The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 65

Jinhyeok and Hong Sujeong went home after only playing in the water, not catching any fish. Janggun, whose swelling had subsided quite a bit after a good nap, was with them.

The sound of the Seoul kid’s shrieking laughter still seemed to ring in their ears.

‘Aigoo- playing with kids is the hardest. I couldn’t even get the ingredients for the fish stew.’

It was a relief that no one cared since the house was full of food.

The taste of the octopus that the dads had caught, boiled until tender and dipped in vinegar-gochujang [a spicy, savory, and sweet red chili paste] sauce, was excellent. It was fresh octopus that could only be tasted in the summer. There was also chicken baeksuk [a Korean dish of chicken boiled with garlic, ginseng, and other herbs], but it seemed like they wouldn’t touch it until they had finished all the octopus.

As always, the star of the meal was Yujin. Everyone smiled at her wildness as she held a whole boiled octopus and tore into it.

“It’s delicious.”

Yujin had changed her unique way of speaking a lot after hanging out with Hong Sujeong. Indeed, humans are animals of learning and adaptation. It was an amazing change in a short time.

‘It’s so comfortable because Yujin is hogging all the attention.’

How refreshing it was not to be asked this and that.

Even Hong Gijun, who used to ask what his dream was every vacation, just smiled like a proud father while looking at Yujin.

“Oppa, is it delicious too?”

“Uh-huh.”

However, Yujin’s attention was directed towards her older brother, and her way of speaking didn’t seem to have changed completely yet. That was a problem that would be solved over time, so Jinhyeok was grateful for even this much.

“Kuh-ah-, that’s refreshing!”

Son Gwangyeon exclaimed with the flair of a Seoul man.

Watching his dad gulp down the soup as if he were having a hangover cure, Jinhyeok also took a sip of the yeonpotang soup [a soup made with octopus and vegetables].

Kuh-ah-.

‘What did they put in it?’

He examined the ingredients that had gone into the soup after the octopus was taken out. He wondered what kind of magic his mom had used.

Gourd, onion, minced garlic, unminced garlic, radish, cabbage, water parsley, crown daisy…

‘Is the color like this because of the soy sauce? Or is it octopus ink?’

Anyway, the soup that swept down his esophagus and into his chest was superb. It wasn’t even spicy, but just one sip opened his pores and released the heat from his body.

Besides the kimchi and kkakdugi [a type of kimchi made with cubed radish], there were no other side dishes, but he ate five bowls of rice with it.

He was usually a light eater, but his appetite had flared up like wildfire after his body had grown.

Many people would argue that he was not a light eater, but Jinhyeok had something to say.

– “How much is Jinekie gonna grow to eat like a cow?”

Jinhyeok had to agree with the one word that the all-knowing Jo Ilheon had casually thrown out. He was a person who had a talent for capturing directness with clear sentences.

“Sujeong-ah, Dad will catch a lot!”

After dinner, Hong Gijun clenched his fist.

The dads, saying they would catch catfish, slung their fishing rods over their shoulders and headed towards the darkening waterway. They had set aside the chicken entrails they had caught during the day, so he thought they were going to boil them for Janggun, but it seemed they were going to use them as bait for catfish fishing. Jo Ilheon had told them that if they cut the chicken entrails appropriately and tied knots on both sides, they would make excellent bait.

‘Will those dads really be able to catch catfish?’

Jinhyeok mentally bet 500 won that they wouldn’t.

They would probably scare all the fish away while chatting.

‘They might come back early because they’re scared of bullfrogs.’

The moms headed to Han Yuyoung’s garden on the rooftop. It was because Yu Sera had been begging to be taught knitting, saying she had been waiting for the vacation to come.

Since the adults were spending time in pairs, the children also hung out on their own.

Hong Sujeong opened a picture book in the living room and taught Yujin how to speak.

As he sat on the porch, enjoying the feeling of fullness, he could hear the clear voices of the two little ones through the living room screen door.

“Bidudi.”

“Pigeon.”

“Botua.”

“Peach.”

“Goyai.”

“Cat.”

It seemed like Yujin was better at it.

Jinhyeok closed his eyes and regulated his breathing. He carefully tensed his brow.

Recently, there had been a series of mysterious events, and even though he tried to accept it, a corner of his heart was uneasy.

‘Why are such things happening around me?’

His back pain was like that, and so was the snake attack.

His previous life was a wasteland without even a stroke of luck, let alone coincidence. Now, all sorts of lucky chances seemed to appear and help him. But even so, the lucky chances had no substance.

‘Of course, the only person to suspect is me.’

As far as Jinhyeok knew, the most bizarre and logically inexplicable being was himself.

There was no one to confide in, and it wasn’t something that would be solved by worrying alone. So, he was planning to brush it off. But even so, the distracting thoughts wouldn’t leave his mind.

In short, it was unsettling.

‘I’ve been hit head-on by this damn teenage rebellion.’

Brain breathing, danjeon breathing [a type of traditional Korean breathing exercise]. It didn’t matter what you called it.

Jinhyeok, who had entered meditation, emptied his head, lungs, and danjeon completely.

It was a method he used to maintain his composure and manage his condition after returning to the past. When he did that, blurry memories often came to mind, and he also felt like he was looking into the depths of himself.

Grrr-.

Janggun barked a warning, so he pricked up his ears, wondering if someone was coming. But he couldn’t hear even the slightest footstep.

“Janggun, be quiet.”

At first, he thought he had died and gone to heaven. He realized that wasn’t the case after a day. The life that followed was the ordinary and happy daily life with his family that he had always longed for. He had lived for several years, holding the bluebird that had come into his arms tightly.

Even though he had no intention of harming others, when he unexpectedly had to use force, he realized that anger was coiled like magma around his heart.

‘Family, my switch.’

That was a clear fact. The magma that Jinhyeok held seemed to be boiling over, as if it would not forgive even the smallest pebble thrown at his family and would swallow the culprit of the stone throwing.

Grrr-.

Janggun was starting again. He always thought he was really uncooperative, but he was always amazed by it. Not only Janggun, but other people’s dogs also growled for no reason, didn’t they?

“Aish! You troublemaker!”

Jinhyeok let out a breath that had been held back and opened his eyes. The dark vision brightened, and at the same time, Janggun’s growling stopped.

“You, why are you making such a fuss?”

He snapped at him like that, but then he felt sorry for Janggun again. Whether he was annoying or not, he was his friend who always watched over Jinhyeok from the closest distance. He playfully ruffled Janggun’s head, which had subsided quite a bit.

“Ooh, my good boy.”

He was like this, then like that.

Jinhyeok himself was surprised by the change in his feelings.

Hehehe-.

Jinhyeok’s face, as he petted Janggun and brushed his fur, was comically distorted.

‘Is it not puberty, but menopause?’

If you counted from his age in his previous life, it would be natural to say that he had been hit head-on by a menopausal storm.

There weren’t many reasons that he could think of as a human being, based on logic.

‘Is it because my body is comfortable these days?’

That’s why the distracting thoughts wouldn’t leave. He had heard that you should exercise during menopause.

Jinhyeok nodded and grabbed the jump rope.

As he was adjusting the rope because of his increased height, the front door opened. The little ones appeared, chattering. An ominous premonition swept over him.

“Oppa.”

“Let’s go to the subak terihayo.”

“Let’s do watermelon. Let’s go thieving.”

That’s illegal. Jinhyeok swallowed his words.

That wicked Seoul general had seduced my innocent younger sister, Yujin. But if he refused, they would be sad. And he had decided to be good to Sujeong.

Jinhyeok had no choice but to leave the yard and head to the stream.

‘During vacation, I go to the stream at least once a day.’

And there were days like today when he went twice a day.

It was a road he used to run every day when he was in elementary school, but after entering middle school, he only used it when he was playing in the water or catching fish.

A dark place, quite far from the houses.

A place where you could only hear the sound of water trickling without any streetlights.

It was the perfect place to do bad things.

The moon was shining brightly, so the four lives and shadows were too visible. Well, it was important to get the feeling of stealing.

Jinhyeok, who was about to pick just anything, stopped awkwardly at the order that came from behind.

“Oppa, like a real thief-.”

“Oppa, like a real one. A thief.”

A sigh escaped from Jinhyeok’s mouth.

Nothing was easy.

‘Aigoo, my head.’

His inner headache also hit Jinhyeok, on top of the subtle throbbing that had been going on for a few days.

But since the little ones wanted a realistic theft, there was nothing he could do.

Because the older brother had to take responsibility for creating the children’s memories.

‘Then I’ll gladly show you the FM crawl [a military term for a low crawl].’

I even crossed mountains with a crawl!

The pride of a reserve soldier was something that raised its head regardless of time, place, or opponent.

Jinhyeok lay flat on his stomach and entered the watermelon field furrow. It was a perfect low crawl position. The dense watermelon vines completely covered Jinhyeok’s body.

Hong Sujeong, Yujin, and Janggun also crawled after Jinhyeok. The two clumsy little ones were in a position with their butts sticking up high, and Janggun, who was short-legged enough that he didn’t need to, also stuck up his butt, following Son Yujin.

It didn’t matter if their clothes and fur got dirty. In the countryside, you can’t do anything if you worry about that.

‘It’s strangely exciting.’

Was it because it was a bad thing? His heart was pounding without permission.

“Thump-thump.”

The two little ones seemed to be the same. How nervous must they be for the sound of their hearts beating to leak out of their mouths? Jinhyeok could perfectly understand the children’s feelings of being immersed in adventure.

Mosquitoes were mercilessly biting his neck, arms, ankles, and ears. But he endured it. You can’t live in the countryside if you worry about mosquitoes.

He picked a watermelon that was ripe and had its stem turned.

“Tung gong!”

“Success!”

The little ones cheered.

Jinhyeok, with a serious expression, raised his index finger to his mouth.

Hey, be quiet. I’m so embarrassed, really.

Why were they so excited about this? Would even this be remembered as an adventure for the children?

He went to the stream, washed the watermelon, and settled down. The little accomplices sat in a circle around Jinhyeok. Their faces, hands, and arms were covered in dirt and debris, making them look like beggars.

The beggar king hit the watermelon.

Thud- Crack-! He pierced the watermelon with the edge of his hand. If you can’t pierce a watermelon with the edge of your hand, you shouldn’t even think about stealing watermelons in the countryside.

He split the watermelon without much effort and divided the ripe red watermelon into several pieces for the little ones and Janggun.

Slurp-slurp-cheop-cheop-.

“Ah-, it’s delicious.”

Hehehe-.

Watching the kids eat the watermelon, their faces smeared with juice, Jinhyeok felt a sense of self-loathing. Even if a regressor like him dreamed of an ordinary life, he was using his trained body to steal watermelons with little kids.

And that wasn’t all.

‘Is there anyone else besides me who steals watermelons from their own field?’

He sighed bitterly and took a piece of watermelon and put it in his mouth.

‘Ooh-.’

It was otherworldly sweetness.

Jinhyeok also buried his face in the watermelon.

‘Hehehe- it’s so delicious.’

The moon, which was almost full, was a blue moon that was fuller than a waxing crescent moon.

The watermelon thieves were also getting full. Under the blue moon, their appearance, with watermelon juice dripping from their mouths, resembled vampires having a feast.

Next year, watermelons would grow in Janggun’s toilet.

Jinhyeok licked the sweet juice from his lips and turned his gaze towards the bright moon.

‘How can it be so dazzling?’

The moon was said to symbolize yin energy, so if a ghost was really attached to my body, wouldn’t it be more chaotic on a day like this? Was that why I had been experiencing strange things for the past few days, when the timing had coincidentally been right?

Looking at himself, unable to let go of his lingering thoughts, he seriously suspected that he was going through menopause.

It was a dreamy moonlight.

The soft ripples of the stream, illuminated by the moonlight, stirred up an extraordinary feeling.

It made his eyes sting, like a cloak worn by a legendary being.

The sound of the stream flowing right next to him seemed distant, and the chatter of the little ones also subsided. Even the subtle flapping of a small mosquito’s wings was trapped within Jinhyeok’s vision.

He watched with his heart as the cool, pale light seeped in. It resembled the radiance of the blue moon shattered in the fog. The moonlight passed through the crown of his head, pierced his skull, and plunged into his heart, then into his lower abdomen, opening up his senses.

Jinhyeok tensed his jaw joint.

If it weren’t for his youthful appearance, he would have looked like a grown young man to anyone.

He could feel the power of his solid heart beating, even without placing his hand on his chest.

A blue flame of passion ignited.

The many thoughts converged into one point and were sharpened sharply.

As the distracting thoughts cleared and the agitation subsided, his mind was calm.

‘It’s new. My body and my mind.’

A lightning bolt struck Jinhyeok’s brain.

At this moment, as if turning the pages of a forgotten history book to confirm a secret story, a unique being came to mind. It was a person who often appeared in the conversations of the neighborhood elders.

Jinhyeok, wiping his mouth with his sleeve, had shining eyes.

‘I need to see that grandfather once.’

An unusual phenomenon, a psychology that was so eccentric that it could not be attributed to hormones alone, and the sudden tranquility that came as if mocking it.

He was the only person who could give an answer to the strange event.

He now recalled the living legend that the grandmother had also mentioned at Seonnyeo Rock.

The shaman grandfather.