The Genius Decided To Live An Ordinary Life [EN]: Chapter 99

The photo, gleaming even under the soft lighting, was clearly recently printed.

Shin Sang-yeol picked up the photo and compared it with the one he had taken from his pocket.

Despite the difference between black and white and color, they were similar enough to confirm they were the same person.

“It seems to be him. Could you tell me the details?”

“That wasn’t part of the request. If you want to know more, double the price.”

Shin Sang-yeol couldn’t help but shrink back at Moon Seok-il’s nonchalant reply and husky voice.

Shin Sang-yeol scratched his ear awkwardly. He was said to be a top-tier operative, and his very presence was formidable. No wonder he was so difficult to contact. The previous manager, Baek Young-rim, had reportedly wet herself when she met Moon Seok-il.

“Yes, well, that’s not important. But with just this photo, we can’t know the result, can we? The initial request was-”

“To kill him.”

Moon Seok-il cut him off quietly. It was slow, but the timing was precise.

Shin Sang-yeol’s face turned pale as he forced a smile.

“Ah, there seems to be some misunderstanding-”

“Bring him, or better yet, don’t. That was the woman’s request. Let’s stop playing word games.”

Shin Sang-yeol let out a long sigh. Only then did his tension ease, and his work came to mind. Shin Sang-yeol prided himself on being more level-headed than anyone when it came to work. He realized he had been momentarily shaken by meeting a man from another world.

A slight smile crept onto his lips.

“Yes. What I mean is, show me the results. Doesn’t this photo look like a living person?”

“Of course, it’s a photo from before the job.”

The photo showed the sky, buildings, people passing by, and a few cars vaguely surrounding the subject.

It was a secretly taken photo of Son Kwang-yeon laughing heartily as he left the medical center. He probably said something about going to eat tonkatsu [Japanese pork cutlet] then. For some reason, his son didn’t seem to like tonkatsu.

‘He’s a strange one. Kids these days are crazy about tonkatsu.’

After briefly recalling that day, Moon Seok-il pushed a newspaper towards Shin Sang-yeol.

Shin Sang-yeol took the newspaper and found a short article. It was helpfully underlined in red marker.

「Car Crash in OO City, OO Province, 30-year-old Driver Dies」

The article detailed the car being completely destroyed by fire and the severe damage to the body.

“Hmm, that’s a shame. It would be nice if we could see the post-mortem photos.”

Even as he said that, Shin Sang-yeol was smiling. He even looked sinister. It was understandable. He was expressing his disappointment at not seeing the corpse photos.

Underneath it all was a sense of joy that he could finally complete the report on a troublesome task.

‘Like attracts like, I guess.’

Is this the kind of personality you get when you work for someone who orders such things? Moon Seok-il shook his head inwardly.

“The police probably have more detailed evidence. If someone is buying me, they’ll have the ability to buy that information too.”

“Yes, well, other employees will check that, but your skills are legendary in our department.”

Shin Sang-yeol mumbled whether it was the secretary’s office or the auxiliary office.

Shin Sang-yeol, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses, stood up. He tucked the photo and newspaper into his arms.

“I’ll send you the success report after the final confirmation.”

Moon Seok-il nodded. Shin Sang-yeol offered a handshake, but he ignored it and sipped his barley tea. However, his eyes, hidden behind sunglasses, continued to glare at Shin Sang-yeol.

A seemingly gentle appearance, but with sharp and venomous eyes. Snake eyes that didn’t match his round face. An unsettling impression.

Sure enough, Shin Sang-yeol was signaling to a corner of the cafe.

“Then.”

Shin Sang-yeol bowed his head lightly and turned away.

After Shin Sang-yeol left the cafe, Moon Seok-il stroked his chin and moved his lips.

“Stick to him. Search him thoroughly.”

It was time to prepare for a counterattack. It wasn’t just for Son Jin-hyuk.

Moon Seok-il’s group would also be completely exposed.

Moon Seok-il stayed seated for over 30 minutes after Shin Sang-yeol left. He had no plans to enjoy the music or the romance. He was just killing time and checking on his colleagues’ progress.

The interior lighting suited the dark night. He felt more at home than in the outside world beyond the glass windows, which were lit up like daytime by streetlights. He also liked the sticky music, which seemed to be from some unknown country. It sounded like a chanson [French lyrical song] with a middle-aged woman singing ‘turubung turubung’.

‘I expected it, but they’re really dirty bastards.’

Ever since he took the job, he had been followed. From errand centers to organized crime members, to retired special forces. He didn’t know if it was because they didn’t trust his skills or if they were monitoring him to make sure he did the job properly. He had shaken off the clumsy ones, but the clever trackers were a problem.

He had ordered Kim In-rang and Kang Heon-chang to capture them, but they chose to kill themselves instead. Some swallowed poison, while others jumped from high places. It was the choice of experienced people in the same industry who knew what kind of torture awaited them.

‘It’s a good thing I didn’t go home.’

His colleagues’ families could have been exposed. Moving in complex patterns was standard practice in the industry, so the trackers wouldn’t complain.

‘I won’t be able to hide it for long anyway.’

Moon Seok-il could smell the client clearly. It was the chilling, musty stench of an Imugi [a mythical Korean serpent] who had built a wall of money around himself. Such people never give up. They also knew Son Kwang-yeon’s location.

‘But I promised with my life.’

Money was just a minimal contract device. You could spit it out or return it. But the only way to break a death contract made with one’s life on the line was death. He could die for his friends, but he didn’t want to see them get hurt.

‘What the hell was that?’

Moon Seok-il’s spine tingled as he recalled the nightmare of Chuseok [Korean Thanksgiving]. It was a sharp, hard chill, like a snake’s fangs.

A being that seemed to place a ban to prevent any deviation, any resistance. Could the term ‘grim reaper’ be enough to describe it?

Moon Seok-il shuddered.

Beep beep beep-. The alarm on his wristwatch broke his reverie.

Thirty minutes had passed since Shin Sang-yeol left. His reliable colleagues would be following the snake-eyed man like shadows.

Moon Seok-il left without hesitation.

As he was about to leave the cafe, he saw four men in the corner stand up in the reflection of the glass door. It was nothing new. How easy it was to deal with predictable guys. Having survived the clutches of that monster in the backwoods, these mediocre fixers looked like one-legged rabbits.

‘Cute guys.’

The corner of Moon Seok-il’s expressionless mouth slowly curled up.

***

“Is Jin-hyuk asleep?”

“Not yet.”

Jin-hyuk couldn’t fall asleep.

He hadn’t been able to do his daily exercise, so he was full of energy, and the kids were fidgeting on either side of him, each holding one of his arms, which made him restless. He had thought he would take a break from exercising for once, but it was more like a prison sentence than a rest. He thought that people’s fates seemed to follow their nicknames.

“No, just lie down.”

Hong Ki-joon gently pressed down on Jin-hyuk’s chest as he struggled to get up.

A faint smell of alcohol wafted from his breath. He had said he had to go to work tomorrow, so he must have only had a sip.

“I was busy, so I didn’t get to see our Jin-hyuk properly. That’s why I came up for a bit.”

“Yes.”

Jin-hyuk lay still, only rolling his eyes to look at Hong Ki-joon. It was ridiculous, but what could he do when an adult told him to lie down? The teenager Son Jin-hyuk listened well to adults.

But had that man always been so big? Standing tall in the dark room, he felt like a giant. He was already the vice chairman of Sein Group, wasn’t he? He wasn’t such an aggressive businessman in the past, but even knowing the future, it was an amazing growth.

He had become the group’s chairman in the past, but it was only thanks to his wife’s efforts. He was a man without any desire for fame or fortune. Had his father’s success in the countryside inspired him to accelerate that time by more than 10 years?

As he was pondering, Hong Ki-joon asked in a gentle voice.

“Is anything bothering you?”

It wasn’t the army, so what could be bothering him?

Your daughter is bothering me. Her sleeping habits are terrible.

He couldn’t say that.

“Some strange people were lurking around during Chuseok.”

“Strange people? There are a lot of people who come to look at land.”

“They were watching our house all day.”

He had only told his father that suspicious people had come. The content was too unusual to reveal the truth. Who would believe him if he said he had knocked them out?

Anyway, it was something he had decided to reveal. He was grateful that he was being asked about it appropriately.

Hong Ki-joon’s breathing slowed.

Hong Ki-joon was embracing the darkness with his back to the light, but Jin-hyuk felt that his eyes were shining sharply.

“Monitoring?”

“Yes. I’m sure of it.”

He could only hope that Hong Ki-joon would believe him. He couldn’t possibly say that he had found out by overpowering Moon Seok-il’s group.

“They looked like athletes. People who look at land have pot bellies, but they didn’t have pot bellies, they wore sunglasses, their hair was short, and their suits were striped.”

What was so important about striped suits? Jin-hyuk conveyed the information as he had observed it. Come to think of it, the people who had come to look at the land didn’t seem to be wearing striped suits.

Hong Ki-joon, who had been listening quietly, asked.

“Are you worried even though there are bodyguards?”

“Yes. My mom and sister are weak.”

Hong Ki-joon sighed briefly and patted Jin-hyuk’s chest with his palm.

“Don’t worry and sleep well.”

“I, Mom and Dad-”

“I said don’t worry.”

No, this guy won’t let me say anything.

He was about to ask if his parents were asleep.

This guy doesn’t know me at all.

As if waiting for it, Yoo Se-ra’s laughter rose from the first floor. So they weren’t asleep.

When his mother and Yoo Se-ra met, they turned into chatterboxes.

“I’ll take care of it, so Jin-hyuk, just live happily.”

It was a serious and quiet voice that was rarely heard from the cheerful Hong Ki-joon.

For some reason, that voice resonated in Jin-hyuk’s heart.

“Sleep. You must be tired from the long trip.”

“Yes.”

As soon as Jin-hyuk finished his reply, Yoo-jin hugged her brother’s neck and began to whisper in his ear. It was Son Yoo-jin’s sleep-inducing babble, only audible to Jin-hyuk.

‘Tandog. Nenogrom ilit pyude byose.’

Like when he was under anesthesia, his fading consciousness suddenly cut off.

It was a strange sight to Hong Ki-joon as well. The guy he was talking to had fallen asleep as if he had fainted.

“I’ll take care of Soo-jung-, huh?”

It was simultaneous.

It was as if his daughter and Son Jin-hyuk were drawn to each other like magnets, ignoring Hong Ki-joon’s arm as he tried to hug his daughter.

Hong Ki-joon chuckled and turned away without regret.

Hong Ki-joon, who was opening the door and leaving, turned his head back.

His lips were curved up, and his eyes held a warm and affectionate smile.

“Please take care of my daughter.”

It was a sincerity he had not been able to convey.

*

The adults’ friendly time was over, and the night deepened.

The door opened slowly, and Hong Ki-joon entered.

Hong Ki-joon sat on the bed and patted Hong Soo-jung’s bottom.

He knew that if his daughter, who had bad sleeping habits, woke up, she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep easily.

Whoosh-.

He let out a long sigh, like a person with a grudge.

Perhaps emboldened by the alcohol, Hong Ki-joon quietly moved his lips after confirming that all three lives on the bed were asleep.

“I wonder if you saw the report in the chairman’s study. It was a childish attempt. I was hoping that if you were the same person from the past, you might be able to help me.”

Hong Ki-joon’s eyes became deeply colored.

“I don’t know everything either. It’s absurd to say that I do. The average human brain can’t even remember the economic newspaper I read yesterday.”

He wasn’t saying it for anyone to hear. It was just the ramblings of someone who had returned to a past that had become a strange world.

Hong Ki-joon was lonely.

There was no one to share that loneliness with, but he hoped that the guy lying here would understand. He was the only one who knew the history of Jin-hyuk’s long struggle.

“I realized it when I tried it. How difficult it is, how dangerous a challenge it is. It’s so difficult to live in the world I lived in again, to be the practical navigator of the group, to face the unfamiliar waves alone without knowing anyone-”

Hong Ki-joon’s ramblings couldn’t continue.

Whoosh-!

The dark room became even darker, and Jin-hyuk’s shadow grew in size.

Hong Ki-joon was startled and closed his mouth, cowering. His movement to embrace his young daughter was as nimble as a cat.

The shadow that filled the room glared at Hong Ki-joon with angry eyes.

【Old man, what are you doing? Are you trying to break the contract?】

Hong Ki-joon, raising his upper body, narrowed his eyes.

The black shadow, undulating like the ocean, was unfamiliar, but the voice was familiar.

It was clearly the being who had placed the ban that made Hong Ki-joon lonely.

He calmly opened his mouth, staring at the emptiness where the eyes would be.

“Have you been here the whole time?”

【I do not exist in that place.】

Hong Ki-joon nodded, still staring at the shadow.

The fact that he said ‘that place’ meant that he was not in this space, but in his own position.

“Won’t they wake up?”

He asked, gesturing with his eyes to the three lives lying in the darkness.

【Impossible. Only the imprinted soul can hear my voice. I have also temporarily stopped the time of that world in preparation for the one in ten thousand chance.】

Hong Ki-joon sighed deeply.

It was an expression that was hard to tell whether it was relief or disappointment.

“If you’re not here, why did you come now?”

【You have hastened your death.】

Ah, he was caught.

Hong Ki-joon, closing his eyes slowly as if surrendering, took a calm breath.

The five years he had spent like a flame since he returned flashed by like a panorama.

It was a fierce yet happy flame.