Honbul: Flame of the Soul

The next day at lunchtime, Jaegyeom put on a suit and headed out the front door.

When he stepped outside at the appointed time, the black sedan he had ridden in yesterday caught his eye. Since the engine was off, Yoon Taehee seemed to have arrived early and waited. As Jaegyeom came down the front steps, he spotted Taehee and stopped.

Yoon Taehee was not in the driver’s seat. He was standing a little way away from the car. Dressed in a black suit, he had his back lightly leaned against the wall, and on closer look, he was smoking a cigarette.

Feeling Jaegyeom’s gaze, he turned his head.

“Uh... hi.”

Yoon Taehee smiled in greeting. At the same time, he flicked away the cigarette he had been holding. Jaegyeom nodded without a word. Taehee looked him over carefully in his suit. Jaegyeom was wearing the navy suit he had tried on yesterday.

Taehee asked, giving a small gesture toward him,

“Did you tie that yourself?”

Jaegyeom came all the way down the steps.

“No. Jeongju did.”

Taehee gestured.

“The car door’s open. Get in first.”

“What about you? You’re not getting in? Why?”

Jaegyeom asked, puzzled.

“If I get in right away, it’ll smell like cigarette smoke.”

Yoon Taehee raised a hand near his face and lightly waved it. Jaegyeom walked to the car without saying anything. Only a few minutes after he sat in the passenger seat did the driver’s door open. When Taehee got into the driver’s seat, Jaegyeom felt the body of the car tilt. Instead of cigarette smoke, only the familiar scent of his perfume lingered.

Taehee immediately started the engine. The car slipped smoothly out of the alley.

The inside of the car was very quiet. An awkward yet tense atmosphere filled the space. Taehee seemed calm today. Jaegyeom, who had been fiddling with his fingers with his head lowered, glanced at Taehee’s profile as he drove.

He put his hair up again today...

“What?”

Perhaps sensing his gaze, Taehee spoke without taking his eyes off the road. Jaegyeom turned his gaze to the passenger window as if nothing had happened, pretending for no reason to look outside. Feeling as if he had been caught stealing a look, he changed the subject.

“Where are we going now?”

“To orientation.”

“So where do you go to do that?” Jaegyeom asked, pressing his forehead against the passenger window.

“Anywhere we can be alone?”

Taehee answered with a smirk and lowered the passenger window halfway. As the window rolled down, Jaegyeom, whose forehead had been resting against it, was so startled that he bumped his head. Taehee, holding the steering wheel with one hand, covered his mouth with the other and smiled faintly.

“Hey. That scared me.”

Jaegyeom huffed, turned his head, and glared at Taehee.

“Why are you opening the window?”

“Because the weather’s nice.”

Taehee answered as if it were obvious. Jaegyeom turned his gaze back to the window with a sulky face.

It was, in fact, a beautiful day. The sky was clear, and the sunlight was warm. The breeze blowing in through the open window lightly stirred Jaegyeom’s bangs. The scenery swept past quickly.

Then the window went back up.

“...”

Jaegyeom lifted his eyes. Only then did he realize that Taehee was teasing him. He turned his head again and glared at him.

“Stop messing around.”

Just then, the car stopped at a red light. This time, the driver’s window and the passenger window rolled all the way down at the same time. Taehee, who had been looking ahead the entire time, rested one arm on the driver’s-side window frame and turned his head toward Jaegyeom.

Their eyes met.

“Then don’t just look outside. Look at me too.”

At that shameless answer, Jaegyeom slowly widened his eyes.

“Why should I look at you?”

Taehee tapped the steering wheel with his fingertips.

“You can check whether your chief drives well, see whether he obeys traffic lights properly, admire how handsome his face is... Then why were you looking at me earlier?”

“...”

Jaegyeom stiffly turned his head toward the window and muttered,

“That... I just looked once.”

Taehee smiled silently and shifted gears.

The car moved smoothly forward again.

*****

“What about orientation? This is a restaurant.”

The place where Taehee’s car stopped was the parking lot of a fairly large Korean restaurant. The building was a large standalone structure with a traditional Korean-style exterior, and the sign read Eunwoldang.

Taehee pulled the parking brake and said lightly,

“Have you ever heard the saying, orientation comes after a meal?”

Jaegyeom felt as if he had somehow been deceived. He had thought something seemed strange when Taehee told him to meet at lunchtime despite how long orientation was supposed to take...

Taehee got out of the car and shamelessly spoke first.

“I’ll take this opportunity to reflect on my behavior in private.”

“I was weak,” Jaegyeom muttered softly.

When they entered the restaurant, an employee approached and asked whether they had a reservation. The two of them were then led to the second floor. Upstairs, the spaces were divided into private rooms. When the staff member opened a sliding door, a spacious private room for two appeared.

Taehee took off his shoes first and stepped inside. Jaegyeom grumbled as he took off his own shoes as well. They sat across from each other at a large dining table. Sunlight poured in through the window while Taehee ordered the food as he pleased.

As they waited for the food to arrive, Taehee took off his suit jacket and thoroughly wiped his hands with a wet towel. Jaegyeom, who had been sitting quietly and looking around, followed Taehee’s lead, took off his jacket, and fiddled with the wet towel. The scenery beyond the window was peaceful.

“Is this your first time eating out?”

“Not often, but I do sometimes.”

Taehee looked surprised by Jaegyeom’s answer.

“Once or twice a year? On Jeongju’s birthday, or...”

Jaegyeom usually did not like leaving the house. But on Jeongju’s birthday, he gave in to whatever Jeongju wanted as much as he could. At some point, that day had naturally become the day the three of them went out together. Holding Mesan’s hands on either side because he was afraid of strangers, they would go to a nice restaurant Jeongju had reserved and eat a delicious dinner.

Taehee asked, resting his chin on his hand,

“Then what about your birthday?”

“I don’t know my birthday.”

“Why not?”

“Because there was no one to tell me.”

Jaegyeom answered while folding the wet towel.

“Same for me.”

Taehee said that as he poured tea. At those words, Jaegyeom’s eyes widened slightly, and he glanced up at him.

So did that mean Taehee was an orphan too, like him? Hadn’t he said he was seeking revenge because of his family?

When Jaegyeom looked puzzled, Taehee cleverly read the question and spoke indifferently.

“You don’t have to be blood-related to be family.”

That was true.

Even if people were bound ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) by blood, they could be worse than strangers. If that was possible, then the opposite could be possible too. Just as Jaegyeom had Jeongju and Mesan beside him... it seemed Yoon Taehee had once had people he thought of as family as well.

After being lost in thought for a moment, Jaegyeom suddenly asked,

“Then you don’t have parents?”

At the blunt question, Taehee laughed out loud.

“Mm. No.”

He nodded obediently and set the tea he had poured in front of Jaegyeom. A savory fragrance rose from it. It might have been a solemn topic, but the atmosphere between them was the same as ever.

Then Taehee said, wrapping his fingers around the warm cup,

“Then my birthday should be today.”

“Why?”

Jaegyeom asked indifferently while sipping the tea.

“Because you’re taking me out to eat.”

Taehee smiled as he answered. The hand Jaegyeom had around the teacup shook for a brief moment. Taehee tilted his head and spoke in a playful voice.

“So let’s make it today this year.”

“...”

Just as he had in the car, Jaegyeom let his gaze escape toward the window.

*****

The employee knocked on the sliding door.

“Excuse me.”

First, porridge came out as an appetizer. The staff placed a small bowl on a tray in front of each of them and explained that it was pine nut porridge. Jaegyeom stared down into the bowl. As soon as the employee left, he muttered bitterly,

“Hey, they’re giving me some kind of chicken-feed porridge.”

Taehee almost dropped his spoon.

“Porridge goes down fast, so you need a whole bowl. How is anyone supposed to eat this by sticking it up their nose? Do people these days have no mercy? How are you supposed to eat this and have any strength?”

As Jaegyeom abruptly grew furious, Taehee calmly set down his spoon. He pretended to look out the window for a moment, then propped up his chin and bit his lip.

“Once you finish that, more food will come.”

“What? More is coming?”

“Mm. I ordered a course.”

“What’s a course?”

“It means they bring out the food one dish at a time.”

“Ahh...”

After receiving a detailed explanation at his level, Jaegyeom lifted his spoon in relief.

After that, just as Taehee had said, various dishes appeared one after another: salad, cold acorn jelly soup, chilled vegetables, assorted savory pancakes, a nine-section platter of vegetables and wraps arranged to taste, fried fish fillet, a hot royal-style broth, and sweet braised short ribs with a whole octopus.

Jaegyeom ate every dish with great relish and enthusiasm. He ate so well that even watching him made the other person feel pleased.

“Is it good?”

Jaegyeom fiddled with his chopsticks and nodded.

“Why aren’t you eating?” 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Jaegyeom asked. At some point, Taehee had put down his spoon. He was watching Jaegyeom eat as if fascinated. Taehee, who usually enjoyed snack food, naturally had cheap tastes; his favorite foods were pizza, pasta, and hamburgers. The reason he had chosen traditional Korean food was purely because of Jaegyeom.

“I’m done. You eat.”

Taehee said, taking a sip of tea.

“Hey, if you leave food, you’ll be punished. And how am I supposed to eat all this by myself? Besides, you may be ignorant, but this is like a king’s table. In the past, ordinary people couldn’t eat this. Now the world has gotten better, so people can spend money and eat like this. Got it? You don’t know the old days!”

“...”

Taehee, who had been swallowing his tea, coughed lightly.

He had heard plenty of nagging about the old days in his life, but this was the first time the lecture had gone all the way back to a king’s table.

The young-faced old man with crooked bangs was already swinging his spoon around and giving a lecture on dining. Jaegyeom pointed at the royal hot pot and said,

“Do you know this is what they used to eat in the palace?”

Taehee suppressed his laughter and set down his cup. He straightened his back against the backrest and assumed a listening posture.

“Oh my. I didn’t know that.”

“There’s so much to eat these days, huh?”

Taehee quietly lowered his head.

“Yes... I am truly sorry...”

His mischievous streak rose, and for a moment he considered getting down on his knees. But if he did that, Jaegyeom would definitely realize he was teasing him and hit him on the head, so Taehee decided to stay still.