Honbul: Flame of the Soul

Just where had it all gone wrong?

As he wandered endlessly down the rain-soaked street, Jaegyeom thought blankly. In truth, he already knew the answer. He knew it was all his fault. From the moment Suhyang recognized him, the plan had already failed.

Even the raindrops striking his skin hurt.

By the time he finally made it home after trudging through the rain, Jaegyeom collapsed into sleep.

As always, he escaped into sleep when things became unbearable. But this time, even sleep offered no comfort. Maybe because he had been drenched in the rain, he came down with a fever. His entire body burned. Suhyang’s words dug into his weakened heart and spread through him like poison. Mesan and Jeongju took turns coming in and out of the room, laying cold towels across his forehead and checking on him. All through the night, Jaegyeom groaned and muttered deliriously in his sleep.

I want it to be you. The one who’ll stand beside me in rebellion.

That was what Yoon Taehee had said.

But the moment Jaegyeom took his hand, Yoon Taehee’s revenge had already been ruined.

The moment Suhyang recognized him, everything had begun to collapse. She had spent years desperately searching for Jaegyeom. Of course she would become interested in the man who had turned him into a Naja.

And once Suhyang began watching Jaegyeom and Yoon Taehee closely, it was only natural that she would uncover the truth. Starting with Jaegyeom’s identity, she pieced together the existence of a deal between them. With only a handful of clues, she saw straight through their plan.

If Yoon Taehee had chosen some ordinary gifted person as his successor instead of Jaegyeom, none of this would have happened.

Of course, Jaegyeom was also the person most capable of retrieving the wooden tag. But in the end, the plan had been exposed before he could even approach the registry room, before he could attempt anything at all.

Through the haze of his fever, Jaegyeom thought:

Yoon Taehee should never have chosen me.

And like that, he suffered through the entire night in silence.

But strangely enough, when he opened his eyes the next morning, his body felt completely fine, as though nothing had happened. Mesan had noticed his fever while he tossed and muttered in his sleep, and had personally treated him while staying by his side until dawn. The fog clouding his mind had vanished without a trace.

Staring up at the familiar ceiling, Jaegyeom slowly closed his eyes again.

Only one week remained now.

And by coincidence, that same day was the date they were supposed to retrieve Yoon Taehee’s wooden tag.

At this rate, everyone would end up in danger.

In the end, Jaegyeom made up his mind.

He would go to Suhyang himself. He would tell her she could have his body if she wanted it that badly, as long as she left everyone else alone. He would make her promise not to touch Jeongju or Mesan, and ask her to release Jo Youngwoo as well. Suhyang herself had been disappointed by how things had turned out. Maybe she would at least agree to that much.

And after that, he would tell Yoon Taehee the truth.

The revenge had already failed. There was nothing more he could do.

Even if it hurt, Yoon Taehee should forget everything and disappear somewhere no one knew him.

“......”

Jaegyeom slowly pushed himself upright.

***

Late that evening, Yoon Taehee woke to the sound of his alarm and sat blankly on the living room sofa. His expression was even emptier than usual.

He was on the evening shift today.

The past few days had passed like a storm, and because of that, the quiet ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ peace of the present moment felt strangely unfamiliar. After sitting in thought for a while, Yoon Taehee pressed his lips against the black bead and summoned Black Emperor.

Some time ago, Yoon Taehee had instructed Black Emperor to investigate Myojeong. He wanted to know whether there had been any progress.

“Still nothing?” the Leader asked quietly as Black Emperor appeared before him with impeccable courtesy.

“I have yet to uncover anything useful.”

Tracking down information about Myojeong had proven difficult.

Myojeong had been a Naja from the former Office of Narye, which had vanished long ago. On top of that, he was someone who had lived nearly two hundred years earlier, during the Joseon dynasty. There was little information left behind, and almost nothing concrete to follow.

Black Emperor was currently searching by questioning ancient ghosts and spiritual creatures.

“However, not long ago, I met someone who claimed to have heard Myojeong’s name before.”

At least they had finally found a lead.

Black Emperor said he believed they would have a clearer picture before long. Yoon Taehee listened quietly, then let out a faint sigh and rubbed at his temples.

“I see.”

The Leader seemed exhausted in more ways than one.

Black Emperor also knew the Leader had been struggling lately because of the boy who constantly strayed beyond the boundaries of the plan.

A few days ago, during the raid on the Gongju branch, the Leader had suffered a serious injury because of him. When Paehyeon brought him back, supporting him by the arm, blood had been pouring from the wound in his side.

That day, the intelligent ghosts had nearly descended into chaos.

Daga wept while dabbing at her eyes with the ribbons of her traditional jacket, clutching a fodder knife in one hand as she demanded only a single order so she could go cut someone’s head off. Yeonok had rolled across the floor shrieking hysterically, demanding to know who had dared do such a thing.

It had been an incredibly dangerous situation. His identity could have been exposed at any moment.

Fortunately, the wound healed completely within a single day.

That was only possible because there had still been some of Mesan’s medicinal water left—what Jaegyeom had secretly brought him after returning from the island not long ago.

Without Mesan’s medicinal water, the injury could never have healed that quickly. Even the Purification Unit’s medicinal water would have struggled to fully heal the wound overnight. Of course, if a bone had been broken or a blade had pierced deeply enough, even Mesan’s medicinal water would have required more time.

Thankfully, the wound along the Leader’s side had only been a shallow slash, barely the depth of a finger joint.

“Are you truly all right now?”

At Black Emperor’s question, the Leader nodded.

“Yes. I’m fine.”

The moment he poured Mesan’s medicinal water over the injury, it healed almost instantly.

After treating himself in the pavilion, the Leader returned immediately to headquarters. Thanks to that, he avoided Jaegyeom’s suspicion entirely.

Still, he had never imagined Jaegyeom would suddenly ask him to take off his clothes.

Just imagining what might have happened if he had faced yesterday’s situation without treating the wound first made him dizzy.

Because of the rumors Im Hyomun had spread throughout headquarters, news had already spread everywhere that Jaegyeom had crossed swords with the Leader and wounded his side during the fight. Yoon Taehee had hurried to treat the injury just in case, but if there had been even the slightest delay—if the medicinal water had run short and even a faint scar remained—he would have been exposed immediately.

Yesterday, when Jaegyeom first became suspicious, Yoon Taehee had felt utterly cornered.

But now, strangely enough, it almost felt fortunate.

Jaegyeom had personally confirmed with his own eyes that there was no wound on his body. After that, he would no longer be able to connect him to Byeoksadan.

With this, the suspicion had finally disappeared completely.

A blessing in disguise.

After instructing Black Emperor to report back immediately if he uncovered anything else regarding Myojeong, Yoon Taehee dismissed him.

It was time to head to headquarters.

He had just started to rise from the sofa when his phone chimed.

Ding.

A text message had arrived.

[Where are you.?]

It was from Jaegyeom.

Yoon Taehee paused and looked down at the screen.

After the cold way Jaegyeom had pushed him away yesterday, he hadn’t expected him to contact him first. While he hesitated over what to reply, another message arrived.

[Let’s.get dinner.]

***

That evening, Yoon Taehee drove to pick Jaegyeom up in front of his house.

Neither of them greeted the other. Neither asked how the other was doing.

The moment Jaegyeom climbed into the car, Yoon Taehee quietly asked what he wanted to eat.

“Anything’s fine.”

In truth, Jaegyeom had no appetite at all.

He had only used dinner as an excuse to create a chance to talk to Yoon Taehee.

Yoon Taehee drove silently.

Eventually, the car stopped in front of a restaurant they had visited once before.

It was a small home-style restaurant known for grilled fish.

Jaegyeom had eaten there once with Yoon Taehee before. It seemed Taehee remembered it was the kind of place Jaegyeom liked.

But as far as Jaegyeom knew, Yoon Taehee disliked seafood and anything with a fishy smell. Last time, he had barely touched his food.

The realization that Yoon Taehee had come here solely because of him made Jaegyeom’s chest sink heavily.

The dinner rush had already ended, and the restaurant was quiet. In one corner, a lone customer drank by himself. The owner sat at an empty table, staring absently at the television.

When Jaegyeom and Yoon Taehee chose a table and sat down, the owner brought over water and wet towels.

Just like last time, Yoon Taehee ordered the ttukbul.

“We’re sold out of ttukbul today,” the owner replied.

There was practically nothing else on the menu Yoon Taehee actually liked. After staring at the menu for a while, he eventually ordered grilled Spanish mackerel instead, while Jaegyeom chose braised cutlassfish.

Once they finished ordering, an uncomfortable silence settled between them.

Since he was the one who had asked Yoon Taehee to dinner, Jaegyeom knew he should speak first. But for some reason, the words refused to leave his mouth.

While he silently searched for what to say, Yoon Taehee carefully wiped his hands with the wet towel, placed a napkin neatly in front of Jaegyeom, lined up his spoon and chopsticks for him, and even poured him a glass of water without being asked.

As always, Yoon Taehee was meticulous. Thoughtful. Consideration seemed so natural to him it had become instinct.

Watching those familiar gestures, Jaegyeom’s lips twitched faintly.

“About yesterday, I...”

“Yes?”

When Jaegyeom trailed off, Yoon Taehee answered softly, waiting for him to continue.

“......”

He had thought he was ready.

He had thought he had already made up his mind.

But now that he was sitting face-to-face with Yoon Taehee, the words refused to come out.