Chapter 230

***

What kind of meeting is this, and what kind of girlfriend is this, freezing to death?

Birds of a feather flock together, and meetings usually happen when a friend in your close circle is dating someone of the opposite sex, and they set you up. Sometimes, people gather for group meetings, but overly impressive friends were often excluded.

If that person were someone whose name and face were known nationwide, though.

“I’ll only be interested in you, so why would those kids even think of coming with me?”

Lee Seung-hoon, with spring break approaching, chuckled. Son Jin-hyeok, for some reason, was showing interest in girls, and Seung-hoon looked at him like he was some rare creature.

“I’m not interested either.”

“Yeah, sure. Even with Mi-kyung around, you don’t even glance her way, Mr. President. What kind of beauty would catch your eye?”

Look at this guy.

Subtly bragging about his girlfriend, huh?

Jin-hyeok wondered if there was something wrong with his personality.

It’s not like this was his first life, and he wasn’t scared of people anymore, but he just didn’t feel any interest in the opposite sex. But looking at his other friends, not all of them were oozing testosterone and reeking of masculinity.

Chae Kyu-ho, whom he met during winter break, was like that, and so was Jo Seol-chan.

Chae Kyu-ho said he liked pretty girls like Shim Eun-ha or Woo Hee-jin, and Jo Seol-chan said he wouldn’t even look at a girl unless she resembled his mom. Both seemed a bit off when it came to dating. Such characters aren’t common.

As for Yeom Byeong-taek…

He’s already changed girlfriends three times.

All of them were older.

‘Byeong-taek is something else.’

Seeing that, Jin-hyeok thought it wasn’t a personality flaw but just a difference in personal taste. The only limit was that at the end of his thoughts, there was always the future Hong Soo-jung.

Shin Woo-sung, who was munching on a chocolate pie that came as a dessert during breakfast, made a pitiful expression.

“Even if I’m like Zhu Bajie, it’s a waste for the president. There are so many pretty girls.”

“I’m into natural beauty.”

“Huh?”

“What’s that?”

Shin Woo-sung and Lee Seung-hoon blinked simultaneously.

“That’s what I pursue.”

Their hands naturally moved toward their groins.

These guys seem to have misunderstood something.

“I’m not talking about meeting and touching that. I’m talking about pursuing natural encounters.”

“Eww.”

“Ahh.”

Jin-hyeok had just used a phrase he happened to know, but it seemed too early for it to become a buzzword. Way too early.

“How did the class assignments turn out?”

“I’m in Class 4 again.”

“Me too, Class 4 this year.”

For the first time since middle school, the three of them would be together again.

‘Looking back, time flies.’

When the same routine repeats, time doesn’t feel precious.

Looking back, time races ahead like light, and the path you’ve walked leaves no footprints. That’s life. If you’re an office worker, a member of society, you’d probably feel the same as Jin-hyeok.

‘This time, it feels like it’s going really slow.’

It’s probably not just because he’s still a student.

A lot has happened.

Secrets only he knows, confidential information shared with a limited few, and things known to the world. Achievements unimaginable if he had remained ignorant and powerless in the past. Such events filled the gaps of light and time, making life feel longer.

“Class president, Byeong-taek met someone this time, and he seemed a bit disappointed. Just saying.”

Jin-hyeok, who chuckled silently, nodded.

He must be disappointed. After all, he only gave Jo Seol-chan a pager.

“That’s why I said it. Woo-sung and I also got one. So, he was like, ‘Oh, I see.’ He seems fine now.”

“Ugh. President, did you give Mi-kyung one because she’s a girl? Mi-kyung has a solar panel and a house with a tractor and a combine harvester… Not that I’m jealous or anything.”

Shin Woo-sung, who had just finished a 1000cc milk, asked while checking Seung-hoon’s reaction.

“It’s not because she’s a girl, but…”

He felt indebted and thought he’d repay her in any way possible.

So, he even gifted Choi Mi-kyung an expensive cell phone.

Of course, the fact that Jin-hyeok had a secure phone was kept a secret.

Even from his family.

*

Pager codes were created and spread by whoever got to them first, already becoming mainstream.

Truly a nation of speed and communication.

That’s why delivery apps like ‘Baedal Minjok’ or ‘Yogiyo’ succeeded later.

Beep beep beep.

‘Who is it now?’

Jin-hyeok’s pager is busy.

Probably busier than its owner.

Because it has to fall.

「3377954545454」

「1818181818181818」

Even without checking the sender, this is Choi Mi-kyung.

When she’s in a good mood, she sends the above numbers as encouragement, and when she oversleeps and can’t take the bus together, she spams 1818.

‘Why are you doing this to me?’

She could just ask her boyfriend to wake her up.

Though her lively personality might make her seem a bit forward, Choi Mi-kyung is a Confucian girl, so she never held hands with Lee Seung-hoon. Her only expression of affection was a punch. Meaning, she wouldn’t allow a call at dawn before the sun rose.

Once, she sent 「505」, and when he hurriedly checked, it was a recorded message saying the toilet paper ran out and to bring some. To the girls’ restroom? After gifting her a cell phone, she’s sending pager messages from the toilet.

That incident made Jin-hyeok sure of one thing.

‘She’s definitely a weirdo.’

Well, he couldn’t ignore a friend in need, so he responded by plucking leaves from the plane tree in the schoolyard. An eye for an eye, a weirdo for a weirdo.

That earned him a pager full of 444s.

Other unknown numbers, no matter how sweet the code, were boldly ignored.

You can’t build connections with the whole world.

‘Headache and mental chaos.’

Friends, neighbors, and even uncles.

The connections are already wide and complicated enough.

Some people point out that he spends too much time at home, but for Jin-hyeok, family always comes first. If a typhoon hits, he’s worried his family might fly away, so he takes care of them like a child by the water.

***

In February, when the sunlight couldn’t melt the cold wind, Jin-hyeok pondered a new exercise program, shuffling between his study and room.

Han Yu-young and Son Kwang-yeon, who were having tea in the living room, watched their eldest son with narrowed eyes. Jeong Won was dozing off, and Yoo Jin was secretly meeting Haengun-i through the slightly open living room door. It was a good opportunity for the couple to have a private conversation.

‘Did you hide the books, videos, and magazines in the study? Did you hide them well?’

‘Of course. No one can find them.’

‘Really? What if our son sees them and can’t sleep? He won’t grow tall.’

‘What if he doesn’t grow taller? If he grows taller from here, he could even be a basketball player. Isn’t he already taller than most basketball players?’

‘Did you really hide them well? What if Mom and Dad see them and scold us?’

‘Don’t worry. I can’t even find them myself. Ah, where did I put them…’

‘We agreed to watch Paradise again. Look carefully.’

‘Sigh, where did Phoebe Cates go…’

After a long while of rustling, Han Yu-young and Son Kwang-yeon scratched the back of their heads upon seeing the exercise-related books and old texts in Jin-hyeok’s hands. With an awkward expression.

‘Ahem. After traveling to a hot country, a warm room must feel good.’

‘Ahem. It’s natural to need some alone time when you have a big head.’

Regardless of his parents’ gaze, Jin-hyeok kept searching through books and the internet.

He pondered over and over about what he lacked and how to create an opportunity for the next stage of growth.

Hmm.

‘The conclusion is that there’s no problem with posture or stride…’

But it’s not like he lacks strength either.

There’s no frustration from having too much energy like before he emptied the mysterious energy. It’s just frustrating to squeeze out every bit and only shave off 0.1 seconds.

‘Does that mean I’m lacking strength now?’

The brute force used to suppress and the muscle strength used in running techniques are distinctly different.

So engrossed, he even opened an anatomy book to study which muscles to train.

‘Should I position the quadriceps and hamstrings upwards?’

It was a challenge possible because his body wasn’t fully developed yet. If he got injured, he could just ask Yoo Jin, so he didn’t have to worry about his athletic career.

‘Thick calves distribute force evenly on the ground, aiding balance and sergeant jumps… What? I need to focus on one point, so why do they look like this?’

His ankles were slim, but his calves thickened rapidly beyond the ankle, which seemed like an area for improvement. Comparing photos with other track athletes, the difference was clear. Jin-hyeok’s soleus muscle resembled that of a wrestler more than a runner.

It’s like a heavyweight bodybuilder running 100 meters in 10 seconds.

‘They call it the second heart.’

If the energy that had resided in Jin-hyeok’s body since childhood made his heart stronger and his soleus muscle thicker, would that be an overstatement?

‘Should I run long distances at a moderate pace and do weighted squats?’

Even though track is a full-body exercise, it’s a sport that heavily uses the legs, and only now is he discovering areas for improvement in his leg muscles. He’s lived quite comfortably. Well, he was fast enough to have no rivals.

He doesn’t just study exercise-related topics in his free time.

‘Should I cool my head a bit?’

Rustle.

A thick brown book with no title.

This is a book Jin-hyeok compiled from Cheon Gil-ryong’s words. He wrote down what Cheon Gil-ryong said because it was hard to remember, then expanded on it. Words he didn’t understand were mostly transcribed as is.

After receiving a mental education from Hong Soo-jung about the meeting issue, he’s been reading this book occasionally to learn how to navigate life.

‘The handwriting looks like a worm breakdancing in Tapgol Park.’

He wrote it quickly before forgetting, but he’s not a fool who wouldn’t recognize his own handwriting.

The subtitle and first sentence of the page he just flipped caught his eye.

「Filling Life」

「Momentary choices gather like a river to form the sea of life.」

Wow, grandpa.

‘Wow, that’s true. What a cool saying.’

Could you believe I lived without knowing this obvious truth before?

Life reflections were neither fun nor necessary, so it’s more accurate to say I wasn’t interested rather than unaware.

「…The biggest variable in the world is humans, and that’s me. Where you place your first step can cause changes that span history. Will you step straight forward or half-step to the side? Those who walk as they please can’t even see an inch ahead, let alone their future, while those who follow a plan can predict not only their own path but also others’. The responsibility lies entirely with me, and here, humans are divided. Those who do as they please but blame others, and those who admit their faults and try to fix them…」

He tried to paraphrase but kept the feel, so it’s full of awkward sentences and slang. Still, with repeated reading, it’s something you can eventually grasp.

「…Desire is the driving force of life, but the final fruit depends on which mindset you lead with. Will you prioritize worldly greed or follow the voice of your soul? Not only the size but also the variety of fruits change, and this is determined by how you take each step. That’s life, and no one is exempt…」

‘Sigh, it’s still hard.’

Hmm.

A long sigh escaped.

‘Many choices have shaped my life so far.’

Looking back, since I was nine, I’ve always opened my own path and walked forward. Knowing life is only once, experiencing what’s meaningful and what’s futile, and protecting what must never be lost.

‘I’ve also chosen my future.’

While other friends will decide their paths in their third year, Jin-hyeok has already planned his future. That’s why he’s lived one year like ten, getting things done.

He felt proud.

Having a healthy and loving family, and not wasting a single moment, was Jin-hyeok’s sense of fulfillment in life.

‘I’ll take a nap and try the new exercise program.’

For a record that won’t be broken for 25,000 years, I’ll start with hip-ups and leg exercises.

He lay down on the soft, blanket-covered bed.

Enjoying the cozy winter blanket, flailing his limbs, this felt like heaven.

Embracing the warmth felt throughout his body and the relaxing shiver down his spine, a pleasant drowsiness quickly took over his human form.

‘Ahh, feels good.’

Just as his eyes were about to close…

“Jin-hyeok-ahhh!”

A tearing scream from his mom came from the first floor.

‘Huh?’

As if asking when he got so drowsy, his eyes snapped open.

Normally, he would have just fallen asleep or debated whether to answer. But his mom’s voice was too unusual to take lightly.

Jin-hyeok-ahhh!

Kyaaa-.

It was more like a scream than a call.

In the brief moment it took to leap out of bed at the speed of light, he imagined what situation could make his mom call out so desperately. Only someone who could control their steps within their stride and keep the situation in their sight could make such calculations.

‘Jeong Won!’

Without time to wonder what was happening, Jin-hyeok slammed the door.

Crash bang!