Magic on the Dead Chapter 135

After roughly filling their hungry stomachs, the two men lay down again. Having given his armpit to Pie, Hajin had fallen asleep as if he had fainted, and when he opened his eyes again, exactly six hours had passed. He rolled his clear eyes, gazing at the midday rain that was still falling hard.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had enjoyed such a sweet sleep. Thanks to sleeping soundly without even dreaming, his body and mind felt more refreshed than ever. Pie, who had been nestled in his arms, must have been hot, as he was now lying stretched out on the narrow patch of floor where there was no blanket.

He slightly turned his head to the side and saw Eden’s face, sleeping soundly with his shirt off. His lips were swollen and redder than usual. Hajin suddenly recalled that the tongue that had reached out to lick his chest was just as red as his lips, and he let out a hot sigh.

‘He is ridiculously handsome…’

If it weren’t for his messed-up personality, his was a face full of fatal charm that one would only expect to see on a large screen. There had been some celebrities who had hoped to appear on his popular YouTube channel, but he could declare with certainty that even those who were professionally managed couldn’t compare to Eden’s face.

He felt a sense of dismay, thinking that even he himself was completely smitten. Eden’s appearance, which had naturally drawn his attention even before their relationship developed, was now shining even brighter after he had given him his body and heart.

‘How can he not have a single blemish on his face…’

As Hajin’s eyes darted around, persistently trying to find even the slightest flaw, a faint tattoo caught his eye. He lightly rubbed the drawing on Eden’s forearm. It was a symbol that had piqued his curiosity ever since he first saw it.

It seemed he didn’t get it retouched, as the crossed sword and gun in the shape of a capital ‘T’ were faintly blurred. The hard, rough symbol, nonchalantly inked on him, somehow seemed to suit his personality well.

Just then, Eden turned his body to lie facing Hajin. A voice full of drowsiness called Hajin’s name languidly.

“Mmm… Mr. Do Hajin.”

Hajin hastily removed his hand from the thick forearm.

“Are you awake?”

At his deliberately casual question, Eden lifted his closed eyelids. After rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand a few times as if to shake off the sleepiness, he simply stared at Hajin instead of immediately getting up.

To think that he, who was more sensitive to time than anyone, was leisurely buried in the blankets. It was a new and unfamiliar sight.

Just then, a voice, a little clearer than before, pierced his eardrums.

“Why were you rubbing my forearm?”

“I was looking at your tattoo. Is this by any chance the Delta Force logo?”

Eden slightly lowered his gaze to his forearm, which was being poked by Hajin’s index finger. It must have been an unexpected question, as he blinked slowly before opening his mouth after a moment.

“Delta Force is a secret unit, so there’s no official logo. In fact, the name Delta Force itself is not an official name, but a nickname….”

He lifted his chin again to meet Hajin’s eyes.

“This tattoo is just a design that my comrades and I in the Tier One unit I served in threw together.”

“Ah. So it was a friendship tattoo….”

“The justification was to prepare for the case of dying with a disfigured face during a mission, but that was just an excuse, and we probably just wanted to feel the part. It was the idea of that guy Leo I mentioned before.”

“Ah.”

Hajin, as if intrigued, gently scraped the tattoo with his fingernail. Watching him, Eden suddenly let out a dry laugh.

“One guy got a tattoo near his genitals, and I heard he had a hard time getting it removed after he was discharged.”

At those words, Hajin frowned as if the mere thought was horrifying.

“Then Jeffrey must have this tattoo too, right? I think I saw something near his hip bone last time.”

“When did you get a look at that guy Jeffrey’s hip bone?”

Hajin, who had lightly brushed off the joking jealousy, pressed down on the tattoo once more. A clear nail mark was imprinted on the faded tattoo.

He didn’t have any particular animosity towards tattoos, but he had never once thought they were cool or stylish. However, the threatening tattoo of a gun and a sword crossed like a crucifix suited Eden very well and even evoked an inexplicable sense of admiration.

“Actually, my younger brother once whined about wanting to get a tattoo. It was so out of the blue, and none of my friends had tattoos, so I got scared for no reason.”

Hajin smiled faintly, but an undeniable bitterness was present in his voice.

“I looked it up, and they said it costs double to remove it later, and it’s incredibly painful. So I desperately tried to talk him out of it… but thinking about it now, I don’t know why I did that. I should have just let him do whatever he wanted.”

“Wasn’t your brother an adult too?”

“That’s right.”

“Even if his hyung tried to stop him, if he wanted a tattoo that much, he could have easily gotten one. He must be a good listener.”

Hajin just wore a pleased smile on his lips instead of answering. Eden, sweeping back his shortened bangs, continued to ask.

“Do the two of you look a lot alike?”

“Junseok looks a little cuter than me.”

“Cuter?”

“His face is round, and his eyes are completely gentle.”

At those words, Eden slowly scanned Hajin’s face. Hajin’s jawline was sharp, far from a round impression, and his monolid eyes had a fierce aspect to them, like a cat’s at a glance. Of course, when he smiled, he did have a surprisingly gentle look.

He seemed excited now that the topic of Junseok came up and began to ramble on about things he wasn’t even asked.

“My brother and I are only two years apart. But when people actually see us, they think there’s a huge age gap. Junseok is very affectionate.”

Looking at his slightly flushed face, Eden smiled as if he understood.

“You really cherish your younger brother. It’s not easy for brothers with a two-year age gap to be like that.”

“Because he’s the only family I have. And the things he does are cute.”

“Is your brother kind too? As kind as Mr. Do Hajin.”

“That’s a bad comparison. I told you I’m not that kind, you know? Anyway, well, Junseok is… a good-hearted person. He was born that way. He likes people, and he likes animals. He’s my younger brother, but I’ve never seen anyone as kind as him.”

“Hmm.”

“You have a brother too, don’t you, Mr. Jung Taegeon? What’s he like?”

“Well. I can’t really figure out my hyung’s personality myself. We’re not that close as brothers.”

“Why?”

“My hyung finds me very difficult to be around.”

To think that even his older brother found him difficult. Well, it seemed plausible enough for Jung Taegeon. A person who was overly smart and born without any worldly deficiencies would naturally be a burden even to their own blood relatives.

Hajin blinked his eyes, leaving alone Eden’s mischievous hand that had already slipped inside his shirt.

“But you’re not asking, Mr. Jung Taegeon.”

“About what?”

“Usually, when I say my younger brother is my only family, everyone gets curious. Where my parents are, where and how the two brothers grew up.”

Eden’s hand, which had been gently rubbing Hajin’s nipple, slipped back out. He propped his chin on his hand and looked down at Hajin.

“Actually, when it comes to private matters, I don’t particularly like it when others ask me about myself, nor when I ask about others. Because of my personality, it’s become a habit to put up a wall.”

“Ah….”

“Of course, with someone special like Mr. Do Hajin, it wouldn’t matter what you ask.”

“……”

“To be honest, I am curious about Mr. Do Hajin’s upbringing. I thought it might be a sensitive topic, but I was also waiting, thinking you might tell me someday.”

Hajin’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpectedly considerate reply. He had never been asked about such things by him before, so he had thought that Eden had no particular interest in his past, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“Honestly, there’s not much to it.”

Hajin briefly pondered where and how to begin explaining his childhood, which was, as he said, nothing special.

His biological mother had died while giving birth to his younger brother, but since that happened when he was two, he had no memory of it at all, and he was five when he found out that the man he had followed, thinking he was his biological father, was actually his maternal uncle.

He and his brother had lived under his uncle’s care until just before puberty, but after his uncle found a woman to marry, they were left in a facility. His contact with his uncle, with whom he had occasionally exchanged news, was cut off right after he finished his military service.

Hajin listed the memories of his childhood, which were not ordinary but not particularly special either—at least in his own opinion—in a disjointed manner. He wasn’t one to usually talk about his family matters, so he was at a loss as to what to explain and how at first, but once he started talking, the rest was not difficult.

“Mmm, so my brother had no choice but to be especially attached to me. Of course, I relied on him a lot too.”

After finishing his story, Hajin looked at Eden with a slightly nervous expression. It wasn’t a shameful past, but since there had been people who had occasionally belittled him as a child without roots, a slight worry belatedly crept in.

Eden, who was still looking down at Hajin with his chin propped on his hand, asked calmly.

“Have you never thought about looking for your father?”

“My uncle said he was living abroad somewhere… I don’t know. I was too busy trying to make a living to think about it.”

He gently rubbed Hajin’s eyelids, which were slightly swollen from the aftermath of last night’s lovemaking.

It was a rather trashy thought, but Eden was quite satisfied with Hajin’s answer just now. He was quite pleased by the fact that Hajin’s parents, whose whereabouts were unknown, were not holding them back at present.

Of course, it was true that he was curious about his lover’s past, but that was only because he was curious about the Do Hajin of the times he didn’t know. The people around him were of no interest, and his family was no exception.

It was disgusting to find himself first mulling over the present benefits rather than feeling sympathy for his lover’s unfortunate childhood, but it couldn’t be helped. As long as he didn’t carelessly reveal that kind of personality, it wouldn’t be a problem.

“You grew up well, Mr. Do Hajin.”

Even at that one simple, carefully chosen reply, Hajin blushed with an almost naive ease. Eden found him incredibly lovable and planted a short kiss on his smooth cheek.

After that, the two of them continued to talk about various things while caressing each other’s bodies for a long time, and then they simultaneously looked out the window.

“I think the rain has lightened up a bit compared to before.”

At Hajin’s whisper, Eden sat up. At that, Pie also stretched and got up from his spot.

“If you’ve rested enough, shall we get going?”