Honbul: Flame of the Soul

Jaegyeom returned to the house where the three of them lived a little past noon.

“Jaegyeom, what happened yesterday? You didn’t answer your phone all day.”

The moment he came home after staying out all night without a word, Jeongju and Mesan hurried to the entryway. Jaegyeom brushed it off with an excuse about having been busy with overtime at work.

“Ju-ya, can you get me a backpack?” Jaegyeom asked as soon as he stepped inside.

“A backpack? What do you suddenly need that for?”

Jeongju blinked at him in surprise.

“Well... I’m going somewhere tomorrow, so I need to pack ahead of time.”

“What? Where are you going?”

Jaegyeom rubbed the back of his neck in silence.

In the end, he’d failed to come up with a reason to refuse Yoon Taehee’s suggestion to “treat this as another moment of insanity and come along.” Somehow, he’d gotten swept into agreeing to go to Geoyeo Island with the two of them.

While checking ferry schedules, Taehee had said there was no way they could leave today and suggested departing tomorrow instead. There were only two ferries to Geoyeo Island each day—one in the morning and one at noon—so even if they left immediately, they still wouldn’t make it in time. In the end, they decided to pack and leave first thing the next morning.

Jaegyeom vaguely explained it as a business trip.

“A business trip? You’re already going on business trips now? For what?”

“...”

To confirm whether this cursed immortality really had something to do with mermaids.

But he couldn’t bring himself to say that out loud. Nothing was certain yet. After hesitating for a moment, Jaegyeom only muttered vaguely,

“Just... sounds like there’s something we need to look into.”

“Where are you going?”

“Hm? Uh... some island, apparently.”

“It’s not dangerous, is it?”

When Jaegyeom gave a silent nod, relief washed over Jeongju’s face.

Jeongju brought him a backpack. Jaegyeom went into his room, grabbed a few changes of clothes, and started packing. The moment Mesan learned Jaegyeom would be gone for several days, he visibly wilted. Seventy-Seven sprawled lazily atop Mesan’s head, watching Jaegyeom pack his things.

“My lord, when will you return?”

“...”

“My lord?”

Mesan called him again in a gloomy voice, but Jaegyeom was too tangled up in his thoughts to hear him.

His mind was in complete chaos.

This was the first time a clue to breaking the curse of immortality had ever seemed close enough to touch.

A few days ago, when Yoon Taehee first said he was looking for a way to break the curse, Jaegyeom had been furious. He’d firmly believed he would finally be able to die in two months, and Taehee changing their agreement on his own had felt like betrayal. But the truth was, back then, the idea of actually breaking the curse hadn’t felt real to him at all. He hadn’t seriously believed Taehee would find a method.

But, as always, Yoon Taehee had brought him a problem completely outside the bounds of his expectations.

The curse of immortality might be connected to mermaids.

And if it truly was tied to mermaids, there might be a way to reverse the immortal body itself.

If that were true, then maybe they really could break the curse and live ordinary lives, just as Taehee had said.

As the vague hypothesis slowly took on the shape of reality, Jaegyeom grew increasingly unsettled. Now, rather than anger at Taehee for changing his words, all he felt was confusion.

If it really were possible to break the curse...

The hands that had been neatly folding clothes gradually slowed.

Even with death only two months away, Jaegyeom still hadn’t found a reason to keep living. Seventy-Seven had told him that people didn’t need reasons in order to live, but Jaegyeom still couldn’t grasp it. The answer—that no reason was necessary—was simple and clear, yet at the same time impossibly vague, like trying to grab hold of clouds.

If I break the curse and live like everyone else... then what happens to me?

“Jaegyeom, is something bothering you?”

At that moment, Jeongju, who had been helping him pack nearby, gently placed a hand on his shoulder and asked the question softly.

Jaegyeom flinched.

“Huh? Ah... no...”

Only then did he notice the three faces gathered around him, all watching him closely. Snapping out of his thoughts, he ran a hand through his hair and forced on a calm expression.

“What worries? I don’t have any.”

“Then why have you seemed so down lately?”

“I’m just tired from work. That’s all.”

Ever since Jaegyeom had suddenly shut himself up in his room a few days earlier, Jeongju had been quietly watching him from the sidelines. Uneasy. Nervous. Wondering whether something was wrong.

It was obvious Jaegyeom was carrying something heavy on his mind, but despite usually being blunt and straightforward, he was the type who hid the most important things until the very end.

Jeongju wished he would lean on someone once in a while, but Jaegyeom never did. He always thought things through alone, steeled himself alone, made his decisions alone. Over the long years, he had hardened himself with that same detached indifference that defined him, but Jeongju could still see the loneliness buried underneath it.

And this time too, Jaegyeom kept his thoughts to himself.

Jeongju didn’t press him any further.

All he could do was wait for Jaegyeom to eventually realize that he wasn’t alone anymore—that if he looked beside him, there would always be someone there.

Maybe spending some time away from home this once wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

“Well, if you’re heading to an island for work anyway, clear your head while you’re there and get some rest too.”

As he spoke, Jeongju kneaded Jaegyeom’s shoulders a few times.

“Don’t spend the whole trip working yourself to death. Relax a little. Get some fresh air. Leave all your worries behind and think of it like a vacation. Eat good food. See nice things.”

Jaegyeom paused and looked up at him.

“Jaegyeom, you’ve never been to an island before, right?”

“Hm? Ah...”

“When you go somewhere unfamiliar, it changes the way things feel. Sometimes, just sitting there staring at the ocean gives you a completely different perspective. There are things you only understand once you experience them yourself.”

“...”

“So empty your mind completely, alright? And take lots of pictures.”

Jaegyeom silently fiddled with the strap of his backpack.

“...Okay.”

After a long pause, he finally nodded.

Jeongju was right. Right now, this was still only a possibility. Nothing had been confirmed yet. Everything filling his head was just pointless anxiety.

It wouldn’t be too late to think about the future after he knew for certain.

Once they reached that island, they would finally get answers.

So I’ll think about it when the time comes.

Jaegyeom tightened the backpack straps.

***

The next morning, Jaegyeom stepped out through the front gate with his backpack slung over one shoulder while Jeongju and Mesan saw him off.

The moment he opened the gate, Yoon Taehee’s sedan was already waiting in the alley.

“Morning.”

Taehee had been leaning crookedly against the hood, smoking a cigarette. He greeted Jaegyeom as casually as ever, then slowly looked him up and down.

Wearing jeans, a white T-shirt, and a navy-and-red plaid overshirt with the sleeves rolled down, Jaegyeom looked exactly like an ordinary college freshman.

Taehee smiled faintly, almost like he was grimacing.

“Dressed like that, you really do look like a college freshman.”

“You look like a student too.”

Taehee was dressed in a charcoal V-neck T-shirt, slacks, and light sneakers. With his bangs hanging loose instead of swept back, he looked far more relaxed and youthful than usual.

Since they normally only saw each other in suits, it almost felt like meeting someone different.

“Well, I’m a little past school age.”

“And I’m not?”

Jaegyeom shot back flatly.

“Oh, perfect timing. Get in.”

Shin Jihye leaned out from the back-seat window and greeted him brightly.

The moment Taehee noticed the backpack on Jaegyeom’s shoulder, he immediately dropped his cigarette, crushed it underfoot, and waved a hand through the air near his face before walking over.

He took the backpack from Jaegyeom.

“This thing’s pretty heavy.”

Inside were several bottles of medicinal water Mesan had prepared.

Even after Jaegyeom repeatedly insisted the trip wasn’t dangerous, Mesan had clung to him tearfully and begged him to take them, so in the end Jaegyeom had no choice but to pack the ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) bottles.

Taehee opened the trunk and tossed the backpack inside.

A small carry-on suitcase Shin Jihye had brought sat neatly to one side. Taehee’s own large backpack was beside it, along with a cardboard box stuffed with equipment and miscellaneous supplies rolling around loosely in the back.

That was when Jaegyeom noticed the folded wheelchair tucked against the side.

“What’s that for?”

When he pointed at it, Taehee briefly glanced toward the back seat.

“Her legs are practically fused together already, so walking’s going to be difficult.”

Shin Jihye was sprawled comfortably across the back seat as if it were her living room sofa. Just as Taehee had said, her legs had fused together almost completely, the entire lower half of her body covered in mermaid scales.

In barely a single day, her body had become dramatically closer to that of a mermaid.