Honbul: Flame of the Soul

And so, they entered the mountain.

Chairman Jang firmly believed that Master Yeohye would never have recommended someone falsely. If the old shaman had introduced them to this place, then there had to be a reason.

The exhausting climb resumed.

After ascending for some time, Chairman Jang—following behind Chief Kim—suddenly stopped in place.

He had heard something.

A strange sound drifted faintly through the forest.

Someone humming.

Soft.

Low.

Almost like singing.

At first, he thought it might be coming from Chief Kim ahead of him.

“Chief Kim.”

The secretary turned around, breathing heavily from the climb.

At that moment, a chill ran down Chairman Jang’s spine.

Chief Kim’s lips were completely still.

Yet the humming continued.

Chairman Jang slowly looked around before raising a hand toward his ear.

“...Do you hear that?”

Only then did Chief Kim seem to notice it. Confusion spread across his face.

“...There’s someone here?”

He raised his voice cautiously.

“Hello?”

No answer came back.

Chief Kim stood frozen for a moment before carefully searching for the source of the sound. Eventually, his gaze locked onto a particular patch of brush.

Chairman Jang silently gestured with his eyes.

Chief Kim swallowed dryly and moved toward the sound.

The deeper he pushed through the overgrowth, the louder the humming became. Tension tightened in his throat.

If you climb that mountain, you may see things that do not exist. You may hear strange sounds. Ignore them.

But if you do encounter someone, look at their feet first.

If there is a shadow, they are human.

If there is no shadow, they are a ghost.

Even if there is no shadow, do not panic. Pretend you saw nothing and forget it.

The source of the humming was directly ahead now.

Chief Kim reached out with trembling hands and carefully parted the dense brush, like pulling back a curtain.

The first thing he saw was someone’s back.

A tall man.

Chief Kim licked his dry lips and examined him closely.

The man wore a baseball cap pulled low over his face and a navy tracksuit with three white stripes running down the shoulders.

Relief escaped him involuntarily.

He’d feared it might not be human.

But there was a perfectly ordinary shadow beneath the man’s feet.

And judging by the large headphones hanging /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ over his cap, the humming had simply been music leaking from them.

The man was busy gathering something into a worn black plastic bag.

Chief Kim’s expression brightened slightly.

Getting lost out here only to find another person felt almost miraculous.

“Excuse me.”

He approached cautiously and spoke.

The man didn’t react.

As Chief Kim got closer, he could faintly hear music playing through the headphones. After hesitating briefly, he carefully tapped the man on the shoulder.

The man startled violently and spun around with wide eyes. Pulling off the headphones, he let them hang around his neck.

“...Yeah?”

Up close, he looked fairly young.

“Sorry, could we ask you something?”

The young man blinked between Chief Kim and Chairman Jang before nodding slowly.

“Sure.”

At that moment, Chairman Jang spoke from behind them.

“What are you doing here?”

His voice carried open suspicion.

A young man alone in a deserted mountain on a weekday afternoon naturally seemed questionable. Chairman Jang immediately wondered whether he might be some kind of reporter or photographer.

Despite the rude tone, however, the young man didn’t seem offended.

“Ah.”

He lifted the plastic bag slightly.

“I’m gathering hazelnuts.”

“...Hazelnuts?”

Chairman Jang exchanged a look with Chief Kim.

“I’m raising a squirrel. It likes them.”

“...I see.”

Chief Kim forced a smile.

“That’s... unusual.”

Then he added casually,

“You must live nearby.”

“Yes.”

The young man nodded easily before tilting his head.

“What about you two? Hiking?”

At the question, Chairman Jang instinctively lowered the brim of his hat further over his face.

Fortunately, they were dressed like ordinary hikers.

If rumors spread about the chairman of Sekang Corporation wandering around a remote mountain, it would become troublesome.

“Yes, someone recommended this place because the air was supposed to be nice.”

Chief Kim smoothly stepped in front of Chairman Jang with a bright smile.

Although the excuse sounded plausible enough, the young man only looked more puzzled.

“Really? That’s strange. Even locals rarely come here.”

He glanced around the forest.

“The hiking trails aren’t developed at all, so it’s dangerous. If you get lost up here, it becomes a real problem since there’s no phone signal.”

Chief Kim suppressed an irritated click of his tongue.

The kid talked too much.

“Ah, I see. Haha. Thanks for the warning.”

He hurriedly changed the subject.

“We came because we dislike crowded mountains, but yeah, it’s definitely rough without proper trails.”

Then, sounding as casual as possible, he asked,

“By the way... is there somewhere nearby where we could rest for a bit? Maybe a spring or something?”

“A spring?”

The young man immediately pointed uphill.

“Yeah. If you keep going that way along the slope, you’ll find one pretty quickly.”

Relieved, Chief Kim bowed repeatedly in thanks.

As the two men began turning toward the indicated direction, the young man suddenly called after them.

“Um, excuse me...”

Both men froze.

“...You wouldn’t happen to be Chairman Jang Pilyoung of Sekang Corporation, would you?”

“....”

“....”

Chief Kim slowly turned back while suppressing his irritation.

“You must be mistaken.”

The young man blinked.

“You just looked familiar. I thought maybe I’d seen you on TV—”

“You’re mistaken.”

Chief Kim cut him off with a stiff smile.

At that moment, Chairman Jang stepped forward.

“Chief Kim.”

Understanding the signal immediately, the secretary fell silent despite biting back his anger.

Chairman Jang approached the young man directly. Then, without a word, he pulled Chief Kim’s wallet from the secretary’s back pocket and removed a thick stack of bills.

“Now that I think about it, a verbal thank-you feels insufficient.”

The young man’s eyes widened at the sight of the money.

“Huh? No, that’s really not necessary—”

“Young people work hard these days.”

Ignoring the refusal, Chairman Jang pressed the cash firmly into the young man’s hand.

“The economy’s difficult. Use it for pocket money.”

Then he gripped the young man’s hand tightly.

“And it’s better not to speak carelessly.”

The young man stared down blankly at their clasped hands before slowly raising his eyes.

Chairman Jang’s cold stare bore directly into him.

The warning was unmistakable.

“....”

Despite his age, Chairman Jang’s grip was crushingly strong. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Silence settled heavily over the mountain.

Only after several long seconds did Chairman Jang finally release him.

“Then we’ll be going.”

The young man nodded stiffly, still looking somewhat stunned.

“...Yes. Be careful.”

***

Following the direction the young man had indicated, the two men soon discovered exactly what he had described.

An abandoned spring.

And behind it—just as Master Yeohye had said—a rusted old well.

If you find the well, then you’ve arrived.

Pick up a pine cone nearby. Wrap this talisman tightly around it and throw it into the well.

If you hear it hit bottom, clap your hands together and recite the incantation.

Recalling the old shaman’s instructions, Chief Kim clasped his hands together nervously.

“Guide our steps, where no traveler’s feet have walked.”

Then they waited.

According to Master Yeohye, someone was supposed to come meet them.

But nothing happened.

Just as Chairman Jang and Chief Kim began peering uneasily into the well, wondering whether they had done something wrong, a voice suddenly spoke behind them.

“Hello.”

Both men flinched violently and spun around.

A child wearing colorful traditional robes sat atop a rusted iron pipe nearby.

Chief Kim instinctively looked toward the child’s feet.

The color drained from his face.

No shadow.

Not human.

The child smiled brightly.

“Please follow me.”

Then the child lightly hopped down and beckoned them forward.

Chairman Jang and Chief Kim exchanged stunned looks. Even seeing it with their own eyes, it still felt impossible to believe.

“The road ahead will be rough.”

The child’s expression suddenly grew serious.

“Do not let your eyes wander.”

With that warning, the child immediately turned and began walking.

Despite looking no older than a small child, the pace was astonishingly fast. Chairman Jang and Chief Kim struggled desperately just to keep up.

The mountain terrain became increasingly brutal.

From below, the mountain hadn’t seemed particularly high. Yet the deeper they climbed, the steeper and harsher the landscape became.

Then suddenly, the child stopped.

“We’ve arrived.”

Before them stood nothing but a massive rock wall.

Chief Kim blinked blankly.

This was it?

The child turned toward them.

“Look into my eyes.”

Almost as though hypnotized, both men obeyed automatically.

The child blinked three times in slow succession.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

“What do you see now?”

Their faces immediately turned pale.

Where the bare rock wall had stood moments earlier, there was now an enormous old traditional house.

Ancient.

Silent.

Hidden within the mountain itself.

“Knock on the door and someone will answer.”

The child bowed politely.

“It was nice meeting you. Take care.”

Then the child turned and ran off.

Straight toward a cliff.

“Wait—!”

Before either man could stop it, the child leaped cleanly over the edge.

Chief Kim clamped a trembling hand over his mouth.

“....”

“....”

After enduring the entire brutal climb, his legs finally gave out beneath him.

He collapsed to the ground.

This can’t be real.

Is this truly the same world I’ve lived in all my life?