Honbul: Flame of the Soul

[I can’t use spiritual force...! I can’t use spiritual force!]

Jaegyeom and Yoon Taehee, who still hadn’t begun infiltrating, exchanged looks.

“Wait.”

The two moved into a corner and tried channeling spiritual force into their hands. Just as Kang Yibin had said, something seemed to be blocking it. The force simply wouldn’t come out.

Frowning, Jaegyeom muttered,

“This feels like back then. When I got tied up with ropes in the mountains...”

Taehee’s expression darkened slightly as he fell silent in thought.

Something was wrong.

He’d felt uneasy from the moment they entered the building. The entrance procedure had been suspiciously easy, yet the excessive number of security personnel created an oppressive tension. And now they couldn’t use spiritual force.

As he mentally retraced everything that had happened, a realization struck him.

There was another method capable of suppressing spiritual force besides binding someone with those ropes. Not long ago, the Ritual Implements Department had introduced a spray designed to temporarily paralyze spiritual force...

The welcome drinks.

Taehee narrowed his eyes.

He remembered the spiritual-force paralysis spray presented during the recent departmental briefing. It required no activation conditions, meaning even ordinary people could use it, and ingestion amplified its effects on the human body.

The only thing all three of them had consumed was the champagne.

Everything fell into place.

The dangers of misuse had been discussed extensively during the presentation. If Taehee’s instincts were right, then someone had smuggled the spray out of the Ritual Implements Department.

At the same time, another question surfaced.

The information they’d been given about this case was strangely sparse compared to Taehee’s usual assignments. Come to think of it, he still didn’t even know why the Covert Division operative had infiltrated this place in the first place.

Could someone inside the Office have orchestrated this deliberately?

“Manager Kang. Do you know who issued the operation order?”

[What? Ah... Chief Choi from the Covert Division requested support directly.]

Cases assigned to the Exorcism Unit normally came through either the situation room or direct orders from the head of the Exorcism Unit. But this operation had bypassed both the situation room and Seok Juryeon entirely and gone straight through the Covert Division.

Since Kang Yibin originally belonged to the Covert Division, communication with them was easier for her.

After a brief pause, Taehee spoke again.

“Does Department Head Seok know this case was transferred to us?”

[Chief Choi said he personally requested cooperation from Department Head Seok. He said it was urgent, so Department Head Seok verbally approved mobilizing the Exorcism Unit.]

“I see. Do you know who the missing Covert Division operative is?”

[Um... no. They said it was part of a confidential operation handled internally by them, and that a separate task force had been formed. They refused to share details because of security concerns.]

“Understood. Wait a moment.”

Taehee switched off the radio and immediately pulled out his phone. Finding Seok Juryeon’s private number in his call log, he raised the phone to his ear.

“It’s Taehee. Is it true Chief Choi formed a separate task force and requested support from the Exorcism Unit because one of his people disappeared?”

The instant the call connected, he got straight to the point.

— What? ...What are you talking about all of a sudden?

“I heard you authorized the order through Manager Kang.”

— Authorized what order for who?

“...”

Listening quietly /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ to her response, Taehee pressed his lips together.

Judging from Seok Juryeon’s reaction, she had no idea what he was talking about.

Without another word, Taehee ended the call. He fiddled absently with his tiepin radio, jaw tense.

“...Manager Kang, we’re changing the operation.”

His voice remained calm as he transmitted over the radio.

“We’re withdrawing. Return to the first floor immediately.”

After sending the instruction, Taehee checked the time with a tilt of his wrist, then pulled the car keys from inside his suit jacket and handed them to Jaegyeom.

Bewildered, Jaegyeom accepted them and stared at him.

“Stay here until Manager Kang comes back. If I don’t contact you within thirty minutes, return to headquarters with her.”

The moment Taehee turned to leave, Jaegyeom instinctively grabbed his wrist.

“Hey...! Where are you going? Take me with you.”

Taehee covered Jaegyeom’s hand with his own and shook his head.

“No. You can’t.”

“Why not?”

Taehee bit lightly against his lower lip and looked off into the distance for a moment.

Then he met Jaegyeom’s eyes. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

A faint smile touched his face as he whispered sweetly,

“This is a trap.”

***

Leaving Jaegyeom behind, Yoon Taehee headed for the men’s restroom.

After confirming nobody else was inside, he immediately removed his suit jacket. The expensive jacket disappeared into the trash without hesitation.

At the sink, he turned on the water and ran wet hands through his hair. Once his slicked-back bangs fell loose over his forehead, his cold, sharp appearance suddenly looked much younger.

Stepping back out into the hallway, Taehee casually checked the positions of the security cameras mounted on the ceiling.

Then he heard it.

The rattling sound of a serving cart being pushed from farther down the corridor.

As the sound drew closer, Taehee pressed himself against the wall near the corner and waited.

“Excuse me.”

The passing server looked up in surprise.

“Yes? How can I—”

Taehee drove his fist straight into the server’s stomach.

“Sorry.”

The server doubled over with a strangled gasp.

Taehee caught the collapsing body with one arm and dragged him into the restroom.

While the man struggled to breathe through violent coughing, Taehee stripped off his own tie and tightly bound the server’s wrists with it.

Without the tie around his neck, the emptiness there felt oddly uncomfortable. He removed the server’s bow tie instead and put it on himself. Then he took the nametag and earpiece as well.

Entering the final stall, where cleaning supplies were stored, Taehee grabbed a mop before leaving the restroom again.

He pulled the pager from his back pocket and began walking down the hallway with the mop dragging behind him.

The pager reacted the moment he reached the third floor.

The hallway leading toward the theater had an automatic door marked AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY blocking the entrance. Taehee pressed the stolen access card against the sensor.

Click.

The lock disengaged.

Beyond the automatic door, the pager screen lit up with a tracking response notification.

Taehee began opening each door in the hallway one by one.

Eventually he found what looked like a large storage room. The dim interior was packed with boxes and miscellaneous equipment. The tracker signal was growing stronger.

Scanning the dark, silent space, Taehee moved deeper inside.

Then he found another door.

The moment he opened it, bright light flooded into the storage area.

Beyond it lay a waiting room connected directly to the stage.

Frowning slightly, Taehee stepped out beneath the glaring stage lights.

At that exact moment, the pager in his hand vibrated.

Someone’s pager was here.

Standing alone on the stage while scanning the empty theater—

“Looking for this?”

A voice echoed from the darkness.

Taehee turned toward the audience seats.

Someone had been sitting alone in the unlit theater.

“...”

The man slowly rose to his feet.

He climbed the stairs to the stage and stopped in front of Taehee.

Though it was their first meeting, the face was familiar. Taehee had seen it earlier in the event pamphlet.

Kim Yekwon.

The owner of Yeum Art Center.

Kim Yekwon was a middle-aged man with a broad, generous-looking face and a loose-fitting suit. Smiling warmly, he waved something in his hand.

A hand mirror-shaped pager.

Presumably the missing Covert Division operative’s.

Chuckling cheerfully, Kim Yekwon asked,

“You’re a Naja, aren’t you?”

Under normal circumstances, the question would have made anyone tense.

But Taehee only looked at him blankly.

Meanwhile, Kim Yekwon was already reacting with open fascination.

“I wasn’t sure at first, but the rumors were true after all. A Naja really did come.”

“Well... I’m not entirely sure what you mean...”

Taehee deliberately trailed off, feigning innocence.

Kim Yekwon smiled pleasantly as he stepped closer—

“No need to get so nervous.”

He pulled a pen from inside his jacket.

In the next instant, he jammed a tranquilizer needle into Taehee’s neck.

It happened so fast it was almost impossible to follow.

Taehee staggered back a step, clutching at his throat.

“Chief Jung. A Naja really did show up. I just caught one, so cancel the event.”

Raising the radio clipped to his waist, Kim Yekwon calmly delivered the report.

Taehee swayed like a drunken man, pressing a hand against his forehead.

“So. Any last words?”

“I don’t understand why you’re doing this...”

Head bowed, Taehee mumbled weakly.

“But if you’re going to rough me up, go as hard as you want.”

“...What?”

“Just don’t hit my face.”

Taehee lifted blurry eyes toward him and let out a faint laugh.

“My face is all I’ve got.”

Then he collapsed.