Honbul: Flame of the Soul

Today was the fourth day of his campus service.

Over the previous three days, Jaegyeom had turned in three responses, and each time the young man had nodded in satisfaction and put a blue praise sticker on the back of his hand, the kind that said Good Job.

“Are you keeping the stickers safe?”

That was what the young librarian had said yesterday while pressing the sticker onto the back of Jaegyeom’s hand.

“Huh? What?”

“The praise stickers. This makes three now.”

Jaegyeom had frowned faintly.

Even so, he had still obediently held out the back of his hand.

“Why would I keep those?”

“Don’t you know you get a present if you collect all the praise stickers?”

“...”

Naturally, it was the first time in his life he had ever heard such a thing.

“What kind of present?”

“Are you curious?”

Instead of answering, Jaegyeom had only twitched an eyebrow, and the young man had laughed softly.

“If you fill all five over the next two days, I’ll tell you then.”

A present, my ass.

That was what Jaegyeom had thought, and the moment he got home, he carefully peeled the stickers off where he had been sticking them loosely to the mirror. It was not as if ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) he had put them there to treasure them, but somehow, exactly as the young man had said, he had ended up collecting them anyway. The first thing he always did after coming home was go to the sink and wash his hands, and every time he did, the sticker caught his eye.

The truth was, he had only peeled them off and slapped them onto the mirror because throwing them away felt like too much trouble. He had assumed Mesan might have taken them off and tossed them out. So he had not been expecting anything, but the moment he saw the little cluster of stickers huddled in one corner of the mirror, he felt relieved.

It was not that he particularly wanted a present.

He was just a little curious what it was.

So Jaegyeom decided that, since things had ended up like this anyway, he might as well keep collecting the stickers and find out what the present was. Not like he had asked for one. The guy was the one who had offered first, so whatever. If he got it and did not like it, he planned to throw it away without hesitation.

He had three stickers so far. Two more, and the librarian would give him the present.

Before he realized it, Jaegyeom had started looking forward to going to the library. He spent the whole day thinking about it. He had even decided ahead of time what book he was going to read there. The instant homeroom ended, he hurried off to the library.

Jaegyeom strode inside.

As soon as he opened the door, his gaze went to the desk out of habit. It was completely empty. The young man was nowhere to be seen, as if he had stepped away for a moment.

Did I come too early? I’ll just read while I wait...

He took out the book he had already picked and sat down at the reading table.

“Are you sure he really comes to a place like this?”

“Ah, come on! I told you he does!”

Voices he did not recognize drifted from behind the stacks. He had assumed no one was there, but apparently there were people after all. Jaegyeom leaned back slightly and tried to identify the source of the voices. One of them was hidden behind a bookcase, and the other had its back to him, so he could only see the rear view.

And then—

A ghost.

After confirming there was no shadow at its feet, Jaegyeom blinked. Judging from the conversation he had just overheard, it seemed to possess a fairly clear intelligence. And the clothing on the one he could see from behind was peculiar enough. Who wore fur in early summer? Could it be a spirit? He could not remember ever seeing a spirit around the school before. After staring at the fur for a moment, Jaegyeom turned and headed toward the reading table.

As a rule, Jaegyeom did not lay hands on ghosts unless they were causing harm. Just as he had ignored the stray ghosts at school, even a malicious vengeful ghost was something he usually left alone unless it tried to cross him. Ghosts, like humans, lingered in all sorts of places.

Well, it’s a library. Maybe they came to read.

That was what he thought as he sat at the table and absently flipped through his book.

Then the passing thought abruptly caught him by the ankle.

He thought of the young man.

If those ghosts had really come to read books, that would probably irritate him quite a bit.

Do those spirits come to the library often?

They’re not messing with the librarian or trying anything, are they?

“But why isn’t he coming?”

“He must have stepped out for a bit. Calm down and wait, why don’t you?”

“I am perfectly calm. You’re always the noisy one, Saero.”

“And you still talk like you’re throwing bones, Paehyeon.”

Listening to the bickering drift through the stacks, Jaegyeom frowned slightly. On purpose, he turned a page with an exaggerated flap. He wanted to make it obvious there was a human being in the room. Maybe, if they realized that, they would leave on their own.

“Saero, didn’t you hear something just now?”

Right on cue, the two ghosts standing behind the stacks came into view.

The two spirits walked over toward Jaegyeom and stopped squarely in front of the reading table, openly staring at him. The one who had been hidden by the shelves was dressed in old-fashioned clothes. Judging by the outfit and the way he spoke, he had clearly been around a very long time.

Keeping his gaze fixed on the book, Jaegyeom finished a quick glance at them from the corner of his eye.

“Huh. What is this? It’s just some human kid. I thought it was Taehee.”

Taehee?

At the unfamiliar name spilling from the ghost’s mouth, Jaegyeom’s eyes shifted slightly.

“Ha! You saw me just now, didn’t you!”

“...”

Fuck. What a pain.

The curse flared in Jaegyeom’s head. It had only been an involuntary flick of the eyes, but his gaze must have slipped just enough to give him away. One of the ghosts began pointing and making a ridiculous fuss. At that, Jaegyeom could feel the other ghost beside it turn its attention fully onto him.

“He looked right at me just now!”

“You’re imagining it. That child cannot see us.”

Should I just drive them out?

He thought briefly of the Reduction Talisman tucked on him, then chose instead to lower his eyes and pretend, with a calm face, to read his book. If he started something, it would probably turn into an annoying mess for no reason. Besides, the young man would be back soon.

“Besides, he looks oddly familiar...”

At that moment, the spirit called Saero tilted his head and muttered to himself. Then he began drifting toward Jaegyeom. Just as Saero reached out a hand, Paehyeon, standing behind him, caught the edge of his garment and said firmly,

“Taehee dislikes it when people lay hands on innocent humans.”

“Hmph. I know that too. Who asked you?”

After being stopped, Saero grumbled and shook Paehyeon’s hand off. Paehyeon let out a small sigh beside him. He was beginning to tire, so he lightly changed the subject.

“Just in case, you did send word ahead that we were coming, didn’t you?” 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“I did not. A person is much happier if you appear like a present, is he not?”

“Saero, how are you so thoughtless?”

Paehyeon frowned between the brows as if dumbfounded, and Saero protested.

“This is not the Office of Narye, where they drive ghosts away. Why should there be any reason we cannot come?”

“This is as good as Taehee’s workplace. It is not a place we should come barging into without permission. If we burst in like this and end up being rude to Taehee, what then—”

Saero cut Paehyeon off sharply in the middle of his scolding.

“Is that not why I specifically came somewhere with no people around? I have come here several times, and every time there was never anyone here except Taehee. There is that human child today, sure, but usually it is always only Taehee!”

Paehyeon’s face hardened coldly, and his voice rose.

“Taehee came here to find a successor Naja to bring into the Office of Narye. If that is the case, then naturally that successor would be gifted. Don’t you realize that means there is every chance they might see us? What if we are seen and ruin everything? You know how much effort Taehee has put into creating a reason to get out of the Office of Narye—”

“That’s exactly why I came here, where people are not around, didn’t I say?”

The argument between the two spirits was climbing higher and higher.

Then—

With the scrape of a chair dragging back, Jaegyeom rose to his feet.

“...”

“...”

The sharp voices flying back and forth between them cut off at the exact same moment, as though by agreement. The eyes of both spirits turned naturally toward Jaegyeom. Ignoring them, he set the book back down on the table exactly where it was. Then, without even taking his bag, he turned and strode toward the door.

He opened the library door without a trace of hesitation and stepped out into the corridor.

The suffocating air of the library, which had been clogging his chest, came rushing out of him in a single breath. For some reason, the corner of his eye kept twitching. He had gotten up and walked out because he simply could not keep sitting there any longer, but now that he was out, he had no idea where he was supposed to go.

The image of the young man sitting at the desk rose before his eyes.

Every so often, the young man would ask him, “Having fun?”

He meant whether the book was interesting, but every time, Jaegyeom would answer however he felt that day.

“Yes.”

“It’s all right.”

“No.”

No matter what he said, the young man would only smile quietly.

The truth was, once in a while, Jaegyeom had wanted to ask back.

What about you?

What is the book you’re reading today about?

Are you enjoying the one you’re reading now?

If he sat there reading long enough, he would sometimes drift off without realizing it. It never lasted more than about thirty minutes, but when he woke from those brief accidental naps, he would always feel oddly languid and at peace. The young man would sit there with one leg crossed over the other, quietly reading, and he would lie half-sprawled over the table, blankly watching the sunlight spilling across the reading room.

Whenever he was inside that drowsy little scene, it felt as though time had stopped.

He liked it because, for that stretch of time, nothing came to mind.

When this life had begun. When it had broken. How he had ended up here.

For then, none of it mattered.

“Hi.”

Jaegyeom, descending the stairs slowly, stopped.

A few steps below him, the young man stood smiling with a mug in one hand. Sweet-smelling coffee rose from the cup, which was filled more than halfway. Jaegyeom straightened and looked down at him without a word.

There was something he had meant to ask.

What was it again?

“I was late because I got caught up talking for a—”

“You were late.”

The words came out of Jaegyeom first, cutting him off.

The young librarian blinked, eyes widening.

“What’s your name?”

At the question that followed immediately, the young man’s eyes widened even more.

“...Mine?”

“Yeah.”

“...”

For a moment, the young man made a strange face. Then he lowered his head and looked down at the mug in his hand. The coffee had cooled a little, but he could still feel the warmth through the ceramic. He stared at it in silence for a moment, then lifted his eyes and looked up at Jaegyeom again.

Their gazes met exactly.

“I’m Taehee.”

After a long pause, that was the answer he gave.

A faint smile tugged at Jaegyeom’s mouth.

“Last name?”

“Yoon.”

“Right.”

Jaegyeom nodded and started down the stairs one step at a time.

As he did, Yoon Taehee’s gaze, which had been lifted toward him, gradually lowered as well. Silent, he watched Jaegyeom come closer and closer, shortening the distance between them. Little by little, they came level.

One step, two, three, four, and then five.

Breathing in the cologne that pressed into his nose, Jaegyeom threw a punch at Yoon Taehee.