That was why Byungho had turned pale while tearing into Jinho.

"You little bastard! There's a limit to what I can cover for! Gunpowder? Are you trying to blow somebody's head off? It won't just be my head rolling, it'll be everyone around me too!"

"No, it's just that getting gunpowder is hard..."

"There are fireworks overflowing in every stationery store! What kind of bullshit are you talking about?!"

"The impurities..."

"You little shit! Tear that whole field up immediately!"

After a lengthy struggle, Jinho finally promised to plow the field over. Before leaving, Byungho gave him one last stern warning.

"I'm coming back the day after tomorrow to check, so make sure you really tear it all up. Got it?"

"Got it!"

Only after getting another promise from Jinho did Byungho start his car, muttering under his breath.

"That psycho nerd bastard..."

"Psycho nerd."

That was the nickname given to Jinho not only by relatives like Byungho, but even by his own parents.

Because of the countless incidents he caused through his obsessive hobbies since childhood, every relative in the family worried that he would someday cause a truly massive disaster.

"Gwangdeok."

That was the nickname given to him by acquaintances he met through SNS and online hobby communities.

At first, they used the character for "broad" because of Jinho's wide range of obsessions, but after the various incidents he caused, it changed to the character meaning "madness."

From an early age, Jinho had shown signs of being unusual. Compared to other children his age, he possessed extraordinary concentration and memory.

"I don't think he's an ordinary child!"

After hearing those words from his kindergarten teacher, Jinho's parents' expectations only continued to rise.

Around the time he entered elementary school, his parents had his IQ tested and received the following evaluation from the doctor.

"His memory, concentration, and comprehension are all above average. His IQ is at the genius level as well."

"Thank you!"

Hearing the doctor's explanation, Jinho's parents were overjoyed and filled with hope.

Unfortunately, that hope soon turned into despair.

The one area missing from all of Jinho's incredible concentration, memory, comprehension, and intelligence was the most important one of all.

Studying.

The same memory that allowed him to remember embarrassing secrets from his parents' fights when he was only three or four years old and use them against them for years... the same memory that let him recall every embarrassing thing he had ever done in kindergarten and elementary school well into college, making him kick his blankets in shame at night... the same concentration that once made him binge-watch an American TV series without eating until he collapsed and ended up in the emergency room... showed absolutely no sign of appearing when it came to academics.

"You're smart enough too!"

Whether they used private academies, rewards, punishments, carrots, or sticks, Jinho's parents always exploded in frustration after seeing his report cards. No matter whether he was placed in the advanced class or the remedial class, his grades always stayed right in the middle.

His Korean, history, and memorization-based subjects were excellent, but English remained average while mathematics sat firmly at rock bottom.

Even Jinho himself found it frustrating.

"I can't visualize it..."

Jinho once complained to a friend.

"Visualize?"

"When I read textbooks or questions in Korean, history, or other memorization subjects, scenes play out in my head like a movie. That's why I remember everything clearly and instantly understand how to solve problems. But that damn math never does that."

In the end, Jinho had no choice but to pursue the liberal arts track.

The stress from everything only drove him deeper into his obsessions. From fourth grade until entering middle school, he became deeply immersed in a famous robot anime series, turning into a hardcore Universal Century fundamentalist and diehard Federation supporter while actively socializing online.

The moment Jinho's hobbyism transformed into true "Gwangdeok" began in his second year of middle school.

He became completely obsessed with a steampunk drama set in the nineteenth century. Since it was an extremely niche series that ended after only one season, he had to search through overseas "dark routes" to find it, and because there were no subtitles, he translated scripts he found online while watching the show.

Jinho's parents were furious seeing how obsessed he became with the drama, but since his English grades skyrocketed during the process, they ultimately allowed him to keep watching until the series ended.

The influence that drama had on Jinho was enormous.

He stopped being a hobbyist who merely watched and enjoyed things.

He became a hobbyist who acted.

Fascinated by steam engines, Jinho worked together with friends to create a miniature model of Watt's steam engine connected to a generator and entered it into a science competition.

Aside from the pressure cylinder and several driving components that needed to withstand steam pressure, the model was built almost entirely from easily obtainable materials. When heated by an alcohol lamp, the boiler generated enough electricity to light an LED lamp.

The project won an excellence award.

As a result, Jinho received praise and spending money from the parents of his science-track friends, since awards greatly helped with college admissions.

From his own parents, he received only scolding.

"Jinho, thank you! It's not much, but use this for snacks."

"What's the point of a liberal arts kid winning prizes?! You should've memorized math formulas with that effort instead! Honey, don't give him allowance! He'll just use it to build more weird crap!"

Even with his reduced allowance, Jinho built a miniature steam locomotive that actually moved using steam pressure the following year, nearly driving his parents insane.

Despite everything, Jinho still did his best to prepare for university entrance exams. After surviving the nightmare that was the regular admissions process rather than early admissions, he managed to enter a well-regarded Seoul university just below SKY level, majoring in public administration.

The day his acceptance was confirmed, his parents gathered the entire extended family for a celebration.

"Now that you're in college, stop doing useless things and just study!"

"Public administration? Study hard and become a civil servant."

"Don't think about anything weird. Just focus on studying! You know how much suffering you've put your parents through!"

Every relative at the party gave Jinho some combination of advice and threats.

Even after entering university, Jinho's "active hobbyism" never stopped.

During the summer break of his freshman year, he used money earned from part-time jobs to build a human-powered hydroplane and successfully flew it over the Han River estuary.

"It's flying!"

"It actually flew?"

The police officers and paramedics present for safety reasons watched the human-powered aircraft with strange expressions.

Jinho's flight became famous enough to appear on national television.

Under headlines such as "Talented College Inventor," he briefly became a TV news sensation, while his parents lay at home clutching their heads in agony.

"He's not a son. He's an enemy."

"What sin did we commit in our previous lives..."

Relatives and acquaintances referred to the incident as "The First Gwangdeok Rebellion."

Perhaps thanks to his appearance on television, Jinho soon became famous at school as an eccentric.

And his bizarre behavior continued.

After watching a historical drama with terrible historical accuracy, he once wrestled with leather for weeks trying to create proper Three Kingdoms-era leather lamellar armor. Another time, he spent an entire vacation living and eating at the workshop of a traditional swordsmith because he wanted to properly learn how Joseon hwando swords were made. During semesters, after becoming fascinated by crusader films, he spent every weekend hammering away at a workshop while trying to create full Western plate armor.

"What the hell are we supposed to do with that bastard..."

Jinho's parents even resorted to physically beating their adult son in attempts to stop his antics.

Yet despite everything, he continued.

Watching their son stubbornly persist, his parents slowly rotted away inside.

"If only he'd at least been bad at studying..."

Because outside vacations, aside from weekends, Jinho still studied diligently and maintained excellent grades, his parents found themselves unable to give up on him completely.

Whenever Jinho caused another incident, his parents inevitably remembered something his high school career counselor had once told them.

"Jinho is extremely intelligent. But not in an academic sense. To put it simply, he's the kind of child suited to being an inventor."

"An inventor... Isn't that kind of life difficult in today's world?"

"That's the unfortunate part. If Jinho had been born in eighteenth- or nineteenth-century Europe, he probably would've become an inventor remembered by history."

Around the time he entered his third year of university, Jinho caused an absolutely enormous incident.

It all started with a single email from an American acquaintance he had met online.

The message said people were gathering to build a sailing ship from a famous pirate movie using traditional methods. Though it would only be one-quarter scale, every detail would follow historical accuracy.

The moment he read that, Jinho lost his mind.

He immediately filed for a leave of absence and flew to America.

Thus began "The Second Gwangdeok Rebellion."

After hearing about Jinho going to America, his mother once again collapsed clutching her head, while his father exploded with rage.

"You little bastard! I'm cutting you out of the family registry!"

Jinho's stay in America lasted far longer than expected.

The reason was an absurdly wealthy Arab hobbyist who funded the project.

After seeing the finished result and becoming extremely satisfied, the Arab millionaire made the participants an offer.

"I happened to need a cruising yacht. How about building a full-sized version? I'll fund construction and pay salaries too. Deal?"

"Deal!"

The participants answered in unison.

Though it was converted into a motorized sailing vessel with an engine installed and modern conveniences added, the structure and appearance largely retained the classic design of an Age of Exploration sailing ship.

Through the hands of hobbyists gathered from many nations, the ship was reborn.

After the launch ceremony and sea trials concluded successfully, Jinho returned to Korea carrying copies of the ship's blueprints.

When he arrived home, his parents said only one thing.

"Go enlist. We already prepared everything."

"Yes, sir."

Facing the murderous aura radiating from his parents, Jinho immediately bowed his head.

After completing military service, Jinho quietly resumed university life.

He studied diligently, prepared for the civil service examination, and passed the Grade 5 national administrative exam only one year after graduation.

The day it was confirmed he would become a central government official in the Ministry of Finance and Economy, his parents once again gathered the extended family for a feast.

"You worked hard!"

"Finally, we can relax a little! Good work!"

The relatives showered praise not on Jinho, but on his parents, since they all knew how much suffering Jinho had caused them over the years.

And so, after all those twists and turns, Jinho began life as a civil servant.

His parents sighed with relief once he started working.

Ironically, that was when the real problem began.

"I feel suffocated..."

Buried beneath endless work every single day, Jinho suffered from growing emotional exhaustion.

To relieve the emptiness, he threw himself into hobbies whenever he had free time. He built plastic models, played online games and mobile games, joined cycling clubs, and tried all kinds of activities.

None of it helped.

His emotional thirst only worsened until he was eventually diagnosed with depression and prescribed medication.

Once things reached that point, his parents finally made a decision.

"Live however you want."

"Thank you."

The very next day, Jinho submitted his resignation letter.

After quitting and becoming unemployed, he immediately found work at a forge run by a master craftsman.

Three years later, after living and learning there full-time, the master finally summoned him.

"Open your own shop now. I've taught you everything I can. From here onward, what you need is experience, and only time can provide that."

"Thank you, Master."

That was how Jinho ended up moving down to Yangsan.

Using the money he had saved during four years as a civil servant, along with some additional support, he bought an empty house and the field attached to it before opening his forge.

After seeing Byungho off, Jinho scratched his head and muttered:

"The fireworks sold in stationery stores have too many impurities. They rust the barrel..."

Commercial fireworks contained numerous additives to produce different colors and weaken explosive force. Those impurities heavily corroded gun barrels, which meant the barrel had to be meticulously cleaned after every test firing.

"Still, if he says I have to plow it over, I guess I have to. I'll go borrow Old Man Hwang's tractor tomorrow."

Having decided what to do the next day, Jinho entered the storage room.

"Let's see..."

Inside the cool warehouse with its humming air conditioner, Jinho searched through the shelves. After moving aside rows of chemicals, he pulled out a small box.

"If this had been discovered, I'd already be sitting in a jail cell right now."

Muttering to himself, he opened the lid and checked the contents.

Inside the box were two small glass bottles buried in cushioning material. Looking at the yellow-brown liquid contained inside bottles no larger than his pinky finger, Jinho let out a long sigh.

"Why the hell did I even make this..."

The bottles contained nitroglycerin.

After staring at them briefly, Jinho closed the box and shoved it deep onto the shelf again.

Rumble!

Just as Jinho stepped out of the warehouse, the ground began shaking.

"Huh? Is there construction nearby?"

Tilting his head at the minor tremor, Jinho suddenly screamed as the shaking intensified.

"No way! It's an earthquake!"

Realizing what was happening, he immediately sprinted outside.

But after taking fewer than five steps, he spun around and ran back toward the warehouse.

"If that damn thing explodes, insurance won't cover a thing!"

Rumble!

Even as the increasingly violent shaking made him stumble, Jinho rushed into the storage room, grabbed the box, and ran back outside.

Click!

Opening the box, Jinho pulled out the two bottles and hurled them toward the field with all his strength.

BOOM!

"Good..."

The moment he sighed in relief at the massive explosion erupting across the field, the earth split open beneath him and swallowed him whole.