Chapter 29

Beep-!

The practice of passing the baton while dragging tires around their waists continued. It was training to improve the strength of their waist, stomach, and legs, and to practice passing the baton at a relatively slow speed. Passing the baton, timing the handoff—until it became second nature. Over and over.

“Even if it’s tough, you have to master it! The basics are the most important! The foundation of a relay race is the baton handoff!”

Kim Young-tae scanned the athletes’ postures with sharp eyes.

Beep-.

Papa-pat-!

When the whistle blew, the athletes’ arms sliced through the air.

Thud-.

It wasn’t about dropping the baton. It was about pushing it into the next runner’s hand with just the right amount of force. The next runner kept their eyes forward, jogging in place, and when they felt the solid stick in their palm, they gripped it tightly.

Beep-!

“Seol-chan! Lift your knees even when you’re receiving the baton! Don’t just stand still!”

That way, you can take off immediately. Like a drag race car revving its engine in neutral, you’ve got to keep your legs moving. The kids, surprised by the passionate side of their usually laid-back P.E. teacher Kim Young-tae, focused intently on the training.

Beep-!

“Aah-!”

Jo Seol-chan suddenly screamed and collapsed.

“Seol-chan! What’s wrong?”

“Seol! Are you okay?”

At the sudden scream, Teacher Kim Young-tae rushed over in alarm.

Yeom Byeong-taek, the runner ahead of Seol-chan, looked at his friend with worried eyes.

The competition was a week away.

If anyone got injured, they’d have to give up on the relay. There were no backup runners allowed by the competition rules. And more than anything, if Seol-chan’s injury meant his friends couldn’t compete, how crushed would he be? The moment he heard the kid’s scream, Kim Young-tae’s thoughts raced to that possibility.

Seol-chan, who had been clutching the ground, stood up with a ridiculous expression.

His face was full of disappointment.

“Oww-, it’s so hard. Teacher, take it easy on us, will ya-?”

“Hahahaha-! Seol’s just being dramatic again.”

“Oh my, this kid. Now that you’re in 6th grade, you’re teasing the teacher?!”

As the kids laughed at Seol-chan’s thick dialect and caught their breath, Kim Young-tae couldn’t even get mad and just sighed. Then he chuckled too.

Beep-! Beep-!

But unfortunately, Seol-chan’s little show didn’t have the desired effect. The uncle-like Kim Young-tae blew his whistle even more fiercely. He blew so hard that droplets of spit fell from the whistle.

“Faster! Tighten your core! Straighten your shoulders!”

By the time training ended, the kids were completely wiped out.

Track and field training was notorious for being boring and grueling. Your back feels like it’s breaking, your thighs feel like they’re exploding, and your heart feels like it’s being squeezed. How fun could it be to drag tires around the field?

Jin Hyuk tilted his head.

‘Kids these days have such weak stamina?’

Even if it was tough for the kids, for Jin Hyuk, who ran long distances every day and even followed his own workout program, the training was almost laughable. For Jin Hyuk, just sweating it out with his physical peers was fun in itself.

“Ji-beom will start, Byeong-taek second, Seol-chan third, and Jin Hyuk fourth.”

“Got it.”

They’d been training in that order anyway. This was just a final confirmation before the competition.

“Good work, everyone-.”

“Thank you, sir!”

It was also a unique sight to see the kids greeting the teacher in unison. It was as powerful as a military salute, but their expressions were still bright and childlike.

For Jin Hyuk, everything was unfamiliar yet refreshing.

‘What an interesting world.’

From right after lunch until 5 PM.

That’s how the relay training sessions went, once or twice a week.

You might wonder what kind of relay training it was to just drag tires around your waist and practice baton passes, but for Kim Young-tae and the Taeyang Elementary School team, it was the most serious training.

‘Too bad. It was fun having training buddies.’

Jin Hyuk brushed the yellow dirt off his spikes and licked his lips.

***

In rural villages where rice farming is done, transplanting rice seedlings happens in early May.

Depending on the weather, sunlight, and average temperature, some regions do it in April, and the timing can also depend on the rice variety. When transplanting was done by hand, it used to be later, but after mechanized transplanting became the norm, as long as there wasn’t an unusually cold spell, the schedule stayed pretty consistent year after year.

“Should we go see where Dad and Brother are?”

“Yes, yes.”

At Yoo Jin’s high-pitched voice, Jin Hyuk instinctively clenched his legs.

‘Oh, trauma.’

He muttered to himself, ‘You don’t have to say yes.’

Carrying his little sister Yoo Jin, he headed toward the rice paddies. Jang Gun-i trotted along behind them.

The warm spring sunlight, the smell of mud and water from the paddies, and the spring breeze carrying it all made his heart flutter.

‘I didn’t know back then. That this smell was so nice.’

His little sister, cradled in his arms, rolled her dark eyes to take in the world, and her soft hands playfully touched his face, adding to his happiness.

“Hehehe-.”

Now four years old, Yoo Jin found everything fascinating, playing with clumps of dirt or poking around with a stick. Her hair, tied up with a ribbon with a little bell, was adorable.

Son Kwang-yeon walked around holding something like a bundle of papers on a wooden board, jotting things down or checking things off, but he didn’t step into the paddies himself. At first, the neighbors had looked at him strangely.

– “Why’s that farmer making others do all the work?”

That’s what they said, but their true feelings were different. They thought it was a waste of money for a farmer not to do the farming himself and instead hire people. Son Kwang-yeon knew what they were thinking but just smiled. He only worked on the crops his family would eat, and hired people for the rest of the fields.

“Jin Hyuk, do you know why Dad farms like this?”

Carrying his daughter Yoo Jin, who had fallen asleep in the spring sun, Son Kwang-yeon asked as they headed home.

“Because you hire people?”

“Yeah. The neighbors look at me weird, don’t they?”

Soon, all rural areas will change like this. Not because they’re rich landowners like Dad, but because there aren’t enough people to do the work. But I think I understand why Dad farms this way. Dad’s managing things, right?

But he couldn’t say that.

“I think it’s because you want to spend more time with Mom, me, and Yoo Jin. If you were exhausted from farming, you wouldn’t be able to do that.”

Jin Hyuk vaguely answered, thinking of his friends from other families. Other kids would say the only time they spent with their dads was when they helped with farming.

“Exactly.”

Huh?

Like catching a mouse by the tail.

“Dad… didn’t have a family.”

“…”

Jin Hyuk held his breath, sensing that his dad was about to share something deeply personal. His dad usually dodged such questions or changed the subject.

But instead of elaborating, his dad just smiled.

“That’s why I’m so happy living like this with my family.”

Son Kwang-yeon looked at Jin Hyuk and grinned.

Son Kwang-yeon glanced around at the rice paddies, mountains, and fields surrounding the reservoir. It had been 14 years since he arrived empty-handed in this reclaimed land, where the smell of salt and mud filled the air. Now, nearly 200,000 pyeong of land was under his control.

“You’ve heard of management, right? Dad’s managing things.”

Jin Hyuk nodded.

‘See, I was right,’ his eyes seemed to say.

“You have to allocate time and resources efficiently. And you leave the hands-on work to people who are good at it. If Dad bought a tractor and drove it himself, he’d save on labor costs, but he’d have to spend a lot of money to buy the tractor and spend all day working these vast fields. Dad just has to plan the farming schedule, the manpower, and the machinery.”

Because he has the money.

Because he worked so hard to save that money.

“Since he spends a lot of money hiring people, others might think it’s a waste. That’s why they think he should farm himself.”

But then he’d get sick.

And eventually give up and leave the countryside.

“Because Dad hires people, he was able to study farming at the broadcasting university and learn crop cultivation methods by visiting agricultural guidance centers. He could go to the local real estate office to find out where good land was available and where it was cheap. He could talk with Jin Hyuk and play Go.”

He didn’t mention that he also had time to make a little sister during the day. That was the best part, but it wasn’t something to brag about to his son. Son Kwang-yeon knew when to keep things to himself.

‘Dad’s a true genius.’

A natural-born entrepreneur.

He’d heard that his dad graduated from the business school at Korea University, but it seemed like he wasn’t just book-smart. In his past life, he had lost such a dad too soon and lived in sorrow.

‘Thank you.’

Jin Hyuk bowed his head in gratitude to the unknown being who had sent him back. And he vowed not to waste this precious second chance at life. He swore to live for his family, stroking the head of his little sister, who had fallen asleep on their dad’s back.

“Dad, want to play Go?”

“Sure. How many points will you give me?”

His dad confidently asked for a handicap.

Jin Hyuk, speechless, stared at his dad, who was grinning like a novice player. His eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“Since when do you ask for a handicap in a serious game?”

“Oh, Jin Hyuk-.”

The stern dad was gone, replaced by a playful one.

Afraid of blowfish but loving them.

Scared of sparrows but drooling over how tasty they were.

Struggling in Go matches with Jin Hyuk but happy just to be playing together.

“Oh, come on. Jin Hyuk-. I’ll give you 10,000 won per point-.”

With Yoo Jin’s head bobbing on his back, Son Kwang-yeon followed his son, step by step.

‘Should I let him win today? But I don’t know how to lose.’

It’s a world where you have to learn a lot just to live an ordinary life.

Hehehe-.

Jin Hyuk smirked and picked up the pace.

Just happy to be running with someone.

***

A few days passed.

“Our son. Do you think Mom and Dad don’t need to go? Will you be okay without motion sickness medicine?”

“You should see Yoo Jin too. It’s not far from here to Gongju.”

When would he ever receive such love again?

His body was already past middle school age, and his soul had lived over 40 years, but in his parents’ eyes, he was still a child. And Jin Hyuk didn’t mind their love. No, the love he hadn’t received in his past life made him happy.

Today, Jin Hyuk’s dad was behind the wheel as usual.

It was the day before the competition, and they were heading to Taeyang Elementary School to meet up.

“Jin Hyuk, have fun. Don’t worry too much about the results.”

Our son runs well, but he’s not an athlete. How well can he really do? That’s what his dad’s eyes seemed to say. And then he pulled out his wallet.

“Buy something tasty with your friends.”

His dad handed him some cash. The money from last time was still untouched. If he saved a bit more, he could buy that coveted MTB bike. Jin Hyuk’s nose tingled as he got out of the car and slung his bag over his shoulder.

Vroom-.

As he bowed to his dad’s departing car, the sliding door of a van opened behind him. Yeom Byeong-taek’s voice rang out.

“Jin Hyuk-!”

He hadn’t noticed the gray van parked on the school field. It had been borrowed by Taeyang Elementary for the competition. His friends waved enthusiastically, their smiles wide. Even though they hadn’t spent much time together, their warmth made him think that the saying “the younger you are, the faster you make friends” was true.

“Jin Hyuk, take the front seat.”

It was Teacher Kim Young-tae’s consideration for the ace. Jin Hyuk buckled up in the passenger seat, and the van headed for Gongju Public Stadium.

Finally, tomorrow.

The national youth sports festival, which also served as the selection event for the national team, would begin.