Chapter 253

Ordinary People (3)

Chirp chirp chirp-.

Jin Hyuk’s room was bustling with friends and younger siblings.

Choi Mi-kyung and Kim Eun-jung were sucking on Jeong Won-i’s cheeks from both sides.

“Uggu- my cheek-. Have you been well?”

“Urururu-. Mi-kyung’s cheek-.”

At this rate, they might really eat him.

“Ahhh! Ouch ouch-, ow ow-. My eyes-!”

Jeong Won-i struggled and called for his sister’s help, but Yoo Jin wasn’t in a better situation. She was being spun around the room by Jo Seol-chan.

“Ouch, you’re heavy-. Our Yoo Jin is even heavier than Eun-jung unni-.”

“Have you ever lifted Eun-jung unni like this? Just grabbing her side like this?”

“Eee-?”

As Jo Seol-chan found himself in an awkward situation, Jin Hyuk, who had been quietly enjoying the chaos, stepped in to take control.

“Let’s get to work.”

*

A large sheet of paper was spread out on the floor.

Choi Mi-kyung’s hand moved dazzlingly over the poster. I thought she only wrote small letters well, but her large letters are also impressive.

Yoo Jin, sitting on the bed, mechanically read the letters being drawn on the white paper.

“Student. Council. Abolition? Student council? What’s that?”

“Eee-, what’s that-. Supervision? Guidance? Enforcing dress code or hairstyle, those kinds of things done by student council members-.”

Jo Seol-chan, who had just finished sketching a yacht on Jin Hyuk’s bed and was working on the detailed design, explained. Jo Seol-chan doesn’t know if he can actually build a yacht, but he seems to be learning a lot, so he keeps at it.

“High school separation? I know that. It’s about separating and becoming independent, right?”

“Right. We’re handing over the middle school to the juniors.”

There’s no such thing as a manifesto······ but Kim Eun-jung, who was looking at a notebook with promises, answered.

“Huhu. And we’re going to a school with artificial turf. There’s a dormitory and a new building with air conditioning. It’ll be safe from UFOs. True freedom.”

“We have to graduate from the school we’re attending now. Maybe the first-year juniors will be able to study there? They’ll only have been there for a year though.”

Jin Hyuk brought Kim Eun-jung, who was lost in pink fantasies, back to reality.

“Why?”

“Why?”

Kim Eun-jung looked shocked, while Yoo Jin just formally repeated the question.

“We have to build it before we can move. The site hasn’t even been selected yet, where are you going to study?”

“Ah, right. I almost forgot.”

“Kkuk-. Back in the 625 days, they studied on the ground. If you want to separate that badly, that’s also a way.”

Choi Mi-kyung, who was diligently working on the poster, snorted.

Even though it might seem like a sneer, no one criticized Choi Mi-kyung’s attitude, which shows how good friends they are.

“Wow-, but high school separation. Not just the middle school kids, but our seniors have been eagerly waiting for this project, right?”

“Right.”

The only playground was too small to let out the energetic teenagers.

There were separate basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts, but the students mainly played soccer or basketball. They had no interest in baseball.

When high school students played soccer, middle school students played stone tag with slippers in the corner, and when the track and field team and ssireum club started training, even the high school students had to vacate the playground.

They just hung on the horizontal bar and watched the training. Then, their blood would boil, and they’d apply to join, only to give up on their dreams of becoming athletes after 30 minutes of tryouts.

“We’ll lay artificial turf and build a track. Of course, we’ll also build a new ssireum club dormitory.”

“Last week, on the producer’s notebook, they said harmful substances were detected in artificial turf.”

“Yeah, tire crumbs are like that, and there are companies using harmful materials. We should filter those out.”

“As expected, Jin Hyuk. You were looking ahead.”

Kim Eun-jung nodded and turned her gaze to Son Jeong-won.

“Urururu-, Mi-kyung’s cheek-.”

“Nooo-.”

Jeong Won-i shook his head vigorously.

Someone might misunderstand if they heard.

Choi Mi-kyung, who was tying up her hair that was getting in the way while working, looked at Jin Hyuk.

“It’ll cost a lot to move the school.”

“The budget is secured. They’re selecting the site now.”

Anyway, the budget was overflowing with education funds, corporate sponsorships, and donations from alumni.

In fact, with just the support from Sein Group, they could even build a university, but who would come to this countryside?

‘I might be the only one attending.’

Jin Hyuk has the intention to enroll if a university is established in Taeyang County. It’s close to home.

Would a department related to marine resources be good?

“Ouch-, my legs are numb.”

Finally, Choi Mi-kyung, who had completed the poster, stood up and showed the paper.

“Here-, it’s done.”

“Wow-! It’s huge-. It’ll tear well if we make a kite-.”

Yoo Jin, who wanted to go out and play with her brother, gave a soul-less reaction.

“How about adding a picture? Our Jo Seol is really good at drawing.”

Kim Eun-jung, who had been sucking on Jeong Won-i’s cheeks the whole time, finally showed her true colors.

***

Beep-.

Choi Mi-kyung and Kim Eun-jung left, and Jin Hyuk, Jo Seol-chan, and Yoo Jin went to see Haengun-i’s nest. Thanks to using the windowsill railing as a pillar, it was sturdy and didn’t shake even in the wind.

“It’s amazing. He didn’t learn it from anywhere, but he’s so good at architecture-.”

“Right.”

That’s why nature is great.

The structure, bulging in the middle and narrowing towards the top, seemed to advertise, “Our house is cozy and sturdy!”

“Is Haengun-i the one hatching the eggs?”

“It’s Haengsoon-i. Haengun-i catches bugs and gives them to Haengsoon-i-.”

Yoo Jin, leaning on the plum tree like Robin Hood, explained.

Vroom-.

At the sound of the engine, they turned to see Son Kwang-yeon’s car smoothly sliding down the hill. It seems the man who works without holidays is leaving early today.

The car stopped where Jin Hyuk was, the window rolled down, and Son Kwang-yeon stuck his head out.

“Jin Hyuk, Seol-chan-. Do you want to see Dad for a bit?”

“Yes!”

The teenagers, who had been killing time like idlers, got up and dusted off their butts without hesitation.

Yoo Jin, on the plum tree, made a disappointed sound.

“Dad-. What about me?”

“Yoo Jin, come too.”

Our daughter is wearing green clothes, so I thought she was a leaf. Son Kwang-yeon laughed like a fool.

As they ran towards the car that had entered the yard first, an unexpected guest got out of the passenger seat.

It was Hwang Ga-yun, waving her hand with a bright smile.

“Jin Hyuk, Yoo Jin-. Have you been well?”

“Huh? Unni! Unni-!”

“Oh my-. Our puppy-. It’s only been a few months since I saw you last, and you’ve grown so much?”

Yoo Jin, when dealing with Hwang Ga-yun or Hwang Ga-young, is really like a dog. No, like a puppy.

She jumped around and rubbed her face, as if she had a tail, she would spin it like a propeller.

“You must be Seol-chan? I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Seol-chan. The unni I told you about before.”

Jin Hyuk poked Jo Seol-chan’s side, and the frozen Jo Seol-chan bowed.

“Eee-, right. Hello-.”

I thought he had changed a lot hanging out with Kim Eun-jung and Choi Mi-kyung, but Jo Seol-chan’s chronic condition was still there. The incurable disease where his face turns red and he speaks in Seoul dialect when he sees a girl.

“I brought someone from the research institute to show you something.”

While the unexpected visit was welcome and curious, Son Kwang-yeon revealed the purpose of Hwang Ga-yun’s visit.

Hwang Ga-yun, who had moved to the porch, opened a stiff document bag.

“First, let’s take Jin Hyuk’s foot mold.”

“Mold?”

“I’m not doing it myself, but the material research institute is researching your shoes, what are they called? Spark? Spike?”

“Ah, spikes.”

The material research institute was researching not only various synthetic resins but also fibers.

It all started oddly with research on yarn for Han Yu-young’s knitting. The yarn eventually connected to weaving, so they also devised thinner and denser materials, and are researching the introduction of weaving fibers other than sheet resin for bulletproof and flame-retardant clothing. Like chainmail. It’s still in the research stage, but the researchers are happy to make progress every day.

“Will you make my spikes?”

“They said they’re not as confident as famous brands, but the researcher got inspired after seeing your newspaper article.”

“Wow-. So, what, you’re saying they’ll make shoes tailored to your feet?”

“It’ll be hard to make them before the Olympics, but if they have the mold, they can keep making them.”

It was thrilling news.

It wasn’t about the quality expectations.

Even though the research institute is funded by Sein Group’s immeasurable capital, getting shoes tailored to my feet from a company my dad founded.

My cheeks tingled, and it felt like wind was blowing in my lungs, even giving me chills.

“Oh-, that’s great.”

“Since unni is here, should we take Seol-chan and Yoo Jin’s molds too?”

“Me too?”

“Unni! Me too? Wow!”

“Originally, I was thinking of taking the chairman and madam’s first, but the chairman will understand. Right, uncle?”

Hwang Ga-yun smiled and looked at Son Kwang-yeon.

Son Kwang-yeon, who had been watching with his hands behind his back, nodded without hesitation.

“Of course-. The kids come first. Seol-chan, if you get shoes tailored to your feet, you have to keep giving opinions on what’s good and what’s not. That’s how you help the research.”

“Of course-. Free is the best-.”

Jo Seol-chan felt both touched and excited, like when he first carried Kim Eun-jung. They say if you listen to adults, you’ll get rice cakes even while sleeping, but here I am getting custom shoes while spacing out.

The foot mold process went smoothly.

“Hahaha!”

Yoo Jin squirmed because it tickled, but she bravely didn’t move her feet.

After taking all the molds, Hwang Ga-yun added while organizing.

“We’ll make them with the existing materials first, but we’ll only give them to you if they’re even slightly better than the ready-made spikes.”

“Okay. I understand.”

Jin Hyuk was well aware of the researchers’ pride.

Some eccentric researchers would stubbornly refuse to release their work to the world if it didn’t meet their standards, even to the department head and CEO. It might be an attitude that displeases those who rush for results, but Jin Hyuk saw that pride as a factor that solidifies trust in the researchers.

‘The researchers at the institute are beyond imagination.’

People who enjoy the pinnacle of freedom, researching robots and sensors without a director.

If Jin Hyuk even touches a single part, they yell at him.

Hwang Ga-yun left, saying she was going to Kim In-rang’s house, and this time Son Kwang-yeon opened the document bag.

“Seol-chan, do you want to take a look at this?”

“Dad, what’s this?”

What Son Kwang-yeon handed over was a thin synthetic resin.

“It’s a sample without gelcoat treatment, so the surface might be a bit rough, but you guys are making a boat, right? So, I thought you could check if this would be good for the boat material.”

“Wow-.”

Jo Seol-chan lifted and lowered the plate as if weighing it, and bent it to check its stiffness.

Yoo Jin, who had been playing with a crude bow made by her brother, showed curiosity.

“Gelcoat? What’s that?”

“Just, you know, to make the surface smooth. There are other functions too, but basically that’s it-.”

“Ah-.”

Jin Hyuk waited for Jo Seol-chan to finish looking.

“How is it?”

“What’s the specific gravity······. It seems okay, but can you tell by hand?”

“Specific gravity? What’s that?”

Yoo Jin’s eyes sparkled at the unfamiliar term.

Jin Hyuk smiled and patted his curious younger sister’s head.

“It’s like density.”

“Ah-! Mass divided by volume!”

She’s really smart.

But it’s funny that she knows the word density but not specific gravity.

“Dad, is this expensive?”

“Not expensive. It’s synthetic FRP. They added glass fiber to the primary processed resin. There’s a diligent researcher obsessed with process efficiency. He was supposed to develop materials, but he did some strange things······.”

Son Kwang-yeon laughed as if it was absurd.

If necessity is the mother of invention, then discomfort or laziness might be the father.

“FRP floats on water, right?”

“Yeah. If you just put that plate in water, about half of it will float.”

Wow-.

Jo Seol-chan expressed his excitement by trembling his clenched fist.

“How’s the processing method?”

“They said injection isn’t great, but you can apply it to a mold like paint.”

“Wow-. That’s perfect for making a boat. Apply gelcoat on top of that?”

“Right.”

So, roughly, you make a boat model and apply that resin on it, but the knowledge handled by humanities high school science students and industrial high school students is different.

Twang-, twang-.

Yoo Jin, who didn’t understand what they were saying, just pulled the bowstring made of string, and Jin Hyuk listened while understanding bits and pieces. His knowledge wasn’t rich enough to follow the conversation that went back and forth verbally without documents.

“Seol-chan, can we make a model with styrofoam and work on it?”

“Nooo-. Even so, wood is better. These resin guys still don’t hold weight well.”

“Ah-.”

Since the designed boat is big, they’ll probably have to consider the loading weight too.

Jin Hyuk nodded and inwardly admired.

‘Wow-, what if Jo Seol hadn’t gone to vocational school?’

The more we talk, the more he sounds like a real expert-.

“Jin Hyuk, shall we start making it today?”

“Oh, today?”

“There’s wood in the warehouse-, so let’s at least set up the frame.”

“I have to exercise in the evening······.”

And election campaigning starts tomorrow······.

As he hesitated, unable to find a way to refuse, Yoo Jin nailed it.

“Yay! I’m excited!”