The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 77

Son Gwangyeon and Hong Gijun each rented convertibles and toured around Oahu Island.

It was a free trip without any constraints on time or course. There were so few cars on the coastal road, just like in Dunaeri, that they could drive slowly without worrying about others.

“Wow! Oppa, this reminds me of the old days, doesn’t it?”

As Yuse-ra, who loved driving, chattered happily, Hong Gijun also got excited. The thrill of their old dating days was revived, making him feel like he had returned to his youth.

‘It was great. It was thrilling trying to shake off the guys who were tailing us.’

Son Gwangyeon was also happy that his first overseas trip was with his wife.

People were fishing in places where the water was so clear you wondered if they could catch anything, while others were swimming or sunbathing. Oh, that woman over there isn’t wearing anything on top. It was a shame she was lying face down on the sunbed, but he still saw everything while driving. Still, for Son Gwangyeon, the greatest happiness was watching his wife enjoy herself in the passenger seat.

“Ah, this is so wonderful. Is this what heaven looks like?”

“Should we buy some land in Hawaii?”

“Can we do that?”

“Of course. Even if it’s not possible, we’ll make it happen.”

Actually, last night, while having dinner with Hong Gijun, they had discussed the possibility of spending their old age together in Hawaii. It seemed that everyone who went on a trip had the thought of wanting to live there at least once. Both Son Gwangyeon, who was on his first overseas trip, and Hong Gijun, whose passport had no space left for stamps due to frequent business trips, were completely captivated by Hawaii’s charm.

“Can we even inherit it?”

“Of course, we can, right?”

If not, they would just find a way.

To think she was already thinking about inheritance, even at this moment, his wife was thinking about the children at home. Sometimes, it would be nice if she could just enjoy herself. But then again, Son Gwangyeon was also someone who thought of his family first, so he understood his wife’s feelings.

“I might just buy it in Jinhyuk’s name.”

“Oh my, that’s a good idea too.”

Son Gwangyeon vowed to buy land in Hawaii through Hong Gijun as soon as they returned home.

But what kind of farming should they do in Hawaii?

The pineapple they had for breakfast was so delicious.

Even after Hong Gijun left to meet a business associate who had flown in from the US mainland, Son Gwangyeon and Han Yuyoung continued to talk about land.

While strolling along Waikiki Beach.

“Land!”

“Land!”

Even while eating dinner.

“Land!”

“Laaand!”

Yuse-ra was amazed by the couple in front of her.

‘They’ve been talking about land all day long.’

Didn’t they get tired? It was like they were obsessed with land. But listening to them was also fun, like watching children play.

“It would be nice to live next to Gijun.”

“Then you should discuss it more with Sujeong’s dad. You might have different preferences for the area.”

Hong Gijun, who had returned from his meeting, overheard their conversation and added a comment.

“Why buy separately? Just buy it together in Jinhyuk’s name. A big piece.”

It was natural. It was a remark that came out casually, as if they were a family living together.

He didn’t know why, but Son Gwangyeon and Han Yuyoung nodded, agreeing that it was a good idea, and Yuse-ra even clapped like a seal, saying that her husband’s decision-making skills were as good as ever.

They were truly natural people.

Han Yuyoung’s eyes trembled as she thought of her children again.

“I wonder if our Yujin is looking for her mom?”

“Oppa will be holding her tight, so focus on your vacation. Our Sujeong is at her grandparents’ house without any siblings.”

Well, it didn’t really comfort her, but thanks to Yuse-ra, she was relieved that she wasn’t the only bad mom.

***

At that moment, Son Jinhyuk, who had suddenly become the owner of land in Hawaii, was fighting a desperate battle while hugging a wild boar.

‘Ugh, this feels so awkward.’

Had he ever hugged and rolled around with someone this intensely? If he had used this skill in dating, he would have become a stalker. As far as Jinhyuk remembered, the only time he had grabbed someone like this was when he participated in ssireum [Korean wrestling] during the sports festival. In judo, he didn’t really use holds or chokes.

Anyway, this wild boar had charged past Jinhyuk and was heading for Yujin.

It was a misstep by the wild boar, which was trying to attack the weak according to the laws of the wild.

Having been momentarily frightened by the encounter with a strange beast, Jinhyuk’s eyes flashed with anger. The wild boar had touched the family, the tripwire of the claymore mine that was Son Jinhyuk.

“How dare you!”

Who do you think you’re messing with!

Jinhyuk instinctively wrapped his arm around the boar’s neck. As if he were hugging a boulder, the wild boar was full of the strength of a wild animal. Jinhyuk was dragged along for a moment as the boar pulled him.

But only for a moment.

He couldn’t protect his sister if he was being dragged around. He planted his feet on the ground and pushed with all his might. He braced himself against a thick tree root that protruded from the ground, lying down to resist. He locked his ankles and knee joints, making his legs like logs, and his thighs swelled as if they would burst.

Jinhyuk had long arms, but the boar’s neck was too thick to wrap one arm around it. It was so thick that it was hard to tell if it even had a neck. He locked his wrists together, holding on tightly.

Oink-! Owee-!

The wild boar struggled.

“Ugh! Huk!”

Jinhyuk did his best.

‘Die! Die!’ He couldn’t say it out loud for fear of scaring Yujin, so he shouted it in his mind.

The wild boar’s fangs pierced his side and stomach as it thrashed. Fortunately, his clothes were only torn without any injuries or bleeding.

***

The wild boar was confused.

It was this morning when it had left its home, following the scent of the wind and mushrooms, and entered this unfamiliar land. Other pigs had told it that it was dangerous outside of Gubong Mountain. But even after leaving the mountain and walking along the road, oinking, it hadn’t encountered any danger, let alone any fun adventures.

Following its instincts, it entered a dark forest filled with the smell of rotten wood. It was a forest with a lot of the mushrooms it liked. It didn’t know their names. It only knew from experience that they were mushrooms that made it feel good when eaten. Yellowish and round mushrooms, bright yellow and flat mushrooms that were good to eat, and mushrooms with a mix of white and light brown.

The beast had no idea that humans called them hallucinogenic mushrooms and avoided them.

There were rumors that a deer had eaten too many of those mushrooms and drowned in the water, but if you had the patience to control your eating, you wouldn’t be a pig. In the wild, where you don’t know when you’ll be able to eat again, portion control was a nonexistent concept.

Perhaps it was because it had eaten too much, but its head was spinning, and it felt like its blood was flowing faster. It was out of breath, and its pig heart was pounding. But it kept eating. As it was eating everything in sight, it encountered a person walking on two legs.

They were big, dark, and looked strong.

Its blood was boiling, and its breath was rough, but it wanted to fight. It wanted to prove its strength and let the whole world know that the wild boar was the owner of this land full of mushrooms, and it had decided to live in this forest. So, it couldn’t back down.

At that moment, the humans and the dog it saw were just intruders. As it burned with fighting spirit, saliva dripped down, and a deep, guttural sound, like scraping tree roots, rose from deep within its throat.

It was an unavoidable fight, and it charged at the big person.

Then, it saw a small person with their back turned. That small person was weak and would fall with just one hit. Following its instincts, the wild boar charged towards the small human. Since they were in a straight line, it could change its target without much effort.

But the big person didn’t allow the wild boar’s surprise attack. They grabbed the wild boar’s neck faster than a squirrel.

They fought like that for a long time. Or rather, it was more like the boar was struggling because it was being choked.

It was getting harder and harder to breathe.

The wild boar pleaded with the person.

Oink-, I think I’m coming back to my senses now, can you let me go?

It seemed they couldn’t understand pig language. Or maybe they had no intention of letting go.

Oink-! The wild boar gathered all its strength and let out a roar. It felt the energy it had accumulated since spring gathering into one point. With this power, it could break free from the big person’s strong forearms!

It unleashed its power.

Poo-shhh-.

***

Oink-! The wild boar suddenly let out a strange cry.

Startled by the sound, Jinhyuk tightened his grip on the boar’s neck, putting so much force into his arms that they felt like they would break.

In the midst of the struggle, Jinhyuk suddenly smelled a strong, foul odor of feces.

He had heard that animals on the verge of death would defecate. He remembered what his grandfather, Cheon Gilyong, had told him, and he gained courage. How long had he held on, enduring and enduring?

Owee-.

Finally, the wild boar collapsed.

‘I’ve burned myself out.’

Jinhyuk also felt nauseous, and his lower abdomen felt heavy, as if he needed to defecate.

It meant that he had exerted himself to the point of exhaustion. It was the aftermath of squeezing all the strength out of his body for a considerable amount of time.

‘I need to poop… I need to poop.’

Poop or no poop, whether he soiled his pants or not, Jinhyuk collapsed to the ground.

“Aigoo-, you scared me. Our baby, come here. Are you okay?”

“Yesh, hehe.”

When he opened his arms, Yujin came and hugged him.

It was warm.

Jinhyuk’s heart softened at the touch of his sister’s hand patting his back as if to comfort him, and his eyes welled up with tears.

‘She wasn’t even scared? Yujin is braver than me.’

She must have been terrified, but Yujin was smiling brightly.

There was another surprising thing. Not only did he feel warm when Yujin hugged him, but he also felt like his strength was returning. Even now, his breathing had quickly calmed down. And as a bonus, the loose muscles in his lower abdomen, which had felt like they were about to give way, had tightened up.

‘Oh, is this the power of family?’

He felt a renewed sense of how precious his sister was.

Jinhyuk looked at the sky with a deeply moved expression, feeling his stomach where the boar’s fangs had scratched him.

Son Yujin tilted her head, looking at her brother. Her brother’s condition didn’t look good as he was touching his stomach with a serious expression. Her dad had that kind of expression when he was groping for mom’s ‘mya mya’ at night. Was it because her brother had been rolling around while hugging the ‘kkyuk kkyuk’?

She placed her hand on her brother’s scratched stomach.

“Oppa, did you get hurt here?”

“Ahaha, it’s okay. It just stings a little.”

“Will Yujin make it not hurt?”

“How?”

Surely, Yujin, you wouldn’t… Jinhyuk’s eyes lit up for a moment.

Tu-, Yujin spat on her hand and rubbed it on Jinhyuk’s stomach.

Hey, you… Jinhyuk didn’t reveal his bewildered feelings.

Because his sister’s expression was serious and without any playfulness.

‘What is this, it’s what grandmothers do.’

Jinhyuk’s eyes quickly filled with disappointment as he watched Yujin. The baby’s saliva only made the wound look shiny, but the affected area and the pain were still the same.

He had hoped for something, but he only ended up with a stinging sensation from the saliva on the scratch.

Yujin’s attention soon shifted elsewhere.

“Oppa, what is this?”

“A pig. A wild boar.”

“Deji?”

Yujin tilted her head, as if she was reminded of a pig, and looked up with wide eyes.

Then, as if she finally remembered, she smiled brightly.

“Deji is yummy, right? Mom made deji, jiji, right?”

Yujin waved her hands, pretending to cook.

“Ahaha, yes. Pig is yummy.”

He didn’t know what wild boar tasted like, but it was true that pig was delicious.

He didn’t know what dish she was thinking of, but judging by the fact that she was even drooling, it must have been really delicious.

“Our baby, you must have been very scared?”

“Oppa did ‘tteji’ [hit] the deji?”

Even though she must have been shocked, Yujin was still beaming.

But what should he do with this wild boar?

To catch such a large wild animal. He had been so blinded by the thought of his sister being in danger that he had rushed in without fear, but now he was worried about what to do with it.

‘Is it dead?’

Jinhyuk felt for a pulse on the thick neck of the wild boar with his fingers. He wondered if this was even the neck. It wasn’t a hedgehog, but the rough fur pricked Jinhyuk’s skin like needles.

It definitely seemed dead.

‘Let’s see. What’s the best way to deal with this…’

It was still hot, and if he left it like this, it would be swarming with maggots and flies. It would become food and fertilizer, which would be good for the various creatures living in the forest, but as a human, Jinhyuk didn’t like the idea. This forest was Jinhyuk’s hideout where he had played since he was a child.

‘I should bury it.’

Not only for aesthetic and hygienic reasons, but also as a sign of respect for the opponent he had fought to the death, he thought it was the right thing to do.

He would bring a shovel tomorrow when it was light, he thought, and got up.

“Yujin, let’s go. Yujin…?”

However, Jinhyuk’s chivalrous spirit to bury the wild boar was never realized. It was because Yujin, who wasn’t even scared, was squatting in front of the wild boar, poking its snout with a stick.

Muttering, muttering-.

“Ah-, it looks.so.yummy.”

Ah, Yujin…

It was too clear of a pronunciation to be called muttering.

She looked up at her brother with sparkling eyes, even asking for his agreement.

“Oppa, deji is yummy too, right?”

Looking at her gleaming eyes, it was a clear demand, not a request.

It felt like she would hit him if he said it wasn’t yummy.