The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 62

“Gyunwoo and Jingnyeo are tteoreol ttilsseok- aoh-. Tiiireol- ttil-. Ah dintta.”

Smack smack-.

Hong Sujeong, who was reading a book to Yujin, licked her gums with her tongue.

Hong Sujeong had carefully gathered a handful of her lost teeth and threw them onto the roof of the mud house as soon as she arrived in the countryside. Her great-grandfather had told her that new teeth would grow quickly if she did that. But the swallow hasn’t brought her new teeth yet. She was told that the swallow raises its young twice, and right now it’s busy feeding the second brood of chicks. Mom and Dad are busy every day too, and they feed Sujeong every day. Am I a baby swallow? If I’m a baby swallow, then Mom and Dad are swallows too, and Dad is a Gangnam [a wealthy district in Seoul] swallow who seduced Mom? But swallows lay eggs twice a year, so why did Mom and Dad only have me once?

Like her mother, the little girl from Seoul fell into a deep stream of consciousness.

Yujin pulled Hong Sujeong, who was floundering in the swamp of consciousness with a hazy look, out of it.

“Ehehe-. Did we do the Chilseok [a Korean festival celebrating the meeting of two stars] here?”

“Ah, matta- [that’s right].”

Hong Sujeong looked for the place Yujin pointed to.

It was a passage that was difficult to pronounce with her current teeth arrangement.

Hong Sujeong also understood how her dads felt, grabbing their stomachs and laughing with tears in their eyes every time she said something. Even she thought her pronunciation sounded funny. But it was annoying that even this clueless Son Yujin was smirking, raising one corner of her mouth. If a second-grade older sister reads you a book, you should be grateful, not act so rude.

Then, a savior came into Hong Sujeong’s sight.

A giant was leaning against the sunset with melancholy eyes.

‘Hiii-.’

A reliable source that she had claimed early on, as her dad had told her to.

He was a giant who would readily agree to any request without a single refusal or hesitation. Her cousins would find Hong Sujeong annoying, but Son Jinhyuk protected her like a bodyguard, as if she might fall. He was taller than her dad and more handsome than her uncle.

‘Now, all he needs to do is become famous and make a lot of money.’

From what she had overheard her mom and Han Yooyoung talking about, you needed at least 50 million won to live in this neighborhood. It was a lot of money that kids couldn’t earn. Hong Sujeong didn’t even have 500 won. You might say, how can a rich man’s daughter have no money, did she spend it all frivolously? But Hong Sujeong was confident. The reason Hong Sujeong had no money was because she got a lot of allowance from here and there, but her mom took it all and she never saw it again. Yoo Sera’s mom said that she had to know how to spend wisely, and never gave Hong Sujeong more than a thousand won. Other kids had ten thousand won bills in their wallets. Every time she begged for more, her mom would use difficult words like economic sense and accounting management to completely confuse Hong Sujeong.

She was lost in thought again.

Hong Sujeong shook her head vigorously to come to her senses and then called the giant.

“Oppa- [an affectionate term for older brother or male friend].”

Jinhyuk, who had been staring at the doghouse, turned around at Hong Sujeong’s call.

The gap-toothed little girl from Seoul shoved a book into Jinhyuk’s chest.

It was an expression of her desire to have him read to her.

The giant, red with the sunset, smiled. It was as soft as a breeze.

“Okay.”

As he sat on the sofa and opened the book, the two little ones clung to him.

Jinhyuk was able to calm his troubled mind, even for a moment, by reading to them.

“······And so, the magpies made the Ojak Bridge. Gyunwoo and Jingnyeo were able to meet and share their love on the Ojak Bridge, thanks to the magpies.”

“Oppa, oppa. Gyunwoo and Jingnyeo were sad, right?”

“Gyunwoo, Jingnyeo were sad, right?”

How would I know that······.

He wanted to say that, but Jinhyuk tried to be kind to his younger siblings. Adults with adults, kids with kids, dogs with dogs. Everyone was getting along, but Jinhyuk alone felt like an outsider, not belonging anywhere. He was comfortable being alone, so he didn’t miss anything, but belonging was a separate feeling.

“They were sad and missed each other, but since they knew they could meet again, wouldn’t they have endured it maturely?”

“Hmm-.”

“Hmm-.”

It must have been difficult.

Hong Sujeong and Yujin both scratched their heads for no reason.

“They say that if you endure and overcome the pain, you grow as much as you hurt. So, Gyunwoo and Jingnyeo would have become more mature as time went on, so it wouldn’t have been just sad.”

“Is it a growing pain?”

“It’s growing pains, right?”

As expected, the kids had good memories. They listened to what Yoo Sera said and used it right away. But it seemed like they were just throwing any words around. Could that be applied here? He was doubtful inside, but Jinhyuk nodded. He thought it was up to interpretation.

“That could be true.”

Jinhyuk maintained his smile, hoping that was the last question.

But Yujin seemed to still have questions.

“Ojak Bridge? What is Ojak Bridge?”

Yujin tilted her big, dark eyes.

Jinhyuk pondered how to answer. What kind of answer would be good to give to match Yujin’s level?

Well, he had read that it was a bridge made by magpies, but she was asking, so was she asking about its purpose, its architectural style, or its exterior design? Or perhaps she was asking about the implied meaning of the metaphor. Yujin was not an ordinary baby, so maybe it was a question related to constellations. If so, would it be appropriate to explain it as a galactic bridge connecting the Altair and Vega stars?

Son Yujin sighed lightly.

Both the Seoul sister and the oppa, when you ask them something, they think about it for a long time. Dad tells you right away.

Son Yujin turned her head and looked for her dad, who was in the middle of a game of Go. She went straight to her dad, who was smacking his lips and eating grapes.

“Daddy-, what is Ojak Bridge?”

Tu tu tu-. Her dad, who spat out the grape seeds, opened his mouth while keeping his eyes fixed on the Go board. As an elite who surpassed human intelligence, his answer was quick.

“A motel. If you go through the town and go to Beomsan City, there’s the Ojak Bridge Motel.”

He said he hadn’t been there, so he didn’t know, but the facilities were good. He heard there was an elevator too. Son Kwangyeon mumbled, smacking his lips as he spat out the grape seeds.

‘That dad is really······.’

*

Jinhyuk felt dizzy because of his dad’s strange words.

As an older brother with the destiny to protect his younger siblings, he took Yujin and Hong Sujeong and evacuated to the yard.

“Do I hold it like this?”

“Yes. Like that.”

Hong Sujeong took out a black rubber band from her bag, saying she was going to play jump rope. It seemed like she had brought it from Seoul. She hooked one end on the porch leg, and Jinhyuk squatted down, holding the other end open.

‘She said she had never done this before.’

When Hong Sujeong got drunk, she would lament about her life, and one of her stories was that she didn’t have many memories of playing with her friends when she was young. She said that she had been going to academies and getting private tutoring without having time to build friendships. So she was upset that she didn’t have any memories of playing.

“In a lonely country house- one day when I woke up from sleep-.”

But now she was playing clapping games with Yujin and her mom, and playing jump rope. Even though there was no one to sing with her, she was happily singing and jumping lightly.

‘I’m realizing how much the world has changed in unexpected places.’

He had also skated on ice in the rice paddies and rode sleds. In the summer, he had played in the water and gone on adventures in the forest. Come to think of it, Jinhyuk had already painted many memories into Hong Sujeong’s life.

Subtly, a sense of responsibility and a fresh idea entered his mind.

He was already living in a different world, so wasn’t it unnecessary to worry about history and all that while pretending to be ordinary?

He had worried and agonized at one time. He was worried that the world might be twisted because of him. It wasn’t because he was a coward.

Jinhyuk was afraid that his family would be harmed by some divine punishment or something. It was a human anguish of a humble creature, but he didn’t want his family to be hurt because of him.

‘If I were alone, I would have done all sorts of things.’

Because he didn’t know the meaning of happiness, he might have made and carried out plans to destroy the world. But now he was in a position where he couldn’t live selfishly alone.

Happiness through family had put heavy shackles of responsibility on him.

Even if it was a punishment from heaven for some reason, it was a welcome fate.

Jinhyuk’s thoughts couldn’t continue.

Grrr-! Woof!

Clang-! Eek-!

Perhaps curious about the jump rope game that they had never seen in this house, Janggun came out of the house and bit Nurung’s neck. It was because Nurung had been acting up as if he had been waiting for it, but as expected, the famous dog Janggun was not careless.

‘Janggun, you’re really something.’

Jinhyuk turned his gaze to Hong Sujeong, who was jumping over the rubber band. It was his intention that dogs should solve their own problems.

“Odeu-, odeu- what country is it-. Is it a white snow country- heh heh-.”

Seeing her panting, it seemed like the little one should take a break.

It would be good to take Nurung to Choi Mikyung’s house before he died.

“A difficult and dangerous road- heh heh.”

She wanted to see the puppy, but Janggun didn’t seem to want to. It seemed like it was all over. He decided that it would be better for Nurung to live as a dog food shuttle.

‘As it is said, a hero has a partner that suits him.’

He also said that he had to be brave. Like Hong Sujeong. While thinking it was a plausible statement, Jinhyuk shrank his neck, feeling absurd himself.

Sigh-.

Anyway, he sighed because he felt sorry for Janggun.

‘Goodness. I can’t believe there’s a guy in our house who doesn’t date.’

You pathetic thing.

Jinhyuk shook his head.

For some reason, the time he spent shaking his head was long, and his expression was extremely sad.

***

He safely took Nurung back and had a peaceful night.

But Jinhyuk’s peace didn’t last long.

“Oppa, go to the reservoir-.”

“You want to go to the reservoir?”

“Yes!”

Hong Sujeong was trying to save her words because she hated the dads who laughed every time she opened her mouth. Hong Sujeong shoved a book in front of Jinhyuk’s nose. It was a study guide, and he noticed a homework assignment to collect reeds.

Right, there were all sorts of things for summer vacation homework.

Jinhyuk had also collected winter buds of four different kinds of trees during his last winter vacation.

“Okay.”

“Hiii-.”

As expected, oppa was the best.

Hong Sujeong, whose upper and lower front teeth were all missing, grinned.

Jinhyuk held back his laughter until his face turned red.

‘Cute.’

Other kids would be going to video game arcades and playing basketball in the hot sun. Jinhyuk was heading to the reservoir, leading two little ones and a mutt through the forest and along the rice paddy path.

“I, I-.”

Hong Sujeong stomped her feet, saying she would cut the reeds herself. Jinhyuk hugged her waist and held her back as she was messing around with a small pair of scissors. It wasn’t Titanic, what was this······.

Even so, he turned his head to look for Yujin. He was relieved that Janggun was nearby, but there were many snakes near the reservoir and rice paddies.

‘There’s too much grass.’

There was also a snake that was called by the pretty nickname of flower snake instead of its real name, and was misunderstood as a non-venomous snake, but for Jinhyuk, it was the one he was most wary of. It was because it hid in the grass, such as on the rice paddy ridges, and was active during the day, so it was often seen.

‘I have to be responsible for the safety of the little ones.’

Rhabdophis tigrinus [a type of venomous snake]. The body is generally mottled grass-colored, with orange-like red colors near the neck and here and there on the body. Unlike other venomous snakes, Rhabdophis tigrinus does not have fangs in the front. It secretes venom that causes internal bleeding and shock from the molars inside its mouth, and some say it is more dangerous than the Mamushi, which is the most venomous snake in Korea.

‘Was it a Japanese middle school student or an elementary school student?’

Jinhyuk remembered a case where Rhabdophis tigrinus had caused a person’s death.

Rhabdophis tigrinus was also a venomous snake, and if children were bitten by its molars, they could die in a short time.

But not many people in the countryside knew that. Jinhyuk had only learned about that knowledge during his military service.

“Oppa, my pants don’t reach.”

Jinhyuk had no choice but to release his arm that was holding Hong Sujeong’s waist and grabbed her pants. Because he unintentionally grabbed her underwear as well, her Mongolian spot was visible. But neither Jinhyuk nor Hong Sujeong cared at all. Jinhyuk was focused on putting strength into his arm, and Hong Sujeong was focused on cutting the reeds. They were both professionals focused on their own work.

Grrr-.

Was it because he was thinking about snakes for no reason?

Jinhyuk’s heart grew anxious at Janggun’s warning sound.

It was when he heard the sound of reeds being cut with a snip- in the front.

“Kyaaaaaa-.”

Yujin screamed as if she was being torn apart from behind.

Jinhyuk, who quickly turned his gaze, saw Yujin sitting down.

Yujin was picking flowers that were blooming on the rice paddy ridge, so what had happened?

Soon after, Jinhyuk’s heart grew even more anxious.

Grrr-.

In a place a little further away, Janggun was roughly shaking the tail of a snake that was over 1 meter long from side to side.

It was a Rhabdophis tigrinus.