Honbul: Flame of the Soul

“Yoon Taehee. Chief Naja, Team 1 of the Exorcism Unit, Office of Narye.”

“Ah. Uh, yes. I’m Jeongju. As you know, I’m with the Fox Clan....”

Instead of his right hand, which was still in a half-cast, Yoon Taehee raised his perfectly good left and offered Jeongju a handshake. Carried along by the smooth lead, Jeongju took his hand before he quite knew what he was doing.

“I assume you already know a certain amount about the Office of Narye and about Naja.”

After withdrawing his hand, Yoon Taehee continued in a calm voice.

“First of all, I’d like to apologize. What happened that day was regrettable. The Naja from the Ritual Implements Department caused you serious harm. Even if it wasn’t something I was personally involved in, that’s a separate matter. As a fellow Naja, I still feel a moral responsibility for it.”

By then Yoon Taehee’s expression had turned serious, his voice low and steady. Jeongju looked inwardly surprised. He had not expected him to come at it so directly. Jaegyeom, on the other hand, was staring at Yoon Taehee like he’d lost his mind.

This was nothing like the attitude he had shown yesterday when they were alone. He’d said he had no regrets, no remorse, and that he hadn’t done anything wrong. Still, Jaegyeom could more or less see what he was up to. He was trying to win them over, dressing everything up in sleek, polished words.

“There are Naja who become obsessed with oppressing others, with exploiting them however they can. It’s a tragedy born of human selfishness. A terrible thing. But I hope you’ll understand that not every Naja is like that.”

Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.... Jaegyeom turned his head away with a sullen face. If he’d followed his impulses, he would have cut in with a crooked You did that too, but he decided to let it go. He had joined hands with Yoon Taehee, after all. If they were on the same side now, it was better for Jeongju and Mesan to trust him than to keep doubting him.

“Then why did you ask Jaegyeom to become a Naja?”

At that point, Jeongju asked the question with a puzzled look. From the sound of it, he didn’t seem to think all that positively of Naja himself.... At Jeongju’s question, Jaegyeom flicked a glance at Taehee. Surely he wasn’t going to tell the truth.

Then Yoon Taehee opened his mouth as though he had been waiting for exactly that.

“I want the Office of Narye to move in the right direction. If I have someone like my lord with me, I believe we can bring about real change. That’s why I asked him to become my colleague. Because my lord is a man of integrity.”

At the smooth-flowing speech, Jaegyeom stared at Yoon Taehee, dumbfounded. No, seriously, did this bastard grease his tongue before coming here...? Jeongju would never dream that what Yoon Taehee meant by “the right direction” was smashing the Office of Narye to pieces.

It sounded so plausible that Jeongju was already nodding along before he knew it. Right. Jaegyeom really is upright. Beside him, Mesan was nodding too. Nod nod nod.

“I know you have a lot of concerns. I understand that. But I promise you in the name of a chief Naja that nothing like last time will ever happen again. I intend to protect all of you and help you live safely.”

Yoon Taehee handed over the document envelope he had tucked under his arm.

“If you open it, there should be three documents inside. One is the script for Jeongju’s comeback project, one is my lord’s personal records—Jaegyeom’s, I mean—and one is related to the house you’ll be moving into.”

As he took the envelope, Jeongju spoke with a bewildered look.

“What? What do you mean, the script for my comeback project?”

“My side caused the problem, so I’m taking responsibility for it as a fellow Naja.”

Still smiling, Yoon Taehee abruptly asked,

“Jeongju, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° do you happen to know Director Kwon Suncheol?”

After hesitating, Jeongju nodded blankly.

“Huh? Yes, of course I do. He’s one of the great young directors in the film world.”

The Director Kwon Suncheol Taehee had just mentioned was famous for making films of exceptional quality, and to Jeongju he was someone to admire from afar. Director Kwon had submitted many works to overseas film festivals and had an international reputation. But he was also known for being so single-minded that he rarely showed his face in public.

Every actor dreamed of working with Director Kwon. But the standard by which he chose actors was so inscrutable that very few people ever got the chance. Jeongju was no exception. He had asked around everywhere, hoping at least to make some kind of connection, but every attempt had gone nowhere.

Yoon Taehee smiled, then lowered his voice slightly.

“The truth is, he’s gifted. A long time ago he got tangled up in something ugly, and I happened to help him out. That’s how we got to know each other. Ah, but you can’t repeat that anywhere, all right? It’s a secret. If Suncheol found out, she’d kill me.”

At the casual familiarity of the way he referred to her, Jeongju’s eyes flew wide.

Suncheol? Forget merely knowing her—that alone was shocking enough, but calling her that...? If he was that familiar with her, then this wasn’t some ordinary acquaintance. Jeongju swallowed hard, stunned, and Yoon Taehee naturally drove the final wedge home.

“I heard she’s starting a new project in the second half of the year. If you’d like, I was thinking I could connect you. It doesn’t seem like a bad choice for a comeback project. What do you think? If it’s a Kwon film, public response will be pretty favorable too. I put the script in there, so have a look.”

This bastard.... Jaegyeom narrowed his eyes at Yoon Taehee.

“No way... Director Kwon Suncheol’s new film....”

Before anyone knew it, Jeongju was clutching the script tightly to his chest, his face overcome with emotion.

And you call yourself a fox...?

“Take the tail off. You’re no fox.”

Muttering under his breath, Jaegyeom clicked his tongue. Maybe Yoon Taehee had heard it too, because he rolled his eyes toward Jaegyeom in a brief glance, then twitched an eyebrow. He seemed to have immediately grasped exactly what Jaegyeom was thinking.

“And as for my lord’s personal records, I made a few adjustments.”

Pulling back his sleeve to check his watch, Yoon Taehee continued in an easy tone.

“To explain it briefly, I removed the paper trail linking him to Jeongju and created a new identity for him. So even if someone accesses either set of information, they won’t realize the two of you are connected. It’ll make it much easier to keep your identities concealed. Take your time and look through it later.”

Once Jaegyeom became a Naja, headquarters would naturally search his personal records. If that happened, Jeongju—who was listed in the documents as his relative—would inevitably get caught on headquarters’ radar. Just as Yoon Taehee himself had dug up the connection between them before.

Because his rank was high, the authority Yoon Taehee held was just as broad. The man who had been their enemy yesterday and their ally today was now presenting himself as solid support. So that was what he had meant when he said, If you stand on my side, I’ll stand on yours.

“If you ever need anything done with official records from here on out, go through me. It’ll be much safer that way. And if you need help with anything else, feel free to contact me anytime.”

Yoon Taehee neatly made up for his earlier losses.

Jeongju, who had been complaining that he didn’t want to live in a house Yoon Taehee introduced, was now already flipping through the documents and examining the property register for the place they were moving to. Mesan, meanwhile, was still maintaining his vow of silence, but for all that, he had begun drifting around Yoon Taehee as if something had put him under a spell. At that, Yoon Taehee smiled and waggled his fingers lightly.

“Little master.”

Mesan glanced around, then shuffled over hesitantly. Yoon Taehee crouched down in front of him so their eyes were level. Then he rummaged through the hoodie pocket for a moment and, with a little ta-da, opened his palm. Resting there were several bite-sized chocolates and candies in wrappers. Taehee loved sweets and had a habit of carrying snacks around in his bag and his coat pockets.

Just as Mesan’s eyes went wide and he looked down at the open palm, Yoon Taehee made a soft sound.

“Ah.”

Something had caught his eye. Mixed in among the candy was a small lighter. Crooking his mouth slightly, Yoon Taehee slipped it out and hid it at once.

“Not this one....”

With an embarrassed smile, he tucked the lighter back into his pocket.

“Here. Take them.”

Without thinking, Mesan held out both hands side by side. Yoon Taehee filled them with sweets, then started explaining, “This one has jam inside, and this one has almonds....” Jaegyeom stood there watching blankly. Today, Yoon Taehee was showing an astonishingly normal side of himself. Sensible, polite, kind. Just like the first time they had met in the library.

“.......”

All at once, Jaegyeom remembered that first moment. If he had never seen what Yoon Taehee was really like, wouldn’t he still be getting fooled even now? But he knew now. Behind that kindness was a cold face. Back when he hadn’t known that, it seemed he had already been deceived more than once. Faintly, Jaegyeom recalled the disappointment he had once felt toward Yoon Taehee. That old rough-edged feeling.

The Yoon Taehee who had put a bandage on him and told him to come by often. The Yoon Taehee who had lent him a necktie and asked him to be friends. The Yoon Taehee who had said, “Good job.” The Yoon Taehee who had left a music box by his pillow while he slept....

Where did the real him begin, and how much of it had been made up?

“...Hey.”

Still lost in the memory of the library, Jaegyeom spoke before he realized it. Yoon Taehee, who had been crouching there unwrapping chocolate for Mesan, looked up.

“Yes?”

After calling out to him, Jaegyeom lowered his gaze slightly.

“Then... you’re not going to school anymore either...?”

At the limp question, Yoon Taehee looked at him quietly for a moment.

“No. I’m not.”

Perhaps because he was conscious of Jeongju listening, Yoon Taehee had been using polite speech ever since he arrived.

“Then who’s going to be in the library now?”

“Well... I’m not really sure....”

Yoon Taehee trailed off with a small lift of his brows, then whispered softly,

“I’m not interested in a school without my lord in it anymore.”

This bastard.... Jaegyeom frowned and was about to snap something back, then glanced sideways at Jeongju. Jeongju was waving the papers around with shining eyes.

“.......”

Jaegyeom looked back at Yoon Taehee with an odd expression, then opened his mouth.

“By the way. How did you get my number?”

“How did I get it? There are ways.”

“What? What did you pull behind my back this time?”

“Not behind your back. Right in front of you.”

Yoon Taehee answered playfully, slipping a hand into his hoodie pocket. Jaegyeom blinked at him, baffled. In front of me? Being a complete beginner with cell phones, Jaegyeom had no idea that Yoon Taehee had stolen his number right under his nose. It had happened too fast.

“What do you mean, right in front of me? How?”

In answer to the question, Yoon Taehee said that if he was so curious, he would show him directly. “Let me see your phone.” After Jaegyeom handed it over, Taehee moved in close enough for their shoulders to touch and began explaining in a low voice. “Here. You punch in my number. Then if you place the call like this....” Yoon Taehee took out his own phone. “It comes through over here like this....” Jaegyeom blinked and nodded.

Once he understood exactly how his number had been swindled out of him, Jaegyeom’s reaction was simple.

“You’re slippery.”

At the flat jab, Yoon Taehee laughed under his breath.

“You’re only noticing that now?”

At the shameless answer, Jaegyeom shot him a glare, then subtly drew back as their shoulders brushed together.