Honbul: Flame of the Soul

It was an absurd remark, completely out of step with the gravity of the situation.

Thanks to that, every gaze fixed on Jaegyeom swung at once toward Yoon Taehee.

Now everyone was staring at him instead.

The seminar room, which had been steeped in heavy silence only moments before, turned unmistakably awkward.

“....”

“....”

“....”

Team 1 all wore bizarre expressions, and the other Naja looked openly bewildered as well.

Yoon Taehee casually lifted his wrist to check the time, then turned his gaze back to the notice as if nothing had happened.

Sexy? What is he suddenly talking about...?

Jaegyeom still did not know what “sexy” meant.

He had heard it once before, but Yoon Taehee had never explained it to him. Still, judging from the context he had gathered since then, it seemed to be some kind of compliment.

Then did that mean things between them were all right now...?

Jaegyeom glanced at Yoon Taehee, confused.

“Your name was Kim Jaegyeom, wasn’t it?”

At that moment, Seok Juryeon, who had been silent until then, spoke.

“You know quite a lot of Chinese characters for your age.”

Jaegyeom froze.

The comment had come out of nowhere.

It had not been long since Yoon Taehee caught him in the library reading old texts and showing fluency in archaic language. Jaegyeom could not think of what to say. Seok Juryeon’s sharp gaze seemed to pierce right through him.

“Ah, well, that’s...”

Jaegyeom stammered and lowered his eyes.

“Young people learn quickly these days. It’s not that strange for them to pick up Chinese characters faster than expected.”

Just then, Yoon Taehee spoke slowly.

Jaegyeom paused and lifted his gaze. Their eyes met. Yoon Taehee raised one eyebrow ever so slightly, then immediately let it fall back into place.

“....”

Jaegyeom felt an odd itch in his palm.

Yoon Taehee had saved him from trouble as if it were nothing at all.

It was uncommon for a young newcomer to be proficient in Chinese characters, but not impossible. Among those hoping to become Naja, some studied Chinese characters in advance before entering the Office. It was not unheard of for a new recruit to know more than a Naja in their first year.

“And the characters themselves aren’t especially difficult.”

Yoon Taehee brushed it off lightly, as though there was nothing worth making a fuss over.

But Seok Juryeon was still watching Jaegyeom intently, as if trying to measure something.

“Knowing Chinese characters is one thing. Identifying paja is not something just anyone can do.”

True enough.

Among all the Naja here who could read Chinese characters, Jaegyeom had been the only one to uncover the hidden meaning.

Yoon Taehee fell silent for a moment at the pointed remark, then nodded easily.

“Well, that’s true.”

Then he smiled faintly.

“I don’t have such poor judgment that I’d choose just anyone.”

It was a light smile and a smooth retort.

Seok Juryeon finally turned her gaze away from Jaegyeom and looked at Yoon Taehee instead.

The man’s lips were smiling.

His eyes were not.

Their gazes clashed in midair.

“....”

For one brief instant, Seok Juryeon’s expression changed.

It was fleeting, but a silent spark of confrontation flashed between them. The tension was so quick and sharp it could almost have been mistaken for an illusion.

“Well. Our probationary Naja does seem quite sharp.”

As though nothing had happened, Yoon Taehee returned to his usual easy smile.

Seok Juryeon already knew that the newcomer Yoon Taehee had brought in was promising. The rumor that Jaegyeom had seen deer during the exam had reached her ears as well. It had caused quite a stir at headquarters.

In truth, Seok Juryeon had been interested in Jaegyeom from fairly early on, though she had never shown it to Yoon Taehee. When she received the documents summarizing the exam candidates, the first profile she looked for and read was Jaegyeom’s.

For Seok Juryeon, being curious about Jaegyeom was only natural.

After all, he had caught the eye of Yoon Taehee, of all people.

She was one of the few who knew Yoon Taehee’s true nature. And as far as she knew, he did not possess anything like the concept of “his people.”

“He laid a hand on my successor. I’m only paying him back.”

That was exactly why Seok Juryeon had been surprised when she heard that Yoon Taehee had struck a newcomer on the day of the exam.

Yoon Taehee had openly protected “one of his own.”

It was the same now.

At a glance, he looked no different from usual, relaxed and careless.

But Seok Juryeon knew.

For some time now, Yoon Taehee had been subtly /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ shielding his subordinate while naturally drawing everyone’s attention onto himself.

“....”

Seok Juryeon silently observed Yoon Taehee for a while.

Still, she had no objection to his claim that his judgment was sound.

A mere probationary Naja had uncovered the hidden meaning in the notice. The boy had exceeded Seok Juryeon’s expectations, perhaps to an irritating degree.

At last, Seok Juryeon looked back down at the notice.

Bangsangsi will return to this land.

Her eyes darkened.

As far as she knew, that was impossible.

And it was something that must never happen.

Bangsangsi, the previous master of the Office of Narye, had perished long ago. The proof was in the hands of the current director of the Office of Narye.

Bangsangsi’s mask.

The Four Golden Eyes.

But if Jaegyeom’s interpretation was correct, then the master of the Byeoksadan was suggesting that Bangsangsi would return.

If so, what did the master know about Bangsangsi?

And how much?

Fragments of the past suddenly flashed through Seok Juryeon’s mind.

Memories from ten years ago stabbed into her temples like a headache.

“No. That can’t be. We avoided that prophecy back then. This is only...”

Pressing her fingers to her temples, Seok Juryeon closed her eyes and spoke.

“A ghost impersonating Bangsangsi to throw the Office of Narye into confusion.”

Then she opened her eyes.

“Senior Naja Han.”

At Seok Juryeon’s call, Han Juyoung, who had been standing behind her, stepped forward.

“Take the notice and shred it.”

Han Juyoung hesitated for a moment, startled by the sudden order, then silently obeyed.

As Han Juyoung left the seminar room with the notice, the Naja looked on in confusion.

Seok Juryeon spoke in a low voice.

“That notice never existed. Understood?”

It was a clear gag order.

Not only about the notice itself, but about every word exchanged here.

She offered no explanation, but under the pressure of Seok Juryeon’s authority, the Naja could only nod silently.

Meanwhile, Jaegyeom was watching Yoon Taehee’s reaction.

He was uneasy.

He felt as though he had caused trouble by interpreting the notice. Yoon Taehee had somehow smoothed things over and lessened the damage, but Jaegyeom was still anxious.

If uncovering the hidden meaning had been useful, he might have felt less guilty.

But Seok Juryeon did not look pleased, and she offered no opinion on his interpretation. Instead, as though something about it had displeased her, she ordered absolute silence. The conclusion was awkward enough that Jaegyeom could only think he had done something pointless.

With the notice destroyed and the gag order given, the gathering ended without any real resolution.

In the tense atmosphere, the Naja began leaving one by one.

As Team 1 headed for the door, Jaegyeom hesitantly followed.

“Kim Jaegyeom. Stay behind for a moment.”

But Seok Juryeon called him back just as he was about to leave the seminar room.

The instant he heard his name, all kinds of thoughts flooded his mind.

Had she suspected something after all?

He had thought Yoon Taehee had managed to smooth everything over earlier, but apparently not.

What could she possibly want?

Anxiety rising, Jaegyeom unconsciously glanced at Yoon Taehee.

He hoped Taehee would make some excuse and stay behind with him, the way he had saved him from trouble earlier.

But Yoon Taehee, who was leaving the room, only looked back at Jaegyeom for a moment.

Then he left the seminar room without a word.

***

After his meeting with Seok Juryeon, Jaegyeom stepped into the hallway and stood there blankly for a moment.

A man was crouching off to one side of the hall.

It was Yoon Taehee.

He was looking at his phone in a relaxed posture, elbows resting on his knees.

When their eyes met, he raised his phone in greeting.

“Hello.”

At the belated greeting, Jaegyeom silently looked down at him.

“....”

Jaegyeom glanced around.

The hallway was completely empty. There was not even an ant in sight.

After confirming they were alone, Jaegyeom looked back at Yoon Taehee.

Because Taehee was crouching, Jaegyeom had to look down to meet his eyes, almost as if he were looking at a child.

After hesitating for a moment, Jaegyeom spoke.

“...Didn’t you leave?”

“I was waiting so we could go together.”

Yoon Taehee answered neatly and stood up with ease.

“Shall we?”

Jaegyeom had thought Yoon Taehee had left, but apparently he had been waiting in the hallway.

Yoon Taehee began walking slowly.

Jaegyeom followed a step behind, watching his back.

“...Why did you wait?”

Jaegyeom asked quietly.

“I was worried you might get lost.”

The answer came from the man walking ahead, light as a joke.

“....”

Jaegyeom did not respond, and Yoon Taehee did not add anything more.

The sound of their shoes echoed down the empty hallway.

They walked in silence for a while.

Yoon Taehee stared straight ahead the whole time.

Unlike Jaegyeom, who was deliberately keeping his distance, he seemed calm, as though nothing had happened.

The only difference from usual was that he was strangely quiet today.

Jaegyeom also said nothing as he watched Yoon Taehee’s back.

It felt like there was a great deal to say.

Then again, perhaps there was nothing.

From behind, Yoon Taehee seemed to have a habit of walking with his posture slightly slouched. The outline of his shoulder blades showed faintly through the well-fitted shirt.

As they turned a corner in the hallway, Jaegyeom spoke.

“Where are we going?”

The seminar room was on the third floor of the annex. When Jaegyeom had come here with Kang Ibin, they had taken the elevator.

But instead of heading toward it, Yoon Taehee was opening the door to the emergency stairs beside it.

“I don’t take the elevator here.”

Yoon Taehee stopped with the door half open and looked back at Jaegyeom.

“You took one when we went shopping for clothes.”

“That was a department store. I don’t take them at headquarters.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Here, you end up getting to know people for no reason.”

In the hallway or lobby, plenty of people came and went, each headed somewhere else, so they passed by one another indifferently.

Inside an elevator, though, even strangers might make small talk or exchange greetings.

And at the moment, Yoon Taehee was not wearing a mask.

He did not want more people in the main building recognizing his bare face as “Yoon Taehee.” That was why he wore a mask inside headquarters.

“....”

Jaegyeom’s expression grew faintly complicated as he stared at him.

“What?”

Jaegyeom shook his head.

“If you want to take the elevator, go ahead.”

It sounded as if Taehee meant he would take the stairs alone.

Then why wait...?

Jaegyeom gestured that he was fine.

Yoon Taehee stepped in first and held the door open until Jaegyeom entered.

As Jaegyeom passed by him, a brief trace of perfume drifted through the air.

Once Jaegyeom was inside, Yoon Taehee let go of the door.

With a heavy thud, the metal door closed behind them.

The emergency stairwell was dim.

Yoon Taehee glanced at Jaegyeom, then slowly began descending the stairs.

Jaegyeom followed, one hand on the railing as he stepped down.

Their heels echoed far more hollowly here than they had in the hallway. The green glow of the emergency lights gave the place a secretive, eerie atmosphere.

They descended in silence.

Just as in the hallway, Jaegyeom followed a few steps behind Yoon Taehee, deliberately leaving distance between them.

They had gone down about one floor when Yoon Taehee spoke first.

“What did you and the Unit Head talk about?”

Jaegyeom’s steps paused.

The sudden meeting had ended more quickly than he expected.

He had thought Seok Juryeon might interrogate him because she had noticed something, or bring up the notice again.

But the conversation with her had been entirely unrelated to anything he feared.

“....”

After a brief silence, he answered.

“Nothing much.”

At the curt reply, Yoon Taehee was silent for a moment.

“Is that so...?”

He did not ask further and merely nodded.

Once again, only the sound of their heels filled the stairwell.

Just as the silence was about to deepen, Yoon Taehee spoke slowly.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing much.”

Yoon Taehee nodded again, as if he had nothing particular to say to that either.

“Is that so?”

In truth, Jaegyeom had just lied.

He had a lot on his mind.

His conversation with Seok Juryeon bothered him. So did the notice.

What had that notice been?

What was the connection between the Byeoksadan and Bangsangsi?

Why had Seok Juryeon ordered it destroyed?

What did it mean that Bangsangsi was returning?

And why was Yoon Taehee saying nothing at all?

“Hey.”

Jaegyeom suddenly spoke.

“Are you a sodomite?”

The impulsive question burst out like a sneeze.

“....”

Yoon Taehee, who had been walking down the stairs, stopped abruptly.

When he stopped, Jaegyeom stopped too.

Jaegyeom was standing on the landing between floors, while Yoon Taehee was a few steps below him.

The emergency stairwell, where even the smallest sound echoed loudly, turned eerily silent once their footsteps ceased.

It took a moment before Yoon Taehee spoke.

“Sodomite...”

He rolled the word around as if speaking to himself.

“Isn’t that a rather old-fashioned term?”

At last, he slowly turned around.

From a few steps away, his expression was difficult to read. His eyes were slightly narrowed, but he seemed faintly amused.

Jaegyeom narrowed his eyes at the response.

It sounded more like a joke than an answer.

But Jaegyeom had asked seriously.

Even if the word was old and people did not use it much anymore, Yoon Taehee, who had just fluently interpreted the Chinese characters on the notice, could not possibly be ignorant of its meaning.

Jaegyeom shot back sharply,

“Don’t play dumb when you know exactly what I mean.”

Yoon Taehee looked at him for a moment.

Then, suddenly, he clasped his hands behind his back.

He glanced around at the ceiling and walls, then began slowly climbing the stairs back up.

The sound of his shoes echoed.

As Yoon Taehee drew closer, Jaegyeom lowered his gaze without meaning to.

The nearer he came, the more the pressure from the night before returned.

All at once, Jaegyeom’s heart tightened, and his hands and feet went numb.

“....”

“....”

Finally, Yoon Taehee stopped one step below him and tilted his head slightly.

“You said you weren’t thinking about anything.”

His voice was soft.

“But were you thinking about me?”