Honbul: Flame of the Soul

Just a moment ago, a gentle breeze had drifted in through the open window.

Jaegyeom caught the faint scent riding on the wind. The fragrance carried by the breeze had gradually faded over time, far weaker than before, but he still recognized the scent that brushed past his nose.

The final confirmation came the moment he caught the lingering scent on the wrist.

Jaegyeom, his face buried against the Leader’s wrist, slowly lifted his eyes. A sharp gaze glared back at him. It was the kind of stare that felt as though it could see straight through any disguise.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t recognize you?”

Silence fell.

“......”

“......”

The Leader, frozen blankly in place, slowly closed his eyes beneath the veil.

“Yoon Taehee. Answer me.”

At Jaegyeom’s call, the fingertips that had remained stiff the entire time twitched faintly.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know just because you hid behind some pathetic scrap of cloth?”

Time seemed to stretch endlessly. His senses felt distant and numb. In the span of only a few seconds, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

How foolish.

He had thought that as long as he concealed his face and disguised his voice, there would be nothing left that could expose him. So he had hidden both. Yet Jaegyeom had still uncovered the identity of Byeoksadan’s master. A face and voice could be hidden, but the scent clinging to his body could not.

He had only been wary of what could be seen and heard. Never once had he imagined he would be recognized by scent alone. The moment Jaegyeom pressed his nose against his wrist, the Leader realized the game of hide-and-seek was over.

This was his defeat.

Truthfully, he had always prepared himself for the possibility that his identity might one day be exposed. Yoon Taehee had always been the type to assume the worst-case scenario. Confronting Jaegyeom in the same room while acting as the master of Byeoksadan had always carried risk. Even knowing that, he had ultimately decided that learning Jaegyeom’s true intentions mattered more, which was why he had come here in the first place.

But he had never imagined it would happen like this.

He had expected that perhaps his veil would be torn away, or that some unforeseen incident would expose his face. But he had never thought Jaegyeom would recognize him without even seeing his face or hearing his real voice.

Yoon Taehee had never even realized he possessed a recognizable scent to begin with.

Which meant this was entirely his own fatal mistake. The scent clinging to him had become as natural as his own body odor, something so familiar that he himself had stopped noticing it. Unless someone deliberately paid attention, it was difficult to realize that a fragrance had seeped so deeply into one’s body.

“I asked you a question. Why aren’t you answering?”

Jaegyeom’s icy voice cut through the silence.

“Why? You still think you can deny it?”

“......”

“Choose.”

“......”

“Are you taking it off yourself, or should I do it for you?”

“......”

Realizing there was nowhere left to run, the Leader finally spoke in a low voice.

“Do whatever you want.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Jaegyeom shot to his feet, vaulted over the table in a single motion, and lunged at him.

The Leader’s rigid posture collapsed instantly. The chair overturned with a loud crash. Knocked backward by the force, he fell hard, crumpled awkwardly between the wall and the floor.

Jaegyeom strode toward him and reached out—

Heukje, who had been watching helplessly the entire time, finally stepped in.

He was afraid the Leader would truly be hurt if this continued. And the Leader himself showed no intention of resisting, sitting there with his head lowered defenselessly. Heukje hurried between them, trying somehow to mediate the situation.

Then Jaegyeom turned his head sharply toward him.

“Stay out of this before I kill you.”

Heukje froze.

For the first time in his life, he understood what it meant for the body to lock up instinctively in fear. Even if he attacked, he knew he would never win.

Those eyes were quiet, but beneath the stillness burned violent fury. Heukje understood the warning contained in them immediately.

Any interference would not be tolerated.

“Heukje.”

A voice drifted out from behind the veil.

“You may leave now.”

Heukje, who had stood stiffly frozen, lowered his head a beat later.

“...Yes.”

Then he left.

Jaegyeom braced one hand against the wall and knelt in front of the Leader.

For a while, he simply looked down silently at the man collapsed on the floor. Then he abruptly lifted the bamboo hat and veil.

The hat came away, revealing the face hidden beneath it.

Disheveled hair.

Dark shadows beneath the eyes.

Yoon Taehee, head hanging low, suddenly let out a faint crooked laugh before speaking.

“Hello.”

The moment he heard the greeting, Jaegyeom let out a hollow laugh of his own.

“You were really... the master of Byeoksadan?”

It was absurd. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Yoon Taehee had never imagined he could be discovered through scent, so the entire situation had completely blindsided him.

But for Jaegyeom, recognizing Yoon Taehee by scent was the most natural thing in the world.

Ever since they first met, Jaegyeom had gone through countless ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) stages trying to understand the man named Yoon Taehee.

Yoon Taehee had always been someone impossible to fully grasp.

At first, he was simply an overly kind librarian with something suspicious lurking beneath the surface. Then he became an enemy Jaegyeom thought he had to defeat after learning he was a Naja disguised as a librarian. After that, they joined hands as allies standing on the same side.

And somewhere along the way, Jaegyeom had fallen in love with him.

To Jaegyeom, Yoon Taehee was someone who never stayed still, someone constantly changing.

But there was one thing that had never changed from beginning to end.

Yoon Taehee always smelled good.

That alone had remained constant.

So how could he possibly fail to recognize this scent?

“Do you really think this makes sense right now?”

He had held him in his arms all night. Just this morning, he had woken up buried in sheets soaked with Yoon Taehee’s scent. How could he possibly fail to recognize him?

How could I not know? Do you have any idea how much I love your scent?

He wanted to scream it. To get angry.

“There’s a limit to how much you can treat someone like an idiot...”

But before anger, sorrow came first.

“How could you do this to me?”

The bitter smile slowly vanished from Jaegyeom’s face.

“I told you not to lie to me, no matter what.”

He tried to steady himself, but his voice trembled anyway.

“No... I said lying was fine. But if you were going to lie, I told you not to get caught.”

Even if the entire world deceived him, he had hoped Yoon Taehee at least would not.

He had said it lightly at the time, hiding behind alcohol because he didn’t want to expose his weakness. But in truth, it had been a desperate plea.

Only Yoon Taehee knew the lowest point of his life, the part of himself he wanted to hide from everyone else.

Only to you did I show the part of myself I never wanted anyone to see.

“Hey. Answer me one thing.”

No matter how he thought about it, this made no sense.

Not long ago, he had personally checked Yoon Taehee’s side for wounds with his own eyes. He had suspected him for nothing, interrogated him unnecessarily, and still carried guilt over it. And now Yoon Taehee sat before him wearing the red durumagi said to belong to the master of Byeoksadan.

“How long were you planning to deceive me?”

Yoon Taehee, crumpled harshly on the floor, said nothing.

He looked as though he could neither see nor hear anything. Or perhaps as though he simply lacked the will to answer.

“Answer me, you bastard.”

Jaegyeom grabbed his chin and forced him to look up.

Slowly, Yoon Taehee lifted his eyes to meet Jaegyeom’s gaze. His eyes looked utterly devoid of emotion as he quietly asked,

“What do you want me to say?”

That detached attitude hurt more than anger ever could.

Jaegyeom had wanted an apology. Or at least an explanation. Some reason he could force himself to understand.

“An excuse. An apology. Anything.”

Eyes reddened, Jaegyeom seized him by the collar.

But Yoon Taehee stayed silent for a long time, only staring blankly at Jaegyeom’s face.

Then, at last, he spoke.

“I love you.”

The quiet confession made the strength slowly drain from Jaegyeom’s grip.

That wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

“......”

Still kneeling there, Jaegyeom lowered his head.

“This is betrayal...”

The words slipped out weakly.

“You betrayed my heart.”

“No. I didn’t betray you.”

Yoon Taehee tilted his head slightly.

“Jaegyeom, this isn’t betrayal. I deceived you, that’s all. I never changed from beginning to end. I was always the same. Call it deceit if you want. But betrayal...”

At the next words, Jaegyeom slowly raised his head.

“What you did to me was betrayal.”

You told me you loved me while secretly planning to disappear behind my back.

“But Jaegyeom, it’s alright.”

After a brief pause, Yoon Taehee smiled faintly.

“Neither Byeoksadan nor I can give you what you want.”

“......”

“So just remember one thing.”

“......”

Cupping Jaegyeom’s cheeks gently, Yoon Taehee spoke softly.

“You can never leave.”

“You can’t go anywhere. Ever.”