Honbul: Flame of the Soul

“What’s so funny? Stop laughing.”

Jaegyeom and Yoon Taehee returned to the car carrying their snacks.

Taehee had been chuckling nonstop the entire way back, and Jaegyeom narrowed his eyes at him.

Sir, smoothies are cold drinks, so we can’t serve them hot...

In Jaegyeom’s hand was a cold strawberry yogurt smoothie—solid proof that he hadn’t known what a smoothie was. If Taehee hadn’t provoked him by teasing, Do you actually know any of the menu items? none of this would have happened.

Taehee was still laughing under his breath.

Seriously, did he swallow helium or something?

Jaegyeom’s irritation rose. Annoyed by the way Taehee’s shoulders kept shaking, he clenched his fist and punched him in the arm.

“I said stop laughing.”

“Ow.”

Taehee clutched his arm, exaggerating his pain with obvious playfulness.

“Did you buy anything for me?”

Just then, Shin Jihye, who had been lying in the back seat, pulled off her eye mask and asked in a drowsy voice.

Jaegyeom handed her the snacks from the bag and the drinks in the carrier.

“Why did you buy so much? I only asked for walnut pastries.”

“The rest is for me.”

Jaegyeom muttered the answer while scratching his cheek.

“You’re eating all this? Have you been starving for days?”

“No...”

“What, is your dream job competitive eater?”

“What’s that...?”

Finally shaking off the last of his laughter after Jaegyeom’s punch, Taehee started the engine again. They didn’t have time to linger. They had to hurry if they wanted to catch the ferry.

The black sedan left the rest stop and returned to the highway.

With the ride smooth again, Jaegyeom started with the baby potatoes. Shin Jihye exchanged a few words with him, then pulled her eye mask back down and began snoring again.

Jaegyeom speared one of the potatoes with a disposable fork and popped it whole into his mouth. The buttered baby potato was warm, savory, and delicious.

“Good?”

“Yeah.”

“Let me try one.”

At Taehee’s words, Jaegyeom picked out a reasonably sized potato and stabbed it with his fork.

He was about to hand the fork over when Taehee casually opened his mouth with an “Ah,” as if asking to be fed.

Jaegyeom’s hand twitched.

Well, he’s driving. Feeding him is probably better...

It felt a little awkward, but Jaegyeom held the potato out to Taehee’s mouth.

“How is it?”

“Mm. Good.”

Jaegyeom secretly watched Taehee’s jaw move as he chewed.

“Want another one?”

“No, that’s fine.”

As expected, Taehee didn’t eat much.

After finishing all the baby potatoes, Jaegyeom took out one of the fish cake skewers. It had already been slathered in ketchup when they bought it, and it looked extremely appetizing. Jaegyeom stared at it for a moment before taking a large bite.

The chewy fried fish cake and sweet ketchup went «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» together perfectly.

“Good?”

“Yeah.”

Jaegyeom held the skewer he had been eating toward Taehee’s mouth, silently offering him a bite.

Just as Taehee parted his lips, the car suddenly jolted. At the same time, Jaegyeom’s hand jerked, dragging the skewer straight across Taehee’s mouth.

It happened in an instant.

Taehee turned to stare at Jaegyeom, completely dumbfounded. Since the fish cake had been generously coated in ketchup, his nose, mouth, and chin were now smeared red.

“...”

“...”

Jaegyeom stared at Taehee’s blank face and the ketchup all over it.

Then he burst out laughing.

“Hahaha!”

The more he looked, the funnier it became. Still holding the skewer, Jaegyeom threw his head back and laughed until his whole body shook.

Taehee stared at him.

He had never seen Jaegyeom laugh like that before.

With his face all scrunched up in laughter, the boy looked exactly his age.

“Wipe it off.”

“That’s wasteful. Just lick it off.”

“What? Lick what off...?”

Taehee, who had been staring at him in disbelief, finally let out a laugh too.

Seeing Jaegyeom laugh made him want to laugh.

The two of them looked at each other and laughed like awkward boys. Earlier, Taehee had been the one who couldn’t stop laughing. This time, it was Jaegyeom.

In the end, Taehee found a wet wipe and cleaned the ketchup off his chin himself.

Jaegyeom, still snickering, cracked the passenger window open to calm himself down. Outside, nameless mountain ridges rushed past.

A pleasant breeze slipped in through the gap.

Even after deliberately turning his eyes outside, Jaegyeom kept laughing under his breath.

At the rest stop, he had wondered why Taehee found such a small thing so funny.

Now, in this moment, he understood.

Feeling the wind against his face, Jaegyeom suddenly realized his heart was pounding.

For some reason, he felt light. Excited.

The sensation was familiar, yet strangely new after so long.

It was enjoyment.

Right now, Jaegyeom was enjoying himself.

***

After a long drive, they finally arrived in Yeosu.

As soon as they reached the city at the southern tip of South Jeolla Province, a faint scent of the sea drifted in.

Shin Jihye, who had slept well and woken up refreshed, was now wide-eyed as she looked out the window. She lowered the glass and sniffed the sea air, her eyes sparkling with an odd vitality.

Taehee drove straight to the Yeosu Coastal Ferry Terminal.

Fortunately, they had arrived in time for the ferry. After parking in the lot by the port, Taehee took the luggage and wheelchair out of the trunk.

Since they couldn’t bring the car onto the island, they would have to leave it here for the next few days.

The sea spread out right in front of them. Seagulls wheeled through the sky, and the salty wind was unmistakable.

Taehee opened the back door, unfolded the wheelchair, and set it close to the car.

Shin Jihye gripped the door handle and dropped herself into the wheelchair with a soft thump. A blanket was carefully draped over her legs.

The three of them entered the terminal to board the ferry.

Taehee carried all the luggage. Even with two bags slung over him and one carry-on in hand, he showed no sign of strain.

Jaegyeom followed behind him, pushing Shin Jihye’s wheelchair.

The three boarded the ferry bound for Geoyeo Island.

To reach Geoyeo Island, they had to pass several other islands along the way, so the trip would take about two hours. For Jaegyeom, who was seeing such a large ship in person for the first time—and boarding one for the first time too—everything was fascinating.

He kept turning his head this way and that, looking around.

Booooo—

With a long blast of its horn, the ferry began cutting through the waves.

The mainland slowly receded behind them. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Jaegyeom stood at the railing, gazing out at the wide sea and the blue sky above it.

Standing in the middle of the ocean, looking up into that vast sky, he felt something strange ripple through his usually still heart like a wave.

Before he realized it, a smile had formed on his lips.

He stared blankly at the sea for a long while, then suddenly turned his head.

There was noise coming from somewhere nearby.

When he looked toward it, he saw a group of people feeding seagulls by the opposite railing. They were holding shrimp-flavored crackers, and whenever they stretched their arms out, the seagulls circling the ferry swooped down and snatched the crackers away.

The people shrieked and laughed, eagerly offering more.

Jaegyeom watched them with curious eyes.

“Want to try?”

Taehee, who had been with Shin Jihye, came over and asked gently.

“I’m fine.”

Jaegyeom quickly put on an indifferent expression and shook his head.

At that, Taehee disappeared without another word, only to return a short while later with a bag of shrimp crackers.

When Jaegyeom asked where he had gotten them, Taehee said there was a shop inside the ferry.

Reluctantly, Jaegyeom accepted a handful.

He held his hand out over the railing with a cracker between his fingers.

A seagull snatched it away in an instant.

His eyes widened.

“Whoa!”

Then he turned to Taehee with an expression that clearly said, Did you see that?

“Whoa. Oh! Its beak touched my hand!”

Jaegyeom grabbed his own hand, speaking with rare excitement.

The boy who always seemed so listless and indifferent was now vividly alive.

Taehee stared at him as if bewitched by the sight.

“...”

His cheeks were faintly flushed as he looked down at his hand in wonder. He really did look like a young boy.

That lively expression left Taehee with an indescribable feeling.

The sense of someone alive and breathing.

Your soft hair flutters in the sea breeze.

Taehee suddenly felt something tighten in his chest.

Just then, Jaegyeom rushed toward him.

With quick hands, he placed a shrimp cracker on top of Taehee’s head.

A seagull spotted the food and swooped down. Taehee instinctively jerked his head back, eyes widening in surprise, and Jaegyeom burst into laughter, his whole face crumpling with it.

“I’ll get a bald spot.”

“Just cover it with charcoal.”

Jaegyeom looked incredibly happy.

Everything was a first for him.

Riding a ferry. Going to an island. Feeding seagulls. Standing in the middle of the ocean.

He thought he should tell the kids all about it when he got home.

He wanted to ride a ferry again.

Next time, it would be nice to come with Mesan and Jeongju.

The moment that thought crossed his mind, Jaegyeom froze without realizing it.

Next time.

Again, next time.

At some point, Jaegyeom had naturally started looking forward to next time.