Magic on the Dead Chapter 128

Less than four hours after leaving the maintenance depot, Eden arrived at the rest area on the mountainside where Hajin had stayed the first night. He sat down on a hard wooden bench, spinning a flowerpot-shaped keychain on his index finger. After stroking the head of Pai, who had been a great help in the search, he leisurely looked around.

While carefully examining things like fallen strands of hair, he sensed a presence. Someone was entering the rest area.

An old man with a full head of white hair, his back bent, slowly crossed the threshold of the rest area one step at a time. Eden narrowed his eyes and stared at the familiar axe in the old man’s hand.

It was definitely the portable axe that Hajin used to carry tucked into the side pocket of his bag. Judging by the fact that the blade wasn’t worn down or stained with blood, it didn’t seem like a dangerous situation had occurred, but why was this unidentified old man holding his weapon?

Eden stared blankly at the old man, who was standing awkwardly by the door for a while, before pointing at the axe.

“Where did you get that.”

At the blunt question, the old man, still in his hunched posture, looked down at the axe he was holding.

“Hmm? This axe, you mean?”

Scratching his liver-spotted cheek with his other hand, he let out a short hum as if remembering something.

“Some young fella left this behind, he did.”

The old man sat down on the bench opposite Eden and mumbled.

“What a strange day today. It’s rare for people to come all the way up here….”

Eden slowly scanned the old man’s inelastic body, his skin tanned dark. He had no muscle, and his back was so bent that his upper body was leaning forward. This meant he wasn’t the kind of opponent from whom Hajin would easily have his weapon taken.

Deep in thought, he changed his question this time.

“May I ask if something happened with the owner of that axe.”

“You curious about that?”

The old man nodded as if it were no big deal, then subtly cast his gaze towards Eden’s backpack. Eden, understanding his intention, cut off half of the chocolate bar in his bag and handed it to him. For a moment, he remembered Hajin sharing his last remaining chocolate bar with the old couple he met at the motel, and a faint smile touched his lips.

The old man’s face lit up as he received the food. Licking the chocolate from his fingers as if not to waste a drop, he quickly recounted the circumstances under which he had encountered Hajin.

“This morning, at dawn. I was doing my rounds nearby and came to the rest area, and what do you know, someone was curled up sleeping on the bench.”

“……”

“His hair was black as night and his skin was pa~le, so how was I to know if he was a ghost or some monster? My goodness… I was thinking, that fella sure is pretty and handsome, and then all of a sudden he just pops his eyes open.”

Although it was somewhat vague, the physical description perfectly matched Hajin’s features. Wavy black hair, pale skin that didn’t tan easily in the sun…. Eden’s eyebrows twitched slightly, momentarily displeased by the fact that he wasn’t the only one who found him pretty.

“I didn’t even do anything, but he got all spooked and just started screaming. Dropped his axe on the floor and was making a whole damn fuss, so I tried to pick it up for him, but in that time he ran off without even looking back. That’s all there is to it. Not as much of a big deal as you thought, huh?”

“You saw him this morning at dawn?”

“That’s right, this morning at dawn. My, my… good heavens, I’ve never seen such a sunfish-like fella in my life.”

The old man mumbled and pushed the rest of the chocolate bar into his mouth. He didn’t forget the meticulousness of slyly hiding the axe behind his back, just in case Eden might take the weapon.

‘A sunfish….’

Eden, mulling over the old man’s words, let out a small, dry laugh. Hajin was much slower than he thought, and possessed a heart the size of a bean, to the point where it was embarrassing to even tease him. He was definitely not the type to have an advantage in survival.

The determined gaze he had when bidding farewell and Hajin’s face as he shrieked upon encountering a strange old man intersected in his mind like a scene from a cartoon. Eden shook off the lingering smile on his lips and got up from his seat.

“Leaving already?”

The old man held onto him with a disappointed face, but Eden walked out of the rest area without delay.

Out of habit, he twirled the flowerpot keychain hanging on his finger. Eden put a doll’s ring in the mouth of Pai, who followed him out wagging his tail, and whispered secretly.

“Let’s go, find your sunfish owner.”

🃏

The next morning, he found traces of someone having rolled down a hill. Eden walked around and down, then knelt and surveyed the area. A large, sharply angled rock caught his eye.

On the hard rock, there were traces of dried blood. Judging from the familiar waterproof bandage wrappers scattered nearby, it was undoubtedly a sign left by Hajin. He could vividly picture him rolling down the hill and ultimately getting scraped on the rock, drawing blood.

“One thing after another with him.”

Eden imagined the new wound on Hajin’s body and scrunched his face in displeasure.

Every time he reached a place where he had stayed, he would be enveloped in an indescribable feeling. He couldn’t quite put a finger on this emotion, where he felt worried and pathetic about Hajin’s clumsy state, yet found even this inept side of him to be cute.

‘This is quite a severe case.’

After a brief moment of self-deprecation, Eden stood up again.

He left the large mountain and this time entered a small one, about the size of a neighborhood hill. Tracking his traces was easier than expected, and his pace was noticeably faster than the previous day. Just as he had advised, Hajin was making his way by choosing only safe places, sticking to the forest paths.

Around 4 p.m., Pai’s whining became more frequent. Eden was certain that Hajin was not far away.

Pai stopped in front of a large tree and circled in place as if needing to relieve himself. Eden, who had plopped down where twigs and green leaves were scattered, habitually checked the ground beneath him.

A palm-sized mound of dirt was raised in a round shape like a grave. When he casually dug into it, a crumpled chocolate bar wrapper popped out. The sight of him burying trash in the ground for lack of a trash can seemed so typically Do Hajin.

While smiling and pushing the wrapper back under the ground, Pai bit the hem of Eden’s shirt and pulled hard. It was a clear sign that Hajin was nearby. He slung his pack back over his shoulder without delay.

Currently, Eden’s greatest interest was Hajin’s reaction that would burst out at the moment of their reunion. Would he be so surprised his eyes would fly wide open, or would he burst into tears? Or maybe he would curse at him, asking if he was crazy. Whatever it was, he vaguely expected it would be a colorful reaction.

Eden was uncharacteristically excited. His steps were light as he climbed the low hill. The twigs and piles of rocks that his feet kicked were not bothersome, and the noisy attacks of the gnats and mosquitoes circling around were also somewhat bearable.

He smiled with satisfaction at the cute rear view of Pai walking ahead, his tail fluttering. As a cool breeze blew, the puppy’s tail wagged even faster.

Five minutes later, Eden’s vigorous steps came to an abrupt halt. Chirp, chirp—the peaceful song of a mountain bird lingered in his ear, and a squirrel zipped past in front of him. Pai, who had been walking ahead, also stopped in his tracks upon discovering a body lying on the ground.

“……”

A fine crack appeared on Eden’s face as he looked at the familiar figure in the distance.

‘Do Hajin?’

Hajin, his face smeared with blood, was kneeling in front of the corpse with a completely dazed expression. He looked far more miserable than the state he had imagined. A pool of blood was spreading from the corpse’s head.

Before he could even fully savor the feelings of relief and gladness, a sense of puzzlement poked its head out.

As if he hadn’t noticed his presence, Hajin was frozen stiff like a statue. Judging by his reaction alone, he looked less like he had dealt with a zombie and more like someone who had accidentally committed murder.

Thump-thump-thump—Just then, with a familiar noise, the leaves hanging on the trees trembled slightly. At the sudden sound, a frightened Pai flattened his body to the ground as a helicopter passed overhead.

Instead of looking up at the departing helicopter, Eden did not take his eyes off Hajin. He could see a smile resembling relief blooming on his dirt-streaked cheeks. It was a reaction that didn’t match his blood-stained face at all.

Eden walked past Pai, who was busy scanning the surroundings, and slowly approached Hajin.

Hajin had now buried his face in his hands. Was he finally bursting into tears? Even as he approached, expecting to see him sobbing, his deeply bowed head did not lift.

Eden finally arrived in front of the hunched-over body. Placing his foot on the zombie’s back, he bent down. Eden’s brows furrowed slightly as he watched his lover desperately holding back his tears.

In the end, Hajin did not cry. Feeling a bit disappointed, he clicked his tongue, tsk, and saw his shoulders flinch and stiffen for a moment.

“Mr. Do Hajin.”

Calling his name after so long couldn’t have been more delightful.

“Why did you stop crying?”

At the teasing question, Hajin’s head, which had been motionless, slowly lifted. The deep charcoal-colored eyes they met were lost and wandering aimlessly.