Honbul: Flame of the Soul

The sound of shoe heels echoed down the empty corridor.

“Where are you going?”

Yoon Taehee had just left Conference Room 1, leaving Do Nayoung and the successful candidates frozen there in blank confusion, and he had Jaegyeom by the wrist. Jaegyeom, looking bewildered, was being dragged along in his wake.

The Naja passing through the annex corridor glanced at Yoon Taehee and Jaegyeom with puzzled eyes, but none of them made any particular effort to acknowledge him.

Because they did not know Yoon Taehee’s face.

It had been the right choice not to come wearing his mask. He had entered the Office bare-faced because if people kept stopping him to greet him, it would slow him down, and now he was glad he had. Without answering, Yoon Taehee kept up his brisk stride. Jaegyeom, glancing around at the others, lowered his voice as far as he could and asked again in case anyone overheard.

“Hey, I’m asking you. Where are you going...?”

“Anywhere we can be alone?”

Yoon Taehee spoke in a voice threaded with laughter.

What the hell is he saying?

Just as Jaegyeom narrowed his eyes slightly at the useless answer, they turned a corner, and Yoon Taehee found an empty small conference room. He opened the door and went inside, and the hand holding Jaegyeom’s wrist fell away. The small conference room was dark with the lights off.

Standing face-to-face, the two of them looked at each other in the darkness.

After a brief silence, Yoon Taehee stretched out one long arm and slowly felt along the wall. Click. When he flipped the switch, the compact conference room lit up. Yoon Taehee perched at an angle on the long table, then lightly patted the spot beside him with his palm.

“Sit, please.”

Yoon Taehee smiled and jerked his chin toward Jaegyeom, who was standing there blankly. At the playful formality, Jaegyeom shot him a sour glare. After fiddling with the strap of his crossbody bag for a moment, Jaegyeom lightly climbed onto the table and sat down.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen your face like this.”

Yoon Taehee turned his body and met his gaze straight on.

Was it because he had his hair pushed back? Something about him felt different today. Maybe it was just because they had not seen each other in a while. The scent of his cologne was strong. Jaegyeom stared straight ahead for no reason.

“You said there was some orientation or whatever. Is it okay for us to just leave like this?”

“Ah, orientation... The Chief Naja himself will be giving you that one-on-one.”

When Yoon Taehee answered with a quiet laugh, Jaegyeom wrinkled the corners of his eyes and gave him a displeased look. Ever since hearing the words “Chief Naja,” Yoon Taehee had seemed to be in a rather good mood. Of course, Yoon Taehee was not normally the type to cling to rank, nor was he especially conscious of his own position. If anything, he was closer to indifferent.

However, making Jaegyeom introduce him by proxy had been an action with an obvious message embedded in it. A warning of sorts. It was practically a proclamation that he was this person’s backer, and that this person was his junior. If word spread after this, no one would dare treat Jaegyeom carelessly.

He did not want to see a worthless gnat buzzing around him like today again.

“Did it hurt?”

Yoon Taehee suddenly reached out and touched Jaegyeom’s head. The touch was careful and gentle. Jaegyeom gave a small flinch and looked at Yoon Taehee. It was still a little numb, but the pain had mostly faded. Hwang Seungsu’s ghostly force had been crude and clumsy, so it had not led to internal injuries. It had only swollen a little.

“You should go to the treatment room and at least ice it.”

Jaegyeom sharply tilted his head to the side, escaping Yoon Taehee’s touch.

“No need. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“Why did you stay still?”

Yoon Taehee withdrew his hand without another word and asked.

“You told me not to stand out because it was my first day.”

“Your clothes already stand out a lot, though?”

Yoon Taehee said with a small laugh. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

My clothes stand out? Why would these stand out?

At the random comment, Jaegyeom blankly lowered his gaze and tugged at his yellow sweatshirt.

“What’s wrong with my clothes? Jeongju told me to dress like this.”

After a moment of silence, Yoon Taehee muttered as if to himself.

“If he even chooses your clothes for you, you two must be very close.”

“I don’t go outside much. Jeongju helps me a lot.”

“Is that so...?”

Yoon Taehee nodded thoughtfully.

“Are these clothes weird?”

“No. They’re nice. Like forsythia.”

Forsythia? Why does that sound kind of like an insult...?

Jaegyeom sharpened the corners of his eyes and looked at Yoon Taehee.

“I’m surprised. I didn’t know you were the type to listen this well.”

Yoon Taehee straightened the sleeves he had rolled up and smiled.

“I’ve always listened well as long as it wasn’t bullshit.”

“......”

Yoon Taehee quietly rubbed the end of one eyebrow.

Somehow, that sounded like he was saying everything I’ve said until now was bullshit....

“Anyway, you held back well today.”

At the low praise, Jaegyeom said nothing and only fiddled with his lips. The voice that slipped out as if in a whisper was terribly gentle. So gentle it was hard to believe this was the same person who had been savagely slapping Hwang Seungsu’s cheeks just moments ago... Until recently, all they had done whenever they met was bare their teeth and fight. But since they had met, had they ever exchanged such an ordinary, peaceful conversation like this?

“I heard you got a gold pass.”

“Yeah... It wasn’t a big deal.”

“As expected of my lord.”

Jaegyeom lowered his gaze and silently fidgeted with his hands.

Someone else touched what I don’t even dare touch.

What should I do, though? I’m still not done being angry.

He knew Yoon Taehee’s true nature... but today, for some reason, he felt confused. That smile kept trying to look real. Why? Was it because his bangs were pushed up? He felt strangely unable to get used to it. Jaegyeom stared forward and asked bluntly.

“But why did you step in?”

“Hm?”

“I’m asking why you got involved.”

Yoon Taehee rolled his eyes, then tilted his head playfully.

“Who knows... Because I wanted to be of help to my lord?”

Still keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead, Jaegyeom said,

“I could’ve handled it. I was going to beat the living shit out of him.”

“Right. That’s why I did it. I was worried someone might get carried out.”

Yoon Taehee gave a soft snort of laughter and brushed it off lightly. For some reason, that took some of the wind out of Jaegyeom’s sails. What the hell. In the end, it sounded like he had stepped in because he was afraid the situation would blow up. Hwang Seungsu should be grateful to Yoon Taehee. Jaegyeom had been planning to leave him half-dead....

“If someone bothers you again, come tell on them to me.”

At Yoon Taehee’s words, Jaegyeom glared.

“Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself.”

Tell on them? Like hell.

If he did that, he would end up in the same vessel as Hwang Seungsu. He understood well enough now that Yoon Taehee wore quite an impressive hat. When Jaegyeom had revealed the identity of “Chief Naja Yoon Taehee” earlier, everyone had looked at him with eyes that could not believe it. Even if they did not know his face, Jaegyeom had roughly felt how lofty the reputation attached to that name was.

“Worrying about you is my job.”

Yoon Taehee, laughing softly, straightened his rolled-up sleeves and answered as if it were nothing.

“I brought you in with great difficulty after failure upon failure, so how could I not worry? Besides, you have successfully fastened the first button of our rebellion. This is only the beginning.”

Yoon Taehee had a fairly good reputation in the Office of Narye. Most of the people who had mentioned him until ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ now had all liked him. Even if the successful candidates spread word of the savage side he had shown in the conference room, people likely would not believe it easily. Chief Yoon was simply affectionate and kind.

“......”

Jaegyeom silently fiddled with the strap of his crossbody bag.

The first button of rebellion.

Hearing those words suddenly made reality stand out sharply. That was right. He had entered this place to participate in Yoon Taehee’s rebellion and break the Office of Narye. He had to maintain and grow used to the distance between them: he would use Yoon Taehee, and Yoon Taehee would use him.

Jaegyeom, who had been facing forward, turned his head and met Yoon Taehee’s eyes.

“I get it, so do that orientation or whatever.”

At the blunt words, Yoon Taehee lifted one eyebrow. It felt as if the warmth that had seeped into their conversation had suddenly gone lukewarm. As if Jaegyeom were telling him they should stay faithful to their shared objective. Yoon Taehee looked at him in silence for a moment, then said slowly,

“There’s no particular need to rush that....”

“What else do we have to do right now besides that?”

At the chilly reply, Yoon Taehee smiled.

“A lot. We have a mountain of things to do.”

“So what are they?”

“First...”

After thinking for a moment, Yoon Taehee tilted his head.

“Shopping?”

*****

“Where are we?”

Jaegyeom was sunk into the passenger seat with a sullen face. They were inside Yoon Taehee’s car, its engine turned off. They had left headquarters about thirty minutes ago.

“A department store.”

Yoon Taehee answered politely as he unbuckled his seat belt.

Yoon Taehee had said they should buy the things he needed first and led Jaegyeom to his black sedan. He had seated a plainly unwilling Jaegyeom in the passenger seat and immediately driven off. The car had glided smoothly along and arrived in the underground parking lot of some department store.

“Shall we get out?”

Jaegyeom unbuckled his seat belt and immediately flung open the car door. Being alone with him in such a cramped space had nearly suffocated him to death. Yoon Taehee put on the suit jacket he had taken off and left in the back seat, then got out of the car.

“My lord, come this way.”

Jaegyeom, who had been sniffing at the damp underground smell, wandered over to Yoon Taehee as if pretending to look elsewhere.

“Have you ever been to one? A department store.”

“No....”

Yoon Taehee opened the glass door leading into the building and gestured with gentlemanly courtesy. Jaegyeom entered with an indifferent face.