Magic on the Dead Chapter 111

“It seems you, Mr. Jung Taegeon, are not thinking about Byeol and Jeffrey.”

“I am thinking about them, sufficiently.”

For a moment, he was at a loss for words at the composed retort, but Hajin deliberately chose provocative words to antagonize him.

“Following me all the way to Neverland is no different from a suicide mission.”

However, Eden snorted as if laughing at Hajin’s shallow trick and similarly leaned his head against the seat’s headrest.

“If someone who says he’s going to save his younger brother talks about suicide missions, I’m sure as hell not going to let him go.”

After a brief pause, he let out a short sigh. Soon, a voice as harsh as scraping metal cut through the air.

“Just use me. Don’t overcomplicate things.”

Hajin’s gaze, which had been fixed on the ceiling, moved to the side of Eden’s face. His cool eyes were narrowed, staring at some point in the empty air. On the face of the nonchalant man who kept encouraging his selfishness, no fear or uncertainty could be read.

Hajin felt pathetic for feeling a sense of relief just from that, for his heart trembling at the confession to use him. Looking at the sturdy profile that seemed as if it would not be shaken by any storm, he spoke calmly.

“This isn’t a simple dichotomous problem of who you consider more important. You know that well too, Mr. Jung Taegeon.”

Eden’s attitude, deliberately choosing sentences that would induce guilt to needle at Hajin’s weak spots, certainly had a nasty side to it. But it was inevitable that his heart would soften at the clear expression of intent to follow him, even if it meant using a cheap trick.

Hajin rested his arm on the window frame and turned his head to stare at the pitch-black outside. The darkness, where one couldn’t see an inch ahead, felt like a mirror reflecting his own bleak future. Eden’s devoted attitude, of being willing to walk through that darkness with him, made his heart ache on the one hand.

“Still, I will gratefully accept the sentiment. …Thank you, I truly mean it.”

As he spoke while swallowing a sigh, a hot hand soon touched his earlobe. Flinch. While his body stiffened, the man nonchalantly caressed the winding cartilage of his ear.

“I didn’t say that just for you to accept the sentiment. It’s a sincere offer, so think about it seriously.”

“There’s nothing more to think about. This is a matter of life and death.”

Unable to bear the hand that was persistently fumbling with his ear any longer, Hajin pushed it away. Even so, it was difficult to meet his eyes, so he stubbornly stared out the window. Eden, unconcerned, lifted the hand that had been pushed away and this time, simply swept it over the nape of his neck.

“Do you remember when I said let’s see if our bodies are compatible first when you’re confused?”

Hajin’s body flinched at the out-of-the-blue question. Eden continued to ask.

“What do you think was the first thought that came to my mind after sleeping with you?”

“…What was it.”

Hajin’s hair at the back, which had grown long enough to cover the nape of his neck, slid and wound between his fingers.

“How can I bring Do Hajin to America.”

It was an unexpected answer. Hajin raised his eyebrows and turned his head again. At that moment, Eden pressed the power button on the flashlight.

Click. The light that had been dimly illuminating the car’s interior vanished in an instant, and the surroundings sank into a blue darkness.

“The truth is, there was no need to confirm my feelings. Seeing as I was already scheming to bring you to my home.”

At the sudden confession, Hajin clamped his lips shut. His heart pounded so fiercely that he could feel his pulse throbbing behind his ear. He knew full well the man’s ploy—shaking a carrot now that the whip wasn’t working—but he was still shaken helplessly.

Hajin’s eyes, now accustomed to the dark, traced the outline of Eden right in front of him. His dark brown irises were looking down at him with a piercing gaze.

Hajin barely managed to open his mouth, his voice thoroughly husky.

“Even if you were in my shoes, Mr. Jung Taegeon, you would have refused this offer. In a situation where you don’t know when or how you might die, does it make any sense to go save someone else’s family, not your own?”

“Well, I don’t know. If I were in a situation where I had to save my family like you, Mr. Do Hajin, I wouldn’t go out of my way to refuse someone who stepped up to help me. Because that would be more beneficial in many ways.”

At the firm reply, he was at a loss for words, his mouth just opening and closing. The man let out a low sigh and added.

“This is the difference between us. You act for the sake of others, but I act for my own sake. It can’t be helped even if you call me selfish.”

Eden roughly swept back his fallen bangs, as if he were the one frustrated with Hajin for refusing his help.

“Since there’s no way Mr. Do Hajin would follow me while giving up on his younger brother, I’m saying that I’ll follow you myself.”

“……”

“Or, without overcomplicating things, do you want to go to America with me right now? If you agree to that, will you follow me quietly?”

Hajin clenched his fist resting on his thigh.

The rain, which he had thought had stopped, was once again pouring down thunderously. Rumble…! The sound of thunder echoing outside the window seemed to be speaking for his own heart. He felt as if a corner of his heart, which he had solidly fortified with bricks, was crumbling down.

He closed his eyes and composed his breathing for a long while before lifting his eyelids, and he could feel a gaze still scrutinizing his face. It seemed difficult to persuade Eden, who did not look like he would back down easily.

“Just from the way you’re talking, it seems you’ll chase after me even if I refuse. Am I right?”

Instead of an answer, Eden winked. His temples throbbed at the mischievous gesture, but Hajin did not give up. He had to wrack his brain to find a way to protect him to the best of his ability.

“Then I have a condition.”

At the determined words, Eden asked as if he had been waiting.

“What is it?”

“You said there might be a few transport planes left at the maintenance depot that we can use. But that’s just a guess, isn’t it.”

Hajin lifted the hand that was on his thigh and grasped Eden’s firm forearm as if to persuade him.

“If, by any chance, there’s only one transport plane left, you, Mr. Jung Taegeon, must go to America with Jeffrey and Byeol. It’s the same even if there are none left at all.”

Eden’s brows furrowed the moment he finished speaking.

“Promise me quickly. That you won’t do something crazy like following me with nothing but the clothes on your back.”

At the resolute words, he, who had been staring intently at Hajin for a while, rolled his tongue inside his mouth. Then, as if something displeased him, he puffed out his left cheek before finally, reluctantly, nodding his head. A rebuke immediately followed.

“Don’t just nod vaguely, you have to answer.”

“…Mmm, alright.”

His attitude was somehow ambiguous. Hajin’s eyes narrowed. Swoooosh— The sound of the pouring rain was as relentless as the static on a TV after the broadcast has ended.

After staring at Eden with suspicious eyes for a long while, Hajin finally let out a self-deprecating laugh.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because it’s absurd. And I guess I’m thinking that I like you, Mr. Jung Taegeon, a lot more than I thought….”

Eden looked at Hajin with a gaze full of interest. Considering Hajin’s shy attitude after they had sex—although it was sex that excluded penetration, of course—this was a surprisingly frank side of him. Come to think of it, after acknowledging his emotions, he had been unreserved in expressing and sharing his feelings.

I thought he was a complete amateur in this sort of thing…. While Eden was watching him intently, Hajin muttered as if mulling it over.

“I am curious about when it started.”

“Was there no particular catalyst?”

“I’m not sure. What about you, Mr. Jung Taegeon?”

At Hajin’s question, he rolled his eyes. He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment.

He had felt a strong, instinctual pull from the moment he first welcomed Hajin as a colleague, but if he had to pick the most vivid memory, it would probably be the magic show held in the cave.

“The moment you handed me a purple flower in the cave is a memorable one, Mr. Do Hajin. My emotions were a bit… confusing since it was right after we both realized the zombie’s weakness at the same time.”

“The cave, you mean at Mount Jeongmang? That’s completely unexpected.”

Hajin, shrugging, held out his wide-open palm in front of Eden. Then, he folded his fingers in order from thumb to pinky, and soon, he shook the roundly clenched fist before his eyes.

Eden tapped Hajin’s fist, which was fluttering before his eyes, with his index finger.

“What’s in here this time?”

“It’s not a flower like last time, but this time, it’s a flowerpot.”

As he unfurled his clenched fist, a keychain in the shape of an old flowerpot revealed itself. A green doll, a little smaller than a palm, was placed on Eden’s thigh. He fiddled with the ridiculous keychain that had eyeballs on it, then looped the ring on his middle finger and spun it around.

After that, some more blush-inducing conversations continued sporadically. The doll that had been rolled around in Eden’s palm was moved back into Hajin’s hand.

“I don’t know what will happen to us in the future, but still, while we’re together, I plan to do my best for you, Mr. Jung Taegeon. I don’t want to have regrets when I look back.”

Eden leaned his body closer to Hajin.

“Is that so? How do you plan on doing your best.”

Hajin gave a short laugh as he lightly pushed his body, which had approached him as if to pounce, toward the driver’s seat.

“Your expression just now, Mr. Jung Taegeon, was incredibly lewd.”

“Was I?”

Eden similarly pulled the corners of his mouth up into a broad smile. Soon, he rested his arm on the steering wheel and, just like at the beginning, leaned his upper body on it and turned towards Hajin.

The fickle downpour had once again reached a lull. Plink, plonk…. The sound of raindrops hanging from the edge of the building tapping against the shutter could be heard.

A steady gaze roamed over Hajin’s face.

“Should we?”

The object of the sentence was omitted, but there was no way he wouldn’t know what the words meant. Hajin let out a shaky breath from the tension that instantly welled up inside him. The corners of his lips trembled minutely, and his Adam’s apple bobbed slightly.