Honbul: Flame of the Soul

The car pulled away.

Jaegyeom sat in the passenger seat as the black sedan slipped smoothly out of the alley and onto the main road. Keeping his eyes on the road ahead, Yoon Taehee briefly explained the plan.

“We need to get to Yeosu first. If traffic’s clear, it should take a little over four hours. Once we arrive, we’ll head straight to the ferry terminal and take a boat to the island.”

They had considered taking a train or a plane, but with Shin Jihye barely able to move properly, driving was the easiest option.

Then Jaegyeom, who had been listening quietly, suddenly asked,

“Hey. Is it really okay for me to just disappear from work without saying anything?” 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Taehee had officially taken leave from headquarters, but Jaegyeom himself had vanished without notice. He belatedly remembered getting chewed out by Kang Ibin over an unauthorized absence before.

Taehee smiled mildly.

“I already handled it.”

For some reason, he seemed to be in an unusually good mood today.

Still, it was reassuring to hear that from someone in Taehee’s position.

“I’m going to sleep for a bit. Wake me up when we get there.”

Shin Jihye, who had been rolling around in the back seat, pulled an eye mask over her face as she spoke. She looked exhausted from getting up early to prepare for the trip.

By now, she already had earphones in, a neck pillow around her throat, and her legs stretched comfortably across the seat—a perfect setup for sleep.

Jaegyeom found himself envying how easily she could relax.

Well, it wasn’t really her problem. Maybe that was why she could stay so carefree.

Unlike Shin Jihye, Jaegyeom couldn’t help being tense.

If this curse really was connected to mermaids...

He fidgeted restlessly with his fingers.

Ever since yesterday, the possibility that meeting a mermaid might let him break the curse had kept his heart racing. He hadn’t slept properly all night.

Once Shin Jihye fell asleep, the car became quiet.

Jaegyeom sat stiffly in silence, staring straight ahead. Taehee glanced sideways at him while driving.

He looked like someone on the way to an important interview.

“....”

Taehee’s fingertips tapped lightly against the steering wheel.

Just then, the car stopped at a red light. After shifting gears and waiting for the signal, Taehee suddenly reached out and switched on the radio. He flipped through channels one after another.

The silence dissolved into static and music.

Jaegyeom glanced at him.

After changing stations several times, Taehee finally found what he wanted.

But instead of the classical station he usually listened to—

[Ssuuuuugh~ great heaad~]

—it was a traditional Korean music broadcast.

[Inside the freezing room of a ghostly prison, all I can think of is yooou~]

A master singer’s mournful pansori filled the car, the voice rising thick and powerful from deep in the diaphragm.

“....”

“....”

The tense atmosphere that had filled the car instantly shattered.

Jaegyeom slowly turned to glare at Taehee with one raised brow.

One hand on the wheel, elbow propped lazily against the window, Taehee looked perfectly calm at first glance. But the corners of his mouth were visibly twitching, like he was barely holding back laughter.

He had obviously picked the station on purpose.

“Are you making fun of me right now?”

“Me? Why would I do that?”

Taehee answered innocently.

“I picked something that suited your tastes.”

“What ‘tastes’?”

The excuse was absurdly transparent. Mischief practically dripped from Taehee’s eyes.

“Hey. Just because someone’s old doesn’t mean they only listen to pansori. That’s prejudice. Stop messing around and change it or turn it off.”

“Then what kind of music do you usually listen to?”

Jaegyeom rolled his eyes before answering with a sulky expression.

“Choi Baekho.”

“....”

Taehee silently stroked his chin.

By Jaegyeom’s standards, music from the seventies and eighties apparently counted as modern.

“Where did you even hear Choi Baekho songs?”

“On TV.”

Answering blandly, Jaegyeom continued,

“There’s this program called Open Concert on Channel 9 every Sunday evening. He shows up there sometimes. And he was on Gayo Stage recently too. That one’s on Channel 9 as well. They play a lot of good songs.”

“....”

“You don’t watch Gayo Stage?”

“Ah... I don’t actually own a TV.”

At Taehee’s answer, Jaegyeom frowned.

Come to think of it, when he visited Taehee’s house yesterday, the spot where a television should’ve been had been replaced entirely by bookshelves crammed full of books.

“Hey, why don’t you have a TV?”

“Good question.”

Having successfully distracted Jaegyeom, Taehee answered lightly, laughing under his breath.

The rigid stiffness in Jaegyeom’s posture had eased considerably by now.

“You’re drowning in money, but you don’t even own a TV? What do you even do at home?”

“Should I buy one?”

“You should.”

“If I buy a TV, will you come over?”

“...What?”

Still looking ahead at the road, Taehee spoke quietly.

“If I buy a TV, will you move in with me?”

“....”

After a brief silence, Jaegyeom abruptly turned toward the window and answered stiffly,

“W-why would I? We already have a TV at home.”

As if he hadn’t expected much to begin with, Taehee only laughed softly and switched the station again.

This time, ordinary pop music flowed through the car, filling the silence naturally.

Jaegyeom kept staring out the window.

Suddenly, he thought back to yesterday—Taehee calmly holding out a knife and offering up his own gallbladder without hesitation.

The memory left him strangely unsettled.

If the curse really could be broken... if he could finally live and die like a normal person...

Then what would happen between him and Taehee after that?

Would they just keep going on like this?

Taehee liked him enough to offer up his gallbladder.

So then what about me...?

At that moment, the traffic light turned green.

Taehee, who had been half-draped over the steering wheel waiting for the signal, suddenly reached over and grabbed Jaegyeom’s hand without warning.

Their fingers intertwined.

Still holding Jaegyeom’s hand, Taehee wrapped it around the gearshift together with his own. Jaegyeom flinched and looked at him.

Together, their joined hands pushed the gear forward.

“Shall we go?”

The motionless car surged ahead.

***

Two hours passed after they entered the highway beyond the tollgate.

Since it was a weekday morning, the road remained relatively empty. They were already about halfway to Yeosu.

After driving for a while and chatting with Jaegyeom on and off, Taehee finally steered toward a highway rest stop. They decided to stretch their legs and grab a light meal before lunchtime.

Taehee woke Shin Jihye in the back seat.

Still half asleep, she groggily sat up, muttered, “I don’t want to go out. You two go,” and immediately collapsed back into a comfortable position.

“Bring me walnut pastries and a hot latte on your way back.”

She ordered shamelessly while wriggling deeper into her seat.

Leaving her behind, Jaegyeom and Taehee got out together.

The moment he stepped outside, Jaegyeom looked around curiously at the rest stop. It was his first time at one.

The scenery was surprisingly nice, mountain slopes stretching out behind the buildings.

“What are you doing, Jaegyeom?”

A few steps ahead, Taehee stretched one hand back toward him and wiggled his fingers playfully.

Distracted by the unfamiliar surroundings, Jaegyeom belatedly followed after him.

Several incoming cars rolled past them as they crossed the parking lot toward the building. Since there were no traffic lights or crosswalks, they had to weave through traffic carefully.

As they passed between rows of parked cars, one vehicle suddenly sped toward them without slowing down.

It came dangerously close to clipping Taehee, who was walking ahead.

“Hey, watch out!”

Startled, Jaegyeom lunged forward from behind and yanked Taehee back by the arm.

“That fucking asshole...”

Pulling Taehee behind him, Jaegyeom glared murderously at the driver.

The driver hurriedly bowed in apology through the windshield, but Jaegyeom kept glaring viciously until they had completely crossed the lane.

“Driving like a fucking lunatic.”

Taehee laughed softly.

“It’s fine.”

Then he casually slung an arm around Jaegyeom’s shoulders.

Caught off guard, Jaegyeom awkwardly walked alongside him for a few steps before quietly slipping free once they reached the building entrance.

The moment they entered the rest area, delicious smells hit them from every direction.

Jaegyeom stared blankly at the rows of snack stands.

At some point, his eyes locked onto a skewer stand.

Standing beside him, Taehee lightly scratched the center of Jaegyeom’s palm with a fingertip and murmured quietly,

“Want one?”

The strange sensation made Jaegyeom’s shoulders twitch.

He rubbed his palm against his jeans and answered flatly,

“Yeah.”

Taehee asked whether there was anything else he wanted.

Together, they wandered through the rest stop and bought two fish cake skewers, grilled squid, baked potatoes, and a bag of walnut pastries.

By the time they finished, both their hands were full of bags, but they still had one final mission left: Shin Jihye’s latte.

The two headed into the café inside the building.

Since they were there anyway, Taehee and Jaegyeom decided to buy drinks for themselves too.

“What do you want?”

At the question, Jaegyeom looked up at the menu board.

The endless list of incomprehensible words instantly made his head spin.

“What would you like to order?”

Jaegyeom stared at the menu with his mouth slightly open.

The truth was, he barely knew anything about café drinks.

He was just about to ask Taehee for help when Taehee leaned down beside him and whispered affectionately,

“Do you actually know any of the menu items?”

“....”

Annoyed, Jaegyeom shot him a glare.

“I know all of them, okay?”

“Want me to pick for you?”

“No. I’ll choose myself.”

Suppressing a laugh, Taehee stepped up to the counter.

“One hot café latte and one hot milk tea, please. And...”

After ordering his own drinks, Taehee turned to Jaegyeom with a questioning look.

Had he decided yet?

Jaegyeom, who had been staring at the menu board hard enough to burn holes through it, flinched slightly before carefully pronouncing each word.

“A strawberry... yogurt... smoothie. Please.”

Taehee’s eyes widened.

“A strawberry yogurt smoothie?”

Not long ago, this was the same man who had pronounced “guacamole salmon ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) salad” like he was hunting rodents.

“You’ve had one before?”

Taehee asked suspiciously.

“Obviously.”

Feeling weirdly challenged, Jaegyeom nodded stiffly.

“Yeah. I’ve been to cafés before.”

It was a complete lie.

Technically, he had gone to cafés a few times, but Kang Ibin had always ordered for him, so Jaegyeom still had no idea what any of the drinks actually were.

He’d only chosen it because “strawberry” was the one word he recognized among the menu items.

Besides, weren’t all drinks basically the same?

Then the employee working the register repeated the order while tapping the POS screen.

“One hot milk tea, one hot café latte, and one strawberry yogurt smoothie. That’s three drinks total, correct?”

“Yes.”

Taehee nodded and reached for his wallet.

But just as he was about to pull out his card, Jaegyeom suddenly spoke up from beside him.

“Can I get mine hot too?”

Both the employee and Taehee slowly turned toward him.

“...Pardon?”

Thinking they simply hadn’t heard him properly, Jaegyeom repeated himself.

“Mine too. Hot, please.”

“....”

“....”

The employee stared expressionlessly at Taehee.

The look in their eyes clearly said: He’s with you. You deal with this.

Meanwhile, Taehee froze for a moment before folding over against the counter, shoulders shaking.

“Well, smoothies are...”

Finally losing the battle, Taehee covered his mouth with the back of his hand and burst into laughter.