Chapter 140

Between Delusion and Concept

***

By the end of June, before the provincial preliminaries to select participants, Lee Byeong-se was reviewing the athletes’ profiles.

“Will Jo Seol-chan be around average height?”

Lee Byeong-se hadn’t had to attend any athletics competitions for a while. There were no athletes. But the kids who consistently participated in the elementary division had moved on to middle school. Thanks to that, he could officially skip out during competitions. Although the age group was lower and the skills weren’t outstanding, the results were always a failure to advance to the main provincial competition.

Driving the van, booking lodgings for the athletes, and staying in a distant room himself, sipping coffee at a café. The next day, he’d return with the kids who failed the preliminaries, and that was it. For three years, he had been running a track and field club in name only, enjoying the perks of using sponsorship money and budgets.

All Lee Byeong-se did was buy snacks and measure 100m times every morning and evening. Yeom Byeong-taek and Jo Seol-chan knew more about track and field training. It was just a matter of getting through the competitions without any incidents.

A few days after informing Son Jin-hyeok that the national competition was set for when he became a third grader, Lee Byeong-se lazily went to work and found a new kid there.

“Who are you?”

Without any bad intentions but with a sufficiently gruff voice and a delinquent look, Lee Byeong-se asked.

Park Sang-ki flinched at Lee Byeong-se’s gold tooth gleaming in the sunlight and bowed his waist.

“I’m a transfer student…”

“A transfer student?”

At a glance, he looked like someone who had done some sports. Tall and well-built.

Jin-hyeok, standing beside him, spoke clearly.

“Teacher, since Sang-ki is also a student at our school, he can participate in the provincial preliminaries, right? It’d be great if he could go to the competition with us. There’s a relay race too.”

“Hmm.”

Lee Byeong-se stroked his chin and nodded. It wasn’t like adding one more event would stop him from skipping out.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

Lee Byeong-se started by measuring the 100m times.

**100m Times**

Son Jin-hyeok: 11.5 seconds


Yeom Byeong-taek: 12.7 seconds


Jo Seol-chan: 12.6 seconds


Park Sang-ki: 12.9 seconds

Yeom Byeong-taek could cut about 0.5 seconds when running on a track. Jo Seol-chan’s running style didn’t show much difference on different tracks. Park Sang-ki, who used to play soccer, had decent times even on sandy ground. While Yeom Byeong-taek and Jo Seol-chan recovered after a few breaths, Park Sang-ki seemed to struggle, suggesting he wasn’t used to track and field, but his explosive sprint was impressive.

‘But Son Jin-hyeok, this guy…’

Not just his time, but after exhaling, he immediately stabilized his breathing.

Lee Byeong-se recalled a recent conversation with Kim Young-tae from Taeyang Elementary School.

– Jin-hyeok became a national-level athlete without any formal training. It’s such a waste that his dream is to be a farmer.

Isn’t retiring from track and field to farm achieving his dream?

Lee Byeong-se’s eyes smiled as he remembered Kim Young-tae’s words.

– Ugh, I thought he’d make it in a day like usual, but Jin-hyeok made it to the finals, so I had to book the lodging for an extra day. Hahaha!

This time, the skip-out could last over four days!

Lee Byeong-se’s chest burned with excitement.

“Teacher,”

“Huh? Yeah? What?”

Just as he was reminiscing about city café coffee and planning a fun time, Lee Byeong-se was startled by Jin-hyeok’s call.

“Are we doing a training camp during summer break?”

Why are you suddenly fired up?

Do you like café coffee too?

***

It was unexpected.

Hong Ki-jun had worried that his daughter might feel left out if she heard that Jin-hyeok had called while she was asleep. Given that Hong Soo-jung was like a sunflower to her imprisoned brother, it was a reasonable concern.

Having vowed to be more devoted to his family this life, it was natural for Hong Ki-jun to be acutely aware of every move his family made. But it seemed like an unnecessary worry.

“Aigoo, our Soo-hyuk is eating well, huh?”

Hong Soo-jung was busy spooning baby food into her younger brother Hong Soo-hyuk’s fussy mouth. She had picked up her grandfather’s exclamations, sounding like an old man. Hong Soo-jung had become a sister who doted on her baby brother more than her mother, Yoo Se-ra.

For three days, without fail, Jin-hyeok’s calls came every evening, but then they suddenly stopped. Was it because of final exams and the training camp? Anyway, there was news that he was busy preparing for various things.

His daughter Hong Soo-jung didn’t seem to care.

She acted like playing with her soon-to-be one-year-old brother was her top priority.

“Daughter.”

“Yeah? What?”

Hong Soo-jung didn’t even look at her father, focusing on feeding Hong Soo-hyuk. She even copied her mother Yoo Se-ra’s sassy tone.

“Don’t you need to call your imprisoned brother?”

“Why should I?”

Only then did Hong Soo-jung turn around, tilting her head. Her cat-like eyes, just like her mother’s, blinked. In her pupils, the word ‘indifference’ was deeply engraved.

Hong Ki-jun puffed out his cheeks.

‘This can’t be.’

Has she already lost interest in her imprisoned brother?

This diminishes the meaning of desperately growing the group. It was all so that Hong Soo-jung could benefit.

One might argue that having a son is enough, but Hong Ki-jun had too many unspoken reasons.

It was a condition of his regression.

‘Did I make empty promises?’

It wasn’t forced.

He had made a contract with the shadow himself, so he couldn’t blame anyone.

As he suffered in silent agony, an unexpected remark came from Hong Soo-jung.

“Dad said to be cautious in everything because you can’t predict what will happen in life. It’s a one-time life, so manage it carefully, weighing everything.”

Hong Soo-jung shrugged.

Her expression was almost indifferent, but Hong Ki-jun didn’t miss the slight upward curve of her lips.

It felt like a hammer had hit the back of his head. Before he could judge the right or wrong of his daughter’s words, the shock hit his throat.

‘When did my daughter grow up like this?’

Has she matured since becoming an upper elementary student?

Her personality is so different from her mother’s. No, I heard Yoo Se-ra was also mature when she was young. Unlike other kids, she was mature during puberty but lost her mind as she grew older. So, has puberty already arrived? Kids these days grow up fast, huh.

In the past, he had been so neglectful of his family that he hadn’t even noticed how his daughter had grown. Like a sponge soaking up water, Hong Ki-jun’s chest filled with emotion. It was the joy of reclaiming lost time. The thrill of seeing a bus you thought had left waiting right in front of you was nothing compared to this.

Yes, let’s not repeat the regrets of past lives.

Hong Ki-jun hugged his daughter tightly.

“Ew, ew, ew-? Why is Dad being so gross?”

Startled, Hong Soo-jung tensed her arms to avoid spilling the baby food but didn’t shake or push away, leaning her back against her father’s chest.

“Oooh.”

Hong Soo-hyuk, oblivious, opened his mouth wide, chasing the spoon with his mouth.

Clank-.

At that moment, Yoo Se-ra, carrying a tray of vegetable juice, opened the door and entered.

Seeing the father and daughter in a hug, sparks flew from Yoo Se-ra’s eyes.

“What are you doing with a daughter-like girl, you jerk!”

She’s not daughter-like; she’s my actual daughter…

Someone might misunderstand.

Even after over 50 years together, this woman always seems strange.

She has so many petty flaws.

***

Taeyang County is not only vast in land but also has winding roads.

“Ah! Refreshing!”

80 km/h.

Jin-hyeok, stretching his arm out the passenger window, let out a cry of delight.

As the season was getting hotter, the wind felt cool yet warm.

‘Hmm. After doing this for a while, it feels real. Is this what virtual reality is like?’

Although he didn’t know the actual sensation of the wind, Jin-hyeok had reached a point where repetitive delusions felt like reality.

Driving down the winding road, Jin-hyeok thought about the word ‘life.’

If someone had watched Jin-hyeok’s past life from afar, they might have seen it as a side-scrolling game. A game where you destroy obstacles according to a set scenario and progress only in the direction the system guides. When one episode ends, you naturally move to the next, or if you want to stay, you just stop pressing the directional keys.

‘I really lived a boring life.’

But this reborn life was complex, not divided into sections like an arcade game.

There was a home, school, and an unofficially affiliated company.

He had to spend time with family, hang out with friends, exercise, and manage company work. He also kept an eye on Kim Eung-nyeo’s family, Park Dae-soon, and Daejeong Group. Like following a winding road, crossing intersections without traffic lights, there was much to look around and manage.

If one event completely ended before moving to the next, it would be easier to focus, but life doesn’t flow so two-dimensionally. After being reborn, such a life didn’t exist anywhere.

‘I lived too simply.’

Looking at Moon Seok-il in the driver’s seat, Jin-hyeok suddenly asked a random question.

“Everyone lives this chaotically busy life, right?”

In his own thoughts, Jin-hyeok was still a misfit in human society, drifting like a buoy with a broken string. So, he wanted confirmation. That he was living well.

“Not sure.”

Moon Seok-il answered sincerely, doing his best.

‘This guy, he doesn’t think it’s because he’s involved in so much, huh.’

He heard they were doing a training camp during the break. To improve his friends’ records and teamwork, but pushing for a camp without a coach is something only an athlete would do.

Anyway, he’s an interesting guy. At an age where no one would blame him for slacking off, he lives so diligently, like he knows the end of the world.

The car carrying Jin-hyeok drove through the town and headed towards the beach of another region, reaching a small port after nearly 50 minutes on a two-lane road.

A coast guard approached Moon Seok-il as he got out of the driver’s seat.

“Do you have a companion today?”

“Ah, yes, thanks for your hard work. This is my nephew.”

Familiarity from frequent visits allowed the coast guard to be at ease.

Moon Seok-il also had no reason to be nervous. It was a port he often visited for work-related boarding.

“Please fill this out.”

Jin-hyeok opened the document file handed by the coast guard. It was a form to fill in his resident registration number, name, contact information, and guardian.

‘My guardian.’

Should I write my mom’s name or my dad’s?

Jin-hyeok was momentarily immersed in happiness. Even at school, filling out family relations always made him excited. Why does writing names make him so happy?

As he quickly filled it out, the coast guard made an additional request.

“Please show your ID too.”

Huh?

He still had to wait two more years to get a resident registration card.

He couldn’t have brought his student ID on a Sunday.

Blinking in confusion, Moon Seok-il handed over a document from his pocket.

“This is my nephew’s ID verification certificate. Check this.”

“No ID card?”

“Can’t you tell from the resident number? His ID card hasn’t been issued yet.”

The coast guard’s eyes widened at Moon Seok-il’s rebuke.

Anyone could see he was bigger than his uncle, yet still a minor without a resident registration card. It was surprising.

Fortunately, no comments about looking old or being a soldier came up.

Sakdo.

That was the name of the island where the SSS training ground was located.

One of the countless uninhabited islands along the west coast, not marked on maps.

While waiting for the boat to Sakdo, Jin-hyeok strolled along the breakwater.

With summer approaching, the sun and wind were hot, but the sea breeze refreshed his chest. The sound of waves hitting the tetrapods also cooled his eardrums.

‘What kind of fish can be caught here?’

The holes in the tetrapods, spitting out seawater after absorbing the waves, were fascinating.

Although he had gone fishing on company workshops, he had never done shore fishing outside his hometown. It’s similar to being a novice outside one’s home ground.

Even in society, professors or doctors are just clueless uncles outside their fields of expertise.

Seeing Jin-hyeok’s sparkling eyes, Moon Seok-il smiled. It was rare to see such innocent excitement from him.

“What, want to fish? I heard rockfish and flounder come out here.”

Ah, nothing special. Jin-hyeok nodded, arms crossed, looking into the tetrapod holes. Rockfish and flounder were common in his neighborhood too. Mostly, they saw gobies, mullets, sea bass, and black porgy due to the rocky terrain.

“When will the boat come?”

“I contacted them, so they should come on time.”

As Moon Seok-il checked his wristwatch, Jin-hyeok’s sharp eyes caught something suspicious.

‘That boat.’

It wasn’t an ordinary fishing boat or a leisure boat, so he recognized it at a glance.

Emerging through the thin sea fog, the boat was an 8-seater combo boat with a black base and red ‘SSS’ letters.

It was the bridge to a new world, the gateway to the starting line of his concept.