Chapter 195

<Slowpoke (5)>

Choi Mi-kyung’s voice trembled slightly, clearly displeased.

“Did grandpa tell you that too?”

“Mm-hmm! And Oppa told me too~!”

Excited about something, Yoo-jin nodded her head vigorously.

Yup, she definitely takes after her brother in being completely oblivious.

Even though it ended up being an unintentional jab, Cheon Gil-ryong and Jin-hyuk weren’t explaining things with Mi-kyung in mind, and Yoo-jin wasn’t targeting her either.

But from the listener’s perspective, it didn’t seem that way.

“Hey! Son Jin-hyuk! Are you just gonna read books all day?!”

*Whack!*

The sparks of the verbal jab flew toward poor Jin-hyuk.

“Ughhh-! Oppa~.”

*Scramble.*

Frightened by Mi-kyung’s sudden change, Yoo-jin crawled on all fours and hid behind Jin-hyuk.

“Ahh-, it’s okay. Yoo-jin, it’s fine. It’s fine.”

It was unfair, but he couldn’t fight with a friend at someone else’s house.

Jin-hyuk obediently replied, hoping his friend’s anger would subside, while patting his sniffling younger sibling’s buttocks.

‘Let’s just finish this and go.’

This is why I hate other people’s houses. It’s so exhausting having to watch your step.

Having lived a life where he had to constantly be on guard, Jin-hyuk didn’t want his sibling to be in such a situation.

Perhaps realizing she’d gone too far seeing Yoo-jin hiding behind Jin-hyuk and rolling her eyes, Mi-kyung quietly approached.

“Yoo-jin~. What did I say? It’s not like that~.”

“Hiiiiing~.”

But Yoo-jin just hid further behind her brother.

This sight clearly triggered Mi-kyung’s short temper.

“Yoo-jin, are you really gonna do this to your unnie?!”

“Waaahhh~!”

Yoo-jin finally burst into tears.

Jin-hyuk had to put aside his work and comfort his sibling first.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. That unnie is the one Yoo-jin likes, right? She didn’t mean it.”

Wait, but the more I think about it… the more annoyed I get?

Jin-hyuk glared and silently cursed.

Mi-kyung, you b*tch-. You’re just a troublemaker like that *sshole Byeong-taek!

Why are you picking on my innocent sibling who wouldn’t hurt a fly?

“Yoo-jin, don’t cry. Unnie is sorry, okay?”

Startled by Jin-hyuk’s glare, Mi-kyung hugged Yoo-jin to comfort her.

She had forgotten for a moment. The fact that Yoo-jin had just graduated from kindergarten.

*Thud! Thud!*

Choi Tae-yang pounded the living room floor with his fists, laughing heartily. He found it amusing that Mi-kyung got a taste of her own medicine and that Yoo-jin, scared of her unnie, was just too cute.

Even that seemed annoying to Jin-hyuk.

You’re laughing while my sibling is crying?

It’s winter break, time to neuter you-.

*

After receiving sharp glares from Mi-kyung and Jin-hyuk, Choi Tae-yang stepped up to comfort Yoo-jin.

*Hehehe.*

He sat Yoo-jin, who was crying and sobbing, on his lap and read her a traditional fairy tale.

“……Hmm~, he chased away the snake with a carrying pole. But then- oh no! A baby swallow fell to the ground~.”

Tae-yang seemed like he’d be great at taking care of kids if he ever got married.

Even if Yoo-jin was dozing off, he kept reading with determination. His sincerity was evident. Truly, he excelled at physical tasks.

Jin-hyuk slowly packed his books while listening to the strongman read the tale of Heungbu and Nolbu.

‘Didn’t they say they’d give Yoo-jin’s textbooks on the first day of school?’

It’d be nice to pack her books too.

Is it still “Good Manners” and “Wise Living” these days?

“Heungbu, you rascal! Confess the truth! How did you become rich?!”

Tae-yang’s excellent storytelling startled Yoo-jin awake, and she shouted.

“Park! Baak~! Ssi-baak~!”

“That’s right. Yoo-jin is so smart.”

It’s not like she cursed, right? Tae-yang patted Yoo-jin’s head with his thick hand.

Yoo-jin’s eyelids closed again.

“Sawing slowly~. Nolbu and his wife excitedly pushed and pulled the saw~.”

*Kaaa.*

Neither Mi-kyung, lying face down on the living room floor drooling, nor Yoo-jin, nodding off on Tae-yang’s lap, seemed interested in Nolbu.

*Yaaawn.*

Jin-hyuk yawned but held on with superhuman willpower. He still had two more books to pack.

“……Realizing his mistake, Nolbu went to find Heungbu…… Heungbu and Nolbu lived happily ever after~. *Sniff*.”

“Ahhh!”

Every time, it’s clear that Yoo-jin takes after her mom in looks and her dad in actions and personality.

Even now, as soon as Tae-yang finished reading, she opened her eyes wide.

‘Just like Dad.’

Son Kwang-yeon would fall asleep with the TV on in the living room, and if someone turned it off, he’d wake up like a ghost, as if the remote’s power button was his alarm.

“Oppa, but~.”

Yoo-jin stretched her right arm and stuck it to her ear.

A sign that she had a question.

“What kind of gourd was it that the snake Heungbu helped brought?”

The question was a bit off, but no one corrected her, afraid Yoo-jin might get upset. Mi-kyung, sprawled on the living room floor drooling, probably would’ve pointed it out if she were awake.

“Hmm~, what kind of gourd was it?”

Tae-yang stroked his chin, pondering.

Jin-hyuk also thought about it while finishing up. Kids really do have fresh ideas. Who would think to ask about the origin of the gourd? Was it about the variety? Or the family lineage? The Miryang Park clan?

As the answer was delayed, Yoo-jin shook Tae-yang’s knee.

“What kind of gourd was it~~~?”

Then, Tae-yang slapped his knee.

“It must be Gangnam since he went there and brought it back!”

“Where’s Gangnam?”

“Seou-.”

“That’s not it.”

Jin-hyuk quickly cut off Tae-yang before he could give wrong information.

“No?”

“No.”

As if to say no more false information would be tolerated, Jin-hyuk glared.

“Definitely not.”

“Oppa, then where is it?”

“Right. Where’s Gangnam, Jin-hyuk?”

It’s definitely not Seoul.

But I can’t think of it.

It felt like my brain, which was spinning faster than the Earth’s rotation, had come to a halt.

I’m gonna lose it.

***

As you get older, your brain slows down, and time definitely flies faster.

Maybe it’s because time speeds up, making your brain seem slower in comparison. Or not.

Anyway.

The long winter break disappeared as if it were a lie.

With businesses and families to take care of, Hong Ki-jun and Son Kwang-yeon couldn’t hang out like they used to. But their longing for each other remained unchanged.

“Hey, man. Let the employees handle the work, why are you doing it? Come hang out.”

– Sure. I’ll drop by often.

Even if it’s just words, having a friend who responds like that is a good thing.

Even if they live far apart, they can hold onto the hope of meeting someday.

“Where did I put it?”

After finishing the call, Kwang-yeon rummaged through his briefcase.

Though he scolded Ki-jun for not visiting often, Kwang-yeon was just as busy.

From agricultural products to feed, fertilizer production, processing, distribution, microbial research, material development, and more, he had a lot on his plate.

“Here it is~. Jin-hyuk, do you think this material test report looks okay?”

Kwang-yeon, holding out the report on the dining table, watched Jin-hyuk’s reaction like a model student who had just submitted an answer.

Jin-hyuk, who glanced at the report and his dad while busy, prioritized taking care of Jeong-won, who was squirming on the dining chair.

“Just a sec. I need to change Jeong-won’s diaper first.”

Schoolwork was something he focused on during class.

He studied ahead on his own, having already finished the curriculum early and moved on to high school-level studies.

Though it seemed like he was always playing sports or with his siblings, Jin-hyuk spent a lot of time discussing business with his dad, second only to sports. Especially during vacations, as he spent more time at home.

For Jin-hyuk, the trivial conversations with people he hadn’t met before were new and special. Business-related talks, which were neither fun nor fresh, had become old knowledge, but to Jin-hyuk, they were anything but ordinary.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his dad, but he wanted to minimize mistakes and failures by brainstorming together. If his dad succeeded, he could focus on his daily life, and his siblings could grow up without hardship.

Though it was an important conversation for this father and son, to outsiders, it was just ordinary daily life. Sitting in the living room or at the dining table, chatting away, it didn’t stand out, so no one paid attention. Even Han Yu-young would yawn and sneak away when business talk came up.

With no one watching, Jin-hyuk didn’t give it much thought either.

Yoo-jin, who had started to understand words and stay by her dad and brother’s side more, was the only one who showed interest in this father and son.

“Ughhh~. I can’t read this~~~.”

Yoo-jin, who had climbed onto the dining table to look at the report, tugged at her already messy hair.

What’s wrong? Jin-hyuk, skillfully folding the heavy diaper, glanced at the open file.

“I’m not an expert in that field. If the procedures and testing processes are reliable, then we have no choice but to trust it, right?”

He glanced at the report title and spoke casually, rocking Jeong-won, who was now wearing a fresh diaper.

“Hmm~, this kid. Leaves me speechless.”

Feeling sorry for his dad scratching the back of his head, Jin-hyuk leaned over the table to skim through the report again.

‘Even though it’s a reprocessed report, it’s still unfriendly.’

Alphabet and numbers.

Not a single Korean character.

Jin-hyuk’s brow furrowed involuntarily. He thought that in any other household, a father wouldn’t show such a report to a son about to enter high school.

The quick-witted Kwang-yeon leaned forward and fumbled behind him.

“Since you’re starting high school, how about some allowance……?”

The capitalist Jin-hyuk quickly straightened up.

“Let’s see~. The idea is to use FRP for protective gear, right?”

But behind Kwang-yeon was something other than a wallet.

*Pfft~.* Here’s some fart allowance.

“Kahaha!”

“Daddy~! Boo-boo~! Bba-bba-bba-bya!”

This dad, seriously…… Jin-hyuk gritted his teeth internally but couldn’t bring himself to complain.

Since his siblings were enjoying it so much, he’d look like the bad guy if he acted stern. Jeong-won was even clapping his hands in delight.

He’d heard stories from friends like Yeom Byeong-taek. Other dads also seemed happiest when releasing their homemade air freshener into the atmosphere.

‘Sigh~. Got fooled again.’

Even though he kept falling for it, the patterns and repertoire changed each time, making it hard to catch on.

Looking at his dad’s antics, he was definitely a strategist type. With his quirky and lighthearted personality, he wasn’t exactly Zhuge Liang, but maybe more like Pang Tong. Since he’d attended Pangtong University, it fit perfectly.

Complaining about back pain while farting~.

Stretching while farting~.

Farting after breakfast, farting after dinner~.

Since Yoo-jin and Jeong-won loved it, he was releasing it even more enthusiastically.

After eating the sea anemone, the sound had become even more powerful. It was almost as if he’d implanted a motorcycle muffler somewhere in his body.

But surprisingly, he never released gas where mom was.

Maybe because she’s the one who cooks, so he had to protect her sense of smell?

Protect what?

Anyway, that’s how it was, so even if Yoo-jin tattled that dad had farted, mom wouldn’t believe it. Dad was cunningly sly, and mom’s faith in her husband was terrifyingly devout.

After fanning the air a couple of times, Jin-hyuk shared his review of the report.

“The idea of using FRP for protective gear seems premature. The results vary depending on the main material, but as you can see here, particle stability isn’t secured, and vertical rigidity isn’t supported either.”

“Hmm. That’s right.”

As if he hadn’t been fooling around earlier, Kwang-yeon also focused seriously.

“Premature, results, particle, vertical……”

Yoo-jin, sitting next to her dad with a picture book open, murmured with half-closed eyes. She’s probably memorizing what her brother is saying again.

“Ultimately, it seems possible to interpret that it could tear under stress or weight, and even if tearing is acceptable, the wearer could get hurt in the process. To compensate for such drawbacks, expensive fiber materials would have to be used, and a lot of resin would be needed, so why use FRP for this research? Was it for cost reasons? If you keep compensating for the drawbacks, the initial purpose might fade.”

Ooh~. That’s right, exactly. As if it was the expected answer, Kwang-yeon smiled contentedly. For him, there were few things as reassuring and satisfying as being in agreement with his son Jin-hyuk.

“Our son always hits the nail on the head.”

Nodding and murmuring in admiration, Kwang-yeon neatly folded the report. Into a paper square.

He was determined to teach Yoo-jin traditional games like ddakji, spinning tops, and jegichagi once she started school, wanting his kids to experience the play he missed out on as a child.

“Hmm~. The idea is good, but it’s a shame. It’ll take time.”

“If you research other materials, you’ll find a way someday. It’s about the cost, not the lack of materials, right? Existing materials or equipment don’t satisfy you, so you’re trying to develop your own.”

“That’s right. But, Jin-hyuk. Why do researchers and non-experts see things differently? It’s so frustrating.”

As one topic wrapped up, Kwang-yeon brought up a lighter subject.

“What do you mean……”

Kwang-yeon pulled him closer.

“This idea was mine, but why can’t the so-called experts, who have the development or processing technology, think of where to apply it? If they had come up with the idea before me, wouldn’t they have started the research already? Assuming the capital and conditions are the same.”

“That……”

Why are you asking me this~~~. For a moment, he thought that, but where else could you have such conversations with family?

Happy and stress-free people can handle any topic like gossip. Like Jin-hyuk now.

Stories about Jang Gun-i using Cheon-ma to steal fish from the stream as if it were a fridge, or the neighbor’s kid running away to avoid getting a tooth pulled, or even business discussions with his dad.

All were layered on a foundation of slow happiness.

“From what I see~.”

Jin-hyuk, who had guessed why his dad was saying this and why he was frustrated, smiled awkwardly.

Yoo-jin was ready to record with her brow furrowed, and Jeong-won started nodding his head.