Chapter 559

In conclusion, the restoration project of the Chukhwa Sword has been fully entrusted to the Samyeon Group.

This is because it involves a rather complicated process, including taking out insurance since it has to cross the border.

“Wouldn’t it be better to exhibit it at the Louvre Museum so more people can see it? Surely our Chukhwa Sword would also wish to explore a bigger world…”

Upon hearing those words, the eyes of the director of the Samyeon Art Museum gleamed like a tiger.

I couldn’t bring myself to finish my words and ended the video call.

And on the day I returned to Korea.

A documentary capturing the journey of the national exchange exhibition featuring me and Love Unni was released on various OTT platforms.

‘Tour de France’

While taking a warm bath, I enjoyed the live broadcast of the video.

[Is this it? The documentary. Hello, hello.]

It was footage from when I first joined the national team.

I remember answering the director’s questions as sincerely as possible.

However, contrary to my expectations, I couldn’t find any cool and mature answers in the documentary.

[Do you want some lollipops?]

[Oh, how did you know I like candy…? I can’t eat this kind of stuff at home. You have to keep it a secret from Dad! Hehe.]

“Geez, why did they only include things like this?”

I sulked with my lips protruding.

However, the reactions in the chat were quite enthusiastic.

[Live Chat]

– Wow, so cuteㅎㅎ

– If you come to my aunt’s place, I’ll buy you lots!

– Dad, please buy me lots of candy!

– Dad, you need to reflect!

– NaeMe is getting more and more beautiful as she grows!

– Seriously, she looks both really pretty and cuteㅠㅠ

[Thus, NoName will be recorded as the one and only player to win at the national exchange exhibition at the age of 10 years and 1 month!]

The Narita match became a significant turning point, shaking off all doubts from the public.

[Are you really okay? If something goes wrong, it could lead to a fracture during the match.]

[I won’t give up.]

I also went through hardships when my ankle ligament tore right before the match against England.

[100,000 people came to see my 30 minutes. Sorry, but I don’t want to throw away 50,000 hours.]

Immediately after, a grand orchestral soundtrack began to play.

Splash—

“Ugh…”

As I watched the reactions in the chat, I felt embarrassed and hid my face for a moment beneath the surface of the water.

[Beyond challenges, beyond legends, taking on the myth— the whirlwind’s protagonist, NaeMe from South Korea, is entering! Everyone, worship her! She is the true master of the Training Hall!]

The match against David Everett passed quickly.

Victory, victory, victory again.

In the end, I sank even the U.S., the home of magical dueling, breaking through the deadly group of death, and the first part came to an end.

[South Korea’s Group Stage Joint Results (NoName, Love Kim): 6 wins, 0 draws, 0 losses]

– Wowㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– Seriously, so coolㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– This is it!

– Invincible South Korea!!!

– NoName is truly a goddess.

– Maximum dopamine chargedㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– Love Kim also was the embodiment of the warrior spirit in the group stage.

“This is fun…”

Even though I already knew the results, my heart raced as I watched the video.

Round of 32, Round of 16, Round of 8, and then to the semifinals.

Unfortunately, Love Unni was blocked by Emika, thwarting her advancement to the finals.

I wasn’t sure about the situation after the match, but I was shocked at how she broke down in tears as if the world was ending.

On the opposite side, I defeated Argentina’s prodigy, leading to a historic Korean-Japanese showdown.

Scenes where I playfully teased Professor Cheon were also, of course, included in the documentary.

[Dad, what do you think about the finals?]

[Huh? What do you mean by that?]

[My daughter is heading into a sword fight right now. The feeling of seeing my daughter pushed to the brink…]

“Hehe.”

Seeing my dad’s awkward expression made me laugh again.

That reaction could only come from someone who loves me.

– NoName, you went out because you wanted to!

– It’s not even a jokeㅋㅋㅋ

– This is the political skill honed by early education in LoL ㄷㄷ

– He really looked genuinely flusteredㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– If you have a daughter like that, every day must be so happyㅠㅠㅠㅠ

– Huh, Adella…?

– Wowwwww!

– Is Adella coming out? Wait a sec?

– What’s with NaeMe’s cuteness?ㅎㅎ

– So your older sister’s name was Saetbyeol!

In the video, Saetbyeol sang with an ethereal voice.

Though she couldn’t be compared to a professional singer, her tone gave listeners comfort and joy.

I hummed along with the song, enjoying the tranquil atmosphere.

After experiencing the exhilarating moments after the finals, suddenly, two hours flew by.

I looked at my wrinkled fingers and toes, chuckling.

“Hehe, you all suffered from water torture too. I’ll get you out soon.”

* * *

Even after returning to Korea, we weren’t given any time to relax.

The following morning, I took Saetbyeol with me to visit a nearby tax office.

In the capitalistic world, the most important thing is money, and then money.

Since it was revealed that Cheon Saetbyeol and Adella were the same person, we needed expert help regarding any potential tax issues that might arise.

“Still, when you were in Korea, you should dye your hair a bit. Silver hair attracts too much attention.”

“Yawn, I woke up early and now I’m hungry. What should we eat for lunch later?”

“If you don’t like black, how about blonde? I see people with bleached blonde hair quite frequently on the streets.”

“Today, I’m really craving spicy stir-fried baby octopus. Are you in, Unni?”

We ended up pulling out collective soliloquies without even knowing why we were talking, as we took a waiting number.

[Reception Number 009]

“Oh, it’s worth coming early. Our turn is next.”

Swallow—

“Hmm…?”

Suddenly, the speed of the tax officials processing complaints noticeably increased.

A competition sparked to see who could finish their work faster.

And soon, fortunes turned with an electrifying difference.

Dingdong- [↙009]

Dingdong- [↘010]

“Ajaaja!”

“Uaaagh! To miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! S-Sorry, sorry!”

We sat in front of the officials with victorious smiles.

It didn’t carry much significance that a despondent employee was sitting right next to us.

“Hello! How can I help you with your tax-related issues?”

Smiling brightly—

It seems hard to find such friendly public servants in any country.

They’re not mistaking this situation for a private fan meeting, are they?

“I came to change the name on the tax report. Is it possible to amend or correct past income filings?”

Saetbyeol said as she fumbled for her ID.

“Ah…! Ahem… One moment please… Uh, this is…”

The ‘complaint that’s not in the manual’ which public servants find most troublesome.

It seems that legal issues are entangled complicatedly, and the official ultimately signaled for help from their superior.

“Since this is not something we can judge on our own at the tax office, could you wait just a moment?”

“Okay, that works.”

“I sincerely apologize. However, merging the names isn’t too difficult, so I can get that done quickly.”

It took quite some time before we received confirmation.

“It seems they’re reporting to the upper levels, ha ha…”

After about thirty minutes, I ended up making small talk with the awkward public servant who was sitting there.

“I can’t believe it’s real. So, you really owe 210 billion…?”

“Yeah, yeah, she’s a horrible unni who tells me to pay it back.”

“Of course you have to pay it back; it’s even interest-free.”

“If it’s interest-free, you’ll have to pay gift tax…”

“?”

“Oh no, never mind! That was just a joke, haha. It’s a bit of a job-related thing.”

None of it sounded like a joke.

Fifteen more minutes passed before we were able to escape the suffocating tax office.

“I think there won’t be any problems. Since there are no relevant laws established yet, we determined that applying similar legal principles would be somewhat unreasonable.”

“Anyway, thank you.”

“Yes, please drive safely! Always rooting for you, NaeMe…!”

“Phew, Unni, that took so long. Did you report to the head of the National Tax Service?”

“Maybe it went up even higher…?”

Whoosh—

We awkwardly exchanged glances with the public servant.

It’s unsettling, I tell you.

* * *

For lunch, we decided to eat the spicy stir-fried baby octopus that Saetbyeol had been singing about.

However, considering my carnivorous taste, the menu was slightly modified to spicy baby octopus with pork belly.

“But isn’t baby octopus carnivorous too?”

“Have you seen a lion eat baby octopus?”

“If you give it to them, wouldn’t they eat it…?”

“Did you see it?”

“No.”

“Right.”

We walked towards the recommended baby octopus restaurant along the Yangjae Stream.

The hot weather continued, exceeding 30 degrees since the morning.

Even for someone like me who doesn’t suffer much from heat, sweat started to bead on my forehead.

Eventually, I couldn’t hold back any longer and activated my aura to forcefully release the heat.

“Saetbyeol, hold my hand. Isn’t it cool?”

“Oooh! What did you do? It’s so cold!”

“Just don’t hug me.”

“Ah, refreshing!”

The park made along the river was quite pretty.

It truly felt like I was on a trip to Korea.

Wandering aimlessly, we quickly reached our destination.

[Ogam Baby Octopus Dogok Branch 2F ↗]

“Is this it?”

“Yep. Sometimes when the school lunch is awful, my friends and I come all the way here to eat.”

“Still, it’s quite far from the school.”

“Right. So, if you’re coming, you definitely have to skip the 4th period. Haha, why?”

“Never mind, let’s go in.”

While there weren’t many people along the stream, it became quite crowded as we moved into town.

But a crowd of about 10 to 20 was manageable.

As we went up to the second floor, the restaurant lady greeted us warmly.

“Oh my! Is that Saetbyeol?”

“Hello, Unni! It seems like business is doing well these days?”

“Oh no, I was shocked when you appeared on TV! You really… Wait a minute, did you come with NoName? What brings you here…!”

“We came for lunch. Saetbyeol said this place has delicious baby octopus.”

“Really? Come on in! Isn’t it hot outside? I’ll turn the air conditioning way up for you.”

And that was not the end of our encounter.

As we took off our shoes and entered the restaurant, six young boys and girls instantly stood up together.

“Huh?”

“Huh!”

“Is that Cheon Saetbyeol! Wow, NoName is here too!”

“Kyaaaaaaa! What’s happening? How do we meet here?”

“What are you guys doing here?”

“We’re skipping study hall to eat lunch—”

“Wow, I’m a fan of NaeMe! Wow, you’re so cute…! So small and precious…!”

“Wait, everyone, stop!”

Saetbyeol organized the excited kids.

Then she went to the kitchen and brought back a worn-out piece of paper.

“What’s that?”

“This? Hehe, just wait and see.”

Ding-ding-ding—

“Waaaaaaaah!”

In an instant, all the people in the restaurant applauded with excitement.

“Today’s lunch is on NoName! Everyone, applaud!”

“W-What?”

“Wow, that looks delicious, guys. You’ve been eating this tasty food without me? Just one bite for me.”

Without acknowledging me at all, Cheon Saetbyeol dashed over to her friends.