Honbul: Flame of the Soul

“What are you?”

The red eyes, like pomegranate seeds, narrowed.

“Who knows.”

Sisi flicked its tongue and tilted its head.

“I am simply your ‘Sisi.’”

“Tell me why you came to me.”

“Do you really not know?”

Seonoh.

You must have felt, every now and then, as if the world were calling you. You must have felt yourself being pulled toward some place you did not know, a constant impatience, as though you had to go somewhere. Even without knowing what you were supposed to do, you must have lived with the sense that there was something you had to do. Isn’t that right?

I have already offered many pieces to your board. Your countless retainers. The intelligent ghosts. And even that child... Standing on the shoulders of so many stories, trials, and histories, you are here now.

You must have felt countless hands caring for you until now. When you lost your way, a signpost appeared. Where you sat down, sunlight fell. When you stood at a crosswalk, the signal soon changed, and in a café you entered by chance, your favorite music was playing. You have the eyes to recognize a good book, and everything that caught your eye held meaning. What do you think the reason was?

Seonoh.

You must become ‘something.’

You must accomplish ‘something.’

You must leave your mark on this world.

You must not live insignificantly and die insignificantly.

You must not become an ordinary human. You must become a hero. A god. A Bangsangsi. The new master of the Office of Narye. You must cast aside everything trivial and follow a grand destiny.

You must become the emissary of the homeland that rules over humans and ghosts.

“That is why I brought you here.”

Sisi, who had paused for a moment, tilted its head and stared at Seonoh.

“If not for me, you would never have been able to leave ‘that place.’”

He had no intention of denying it. If not for Sisi, he would never have been able to open that door and come out. It had been the same on that day in reality, when the blizzard had raged, and the same on the day he had been trapped in a hallucination, lost inside his childhood.

A mysterious guide that had suddenly appeared one day in the form of a snake. A being that was somehow unnatural, whether one called it a ghost or a spiritual creature. A thin black snake like a thread bracelet. Perhaps a part of himself.

“Yes, I see.”

And so, the moment ‘destiny’ spoke, Yoon Taehee understood.

“You were the ‘homeland’...”

The black snake was silent for a long time. It merely watched Yoon Taehee, blinking its eyes very slowly. Then, at a certain moment, Sisi, which had been settled against him like a tattoo, poked its head out from the outside of his wrist.

The two-dimensional being that had seeped into his skin like a painting became a living, moving, three-dimensional form and lifted its head. Flicking its tongue, Sisi narrowed its pomegranate-red eyes.

“Remember. Without me, you could not have opened the door.”

“Yes, I suppose not.”

Sisi had told the young, weak Seonoh to open the door and go outside.

And beyond the door Sisi had guided him to was the world.

“But even so, the one who opened the door and came out was me.”

The inevitabilities that had occurred under the guise of coincidence were pouring down like a meteor shower.

“I will become ‘something.’ But it will not be the ‘something’ you want me to become. I’m sorry, but I’m not the kind of person who can obediently walk the path someone else laid out for me. I’m not the only one who has to pay a price. The homeland will have to pay the price for choosing me, too. So go and tell the homeland.”

Yoon Taehee lifted Sisi’s chin with the tip of his index finger. Just as Sisi, its head now resting on his neatly trimmed fingernail, narrowed its eyes, Yoon Taehee looked down at it with a numb face, gave a crooked little smile, and spoke.

“Tell them, ‘The one who should have become a hero fell into ruin because of love.’”

Sisi’s eyes opened into a languid squint.

“Foolish bastard...”

The red glow in Sisi’s eyes flickered, then lost its light and went out.

After Sisi fell asleep, Yoon Taehee remained lost in thought for a very long time, rolling a game piece in his palm. From now on, making plans was meaningless. The moment of clarity had finally arrived.

Yoon Taehee grabbed the red outer robe hanging beside the table and rose to his feet. He opened the door and strode into the empty hallway, slinging the red robe over one arm as he spoke.

“Paehyeon.”

As soon as the word left his mouth, a figure rose soundlessly on his left.

“I have somewhere to go for a moment. I’ll be back by tomorrow morning at the latest.”

“Will you be returning to the pavilion?”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

“Black Emperor.”

This time, another figure attached itself to his right.

“Stay by his side and watch over him until I return.”

“What do you intend to do after that?”

“I’m going to take him home.”

“What if he does not wake?”

“We proceed as planned.”

Black Emperor and Paehyeon, walking down the hall on either side of their lord, exchanged glances.

There were less than two days left now. If the boy did not wake, their lord would not be able to retrieve his wooden tag. Without the wooden tag, their lord could not face the Office of Narye head-on.

If that happened, it was obvious which side would hold the advantage. There was no way their lord did not know that. And yet, their lord intended to destroy the Office of Narye as planned, without postponing the date.

Paehyeon looked at the profile of their lord as he walked forward, eyes fixed straight ahead. Whenever his master’s plans went awry or he came up against a difficult problem, he would lock himself in his room for days and play Korean chess. And so, when their lord finally revealed himself after several days, as he had today, he usually had those eyes. Eyes that gleamed coldly, without the slightest wavering. Eyes that did not doubt the formation he himself had created. Perhaps their lord had found a way to confront the Office of Narye without the boy and the wooden tag.

“Understood.”

Their lord left the pavilion with swift strides. Black Emperor moved toward the room where the boy lay asleep in order to follow their lord’s command, while Paehyeon headed for the room where their lord had been staying. This was Paehyeon’s habit. By examining the Korean chess game their lord had played alone, he could grasp his intentions to some extent in advance.

Paehyeon lifted a hand and parted the beaded curtain. On the sunlit table, a Korean chessboard had been set out, as usual.

And the moment his gaze fell upon the board, Paehyeon froze despite himself.

The Korean chessboard was folded in half, and every piece had been put away in its case.

“......”

Their lord had not played Korean chess.

Friday evening. The hour when ghosts ran rampant.

Yoon Taehee stood on the rooftop of a tall building.

Dressed in a black suit that fit his body perfectly, Yoon Taehee stood with both hands tucked into his trouser pockets, his expressionless face slowly taking in the city’s nightscape. He had been standing there since dusk, waiting for night. Like a hawk waiting for the right moment, he silently watched as the city was submerged in darkness.

Twilight fell, and darkness descended. Car headlights scattered chaotically across every road, and here and there, signs lit up in bright colors. The figures of pedestrians moving below looked as small as ants.

Standing somewhere this high made it feel as though he were floating in the open sky.

The wind blew in from far away. Yoon Taehee raised a hand and swept back the hair that had fallen over his forehead. His hair fluttered softly in the wind. The hem of the red outer robe worn over his sharply tailored suit flapped. Yoon Taehee, who had returned his hand to his pocket, took his cell phone from his coat.

He turned on the phone, which had been powered off for days. He had not gone to the Office of Narye for the past five days. Since he had disappeared without a word, it was only natural that missed calls and messages had piled up like snow.

Yoon Taehee swiped through the call log with a numb face.

Seok Juryeon. Kang Ibin. Pyo Jiho. Go Junhyung. Lee Youngshin...

He had received calls from many people, including members of Team 1. Among them, he saw Jeongju’s name as well. Worried because he could not reach Jaegyeom, Jeongju had left several missed calls. After sinking into thought for a moment, Yoon Taehee brought the phone to his ear. Before long, a voice came through.

“Yes, Jeongju. It’s me.”

Yoon Taehee opened his mouth, gazing at the horizon as it was swallowed by darkness.

“There is going to be a war at the Office of Narye.”

From the top of the building, the whole of Jongno was visible at a glance. Standing at the edge beyond the railing, Yoon Taehee tapped his shoe heel and continued quietly. If anyone had seen him, the sight would have looked terribly precarious, but Yoon Taehee, standing on the cliff’s edge, looked bored, as though he felt nothing in particular.

“It may become very dangerous from now on. But after today, everything will be over. Still, just in case, if you have somewhere to take shelter, go hide there. Jaegyeom would want that too.”

After delivering his message in concise terms, Yoon Taehee turned off his phone. Then he casually tossed it behind him. It did not matter whether it broke or was destroyed.

After all, there was nowhere left for him to call, and nowhere for calls to come from.

A beautiful night view. Densely packed skyscrapers. All of Jongno visible at a glance. Yoon Taehee slowly put a mask over his face. It was a Fool mask with a distorted smile. Facing the wind that gave a sense of release, Yoon Taehee closed his eyes. The hem of his red outer robe fluttered in the wind blowing in from far away.

“Magnificent.”

It was a dangerous and magnificent city night.