Magic on the Dead Chapter 122

Mason and the group stopped under the awning of the hangar’s back door to escape the blazing sun.

【The back door is locked, so we have to go in through the front. Before that, let’s catch our breath for a moment.】

Tying back his long, curly blond hair, Mason smiled brightly. In the process, his soaking wet armpits were revealed. Jeffrey made a retching sound. Ugh.

【Mason, this bastard is still as sweaty as ever. You lost weight, but can’t you do something about that sweat?】

【What, you punk? Have you even been washing your clothes?】

Mason, who had been exchanging childish jokes with Jeffrey, turned to Eden with a fully flushed face.

【Executive Director-nim, you must have had a hard time traveling with Jeffrey, right? This guy is pretty dirty and doesn’t even wash.】

【Well, I will make no comment.】

At the mischievous reply, Mason burst into hearty laughter. Eden raised his hand above his forehead to shield his face from the scorching sunlight. The passenger plane, having finished boarding its passengers, was now ready for takeoff. Eden, who had deeply furrowed his brow from the heat, asked Mason.

【What happened? What about the other engineers?】

The corners of Mason’s upturned lips froze in place. His eyes darted around as he hesitated with a gloomy expression, before he finally managed to speak.

【I’m the only one who survived from the engineer team. On the day the situation broke out, everyone else had gone back to the dorms for lunch… and I was cooped up in the hangar to finish the work I was doing.】

【…….】

【After that, I’ve never once stepped outside this fence.】

【You must have gone through a lot.】

Even at the nonchalantly offered words of comfort, the tip of Mason’s nose turned red. Eden got straight to the point with his subordinate, who had his head bowed low.

【How many transport aircraft are left in the hangar? Are they preserved as they were when they were dismantled?】

He stared at Mason, feeling Hajin’s gaze on the side of his cheek. Gulp. The sound of Jeffrey swallowing his saliva could be heard.

【The transport aircraft are….】

Everyone stared intently at the man’s lips with tense eyes.

【The transport aircraft are all still here, but instead, the only ones that can move are two helicopters. The civilian military employees messed with the gearboxes and wrecked all of them.】

Eden, who had been holding his breath, grabbed Mason’s shoulder as if to snatch him.

【You said two are left?】

Startled by the sudden force of his grip, Mason’s eyes widened as he nodded his head.

【Yes? Yes, two are left…. Ah, but one is scheduled to leave this evening, and the other one will probably need a few days of maintenance before it can take off.】

As the unexpected answer followed, Eden’s brows furrowed fiercely.

【One is scheduled to leave today… Who gave the order to move the transport aircraft?】

The atmosphere turned hostile in an instant. With a frightened expression, Mason glanced at his superior’s face and continued to stammer.

【Th-there are still people waiting inside the hangar. People who couldn’t get on that passenger plane because they didn’t have enough money. I’m also scheduled to leave on that transport aircraft tonight. I got a seat in exchange for maintaining the depot…. Of course, you can a-also escape, Executive Director-nim. Just in case, I’ve already done about half the work on the last remaining helicopter, sir.】

As he went on and on, Jeffrey, who had been biting his nails, glanced at Eden.

【If you just check the air intake and the main rotor a bit more for safety, and also reinstall the power system, you could escape within three days….】

Eden let Mason’s words drift past him and slowly turned his gaze to the empty air. A hollow laugh escaped through his clenched teeth as he muttered.

【Looks like the government played the role of a matchmaker quite well.】

Come to think of it, the aircraft here were government-owned assets that the Republic of Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration had purchased from Blueworx, paying a sum close to 2 trillion won. Even if the government had arranged escape brokerage for the wealthy, there was no problem with it at all.

In that case, only one question remained.

【Is it true that we can take the remaining helicopter?】

As Eden asked, Mason quickly nodded his head as if he had been waiting for the question.

【Of course! Mr. Hugo pulled some strings.】

【Hugo did?】

【Right after the zombie outbreak, the Blueworx situation room sent a direct message here. They said to open the gate if the CTO-nim visited and to immediately provide one transport aircraft. That they could pay any amount in dollars. At that time, the army and the air force had already swarmed the maintenance depot, so it was a bit of a struggle to communicate, but thankfully, the talks went well.】

Eden recalled Hugo’s last voice over the phone, saying he would devise a Plan B, and let out a heavy sigh. He, who had been looking at the ground, finally lifted his head. Hajin’s innocent face came into view.

“Mr. Jung Taegeon. I’m fine.”

Hajin forced a smile and soothed Eden, as if trying to sort out his chaotic feelings.

“I understood how the situation is unfolding. So…”

“For now, let’s do as I say.”

Cutting Hajin off without mercy, Eden turned his gaze back to Mason.

【When did people start coming and going from the maintenance depot?】

【It’s probably been about two weeks. Since the airports in Seoul and Incheon were all burned down, this was the only runway left near the metropolitan area. For a while, it was really noisy and chaotic. A lot of people flocked here, so accidents happened often too…. I heard they even blew up roads in the middle to prevent civilians from coming to the maintenance depot.】

As soon as Mason finished speaking, Eden muttered a small curse. This was because the numerous hardships he had experienced due to the destroyed roads flashed quickly through his mind. All those nightmarish days of detouring through treacherous paths to avoid broken bridge piers were all….

He rubbed his face, which had suddenly become weary. A strange silence fell at the end of a deep sigh.

Mason, who had been rolling his eyes around as if he did not understand what was going on, belatedly met Hajin’s gaze. After smiling awkwardly with just his lips, he nudged Jeffrey’s side and asked.

【By the way, who is this person?】

Jeffrey followed Mason’s gaze and looked toward where Hajin was.

【This is Hajin, a companion who joined us on the way. This little one is Eden’s nephew, and this one is Pie.】

【Ah.】

Mason neatened his bangs that had fallen down and offered Hajin a handshake.

【Nice to meet you. I’m Mason Miller, an engineer working under the Executive Director-nim. I’m not very good at Korean… For now, please feel free to call me Mason.】

“Ah, hello…”

It was the moment Hajin raised his arm to shake his hand.

【Let’s stop the small talk and get moving.】

Cutting in at just the right time, Eden swiftly pulled Hajin’s arm, and then began to walk with long strides, dragging him along.

Mason tilted his head as he watched the back of his superior, who seemed somewhat on edge. Jeffrey approached his side and patted the top of Mason’s head as if to comfort him.

【You just have to understand.】

【…What?】

【He’s a bit sensitive because there aren’t enough transport aircraft.】

The plane let out a loud roar announcing its takeoff and was leaving the runway. The voices of the people wailing while clinging to the fence echoed faintly, following the sound of the receding plane.

“Mr. Jung Taegeon.”

Hajin looked up at Eden, who was firmly holding his shoulder, and said urgently.

“Let’s talk. Now I’m…”

“Let’s try to send Jeffrey and Byeol on the transport aircraft that’s leaving tonight.”

“Excuse me?”

“It should be possible if there are seats left. And you and I, we’ll take the remaining helicopter and go to Neverland.”

“No.”

“So let’s not say things like it’s okay, or let’s part ways here. As it is, right now is already quite…”

Eden left his sentence unfinished, his face clearly showing his irritation and anxiety. The muscles in his jaw bulged, and a bright blue vein popped up near his temple. Hajin’s lips parted and then closed shut.

Time was already heading towards early evening, but the heat from the asphalt showed no signs of cooling. The plane scraped along the runway and slowly lifted into the air. The fence was shaking as if it would break.

🃏

“You’re asking us to take people who aren’t even on the boarding list… We barely made it here after scraping together all our assets, do you think we’re pushovers? Besides, there’s only one seat left, and you suddenly want to add two people? One may be a child, but this is just not right, barging in like this, no matter what.”

Wiping away the sweat dripping down his chin, Hajin looked around. The sweltering air enveloped his body, as if he had entered a steam room. The inside of the hangar was bustling with civilian military employees and soldiers busily moving around with radios, and the survivors who had gathered to board the helicopter.

“Ma’am, please don’t get so worked up. The Director’s side said they’ll pay sufficiently for the seats later…”

“And how are we supposed to know that? Besides, is money the problem right now? If there’s a safety issue because we’re over capacity, are you going to take responsibility for it!”

Although Hajin was standing far away from them, he could clearly hear the sharp voice of the middle-aged woman. In front of her, he could see a man who appeared to be in charge, and Eden, who was standing with his arms crossed and his face hardened.