Magic on the Dead Chapter 104

“Yes, that’s right. We came up from Sangwon.”

“You’ve really come from far away. If it’s Sangwon, does that mean you passed through Nogwang City? The nearby roads here are all in a mess with hordes of zombies, so it’s not easy to travel by car. But I guess the situation is a bit better in the regions down below?”

“No, I think it’s similar to here. Instead, we traveled beneath the roads.”

At Miso’s answer that they had come all this way from Sangwon on foot, they clicked their tongues as if they could not believe it.

“You walked all the way from there to here on your own two feet? How on earth did you manage that long journey?”

“Is there perhaps a secret method?”

“What’s the situation like in Nogwang City?”

As questions poured in from all directions, Miso, who let out an awkward laugh, waved her hands in refusal.

“Haha… there’s not really anything you could call a secret method…. We were just lucky. There were many times we were on the verge of death. Nogwang City is no different from here either.”

The woman with bleached yellow hair let out a sigh mixed with admiration and shook her head from side to side.

“You’ve really been through a lot. I almost died just coming here from the nearby city of Yong-un….”

Eden’s gaze, who had been listening to the conversation with his arms crossed, momentarily turned to the woman’s face. Hajin also raised his head with a jolt at the mention of Yong-un.

“You said you came from Yong-un?”

“Pardon?”

“May I ask which neighborhood you came from?”

At Hajin’s sudden interest, the woman, who had been hesitating, blushed and answered.

“I came from Duseon-dong.”

“Is Duseon-dong far from the place with the amusement park?”

“You mean Neverland? It’s not that far from Duseon-dong. When there’s no traffic, you can get there in 15 minutes by car.”

The woman explained that not only in the neighborhood where she lived, but the zombie virus had spread so fast throughout the entire city of Yong-un that there was no time to do anything. She said that if she had been just one hour later, she would have never been able to make it here.

“And you should probably consider the Neverland area to have almost no hope. It was the Rose Festival period, so the roads were packed with cars.”

“……”

‘The number of people coming to play is no joke because of the festival these days. I’m not even assigned to that part, but they keep sending me for support, you know? It’s nice that they pay a lot, but I’m dying because there’s no time to rest.’

The face of Junseok, who had been complaining cutely over a video call at some point, flashed through Hajin’s mind.

He had expected it would not be easy, but after hearing the testimony of a survivor who had actually come from Yong-un City, his heart became even more uncontrollably anxious. Finding his brother in that vast Neverland would not be realistically easy, but on top of that, if a large crowd had gathered because of the festival period….

“But why the amusement park? Surely you’re not planning on going there, are you?”

Hajin, looking anxious, pressed his fingernails into the back of his other hand, and then offered an awkward smile instead of an answer. As he continued to torment his poor hand, Eden, unable to watch any longer, snatched his wrist.

“Stop it.”

Eden pulled his hand down below the table and then gently stroked the skin, which was covered in crescent-shaped marks, with his thumb. It was a simple touch, closer to comfort than to a sensual temptation.

Tap tap, after lightly tapping the back of his hand one last time, he looked at Hajin and smiled softly. As the warmth that had been tightly squeezing his hand dissipated, his heart stirred with a great commotion. Only then did Hajin clench his tingling fingertips tightly and glance around cautiously.

The conversation, short if you call it short, and long if you call it long, came to an end. For the sake of resting, people began to rise from their seats one by one. The man with the short hair, who was the last to finish cleaning up, called out to Eden who was walking ahead.

“Excuse me, there’s something I’m curious about.”

Eden turned back and looked at the face of the man who had called him. He had a look that seemed somewhat lacking in confidence.

“I thought you must have seen a lot of monsters on your way here. By any chance, among them….”

“……”

“Have you ever seen a talking monster?”

Eden, who had been staring blankly at the man for a moment, opened his mouth.

“By monster, are you referring to a zombie?”

The man, swallowing hard with a gulp, quickly nodded his head up and down. For a moment, a deflated breath escaped Eden’s mouth. A talking zombie. It was a story he had never even imagined.

“I have never seen such a zombie.”

As he turned his body away from the man who was speaking nonsense, the man once again stood in front of Eden, blocking his way.

“My girlfriend was bitten by a zombie. So I thought she had either died as she was or turned into a zombie, but….”

Eden raised one eyebrow without replying to the man looking up at him.

“She definitely spoke. Maybe her consciousness remained even after being bitten by a zombie, because my girlfriend rushed at me calling my name. I remember it clearly.”

“……”

“When I tell people, nobody believes me, so I was feeling frustrated all by myself, but since you came from far away, I was wondering if you had ever met a zombie like that….”

“You’re saying she called your name in a state of being a zombie, is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s right. A whole day had passed since she was bitten, yet she still called my name. I definitely, definitely heard it….”

The man seemed to get emotional while speaking, as he quickly turned his gaze to the side and let out a short sigh.

Eden, who had been lost in thought with his brow furrowed, slowly shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but I have never seen such a zombie.”

“……”

“In a state of panic, it’s quite possible to see hallucinations or hear auditory hallucinations.”

If the man’s words were true, and if such a mutation actually existed, then wouldn’t that not be a monster, but a human who practices cannibalism? It was a situation where not only escape but also the chances of survival could become slim, so he could only hope that the man’s words were not true.

Eden gave a light nod before his thoughts could deepen further, left the confused man behind, and went back outside.

He was about to head straight to his room when he spotted Hajin loitering in the distance and approached him.

“Were you waiting?”

“You weren’t coming out. But what were you talking about so seriously?”

Curiosity flickered in the pupils of Hajin, who was glancing at the man leaving the dining hall with a dejected look.

“It was nothing special.”

“For something that was nothing special, the atmosphere looked serious. What was it about?”

At the continued persistent questioning, Eden suddenly stopped in his tracks, looked down at him, and whispered mischievously.

“But why were you waiting? It seems like everyone else has gone to their rooms.”

Hajin’s round pupils rolled left and right, trrr, as if he had truly never thought that far.

“…Well, just because.”

“Just because?”

“Just because the principle is to work in pairs.”

“Is that so?”

Hmm…. A meaningful gaze scanned Hajin for a while. On Hajin’s lips, this time as well, was the trace of a satisfying meal. As Eden stared intently at his philtrum, which was smudged with red chili paste, a throat-clearing sound, ahem ahem, was soon heard.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Am I not allowed to look?”

“No, don’t look.”

At the sudden wall, Eden momentarily swallowed the laugh that was about to come out and silently tapped his own lips twice, tap tap. The pupils of Hajin, who had been watching suspiciously, shook rapidly. When he quietly tapped his lips again without saying anything, Hajin’s earlobes began to turn bright red.

“Are you crazy…?”

“What do you mean.”

“Here, what are you…!”

His hasty glancing around was the very picture of restlessness. He was busy biting his lower lip hard and swallowing repeatedly, just what on earth was he imagining. Eden, watching Hajin’s flustered movements, finally could not hold it in and his shoulders shook.

“You think this is funny?”

When he laughed, paying no mind to the rebuke, Hajin’s face contorted in an ambiguous way.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Haha.”

“You’re really strange…”

“Mr. Do Hajin.”

Eden, after a dry cough, this time raised his index finger to Hajin’s lips and pressed down lightly.

“You have chili paste on your lips.”

“……”

With those words, the mouth that had been chattering away clamped shut.

“Should I wipe it for you myself this time too?”

At the teasing question, his nape, which was embroidered with kiss marks, flushed red. Hajin’s wavering gaze fell to the floor. Clenching his fists tightly, he finally rubbed his lips vigorously with the back of his hand. It was a rough touch, a mixture of shame and irritation.

“You’ll scrape your lips.”

Eden pulled his wrist again as if to stop him once more. His thumb gently swept over the bumpy scar on his wrist, which had been made by being tied with a rope, as if to soothe it.

“Let’s go now.”

Hajin, without even thinking of pulling his captured hand away, followed behind him with a plodding walk and a complicated, subtle expression on his face.

🃏

The group sat in a row on the wooden veranda, watching the setting sun. Tinkle—a fish-shaped wind chime hanging from the eaves made a clear sound in the faintly blowing wind. At the peaceful sound of the bell, which went well with the tranquil scenery, everyone’s eyes closed languidly.

“Um…”

Just then, Miso, who had been sitting on the veranda, stood up with a sniffle and walked to the middle of the courtyard.

“I feel like I should say this around now.”

Question marks began to float, one by one, over the faces of the people who had been resting with their eyes half-closed. Byeol, who was hugging Pie, also rubbed his sleepy eyes and stared at Miso.

She looked in turn at the five pairs of eyes staring at her, and then let out a deep sigh, whoo. The sight of her standing blankly with her hands clasped together as if nervous looked just like a student before their first presentation. With a face that was clearly hesitant, Miso lowered her gaze and drew out the silence for a long time.

“What is it?”

Hajin asked gently at the unusual atmosphere. Only then did she, who had been brushing the overgrown weeds with the toe of her shoe, ss ss, raise her head.

“Well… I think we’ll probably have to say our goodbyes tomorrow.”