Honbul: Flame of the Soul

After confirming that Kim Yekwon’s pulse had stopped, Yoon Taehee slowly stood.

“Ah, fuck...”

After cursing under his breath, he remained standing there for a long while.

Kim Yekwon was dead.

And the unidentified parasite that had emerged from his body had escaped.

There was nothing more he could do here for now.

Yoon Taehee set the sword aside and walked toward the collapsed Jaegyeom.

Every step made him dizzy from blood loss. His broken ribs stabbed sharply beneath his chest.

“Jaegyeom.”

He looked down at Jaegyeom, who lay motionless, bleeding quietly with an oddly peaceful expression.

When Yoon Taehee lifted him into his arms, the limp body settled easily against him.

Lowering his head, Yoon Taehee pressed his cheek gently against Jaegyeom’s.

Pity overwhelmed him so fiercely that his breath caught. It felt as though the ground beneath his feet were collapsing away.

Every drop of blood Jaegyeom shed felt unbearably precious.

If he could, he wanted to lap up every drop spilling from him like a dog.

Even knowing Jaegyeom would not die, his heart still ached strangely.

Warm breath brushed faintly against his cheek.

Yoon Taehee loosened the necktie around Jaegyeom’s throat. Then he grabbed the slashed wrist and tightly wound the tie around Jaegyeom’s forearm as a makeshift tourniquet.

It was the best he could do for now.

At the very least, he needed to slow the bleeding.

After tightening the tie, Yoon Taehee suddenly paused.

You’re not... you’re not human...

Kim Yekwon’s words resurfaced in his mind.

Ghosts lose their spiritual force the moment the spray touches them. Humans, however, are only affected if they inhale or ingest it directly. Getting a little on their skin does nothing.

That was what the Naja from the Ritual Implements Department had said.

Jaegyeom was human.

So the spray should not have affected him.

And yet—

The moment Kim Yekwon sprayed him, Jaegyeom’s rampage had stopped instantly. The red spiritual force surrounding him had vanished all at once, and he had collapsed immediately afterward.

Then why...

Yoon Taehee stared down silently at Jaegyeom.

Then—

“....”

He pressed a soft kiss to Jaegyeom’s forehead and whispered quietly.

“Let’s go home.”

Cradling Jaegyeom in his arms, Yoon Taehee staggered out of the ruined hallway.

***

Jaegyeom was walking through darkness.

In the distance, he saw Myojeong’s back.

Broad shoulders. A sturdy frame. Robes fluttering in the wind.

Jaegyeom slowly looked down at the knife in his hand.

Myojeong.

The moment he called out, Myojeong turned around.

Their eyes met.

Myojeong smiled gently.

Without hesitation, Jaegyeom drove the knife into him.

He had achieved the revenge he had dreamed of for so long.

Myojeong, stabbed through, lowered his head deeply before resting his forehead against Jaegyeom’s shoulder.

Jaegyeom stared down at him expressionlessly.

Hot blood poured out.

Grabbing Myojeong by both shoulders, he forced him upright and said:

This is the price for betraying me.

As he lifted Myojeong to face him—

“....”

Jaegyeom’s face turned deathly pale.

Myojeong’s face was gone.

“...Yoon Taehee?”

Jaegyeom’s eyes widened violently.

It had been Myojeong.

It definitely had been.

But now it was not him.

The one bleeding before his eyes—

Was Yoon Taehee.

“T-Taehee.”

Jaegyeom stared in horror at the knife lodged in Yoon Taehee’s chest.

The knife he himself had stabbed in moments earlier.

Yoon Taehee’s face twisted in pain.

“Taehee! Taehee...!”

Groaning faintly, Yoon Taehee collapsed forward.

Panicked, Jaegyeom caught the falling body in his arms. His eyes trembled wildly.

No. Why did I— Why did I do this to Yoon Taehee?

Then, from somewhere far away, a voice spoke.

You wanted to kill him.

It was a voice that sounded both deeply familiar and completely strange.

Like his own voice—

And yet not his own at all.

“No... no!”

Jaegyeom shook his head frantically, completely dazed.

There’s no way I’d want to kill Yoon Taehee. Why would I? Why—

The body in his arms was already growing cold.

Yoon Taehee was ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ dying.

I stabbed Yoon Taehee.

I killed him with my own hands.

Clutching him tightly, Jaegyeom screamed like someone wailing in grief.

“AAAAAH—!!!”

No. No. No. No.

If he’s gone—

If he disappears, then I—

GASP—

Jaegyeom’s eyes flew open as he bolted upright.

“....”

The sudden movement shook the bed violently.

Face pale, he looked around.

His room.

Warm sunlight poured through the large window.

The scene was peaceful. Quiet. Sleepy.

Breathing unevenly, Jaegyeom stared blankly down at his clothes.

Not clothes drenched in Yoon Taehee’s blood—

But the clothes he normally wore at home.

Slowly, he looked at his hands.

The hands that had been soaked in blood moments earlier.

His fingertips trembled faintly.

An aftereffect of the nightmare.

Staring blankly at his hands, Jaegyeom hunched over and buried his face in them.

“What... what the hell was that...”

For the first time ever—

Myojeong had appeared in his dreams.

Even after realizing it was only a dream, Jaegyeom could not lift his head for a long time.

The dream had felt strangely cruel.

And terrifying.

He remained hunched over for a long while, trying to steady his startled mind.

It had clearly been Myojeong.

But suddenly it became Yoon Taehee.

More shocking than Myojeong appearing at all was the image of Yoon Taehee dying in front of him.

Pressing a hand over his eyes, Jaegyeom tried to calm himself.

His head felt heavy and dizzy.

Slowly, carefully, he organized his thoughts and forced himself back into reality.

Right. It was just a meaningless dream.

This is my room.

And Yoon Taehee is—

“....”

Suddenly, Jaegyeom’s head snapped up.

“Kim Yekwon...”

He shot upright, visibly flustered.

His final memories returned all at once.

He had gone to the scene with Kang Ibin and Yoon Taehee.

Then his spiritual force had been sealed. Yoon Taehee had been left alone inside the building, so Jaegyeom went back to save him.

He remembered getting stabbed through the wrist.

Remembered losing an enormous amount of blood.

Remembered going on a rampage.

After that—

Nothing.

He must have blacked out.

Then what happened to... Yoon Taehee?

Jaegyeom immediately jumped out of bed and threw open the door.

Warm sunlight filled the living room just as usual.

But the room was empty.

Mesan. Yoo Namsaeng. Jeongju.

No one was there.

Jaegyeom inhaled sharply.

A strange anxiety rose inside him.

Where did everyone go?

He stood there looking around blankly—

“How much is one rice ball?”

A voice drifted in through the half-open sliding door.

Jaegyeom’s eyes widened instantly.

The low, resonant voice was painfully familiar.

Yoon Taehee.

“Uh... uh... fifty won...”

Mesan’s timid mumbling followed.

“Fifty won?”

“Yes...”

“Fifty won for one rice ball?”

Yoon Taehee repeated.

Then Mesan, apparently deciding that sounded too expensive, hurriedly corrected himself.

“Ah... then twenty won...”

At that, Yoon Taehee burst out laughing.

“Haha.”

Jaegyeom immediately headed toward the sliding door connected to the yard.

Looking outside, he saw Yoon Taehee crouched in the yard with his back turned.

He wore a white short-sleeved T-shirt and gray cotton pants.

Toy dishes and play cooking tools were scattered all over the ground.

Yoon Taehee and Mesan were in the middle of playing house.

Crouched down, Yoon Taehee said:

“Then I’ll take two, please.”

Mesan diligently kneaded together crushed grass and dirt.

After placing the “rice ball” onto Yoo Namsaeng’s shell, Yoo Namsaeng slowly crawled toward Yoon Taehee.

Apparently he was playing the server.

“Enjoy your meal, customer.”

“Thank you.”

Yoon Taehee bowed politely and pretended to eat.

“Mm. Wow. The flavor...”

“The flavor?!”

“It’s so good I could die.”

“R-right? Hehe.”

Yoon Taehee picked up a random pebble and handed it to Mesan.

“That was delicious. Here’s fifty won.”

“Okay.”

“Please give me a receipt.”

“Huh...?”

Jaegyeom stared blankly at the three of them for a moment before sighing deeply and rubbing his eyes.

The trembling in his hands had disappeared by now.

He still had no idea what exactly had happened—

But more than anything else, relief flooded through him at the fact that Yoon Taehee was alive.

Calming down slightly, Jaegyeom slid the half-open door fully aside with a clatter.

At that moment, Yoo Namsaeng noticed him first and squealed loudly.

“Eek! Master! You’re awake?!”

Yoon Taehee and Mesan turned around at the same time.

Both stared at him wide-eyed.

For some reason, Mesan’s eyes were swollen so badly his face looked puffed up like a steamed bun.

Mesan immediately threw aside the toy dishes he was holding.

“M-my lord!”

Pitter-patter—

He ran over and wrapped himself around Jaegyeom’s waist.

“My lord, are you alright?”

Mesan looked moments away from bursting into tears.

“How... how did you get hurt so badly?!”

Pouting miserably, Mesan buried his face against Jaegyeom’s waist.

Jaegyeom silently stroked the back of his head.

Then he lifted his gaze toward Yoon Taehee.

What the hell is going on?

The look in his eyes asked exactly that.

Standing there with his arms folded, Yoon Taehee raised one eyebrow.

“Good morning.”