Honbul: Flame of the Soul

Late in the afternoon, Jaegyeom stood deep in the mountains.

After steadily climbing for quite some time, he finally stopped and wiped the sweat beading along his forehead. As he caught his breath, an odd feeling suddenly washed over him, as though he were dreaming. Just a little while ago, he had definitely been lying at home, yet now he was standing alone on a distant mountain. The abrupt shift still felt unreal.

It was the ghost horse that had brought him here.

After parting ways with Yoon Taehee and returning home, Jaegyeom had showered, eaten, and taken a nap. Then he summoned Bima and asked to be taken to Byeoksadan. The ghost horse carried him high through the cool sky above the clouds, and in less than thirty minutes, it delivered him to this mountain.

Somewhere on this mountain stood the pavilion of Byeoksadan.

The mountain itself was nothing special—just an unnamed hill in a remote region. Following the direction Bima had indicated, Jaegyeom climbed upward through the dense forest. The place was utterly deserted. There were no hikers, not even a proper trail. If he had known it would be like this, he would have asked the horse to drop him closer to the summit.

After resting briefly, Jaegyeom resumed climbing.

He was close now.

As he continued up the mountain without hesitation, a quiet determination settled into his eyes. °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Somewhere along the way, he had become strangely absorbed in the climb itself.

When he finally arrived before the pavilion, Jaegyeom paused and looked back.

The broad landscape spread far below the mountain beneath the fading light.

A strange exhilaration rose inside him.

For some reason, it felt as though he had been reborn.

He had never liked anyone before in his life.

Jeongju and Mesan were precious family—the people who had sustained his life for years—but what he felt for them was completely different from what he felt whenever he thought of Yoon Taehee.

When he thought of Jeongju and Mesan, gratitude always came first. And alongside that gratitude was guilt.

But Yoon Taehee was different.

Whenever he thought about him, countless tangled emotions surfaced all at once.

Yoon Taehee had the power to shatter the tedious peace of Jaegyeom’s daily life. Because of Yoon Taehee, he had wanted to die. And because of that same Yoon Taehee, he had wanted to live.

It took Jaegyeom a long time to finally accept that feeling.

He had thought something terrible would happen the moment he admitted that he liked Yoon Taehee. As though the instant he faced that disastrous emotion head-on, the sky would collapse or the world would come apart around him.

So he had feared a catastrophe that never arrived.

Yet life continued on unchanged. The scenery before his eyes remained the same. The world surrounding Jaegyeom did not change.

As much as a tomorrow with Yoon Taehee felt wonderful, a tomorrow without him felt unbearably frightening.

But if you’re in my tomorrow, then I can survive this hellish today.

If your sorrow hurts more than mine does, then I have to take responsibility for this heart.

I can’t leave you alone in your grief.

I’ll do anything.

And so Jaegyeom had come here to take responsibility for his own feelings.

After steadying his breathing, he knocked on the pavilion door.

A moment later, the door opened.

A large intelligent ghost with a stony expression stood there. Jaegyeom instinctively lifted his head to look at him.

“What business brings you here—!!”

The voice boomed like a train whistle. Jaegyeom winced and covered his ears.

After awkwardly explaining why he had come, Jaegyeom was told to wait outside for a moment. The intelligent ghost shut the door and disappeared back into the pavilion.

But even after a long time passed, the door remained closed.

The longer Jaegyeom stood outside waiting, the more anxious he became. What if they refused to let him in?

Eventually, the door opened again.

This time, another intelligent ghost stepped outside.

Unlike the first, this one wore pure white robes. Just from his appearance, Jaegyeom could tell he too was an intelligent ghost who had lived for a very long time.

Standing in the doorway, the ghost silently looked down at Jaegyeom before speaking.

“Follow me.”

Jaegyeom entered the pavilion behind him.

The intelligent ghost walked one step ahead through the corridor. As Jaegyeom followed, he glanced sideways at the ghost’s profile. He expected at least some small talk—where are you from, what business do you have here—but the ghost remained completely silent, staring straight ahead with a blank expression.

Then a strange feeling crept over Jaegyeom.

“Hey.”

The intelligent ghost stopped walking.

“Have we met somewhere before?”

At the question, the ghost slowly turned halfway back toward him.

It definitely should have been their first meeting. And yet Jaegyeom felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Their eyes met.

Jaegyeom stared at him intently without looking away.

“......”

The ghost silently averted his gaze first.

“We have not.”

His tone was dry.

Then, as though nothing had happened, he turned back around and continued walking.

For some reason, though, the tips of his ears had turned faintly red.

Eventually, the intelligent ghost guided Jaegyeom into an empty room.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

After saying that, he quietly left.

Left alone in the room, Jaegyeom slowly looked around.

The pavilion felt like a place pulled out of another era. The wooden floors gleamed with the polish of age. A white porcelain vase sat elegantly in one corner, while a twelve-panel folding screen stood nearby. An ink wash painting hung along the wall. At the center of the room sat an enormous table, almost large enough to be mistaken for a bed.

Blankly taking it all in, Jaegyeom finally walked over and sat down in front of the table.

For some reason, he felt nervous.

He rubbed his damp palms against his knees.

A short while later, the door opened again.

The intelligent ghost from before returned.

But he was not alone.

Behind him, the Leader entered the room.

Wearing a red traditional coat, the Leader silently crossed the room and sat opposite Jaegyeom. Because the table between them was so large, they still sat far apart despite facing each other directly.

Jaegyeom stared at him in confusion.

This was only the second time he had ever seen the Leader.

Just like at the Gongju branch, the Leader wore a black veil over his face. Beneath it was a dark crimson outer robe layered over black clothing.

Facing him across the enormous table, Jaegyeom awkwardly straightened his posture.

“Uh... well, I—”

At that moment, the intelligent ghost standing beside the Leader spoke.

“The Leader was recently struck by a Sain Sword and is still recovering. His condition has not fully healed yet, so speaking at length is difficult for him.”

He can’t speak?

Jaegyeom blinked and looked at the Leader again.

“He will write what he wishes to say, and I will speak on his behalf.”

“I understand.”

The intelligent ghost laid out brush and paper in front of the Leader, then began preparing tea with a nearby tea set.

Back at the Gongju branch, the situation had been far too chaotic for Jaegyeom to properly observe anything about the Leader. At the time, he himself had barely been conscious. Between the flames, smoke, and the way his senses had nearly shut down, he hadn’t even been in his right mind.

But now that he saw him clearly, the Leader seemed to have the build of a fully grown adult man.

Jaegyeom suddenly didn’t know how he should speak to him.

Should he use formal language, since he was asking for a favor? Should he greet him first? Apologize first? Say it was nice to meet him?

As Jaegyeom sat there struggling with what to say—

Clatter!

The sudden noise made both Jaegyeom and the Leader turn at the same time.

The intelligent ghost preparing tea had knocked over the teapot.

Apparently his hand slipped.

The sharp clatter shattered the silence hanging over the room.

Because Paehyeon was usually the one who handled the tea, Heukje was terrible at it.

“......”

Contrary to his cold and taciturn appearance, the intelligent ghost was astonishingly clumsy with his hands.

Jaegyeom forgot what he had been about to say and found himself distracted, watching the ghost awkwardly struggle with the tea set.

Crash!

This time, a teacup slipped from his hand and shattered.

“......”

“......”

Under the combined gazes of both Jaegyeom and the Leader, Heukje somehow managed to finish brewing the tea.

A fragrant aroma slowly spread through the room.

He poured tea into two cups and placed one before Jaegyeom and the other before the Leader.

Jaegyeom stared down at the teacup in front of him.

After climbing the mountain, he was thirsty enough to gulp it down immediately. But after his previous experiences drinking things handed to him by other people, he hesitated to touch it.

Just then, the Leader picked up his teacup.

He lifted it toward his face—

Then abruptly froze.

After remaining motionless for a second, the Leader quietly lowered the teacup back onto the table as though nothing had happened.

Jaegyeom looked at him blankly.

What was that?

Why did he stop right before drinking it?

Then Jaegyeom realized.

He forgot he was wearing a veil.

“......”

“......”

Another strange silence settled over the room.

Jaegyeom had expected the group that openly challenged the Office of Narye and destroyed two of its branches to feel oppressive and terrifying.

But ever since he arrived here, everything had felt strangely... off.

The intelligent ghosts were awkward.

And so was the Leader.