Honbul: Flame of the Soul Chapter 285

“wirimwasawoman.”

AtPaehyeon’sstrangelookandquietwords,Jaegyeomstoppedbreathingaltogether.

“...What?”

Disbeliefspreadplainlyacrosshisface.

wirimwasawoman?

twasalmostimpossibletobelieve.

hinkingback,wirimhadbeensmallerthanMyojeong,withaslighterfraaswell.ButJaegyeomhimselfhadbeenveryyoungattheti,farsmallerthanhewasnow,sotohiseyes,wirimhadsimplylookedlikeanordinarygrownman.

otonlythat,wirimhadwornherhaircroppedshort.Shedressedlikeamantoo,andherswordsmanshiphadbeensooverwhelmingthatevenMyojeongacknowledgedhersuperiority.erpersonalityhadbeencool-headed,easygoing,broad-minded—everythingJaegyeomhadinstinctivelyconsideredmasculine.

Andbecauseshehadlivedsofaroutsidethecustomsandetiquetteofthatera,hehadnaturallyassudshewasaman.

“Butherhairwasshort,andshewasthegreatestswordsmanunderheaven...”

Jaegyeomstamredouttheprotestbeforetrailingoffhalfwaythrough.

venashespoke,herealizednoneofthosethingsactuallybelongedonlyton.

herewasnoreasonawomancouldnotcutherhairshortinthosetis.

oreasonawomancouldnotbecothegreatestswordsmanunderheaven.

Besides—

hadn’therecentlymistakensooneelseforamantoo?

Youmusthavethoughtwasaman.

Suhyang,whomhehadtlongago,hadalsowornahorsehairhatandascholar’srobe.

Backthen,wanderedarounddisguisedasaman.Anyoneunfamiliarwithwonprobablywouldn’thavenoticed.Butinthosedays,itwasn’tparticularlyunusual.hereweremanywonwhodisguisedthemselvesasn.twassimplyadifficultworldforwontosurvivein.

ookingutterlybewildered,Jaegyeompressedahandagainsthisjaw.

oway.

wirimwasawoman...

ewasalreadystunnedenoughbythatrevelationalone.

Butshehadalsobeencarryingachild.

AsJaegyeomreeledfromtheimpossiblestory,asentencesuddenlyflashedthroughhismindlikelightning.

DoyouknowthatMyojeonghasalover?

Acoldshivercrawledslowlydownhisspine.

Why—

whydidthatmorysurfacenow,ofalltis?

owthatheknewwirimwasawoman,thethingsSuhyanghadoncesaidabruptlybeganfallingintoplacelikeobstaclesscatteredacrosshispath.

twasstrange.

Completelybaseless,andyet—

thevaguepremonitionthathadlingeredsowhereinthebackofhismindwasrapidlysolidifyingintocertainty.

o...itcan’tbe...

Cotothinkofit,afterreunitingwithwirimyearslater,Myojeongwoulddisappearforseveraldayswhenevertheseasonschanged.

ealwayssaidhewasgoingtovisitwirim,wholivedfaraway.

Andeverysingletihelefttoseeher,hehadseedoddlyexcited.

Butwhenhereturned,hewouldalwayswearastrangelytroubled#оvеlight#expression.

Sotisheevenpacedaroundtheyardwhilewaitingforlettersfromwirimtoarrive.

venJaegyeom,whowashopelesswhenitcatounderstandinghumanrelationships,hadknownbackthenthatsothingaboutitwasdifferent.

Still,hehaddismisseditasnothingmorethantheclosenessbetweenoldfriends.

Myojeonghadintroducedwirimasanoldcompanion,andthetwotrulyhadseedcloseandinformalwitheachother.

Yetsohow,evenamidthatfamiliarity,therehadalwaysbeenastrangetensionbetweenthem.Alingeringsenseofrestraint.

Coulditbe—

couldtheloverSuhyangntionedreallyhavebeenwirim?

“hen...thechild...”

Jaegyeomhesitatedbeforeaskingunevenly,

“Doyouknowwhothefatherwas?”

Paehyeonshookhishead.

“hat,donotknow.”

ehadonlytraveledtogetherwithwirimforasingleseason.

heyhadneverbeenparticularlyclosetobeginwith.Afterward,theyrelycrossedpathsfromtitoti,andPaehyeonknewverylittleaboutherprivateaffairs.

obeginwith,hehadlittleinterestinhumanlives.

Andevenifhehadcared,pryingintoothers’personalmatterssimplywasnotinhisnature.

Besides,wirimherselfhadnotbeensoonewhospokemuchaboutherownlife.

Stillgrippinghischin,Jaegyeomsankintothoughtwithastunnedexpression.

Myojeongwasamanwhoshouldneverhavelovedanyone.

Cotothinkofit,eventhegodofcalamityhadoncesaidsothingstrange.

Youbrat.’minnopositiontomarry,evenifwantedto.

Cansoonegetmarriedalone?Youneedanotherpersonforthat.

AndMyojeonghadsaidsimilarthingstoo.

Forsoreason,hehadbeensoonewhocouldnotmarry.

herewasnoproof.

othingconcrete.

ehadneveractuallywitnessedanythingsuspicious.

Andyet—

theintuitionpressingagainsthimnowwasstrangelypowerful.

tfeltasthoughcountlessscatteredfragntswerefinallysnappingtogetherintoasingleshape.

WhatifMyojeong’sloverreallyhadbeenwirim?

WhatifthechildwirimcarriedhadbeenMyojeong’s?

adMyojeongintendedtobuildafamily?

henhowhadwirimdied?

hemonthisthoughtsreachedthatpoint,hisheartbeganhamringviolently.

“hen...whathappenedtothechild?”

Jaegyeomaskedabruptly.

“Diditdietoo?”

“Whoknows?twastwohundredyearsago.”

nlyafterhearingtheanswerdidJaegyeomrealizehowfoolishthequestionhadbeen.

wocenturieshadpassed.

Myojeongandwirimwerebothlongdead,andevenifachildhadexistedbetweenthem,wonderingnowwhetherithadlivedordiedwasaningless.

Rightthen—

BA!

hedoorbehindthemburstopen.

Jaegyeomflinchedandturnedsharplyaround.

Yoonaeheestoodthereexpressionlessly.

isgazefirstlandedontheswordlyingonthefloorbeforeslowlyliftingtowardJaegyeom.

“......”

“......”

Withacoolexpression,aeheesilentlyheldJaegyeom’sgaze.

ehadwokenafterhearingnoiseandassudhewouldfindJaegyeomandPaehyeonfighting.

ehadexpectedchaos.

nstead,thetwohadapparentlybeenhavingaconversation.

aeheebrieflyglancedpastJaegyeomtowardPaehyeon,asthoughsilentlyaskingwhathadhappened.

Atthatmont,Jaegyeomnarrowedhiseyes.

“You...”

esuddenlystrodestraighttowardaehee.

hemurderouspressureradiatingfromhimwassointensethataeheebrieflythoughtJaegyeomwasabouttoslaphimforlockinghiminside.

Butinstead—

Jaegyeomabruptlyseizedthefrontofaehee’sdurumagi.

“You—this...”

isvoiceshook.

“Wheredidyougetthis?”

aeheeflinchedslightlyandlookeddown.

“hiscoat.Wheredidyougetit?!”

“...What?”

aeheeaskedblankly,unabletounderstandthesituation.

“owdoyouhavethiscoat...?”

Jaegyeom’shandgrippingthefabrictrembledviolently.

“his...thisisthecoatMyojeongusedtowear...”

isfingerstightenedaroundthetiesoftherobe.

herewasnomistake.

Attachedtotheknotwasasmallleaf-shapedembroiderysewnincrookedthread.

twastheleafJaegyeomhimselfhadstitchedontoMyojeong’scoatlongagowiththehelpofagovernntslave.

“......”

aeheefrozeandlookeddownathisownclothes.

“Whatdidyoujustsay?”

“saidthisisthecoatsewedforMyojeong.”

Jaegyeomspatthewordsoutthroughtremblingbreaths.

“......”

Atthesuddenrevelation,aehee’sbrowsslowlyfurrowed.

“Answer!”

Jaegyeomshouted,clutchingthecoattiestightly.

“Wheredidyougetthiscoat?!”

ecouldnotunderstandwhyYoonaeheewaswearingsothingthatbelongedtoMyojeong.

ehadfailedtonoticeitearlierbecausehismindhadbeentoochaotic,butnowthathesawitclearly,therewasnopossibilityofmistake.

hecrookedembroideredleafwasunique.

nlyonecoatintheworldcarriedit.

“hiscoatbelongedtoSaero.”

Ataehee’sanswer,Jaegyeomstaredathimwithshakingeyes.

“...Saero?”

“Yes.neoftheintelligentghosts.”

Jaegyeomdrewaraggedbreath.

heviolentagitationconsuminghimmontsagoabruptlyfaltered.

“......”

henhisfaceslowlyhardened.

“’mnotfallingforyourtricksanymore.”

“What?”

“hat’salie.”

AllthecolorhaddrainedfromJaegyeom’sface.

“-ellthetruth.”

Anoverwhelmingterrorsuddenlyseizedhim.

“You...”

isvoicetrembleduncontrollably.

“W-Whatexactlyareyou...?”

Ashespoke,JaegyeomslowlybackedawayfromYoonaehee.