Honbul: Flame of the Soul

Yoon Taehee was such a secretive person that everything he did seemed loaded with hidden meaning. But this time, it really did seem like he had only stopped by because he was hungry.

At some point, he stopped talking altogether. Even when Im Hyomun tried to draw him into conversation, Taehee only answered quietly with things like, “Yes, that’s right,” or, “I suppose so.”

“I got called in, so I’ll head out first. Take your time eating.”

After finishing his meal in a hurry, Yoon Taehee wiped his mouth with a few napkins, tossed them into the trash bin beneath the table, and left the restaurant after a brief goodbye.

Only then did the tension finally ease. It hadn’t felt this uncomfortable before, but the moment Taehee left, it was like a weight had lifted off the room. Jaegyeom relaxed and finished the rest of his pork cutlet.

Once they were done eating, the two of them headed to the counter. Since they had invited him out, Im Hyomun pulled out his wallet to pay. The employee behind the register gave him an awkward smile and whispered something under her breath.

His eyes widened.

“What? The Chief already paid?”

Im Hyomun and Jaegyeom looked at each other.

“How much did he leave?”

The employee raised two fingers in a V sign.

“Two hundred thousand won?!”

Im Hyomun gasped and slapped a hand over his mouth. The pork cutlet sets had only cost ten thousand won each. According to the employee, Yoon Taehee had signed a check, handed it over, said a short, “Thank you for the meal,” and left without taking any change.

“...”

Jaegyeom’s expression turned slightly uncomfortable at the explanation. Looking flustered, Im Hyomun said he couldn’t possibly accept that and asked Jaegyeom to return everything except the actual meal cost. Jaegyeom refused immediately.

“Even if I give it back, he won’t take it.”

If someone had money to throw around, they would throw it around. Taehee paid because he wanted to. What was the point of making a fuss over it?

“Seventy-Seven, then at least tell the Chief we enjoyed the meal, okay?”

Im Hyomun repeated himself several times.

“Yeah. I got it.”

***

By the time Jaegyeom arrived at the lobby of the Office of Narye, he and Im Hyomun had already split up.

“Oh? You’re early today, Jaegyeom.”

After greeting the members of Team 1 of the Exorcism Unit, Jaegyeom took off his suit jacket and draped it over the back of his chair. Then he slipped off his shoes, pulled out the cat-print slippers he had tucked beneath his desk a few days earlier, and changed into them.

He straightened his desk for no reason in particular before pulling out his toothbrush set. The slippers and toothbrush were both things he had started bringing recently.

The members of Team 1 had a habit of rushing to brush their teeth the moment they got back from lunch, so Jaegyeom had naturally started doing the same. Since he had arrived early today, he figured he might as well brush now and headed for the restroom.

The men’s restroom on the same floor as the office was empty.

Standing in front of the sink, he stared at himself in the mirror while brushing his teeth. Just as he finished rinsing out his mouth, the door reflected in the mirror swung open and Yoon Taehee walked in quietly.

Startled, Jaegyeom coughed and nearly choked on the water still in his throat.

Seriously, why the hell did this man keep appearing everywhere today?

Yoon Taehee rolled up his sleeves, draped his tie over one shoulder, and washed his hands.

“Did you enjoy your meal?”

He asked it casually as he passed by.

“...Yeah.”

After finishing up, Jaegyeom shook the remaining water from his toothbrush. At that moment, a hand suddenly reached toward his head.

Startled, he instinctively flinched and hunched his shoulders.

“...”

Yoon Taehee paused for a second before naturally extending his arm farther to grab a paper towel instead. Without another word, he turned and headed for the door.

“Hey.”

Jaegyeom called out just as he was about to leave.

Taehee turned his head.

Their eyes met in the mirror.

Jaegyeom quickly looked away and wiped the water from his hands against his shirt before speaking in an even tone.

“Im Hyomun told me to thank you.”

Yoon Taehee paused by the doorway, ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ lowering his arm before slipping both hands into his pockets. The tip of his shoe tapped lightly against the floor, as though he were following some silent rhythm.

After staring down at his feet for a moment, carefully choosing his words, he spoke quietly.

“I thought you hated Naja enough to shake with anger whenever you saw them.”

Jaegyeom turned to look at him directly this time instead of through the mirror.

“But you left early to watch a movie with him and have lunch together. That’s unexpected.”

Yoon Taehee smiled faintly and walked closer.

“Why? No matter how I look at it, one pawn doesn’t seem like enough for you.”

The wide restroom fell silent.

Jaegyeom looked up at him without saying a word.

Standing only a step away, Yoon Taehee lowered his voice to a whisper.

“So what? Are you planning to drag Im Hyomun into it too?”

Jaegyeom stayed silent for a long moment before answering blankly,

“Stop making such a big deal out of eating together once or twice. You’re the one who told me to adapt to life at headquarters.”

“I told you to adapt to life at headquarters. I never told you to sneak around behind my back.”

Yoon Taehee was the kindest person Jaegyeom had ever met.

That alone was irritating enough, but what was even more absurd was that someone so kind also knew better than anyone else exactly how to say the cruelest possible thing.

“So what exactly are you trying to say?”

Jaegyeom’s eyes turned cold.

“I didn’t expect you to be this obedient when I told you not to trust anyone.”

“So now I have to report every little thing to you? Where I go, who I meet?”

“It’s funny. Things that are impossibly difficult for some people come so easily to others.”

Yoon Taehee laughed softly.

“You really know how to ruin someone’s mood.”

He reached out and hooked a finger beneath Jaegyeom’s chin, forcing his face upward.

The gesture was arrogant. Rude.

Jaegyeom looked down at him with his chin tilted up against his will. The expressionless look he had been maintaining finally cracked.

“...I told you not to cross the line.”

He slapped Taehee’s hand away.

“If you have something to say, quit talking in circles and say it plainly.”

“I’m telling you to learn how to separate work from personal matters.”

“You should worry about yourself first. I’m already doing that.”

Jaegyeom looked him straight in the eyes and spoke flatly.

“If I couldn’t separate the two, you’d already be fucked.”

“...”

Yoon Taehee stared at him silently for a moment.

Then he tilted his head and kissed him.

The sudden pressure of lips against his own startled Jaegyeom, and he instinctively jerked back. But Taehee followed him, pinning him against the wall.

When their lips finally parted, the wet sound echoed shamelessly through the empty restroom.

“...”

Their noses nearly brushed.

Their eyes met at point-blank range.

“Hit me.”

The provocation was shameless.

Jaegyeom squeezed his eyes shut.

Right. Of course.

This kiss was the same thing as a slap across the face. This was Yoon Taehee’s way of hurting him. Humiliating him. Another move in their fight. Just as Jaegyeom struck him with his hands, this was Taehee’s way of striking back.

Suddenly, a line from the strategist in the movie he had watched earlier drifted through his head.

Winning a hundred battles is not as good as winning without a fight.

“No. I’m not hitting you.”

Yoon Taehee faltered for the first time.

“Like you said, this isn’t anything special.”

Jaegyeom slowly let out a long breath, careful not to let the faint tremor mixed into it show.

“Do you think you’re someone special to me?”

He slowly raised his eyes.

“Don’t flatter yourself. You’re nothing to me.”

There was no answer.

Jaegyeom remembered what Im Hyomun had said earlier and hoped that, to Taehee, he looked just as indifferent as Taehee looked to him.

“You said it yourself. As long as we each do our jobs, everything will be fine.”

His gaze sharpened like the tip of a spear.

“You’ll get what you want. I’ll get what I want. I’ll steal the wooden tag and return your name to you. That’s all this is.”

His eyes pierced straight through Yoon Taehee.

“So from now on, I don’t care what you do.”

With that, Jaegyeom opened the restroom door and walked out.

He never hit Yoon Taehee in the end.

“...”

Time seemed to freeze.

Heavy silence settled over the empty restroom.

Still standing there, Yoon Taehee slowly lifted a hand after a long while and brushed his fingers across his cheek.

Then he turned on the faucet.

The rush of running water rang loudly in the silence. As he held his hands beneath it, the single stream split into countless smaller currents and flowed endlessly away.

He raised his head.

His reflection met his eyes in the mirror. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Only then did he realize he had returned to the exact same place again.

He had thought he’d already left it behind long ago, but before he knew it, he was standing there once more.

It was a dead end.

A massive wall blocked the road ahead. A path he could never walk.

And if he wanted to move forward, he could never come back here again.

For the past ten years, Yoon Taehee had never once lost his sense of direction.

His goals had always been clear. The answers had always been fixed from the beginning. He always knew exactly what he needed to do and exactly what he was capable of doing.

That still hadn’t changed.

Even now, he knew where he needed to go.

And yet—

He was lost.