Honbul: Flame of the Soul

The members of Team 1 returned to the office.

A deathly silence settled over the somber office.

Every single team member wore an unreadable expression.

Treason was a dangerous thing, capable of dragging everyone around the perpetrator down with them. As Seok Juryeon had said, there was no way Yoon Taehee had not known the sparks would fly toward those close to him. They knew there was an invisible wall between them, but they had never imagined he was plotting something like this behind everyone’s backs.

How much of it had been sincere, and how much had been a façade?

How long had he been planning this?

Which one was the real Chief Yoon?

The team members were thrown into confusion. They had believed that trusting him implicitly, believing he would never do such a thing, was the right thing to do for him. They had thought that was what it meant to take his side.

But that was only a one-sided belief.

If the moment came when they realized the direction of that faith was wrong...

Despite all that, can you still take that boy’s side?

Then they had to choose.

Would they become Yoon Taehee’s enemies?

Or would they stand on Yoon Taehee’s side?

“What are all of you going to do?”

It was Ibin who broke the silence.

Ibin, who had been lost in thought while sitting in her chair, stood up with both hands braced on her desk. At her movement, all the team members raised their heads and looked at her.

“I’m going to the Chief.”

Ibin spoke readily, as though she had already made up her mind.

“What? But...”

“Lead Naja Kang...”

At their voices, filled with concern, Ibin shrugged.

“It’s fine. I was thinking of quitting as a Naja anyway.”

The team members’ eyes widened in surprise at her sudden statement.

“Lead Naja Kang, just calm down for a moment.”

Pyo Jiho, who was standing nearby, grabbed Ibin by the arm.

“Calm down from what? I’m calmer than anyone right now.”

“We are Naja before we are a team.”

“I know. And Naja are people too.”

“Can you really take responsibility for all of this?”

As the highest-ranking officer in the team in Chief Yoon’s absence, Pyo Jiho felt responsible for the situation.

Not everyone’s path could be the same. Above all, simply talking about this could become a serious charge. He had to consider what consequences this moment would bring in the future.

Pyo Jiho, too, wanted to protect everyone if possible.

Including Chief Yoon.

He simply did not have the confidence.

“I like the Office of Narye with Chief Yoon in it too. But I don’t know about the Chief. Maybe he hasn’t said anything until now because he didn’t want to drag us in. Or maybe he drew a line because he thought our paths were different from the beginning. So Chief Yoon may have seen us as...”

“Jiho.” 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Then Ibin cut off Pyo Jiho’s words with an unwavering gaze.

“Where else in the world is there someone who pays your hospital bills?”

Pyo Jiho faltered and looked at Ibin.

“You know, don’t you? That Chief Yoon paid my mom’s hospital bills.”

“......”

“I don’t care what Chief Yoon thought of us. Whether he plotted treason or whether he’s the master of Byeoksadan, Chief Yoon is the person who helped me when I needed it. That’s all that matters to me.”

Pyo Jiho’s eyes wavered for a moment.

“Have you ever seen Chief Yoon back down? That man has never failed to step forward when his team members were in danger. I liked that Chief Yoon was on our side. And I liked that someone like Chief Yoon was a Naja.”

For a moment, Pyo Jiho was speechless.

“......”

Chief Yoon was a kind and considerate person.

The favors he gave ultimately saved someone and resulted in sustaining a life. Regardless of his intent, Ibin was grateful to him for protecting her family.

Even if it was hypocrisy.

Ibin looked around at the team members and asked in a low voice.

“So, what are all of you going to do?”

“Chief, are you all right?”

Ibin, who had rushed in by a hair’s breadth, turned around.

As the door opened completely, the straw men standing in the hallway began to attack all at once. Ibin gripped her sword again, without even a moment to catch her breath.

The director’s personal guards wearing white masks had no reason. They were like machines in human form. At this rate, they would be cornered.

Ibin hurriedly grabbed Yoon Taehee by the collar and dragged him into the elevator. Then she quickly pressed the close button. Once the door closed, the sound of bodies thudding against it came from outside, but they could not enter, seemingly unaware that they had to press a button to open the door.

“Chief, get a hold of yourself!”

Ibin grabbed Yoon Taehee by the collar and shook him.

The pain that had seemed to subside for a moment began again. Yoon Taehee was preoccupied with suppressing it, panting and groaning like someone who had just finished a long-distance run.

Ibin’s face turned pale.

She had heard that breaking a taboo brought corresponding pain, but she had not known it would be this bad.

It was the first time she had ever seen Yoon Taehee suffer like this.

“...What happened?”

Just then, Yoon Taehee frowned and suddenly grabbed Ibin’s hand.

“It’s a long story, so let’s talk about it later.”

Ibin took a small bottle of water out of her bag.

“Drink this. It’s medicinal water I received from the Purification Unit.”

“This won’t be enough.”

“I know. I know it won’t be enough, but you might feel a little better.”

In truth, if the situation had not been so precarious, she had many things she wanted to ask.

How much of it had been sincere?

Why on earth had he plotted this?

What had been happening until now?

But...

Despite all that, can you still take that boy’s side?

It did not matter.

Because coming here despite everything was her own choice.

“Come with me, Chief.”

Go together?

To where?

“I’ll protect you this time, Chief.”

Yoon Taehee’s eyes slowly widened.

“In exchange, let’s call it even for the hospital bills with this.”

Yoon Taehee let out a chuckle.

He laughed because it was so absurd. Even if she said that now, he knew she would stubbornly save up the money for the hospital bills and eventually shove it in front of him.

That was the kind of person Ibin was.

“Let’s wait here for just a moment. The others will be here soon.”

“...What do you mean?”

“The team members are at the registry room right now. They decided to take turns bringing out the wooden tags one by one. They thought we’d end up fighting fellow Naja. But what are those things? They’re so damn creepy!”

Yoon Taehee looked at Ibin, momentarily at a loss for words.

“Anyway, it’ll take a little time. When the others get here, we’ll move together.”

Since they could not touch the wooden tags with their own names on them, the team members had decided to take turns bringing out each other’s. There was a white tiger statue in front of the registry room, but if five Naja from the Exorcism Unit banded together, they should be able to hold out. They would bring out the wooden tags one by one while holding back the white tiger statue.

“......”

Yoon Taehee could not say anything.

No, he did not know what to say.

With this, all of his past actions had become futile.

Seeking out a successor in order to reclaim his wooden tag.

Finding someone who could become his personal Naja.

Bringing Jaegyeom all the way here.

It was the moment he realized that all of his plans had, in the end, gone awry.

And yet, at this very moment, Yoon Taehee felt an unexpected sense of delight.

It was an indescribable sensation he had felt once before.

Rattle!

It was then.

The elevator door shook violently as it began to be forced open from the outside. The straw men, having sensed their enemies, could not open the elevator door, so eventually they began forcing it open with sheer strength.

In a space they had thought was safe, they were suddenly cornered.

If they kept waiting like this, the straw men would jump in before the team members arrived. The one fortunate thing was that the straw men were not Naja. Since they were not Naja, it was possible to use spiritual force against them.

“Chief. I’ll open the path.”

After pressing the water bottle into Yoon Taehee’s hand, Ibin stood up.

“I’ll open the path, so you just look forward and go to the door, Chief.”

“Wait, Lead Naja Kang. Just a moment.”

“You understand, right? The others will be here soon anyway. Don’t worry.”

Ibin seemed to have no doubt that the team members would come.

At that, Yoon Taehee felt a strange emotion that was hard to put into words.

What exactly did it mean to trust and rely on someone?

“I’ll give the signal. You just press the open button, Chief.”

Ibin took her stance with her sword, as if she were about to bolt out at any moment.

Ibin drew in a deep breath.

“Press it!”

However, Yoon Taehee could not readily bring himself to press the open button.

He had not hesitated like this when he was alone.

But this time, he was not alone.

Now there were two of them.

The fact that he could lose someone was what made this so troublesome, Yoon Taehee thought.

“Press it! Hurry!”

Ibin stamped her foot and eventually screamed.

“Ah, Yoon Taehee! I said open it already!”

At that, Yoon Taehee’s face completely relaxed.

“You’re even dropping formal speech now.”

“We’re the same age anyway! Just hurry up and open it!”

Yoon Taehee drained all the medicinal water he was holding. He crushed the empty bottle with a crunch. Then he tossed the plastic bottle, crumpled like a sheet of paper, onto the floor and rose onto one knee.

He pressed Open.

Ibin, who had been holding her stance with her sword tilted, shot out like an arrow. The sword, infused with spiritual force, swung out and instantly cut through the bodies of the straw men gathered in front of the elevator.

However, as soon as the straw men fell, they began to writhe and rise again.

“Aaaah! What the hell, you creepy bastards!”

Ibin shrieked and swung her sword.

“Go, quickly!”

Ibin shouted as she slashed again and again.

“Hurry!”

Yoon Taehee dragged his bloodstained boots forward.

He walked without knowing anything.

Why Ibin had come to him.

Why the team members were coming here.

He did not know any of it, but he walked forward.

In order not to let Ibin’s efforts go to waste, he had to pass through the hallway safely and reach that door.

He wanted to look back.

But Yoon Taehee did not.

Because he knew he should not.

Yoon Taehee reached out. He grabbed the doorknob and pulled with all his might.

With a click, the door closed behind him.

As soon as the door shut, all sound was instantly muffled, leaving only silence.

The thought crossed his mind that more white-masked guards or Naja might be waiting here too, but contrary to his expectations, there was no one. It was exceedingly quiet.

Yoon Taehee leaned his back against the door and closed his eyes for a moment.

He exhaled slowly.

Suddenly, Yoon Taehee thought.

Ah.

I probably won’t be able to become a god.

I don’t have the confidence to love everything in this world equally.

I love a certain ghost more than a certain human.

And I love a certain human more than a certain ghost.

I have no way to endure my heart leaning so particularly toward someone.

It was a path he had walked alone.

But on this path, he was not alone.