Magic on the Dead Chapter 10

Eden delicately placed the handkerchief on top of the water bottle’s opening. He crossed his arms and leaned his body slightly forward. The distance between their faces grew even closer.

Hajin, who had no choice but to be familiar with people’s body language due to his profession, followed the man’s behavioral reactions with his eyes and swallowed his breath.

Jung Taegeon did not trust him and was showing considerable wariness. Should he find solace in the fact that he at least did not lean his body back? Because at the very least, it was not a sign that he was looking down on him.

“Mr. Magician.”

Anxious, Hajin corrected him without realizing it.

“My name is Do Hajin. Not Mr. Magician, but Do Hajin.”

Their gazes met more deeply. Despite there being no change in the light, the man’s pupils could be seen dilating for a moment. Hajin almost let out a gasp.

Interest. The man was definitely feeling interested in their conversation. It was a biological reaction that did not quite match his semi-frozen facial muscles.

“Alright, Mr. Do Hajin.”

Hajin unknowingly swallowed the sticky saliva that was pooling in his mouth. At that moment, the howl of a monster roaming the corridor could be heard. It was just as a startled Hajin flinched and trembled.

“I’m sorry, but Mr. Do Hajin is….”

The man lightly pushed Hajin’s shoulder, which was leaning toward him, with his palm and continued speaking.

“of no use to me.”

“…….”

He had been prepared to some extent, but at the more resolute and unhesitating rejection than he had expected, Hajin unknowingly clenched his fists tightly.

“Of course, it seems you might be helpful in other ways, but in a shitty situation like this, there’s no chance to unzip my pants.”

Before the shock could even subside, the man continued to throw out meaningful words. Hajin tried hard to shake off his dizzy head and blinked his eyes rapidly. What did he just say….

The handsomely smiling man pulled back the body he had been leaning forward. He even graciously extended his palm to the side as if to tell him to go. Hajin, who understood the man’s last words a beat too late, could only move his lips for a while, unable to show any other reaction. A hot heat rose up his nape and earlobes.

“It was a pleasure talking.”

This time, a clear order to leave had been given.

Hajin, who had been dazed for a moment, snapped his head up. This had to be the last chance. If not now, it would not be easy to escape from this place.

He could tell by the fact that the same situation had occurred in the far-off Yong-Un City. The zombie situation could not be a brief happening. The probability of him escaping to a safe place alone and saving his brother was close to zero.

“I’m asking you. I have a younger brother I need to go find.”

This situation of having to beg for his life was not pleasant for Hajin, but Hajin had no time to worry about his pride.

Eden licked his red lips with his tongue, as if finding the stubbornly persistent Hajin to be unexpected. He, who had been meeting Hajin’s desperate eyes for a while, slowly opened his mouth.

“Then does it not matter if we abandon that couple?”

“…Pardon?”

Eden pointed to the couple who were hugging each other and closing their eyes in the corner and asked again.

“Surely you’re not suggesting that we take Mr. Do Hajin’s group and leave that remaining couple behind.”

As if he had been struck on the back of the head, Hajin’s eyelids trembled.

“No, that’s not it. If we can go together, then of course….”

“Surion, it’s the name of a military transport helicopter used in Korea.”

Eden, who let out a sigh, picked up the wet handkerchief again and wiped off the fine traces of blood on the back of his hand.

“There are two pilots, at least three or more soldiers and medical staff to be mobilized for the transport operation, and the number of people gathered here is eight. Unfortunately, the maximum number of people who can board the Surion, even excluding the pilots, is nine.”

“…….”

“It means that even if we run to the rooftop with all our might, one or two people are bound to be left behind. It’s a gamble where it’s obvious that the person who fails to board will die, but will you still follow?”

It meant that he could take them to the rooftop, but he could not guarantee their lives. It was a zero-sum game where if someone lived, someone else died.

“Of course, there’s no guarantee that the one who dies won’t be me. And I’m not someone who needs to take such a gamble.”

From him, who had put the handkerchief down again, not a trace of pity could be felt. For Eden, who had lived a life where he never needed to look good to others or appear kind, it was perhaps a natural attitude. He was a person who had little immunity to sugarcoating his sentences.

Hajin, with the feeling of grasping at straws, asked Eden.

“…What if those people have no intention of boarding the transport plane? Then are you willing to take me and Miso?”

Eden tilted his head slightly. His wet bangs partially covered his cool eyes. If it wasn’t a matter of numbers, would he have helped?

‘No way.’

Eden almost burst into a hollow laugh, finding the naive Hajin, who was asking something so obvious, to be strange.

“Surely you don’t think that only Mr. Do Hajin recognized me, do you?”

“…Pardon?”

“I already finished talking with that couple. While you were peacefully getting some shut-eye.”

“…….”

“The content of the conversation wasn’t much different from now.”

Hajin let out a strangled groan at the man’s unexpected words. He turned his head and stared blankly at the faces of the sleeping couple.

‘We came a long way to see you, Mr. Hajin.’

The two had offered their greetings, saying it was an honor to meet Hajin despite this chaos. When he thought about it, they were people who had come to see his performance and got trapped here…. It was a moment when he felt ashamed for not having been able to care for their well-being in his rush to save only himself.

After pondering, Hajin looked back at Eden.

“If I give up my spot, can those people go? If we can’t go together, it’s better for at least one team to go….”

“Mr. Do Hajin.”

The man’s voice, cutting off Hajin’s words, was sharp. Eden erased what little laughter remained.

“Let’s stop there. And please straighten your bent knees. This makes me feel like I’m some psycho who haggles over people’s lives.”

A startled Hajin frantically shook his head.

“That wasn’t my intention. I seem to have inadvertently burdened you, but that’s not it, I’m well aware that my request itself could be a nuisance…”

Eden stared blankly at Hajin, who was waving his hands with a pale face.

To be honest, he was a little surprised that the concept of yielding had come up in this situation. Perhaps the magician before him would have sought a way to get everyone on the transport plane before even considering a game of probability like him.

Unfortunately, this kind of public-spirited personality had an extremely low chance of surviving in a turbulent world. He might somehow survive by avoiding zombies, but he was the perfect case to be stabbed in the back by a person and die.

Eden, who was watching the flustered Hajin, added his final words.

“In the first place, I’m not someone who can guarantee any of you any safety. Even if the transport plane had more than enough seats, there’s no reason to take you. It can’t be helped even if you call me cold. Because I don’t even attempt things that have a high probability of failure in the first place.”

Eden did not distinguish between good and evil in matters he deemed rational. To him, rationality was both ethics and justification. Therefore, he could not care less if the words he spat out hurt someone.

“Ah….”

Hajin felt as if his vision went dark for a moment. Through his dazed sight, Eden’s chillingly emotionless face came into view. There was nothing more to add to the reasonably clear speech, and he had no grounds to criticize his cold judgment. In the end, Hajin had no choice but to slowly nod his head.

Still, if he had explained this situation first before spitting out things like ‘you are useless’, he felt like his mood wouldn’t have sunk this low. Even though he had come prepared for rejection, his pride was somehow scratched raw.

Hajin forced the corners of his mouth up and smiled.

“Gosh, I’m not usually this type, but I got a little clingy for a moment. When your life is on the line, a person becomes pathetic.”

He, who had thrown a light joke to change the atmosphere, scratched the back of his head and got up from his seat.

“Anyway, thank you for saving me on the stage.”

It was an unexpectedly clean acceptance. The desperate face of the man who had been begging for his life just moments ago was nowhere to be seen. There was only a slight embarrassment, like someone watching awkwardly as the ball they threw with all their might misses the goalpost and bounces out.

Eden stared at Hajin’s flushed cheeks. It was a bonus to slowly scan Do Hajin’s body, which stood tall. He was not short, and although he looked thin at a glance, his frame was solid. Because his slender figure was quite to his taste, Eden let out a short groan. This part is a bit of a shame….

Just then, Hajin, who was heading towards where Miso was, suddenly turned around.

“Jung Taegeon.”

Eden met the gaze directed at him and slowly blinked his eyes.

“You saw the opening of my performance today. From the front row.”

“……?”

“How was it?”

At Hajin’s out-of-the-blue question, Eden raised an eyebrow.