Chapter 24

# 24 < Out into the World (2) >

***

The office manager, who was sorting through the mail, found something. Although called a manager, it was actually just one office worker.

Since it was a sports-related document, they looked for Park Jae-seung, the only physical education teacher.

“Teacher Park Jae-seung, a document has arrived.”

“Let me see.”

Teacher Park Jae-seung, with his sharp eyes and chocolate-like cheekbones, showed interest in the rare piece of mail. Despite his barbarian warrior-like appearance and clear voice, his tone was surprisingly gentle.

“What does this say?”

“Well, um, it says that in May, the Chungcheongnam-do Youth Sports Festival will be held, and they want to select representatives from each school to participate. Even rural schools with sports clubs are asked to send athletes.”

“What kind of athletes are they asking for? We have a wrestling club and a soccer club.”

“Track and field can be done alone.”

“But we only have ordinary students. Who should we send?”

“They say even ordinary kids should be given a chance. Who we send doesn’t matter, right?”

Park Jae-seung laughed at the nonsensical talk.

“Well, how about that kid? The one who’s good at studying and tall. The class president.”

“That kid is fine.”

Son Jin-hyeok.

He was a student everyone knew, an ordinary one.

***

By early to mid-April, the spring sun and warm breezes bring a sense of vitality. It’s the time when the young shoots of ‘ddi,’ a type of grass, emerge. Also called ‘ppibi,’ these shoots hide a soft, sweet white core inside. Even now, with easy access to snacks, these shoots are a welcome spring treat for rural children.

‘I should give some to Mom and Yoojin.’

Even Jin-hyeok, who usually runs around every day, walks home when the shoots start to appear.

With eagle eyes, he scans the roadside and fields, hunting for the green-armored shoots hiding their white cores.

If you focus, it’s not hard to find them. It’s still early in the season, and the contrast between the dark soil, brown grass, and green shoots makes them stand out.

“Jin-hyeok, did you pick a lot?”

Here comes Choi Mi-kyung, the transitional teenager, starting again.

Even though she can clearly see the handful in Jin-hyeok’s hand, she still asks. Like a robin spotting prey, she narrows her eyes and chews on the shoots.

Her habit of wearing a straw hat and picking wild strawberries hasn’t gone away.

If she were born in the city, she’d probably be chewing gum. Jin-hyeok narrows his eyes too, but he can’t win a staring contest with Mi-kyung.

‘Sigh, I’m going to lose again today.’

Even though Jin-hyeok is faster than anyone, Mi-kyung’s jaw is faster than his hands.

Meaning, she eats faster than he can pick.

Resignedly handing over the shoots, Jin-hyeok wonders if this kid might turn into a cow after her transitional phase.

“Give me half. You said you’d give some to Yoojin.”

Oh, how generous. The fact that she doesn’t take it all shows that Mi-kyung is a good friend.

Well, he would have given it to any other friend who asked. They’re just kids.

‘Adults should yield.’

There’s also a reason to be cautious until the health check results come out. It takes over a month for the results to come in. He just hopes the fact that he was given someone else’s stool sample doesn’t get out.

Jin-hyeok walked home with Jang Gun-i, the dog, leading the way.

He rinsed the shoots with water, still in their shells. The cores are clean thanks to the shells, but he washes them just in case for his little sister.

Sitting on the porch, he peeled the shells one by one and handed them to his sister.

At first, he tried to put them in her mouth, but she was a bit too big for that. Yoojin neatly broke them into bite-sized pieces with her own hands.

Watching her, Jin-hyeok thought his sister might be a genius. Other babies would just shove them in whole or even push them in with their fists, sometimes choking. But Yoojin ate carefully, like a picky eater. She only ate the sweet parts and spat out the rest, but to her brother, it looked like genius.

Even their mom, who thought it might be dangerous for a baby, was surprised at how un-baby-like Yoojin was while eating.

Yoojin, enjoying the sweet taste, didn’t forget to smile at her brother.

“Hehe.”

Even though she’s still a baby without all her teeth, her gum-filled smile made Jin-hyeok’s heart sink. Their mom called this kind of smile an “ugly smile.” It really was an ugly smile, but the prettiest ugly smile in the world.

Jin-hyeok became an ugly smiler too.

“Nuhuhuhuhu. Yoojin, is it tasty?”

Yoojin nodded and bounced on her bottom while sitting. It was a move she showed when she was really excited and happy. Following her rhythm, Jin-hyeok felt his stomach churn. Even though he wasn’t sad, his chest felt tight. It was a strange and new sensation for him.

‘I hope she grows up slowly.’

After returning to childhood, Jin-hyeok found time to be boring.

But with a sister like this, no matter how slowly time passed, it didn’t matter. Being with family made him think that even if time stopped, it wouldn’t be so bad.

“Yoojin, it’s cold. Let’s go inside now.”

“Okay.”

He picked up his sister and carried her inside.

The smell of burning bean pods from a distant field was rich and comforting.

***

With the start of the farming season approaching, Son Kwang-yeon was busy managing his time.

He tapped on the abacus, punched the calculator, and wrote something in the ledger. Muttering to himself.

‘He’s so focused he doesn’t even mention playing Go.’

To Jin-hyeok, his dad seemed like someone who truly enjoyed his work.

Peeking over his shoulder, Jin-hyeok saw the ledger filled with details: the number of rice paddies and fields, the equipment needed, the labor required, and the dates.

“Ah! I need to pee! I’m going!”

“……”

When mom’s not around, he changes completely.

While his dad dashed to the bathroom, Jin-hyeok took a closer look at the ledger. If there were any mistakes, he planned to subtly point them out and correct them. After all, as a returnee, he had learned that he should use his knowledge to influence the past.

It was Jin-hyeok’s arrogance.

Son Kwang-yeon was no ordinary farmer.

‘Was dad really in the liberal arts?’

Jin-hyeok, who had also been in the liberal arts, didn’t even think about it.

In his past life, he had worked at Saein Heavy Industries, managing construction schedules, comparing progress charts, and calculating progress rates. He coordinated between civil engineering, construction, machinery, and electrical work to prevent conflicts and keep the schedule on track. He was the invisible hand on construction sites, sometimes the most powerful person on-site with the authority to change schedules.

‘I thought I knew a lot.’

Applying complex construction plans to farming might seem absurd, but his dad’s plans were nearly perfect. He even prepared for variables with past weather data. Who could plan farming at this level?

‘What a waste.’

Not that he looked down on farming, but it felt like a waste of talent to see someone like this rotting in the countryside. On the other hand, with this level of skill, he must have become a wealthy farmer.

‘This calculation is slightly off. According to dad’s formula, the labor should be…’

Swoosh-.

The sound of the farming genius washing his hands in the bathroom was heard.

Jin-hyeok quickly erased and corrected the numbers.

Soon after, Son Kwang-yeon whistled and chatted away, shaking his hands.

“Whew-. My plan is perfect after all!”

Jin-hyeok also nodded inwardly. Even if there were minor errors, his dad didn’t need much advice.

He chuckled.

Even after returning, there was no place to showcase his talents or knowledge, and he felt no need to.

Jin-hyeok decided to trim his nails.

‘My introverted nails. Will they grow out nicely if I pull them out?’

Imagining dangerous scenarios.

***

The next day, during third period, Teacher Park Jae-seung called Jin-hyeok to the playground.

Two men, one in his mid-30s and the other in his mid-20s, both in sportswear, were waiting.

‘Is that Teacher Kim Young-tae?’

How could he not know? He had seen him during PE classes after transferring to Taeyang Elementary School in town.

Teacher Park Jae-seung explained. There was nothing special.

“Our Jin-hyeok needs to run a bit. He’s the best runner, right?”

Would it be okay to run in jeans and a shirt? Well, he always runs around like this, so it shouldn’t matter. Jin-hyeok nodded to Park Jae-seung.

“Hey, Jin-hyeok. Look, when the teacher raises the flag, you start. Got it? Don’t be nervous! Take deep breaths!”

“Okay.”

For some reason, Teacher Park Jae-seung looked more nervous than Jin-hyeok.

Jin-hyeok was unfazed.

The regional preliminaries. The selection began by measuring the 100-meter records of athletes from each school. Since all schools had sandy playgrounds without proper tracks, the conditions were similar. And since the track and field teacher from the school hosting the regional preliminaries visited each school to check records, there was no room for disputes.

Kim Young-tae, the PE teacher from the school hosting the regional preliminaries, thought Son Jin-hyeok’s form was unusual. He was tall for an elementary student, almost like a middle schooler, with a well-balanced physique that made him look like an athlete.

‘This is unusual. A kid like this in the countryside?’

But he didn’t get his hopes up. Kim Young-tae knew all the promising talents in the region. If there were a talented student, he would have known. This was just a formality at the request of the organizers.

Jin-hyeok placed his thumb and index finger on the starting line. Originally, they should start at the sound of a gun, but for convenience, they used a flag. He looked straight ahead.

‘I never got nervous before.’

Snap-!

The flag went up.

Whoosh-!

Jin-hyeok’s feet fiercely hit the ground.

Thudthudthudthudthud-!

Kim Young-tae doubted his eyes and ears.

The form was perfect.

Knees rising to the chest, elbows swinging to chest height, and strides calculated for short distances. And the sound, like a horse galloping.

Thudthud- click-!

The stopwatch clicked as the ground seemed to shake.

Whoosh-.

A gust of wind passed.

12.52 seconds.

‘No way!’

It was a record that made him doubt his own eyes.

He was wearing jeans and a fluttering shirt. His shoes were just ordinary sneakers. It was a record hard to achieve even with discomfort. No, it was a record that could only be seen in national finals for elementary students.

“Kid, can you do it one more time?”

“Sure.”

Without showing any sign of being out of breath, Jin-hyeok returned to the starting line.

His light steps were effortless.

‘The timer must be wrong.’

Kim Young-tae quickly turned to look at the young teacher behind him.

The movement was so fast that the young man, who had been dazed, flinched.

“Teacher Lee Cheol-min, can you help me record this?”

“Yes, teacher.”

Cross-verification. Kim Young-tae asked Lee Cheol-min, a student teacher assisting him, to cross-check. But it couldn’t be the stopwatch’s fault. They had already tested it against an electronic watch. Kim Young-tae knew it wasn’t the device.

‘He really is fast.’

Jin-hyeok, at the starting line, locked eyes with Kim Young-tae.

Flinch-. Kim Young-tae unconsciously hunched his shoulders.

Elementary students who sprint 100 meters can sometimes even vomit. Of course, that’s for kids who don’t usually exercise. That’s why 100-meter dashes aren’t repeated immediately, for the students’ protection.

But Kim Young-tae wanted to see it again.

‘His body is like a monster.’

Sometimes, there are elementary students like that.

Kids with middle school athlete-level physiques. Kids with explosive strength compared to their peers.

The unexpected tension made Kim Young-tae’s heart race.

Jin-hyeok, too, was caught up in a strange excitement.

During sports days or PE classes, he ran moderately to keep up with friends, but this unexpected challenge to set a record stirred the blood of a genius.

‘This is fun?’

Thumpthump-. This time, I hope I don’t slip at the start. The sand is too slippery.

He placed his hands on the starting line and looked straight ahead.

Snap-!

The flag went up.

Whooshwhooshwhoosh-!

With his body warmed up from the first attempt, Jin-hyeok’s legs hit the ground even harder.

Sand flew, and dust rose.

Thudthudthudthudthud-!

Whoosh-. A strong wind created an updraft from the ground. Kim Young-tae’s messy hair got even more tangled.

Clickclick-. The stopwatch seemed to click late.

Kim Young-tae and Lee Cheol-min looked at each other after checking the stopwatch.

They could tell from each other’s eyes.

They were thinking the same thing.

‘No way.’

Thirteen years old.

It was spring.