The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 95

Jinhyuk prided himself on diligently preparing for the war.

His plan began with ensuring his family’s safety while he grew, and his father expanded their influence.

However, Hong Gijun’s scenario made Jinhyuk’s preparations seem meager.

‘This isn’t a report.’

It was a plan that only someone who knew the future could prepare.

Or perhaps he had kidnapped an alien and extracted the information.

Either way, it was not something commonly seen in the current era.

There were countless other reports as well. He hadn’t examined the details, but it wasn’t like Sohn Jinhyuk had only reviewed one or two reports. He could grasp the general content and timeline just by looking at the table of contents on the first page. That was how skilled Hong Gijun was at writing reports.

Jinhyuk felt like his head was floating, as if he had a severe fever.

There was no reason to be shocked now. However.

‘It’s ambiguous.’

From Jinhyuk’s perspective, having lived in the future, it was hard to call it groundbreaking, but he could at least sense that something was out of sync with the times. But on the other hand, it was also an idea that pioneers who predicted the future could come up with. Jinhyuk analyzed the reason for his ambiguous feeling.

‘Gijun-ajusshi [Uncle Gijun, a respectful term for an older male acquaintance] is good at walking the line.’

Hong Gijun had always been strong in psychological warfare and political maneuvering. He figured that Hong Gijun was hiding the fact that he knew the future and was acting as a pioneer.

However, seeing the detailed descriptions of how to secure engineers for technologies like software and unmanned aircraft that hadn’t yet appeared, there was no longer any doubt that he possessed future knowledge.

‘He’s probably planning to seek advice from Dad on how to deal with the changed market environment, and for technologies unrelated to the market, he’ll either quickly secure engineers or establish research institutes to develop them directly.’

Hong Gijun’s intentions seemed clear.

Whew-. Just as he was taking a deep breath to calm his churning insides,

Chairman Yoo Myung-sun, who had approached unnoticed, placed his hand on Jinhyuk’s shoulder.

Despite his old age, his grip felt strong.

“Heh heh, do you understand what this is about? This old man is from the old days, so I don’t understand half of it.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s alright.”

Yoo Myung-sun gestured for him to look as much as he wanted. His eyes seemed to say, ‘What would you know even if you looked?’

Sohn Kwang-yeon, who had been watching Jinhyuk with a puzzled look, approached.

“Elder, may I take a look too?”

“Of course, you can. We’re not strangers, and it’s not like you’ll go around blabbing about it, right? Junshik and Moonshik already know about it. Hong Seo-bang [a respectful term for son-in-law] explained it to us, and even though we don’t know the technical terms, the business methods and profitability itself were good.”

Sohn Kwang-yeon, after examining the report, also puffed up his cheeks like someone struggling to breathe. It wasn’t just good; it was a business that could monopolize the future if realized.

Yoo Myung-sun was excited and began to boast about his son-in-law. He said that because the reports required security, his son-in-law spent many days living in his father-in-law’s study. He also added that he hand-wrote them and took out copies.

“This is a shame. I even met with YS and had a showdown, but he told me not to talk nonsense and just say how much campaign money I would donate, and I got rejected.”

Yoo Myung-sun was holding a report related to the establishment of an internet network. He said that even though Hong Gijun disliked contact with politicians, he had no choice but to set up a meeting, only to be disappointed.

“Elder, you also dislike having connections with the political world, don’t you?”

“I did. Hong Seo-bang is the same. But since it has to be promoted as a national key industry, I have to talk to the presidential campaign, so what can I do? It’s what our Hong Seo-bang is doing, so I have to trust him. But this guy also just got up when they started talking about money. Heh heh heh. When I look at him, his personality is so similar to mine that he feels like a son rather than a son-in-law, you know?”

Jinhyuk nodded inwardly. Indeed, that was probably why Chairman Yoo Myung-sun from his previous life liked that temperament and passed the company to his son-in-law through his daughter. Anyway, it seemed that the spread of the internet network would be delayed.

‘That’s a shame.’

At this point, Jinhyuk wanted to ask how he had acquired the telecommunications business rights. There was no such content in the reports he had reviewed. It was structured as a transfer of several businesses with low profitability but large assets. However, Jinhyuk didn’t have the audacity to directly ask the chairman, whom he had only met two hours ago. He wasn’t a reporter, and it would be presumptuous.

‘Since they don’t know the future, did they exchange it for physical assets?’

He didn’t know what tricks Hong Gijun had used, so he could only come up with possible hypotheses.

Jinhyuk quietly moved away, intending to let the two adults talk comfortably. He wanted to look through the reports more, but it didn’t seem polite.

Sohn Kwang-yeon, who had been skimming through the reports, shook his head.

“I understand what he’s trying to do, but there are too many unfamiliar areas. I need to study how the world works too.”

“Of course, of course. People have to keep studying until they die to avoid falling behind.”

“But why did Gijun meet with that YS guy?”

“He must have seen him as the next presidential candidate. He seems to dislike politics, but he has a sharp eye for monitoring and reading the trends. Everything he’s said has come true so far.”

“It seems like the position makes the person. That gentle soul who only read books is now reading the world.”

“Heh heh heh. You’re right! If an talent like Hong Seo-bang was still in Daejeong, I wonder what would have happened.”

Yoo Myung-sun laughed heartily, his face turning red with joy. Since his son-in-law had come to ask for a position, Daejeong Group wouldn’t have used his talents, but you never know what might happen.

Sohn Kwang-yeon turned to Yoo Myung-sun, pointing at a newspaper headline. It was an article about the next presidential candidate.

“But what do you think about Chairman Jung in this election?”

“Oh my, that guy is saying that a chaebol [a large family-owned business conglomerate] will break down the chaebols? He should just go to Pyongyang and do self-criticism. Even if he’s sincere, the voters won’t believe him, so how many people will be fooled by such words?”

The old chairman pouted and spoke comically, and Sohn Kwang-yeon covered his mouth with his fist to suppress his laughter. If a stranger saw them, they would have mistaken them for father and son, they looked so close.

“Does Gijun say he won’t do politics? He would be good at it.”

“His dream is to make Sein the world’s number one group without any dirty backing. He says that politics is something to be used, and if you’re not careful, you’ll just be used and abandoned. He also said that capitalists influencing politics is an act that changes the course of history. The influence of an ordinary citizen and a capitalist is different.”

“I need to learn how to see the world from Gijun.”

“Of course. Like a frog in a well, even the smartest person has a hard time understanding the world they live in. It’s even harder to understand the world others live in. That’s how difficult it is to look at the outside world.”

Yoo Myung-sun tapped a newspaper headline with his finger.

“That’s why even after making a mess of things, they can get away with such irresponsible nonsense that history will judge them. They trample on people living in the same era and say that future generations will evaluate them? That’s nonsense. If you’re living in the present, you have to responsibly protect today and tomorrow. The living should make the judgments, evaluations, and take responsibility. Because the owners of the world are the living.”

Yoo Myung-sun looked at Sohn Kwang-yeon as if seeking agreement.

“Young people have to live in a country made by old people, so at least they should know how to reflect, right? There’s no need to feel resentful that they don’t understand why we suffered. Because each generation lives in a different era. The memories of suffering are best shared with those who suffered together, so why act like you’ve earned a medal and show off?”

Jinhyuk scratched the back of his head, pretending to have heard difficult words. It was Jinhyuk’s preferred way of handling things to pretend not to understand even when he did, rather than nodding along without understanding.

Nevertheless, an indescribable resonance followed in his heart.

‘I never had anyone say things like that to me.’

It was a unique experience.

Politics and such were someone else’s story, a discourse of another world.

What was politics to a child who worried about survival? He had no mentor, let alone a teacher. So, whether it was a cliché or a thought-provoking story, the conversations of these adults gave new meaning to Jinhyuk.

The feeling of being recognized as a member of the world came to Jinhyuk in such an unintentional and unexpected situation.

His father’s reaction also made Jinhyuk feel good.

‘He’s happy like a child.’

Well, he often acted like a child, but it was good to see him interacting with adults and reacting like a child.

His father had often stared blankly at the fields when he had free time, without anyone to talk to. He knew that he was waiting for a friend to visit every vacation. Seeing him happily talking to adults and sharing stories about the world, it seemed like he could see his father’s loneliness, who had grown up alone.

At this moment, Yoo Myung-sun’s study felt as cozy as a space that existed to comfort the Sohn family.

‘I wish they would start the conversation I want soon.’

Jinhyuk gave his father a look.

Sohn Kwang-yeon, understanding the intention, nodded slightly.

However, the old man, who had welcomed his guest, did not allow Sohn Kwang-yeon to easily break in.

While watching Jinhyuk looking at the bookshelves, Yoo Myung-sun asked quietly.

“But… is it because of the children’s mother that you went to live there?”

“Yes. Well, something like that.”

Sohn Kwang-yeon scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly, and Yoo Myung-sun smiled and nodded. He continued to pat or tap Sohn Kwang-yeon’s back.

“You did well. You’re living well, so that’s great. Very well done.”

Yoo Myung-sun kept nodding and smiling.

He hadn’t interfered with his children’s relationships, and both Yoo Moon-shik and Yoo Jun-shik had brought home partners who looked familiar, like family. He wondered if there was a function in the liquid flowing through their blood that commanded them to find look-alikes. And it seemed that Sohn Kwang-yeon was no different.

‘He managed to find a woman who looks just like his mother.’

He heard that they had met by chance while volunteering in a rural area during college.

To meet in a place with no connection, it was truly a pull of fate.

***

Crunch crunch-.

It was a smooth eating motion, as if Yoo Se-ra had possessed her.

Again, it was a cookie of destiny.

Yujin patted her mother’s shoulder.

“Mommy, Mommy. Stop eating-”

“Huh? Why?”

“Yujin has nothing to eat-”

Looking at her daughter, who looked like she was about to cry, Han Yooyoung shook her head vigorously.

Somehow, whenever she put this cookie in her mouth, her hands and mouth wouldn’t stop, as if she were possessed. She was a mother who always took care of her child first, especially Yujin, until the child finished eating, but now she was like someone waging a cookie war with her daughter, with only the sound of gunfire missing.

When she came to her senses, the cookie plate was empty, and her daughter was looking up at her with the most disappointed eyes.

“Ah… I’m so sorry. Do you want to eat this?”

Yujin silently accepted the cookie crumbs her mother had been eating.

Then, she turned her back to her mother and began to nibble on them.

At that moment, an ajumma [a respectful term for a middle-aged or older woman] who had heard the mother and daughter’s conversation appeared.

“Hoh ho ho-. Your daughter is so cute. Would you like more cookies?”

“Yes! Mommy ate them all, didn’t she? Yujin didn’t get any!”

Yujin tattled on her mother as if she had been waiting for the opportunity.

The war quickly escalated into a smear campaign.

“I’m ashamed to ask, but please, just a little more.”

Thanks to the housekeeper ajumma, Han Yooyoung was able to ease her guilt.

Han Yooyoung shook off the crumbs on her mouth and hands and sat back. Her fists, clenched to avoid attacking the cookies, trembled, and her tongue, which she couldn’t control, repeatedly licked her lips.

Yujin, who seemed uneasy, hugged the cookie plate while facing away from her mother and stopped eating, fidgeting.

Han Yooyoung looked and saw that she was stuffing cookies into her rabbit bag.

“Yujin, what are you doing? You should eat them now.”

“I’m going to give them to Janggun. Janggun likes snacks-”

Ah, Yujin.

She was a child who always shared her food with Janggun.

Han Yooyoung was too ashamed to lift her head.

The ajumma, who had watched everything, gave her a look of comfort.

‘Still, you are a great mother.’

‘That daughter of this family, Ms. Yoo, ate everything by herself while Soojung was starving.’

“Yujin, where are you going?”

“I’m going to eat snacks with Janggun-”

Perhaps she misunderstood that her mother was trying to steal them, Sohn Yujin sped up her short legs and ran away.

It was dark outside, and worried, Han Yooyoung chased after her daughter, not wanting to lose sight of her.

***

Finally finding a gap to break in, Sohn Kwang-yeon asked the question he had previously discussed with his son. Because it had been a long time since they had met, and there was a large age gap, his attitude was cautious, but the content itself was direct.

“Did Chairman Park Woon-chul leave any comments about me?”

At the unexpected question, Yoo Myung-sun’s eyebrows narrowed.

The page Jinhyuk was turning came to a quiet stop.

Finally.

At the summit of destiny, Jinhyuk perked up his ears.

‘Eavesdropping mode.’

Along with the delusions of a fourteen-year-old boy.