The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 98

When Jinhyuk worked there, the Sein Group didn’t have a separate vice chairman.

There were many speculations about the reason, but the most accepted analysis was that Chairman Hong Ki-joon was wary of the dispersion of power.

‘The first and last vice chairman.’

A man who received full authority from the owner. In the Sein Group, the vice chairman is practically the chairman.

That was the history of Hong Ki-joon in the past.

But when did Hong Ki-joon become vice chairman? His parents didn’t seem surprised, as if they knew. They just looked proud to have such a great acquaintance. Look at my dad. Even now, isn’t his nose flaring with pride?

Hong Ki-joon, dressed in a neat navy suit, opened his arms wide and hugged Son Kwang-yeon.

“Hey! It’s good to see you. Sorry I’m late. I’ve been busy with a lot of things lately.”

“You’ve been working hard, you rascal. We just got here too.”

It was a reunion of two men who were closer than family.

Hong Su-jeong and Son Yu-jin stumbled as they hugged each other, imitating the scene.

“Hnyanyanyanyung-.”

“Kyahaha-.”

“Princesses? Let’s go inside.”

If Yoo Se-ra hadn’t stepped in to separate them, the two little ones’ embrace was so passionate that they might have fallen on the lawn.

Thus, the two families walked hand in hand, leaving the garden and heading into the house.

Only Jinhyuk, without a partner, followed behind with his hands in his pockets.

Simple refreshments were laid out in the living room.

Hong Ki-joon regretted that he couldn’t stay up late because he had to go to work even on Sunday.

“It would be nice if we could go out to eat and go to the department store since you came all this way.”

“We can always come again. I have a lot of work to do when I go down too. Farmers don’t have weekends.”

Son Kwang-yeon waved his hand, seemingly not noticing the genuinely disappointed expressions of the two women. Especially Han Yu-young was disappointed. She had truly experienced the joy of shopping during their trip to Hawaii.

Regardless, the men continued to boast.

“Come to think of it, business and farming are similar. Don’t you think?”

“They are very similar. That’s why I’m going to manage it properly.”

Jinhyuk, who was dozing off while holding the sleeping Yu-jin, perked up his ears.

It seemed like his dad was about to bring up the topic.

“That’s a great idea!”

Hong Ki-joon, suddenly excited as if he was fixated on something, wiggled his butt. It was similar to when Yu-jin would jump around, asking her brother to hold her.

“Let’s start with setting up a corporation. The sooner, the better. I’ll help you.”

“Shouldn’t we find a way to officially take in those friends first?”

“We can just set up a security company. Should we even open a branch next to your house?”

He seemed to be talking about the security team.

Jinhyuk shook his head. Men’s boasting was always like that. Was it so easy to start a company and open a branch?

‘Ah, he’s the vice chairman.’

They weren’t just any men. If he was the vice chairman, it might be possible.

If it came to fruition, it wouldn’t be a bad choice for the family.

They wouldn’t have to keep it a secret anymore, and the agents could have an easier time.

“Has the conversation been had with your sister-in-law?”

“Of course.”

The two fathers glanced at Jinhyuk but didn’t seem to pay much attention.

Now that they had brought it into the open, it was probably a natural course of action.

‘Tell me specifically!’

Even as sleepiness washed over him, Jinhyuk perked up his ears.

While acting as a cradle so Yu-jin wouldn’t wake up.

Perhaps Jinhyuk, who was straining his eyes despite the fatigue on his eyelids, looked pitiful, Son Kwang-yeon’s lips slowly moved. It seemed like something was finally about to be said.

“Jinhyuk, take Yu-jin and go upstairs to sleep first.”

“Yes…”

Phew-, the hot air escaped from his upper abdomen, which had been filled with anticipation.

Jinhyuk stood up with Yu-jin in his arms. Since he was a teenager, he had no choice but to do as the adults told him. Sulking and whining didn’t suit Jinhyuk. He wanted to hear more, but it seemed like the adults had something to talk about among themselves. Perhaps they were going to have a serious business discussion.

‘I guess I’ll have to wait for those uncles to contact me.’

It wouldn’t be this frustrating and slow if he just had a cell phone.

Brick-sized cell phones had appeared, but commercialization was still far off. It was predicted that small cell phones would appear in two years.

Jinhyuk carefully climbed the stairs one by one. He held his precious younger sister tightly, afraid of dropping her.

Yoo Se-ra put an LP on the turntable, and Hong Ki-joon took out a bottle of bourbon whiskey from the living room cabinet.

Jinhyuk looked at the whiskey with a wistful gaze. Thanks to the drunk Hong Su-jeong, he had become properly accustomed to the taste of bourbon.

‘Just one sip would be nice.’

Other families would jokingly ask their kids if they wanted to try it.

Sigh.

Jinhyuk’s gaze, as he turned back once more on the landing, was full of disappointment.

It was similar to the look in his younger sister Son Yu-jin’s eyes when she glared at the empty drink refrigerator after going to buy cola.

***

Although it was a different house than before, this was Jinhyuk’s second visit. He had been invited with Hong Su-jeong to a family dinner on Chairman Hong Ki-joon’s birthday. Was that when he was thirty-three? He was a contract worker at the assistant manager level, so he thought it was quite something, but he also thought he would just go and have a look.

Seeing the chairman tell his daughter’s newly hired mentor to take good care of her, he could guess the reason for the invitation. Hong Su-jeong often looked expressionless and depressed after turning thirty, but she had been very cheerful in her twenties.

The overly cheerful little Hong Su-jeong grabbed Jinhyuk’s hand and pulled him.

“Oppa, sleep in my room too.”

Hong Su-jeong’s pronunciation had become quite clear thanks to her newly emerging permanent teeth. Hong Su-jeong looked back at Jinhyuk repeatedly as she lightly climbed the wooden stairs, seemingly excited about something. And she grinned every time their eyes met.

‘Yeah, she’s a kid who looks better when she smiles brightly than when she smiles shyly.’

Jinhyuk’s lips naturally curled up at her cute smile.

“Thank you, Su-jeong.”

Holding his younger sister, he followed the little one’s guidance and went up to the second floor. After all, Yu-jin was a younger sister who looked for her brother more than her mother, so it seemed okay to have her sleep with him for a day.

Well, even when they were at home, Yu-jin would sleep in front of her brother’s room in the early morning. He had pondered a lot about why she didn’t come into the room and slept outside the door, like a dog, but he couldn’t find an answer. Yu-jin didn’t even remember why she was there.

His parents and Jinhyuk had also worried that Yu-jin might have sleepwalking. However, since Yu-jin was only found in that spot, they concluded that it wasn’t a dangerous form of sleepwalking.

He laid Yu-jin, who was breathing with a slight wheezing sound as if her nose was a little blocked due to the dry season, on the bed first.

Jinhyuk dipped a cotton swab in water and cleaned Yu-jin’s nose. Carefully so as not to wake his younger sister.

Hong Su-jeong waited with a tissue in both hands, and when a big booger came out, she wrapped it up with the cotton swab. The teamwork they had shown when catching loaches that winter shone brilliantly once again.

Once his younger sister’s breathing became quiet, he finally had time to relax and look around Hong Su-jeong’s room.

‘It’s a complete princess room.’

It was like a dollhouse he had seen in TV commercials. Light pink, dark pink, medium pink, bright pink, faint pink… and with a sweet scent, he wondered if this was how it felt to fall into strawberry milk.

Intoxicated by the sweet scent, Jinhyuk lay down his weary body and stretched out fully.

There was no sweeter sleeping pill than a stretch before falling asleep.

But then something happened that completely chased away his sleep.

‘Wait, this brat?’

Hong Su-jeong lay down next to Jinhyuk.

He felt like something was seriously wrong. In the end, wasn’t he just a babysitter taking care of the little ones for the two couples?

Regardless, Hong Su-jeong occupied Jinhyuk’s left arm and giggled.

“Ehehe-, oppa, sleep well. Have good dreams-”

The little one, who had been chattering for a while, said that and then fell fast asleep.

She also put her leg on Jinhyuk’s stomach.

“Ugh-”

Hong Su-jeong’s foot struck a very unfortunate spot.

A long sigh escaped from Jinhyuk’s lips.

Peace like a river…

***

Hehehek-.

They said his name was Bomi. He was a very gentle fellow. Even when he crunched on the food that filled his bowl, or when his ears were bitten, or when his tail was chewed, he would just rest his chin on his front paws and roll his eyes. It was like looking at Son Wang-wang, the big, gentle son of the house. Anyway, that guy was truly like a dog. So he felt familiar.

Bomi was bigger than the yellowish dog living at Choi Mi-kyung’s house, so he thought he was older, but he was actually two years younger than Janggun. Let’s see, Janggun was over 70 months old, so this guy was only four years old.

Hehehek-.

Hehe, a younger dog. He was an easy and soft guy, so Janggun played with him to his heart’s content. His fur was long and fluffy, so even when he ran and bumped into him, he would just flinch, and he wouldn’t even scream. He also enjoyed the feeling of being a queen, howling on his back. After all, wasn’t he the great Janggun, who reigned over all the dogs in Dunaeri?

Even the Dosa dogs [Korean Mastiff] and Jindo dogs [a breed of hunting dog native to Korea] all tried to challenge Janggun, only to experience his nuclear teeth.

Besides being a gentle soul who didn’t live up to his size, Bomi had another strange aspect.

No matter how much he sniffed, he didn’t smell like a dog. Sniff sniff-. Was this what culture shock was like?

Hehehek-.

Wow, the dogs in Seoul don’t smell like cow dung!

He seemed unlike a dog, yet he also smelled like a dog.

Janggun spent the night digging around every corner of the garden at Hong Su-jeong’s house and meticulously marking his territory. Whether it was to keep watch or out of curiosity about the other dog, Bomi followed him around, sniffing his tail, but he didn’t care.

He tore at the grass and dug into the ground with his front paws and snout.

Even the soil didn’t smell like cow dung. It was truly a barren and desolate world. Still, he had to take a mud bath. That was how he could refresh his sluggish body and sleep well.

Janggun was a smart dog, so he knew these things.

Was it because he had removed the cow dung smell with Seoul soil? He was wondering if he should try some food, so he peeked into the food bowl, and Bomi put his long snout to Janggun’s tail and sniffed.

It was a so-called dog trick.

Hehehek?

How dare he? It was something that Janggun would not allow any dog in Dunaeri to do. Janggun bared his teeth and growled to show his majesty.

Grrr-.

But then, Janggun yelped in terror.

Grrr-, Bomi seemed to be giving a warning growl too, but then he bit Janggun’s neck. Just a little bit. Ah, it was a sudden situation that even the bold Janggun was surprised by.

He had been careless because he was a gentle fellow. Janggun thought that Bomi had finally decided to become friendly. But from the perspective of the one who had screamed, he had no choice but to accept the situation.

Kkiing-. I was careless.

Drrr-.

Janggun and Bomi were both startled and turned their heads.

A huge transparent door suddenly opened from the large doghouse where the humans were gathered. The sound of adult humans chattering could be heard.

“Okay-, the kids have gone to sleep, so let’s have a toast among the adults, cheers!”

Hehehek-. That’s the voice of the owner, Son Mung-mung.

“I’m sorry that only the men are drinking?”

Hehehek-. That’s the voice of the uncle named Hong Wal-wal.

When he traced the origin of the voices and calculated the distance, it seemed like they weren’t trying to come outside.

Hehehek-.

Hey, it’s nothing. Keep going.

Grrr-.

Slow and languid music leaked out between the human voices.

Perhaps because of the music, his eyelids naturally drooped.

***

His body was immersed in the sticky music, and his eyes, half-closed behind sunglasses, looked even exotic.

Shin Sang-yeol, who had entered the hotel cafe, didn’t even need to look around to find his appointment. As if proving that he was an out-of-place presence in this location, a man with a sturdy build and sharp eyes was looking at him. If it weren’t for the dark brown sunglasses that were half-mixed in, his legs would have buckled at that gaze.

Shin Sang-yeol went to the man and cautiously asked.

“I’m, the one who called, Moon Seok-”

“That’s right. Sit down.”

The deep voice was intimidating. It was as if the air convection had stopped, and it was momentarily difficult to breathe. Shin Sang-yeol licked his lips and sat across from the man.

The man’s growling voice snatched the hand he was raising to order.

“Last time it was a woman.”

The initial client was a woman who called herself the ‘Beach Boss’. But the contact information was the same, but the person in charge had changed, so Moon Seok-il was wary and pointing that out.

It was not a big deal for Shin Sang-yeol. The answer was set.

“There was an accident.”

Shin Sang-yeol, who only gave a short answer, firmly closed his mouth.

It meant that it was an internal matter and he shouldn’t pry any further. Moon Seok-il nodded, barely noticeably. He didn’t take away the gaze that seemed to be glaring at Shin Sang-yeol.

Moon Seok-il’s lips moved.

“It’s been taken care of.”

Moon Seok-il flipped over a photo that was lying face down on the table and slid it towards Shin Sang-yeol.

It was a photo of a tanned, exceptionally handsome man laughing heartily.