Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant

Chapter 143

Upon receiving the call, Suho headed straight for Daejeon Station.

After parking at the station, he made his way to the designated café where Yoon Hyun-hee was already waiting.

Of course, he didn’t forget to use the Reverse Arts to alter his appearance, just like he had done before.

Seeing Suho, Yoon Hyun-hee greeted him.

“You came quickly?”

“Ah, yes. I was nearby. But more importantly…”

Suho sat down and spoke.

“Are you really sure you’ve made up your mind?”

“Yes, and I’ve also decided how I want to live moving forward.”

“How did you decide?”

“As you advised, I will go to Seoul. But before that, I want to meet my brother.”

Suho smiled at her decision.

It was precisely the decision he had been hoping for.

“Understood. It must have been a difficult choice, so thank you for making such a bold decision. As for transferring your assets, I can handle that through a personal attorney, and all that remains is to arrange a meeting with your brother…”

Suho paused briefly before asking.

“Have you wrapped up your affairs here?”

“Yes, well, there wasn’t much to wrap up, honestly. I’ve already put my house on the market, and once I find a new place, I just need to call a moving company to transfer my things.”

“What about your job?”

“I spoke to them about it too. Thankfully, they were very understanding.”

“Really?”

Suho was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly she had managed to settle things.

He thought for a moment, then nodded.

“Understood. I’ll also make the necessary arrangements to meet your brother, so please wait a little. I came here as soon as I got the call as well. In the meantime, would you like to say your goodbyes and make preparations for your departure?”

“How long will it take?”

“I’ll prepare as quickly as possible. It won’t take too long, and at the latest, I’ll finish everything by tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

After sending Yoon Hyun-hee off, Suho called Choi Yoon.

– What’s up?

“I’m currently in Daejeon, and I need some assistance.”

– Daejeon? Why… No, you told me not to ask such questions. What kind of help do you need?

“Well…”

Suho explained what he needed, and Choi Yoon nodded before responding.

– I’ll call you back within 30 minutes.

“Thank you.”

The call ended.

Now, all that remained was to wait.

Suho sat back leisurely, sipping his coffee, until, a short while later, Choi Yoon called him back.

– I sent you a number to your phone. Call them. I’ve briefed them, so you just need to handle the payment directly.

“Thanks.”

Suho dialed the number he had been given.

***

How much time had passed?

In truth, there wasn’t much for Yoon Hyun-hee to settle.

The house would be handled through a realtor, and she had already informed the boss at the noodle restaurant where she worked.

Since she had followed her ex-husband to Daejeon, she had no friends or acquaintances here.

And now, with some free time she hadn’t had in ages.

She couldn’t even remember what she used to do on her days off.

After pondering for a while, Yoon Hyun-hee decided to head back to the noodle restaurant.

“What’s this? Why are you back?”

The restaurant owner, Lee Gye-bok, looked at her with a puzzled expression.

In response, Yoon Hyun-hee smiled, took off her coat, and put on an apron.

“I just had some free time.”

“What, you came back just because you had free time? Why put on an apron?”

“I thought I’d lend a hand. It’s been busy lately, right? Ever since that photo went up on Stargram.”

That photo on Stargram.

She was talking about the picture Suho had posted of the restaurant’s food on his way to Seoul.

To Lee Gye-bok, it was baffling.

He had never advertised his place, and given its location, neither celebrities nor influencers had ever come by before.

But now, the nation’s most famous Sword God had visited his restaurant?

Sure, he was getting older, but he would have recognized someone as famous as the Sword God if he had seen him.

But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t remember seeing the Sword God, and none of the staff knew either.

Yet there it was—his restaurant’s food captured on the Sword God’s Stargram post, labeled as a “Sword God Set,” making the place a hot spot.

“Anyway, I’m just here to help out.”

“Oh, come on! How can I make you work again after you’ve already finished?”

“Yes, I’m here!”

However, instead of responding to him, Yoon Hyun-hee headed out to serve a customer who had called.

Seeing this, Lee Gye-bok shook his head in disbelief, letting out a chuckle.

“Honestly… you’re something else.”

And with that, he returned to serving as well.

***

Closing time arrived.

The restaurant had shut down for the night, and Lee Gye-bok, after sending off the other staff, prepared a small table with drinks to share with Yoon Hyun-hee.

“So, you’re waiting for that person to contact you?”

“Yes.”

“He sweeps in like the wind and disappears just as suddenly. Quite a peculiar fellow.”

“I think so too, but… I know what I saw.”

Lee Gye-bok knew enough about Yoon Hyun-hee’s life.

You could call it meddling, but she had always cared for her employees as if they were family.

At first, she had felt ashamed of her situation and hadn’t said anything, but after he had once protected her from a loan shark, she had come to trust him completely.

The two shared drinks for quite a while.

When she had first mentioned leaving, she had only shared a cup of tea and explained her circumstances, not wanting to hold up someone busy with complaints.

Because of Suho, who suddenly freed up her schedule, this meeting with Lee Gye-bok happened.

For that, Yoon Hyun-hee felt grateful to Suho.

Drunk and emotional, Lee Gye-bok spoke.

“Phew… Kid… when you go to Seoul, don’t suffer; live happily… think of this as the last chance your brother gave you…”

To Lee Gye-bok, Yoon Hyun-hee had revealed everything.

She trusted and respected him.

And just as she trusted him, Lee Gye-bok neither judged nor criticized her brother Yoon Hyunchul after hearing about him.

Instead, like Yoon Hyun-hee, he worried about and pitied Yoon Hyunchul.

At his well-meaning scolding, Yoon Hyun-hee laughed and replied.

“I want to as well. But… how can I be happy when my brother’s in prison?”

“So you’re going to live unhappily? Then you’d be killing your brother a second time. You absolutely must not do that. So…”

Thud!

In the end, she couldn’t hold her liquor and slumped over the table, falling asleep.

Watching her, Yoon Hyun-hee chuckled softly and finished the rest of her drink.

At that moment—

Tap-tap-

Outside the restaurant’s glass window.

Someone tapped on the glass.

It was Suho.

“Suho?”

As Yoon Hyun-hee quickly opened the door, Suho stepped in carefully and spoke.

“You should have rested. Did you really work?”

“Haha… well, I realized I didn’t really have anywhere else to go.”

She had texted Suho in advance.

If he finished his business before midnight, she told him to come to the noodle shop where she’d be waiting.

That’s why he came.

Yoon Hyun-hee asked.

“Did you eat?”

“Yes, I did. But it’s a bit late. Would you like to leave tomorrow, with some time to spare? I brought my car, so I won’t be taking the train.”

“We’re going straight to Cheongsong, right?”

“Yes, that’s the plan.”

“Then it’s late, so I’ll head to Cheongsong Station tomorrow, sometime in the morning or around noon. From there, I can take a taxi to Cheongok Prison, right?”

“That’s possible, but just give me a call, and I’ll come pick you up. I wanted to come sooner, but there was a lot to prepare, so I’m a bit late.”

“Oh, no worries. I’m really grateful for all the help.”

“Understood. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

After politely saying goodbye, Suho stood up first.

Rather than taking her away immediately, he figured it would be better to let her have one last meal with the noodle shop owner.

Vroom!

Suho’s car headed towards Cheongok Prison.

***

“You’ve arrived.”

At Cheongok Prison, Chief Guard Hwang Sae-don greeted Suho.

Suho had come alone; it wasn’t that the prison warden hadn’t shown up.

He had asked them not to come in advance.

‘I didn’t come here officially, so there’s no need for the warden to come out and make a big deal.’

Everyone was different, but usually, people were more touched when a powerful figure behaved humbly.

And at Cheongok, Suho was a powerful figure from a higher agency.

So, he had deliberately told Kim Gil-yeon not to come out.

This way, Kim Gil-yeon would think highly of Suho, and most tasks would go smoothly.

As evidence, Chief Guard Hwang Sae-don, who came as Kim Gil-yeon’s representative, acted deferentially towards Suho.

“The inmates you mentioned are prepared in the same meeting room as before.”

“Understood. Let’s start with inmate Kim Goong-won.”

Following Hwang Sae-don’s guidance, Suho entered the same meeting room and found Kim Goong-won waiting.

As soon as Suho entered the meeting room, Kim Goong-won sprang up and bowed respectfully.

“You’ve arrived, big brother!”

“Huh?”

Kim Goong-won’s polite demeanor.

This guy—what’s with the sudden change?

Suho smirked and asked.

“You’ve changed a lot. Why are you doing things you didn’t do before?”

“No, sir. Back then, I was shortsighted.”

“So, you know now. But why are you calling me ‘big brother’?”

“Of course, you’re the biggest brother. We all follow what big brother says.”

“What do you call Yoon Hyunchul?”

“We just call him brother. But when talking to you, I’ll refer to him as ‘little brother.’”

Big brother and little brother.

Suho smirked and asked.

“So, how have things been lately?”

“I’ve been faithfully carrying out the duties you asked of me.”

“Report.”

“As you wanted, little brother has become the king of Cheongok.”

“Already?”

“Honestly, either Cho Gwang-ho or Yoon Hyunchul would become the most powerful here in Cheongok, and since Cho Gwang-ho ended up like that, it was bound to happen.”

That was true.

That was why he had left Cho Gwang-ho in such a state.

Suho asked.

“How’s Cho Gwang-ho?”

“He’s completely broken—a town punching bag.”

“A town punching bag?”

“One leg limps, he can’t grip anything properly, and he has a huge backlog of karma from bullying others… As soon as that got out, everyone started taking turns at him, and now he’s just the town punching bag.”

“Make sure he doesn’t commit suicide. That guy’s destined to live a long, suffering life.”

“Yes, I’ll remember that and take it to heart. And besides that…”

As Kim Goong-won’s report continued, Suho couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction.

It was only natural; the power shift among the inmates had brought significant changes to Cheongok.

And it was all unfolding just as Suho had wanted.

“…So now everyone’s lying low. The little brother punishes anyone who acts up on the spot. The guards are thrilled. They say their jobs have become much easier.”

“Yes, government employees work very hard. We shouldn’t make things difficult for them. Well, that should do it for the report…”

Suho double-checked that the camera in the meeting room was off before continuing.

“The reason I’m here is that I have another task for you.”

“Another task?”

“Yes.”

“What would that be?”

“For now, I’m considering staying here at Cheongok in place of Yoon Hyunchul.”

“…Pardon?”

At Suho’s words, Kim Goong-won’s eyes began to tremble as if hit by an earthquake.