. He also intended to reassure him.

‘Don’t bully others and live honorably.’

‘…Okay.’

‘You’re behind on your classwork, right?’

‘…’

It was because Jinhyuk’s belief that students should study was strong.

Park Yongseok started getting tutoring from Jinhyuk, between Lee Seunghoon and Shin Woosung.

‘Is it because he’s scary? It seems like I understand it well…’

When Chae Gyuho asked who was the scariest, Park Yongseok’s finger hesitated between Son Jinhyuk, Lee Seunghoon, and Shin Woosung. What was this? They all had the eyes of the Four Heavenly Kings at the entrance of a temple.

‘I’ve caught up with the classwork, so can I stop coming now-ah?’

Park Yongseok was enduring the urge to use honorifics with extreme patience.

One evening, Jinhyuk saw his dad pointing at a newspaper with his finger while talking to Hong Gijun on the phone.

When his dad left his seat, he checked what it was about.

‘Yoon 〇〇 (42, male) disappears from Gumi, Gyeongbuk.’

– A person wanted by the authorities for murder, violence, and forming a criminal organization. Police say, ‘Vanished like smoke.’

He didn’t know why his dad and Hong Gijun had to talk about that. He just thought that they were interested because he was Yoon Seongdong’s father.

‘Evil is always fast, they say.’

They also said it was stronger.

It felt unnatural to roll those words around in his mouth. It meant that it was a phrase that had suddenly come to mind without any prior use. He sent comfort to the police, who would be criticized for not being able to arrest him, by thinking of those words.

‘I wish he would come to me instead.’

It would be even better if they met in a quiet and secluded place.

Jinhyuk clenched and unclenched his fists. Was it an illusion that he felt stronger the more he harmed someone? From the real estate fatso to the wrestling team members on his first day of middle school, and then to Yoon Seongdong’s gang. His body was reacting to violence.

‘It must be because I’m growing.’

Right after the seven who had been beaten by Jinhyuk left the school, Jinhyuk asked his dad to give bread and drinks to all the students.

It was a common thing at the time, an action taken by a student who had caused trouble as an apology.

‘I want Picnic instead of Del Monte!’

‘Soboro bread is too dry-.’

‘Anyone want to trade a Choco Pie for two Big Pies?’

‘Anyone selling Ssaek Ssaek for two hundred won?’

Because there were so many students, they couldn’t standardize the items, and the school turned into a marketplace. Cool trades were happening everywhere in the school.

Since they were a people so skilled in bartering and trading, they must have created Joonggonara [Korean online marketplace] and Carrot Market [Korean online marketplace].

Jinhyuk’s classmates, who had been deliberately keeping their distance from him, were nowhere to be seen. The children were just cheering for the unexpected snacks, chanting ‘Joker Leader.’ Jinhyuk was just grateful to those friends.

Amidst the commotion, peace was restored.

‘Has Woosung’s future changed?’

He hoped so.

He had gone through all this trouble for Shin Woosung.

It was a secret he couldn’t tell anyone.

‘There should be one more person besides Woosung.’

That student must be okay now too.