The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 80

As he moved quietly, he sighed repeatedly.

He had requested a patrol from the town’s police substation, but they said they didn’t have the manpower.

He was told that there wasn’t a designated jurisdiction between the two substations. Even if they couldn’t disclose the details of their work, the police were probably busy enough with the town’s drunks.

Anyway, Jinhyuk wasn’t expecting help from the police. He knew how poor their working conditions were and that they were no match for the people he was dealing with.

‘The land is vast, and the police are few.’

The only time a patrol car would come to this rural area was for a formal dispatch when they found an unexploded bomb or a shell casing. If it were really a ghost or a grim reaper, not even the marines could catch it, let alone the police.

Rustle-rustle-clack-clack.

The tall, unripe soybeans, not yet harvested, rubbed against each other in the autumn wind, creating a rustling sound. Thanks to that, he easily masked his footsteps. Jinhyuk, hidden in the commotion of the autumn field, paused. An unexpected figure had stolen his attention.

“Hey, you rascal. Where are you going like a stray cat? Are you going to catch mice?”

He grinned. Cheon Gillyong threw a naive smile that didn’t match his age. His attire was the same as before, but unusually, he was holding combat boots in his hand, which was covered with a leather half-glove. The book supporting the boots seemed to be a hymn, and in his other hand, he held an olive-green, plain military uniform.

Jinhyuk’s eyes were filled with curiosity at the sight of him, so strikingly noticeable.

“Hello.”

“Yes. I’ve already taken the wind out of their sails and warned them thoroughly, so don’t kill them. Those old geezers who haven’t even gotten married have worked their butts off to clear that land, wouldn’t it be a damn shame if it got shaded because of some young punk’s hot blood?”

“Yes…?”

Without even answering, Cheon Gillyong passed by Jinhyuk without even looking at him. His stride was as vigorous as ever, not befitting an old man, and the sound of him humming ‘holy, holy’ followed like a tail.

‘What is he talking about?’

Don’t kill them?

He vaguely understood that the young punk meant him.

***

Bang-!

Moon Seokil closed the trunk with a hollow look.

It was a strange day. He had seen a young man dragging a wild boar without any effort, and then an old man had suddenly appeared and robbed their car.

– “You scoundrels! What are you trying to steal, crawling all the way into this rural backwater!”

The old man had an overwhelming presence.

The old man rummaged through the car and took their candy and gum. Even Moon Seokil, who had once been labeled a delinquent in his school days, was taken aback by this embodiment of a robber.

– “Hey, you there, open this up.”

He even made them open the trunk, and the junior, overwhelmed by the old man’s force, opened the trunk without thinking. Moon Seokil couldn’t blame his junior because he didn’t feel like resisting either.

– “Oh ho, good stuff. What’s the size?”

They were A-grade combat boots that Moon Seokil had taken when he was discharged, but when the old man took off the rubber shoes he was wearing and compared the sizes, he couldn’t lie and say they wouldn’t fit.

Not only did he have his combat boots taken, but he also had to hand over his plain combat uniform. It seemed the old man knew that even a tall man could wear it since the bottom could be folded or rolled up.

The robber old man didn’t stop there; he even had an excellent eye for detail.

– “Hey, what’s in your pocket?”

Moon Seokil’s friend, Jeong Sangtae, even had his leather half-gloves taken from his jacket pocket. It was a gift from an American soldier he had befriended during high-altitude infiltration training, and he cherished it.

– “You’ve received gifts, and I feel sorry for you guys wandering around in a strange place during the holidays, so I’ll give you a word of blessing. Beg for your lives no matter what. I’m not a cruel man, so if you plead, I’ll be merciful. I’m telling you this because you don’t look like you’re going to die young.”

The enigmatic old man disappeared after saying those incomprehensible words.

Taking the combat boots, leather gloves, combat uniform, and snacks.

Moon Seokil patted Jeong Sangtae’s shoulder, who was on the verge of tears after having his gloves taken.

“Ha, it’s a strange day. Let’s just let it go.”

“Isn’t it the neighborhood that’s strange, not the day?”

“That’s right. It feels like we’re possessed by a ghost.”

The other colleagues reacted similarly.

One junior shuddered like someone who had peed during winter training. If they had even said a word back, they would have felt less wronged, but they just stared blankly at the old man wearing a bamboo hat and hemp clothes, strangely unable to speak.

It was clearly an inexplicable phenomenon. As if they had seen a ghost, they were all frozen, as if they had made a promise.

“Hyung [older brother/senior], can’t we just give up on this request?”

“What about your wife? What about Inrang’s mother?”

Moon Seokil scolded the junior who was making weak noises.

The juniors, reminded of reality, couldn’t speak.

Moon Seokil shook his head vigorously, as if trying to shake off the unease.

It wasn’t just the old man that made them feel uneasy in the first place.

Even then, the conversation of his colleagues, who had lost their composure, didn’t stop.

“Even if we got a lot of money, it’s still a bit unsettling.”

“It is, but the request was just to bring the couple.”

“But is this the right house?”

“I’m sure. I’ve checked several times.”

They tried to change the atmosphere by pretending to be calm, but no one looked cheerful.

“What a mess on Chuseok [Korean Thanksgiving]?”

“There’s no other chance now.”

After eavesdropping on a randomly caught radio signal, they had determined that now was the only chance, as the security team was away.

“Hyung, should we go into that house and take some food?”

“You crazy bastard. Are we robbers?”

“Where did they go, leaving their daughter behind on the holiday?”

“Maybe they left her with her uncle and went out for a stroll. Since we’ve come all this way, let’s just wait and see.”

Words were exchanged so chaotically that no one knew who was saying what. That’s how big their anxiety seemed. Since even the brave ones were like that, Moon Seokil couldn’t help but step in.

“Stop.”

He felt the need to draw their attention. If they continued like this, they would be neither here nor there. They should be firming up their resolve before the mission, but they were wavering.

“How many years have you been in the NIS [National Intelligence Service]? The experience you’ve gained would be crying in the toilet, you guys. Get your minds right.”

*

‘NIS, that means the National Intelligence Service, right?’

Jinhyuk, watching them talk without realizing he was close, took a moment to catch his breath. Thanks to his growing pains, he had now reached a point where he didn’t just throw a punch first. These guys didn’t seem like easy opponents either.

‘They’re getting paid to take someone somewhere?’

He thought he knew why the men felt so unsettling. Well, if they had come with good intentions, they would have come to the house.

He could also understand why Cheon Gillyong had warned him so much.

‘He was worried I’d go berserk.’

A neighborhood where no one would look for you even if you died quietly, an era without security cameras, and a place with a cement road that only one car could pass through. These guys had clearly come here with impure intentions, and for Jinhyuk, there was enough motive for murder and extermination. If he were a person with a violent nature, that is.

While he was angry, he was also relieved.

‘They’re people.’

He was glad he had come out to check because if these guys had barged in when Jinhyuk wasn’t there… just thinking about it was terrifying.

“If you’re not robbers, then what are you?”

The men’s voices suddenly died down. They were startled by Jinhyuk’s voice, but only for a moment, and then they slowly turned around. Their expressions were calm and composed, without any sign of panic.

Jinhyuk’s eyes narrowed as he sized up the men’s posture.

‘Well-trained agents.’

Their eyes were hidden behind semi-transparent brown sunglasses, but Jinhyuk could clearly read the men’s thoughts. When did this guy come, did he hear our conversation? That’s probably what they were thinking.

When the men didn’t answer, Jinhyuk asked again, growling.

“I heard everything. So I can’t just let you go quietly. Who are you?”

For Jinhyuk, his family was everything.

He wouldn’t let anyone who harmed his family get away with it.

Jinhyuk slowly unleashed the fighting spirit that was stirring in his heart.

Saaa-.

A coldness that pushed away the warm breeze slowly encroached upon the field.

Like a tightly stretched rubber band, Jinhyuk’s senses were focused on the uninvited guests.

Now, which one should I start with?

“Teacher, wait a moment.”

One of the men showed his palm towards Jinhyuk. It was a stop signal that seemed to freeze everything.

But teacher? Is he talking about me? Jinhyuk scratched his cheek, looking back without realizing it.

The man then called his colleagues together.

‘What is this…’

In an unpredictable situation, things were unfolding in an unpredictable way. Jinhyuk stared blankly at the men. It was ridiculous to wait just because they told him to, but Jinhyuk was also quickly and suspiciously turning his brain. Because he needed to.

While the men were gathering and whispering, Jinhyuk recalled the conversation he had with Hong Gijun.

It was at the school playground.

– “There are more people in this world who are jealous than who admire others. If that’s how the human world is, then it’s also a way to live by confidently showing off, ‘I’m great.’ That’s how you can reduce your enemies.”

It must have been advice for a teenager who didn’t know how to navigate the world. He must have been worried about what other trouble he might get into. His friend, who was the boy’s father, was only focused on playing with his son and acted even younger than his son when they were together, so he thought he should step in to prevent the teenager from going astray.

– “Enemies will decrease?”

– “Jinhyuk, you’re still young, so you don’t know, but when people, especially men, see someone who’s doing well, they immediately size them up. How smart is this guy, how much money does he have, how good is he at fighting? But if they think they can’t beat them no matter what, do you know what they do? They immediately back down. They don’t even think about challenging them. There are only two types of people who try to surpass someone like that. Someone who has a grudge against them, or just a crazy person.”

Recalling his conversation with Hong Gijun, or perhaps his one-sided teaching, Jinhyuk looked at the men. Even though they were whispering to each other, his sensitive hearing picked up everything.

It was unexpected. There was no particular hostility in their words or their calm voices. Even from the punk Yoon Seongdong’s gang, he had felt a sense of hostility, but these uninvited guests with impure intentions were rather mild.

– “Don’t keep the guys who come in bowing and sucking up to you close. They’re the ones who will turn their backs on you and leave at any time.”

Jinhyuk took a step towards the men. He put clear hostility into that movement. It was different from the men, and it was a determination not to give them even a sliver of an opening.

One of the men showed his palm again, indicating that they were in a meeting. It meant to wait a little longer, but… in this situation, they were having a meeting and asking the opponent they were facing for time? They were really crazy. Maybe they were being relaxed because they thought they had the advantage with their numbers.

The air was ridiculous. The fighting spirit he had worked so hard to unleash was embarrassing, and he couldn’t help but smile wryly.

‘What is this, making me feel awkward.’

Jinhyuk held back the urge to flick them on the forehead. Still, they were much older than him.

– “The way to make the most trustworthy person is to recruit someone who works for your enemy for money. It’s simple. Just give them more. They’re the ones who have been caught with a weakness once, so they’ll work harder to not lose your trust. You can’t just give them money without a plan, though. You need to do some groundwork… like listening to their stories…”

It was a way of navigating the world that was unfamiliar to Jinhyuk, who had only worked for over forty years. But since it was the way of navigating the world of a person who had taken over the group and risen to the position of chairman, he thought he could copy it for lack of a better option.

But Jinhyuk didn’t have the money to buy them. Then it was right to use another method.

– “What’s more certain than money is buying their lives. Like Heungbu, who chased away the snake and fixed the swallow’s leg [a reference to a Korean folktale]. In fact, this is a method that many of the country’s chaebols [large family-owned business conglomerates] use. But you know you shouldn’t break it on purpose like Nolbu, right?”

But seriously, these guys. Aren’t they making me feel like an outcast?

“Excuse me…”