Honbul: Flame of the Soul

Seok Juryeon narrowed her eyes and turned the words over in her mind.

“Byeoksadan?”

Master Yeohye was employing ghosts? If that was true, it was unsettling. But ghosts forming a group, even giving themselves a name? That went beyond unpleasant. It was something that never should have happened.

“We obtained this information through multiple shamans. It seems to be fairly well-known among them. The information is circulating secretly, and it appears to have already taken root as an accepted fact. However, we have yet to secure any concrete witnesses or evidence.”

Seok Juryeon’s gaze sharpened. Beside her, Yoon Taehee straightened as well, adjusting his posture. Before anyone noticed, his lips had curved into an arc, as if he had just heard something very amusing.

“For that reason, a few days ago, we summoned Master Yeohye for questioning.”

The Covert Division had already summoned Master Yeohye twice and completed its questioning. But there had been no meaningful results. The old master had expressed intense displeasure. He dismissed the matter as nonsense and said he had never even heard of this Byeoksadan. The personnel involved in the questioning had all been flustered by the way he shouted, despite his advanced age, “Are you saying someone who serves a divine spirit would deal with filthy ghosts?!”

Without solid evidence, the matter was difficult in several ways.

But they could not question him recklessly, either. Though they ordinarily looked down on shamans, their opponent was Master Yeohye. His influence was not something they could ignore. Master Yeohye had connections to many powerful people.

“Master Yeohye claims he has never heard of Byeoksadan. There are many who envy and covet his status, so there is a possibility that someone deliberately spread malicious rumors to damage Master Yeohye’s reputation...”

Yoon Taehee, who had been listening while twirling a pen, set the ballpoint down with a soft thud, as if cutting off Chief Choi’s words. Seok Juryeon’s gaze shifted to Yoon Taehee.

“Do you really believe that?”

Yoon Taehee smiled and brushed his fingers over the end of his eyebrow.

“...”

Chief Choi stopped and looked at Yoon Taehee.

“Of course Master Yeohye would deny it, even if it were true. There’s no benefit to telling the truth. In this case, rather than summoning Master Yeohye for questioning, shouldn’t we be operating from the premise that Byeoksadan exists?”

His light voice offered a cool, rational solution.

“And this Byeoksadan probably does exist. If we want to uncover the truth, it would be better to interrogate the shamans and intelligent ghosts around him.”

After he finished speaking, Yoon Taehee rummaged through his jacket pocket. Individually wrapped candies came out. The sound of him calmly unwrapping one and putting it in his mouth grated on Seok Juryeon’s nerves. Normally, she would have shot him a sharp glare, but today she let it pass. Yoon Taehee’s precise assessment secretly satisfied her.

Seok Juryeon tapped her fingertips against the table.

“Yes. Byeoksadan. Byeoksadan, hm...”

This could not be dismissed as a mere rumor. What bothered her was not only that it was groundless, but that the group even had a specific name. From the Office of Narye’s perspective, the existence of a ghost group was an extremely serious and dangerous matter.

When one became two, and two became three, they became a group. A group became a force, and a force inevitably had a goal.

“Assign someone to tail Master Yeohye. Monitor his every move. And send all remaining personnel to the Covert Division. Gather every piece of information related to Byeoksadan.”

It was best to tear out an ominous sprout before it grew.

“We need to capture Byeoksadan.”

Seok Juryeon’s eyes flashed sharply.

*****

Yoon Taehee did not leave work until night had fallen, well past midnight.

If he had been an ordinary office worker, this would have been miserable overtime, but in his case, it was the opposite. He was one of the people leaving early. More than half the personnel were still in the Team 1 office. Given the nature of their work, night shifts outnumbered day shifts.

On the third day of work, the probationary Naja had run off without permission, and the Chief had left early. Aside from those two, Team 1 of the Exorcism Unit had been peaceful again today.

The reason Yoon Taehee left earlier than usual was simple.

He simply could not work. That was all.

After leaving headquarters, Yoon Taehee tilted his head back and stared blankly up at the night sky. The sky was clear, and the scattered starlight shone sharply. Jongmyo’s visiting hours had ended long ago, leaving the area empty and dark.

After standing there for a while, Yoon Taehee slipped a hand into the knot of his tie and loosened it. Then, with both hands in his trouser pockets, he slowly walked toward the park. There had been nowhere convenient to park nearby today, so he had left his car a little farther away. To reach it, he had to pass through the large park connected to Jongmyo. When he arrived for work, the place had been crowded with people out for walks, but at night, the park was so quiet and deserted it hardly felt like the same place.

As he entered, streetlights set at regular intervals cast sparse pools of light across the dark park. Damp grass scented the air as he walked along the flower beds.

Chirp, chirp...

The faint sound of crickets followed Yoon Taehee’s steps. He did not particularly dislike taking a nighttime walk on his way home from work. Walking slowly through the dark park, he took a cigarette from his pocket. Though signs posted throughout the park prohibited smoking, drinking, and loitering in public places, Yoon Taehee was not especially devoted to obeying the law.

Just before lighting the cigarette, he glanced around to see if anyone was passing nearby. Fortunately, the only person visible was someone sleeping on a bench in the distance. Yoon Taehee took out a lighter. He cupped one hand around it and was about to strike the flint when—

He froze.

“...”

Yoon Taehee, who had stopped in place, abruptly lifted his head. His gaze fixed on one spot. He looked again at the person sleeping on the bench. Yoon Taehee’s eyes widened, his lips slowly parted, and the cigarette slipped from his fingers. The sight of the figure curled up asleep felt strangely familiar.

The homeless-looking person was none other than Jaegyeom.

*****

In the middle of the night, the park was sunk in darkness.

The only sounds were the occasional passing car outside the park and the faint cries of insects. Jaegyeom lay curled up on the bench, fast asleep in the dim orange glow of the streetlight. Then, all at once, a loud ringtone rang out.

Still lying down, Jaegyeom fumbled with one hand and pulled out his cell phone.

[Yoon Taehee]

A name he had clumsily entered a few days earlier appeared on the screen. Jaegyeom stared at it quietly, then shoved the phone back without interest. He was not particularly surprised. He had already contacted Jeongju and told him he would not be able to come home today because work had been delayed. Excluding Jeongju, there was only one person who would call. As expected, it was the call he least wanted to receive.

Ring, ring...

Jaegyeom tried to ignore the phone’s loud ringing. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes again. Then, at some point, he felt something strange. His eyes snapped open. When he did, a long shadow had fallen over him. In other words, someone was standing behind him, blocking the streetlight.

Startled, Jaegyeom turned his head sharply.

“...”

His eyes widened, and this time, he was a little surprised. Standing behind him was Yoon Taehee, looking down at him with one hand in his trouser pocket.

Ring, ring...

Yoon Taehee, who had been standing there silently, finally lowered the phone from his ear. Only then did the ringing cut off. Jaegyeom slowly pushed himself up, touching the side he had been lying on.

“...”

“...”

Their gazes collided in the air. A rather long silence followed.

“Hi.”

Yoon Taehee spoke first.

“Why aren’t you answering your phone?”

He stared blankly at Jaegyeom. Jaegyeom turned his head, avoiding his gaze. After a moment of silence, he answered in ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ an indifferent voice.

“Because I don’t want to.”

“Why?”

“You didn’t answer mine either.”

“...”

Well, that was true, but... Somehow, Yoon Taehee found himself at a loss for words. Jaegyeom looked up at him with a slightly disdainful gaze. Yoon Taehee kept his mouth shut for a while, then looked around the park and asked,

“What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?”

“Just passing through.”

“Is that right? Then keep passing through.”

The words out of Jaegyeom’s mouth were cold and indifferent. They were having a conversation, but it did not feel like one. He snapped back at every word Yoon Taehee said. It felt as though they had gone back to their old student-and-teacher relationship.

“...”

In the end, Yoon Taehee let out a small sigh. It had been early evening when Jaegyeom left headquarters. Clearly, he had been wandering outside ever since. The reason was obvious, but... Yoon Taehee had not expected him to be sleeping on a park bench.

“It’s late.”

Yoon Taehee closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again, as if gathering himself before speaking.

“Let’s go. I’ll give you a ride.”

He lowered a hand onto Jaegyeom’s shoulder.

“Don’t touch me.”

The moment his hand touched him, Jaegyeom slapped it away hard with a sharp crack. It was a fierce reaction. The rejected hand hung motionless in the air.

“When did I ask you to give me a ride?”

At last, Jaegyeom lifted his eyes and glared at Yoon Taehee.

“Get lost. Mind your own business and go your own way. I’ll handle myself. Don’t offer to drive me again. Don’t do it now, and don’t even think about coming to pick me up.”

At those coldly drawn words, Yoon Taehee’s face went expressionless in an instant.