Honbul: Flame of the Soul

It was eight in the evening, still early enough for headquarters to remain relatively quiet.

The Naja of the Exorcism Unit spent most of their time outside the office. When there were no dispatches, they usually handled paperwork or took care of miscellaneous tasks while waiting for the next call.

For the past few days, however, Lead Naja Kang had been spending that downtime playing Friends Pang.

“I’m taking first place today. Junhyung, prepare yourself.”

And it wasn’t just Kang Ibin.

The rest of Team 1 had become completely addicted too.

Recently, an unexpected Friends Pang craze had swept through the entire team, all thanks to the youngest member: Jaegyeom.

After learning the game from Im Hyomun, Jaegyeom had started relentlessly sending heart requests to everyone in Team 1.

At first, they laughed.

“What, is it really that fun?”

But before long, the reactions turned into:

“Wait, this is actually fun as hell. I haven’t played this in forever.”

And eventually the entire team fell into it together.

The game itself had already died out ages ago, but inside Team 1, it was experiencing a miraculous revival.

“Yes! New high score!”

At the moment, the top-ranked player in the office was Go Junhyung.

The instant Kang Ibin beat his score, she shot up from her chair cheering triumphantly.

“AHHH, NO!”

At the same time, Go Junhyung slammed both hands against the desk in despair.

One person’s joy was another person’s tragedy.

The team members fought vicious ranking battles every single day.

Only Jaegyeom and Yoon Taehee didn’t participate.

Jaegyeom permanently sat near the bottom of the rankings because he spent more time struggling against the game itself than competing with anyone, while Yoon Taehee simply didn’t play at all.

While Kang Ibin danced around celebrating her victory, the hand mirror on the desk suddenly began vibrating and glowing.

A summons from the chief’s office.

“Oh? Something big happen? It’s kinda early today.”

Kang Ibin glanced at the wall clock.

It was only seven o’clock.

Ghost activity usually peaked during the Hour of the Ox, between one and three in the morning.

For ordinary exorcism cases, the details and location would simply be sent through the hand mirror. But a direct summons to the chief’s office meant the case was either unusual or complicated.

“What is it?”

The team immediately crowded around once Kang Ibin returned from the chief’s office.

“You remember that suicide case from the news a few days ago?”

Kang Ibin clicked her tongue.

“Turns out it was caused by a ghost. Bastards.”

Recently, a string of suicides had become a major news story.

Someone had jumped from the rooftop of a building.

The reason it caused such a stir was because four people had leaped from the exact same location within a single month.

All the victims came from completely different backgrounds and regions. Their professions were different too, and there was no known connection between any of them.

“Then the last one survived.”

Unlike the previous four victims, who had died instantly, the most recent jumper survived with fractures after tree branches partially broke the fall.

A person jumping from the same rooftop every week.

It was bizarre enough that public attention exploded, but with no real leads, the police had ultimately classified the incidents as copycat suicides.

The Office of Narye reached a different conclusion after investigating.

A serial murder case caused by a malicious ghost.

The clue appeared in the rooftop CCTV footage.

When viewed through a Naja’s eyes, every victim shared one common detail:

Each had been wearing a thick ring on their finger.

But after every suicide, the ring had vanished before the bodies were recovered.

The Covert Division secretly approached the victims’ families and acquaintances to investigate further.

As expected, all of them said the same thing.

A few days before dying, the victims had picked up an expensive-looking ring somewhere on the street.

“The survivor said the same thing.”

According to the survivor, they had found the ring lying on the ground several days before jumping.

It looked obviously expensive at first glance, but more than that, it felt strangely mesmerizing. So they picked it up without thinking much about it.

Even though it initially looked too large, once they slipped it on, it fit perfectly.

After that, they wore it constantly.

Then the sleep paralysis started.

Nightmares followed.

And eventually, they began hearing whispers.

Jump.

Go Junhyung clicked his tongue after hearing the explanation.

“Wow. Textbook possession symptoms.”

“Exactly. One hundred percent.”

Kang Ibin nodded.

“That ring’s definitely haunted.”

“So what happened to it?”

“The survivor wasn’t gifted, but they weren’t completely clueless either. After they found the ring, they realized something was seriously wrong. So right after leaving the hospital, they sold it to a jewelry shop.”

The Covert Division rushed to the jewelry store afterward, but they arrived too late.

Someone had already bought it.

“Luckily, the sales records were still there, so they tracked down the buyer. They finally located the ring and now we need to retrieve it.”

The Naja had approached the buyer and even offered double what he paid for it.

He refused immediately.

Not only that, he displayed severe obsession and possessiveness toward the ring, a classic symptom of influence from a cursed object.

At this rate, he would almost certainly end up like the previous victims.

They needed to recover the ring before that happened.

“Who bought it?”

“Apparently a famous runway model.”

Go Junhyung gasped dramatically and covered his mouth.

“Oh my god. A model?”

The buyer was currently attending a private party for fashion industry insiders and VIPs.

The event was being held at a salon in Cheongdam-dong.

Since it was a private gathering, they couldn’t enter without invitations, and the mission required undercover infiltration.

That was why the assignment went to Kang Ibin, who originally came from the Covert Division.

Headquarters had already prepared forged invitations for them.

Because the target involved humans rather than ghosts—and because the location would be crowded—they couldn’t use field masks.

The ring needed to be recovered discreetly.

“So what about the team? Am I going alone?”

“No. I’m taking one person with me.”

Go Junhyung instantly shot his hand into the air, eyes sparkling.

“Me me me me! Take me!”

Kang Ibin looked at him with utter contempt.

“Shut up. I’m taking Jaegyeom.”

“Yes...”

Lately, whenever Kang Ibin went into the field, she always brought Jaegyeom along. She was trying to help him build a stronger performance record by giving him more practical opportunities.

“Alright then! Jaegyeom, go home and change first. I’ll pick you up after I change too.”

Kang Ibin checked the time.

“Hm... it’s eight now. Be outside by ten.”

Then she leaned toward Jaegyeom and whispered conspiratorially:

“Dress like a hipster so you won’t lose to the models, got it?”

“O...kay.”

Though he clearly had no idea what that meant, Jaegyeom nodded anyway.

***

When Jaegyeom arrived home much earlier than usual, Jeongju and Mesan greeted him excitedly.

“Huh? Why’re you back so early today?”

With his usual blank face, Jaegyeom explained the situation.

“I’m just stopping by. I have to head back out at ten.”

Mesan’s expression immediately fell.

“They told me to change clothes. Said I should dress like a hipster.”

As he loosened his tie, Jaegyeom repeated Kang Ibin’s exact words.

“Hmm? Hipster?”

Jeongju looked confused for a second before suddenly understanding.

“Ohhh.”

“But what’s a hipster?”

“It’s just... a thing. Come here. I’ll pick something out for you.”

Jeongju dragged him into the dressing room with alarming enthusiasm.

As expected of someone from the entertainment industry, the closet was enormous.

Jeongju pulled out armfuls of clothes, agonizing over combinations with complete seriousness as he laid outfits across the floor.

“No, not this one... definitely not this either...”

After a long internal battle, he finally began issuing instructions.

“Okay! Wear this underneath, these pants, then this jacket...”

Jaegyeom obediently changed.

The outfit Jeongju picked was a matching set, but it was difficult to pull off.

The white shirt and navy jacket were both intentionally oversized, several sizes larger than Jaegyeom normally wore. The sleeves hung so low they needed to be rolled up.

The top was long-sleeved, but the pants were shorts.

And instead of a tie, Jeongju wrapped a brightly patterned silk scarf around Jaegyeom’s neck and tied it loosely.

The moment he stepped back to look at the result, Jeongju looked deeply satisfied.

“Hey. What the hell is this?”

Jaegyeom frowned.

“I look ridiculous.”

“Perfect.”

Jeongju pointed at him immediately.

“That rebellious glare? Exactly the vibe we need.”

“So what the hell is a hipster?”

“Ah, just go with it. It’s a whole thing.”

Still dissatisfied, Jeongju rummaged through a drawer filled with hats before pulling out a baseball cap and dropping it onto Jaegyeom’s head.

Because Jaegyeom’s head was small, it sat slightly loose.

“This is it! Yes. Perfect.”

Beaming proudly, Jeongju admired his own styling work.

With his small face, long neck, and delicate jawline, Jaegyeom suited the cap absurdly well. Somehow, even the oversized suit ended up looking intentional on him.

“Aren’t these clothes too big?”

“That’s how you wear them.”

Too lazy to argue further, Jaegyeom gave up.

For shoes, he simply wore his usual battered Converse sneakers.

Since Kang Ibin said she would pick him up around ten, it was about time to leave.

As Jeongju and Mesan saw him off, Jaegyeom stepped outside—

Then froze.

The car parked in the alley was not Kang Ibin’s white sedan.

It was Yoon Taehee’s black sedan.

He recognized it immediately after seeing it so many times already.

Dressed in his usual black suit, Yoon Taehee sat casually against the hood while looking down at his phone.

The moment he noticed Jaegyeom, his gaze paused.

Then slowly traveled up and down the entire ridiculous hipster outfit.

He said nothing.

No casual hello. No teasing greeting like usual.

So Jaegyeom spoke first.

“Where’s Lead Naja Kang?”

What he really meant was:

Why are you here?

Yoon Taehee had disappeared from the office earlier. Tonight, he was supposed to be working the night shift, starting in the evening and finishing the next morning.

“...”

After a brief silence, Taehee finally answered in his usual calm tone.

“Her mother collapsed. She’s at the hospital right now.”

Jaegyeom’s eyes widened.

“What?”

“It’s not serious. They just want to monitor her for a day or so.”

Taehee slipped his phone into his pocket.

“She’s the only guardian available, so she went straight there after getting the call. I’m taking over the assignment instead.”

Without meaning to, Jaegyeom’s expression darkened.

The news about Kang Ibin’s mother bothered him more than expected.

At least it wasn’t serious.

That part was a relief.

Still...

Why did it have to be Yoon Taehee replacing her?

Being around him still made Jaegyeom uncomfortable.

And after the fight in the park—after he explicitly said he would never ride in Taehee’s car again—the situation felt especially irritating.

“Get in first.”

Reluctantly, Jaegyeom opened the passenger door.

Well. This was work.

He didn’t really have a choice.

He decided not to waste energy getting hung up on pointless things anymore.

He also chose not to ask why Taehee himself still wasn’t getting into the car.

Leaning lazily against the wall beside the alley, Yoon Taehee smoked a cigarette in silence for a while, pacing slowly back and forth.

Only after finishing it did he finally get into the driver’s seat.