The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 71

Cheon Gil-ryong dusted off his pipe on his palm and chuckled.

It was a clear laugh that made him seem like Jinhyuk’s peer, not an old man.

“When fate changes, you tend to feel that way. Didn’t you change your fate too? You’ve heard this old man’s words, so you must have thought about it, right?”

Even if it wasn’t Cheon Gil-ryong, Jinhyuk had experienced changing his fate on that day when he was nine years old and felt that feeling. However, while there was emotion, he never thought he had come back from the dead. He did feel like he had woken up from a long sleep.

Jinhyuk couldn’t readily think of what to say. There weren’t many such cases, and he had never met such a person before.

As they walked up the hill, Cheon Gil-ryong sighed deeply.

“Worrying is a privilege of animals with brains, but the more complex it is, the simpler it needs to be. People just need to eat well and live well. Oh, I’m out of breath.”

“Should I give you a piggyback ride if you’re tired?”

“Does this rascal think I’m a frail old man? I’m out of breath because I ate breakfast twice, you rascal.”

He wouldn’t have eaten if it weren’t for Han Yu-young’s earnest eyes. These people are scarier than ghosts. They have a knack for making people’s hearts weak. This worn-out old man, who was confident that nothing in the world could excite him, found his sly heart pounding when faced with this family’s gaze.

“May I visit you again?”

“You can if you want. You can call too.”

“Ah…?”

Do you have a phone too? Jinhyuk mumbled in a subdued voice.

“What era do you think this is, you rascal? Do you think I wouldn’t have a phone? Even though it looks like this, it’s a state-of-the-art push-button one!”

It’s a cordless phone set, so it works even on the porch, you rascal. Cheon Gil-ryong grumbled as if dissatisfied with Jinhyuk’s reaction.

Could it be that an ARS [Automated Response System] answers? Jinhyuk only questioned it in his mind.

“I also have a TV and a VCR. I’ve taken the bus to town and rented and watched all of ‘Predator’ parts one and two, I have.”

Cheon Gil-ryong adjusted his bamboo hat and walked slowly.

“Do you know what a Zen riddle is?”

“Yes, well…”

“Do you like them?”

“No.”

It was a question he could answer decisively and confidently.

Jinhyuk prefers direct and efficient conversations. When he talked to people who beat around the bush or expressed themselves cautiously, it felt like cancer cells were growing in his chest. It was the attitude of a worn-out man who dealt with everything in the world in a businesslike manner, not swayed by emotions.

“That’s a relief. I like them though. Sit here for a bit.”

“What…”

“Just sit, you rascal!”

He thought he was a nice grandpa, but now he seemed strange and eccentric.

Jinhyuk sat on a rock by the roadside, following Cheon Gil-ryong. There was still time left until the makgeolli [Korean rice wine] truck arrived anyway.

“A rabbit runs around well in the mountains. But it often bumps its head into trees. But a deer, which is bigger than a rabbit, never bumps into anything.”

“Yes. I see.”

It was a random fable, but he still reacted politely, considering he was an elder.

“Do you know the difference?”

“No. I’ve never thought about it…”

Cheon Gil-ryong laughed heartily as if he expected that.

“Rabbits run while looking at the trees. To avoid bumping into them, and to hide at any time. But if you run while looking at the trees, you’ll end up bumping into them without even realizing it.”

“What about the deer?”

“It only looks at the path while running. It only focuses on its own survival. It knows that running away faster, farther, and with all its might is the way to survive. Because it only looks at the path, it doesn’t lose its way even when it gets scratched by trees.”

“Yes…”

Jinhyuk nodded, trying to guess why Cheon Gil-ryong had brought up the fable.

“It’s all about interpretation, you rascal. Those who seek fortune tellers all interpret things their own way. And that’s not wrong either…”

Cheon Gil-ryong pointed his pipe towards the town.

“Those who believe in the cross over there also interpret the scriptures as they please…”

“Ah…”

Worried that someone who goes to church might get angry, Jinhyuk glanced around the empty field.

“Is life long? You’re good at running, right?”

“Yes, well…”

“To the people watching, the race ends quickly. But how does it feel when you’re actually running?”

“…”

He hadn’t thought about it that far.

The time from the starting command to the gunshot feels surprisingly long. But after crossing the finish line, the race feels like a very short moment. And when he was actually in the race, he felt strangely impatient, and the time felt long.

“Is running long, or is life long?”

Cheon Gil-ryong laughed as he looked at Jinhyuk, who was listening with a blank expression.

“A guy who runs well while looking ahead, if he spins around like a stupid animal, marveling at his own shadow, he’s useless.”

“Yes, I won’t spin around.”

He decided to think about what it meant later. Affirmation was the only way to escape the barrage of nagging.

“That’s a relief then. From afar, they said you think too much.”

It was a strange way of speaking. It was as if he had heard it from someone else.

“Zhuge Liang [a famous strategist in Chinese history] was not great because he thought a lot. It was because he drew everything into his own thoughts. Date, make money, and live happily. Nothing is faster than yesterday that has passed.”

With a grunt, Cheon Gil-ryong got up, supporting himself on his knees. It was before he could even ponder the words he had rattled off.

Jinhyuk mustered his courage and asked.

“Can I call you Grandpa?”

“Then am I a grandpa or a grandma? You look normal, but you’re so bland.”

He sounded like he was grumbling, but laughter was mixed in.

Jinhyuk saw Cheon Gil-ryong disappear from his sight in an instant, and bid him farewell in his heart.

He was grateful, but also frustrated.

‘It’s infuriating.’

It would be nice if he could just answer with a clear yes or no.

Was his head getting worse because he was only used to believing and calculating what he could see, just like that old man said? Was he worrying and conflicted because he couldn’t accept it with his heart? Maybe it was because he was used to reports.

‘But did he come just to have a Zen riddle session?’

To Jinhyuk, that old man was the bland one.

Even though it was a Zen riddle, wasn’t he just talking nonsense and then leaving?

***

When he reached a place out of Jinhyuk’s sight, Cheon Gil-ryong let out a long sigh, “Haaah”. It was utterly baffling.

‘Damn it. I must be lacking in training too. There’s definitely something fishy about him.’

Other than the cool reaction from the mugwort cane, he couldn’t see or feel anything.

Yet, he felt breathless.

Cheon Gil-ryong stopped walking for a moment and glared at the mugwort cane.

‘Is there something stronger than a deity attached to him?’

There was no other way to explain it. No matter how great the boy’s spirit was, it was impossible for a human to possess such a strange power.

If his brother were here, he would have told him what it was.

He tilted his bamboo hat back and looked up at the sky filled with cumulus clouds.

It felt like his brother was making a fist and teasing him. Mocking him for being a fool.

“Damn old man. I’m going to live longer than you.”

He raised his middle finger to the sky.

“Eat this!”

He had seen the gangsters curse at the police like this in the movie he had rented recently.

Cheon Gil-ryong’s legs moved with a whooshing sound. Carrying his body as he muttered that he would now live while enjoying himself.

Should I go to church… They say they give noodles at lunchtime.

These days, it’s not easy to get noodles because even the wedding receptions are held in town.

***

Even after Cheon Gil-ryong left, Jinhyuk was still sitting on the rock with a blank face.

There was nothing he was dissatisfied with. He just needed time to think.

‘What did he want to say?’

When he stroked Janggun, who had belatedly followed him, all of Cheon Gil-ryong’s words disappeared, and only a smile remained on his face.

Indeed, there was no greater healing for Jinhyuk than Janggun.

Heheheh-.

“Oh, my Janggun-.”

Whirr-ker-ker-cough-cough-!

Finally, the makgeolli truck appeared with the sound of an old man gasping for breath. Even without raising a hand, it would stop if you were on the roadside with a kettle or a container. The driver stuck his arm out of the car window and greeted him.

“Are you the uncle from that big house? How are you?”

“Yes, hello.”

It was a truck that operated from the brewery in the town near the entrance of Gubong Mountain, and it went to Lee Hae-won’s corner store in An Village at this time every day.

“Are you buying?”

“Yes. Fill it up, please.”

A dark-skinned man, who looked to be around thirty, got out of the driver’s seat and grabbed the hose.

He was a man who was awkward with Jinhyuk, as he only received makgeolli when Hong Gi-jun’s family came.

‘He used to speak informally until two years ago.’

Indeed, if you’re tall, you look like an adult.

The fragrant makgeolli poured out of the gun-shaped nozzle like a gas pump, quickly filling the container.

‘Mmm. That looks delicious.’

When he was nine years old, it was 2,000 won to fill a 6-liter aluminum kettle, and now, five years later, it costs 5,000 won. The funny thing is, if you fill a container that is more than three times the size of the kettle, it costs 10,000 won. It’s all over the place.

On his way back home, he took a little makgeolli on the outer lid of the container.

He suppressed the urge to drink it. It was truly an incredible display of self-control.

“Janggun, you followed me because you wanted to drink this, right?”

Heheheh-.

It seemed so, judging by how his tail was wagging like it would fall off. Janggun was the type of guy who waited for Hong Gi-jun’s family to visit so he could get some makgeolli.

Jinhyuk smacked his lips as he stroked Janggun, who was licking the makgeolli.

When Jinhyuk returned home, a movie was unfolding in the yard.

‘It looks like a happy ending scene.’

Hong Su-jeong was sitting under the cherry tree, applying balsam water to Yu-jin’s hands. The little girl’s hand movements were skillful as she crushed the balsam flowers, leaves, and alum together and wrapped them in plastic.

“Yu-jin, let’s dye Danggun’s nails next time.”

“Yes, ehehe-.”

The adults were sitting around the porch, having a heated discussion.

“Wasn’t my fortune the best?”

“Yes, your fortune was good, unnie [older sister].”

“No, my fortune is better. According to the interpretation, I should be the president, right?”

“Yeah, Gi-jun, be the president. I’ll vote for you.”

Just… It was a scene where Yu Se-ra and Hong Gi-jun were floundering in Cheon Gil-ryong’s honey pot of blessings, and their mom and dad were pressing their heads down, but if they were happy, that was all that mattered.

“You’re too soft, you can’t be president!”

“That’s right, a pretty and feisty unnie should do it.”

“Then I’ll start a coup.”

“Yeah, Gi-jun, start a coup. I’ll make you a Molotov cocktail.”

Indeed, it’s best to do the ‘aww’ without thinking. His parents had realized that early on. Unconditional empathy, they were truly wonderful people. Their timing in catching every word, even while eating watermelon, was especially outstanding.

Jinhyuk climbed up the plum tree and watched the adults, thinking.

Isn’t desire the purest form of energy?

The earnest wish to achieve a dream. The reason for living that you always pursue, no matter where you are or who you are with.

‘I feel like a dogmatic philosopher.’

Perhaps Cheon Gil-ryong came to give some kind of teaching. To live straight, looking ahead, without getting confused or disoriented.

He also said that his brother had died to protect this family, so he should protect them too. Choi Mi-kyung’s grandmother had said something similar.

Since Cheon Gil-ryong didn’t explicitly state his purpose for visiting, he guessed it that way. They say it’s all about interpretation, so he led his thoughts in a direction that was even slightly advantageous and comforting to himself.

‘So what if there are some ghosts? As long as they don’t harm our family.’

He put his arm under his head and leaned against a thick branch.

He had been having strange thoughts that maybe a ghost was coming out of him because of meditation, but it seemed like that was a foolish thought after all.

“They said I’m someone who will make a name for myself.”

“Yes. Your name is pretty, so it’s okay, unnie.”

“They said I’m going to command the world, you know?”

“Yeah, Gi-jun, command it. I’ll buy you a megaphone.”

When will those young adults grow up?

Hong Su-jeong and Yu-jin seemed more serious.

“Danggun-ah-! Come here!”

“Kyahaha-!”

Heheheh-.

The little ones ran around, trying to dye Janggun’s nails with balsam water, and then collapsed from exhaustion. No matter how drunk he was, Janggun was not the type to be caught by the little ones.

“Yu-jin, who are you going to marry?”

“You’re going to marry our oppa [older brother], right?”

“Hey! So Yu-jin! What are you listening to?”

Sigh, Janggun is better than those immature people…

He turned his gaze to Janggun, who had come under the plum tree and was lying down as if protecting Jinhyuk.

Gurr-squeak-.

That rascal is sleeping.

The smell of alcohol wafted from Janggun’s mouth.