Magic on the Dead Chapter 18

Did I just hear that correctly? When I couldn’t hide my dumbfounded expression, Eden answered nonchalantly.

“I was just asking because you’re not sleeping and just fiddling with your hands.”

“Fiddling with my hands…”

Hajin mulled over Eden’s words and narrowed his brow in displeasure. To think he would dismiss the effort he had put in for a full eight years, practicing the rhythm memorization technique by warming up his hands with 52 cards every morning, as mere fiddling.

Truthfully, he was used to such insults, having heard them as often as he breathed from anonymous, malicious commenters, so it didn’t do much damage. But there was something about Eden’s tone that definitely got on his nerves.

Hajin pinched a card between his index and middle fingers and made a motion of throwing it, making a whoosh sound with his mouth.

“I’ve hit a zombie’s eyeball with this ‘fiddling,’ you know. Isn’t that a pretty useful skill?”

Even when he moved his hand threateningly, Eden’s expression remained indifferent. Hajin finally let out a sigh and continued.

“It’s practice. Not something like fiddling. If you’re really curious what I’m doing, come down here.”

Then, instead of snapping at him, he deliberately softened his voice and called to Eden. He didn’t have a hobby of trying to persuade those who were skeptical of magic, but nevertheless, a desire to ‘entertain’ him began to well up for some reason.

“I’m not particularly curious.”

This is absurd.

“Then why did you ask if I was bored?”

Hajin picked up the deck of cards and the pad from the floor and stood up. It was barely two and a half steps to the single bed where Eden was sitting. Fwump. The bed sank feebly as he sat down next to Eden.

Hajin tapped his own temple and spoke.

“Just call out any number that comes to mind between 1 and 52.”

Eden found himself calculating Do Hajin’s age. Looking at his face, he looked as fresh-faced as a kid who hadn’t even turned 25, but judging by his slick way of talking and the speed at which he adapted to reality, he seemed to be at least 30 years old. Though they were both Asian, it was difficult to guess a Korean’s age.

“…27.”

At most, he’d be around that age. Eden carefully chose the number, predicting Hajin’s age.

“27? If it’s 27,”

Hajin placed the cards he was holding on Eden’s thigh and looked up at the ceiling. His rather smooth, long neck was defenselessly exposed.

Eden looked at the neck, which seemed like it would be more than covered by one hand, and slowly blinked. Compared to the average adult male’s frame, his neck was quite slender.

“Mm.”

Up close, he could also see the red line mark that he hadn’t noticed in the bathroom. It was a long horizontal wound where the base of his neck met his collarbone. It seemed to be the mark from when he had grabbed Hajin by the scruff of his neck on stage. The color was strangely satisfying.

It was also similar to the color of Do Hajin’s nipples he had seen in the bathroom.

While Eden was admiring his neck, Hajin, who had briefly closed his eyes and muttered, confidently announced the answer.

“Seven of diamonds.”

“…….”

“Exactly the 27th card. It’s the seven of diamonds. Mr. Jung Taegeon, you can count and check for yourself. Dust off your palm first so the cards don’t get dirty.”

Hajin pointed to the deck of cards on the bed and urged Eden on.

“Why should I.”

“Weren’t you bored?”

Because he asked with such wide, round eyes, Eden finally let out a bland laugh. After a quick dust of his palms, he turned his body halfway and reached for the stack of cards. One card, two cards, three cards… Eden’s hand movements as he drew cards and stacked them to the side were quite half-hearted.

However, Hajin couldn’t take his eyes off his hands. Unlike his fierce impression, Jung Taegeon’s hands were surprisingly fine and neat. His knuckles weren’t angularly protruding but fell in a smooth, straight line, and even the way his thumb and index finger came together to pick up a card was elegant.

Clean, square nails without a single vertical line, faint half-moons, appropriately creased middle knuckles, and a palm width and thickness that were more than enough to hide cards.

‘That’s right, that was the image. The hand I imagined was exactly…’

Each time Eden’s long fingers picked up and turned over a card, Hajin’s upper body leaned further forward. Jung Taegeon’s hand was the very picture of the perfect magician’s ‘hand’ that had only existed in his imagination.

Except for a small scratch on his right knuckle, likely from fighting zombies, it was surprisingly pristine. While Hajin was gaping as if he had seen a magnificent view, Eden suddenly spoke to him.

“I don’t think you answered my question from earlier.”

“Your hands are so pretty… huh? Yes? What answer?”

“Why did you save me?”

“…….”

That again. Hajin barely managed to tear his gaze away from Eden’s fingers and narrowed his eyes. Was he hoping to hear an answer like, ‘I rushed to save you hoping to get some scraps’?

From Eden’s perspective, having a grudge repaid with grace must have been puzzling. If that was the reason, he could understand the desire to soothe his embarrassment, even if it meant hearing a materialistic answer.

“Does there have to be a reason to save someone? I just couldn’t pass by.”

“There’s no reason?”

“What reason is there to save a person’s life?”

The hand of Eden, who was counting the cards, became noticeably slower than before. Hajin glanced up at his lowered eyebrows and the bridge of his nose.

Jung Taegeon was making a strange expression. Faced with a moving line that should have deeply impressed him, his face looked rather displeased. A sneer was faintly visible, and just as Hajin was tilting his head in confusion, Eden put on a different face again.

“You’re right. Seven of diamonds.”

Memorizing 52 cards, all with different suits and numbers, in 23 seconds was a level that couldn’t be expressed simply by saying one had a good memory.

“I may not be good at other things, but my memory is pretty good… Don’t you think this could also be helpful for survival? We don’t know what kind of situation we’ll face.”

Eden threw a pointed gaze at Hajin, who was rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Judging by his boastful manner, it seemed he was appealing his skills rather than just bragging.

Eden tilted his head and asked.

“I have a question. Can you call something like this magic?”

“Excuse me?”

Hajin, who had been smiling, twitched the corner of his eye and asked back.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m asking because it seems like a simple memory test. Since you just guessed it by memorizing the order.”

Hajin tilted his head back toward the ceiling for a moment and blew at his bangs that had fallen down. It was obvious that he was holding back a lot he wanted to say.

Instead of refuting with trivial arguments, Hajin chose to act. Snap! With the finger snap he had shown on stage, he caught Eden’s attention and ordered boldly.

“Okay. Then I’ll show you one ‘real’ magic trick that Mr. Jung Taegeon is thinking of. Shuffle the cards yourself.”

Surprisingly, Jung Taegeon complied without a word. As he shuffled the cards haphazardly, his gaze remained fixed on Hajin’s eyes. It was a gaze that felt somewhat provocative.

“When you’re done shuffling, turn them face down and put them on the pad.”

As Eden placed the cards down, the next question followed.

“Say any number between 1 and 52.”

“15.”

“And a card that comes to mind?”

“Four of clubs.”

Eden answered obediently, yet he remained half-convinced, half-doubting the whole time. The order of these cards had been reassembled entirely by his own hands.

“Turn the cards over yourself like before. Up to the 15th card that you mentioned, Mr. Jung Taegeon.”

Moreover, Do Hajin had not touched the cards for a single moment from beginning to end. He had simply held both his palms open in the air, as if to prove his innocence. It was a game of chance, no different from gambling, that couldn’t be explained unless it was a prophecy.

Eden slowly turned the cards over. 1… 7… 14… It was the moment just before the last card. As he grabbed the back of the final card with a look full of disbelief, Hajin whispered.

“Four of clubs.”

The card flipped and fell onto the pad. A clear club and the number 4 adorned the finale of the magic trick.

It was the first moment that the pupils of Eden, who had been impassive the entire time, wavered.

🃏

In the fridge, there were tightly packed water bottles, aloe and tangerine juice provided by the motel, and four cans of beer in the side compartment. Hajin took out two cans of beer, returned to Eden’s side, and sat down.

“Have one.”

When Eden didn’t take it and just stood there blankly, he even forced the can into his hand. An hour had passed since he had put on the impromptu magic show.

“What is this?”

“It would be a lie to say there’s no intention. I’m appealing to you to look favorably upon me.”

“…….”

“As I mentioned before, my younger brother is in Yong-un City. I have to go there, but it’s obvious it will be too much for Miso and me alone. I don’t know which way you’re headed, Mr. Jung Taegeon, but… if our directions match, we could go together.”

Hajin popped the tab on his beer can and took a refreshing gulp. He wiped his damp lips with the back of his hand and continued.

“To appeal Miso’s strengths as well, that friend is extremely smart. Oh, did I mention? Miso used to be a volleyball player. Her grip strength is no joke, and her guts are no joke either. Honestly, if I arm-wrestled her, I’d probably lose.”

As expected, Eden didn’t answer.

Hajin, feeling slightly anxious, bounced one leg that was dangling off the bed. It had only been half a day since they arrived at the motel; had he proposed they travel together too hastily?

As he rubbed the cold droplets condensing on the can’s surface with his thumb, a drop fell onto his black shorts.

“Mr. Do Hajin.”

Hajin, who had brought the beer can to his lips for another sip, turned his head at the call. Eden was now looking at his chest area with an indifferent gaze. His lips slowly parted.

“By any chance, are you of mixed race too, Mr. Do Hajin?”