Honbul: Flame of the Soul

“Unnie... don’t make Yeonok sad...”

Covering her face with her tiny hands, Yeonok pretended to sob dramatically.

The Leader silently sighed and crossed his arms, visibly exhausted by the act. At that moment, Paehyeon, who had been standing behind them, coldly reprimanded her.

“That’s enough. Stop acting like a child.”

Yeonok immediately froze.

Slowly lowering her hands, she glared up at Paehyeon with sharp, hostile eyes.

“Unnie Paehyeon... stop bullying Yeonok for no reason...”

Paehyeon narrowed his eyes and sneered down at her.

“And how exactly am I bullying you? Were you planning to show the Leader your little hellscape again?”

Yeonok, as an intelligent ghost, possessed the ability to make others hallucinate.

Paehyeon referred to the visions she created as “hellscapes.” Not because they literally depicted hell, but because they showed each person the most miserable fate imaginable to them. Naturally, every person’s hellscape differed.

The geomungo Yeonok carried on her back had been made from a paulownia tree on which countless people had hanged themselves over the centuries. Saturated with resentment and tragedy, the instrument produced sounds closer to wailing than music.

When Yeonok played, listeners were forced to witness scenes more horrific than nightmares.

If someone loved another person, they would see that loved one die.

If they desperately pursued something, they would watch themselves fail.

And if there was a memory they longed to forget, it would replay endlessly before their eyes.

“But at least admit Yeonok’s performance is heartbreakingly beautiful!”

“What exactly is beautiful about it? It’s horrifying.” 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Yeonok’s performances were beautiful, sorrowful, and psychologically devastating all at once.

“Come on now, don’t fight. Let’s all get along.”

Watching the two bicker, the Leader gently stepped in.

“No! Unnie Paehyeon started it by being mean to Yeonok first!”

“Don’t assume I’ll tolerate your insolence forever.”

Neither spirit looked remotely interested in backing down.

“Alright then... should I punish both of you together?”

The Leader raised one brow playfully as he spoke.

“...”

“...”

It was a mild warning.

Yeonok puffed out her cheeks in a sulk, while Paehyeon clicked his tongue and deliberately turned his eyes away from her.

“Leader-nim! Did everything go well?”

Taking advantage of the lull, Saero hurried over.

He spun around in place, proudly showing off his clothes.

“Look! I made this outfit myself. Isn’t it cool?”

The Leader chuckled softly and nodded.

“Yes. It’s pretty.”

“See? It totally suits unnie Saero!”

“As expected, Yeonok has excellent taste.”

“Let Yeonok try it on too!”

Unlike Paehyeon, Saero and Yeonok got along extremely well. Their personalities were both lively, eccentric, and equally allergic to Paehyeon’s stiff old-fashionedness.

“Can Yeonok even pull this off? This is my story!”

“Not ‘story.’ Style.”

Even after being corrected, Saero and Yeonok were already too busy squealing over whether she should try it on.

Paehyeon looked thoroughly displeased by the noisy commotion but ultimately chose not to interfere.

The Leader merely watched them with a faint smile before turning his attention toward the other side of the room.

“Hyungwoon, hello.”

The spirit called Hyungwoon was enormous.

With his massive frame, exposed chest beneath an open jacket, and bull-like build, he resembled either a bandit or some barbaric warlord.

“It’s been a while. Have you been we—”

“OHH! LEADER!! HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?!”

His booming voice exploded through the room like a train whistle.

The other spirits immediately grimaced and covered their ears. Even the Leader staggered slightly from the sheer force of it.

“Mhm. Yes... have you been well?”

“SLEPT WELL?! HAHAHA!! OF COURSE I HAVE!! SLEPT LIKE A BABY!!”

“...”

Hyungwoon’s hearing was terrible, which only made him speak even louder.

“LEADER!! I BREWED SOME NEW LIQUOR!! WANT A DRINK?!”

He pointed proudly at the liquor jar tucked beneath his arm.

“Another time.”

The Leader declined with a gentle smile.

“JUST ONE CUP!! YOU SHOULD AT LEAST TRY IT TODAY!!”

“Oh? I don’t see Daga. Where’s Daga?”

Before Hyungwoon could continue forcing the alcohol on him, the Leader smoothly changed the subject.

“DAGA JUST WENT OUT FOR A WALK!!”

After emptying his own drink in one gulp, Hyungwoon suddenly sprang to his feet.

“WAIT HERE!! I’LL GO GET HER!!”

Rather than personally leaving to fetch Daga, Hyungwoon untied a thick leather pouch hanging from his waist.

Inside was the leftover mash from brewing alcohol.

Scooping up a handful, he began kneading it with his enormous hands. The mash compressed together, gradually forming crude limbs.

“Kid. Go bring Daga back.”

The small doll made from mash wriggled to life and stood upright.

Hyungwoon, who loved brewing liquor, possessed the ability to turn leftover mash into temporary servants. After roughly half a day, they would dissolve back into the earth.

The little mash servant toddled off.

Not long afterward, a spirit with neatly braided hair appeared, her skirt fluttering softly as she approached.

“Daga, hello.”

“Leader... I’ve been waiting for you to call for me...”

The intelligent ghost called Daga smiled gently and lowered herself in a graceful curtsy.

“Last night, while thinking of you, Leader... I gazed up at the stars...”

“DAGA!! DID YOU ENJOY YOUR WALK?!”

Daga glanced toward Hyungwoon.

The moment their eyes met, she smiled shyly before leaning down to whisper something into Yeonok’s ear.

Yeonok nodded seriously, then trotted over and tugged on Hyungwoon’s sleeve.

“Hyungwoon unnie, Daga says if you speak to her one more time, she’ll kill you. She says if you value your life, don’t talk to her anymore.”

Not fully grasping the meaning, Hyungwoon blinked in confusion and looked toward Daga.

Still smiling sweetly, she raised a hand and slowly dragged a finger across her throat.

Only then did Hyungwoon understand.

He immediately turned tearful eyes toward the Leader.

Daga really never changed.

The Leader sighed heavily and pressed a hand to his forehead as though developing a headache.

Daga refused to speak directly to any man except the Leader. Whenever she needed to say something, she relayed it through Yeonok instead—and the contents were almost always vicious threats.

Although she was the quietest among Byeoksadan’s intelligent ghosts, she was also the cruelest with words. In terms of verbal brutality, she surpassed most common thugs.

“WHAT DID I EVEN DO WRONG?! WHY DOES DAGA HATE ME SO MUCH?!”

She especially despised Hyungwoon.

Despite his rough appearance, Hyungwoon was secretly delicate and absurdly easy to hurt, which meant he spent a surprising amount of time crying in private.

“Hyungwoon unnie, Daga says your ugly face disgusts her and she wants you to back up three steps before she burns off that filthy chest hair.”

And just like that, his eyes filled with tears again.

“And Saero unnie... Daga says your outfit today disgraces intelligent ghosts everywhere. She says even a rag would look better. Oh? Was I not supposed to say that part?”

Saero, who had been insulted out of nowhere, whipped around to glare at Daga.

“Daga! What did you just say? What’s wrong with my outfit—”

It was a complete communication disaster.

Daga had not actually intended to start a fight.

Awkwardly smiling, she reached into her skirt and pulled out an enormous butcher’s knife.

Holding it in both hands, she mimed opening and closing the blade.

The gap between the blades framed Saero perfectly.

Then—

SNAP.

The knife closed shut.

Saero abruptly stopped talking mid-sentence and blinked blankly.

“Uh...? What was I saying just now...?”

Daga smiled bashfully and waved her hand as if nothing had happened.

Saero tilted his head in confusion. Then, noticing the knife in her hand, his eyes widened.

“Daga, don’t tell me you— Why do you keep cutting people’s thoughts off like that?!”

Only then did he realize what had happened.

Daga possessed the ability to sever thoughts with her knife. If she trapped someone between the blades and snapped them shut, the person would suddenly lose ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) their train of thought entirely.

Whenever someone’s mind abruptly went blank, it meant Daga had cut their thoughts away.

“Leader, if your thoughts ever become too cluttered, please call for me.”

“Daga! Forget him and apologize to me right now.”

“Saero unnie, Daga says you should be grateful she only cut off your thoughts instead of your neck.”

“What? Are you serious right now? Is this how intelligent ghosts are supposed to treat each other?”

The room quickly dissolved into chaos as the spirits began arguing all over again.

The Leader had effectively been pushed into the background.

Watching the scene unfold, Paehyeon finally attempted to intervene.

“That’s enough. The Leader comes to see you after an entire month, and this is how you behave—”

But the spirits paid him no attention whatsoever, far too busy hurling complaints at one another.

As Paehyeon sighed deeply at the disaster before him—

“Alright. If everyone’s done... attention.”

The Leader, who had been leaning against the doorway with one hand in his pocket, snapped his fingers.

The room fell silent instantly.

Every spirit turned toward him.

Arms crossed, he looked at them calmly.

“An announcement. We’ll be relocating the pavilion next week.”

The atmosphere changed at once.

Moments earlier they had been bickering noisily, but now every spirit stared at him with cold, attentive eyes.

“The route leading here has been exposed. This place is no longer safe.”

His gaze swept across the room.

“Daga. Saero. Starting today, find a secluded mountain suitable for relocation as quickly as possible.”

“Yes. Understood.”

“And Hyungwoon, Yeonok—you’ll begin spreading new rumors.”

After a brief pause, the Leader spoke again.

“The master of the Office of Narye... the Bangsangsi... has returned.”