The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 88

On the last day of the holiday, Jinhyuk took Yujin and Janggun to Lee Haewon’s corner store. He planned to buy Yujin a cola since their mom wasn’t home.

However, he faced an unexpected situation.

“Oops-. When there are many people, we don’t have any to sell. We don’t have cider or Fanta either.”

The person most disappointed by Lee Haewon’s mother’s matter-of-fact words was Yujin.

Yujin, head down, glared at the empty soda refrigerator with resentful eyes. She had followed him, feeling like she was flying, at the promise of sweet soy sauce [a common flavor in Korean snacks], but now her short legs were just hurting.

‘Ah, my heart aches so much.’

Jinhyuk’s heart felt like it was being torn apart at the sight of his younger sister’s sorrowful expression, which he was seeing for the first time.

If he had known this would happen, he would have secretly taken a bottle during the village hall’s Yut game event [a traditional Korean board game]. Actually, no one would have said anything if he had taken one, but he had been too self-conscious.

“Yujin, let’s buy something else today. I’ll definitely buy you one next time.”

Yujin quickly scanned the shelves and picked up a ramen. Since she still had her head down, Jinhyuk couldn’t bring himself to tell her to eat something else because it wasn’t good for her. But Yujin, do you even know what you picked?

“Yujin, should I give you a piggyback ride?”

Yujin shook her head and slowly walked, looking only at the ground. For some reason, she didn’t even make eye contact with her brother or answer him. Her behavior reminded him of the sulky Hong Sujeong. When he looked at the back of the little ones’ heads, he often wondered what they were thinking, and knowing that disappointment was the basis of their feelings, a cold wind blew through Jinhyuk’s heart.

He was about to sigh through his nostrils, feeling bad.

Crunch, crunch-.

Huh? What is that sound?

Jinhyuk quickly ran over and bent down to look at his sister.

Ah, she was eating raw ramen with her head down. I misunderstood again.

Heh-! He burst out laughing because she was so cute.

Yujin smiled at her brother.

“Oppa, this is delicious.”

“Hehehe-, eat a lot.”

He was pleased that his sister’s mood had improved so quickly.

Crunch-.

The sound of raw ramen being chewed came from next to Yujin. It was Janggun, who never missed out on eating.

‘Cute things.’

The smile on Jinhyuk’s face didn’t fade.

Perhaps she was curious about her brother’s face, which was always smiling. Yujin’s gaze towards Jinhyuk was similar to when she observed a strange animal.

The happy holiday passed like that.

***

Since Mom was away on a trip, he had planned to skip school for about three days to take care of his sister, but things took an unexpected turn.

Beep beep-!

“Oppa, oppaaa-. Let’s go to school.”

He had planned to skip jogging and sleep in, using his sister as an excuse, but this little one woke him up. By hitting him on the head.

So he went. To school.

There is always someone who attracts attention wherever you go.

An ordinary person cannot be the main character. There must be something special.

For example, a five-year-old girl going to a boys’ middle school.

Friends who knew Yujin greeted her on the bus.

“Yujin, are you going to school with your brother?”

“Yes, ehehe. I like it.”

Yujin was excited to go to school with her brother, and the friends who rode the bus to school with Jinhyuk were also excited.

Jinhyuk was the only one who wasn’t excited.

‘I feel dizzy.’

Is it bus sickness?

He was a superhuman who could choke a wild boar, but taking his sister to school was another matter. He was worried that he might disrupt the other kids’ classes. Even though he had lived selfishly, he was still careful not to cause harm to others.

“Our baby, are you happy to go to school with your brother?”

“Yes! Ehehe-.”

He carried his sister and walked from the bus stop to school. He had a little one in his arms, a bag on his back, and two lunch boxes in his hands. He was worried about what would happen if someone looked at him strangely or laughed at him, but thankfully, the other students seemed to be curious but also fond of Yujin.

Jinhyuk went to the faculty office first to explain the situation.

All the teachers came to Yujin, touched her cheeks, and some teachers even gave her pocket money. They also told him that they were fine, so he should take good care of his sister so she wouldn’t be surprised.

‘People are nice.’

He hadn’t known before because he hadn’t been cared for, but looking at it this way, the teachers seemed like good people. Jinhyuk, who didn’t know how influential Son Kwangyeon was, had no idea that it was selective tolerance.

The teacher who had been appointed in the second semester asked if Jinhyuk was a boy breadwinner after he left, and then received a lecture from Lee Byungse. He might not know, you shouldn’t pick on a teacher for that. The vice principal, who was watching, stopped Lee Byungse.

When someone tried to stop him, Lee Byungse went even further.

“Ah, let go of me-. Mr. Kim, do you want your school life to get messed up?”

“He might not know…”

He was a rich young master from Seoul, but he didn’t know the ways of the world. Lee Byungse intended to guide his junior on the right path.

“Not know, my man! You need to know what you need to know, right?”

“I think I misunderstood. I’m sorry.”

“I’m just saying this for your own good, my man-.”

However, it looked different to the other teachers. After hearing that the allowance he received at home was more than the teachers’ salaries, it seemed that the inferiority complex that had been suppressed had exploded.

Jinhyuk pulled a spare desk and chair and placed Yujin next to him.

There were no daycare centers in Jinhyuk’s neighborhood, facilities that were called kindergartens at the time. There was no early childhood education other than the attached kindergarten that 7-year-olds could attend, so Jinhyuk hoped that his sister’s development wasn’t slow compared to her future peers, seeing that Yujin was still stuttering.

“So, what’s the answer to this?”

“Two!”

A clear child’s voice, not suitable for a boys’ middle school classroom, rang out.

Yujin, who had been sitting quietly next to Jinhyuk and listening to the class, suddenly answered loudly.

“Uh… That’s right. The answer is ‘two’.”

He didn’t know if she knew what she was answering, but it was the correct answer.

The teacher tilted his head and wrote the number 2 on the blackboard.

Jinhyuk whispered to Yujin.

“Yujin, we promised to be quiet during class, right?”

“Yes, hehe.”

Jinhyuk stroked his sister’s cheek with a smile that was more like a father’s than a brother’s.

He didn’t know what she meant by shouting 2, and there was no way she would know the answer since she didn’t even know numbers yet. In the following class, Yujin didn’t make any loud noises except for quietly mumbling. She was a younger sister who listened to her brother very well.

“Wow-, is she the class president’s sister? She’s so-, so cute!”

“She’s more like a daughter than a sister? Class president, be honest.”

Jinhyuk’s friends also adored the five-year-old who had come to the middle school classroom. Chae Gyuho, Jinhyuk’s desk mate, as well as Lee Seunghoon and Shin Woosung, tried to win Yujin’s favor by giving her bread and milk from the wrestling team.

Park Yongseok from another class also showed off by giving her chocolate, probably because he needed to look good to Jinhyuk. Jinhyuk wondered why such a nice guy was hanging out with someone like Yoon Seongdong, but then he dismissed it. Anyone can make mistakes. The only difference is whether they correct their course quickly or continue in the wrong direction.

Jo Seulchan also came to greet Yujin, whom he hadn’t seen in a while.

“Oh my-! Did our Yujin come because she missed Seulchan oppa?”

“-No. Ehehe-.”

Jinhyuk was nervous at Yujin’s honest answer, but thankfully, Jo Seulchan didn’t seem to hear it properly. In fact, Yujin often talked about Jo Seulchan. Her current answer only meant that Jo Seulchan wasn’t the reason for her visit to school today, but those who heard it could misunderstand.

During breaks, there were also kids from other classes who came to see her, and they had snacks like candy or chocolate in their hands.

“Thank youuu-.”

Yujin received them and carefully put them in her pink rabbit bag.

“Yujin, aren’t you going to eat them? Are you worried about getting scolded by your mom? Your brother will keep it a secret.”

“Janggun, let’s eat together. Ehehe.”

Ah, that’s right.

Janggun was home alone. He had barely managed to get him off the bus, and he was still worried about him. If he ran out of food, he would go to Choi Mikyung’s house to get some, so he wasn’t worried about him starving, but he was worried about whether the guy, who hadn’t been left alone at home for long, would be okay.

‘He might even come to school.’

He was smart, so it was a realistic concern.

Janggun had been eating leftovers since he was adopted. He ate the same food as people, or rather, the same food as Jinhyuk’s family. That’s why he didn’t eat dog food even if he was given it. What a funny guy.

Come to think of it, he also ate acorns.

Anyway, it was a relief that Yujin thought of Janggun as family.

During gym class, Yujin was on the swing, and Jinhyuk kept pushing her, making sure she didn’t fall. I didn’t have anyone to push me, so I just sat there, but I hope my sister won’t be lonely. That’s what he thought.

“Yujin, do you like school?”

“Yes! Ehehe-.”

“Then, will you come tomorrow too?”

“Yes! Tomorrow too, tomorrow, tomorrow I’ll come.”

Let’s see. My parents will be back the day after tomorrow, so I’ll have to bring her until the day after tomorrow anyway. Yujin is smart after all. She’s even thinking about my parents’ return schedule.

He was about to eat his lunch box, but homeroom teacher Kim Sunsook took Jinhyuk and Yujin to a snack bar. The menu was bibimbap [mixed rice with meat and assorted vegetables] and kimbap [seaweed rice rolls], and Jinhyuk ordered a bottle of cola.

The moment had finally come for Son Yujin to taste cola for the first time in her life.

“Oooooooo-?”

Yujin, who had tasted the cola, seemed to be quite shocked, her eyes wide and frozen. Her big eyes shook more violently than when she had encountered a wild boar.

One sip, two sips.

Son Yujin was happy.

Yeah, you have to drink cola while hiding from your parents. Kim Sunsook quietly nodded.

‘I should eat my lunch box for dinner.’

Yujin, who usually took a nap in the afternoon, didn’t fall asleep during breaks and watched her brothers play. Yujin, who was watching with her arms on the back of the chair, looked more mature than the middle school students.

Jinhyuk held Yujin, who was dozing off on the bus home, and made a tutting sound.

It had been a long day.

There had been a lot of incidents and accidents lately, so every day felt long.

‘I’m tired, so tired. Childcare is the hardest.’

His lips quivered as he missed his mom.

When he got off the bus, Janggun, who had been waiting at the bus stop, greeted him.

Choi Mikyung’s mother, Kim Sunbok, raised her voice as if she was proud.

“Oh my, Janggun has been waiting here all day.”

“Really? Without eating?”

“Not eating my butt-. This damn dog ate all of our Hwanggu’s food. How can a mutt steal a Jindo’s food-. That dog is very brave-.”

Kim Sunbok smiled brightly, saying things that were hard to tell if they were praise or insults.

Looking at Janggun’s bulging belly, Jinhyuk decided to feel only a little sorry.

Looking at the yellowish dog with sparse patches of fur, it seemed that Janggun hadn’t had time to be bored.

Choi Mikyung’s Jindo dog, Nurung, was a very fierce male, but when Janggun growled, he would hide in his house. After the mating incident during the vacation, he couldn’t even make eye contact with him. Seeing that, maybe Janggun was a hidden powerhouse.

Now, he had to go to the chicken coop to feed the chickens, take care of Janggun’s water and food, bathe Yujin, and then have dinner together to end the day. He was planning to make a stew by adding various pancakes he had acquired during Chuseok [Korean Thanksgiving] to the kimchi stew.

“Oppa, do your homework.”

After taking her to school for a day, Yujin even remembered homework. She seemed to be listening to the class instead of reading the fairy tales he told her to read. Jinhyuk had no choice but to do his homework, and even though his brother was turning the pages quickly, Yujin didn’t miss a single thing and kept watch.

“Oppa, you didn’t do here and here.”

“Huh?”

She was really keeping a close watch? Yujin accurately pointed out the parts that her brother had intentionally skipped. It was amazing that his sister was doing this, but just because a child is a genius when they are young doesn’t mean they will be a genius when they grow up. People say that children have good short-term concentration, don’t they?

‘Since she’s my sister, she must have the basics.’

Even while thinking that, he felt uneasy and looked closely at Yujin.

She hadn’t even learned the Korean alphabet or numbers yet, but it was suspicious that she seemed to be reading. It also seemed like her speech had improved a lot after going to school for a day.

‘Is she a hidden powerhouse daughter?’

From Janggun to Yujin, there were too many talented people in the house.

Finally, Jinhyuk finished his homework, closed his book, and quietly nodded.

‘I’m the most ordinary.’

He swallowed his nonsense and turned his head to the calendar.

The days that had been going by slowly had passed, and the day he would reunite with his parents was approaching.

Apart from longing, he even felt a sense of determination.

‘I have a lot to talk about with Dad.’