Chapter 258

I am Son Yoo-jin (2)

Though always unpredictable and hard to pin down, Yoo Se-ra’s charm, which could be called magical, shone brightly once again.

– Yeah, I’ll take the kids too. I’ll take care of Yoo-jin.

A decisiveness that no one else can match.

Even if it’s thanks to the ease that comes from her wealth and privileged upbringing, it’s still a charm that’s enough to draw others in.

“Can Jin Seon-kyu come along too?”

Jin Seon-kyu was a 9-year-old senior athlete who barely passed the qualifying record by placing second after Jin-hyuk at the Busan competition. If it weren’t for Jin-hyuk, he might have been the only sprinter to compete in the Olympics, drawing media attention. But as you know, overshadowed by Jin-hyuk, who broke new ground, he’s been quietly enjoying his prime.

– Sure. What’s the big deal about adding one more person to the plane? But I’m not sure if the athlete will be okay with it.

Yoo Se-ra was worried about the pride of the unemployed team athlete who was overshadowed by a much younger competitor. It was a concern anyone could understand, given he was once the top adult athlete.

“Could you propose it to the federation? I’m not sure how it’ll look if I say it.”

– Sigh, fine. It’s a favor for my athlete.

Why me? I expected this reaction, but surprisingly, she was cooperative.

Even now, her decisiveness and character are unmatched.

“You’ll spend a lot of money getting a private jet and a mansion.”

– Cost? Why worry about that? I’m Yoo Se-ra.

You can’t leave out Yoo Se-ra’s wealth.

Her catchphrase, “I’m Yoo Se-ra,” probably means “I’m rich.”

Whew-.

Since Yoo Se-ra agreed, we’ve crossed one hurdle.

“Hah! Brat-.”

“Hehe-.”

I messed up my younger sibling’s already tangled hair.

What can I do with those sparkling eyes looking at me while carrying a baby wrapped in a mint-colored cloth?

After hearing the whole conversation, Yoo-jin had a flushed expression.

“Let’s go.”

I pinched Yoo-jin’s cheek lightly and left the house.

I have something to talk about with my parents, who are laughing heartily in the garden.

Even though there’s space in the company housing, Jo Seol-chan and grandma decided to keep living in the earthen house. They’ve already completed the move-in registration. Putting aside that Yoo-jin gave Jo Seol-chan a hard time about not being able to go until the boat was built, the decision to stay was for grandma’s sake.

When she heard that one of the company houses was empty, the smile disappeared from grandma’s always-smiling face. She’s been happy every day, digging up herbs, planting seeds, touching the soil, and walking around the neighborhood, so it was a natural reaction.

– “If you like it here, stay here.”

So mom stepped up again.

The village now has no empty houses, so new residents have a hard time finding land to build on. Since we already have a house, there’s no need to build a new one, so we readily offered the earthen house.

Jo Il-hun’s words that elderly people who touch the soil get sick or wither away when they move to the city or apartments helped make that decision.

When we arrived at the garden, grandma, parents, and Jo Seol-chan were happily chatting while pulling garlic shoots in the garlic field.

“When Jin-hyuk was Yoo-jin’s age, he used to run around the backyard. I followed him, wondering what he was up to, and he was opening jars of pickled garlic shoots and eating them one by one.”

“Oh my-, was it that tasty for a little kid?”

Jin-hyuk also remembers those memories.

Mom used to make radish pickles, pickled vegetables, and more for a year’s worth of side dishes, and they tasted great with just salt, sugar, and vinegar.

Jin-hyuk would open the jar lids, remove the round stones pressing down the garlic shoots, and chew on the long garlic shoots like a snake.

‘I used to give some to Mi-kyung too.’

It was partly because there weren’t many snacks, but it was definitely an addictive taste.

Memories are memories, but now there’s more important business at hand.

“Mom-.”

“Mom-, look at me. I’m carrying Jeong-won!”

Yoo-jin quickly made her move. It was a ploy to score points before anyone could complain.

“Oh my-, our youngest fell asleep on her sister’s back-.”

Mom, holding a bunch of garlic shoots, laughed as she pushed her hat back.

“Mom-.”

“Did I do well?”

Hey, let me talk too.

“Mom-.”

“I’m going to study English too! I am Son Yoo-jin!”

Yeah, go ahead and talk all you want.

It seems like Jin-hyuk’s turn will only come after Yoo-jin is done talking.

Sigh-.

Jin-hyuk let out a deep sigh and looked at the clouds floating in the sky. They look like passenger planes.

Chatter chatter-.

Hahaha-.

Ah, I need to go in and study too.

I have to exercise and so much to do.

*

Finally, I sat down with my parents on the porch.

“What?”

“Ah, that’s a bit-.”

Dad and mom’s reactions were as expected.

What about school, Jin-hyuk needs to train and compete, who will take care of Yoo-jin, etc. It’s the kind of reaction any parent would have.

But I can’t back down here.

“The chairman said he’ll take care of Yoo-jin.”

“What if that scatterbrain loses our daughter?”

Dad knows too much about Yoo Se-ra.

Not long ago, he went to work with a TV remote instead of his phone.

“There will be many staff and bodyguards accompanying us, so it’s fine.”

“But will Yoo-jin be okay without mom······. If it weren’t for dad and Jeong-won, mom would go and take care of her······.”

Mom seems more worried about not being able to go herself than about sending Yoo-jin.

“Among our family, only Yoo-jin and I haven’t been to America. We’ll both go this time.”

“If you put it that way, Jeong-won hasn’t been either.”

Dad protested in a creeping voice, trailing off.

He must know it’s a ridiculous excuse even to himself.

“Jeong-won will meet us in America-, cough-!”

“Ahem-!”

“Ehem-!”

Though he’s sparing with words to avoid hurting others, no one in the family can outtalk Jin-hyuk.

I thought Yoo-jin would look at mom and dad since we’re asking for their permission, but Yoo-jin was staring at me with her mouth wide open. It was a look of support.

I held back because of Yoo-jin.

Jeong-won also went on a Hawaii trip with mom and dad, right? He stayed with dad and then moved to mom.

It was hard for Yoo-jin to understand, and it was the kind of thing only a brat would say in front of parents.

“We need to take Yoo-jin’s passport photo and apply for her passport soon.”

Son Kwang-yeon and Han Yu-young turned their attention to their daughter.

She kept shaking her younger sibling, who was deeply asleep and drooling, looking like a poor eldest sister taking care of her younger sibling. With her big, rolling eyes that seemed to look at you but not, and her messy hairstyle, she embodied the height of shabbiness and pity. The constant shaking must be due to anxiety.

How much does that little one want to go to do that?

But does she even know where she’s going?

“I’ll assign Team Leader Yang, so go and come back safely. Be careful.”

“Don’t stray far from Aunt Se-ra.”

Son Yoo-jin’s mouth stretched wide.

Her limbs spread out like a jumping frog.

“Hihihihihihi-. I am Son Yoo-jiiiiiiin-!”

***

“The exam time is tight, what will you do?”

“It’s fine.”

I usually finish exams with more than 30 minutes to spare, so what’s the big deal?

‘As expected, it’s from the past papers.’

School exams never stray far from past papers.

And even if the school changes, the past papers are similar.

The world, political circles, education, business, and social culture have all changed, but humans remain the same.

‘This problem appeared when I was in private high school.’

It’s called the association memory method.

A method I perfected while studying in my past life.

It wasn’t an innate ability.

Since my only hobby was studying, I read and reread anything with letters on paper. Books, notes, exam papers, reference books, newspapers, advertisements. Through repetition, I experienced storing them in my mind like scanning.

‘This problem even has the same typo.’

But newspapers, papers, reports, and other printed materials were volatile, making it hard to recall them in this life. There weren’t many opportunities to use them.

Experiences I lived through or knowledge I understood and internalized remained, which was helpful.

‘Was that power the problem? They said it consumes the self.’

After expelling that energy, data I had backed up somewhere started to recover one by one. Not just high school material, but even the bar exam problems I studied in my past life while holed up in a high school dorm.

‘I should’ve looked at more college entrance exam papers.’

Who knew I’d regress?

Who would take the college entrance exam multiple times after already being admitted to college? That’s something only a cram school instructor would do.

“I’m done.”

After finishing the exam, the student supervisor collected the answer sheet and exam paper.

Then handed over a new exam paper and answer sheet.

“Next is math.”

“Okay.”

Math.

One of the joys I rediscovered after returning.

Though I had a past dedicated to studying, it wasn’t out of joy. Reading black printed text over and over turned my mind black, leaving me confused and lonely, so I clung to it.

So, the way I used to solve math problems was mechanical.

‘Trigonometry is a bit meh.’

Take equations, for example. It’s just endless substitution and replacement.

And keep the calculations as simple as possible.

For simple problems, I’d repeatedly substitute arbitrary answers to find the solution. For more complex problems, I’d replace common unknowns or operations with arbitrary unknowns to simplify the calculations. Then substitute again.

‘It’s fun.’

Now, solving math problems is enjoyable.

It’s not wrestling with black letters printed on gray paper.

Even without finding an easy path, the step-by-step process feels like an adventure through the world of exam papers with a single mechanical pencil. Conversing with the number and finding the key to move to the next step.

‘Life itself is a function-.’

If only, if only, repeating ifs.

There’s no math harder or more complex than life.

‘The proposition that numbers exist for calculation is false.’

To me, numbers are a language.

Existing everywhere and nowhere, like a god.

Swoosh swoosh-. Scratch scratch-.

Is it an exaggeration to say I’ve been reborn as a perfect science student? I could solve physics, chemistry, and biology problems without difficulty. It was the result of the association memory method combined with additional learning.

If two different brains merged like a photo, showing a clear image without any signs of synthesis, it’s easy to understand.

‘This problem used to be hard, but now it’s easy?’

Though the world has completely changed, and the history of the era I lived in is now useless, the fact that the knowledge I explored has come back to life is more than enough. Always avoid greed.

“I’m done.”

I finished all the exams in one day.

Though my brain, activated all day, didn’t feel sleepy, extreme fatigue and exhaustion set in. This is what it means to be human.

“Good job. Was it manageable?”

“Yes.”

While Jin-hyuk was taking the exam, the student supervisor, who was in charge of politics and economics, graded the papers with his eyes and looked pale.

He might have thought the exam was too easy, but that was an unfounded suspicion. Since the past papers were used, the difficulty should be similar. It’s better for mental health to just think this guy is weird.

“Then-.”

“Alright! Go and come back safely! I trust you, but don’t talk about the exam questions with your friends.”

Of course.

I already turned down Choi Mi-kyung’s silly temptation to tell her the exam questions in exchange for a T-shirt.

A T-shirt?

What does Son Jin-hyuk lack?

‘Brat, what’s one T-shirt?’

Not even two.

No, no. Three.