Honbul: Flame of the Soul

The Naja of Team 3 of the Covert Division, sitting inside a black Carnival, looked out the window.

“Hey, what are they doing?”

Team 3 of the Covert Division had been scheduled to head to Gongju. They’d pulled over on the shoulder of the main road and were waiting for Im Hyomun, but for a while now, he’d been outside arguing with someone.

“I said no!”

“Why not?”

“You’re a probationary Naja.”

“So are you.”

A noisy argument was unfolding outside the van.

“Yeah, but my Unit Head gave me permission to come!” Im Hyomun shot back in frustration.

Just then, the black Carnival parked on the roadside honked.

Beep, beep.

The others were clearly asking what the hell they were doing instead of getting in already.

Startled, Im Hyomun glanced back at the van, lifted a hand to signal that he’d be there in a second, then turned back again. He looked completely stuck in the middle.

“What if something happens to you there?”

“I’ll just stay out of the way and follow quietly.”

“Why are you so determined to come in the first place?”

“Well... I need field experience too. Why are you the only one who gets to gain experience?”

“......”

Im Hyomun let out a long sigh.

“Still no. The seniors are going to tear me apart.”

His refusal was firm.

“Oh yeah? Then go ahead without me. I’ll just grab a taxi and follow you.”

Jaegyeom immediately stepped toward the roadside and raised his hand. “That works too, doesn’t it?”

The moment Im Hyomun saw him genuinely preparing to hail a cab, he grabbed Jaegyeom’s arm in horror.

“You insane bastard! A taxi there would cost two hundred thousand won!”

“Then I’ll give you the two hundred thousand won, so take me with you.”

Jaegyeom was completely serious.

It was obvious he intended to follow them no matter what. He didn’t look remotely persuadable.

It was the first time Im Hyomun had ever seen the usually indifferent and lethargic Seventy-Seven cling to something this stubbornly.

Dragging a hand through his bleached hair, Im Hyomun looked utterly exasperated.

“Ah, this is seriously driving me crazy.”

Beep, beep!

“I’m telling you, you really can’t—”

Beep, beep!

“Ah, screw it! Just get in! I’m not taking responsibility for anything!”

Before Im Hyomun could change his mind, Jaegyeom immediately followed him and climbed into the back seat.

The senior Naja in the driver’s and passenger’s seats turned around in shock.

“Huh? What the hell? Who’s this?”

“Hello. I’m Probationary Naja Kim Jaegyeom from Team 1 of the Exorcism Unit.”

Jaegyeom introduced himself with a perfectly straight face.

Im Hyomun looked dumbfounded.

The members of the Covert Division all shot him looks asking what the hell this was supposed to mean.

Jaegyeom really did have nerve.

Once he made up his mind about something, he had an aggressive streak that pushed it through no matter what, and he was absurdly stubborn.

“Ahaha... well, you see...”

As usual, Im Hyomun ended up suffering because of him.

“W-we should probably get going now?”

***

Unam-ri, Sagok-myeon, Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do.

After a long drive, they finally reached their destination.

By the time they stepped out of the van, it was deep into the night.

The Gongju branch was located in the Yugu-Magok region, with Mount Taehwa serving as its principal mountain—a place that had been counted among the Ten Victory Sites since the Joseon dynasty.

According to legend, the Ten Victory Sites were places where people could escape foreign invasions and preserve their lives.

At least he’d made it this far without getting thrown out midway.

That alone was a relief.

“Thanks. I owe you.”

After climbing out of the van, Jaegyeom patted Im Hyomun on the shoulder.

“Whatever. Just don’t do anything dangerous,” Im Hyomun muttered sulkily.

Even after shouting that he was washing his hands of it, Im Hyomun was undeniably loyal.

When the other team members had reacted badly to the sudden addition to their group, Im Hyomun had immediately stepped in like it was his own problem.

“S-sorry. I-I’ll take responsibility...”

“Responsibility? Listen to this kid talking big.”

Until they passed the tollgate and got onto the highway, Im Hyomun had been relentlessly grilled by the seniors.

Watching him get chewed out did make Jaegyeom feel a little guilty.

Still, there was no helping it.

This was far better than staying behind in Seoul, doing nothing but praying for Yoon Taehee’s safety.

“What are friends for? The Exorcism Unit’s the dangerous one anyway. We’re just rear support, so it shouldn’t be that bad! He and I will stick together and stay quiet.”

Manager Kwon, who was driving, glanced at them through the rearview mirror with open displeasure, but there was no time left to argue.

They needed to reach Gongju as quickly as possible.

And so, a probationary Naja from the Exorcism Unit ended up attached to Team 3 of the Covert Division like a parasite.

Now that they had finally arrived, Jaegyeom quietly let out a sigh of relief.

The ride over had left him slightly carsick.

Manager Kwon drove aggressively enough to make his head spin, and even after getting out and planting both feet on solid ground, the dizziness lingered faintly.

Jaegyeom lifted his gaze toward the mountain swallowed by darkness.

Then his eyes widened.

Something shimmered before him like a mirage.

For an instant, it looked as though a gigantic hand—far larger than the mountain itself—had wrapped around the entire peak.

What was that?

Jaegyeom rubbed his eyes and looked again.

The hand was gone.

Instead, a faint light now surrounded the entire mountain, as though a soft radiance was enveloping it.

“What’s wrong?” Im Hyomun [N O V E L I G H T] asked.

“The Buddhist power in this mountain is strong.”

“What?”

“There’s a halo along the mountain ridge.”

At Jaegyeom’s words, every member of the Covert Division turned to stare at him at once.

“......”

“......”

Manager Kwon spoke first, sounding genuinely stunned.

“So the rumor about a monster joining the Exorcism Unit was true.”

“Pardon?”

“There’s a temple on this mountain. I heard its energy envelops the entire place. Mountains with strong Buddhist power naturally purify impurities, so some people say they can see light covering the whole mountain.”

Manager Kwon kindly explained it for the sake of the clueless rookies.

Then, after finishing, he turned to look at Jaegyeom.

When their eyes met, Manager Kwon smirked.

“I’m a little jealous. I can’t see it.”

Im Hyomun looked at Jaegyeom with fresh admiration.

“You really are incredible.”

Jaegyeom silently scratched his cheek.

“But I heard mountains with strong Buddhist power are dangerous.”

“Huh? Dangerous?”

“Yes. I heard they suppress even a gifted person’s energy, so you’re not supposed to enter carelessly...”

Back when he had wandered the eight provinces with Myojeong, they had deliberately avoided mountains with strong Buddhist power.

Myojeong had said that the energy in those mountains was extremely strict, and a single mistake could easily bring backlash down on you.

If your luck was bad enough, the mountain would become enraged just because you touched a tree or kicked a stone.

“What? I’ve never heard that before.”

The Naja all reacted like it was the first time they’d ever heard such a thing.

“If that were true, the Office of Narye wouldn’t have built a branch here in the first place. Mountains with strong Buddhist power naturally purify impurities, so stray ghosts can’t approach easily. It’s actually beneficial for gifted people,” Manager Kwon said.

It was a fair point.

“......”

Now that he thought about it, it was strange.

If the mountain had really been that dangerous, the Office of Narye would never have established a branch there.

Which meant...

Had Myojeong been lying to him?

For now, Jaegyeom simply continued up the mountain.

Together with the Covert Division, he headed toward the mountain entrance.

—Don’t go.

A faint whisper drifted through the air.

“What?”

Jaegyeom looked around.

Im Hyomun frowned.

“What is it now?”

“Huh? Ah... nothing.”

Only then did Jaegyeom realize the voice had come from inside himself.

Maybe he had imagined it.

Still, ever since stepping onto the mountain, his chest had felt tight and his body strangely heavy.

Each step felt burdensome.

His whole body felt weighed down, and nausea churned faintly in his stomach.

At first he wondered if the motion sickness still hadn’t gone away.

What’s wrong with me?

Then a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

‘Mountains with strong Buddhist power naturally purify impurities.’

“......”

Could it be...

Because of what’s inside me?

The moment he recalled the existence of the god of calamity, Jaegyeom unconsciously pressed a hand against his chest.

If that was true, then he finally understood why Myojeong had insisted so fiercely that he avoid mountains with strong Buddhist power.

Myojeong must have known this would happen if Jaegyeom entered such a mountain.

So instead, he’d made up some random excuse to hide the truth.

“Are you okay? Are you sick?”

Im Hyomun asked as Jaegyeom gradually began falling behind.

“No. Climbing the mountain is just tiring.”

Afraid they would send him back down if they noticed anything strange, Jaegyeom forced himself to act normal.

Completely oblivious to his condition, Im Hyomun kept rambling beside him.

“See? Why’d you follow us? I told you to stay home and rest comfortably. I only came because my Unit Head ordered me to, but honestly, if it were me, I’d be relaxing at home right now. You’re weird too, insisting on following people into dangerous places...”

Then suddenly, a thought struck Im Hyomun.

Could it be... because of Ibin?

Why hadn’t he realized it sooner?

Everything suddenly clicked into place.

The reason Seventy-Seven had stubbornly insisted on following them.

It was because of Ibin.

Im Hyomun immediately concluded that Jaegyeom had come all this way because he was worried about Kang Ibin.

To keep the others from overhearing, he deliberately slowed down until there was some distance between them and the team members ahead, then sidled closer to Jaegyeom, who was climbing sluggishly.

“Don’t tell me you came here to protect your love?”

Jaegyeom already felt like he was dying from dizziness, and now this nonsense too?

“...What?”

He raised his head, cold sweat dripping down his face.

“Oh my god. Hah... I’m seriously quick at figuring stuff like this out.”

Im Hyomun wore the smug expression of someone convinced he had solved everything.

“Whew. Right. Seventy-Seven. You’re a man after all.”

He understood now.

Seventy-Seven liked Ibin noona.

No wonder things had felt strange.

Ibin was at a dangerous scene, so naturally Jaegyeom had followed because he wanted to protect her.

“This guy’s completely doomed. Totally blinded by love.”

“......”

“And here I thought you’d gotten over her.”

“......”

“Then again, if you really had gotten over her, you wouldn’t have come this far.”

“......”

“I’ve lived longer than you, you know. You think I can’t tell?”

“......”

“Seventy-Seven, if it’s that hard to move on, why don’t you just be honest?”

Jaegyeom, who had been panting heavily while climbing, finally stopped walking.

“Hey. Hyomun.”

“Yeah?”

“You go ahead.”

“What are you talking about? You don’t even know the way.”

Leaning against a nearby tree, Jaegyeom breathed harshly, drenched in sweat.

Im Hyomun immediately started nagging him.

“You seriously need to work out. How are you exhausted already from this much climbing?”

Then suddenly, Jaegyeom dry-heaved.

A moment later, he vomited violently.

Gasp.

Im Hyomun’s face turned pale.

“Hey! Seventy-Seven! What’s wrong?! Are you okay?”

He hurriedly threw Jaegyeom’s arm over his shoulder and supported him when he nearly collapsed.

There should be people from the Purification Unit stationed inside the branch.

If they got him there quickly, they could treat him.

“S-seniors! Seventy-Seven is—!”

Im Hyomun raised his head to call toward the team members walking ahead.

But the words died in his throat.

He froze in place.

The others were gone.

A strange milky-white fog had swallowed the entire mountain path.