The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 69

For several days, they monitored the rock suspected to be a debok [a type of Korean goblin or mythical creature], but the shadow did not reappear.

Worried about upsetting his mother, Jinhyuk quietly told his father and Hong Gijun about that night.

“We should call the military and sweep them all up!” Son Gwang-yeon was furious. It seemed like he was unleashing his madness now that his wife wasn’t around. ‘Is Dad going through puberty?’ Jinhyuk thought, rubbing his throbbing head, when Hong Gijun stepped in to stop him.

“Well, there’s no evidence, and we could be accused of making a false report, so it’s best to refrain.”

“I think so too, but I’m still uneasy.”

“Those kinds of people move secretly, so it’s better to pass the information to an intelligence agency to keep an eye on them. I’ll contact my acquaintances.”

“Okay.”

Hong Gijun was greatly relieved to see Jinhyuk back down so easily.

The people he had secretly assigned could have been mistaken for spies.

‘That wasn’t a debok.’

Hong Gijun recalled his actions from a few days ago and vowed never to repeat them.

*

A few days ago.

Hong Gijun, who had gone for a walk alone, clicked his tongue. He would occasionally stop to check if Son Gwang-yeon’s house was visible.

The uneven land, not easily seen at a glance, was like a vast wilderness hiding its inner self, and the forest was dark even in the middle of the day due to the densely packed trees.

Nevertheless, Son Gwang-yeon’s house was on high ground, making it seem like there were many places to watch from. Although the land was large, it wasn’t a plain, and several small forests, like ancient tombs, surrounded the village as if protecting it.

‘How am I supposed to know where they’re working like this?’

He had looked at the traffic routes entering the village, the waterway embankment, and even the thick trees on the back mountain, but he couldn’t find the person he was looking for.

He had also casually asked Son Gwang-yeon, but he said that other than people who occasionally came to look at land, there were no suspicious people in the village.

‘They’re professionals, so they wouldn’t be noticeable.’

He had firmly told them to stay hidden, so he assumed that was the case, but he couldn’t even see the cars they might be using.

Perhaps they were observing with binoculars from a place difficult to see with the naked eye.

Hong Gijun had planned to meet the people he had assigned to watch Son Gwang-yeon, give them a bonus, and encourage them.

The report on Son Jinhyuk’s punishment of the real estate fatso was also written by them. If so, they must have been lying in wait somewhere with a view of the house, but he couldn’t find them anywhere.

‘Ah, I should have made an appointment first.’

He had never met them in person, but they would know Hong Gijun’s face.

If so, they would also guess why he was wandering around like this while watching him.

Hong Gijun took out a thick yellow envelope and held it up high. Then, he turned around as if to show it off, making eye contact in all directions.

Thinking that he had communicated enough, he hid the envelope under a nearby rock and turned away. Even if they hadn’t seen Hong Gijun, it wouldn’t be a problem. He could just call them when he got home.

‘Team Leader Yang will be happy when he reads the note.’

He thought it would be good to slowly tell his friend about it.

He felt sorry for deceiving them, and he also thought it wasn’t right to do that to the bodyguards. He had told them not to take their eyes off him for 24 hours in any bad weather, so it was hard to imagine their suffering, no matter how strong they were.

‘It’s giving me a headache to keep it to myself.’

It was because of his friend’s request and the fact that he didn’t want his family to know.

That’s why he could tell Jinhyuk about his mother’s situation but not his father’s past.

‘I should tell him before I go back to Seoul.’

He arrived in the yard and looked around again.

There seemed to be plenty of space to build a house at a distance.

‘The project name ‘From the Shadows to the Light’ would be appropriate.’

He chuckled and busily wrote in his notebook. Hong Gijun was the type to connect even small ideas to business plans, so he didn’t want to forget the inspiration that came to him.

「4 guard buildings, 12 people, establish a security company in parallel, form a VIP team.」

He tore out the page he had finished writing on and took out a carefully folded piece of parchment from his pocket.

The parchment was filled with tiny writing, and he folded the torn paper on top of it and folded it again. This was how he kept important information safe.

People judged Hong Gijun to be a great business genius. But no one knew that he couldn’t do anything without this parchment.

“Where have you been?”

“Huh? Just taking a walk to digest.”

Hong Gijun was startled and turned around at the voice calling from behind.

Yu Sera was coming out of the front door, holding the hands of two children.

Hong Gijun pretended to be calm and asked back.

“Are you going for a walk too? It’s hot, you should rest inside-”

That’s when it happened.

“Honey, honeyyyy-!”

Clap-.

Along with Son Gwang-yeon’s urgent voice, there was a sound like a firecracker going off inside the house.

Hong Gijun’s eyes widened.

“What’s that sound?”

“It’s the sound of Gwang-yeon’s fortune coming true.”

Yu Sera shrugged her shoulders.

*

‘What on earth did that mean?’

Hong Gijun never found out the identity of the firecracker sound.

***

Another hot summer day dawned.

There weren’t many houses with fences or walls.

Even if there were, they were only there to block the fierce winter winds and typhoons, and it was rare to lock the gates, so anyone could easily step into a neighbor’s yard and porch.

It was a neighborhood where they would offer a seat to the postman who came at mealtime, set out new spoons, and serve warm rice. If they were rummaging through sacks on the porch, neighbors would come in without hesitation, wondering what they were doing. Once they came in, they would share stories about their lives and help with chores before leaving.

It was a neighborhood where even deer or wildcats would come into the yard and play, and people were always welcome.

A man who lived in the next village with his wife and children in the town, doing small-scale dairy farming, boasted that he had become sworn brothers with a goblin after playing Go-Stop [a Korean card game] with it because he was so lonely. One day, he walked around the neighborhood with a horn, saying that the goblin had run out of money and had given him its horn. It was unlikely that there was such a thing as a goblin, but it meant that they welcomed strangers without being wary of them.

It was something that would never have been imagined in Seoul. Son Gwang-yeon, who was afraid of leeches but liked people, also liked that aspect of the countryside and didn’t have a fence or gate. It was a modern house, so it had a sturdy steel front door instead of a paper door, so a gate was no longer necessary. Anyway.

“Hoo-, the weather is warm!”

Cheon Gil-ryong set out on his way.

Wearing a bamboo hat to block the sun, he puffed on his pipe as he walked along the winding paved bus route.

‘The shadow of that guy was dark.’

He had spent several nights sleepless, suppressed by the spirit he felt from the boy. It was a matter of pride for him as someone who could feel ghosts.

Most fortune tellers sit comfortably, looking at faces and examining fortunes. Some occasionally show spiritual abilities, but they often lose their abilities by seeking comfort. Cheon Gil-ryong was a person who was different from fortune tellers and was proficient in all aspects. It had been like that since he inherited his abilities from his older brother when he was young.

‘If the old man were alive, he would have recognized it right away.’

His older brother, Cheon Gi-ryung, had the spiritual eye. He would gather mischievous ghosts near his house to prevent them from harming people, or he would glare at and scold spirits wandering in the afterlife due to resentment. Furthermore, he could recognize divine beings or those who were about to die. He was such an amazing spiritual person that he could hear the last words of a spirit who had died not long ago and convey them to the bereaved family.

The ghosts living in the bamboo forest near Cheon Gil-ryong’s house were also the ones his brother had persuaded to stay by his younger brother’s side. Most of them were kind, mischievous, and very timid. The funny thing was that there were even a few grim reapers who refused to return to the underworld because they liked this world.

‘If even the mischievous ghosts and grim reapers are holding their breath, then there’s something about that guy.’

Cheon Gil-ryong didn’t have a natural spiritual eye, but he had strong divine energy and the wisdom his brother had passed down.

When Son Jinhyuk had come to visit a few days ago, he had been flustered, and he hadn’t been able to observe him closely because of the energy that made him shrink back.

‘I should check the house too.’

He wanted to know what was in that house that had changed the energy of the neighborhood.

There might be a divine ghost or a powerful and scary ghost called a Great God. If it was a Heavenly Great God, he might not be able to see it with his divine power, and he might not be able to sense its energy.

‘Well… if there’s a Great God, I’ll have to run like hell.’

It wouldn’t be a big loss even if he lost that, but it meant that it was better not to encounter it. He hadn’t seen a ghost in the boy who had come to visit a while ago, but his body had trembled without him realizing it.

He walked quickly and soon reached Jinhyuk’s house. The way he walked with his goosefoot cane was like a Taoist using the art of shrinking the earth [a Taoist technique for rapid travel].

“Hello, elder.”

Son Gwang-yeon, who liked people, was delighted. He was an elder from the inner village that he rarely saw. Son Gwang-yeon thought it had been 15 years since he had last seen him when he was building his house.

‘That’s not the same person.’

Son Gwang-yeon, who didn’t know the truth, was quietly impressed.

He had heard that he was over ninety years old, but how could he be so healthy? The way he walked was light and refreshing, and he looked like an ancient warrior. He was also taller than Son Gwang-yeon, making him feel like he was seeing a mountain spirit.

“Yes, yes.”

Cheon Gil-ryong was pleased with Son Gwang-yeon’s greeting and stood in the yard, looking around the house.

He walked around the yard once, puffed out pipe smoke as if disinfecting, and walked around the house once. He also tapped the walls with his goosefoot cane.

Son Gwang-yeon didn’t ask why he had come or what he was doing, but just silently followed Cheon Gil-ryong.

‘The cane is calm, so it doesn’t seem like there’s a Great God.’ Cheon Gil-ryong muttered.

He spoke loudly, as if for Son Gwang-yeon to hear, who had his hands respectfully folded.

“The site has become very good. The wind flows well, the sun shines well, and the moonlight shines well.”

Son Gwang-yeon smiled kindly as if responding.

“Because of what you said, I changed the direction of the old house and rebuilt it.”

“Yes, yes. It would be good to dry the meju [fermented soybean blocks] and warm the floor there.”

‘That’s not what I said, but good job.’ Cheon Gil-ryong moved his lips and turned his eyes to where Son Gwang-yeon was pointing.

The old house where Jinhyuk was born and lived was still there in the direction Son Gwang-yeon was pointing. It had been rebuilt, but the exterior was the same.

Cheon Gil-ryong nodded and turned away without any regrets, as if he had finished his business. There was nothing wrong with the house, so he had to look at the boy again, but he was disappointed that the main character wasn’t there.

Han Yu-young urgently called out to Cheon Gil-ryong.

“Elder, please have a meal before you go.”

“A meal, what-”

Cheon Gil-ryong was about to refuse, but he stopped when he saw Han Yu-young.

Her eyes looking at him were so earnest. Her face looked like she was even swallowing her tears. It was a feeling that was not unfamiliar to him, the way the women who had come from afar to marry in the countryside treated him. Rather, it was something he was used to.

There was a reason why Cheon Gil-ryong was so healthy for his age. The women would look at Cheon Gil-ryong and think of their fathers they had left behind in their hometowns, and they would be anxious to feed him. If they had any precious ginseng or medicinal herbs, they would secretly bring them to him and check if there was enough food in his house.

So there was no reason why Cheon Gil-ryong couldn’t read Han Yu-young’s feelings. Although he wasn’t as good as his brother Cheon Gi-ryung, he was also a virtuous person.

‘She must be thinking of her father.’

Cheon Gil-ryong closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them.

That woman was definitely the youngest of the youngest, so she must have grown up with a lot of her father’s love, so how great her longing must be. If her father were alive, he would be about the same age as him. What was so difficult about having a meal?

Cheon Gil-ryong carefully put his hands together and looked at Han Yu-young as if pleading.

“May I eat here in the yard?”

“Yes. I’ll prepare it right away.”

Han Yu-young quickly wiped the flat bench with a dishcloth and headed into the house with excited steps. Her eyes were red, and she kept sniffing, but she had a look of joy on her lips.

Son Gwang-yeon was bewildered by his wife’s appearance, which he had never seen before, but he silently brought out the table.

The table was soon set under the shade of the zelkova tree.

Before picking up his spoon, Cheon Gil-ryong looked at the food that had been prepared.

‘It’s well-prepared. How long has it been since I had such a feast?’

It had been two days since his wife had made him a small abalone dish the day before yesterday.

Before picking up his chopsticks, Cheon Gil-ryong looked down at the table. It was the demeanor of a divine being embracing the world. He was satisfied with the dried pollack soup with plenty of tofu, the soybean paste stew with bright yellow mushrooms, the grilled fish, and the neatly prepared seasoned vegetables.

There was also a side dish that he had never seen before.

“Hada-budi, you have to eat this too.”

A girl with all her front teeth missing carefully placed the dish she was holding on the table.

It was a side dish that had been coated in egg and fried, and it was the first time Cheon Gil-ryong had seen it.

It looked similar to yukjeon [Korean pan-fried savory pancakes] at first glance.

“Oh ho ho, what is this?”

“Ham. This is what Tudungi likes the most.”

To serve a side dish that the little one liked, there could be no greater hospitality. Cheon Gil-ryong smiled broadly at Hong Su-jeong.

He took a bite of the ham coated in egg and fried.

‘Ouch, it’s salty.’

For the sake of the child who was watching his reaction with sparkling eyes, Cheon Gil-ryong chewed as best as he could. This kid didn’t even have teeth, so she couldn’t chew properly and had given up her side dish. Anyway, it was still salty. He felt better after putting a lot of rice in his mouth. His throat was dry, so he also emptied a cup of cool barley tea.

“Hehehe-, that’s a real rice thief!”

“Yeah, yeah. Is it good? Have another one-”

Another one?

Cold sweat ran down Cheon Gil-ryong’s back.

He was patting his chest because the food wasn’t going down, when a baby smaller than the toothless child approached.

“Grandpa, will you have another one?”

They were formidable opponents.

‘Ugh-, should I not have come?’

He had come to see if there were any ghosts, but it looked like he was going to become one.