Honbul: Flame of the Soul

“You fool, you fool. What a complete idiot.”

The sleek black snake flicked its tongue and let out a hissing laugh.

“Kekeke.”

“Where did you come from?”

“Who knows? I’ve been here from the beginning. Kekeke.”

The black snake slithered down the spirit’s body and coiled itself directly in front of Seonoh, as though making sure he could see it clearly.

“Why am I a fool?”

“Because you can’t even open that door. That’s why you’re an idiot. What a fool, seriously. Kekeke.” 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“No matter what I do, it won’t open. Grandpa put a talisman on it.”

“No, no. You never truly tried.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you don’t know how to use your power. Kekeke.”

My power?

Seonoh lowered his gaze to his own hands.

“What a waste of the mark of hometown. Such a terrible waste. Kekeke.”

“Hometown? ...What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You asked where I came from, but you don’t even know where you came from yourself. Goodness. Kekeke. What a fool, truly.”

Seonoh had no idea what the snake was talking about. Every time it flicked its tongue, a faint hiss slipped through its teeth.

“Hometown is nothing, and yet it’s everything. Kekeke.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

“It means hometown is everywhere and nowhere at all. Kekeke.”

The snake’s eyes were a vivid blood-red. Those tiny crimson eyes stared straight at Seonoh as the black snake slithered closer.

“Hometown is hometown. And you bear the mark of hometown.”

“...What does that mean?”

“It means hometown cherishes you. Kekeke!”

Seonoh blinked, bewildered.

“Think about it. Whenever you got angry, didn’t the stray ghosts tremble in fear? Didn’t they avoid getting close to you? Kekeke.”

“That’s true.”

“And whenever you wished for sunny weather, didn’t it happen eight times out of ten? Haven’t your instincts and premonitions always been strangely accurate?”

“...Yeah.”

“That’s proof you bear the mark of hometown. Those marked by hometown possess the power to command. That’s why they’re called the Ruler or the Namer.”

“The Ruler... the Namer....”

As Seonoh quietly repeated the words to himself, the snake burst into giggles.

“You really know nothing, do you? Kekeke.”

It laughed to itself for a while before suddenly making Seonoh an offer.

“Will you free me from here?”

“Free you?”

“Yes. If you free me, I’ll become your servant.”

“Servant?”

“It means I’ll follow you.”

Seonoh rubbed his eyes and fell silent for a moment.

He didn’t know where the snake had come from or what it really was, but he didn’t dislike talking to it. Elder Yoon rarely made sense when he spoke, and there was no point trying to converse with the stray ghosts. For Seonoh, trapped in a heap of filth and garbage, the only person he could even remotely call a companion was the social worker who occasionally visited.

But Elder Yoon hated seeing Seonoh talk to other people. After a few brief words with the social worker, Seonoh had been beaten badly enough to end up locked inside the shrine room like this.

Still, if it was just a snake inside the shrine, maybe it would be fine to talk to it now and then without Elder Yoon noticing. Even if he got caught, it probably wouldn’t matter. The snake wasn’t human.

“But I don’t know how to free you....”

“Don’t worry about that. You can definitely do it. Kekeke.”

The snake hissed as it carefully explained, step by step, how to release it from the shrine. Seonoh listened intently, nodding along.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

Following the snake’s instructions, Seonoh stood before the shamanic painting. He rummaged through a drawer until he found a blade sharp enough to use. After hesitating for a moment, he steeled himself and slowly sliced open his palm.

Blood immediately welled from the cut.

Seonoh clenched and unclenched his fist until his entire hand was slick with blood, then pressed his palm against the snake painted on the scroll as though stamping it with a seal.

“Good. Now focus on the sensation in your hand. Kekeke.”

Seonoh nodded and closed his eyes.

Following the snake’s instructions, he imagined the strokes of a character forming inside his mind. At some point, his lips moved unconsciously.

“Break.”

The instant the word left his mouth, a strange light burst from beneath the hand pressed against the painting. The candle flame flickered violently.

Seonoh stayed frozen for a long moment.

He had done exactly as instructed, but he couldn’t tell whether it had worked or not. Slowly, he lifted his hand.

The snake that had been painted on the scroll was gone without a trace.

As Seonoh stared at his palm in confusion—

“...Huh?”

A tiny black snake wriggled beneath his skin through the wound in his hand. Thin and slender, it slithered up and wrapped itself around his wrist.

“Kekeke! Just as I thought! This vessel is excellent, absolutely excellent! I like it!”

The snake embedded beneath his skin looked almost like a tattoo or a thin black bracelet.

Awestruck, Seonoh inhaled sharply.

He scratched lightly at his wrist with a fingernail, and the snake burst into laughter.

“What are you doing? That tickles! Kekeke!”

The snake laughed so hard it nearly lost its breath.

Slowly, Seonoh’s lips curled into a smile.

“What’s your name? I’m Seonoh... and my grandpa is Yoon Wonjoong.”

“Who knows? I don’t have a name. Call me whatever you want. You’re my master now. Kekeke.”

Seonoh looked down at the snake coiled around his wrist.

The black snake etched into his skin had faded slightly, like dried ink, but its eyes remained vividly red.

“Then from now on, your name is Sisi.”

“Sisi?”

“Because you make hissing sounds whenever you flick your tongue.”

“Alright. From now on, I’m your Sisi.”

Sisi quickly filled the emptiness inside Seonoh’s heart.

***

Sometimes Sisi wouldn’t answer even when called, and occasionally it would sleep for days without opening its eyes once. According to Sisi, the vessel was so comfortable that it kept getting sleepy.

Sisi was clever enough never to speak in front of Elder Yoon. It only talked after he left the house. Whatever Seonoh asked, Sisi always answered.

“Do you know how to make a barrier?”

That day, Seonoh was in an especially foul mood.

After Elder Yoon left, Seonoh sat reading through a dictionary, occasionally scribbling notes to himself as he studied. Then he looked up and saw the water ghost doodling all over one of his precious books.

The stray ghosts always copied whatever Seonoh did. This time was no different.

Sisi readily taught him how to create a barrier, and Seonoh, naturally quick to learn, managed to make a simple one after only a few attempts.

“Do you know what you did wrong?”

Seonoh deliberately kicked the ghost into a corner before /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ sealing it inside a tightly confined barrier.

Then he glared coldly at the other ghosts.

Terrified by the expression on his face, the ghosts shrank against the walls.

“Let... me... out....”

Trapped in a space barely larger than a square meter, the ghost repeatedly slammed itself against the barrier. Before long, it began whimpering that it hurt whenever its body touched the invisible wall.

“Answer... me....”

The foolish water ghost eventually exhausted itself from wandering in circles inside the cramped space and collapsed to the floor.

But by the next day, it would forget everything and drift around Seonoh again with the same vacant grin on its face.

So Seonoh felt no guilt whatsoever.

As the weather grew colder, Seonoh inevitably came down with another fever, just like every year.

Living in such filth, he always became violently ill whenever the seasons changed. This year was no different.

First came the chills, then the heat.

Soon his entire body was burning.

Eventually the fever climbed so high that he could barely breathe, and even his vision blurred.

When Elder Yoon returned home, he stared blankly at Seonoh lying in bed, then briefly pressed a hand to his forehead before laying a cold towel over it.

But the fever showed no sign of breaking.

Elder Yoon paced anxiously back and forth, unable to think of what to do.

He had never taken Seonoh to a hospital. He feared that “they” would take the boy away from him.

Besides, Seonoh had never been registered at birth. Officially, he did not exist. Even if they went to a hospital, he would never be able to receive treatment.

Eventually Elder Yoon muttered that he was going to buy medicine and left the house.

Alone in the cramped room, Seonoh sweated heavily and groaned weakly as he forced his eyes open.

The ghosts had gathered around him.

“Seonoh opened his eyes.”

“Seonoh opened his eyes.”

“Seonoh is sick.”

“Don’t be sick....”

The towel on his forehead had long since turned warm.

Seonoh desperately wished Elder Yoon would come back soon.

He didn’t even care whether the medicine worked or not. He just wanted him to return and place another cold towel on his forehead.

But strangely enough, before long, he felt something cold against his skin again.

Seonoh blinked slowly.

“...”

Only then did he realize what was touching his forehead.

The water ghost stood beside him with its hand pressed gently against his brow.

Seonoh shifted his gaze toward its face.

Its wet hair clung to its skin like tangled seaweed, eerie and unpleasant to look at.

The moment their eyes met, the ghost flinched and whispered quietly,

“I’m... sorry....”

Normally, Seonoh would get angry whenever the water ghost touched him.

The ghost must have expected that reaction this time too.

But right now, the cold dampness of its hand didn’t feel unpleasant at all.

It felt cool.

Comforting.

For the first time, the water ghost’s chill didn’t bother him.

Seonoh silently stared at the ghost standing before him.

Looking closer, he noticed patches of its skin had peeled away.

Only then did he remember.

In his anger, he had never removed the barrier.

Not even after several days had passed.

Ah...

The ghost had forced itself through the barrier over and over, like someone crawling through a thorn bush, until wounds covered its entire body.

And still, the ghost only smiled foolishly at him.

“...”

For the very first time, Seonoh understood what guilt felt like.