Honbul: Flame of the Soul

After the presentation ended, the attendees gradually filtered out of the conference room. Jaegyeom, Yoon Taehee, and the rest of Team 1 stepped out into the hallway as well, chatting lightly about the showcase while they walked.

Then a voice suddenly called out from the opposite end of the corridor.

“Hey. You annoying Exorcism Unit bastards.”

The members of Team 1 turned around all at once.

The instant Jaegyeom saw who it was, his expression hardened. Meanwhile, the others greeted the man cheerfully.

“Oh? Chief Lee.”

“Hello, Chief!”

The person calling out to Yoon Taehee was Lee Youngshin, chief of Team 1 of the Ritual Implements Department. One of the few people known to stay in regular contact with Chief Yoon, he was also fairly familiar with the members of Team 1.

After being reprimanded by upper management for collecting materials without authorization and suffering backlash as a result, Lee Youngshin had only returned to work a few days ago after serving a month-long suspension.

“Wow, it’s been a while, huh, Yibin? Junhyung too. You guys doing okay?”

As Team 1 exchanged greetings with Lee Youngshin, Yoon Taehee quietly shifted his gaze toward Jaegyeom beside him.

It had been nearly a month since Jaegyeom last saw Lee Youngshin.

His face revealed nothing.

“Anyway, today was Jonghoon’s first time leading the presentation. He even took calming medication beforehand. Thanks to you people, though, our department’s basically holding a funeral now. Damn Exorcism Unit punks.”

Lee Youngshin grumbled theatrically as he squinted at Taehee with mock resentment.

Then his eyes slid sideways and landed on Jaegyeom.

“And who’s this? Don’t think I’ve seen him before.”

At that, # Nоvеlight # Yoon Taehee rested a hand lightly on Jaegyeom’s shoulder before glancing at the others.

“You guys go on ahead. I’ll catch up.”

Once Team 1 left, the hallway became noticeably quieter.

Only Yoon Taehee, Lee Youngshin, and Jaegyeom remained.

“He’s the new member on our team. Still a probationary Naja.”

Taehee had briefly considered sending Jaegyeom away as well, but since Youngshin clearly did not remember him, it seemed cleaner to at least make a formal introduction once.

“Oh! Is this the one you mentioned before? You said he was a pain in the ass to recruit because his personality was so vicious. Guess you finally managed to tame him, huh? Your team’s always understaffed too. Must be nice finally having room to breathe.”

One of Taehee’s eyebrows twitched faintly before settling back into place.

He subtly checked Jaegyeom’s reaction.

But Jaegyeom merely stared at the floor without changing expression.

“...How’s your condition?”

Taehee smoothly redirected the topic elsewhere.

“Don’t even ask. I still wake up in pain in the middle of the night.”

Lee Youngshin was clearly still suffering aftereffects.

Even after a month of purification treatments from the Purification Unit, he had not fully recovered. The left side of his body still lacked sensation, so he had to visit for treatment every other day while enduring the sideways glances of the Purification Unit Naja.

“Oh, right. Your new kid’s become pretty famous too. Heard he got a gold pass during the exam. When was the last gold pass before this? Yours?”

Lee Youngshin openly looked Jaegyeom over with interest.

Apparently curious about the recruit personally brought in by Yoon Taehee, he kept glancing at him with fascinated eyes.

“But what’s with this kid? He’s tiny, but he’s got no manners at all, huh?”

Then, grinning suddenly, he spoke directly to Jaegyeom.

“Hey, kid. Let’s hear your rank and name.”

It sounded playful enough, but Taehee immediately interjected.

“...Youngshin.”

A trace of irritation flickered briefly across his brow.

“What? Didn’t you teach him how to introduce himself?”

Completely oblivious to the warning, Lee Youngshin remained easygoing.

“Come on. Hurry up. Rank and name.”

Urged again, Jaegyeom reluctantly opened his mouth.

His eyes remained lowered toward the floor.

“Exorcism Unit, Team 1... Probationary Naja Kim Jaegyeom.”

The moment he heard it, Yoon Taehee briefly paused and looked at Jaegyeom in surprise.

Meanwhile, Lee Youngshin grinned in satisfaction.

“Well then, this big brother here is Lee Youngshin, chief of Team 1 of the Ritual Implements Department. If the Exorcism Unit doesn’t suit you after your probation period ends, come over to our side. We’d gladly take a gold pass recruit.”

Lee Youngshin reached out casually, intending to ruffle Jaegyeom’s hair.

But the instant his hand touched him—

SMACK.

Jaegyeom slapped it away.

Then he lifted his head and stared directly into Lee Youngshin’s eyes.

The hostility there was so sharp and intense that Lee Youngshin instinctively faltered.

“You...”

His expression hardened immediately as he took half a step back.

“Ah, Youngshin. Be understanding.”

At that moment, Yoon Taehee stepped smoothly between them.

His broad hand blocked Jaegyeom’s line of sight before gently sliding over his forehead, through his hair, and down the back of his neck.

“Our youngest is a little prickly. And something unpleasant happened earlier today.”

The hand brushing down his neck squeezed lightly twice before pulling away.

It felt almost like reassurance. Like a signal telling him to calm down.

At the same time, it erased the lingering sensation of Lee Youngshin’s hand touching him.

The sharp hostility in Jaegyeom’s gaze gradually faded as he lowered his eyes again.

“...”

Until Lee Youngshin touched him, Jaegyeom had barely been holding himself together.

The instant it happened, heat surged violently through him.

If circumstances allowed it, he wanted to beat Lee Youngshin to death right there in the hallway.

But this was headquarters.

Yoon Taehee stood beside him.

And Lee Youngshin remembered nothing from the mountains.

“Uh... right. Sure...”

Lee Youngshin awkwardly nodded, still shaken by the strange atmosphere.

What the hell was that?

For a moment, he had genuinely felt killing intent.

Taehee had mentioned the kid had a vicious personality, but...

Was this what he meant?

“Well, I’ve got work to do, so I’ll get going first. Take care of yourself.”

With that, Taehee casually wrapped an arm around Jaegyeom’s shoulders and turned away.

But as the two of them walked off, Lee Youngshin suddenly called after them.

“Hey, wait.”

Both Taehee and Jaegyeom stopped.

“Kid. Have we met somewhere before?”

“That can’t be true. Why?”

Yoon Taehee looked back at him with an expression that said he was talking nonsense.

“Oh... no, maybe not. Weird, though. He looks really familiar.”

Lee Youngshin scratched the back of his head with a puzzled smile.

Taehee simply chuckled softly without answering and resumed walking after giving a brief farewell.

“...”

Left alone in the hallway, Lee Youngshin lingered there for quite some time.

“What is this...? I swear I’ve seen him somewhere before...”

He tilted his head, unable to shake the feeling.

***

After seeing Lee Youngshin, Jaegyeom’s mood had soured completely.

Noticing that, Yoon Taehee brought him outside the main building, sat him in the passenger seat, and started the car.

“You handled yourself well.”

The black sedan glided smoothly down the road beneath the evening sunset.

“Even if he seems sloppy, Youngshin’s still a chief. He’s not an ordinary Naja. He’s sharper than he looks, so it’s better not to get involved with him unless necessary.”

“...”

After speaking, Taehee glanced sideways at Jaegyeom.

Jaegyeom remained silent, his expression still faintly sullen.

“Are you that upset?”

As he asked, Taehee lowered the passenger-side window halfway.

Cool wind flowed into the car, ruffling Jaegyeom’s short bangs.

“...”

The truth was, Jaegyeom’s silence had less to do with Lee Youngshin and more to do with being alone with Yoon Taehee.

“I’m not upset.”

After a long pause, he answered stiffly.

“So where are we going?”

“To eat.”

Jaegyeom, who had been staring straight ahead, finally turned toward him. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“I told you already. I ate dinner.”

“I know. Who’d you eat with?”

“Kang Ibin.”

A brief silence followed.

Taehee tapped the steering wheel lightly with his fingers before speaking again.

“Then I’ll eat alone. You can sit there and watch me.”

Jaegyeom fell silent for a moment before glancing at the dashboard clock.

“You should’ve told me earlier, then. Kang Ibin gave me work to do.”

Still staring out the window, he added sulkily:

“What if she gets mad because I disappeared without saying anything?”

“Tell her the Chief tempted you away.”

Without even blinking, Taehee answered while keeping his eyes on the road.

“Tell her the Chief got down on his knees and begged you to come eat with him.”

“...”

“And that he said he’d throw himself into traffic if you refused dinner.”

“...”

“Go ahead. Tell her exactly that.”

The sheer absurdity of it left Jaegyeom speechless for a moment.

Before, he would’ve dismissed it as one of Taehee’s usual ridiculous jokes.

But now—

Now he did not know how to respond anymore.

Worse, his pulse had started speeding up again for no reason.

Unable to think of a comeback, Jaegyeom stared straight ahead and finally muttered awkwardly,

“S-Stop talking nonsense.”

At that, Yoon Taehee laughed softly and pressed down harder on the accelerator.

“Right. I’m talking nonsense.”

The black sedan surged forward with a low roar.