Honbul: Flame of the Soul

When Yoon Taehee opened his eyes after briefly losing consciousness, he was surrounded by darkness.

No matter how many times he blinked, he couldn’t see a thing. Something seemed to be covering his eyes, like a cloth wrapped tight across them. His arms and legs were bound as well; no matter how much strength he put into them, his body wouldn’t move. The only thing he could move was his head.

Yoon Taehee was seated in a plush armchair.

Thick leather straps held his wrists and ankles in place. Relying only on touch to assess the situation, he twisted his wrists back and forth, trying to slip his hands free.

A sharp pain pricked near the bend of his elbow.

Just then, a voice sounded nearby.

“Struggling won’t do you any good, so don’t wear yourself out.”

The voice belonged to Kim Yekwon.

“What are you doing to me?”

Yoon Taehee asked, his voice still slurred from the anesthesia.

“We’re drawing your blood.”

Only then did Yoon Taehee realize there were needles in both his arms. When he focused on the sensations in his body, he could feel them clearly—the thick foreign objects piercing through his skin.

“Ah. No wonder I felt dizzy...”

As Yoon Taehee muttered with his head lowered, one of the men standing nearby came over and grabbed his chin. His mouth was forced open.

An unfamiliar liquid poured in.

Yoon Taehee coughed violently, choking on it.

It was the champagne they had served as a welcome drink, the one mixed with the spiritual-force suppressant. Apparently, they were making him drink it continuously so the effect wouldn’t wear off while they drew his blood.

“How much have you taken? I’d rather not die from blood loss.”

Yoon Taehee coughed lightly and asked Kim Yekwon in a low voice.

“And what exactly are you? Are you gifted?”

It was a question born of genuine curiosity.

The reason he had walked willingly into this trap was because he wanted to know whether there were people inside the organization who opposed the Office of Narye.

Kang Ibin had said the order came from the head of the Covert Division.

But there had been too many suspicious points in this case, and too many things that felt wrong. If this had been arranged internally, he needed to know who stood behind it—and why.

“No. I’m an ordinary person.”

Kim Yekwon gave a small shake of his head and added quietly,

“At least, I was born that way.”

“...What does that mean?”

Yoon Taehee tilted his head.

But Kim Yekwon didn’t answer. Instead, he took a piece of paper from his back pocket and pressed it against Yoon Taehee’s body.

Then he murmured something under his breath.

The paper suddenly burst into flame, burning to ash in an instant.

Kim Yekwon stared at Yoon Taehee with eyes full of wonder.

“This is incredible... You’re an even better vessel than I expected. They say the strongest gifted become Naja in the Exorcism Unit, and it seems that’s true. I’ve never seen such a strong reaction before. Haha. You may be the strongest gifted I’ve ever encountered.”

At Kim Yekwon’s words, Yoon Taehee gave a faint shake of his head.

“I don’t know about that. There’s someone stronger.”

“You’re more modest than you look.”

“No. It isn’t modesty. It’s self-awareness.”

Yoon Taehee chuckled softly and muttered to himself.

“Maybe that was true until a month or two ago. Not anymore.”

“Hm?”

“You wouldn’t know, but there’s someone much stronger than me...”

Yoon Taehee mumbled with his head lowered, then abruptly asked,

“Anyway, why are you drawing my blood?”

He coughed lightly, as if something had gone down the wrong way.

“Why, to grant you eternity.”

What?

Yoon Taehee lifted his head in surprise.

“Wait... what do you mean by that?”

Kim Yekwon laughed softly and answered in a gentle voice.

“They say a tiger leaves its skin when it dies, and a person leaves their name. But even names fade with time. You, however, are a very fortunate man. You will remain on this earth forever. You should be grateful. You’re going to become a vessel for the Teacher.”

Teacher?

Yoon Taehee frowned slightly at the incomprehensible words.

“Teacher...? Who is this teacher of yours?”

“A great being who has realized all the truths of the world.”

Kim Yekwon spread his arms wide and smiled radiantly.

“The Teacher’s soul never withers. But the physical body inevitably decays. The body is only a shell, after all. It wears out like any consumable thing. That is why the Teacher needs a new vessel. And to create one, we needed a powerful gifted as the sacrifice.”

His smile deepened.

“That would be you.”

Yoon Taehee instinctively tried to sit upright, but immediately groaned and sank back into the chair. The needles seemed to twist under his skin, and dizziness washed over him.

“Are you saying this teacher of yours achieved immortality?”

“That’s right.”

Yoon Taehee’s eyes widened beneath the cloth.

“How... How did your teacher become immortal?”

For the first time, after maintaining a calm and languid attitude until now, Yoon Taehee showed a clear reaction.

Kim Yekwon raised one eyebrow.

“Haha. You seem very surprised. Well, I’m sure it’s hard to believe.”

He nodded as though understanding and continued,

“It’s possible if you become part of the Teacher. Your body would return to dust when you die anyway, wouldn’t it? But if you become the Teacher’s vessel, you can live in this world forever together with them. You will never die. To be precise, you will become a part of the Teacher. It’s a tremendous honor.”

The reason Yoon Taehee had allowed himself to be captured by Kim Yekwon so easily was simple.

He had judged that it would be useful in many ways to appear as though he had fallen helplessly into a trap and suffered at Kim Yekwon’s hands.

He had asked to be treated roughly because he needed to look like someone who had been badly harmed.

The image Yoon Taehee wanted to create was that of himself as a loyal dog of the Office of Narye.

This incident would leave headquarters indebted to him. Later, when he stole the wooden tags, or when he acted as Byeoksadan, that debt would make it easier to avoid suspicion.

That had been his reason for staying here.

But he had never imagined he would hear about immortality in this place.

This was an unexpected gain.

There might be some connection between Jaegyeom’s immortality and the so-called Teacher’s eternal life.

“......”

For now, he forced down his agitation.

He needed to think. Calmly.

“A great being who has realized all the truths of the world...”

First, he had to draw out more information.

Yoon Taehee decided to provoke Kim Yekwon.

“Well, I don’t know who this teacher of yours is...”

Having regained his composure, Yoon Taehee smiled faintly and continued,

“But if they really understood all the truths of the world, I don’t think they’d cling to life through such underhanded methods.”

“......”

“Tell your teacher this. Stepping aside for the next generation is more virtuous than stubbornly clinging to life. Then again, even someone who has realized all the truths of the world might be ignorant when it comes to that.”

“Shut your mouth.”

Kim Yekwon, who had listened to everything with a magnanimous expression, suddenly hardened his face and slapped Yoon Taehee hard across the cheek.

His head snapped to the side.

The provocation worked even better than expected.

“Don’t you dare insult the Teacher!”

As if he had become an entirely different person, Kim Yekwon flew into a rage and slapped Yoon Taehee again and again.

After taking several blows in quick succession, Yoon Taehee slowly raised his head.

He sucked once at his split lip, tasting blood, then murmured quietly,

“I specifically told you not to touch my face...”

Judging by that almost allergic reaction to a single comment about the Teacher, Kim Yekwon didn’t seem like an ordinary human being either.

“I don’t understand why people never listen to warnings.”

Yoon Taehee muttered with his head lowered.

“Why do they do it? They’re going to regret it later...”

He didn’t know how long they had been drawing his blood, but he was approaching his limit.

His vision was already nothing but darkness, but now his head was spinning as well. Strength was draining steadily from his arms and legs.

Even while they talked, Kim Yekwon had continued checking the blood bags and replacing them at regular intervals.

The current bag—whatever number it was by now—was already more than half full.

It was time to judge the situation.

By now, headquarters should have received word that he was being held here. There was a chance they had already sent someone.

He needed to settle this before any Naja from the Office of Narye arrived.

No one could be allowed to learn what Yoon Taehee’s real weapon was.

The bracelet on his wrist.

From the beginning, he had let Kim Yekwon capture him with the intention of summoning an intelligent ghost.

Even with his spiritual force sealed, Yoon Taehee hadn’t been too worried because of the bracelet.

The problem was that with his wrists bound by leather straps, he couldn’t count the beads.

He would have to ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) summon someone at random, without choosing.

Ideally, it would be Paehyeon or Daga.

Those two would definitely be able to resolve the situation.

Afterward, he could hear more detailed information about the Teacher and immortality.

Of course, Kim Yekwon wouldn’t answer willingly if asked. But in that case, there were more aggressive ways to make him talk.

Just as Yoon Taehee was about to summon an intelligent ghost—

A call suddenly came through the radio at Kim Yekwon’s waist.

—Sir! We have a big problem! A really big problem!

At Chief Jung’s urgent voice, Kim Yekwon picked up the radio.

—On the first floor, the first floor... Some lunatic suddenly—

Crashes, shouts, and screams came through the radio in a chaotic jumble.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Catch him! Catch him!”

Whatever was happening, the disorder on the other end was unmistakable.

Kim Yekwon stared down at the radio with a puzzled expression at the sudden commotion.

—Don’t come any closer! What are you doing? Stop him!

“Chief Jung, what’s going on?”

Chief Jung explained in a terrified, trembling voice.

—Some lunatic just showed up... He’s bleeding like crazy...

“What? Who came?”

—Well... that is... you see...

At the words that followed, Yoon Taehee went still.

—Someone calling himself Bride... and demanding we return Fool...

Yoon Taehee froze.