Magic on the Dead Chapter 2

「Zombie Outbreak in Sangwon City?? I Barely Made It Out Alive. What the Hell are These Bastards??」

Miso reflexively moved her thumb to check the comment reactions.

wo1111 The guy who filmed this, are you alive

nyang nyang …………wow… what did I just see……………………….

pdifupeace I’m sorry but what is this?

sinna90 They’re posting this crap without even a blur lol No one believes this, right?

Jyeongwon luv The algorithm is doing a shitty job these days

Guerilla boongboong Ah everything was good but the woman suddenly snapping her neck was soooooo lolol instantly unrealistic

⤷HUh??

⤷I also lost interest when I saw the neck snap lol I don’t know what kind of viral marketing this is but the quality is good lol

⤷Looking at the location again, it looks like that market alley where Lulu Girls did their 2nd album photoshoot, so they must be filming something

⤷I believe that place is in Dongmyo~~ This one says it’s in Sangwon City

⤷Ohh I see

Irasshaimase Dead Island 3’s development period was so long I thought it would be a disaster like Duke Nukem Forever, but I guess they’re putting effort into promoting it with POV huh lol It looks like it will be well-made

⤷Ah I came in thinking it was promotion for Dying Light but that could be it too

⤷Oh that game is fun too lol

Gram 2 What is this, something being released? Or a game? Anyone know?

poppop Crazy, I feel like I’m going to have a nightmare

Yuhani Hey, this is real, police cars are showing up in our neighborhood and it’s chaos

⤷What neighborhood?

⤷Yongun City

⤷This is Sangwon City though?

⤷Answering for them. It seems it’s not just Sangwon City that’s in this mess;; I’m in Incheon and the sirens are blaring here too, it’s no joke

sifue Looks like they’re just high on drugs

Haneul-banjang Oh my~~!! What is this, I’m afraid the kids might see~~~ㅜㅜ

Miso looked back at the assistant with a bewildered face.

“ …Hey, is this some kind of movie promotional video?”

“For something like that, there are hundreds of videos like this on Onstar alone. Isn’t that strange? They were all uploaded just 30 minutes ago, too.”

When the assistant tapped the screen a few times, a list of thumbnails for real-time trending videos appeared. They were all videos posted at most a few dozen minutes ago, and their titles were all peppered with words like ‘zombie,’ ‘drug side effects,’ and ‘horror.’ It seemed this strange phenomenon was appearing not only in Sangwon City but in other metropolitan areas as well.

Miso, who had been frowning and wrinkling her brow while checking the thumbnails for a while, let out a hollow breath.

“Geez. Still, common sense dictates that a person’s neck turning 180 degrees doesn’t make any sense.”

“No, that’s true, but if you look closely,”

“Stop dawdling now and go help Hajin. I’m going to check outside for a bit and then head straight to the waiting room.”

Hajin, who had been checking his movements on stage, had already disappeared into the waiting room. There was less than a minute left until the audience would be admitted. Miso, who had almost forgotten her duties, ran up the stairs between the seats.

“Well, anyway, there’s no harm in being careful!”

Miso breezily ignored the assistant’s shout coming from behind her and pushed open the entrance door. A long line was visible on the right side of the lobby, perhaps because a queue had already formed. She whispered to the guide stationed at the door.

“Are they entering now?”

The guide checked the staff name tag hanging around Miso’s neck and nodded.

“Yes. Staff members can use the side door.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Miso squeezed through the crowd and went out into the lobby. There were now only about 15 minutes left until the show began. The lobby was already a sea of people with those holding pamphlets and taking pictures in the photo zone, whining children, and members of Do Hajin’s fan cafe.

Miso shook her head as if to shake off the afterimage of the strange video she had just seen. It was when she was hurrying her steps toward the box office to check the number of remaining on-site tickets.

WEEEEEE— BBYONG— BBYEEE— BBYONG— BEE— BBYEEYONG— BBI,BBI,BBI—

The sound of loud sirens echoed through the four-way intersection in front of the small theater. Flinching, Miso stopped and lifted her chin. Through the plate glass window, several fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars could be seen racing in the same direction. Even at a glance, there were quite a lot of them.

“What’s going on?”

“Looks like there’s a big fire somewhere.”

“Oof, my eardrums hurt….”

Amidst the murmuring crowd, someone quickly brushed past Miso’s waist.

“Wow! Uncle! A helicopter, a helicopter!”

Miso staggered and frowned. The culprit was a little girl with her hair tied cutely in two pigtails.

“Excuse me.”

Just then, a man with a deep, low-pitched voice offered an apology on her behalf. Miso, barely listening to his apology, shifted her gaze in the direction the child’s finger was pointing.

Thud-thud-thud— Thud-thud-thud—

A muffled noise was reverberating at a low altitude. Several dark green helicopters, which appeared to be military helicopters, instantly disappeared to the south.

What is this, really? The afterimage of the video she had tried to shake off flashed through her mind again. Feeling inexplicably unsettled, Miso fumbled through her pockets. It seemed she had left her phone in the waiting room, as the only thing her hand grasped was a car key with a rabbit keychain attached.

—In a moment, the performance will begin. All audience members, please be seated. In a moment, the performance will begin….

As soon as the siren sounds that had been noisily filling the road faded, the announcement immediately began to play. The people who had been gathered in a chaotic, market-like crowd began to walk toward the theater entrance one by one. Miso, who had been looking outside for a long while, finally turned her steps toward the on-site box office as well.

🃏

“Hello. Did you make a reservation through Inapark?”

“Yes.”

“What is your name, please?”

“Eden Jeong, no, Jung Taegeon.”

The woman handing out tickets at the box office furtively stole a glance at the man in front of her, who stood a head taller than everyone else. Jung Taegeon, Jung Taegeon…. Even as she rustled through the pile of ticket envelopes searching for the name, her gaze kept being drawn forward.

The man was looking around his surroundings with the sleeves of his white dress shirt rolled up to his forearms. His raised chin felt strangely authoritative, yet the relaxed set of his mouth gave an impression far from arrogance. The woman, who was observing his dual-sided appearance from the corner of her eye, listened to the voice of her heart that was flowing out.

‘He’s crazy handsome.’

After taking in the man’s high nose bridge, she shifted her gaze to the side. A foreigner with curly brown hair and light dalgona-colored skin, and a man in his 30s wearing nerdy glasses, stood demurely next to the handsome man. Judging by the atmosphere, it did not seem like they were a group of friends who had come to socialize.

Tilting her head at the rather unusual combination, she held out the ticket that her fingertips had found.

“Is it three adults and one child?”

“Yes.”

“Have a nice time.”

The man, who gave a formal nod, turned around. A little girl, who had popped out from somewhere, briskly walked over and clung to the man’s thigh.

“Buy me a magic kit!”

Instead of answering, the man wrapped one arm around the child’s body and lifted her up. Her cutely braided pigtails swayed back and forth.

“After the show is over.”

“Can’t I have it now?”

“No. It’s a pain to carry around.”

Eden, having awkwardly placated the child, got in the waiting line. At that very moment, the sharp sound of a siren pierced his ears.

WEEEEEE— BBYONG— BBYEEE— BBYONG— BEE— BBYEEYONG— BBI,BBI,BBI—

The sounds never merged into one, instead jumping here and there like a cacophony. It was an unpleasant noise that made even one’s internal organs vibrate dully.

“Wow! Uncle! A helicopter, a helicopter!”

His niece, having slipped out of his arms, ran recklessly toward the glass window, oblivious to bumping into people.

“Excuse me.”

Eden, who offered an apology to the passerby on her behalf, looked out the window. A fire truck in the lead, an ambulance in the middle, and police cars following as if escorting them were racing down the road in a line. He frowned at the seemingly endless procession and then lifted his head. Five military helicopters cutting through the sky caught his eye.

Just then, Jeffrey, who had approached from the side, tapped Eden’s shoulder and spoke in English.

【What’s that? Those aren’t transport helicopters, they’re attack helicopters. Are they heading to a training exercise or something?】

【They look like Apaches. Judging by the number, it doesn’t seem like a unit training exercise.】

Eden fluently named the helicopter model. The Apache was a helicopter with such high attack power that it was no exaggeration to call it the world’s strongest attack helicopter. As far as he knew, there were less than 40 Apaches that had been brought into Korea.

While Eden was carefully observing the outside, Jeffrey shivered and made a fuss.

【It’s not a provocation from North Korea, is it? I don’t want to die in a war.】

He prattled on uninterestingly about an unlikely possibility. Eden, who kept his mouth shut at the story not worth a response, picked up his phone. On his face, as he made a call to somewhere, was an indifference that seemed to be observing this whole situation. The call connected after two rings.

【—Hello. This is the Blue Works Situation Room.】

【Code 2897.】

As soon as he stated the communication code, a different connection tone followed.

【—War Room, you’re on the line.】

【This is Eden Jeong.】

【—Good day, CTO-nim. This is Michael.】

【I see Hugo has stepped out.】

【—He is out for a moment. May I assist you?】

【Requesting monitoring of Sangwon City, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea.】

Click, clack…. While the short sound of typing could be heard over the receiver, the lobby became noisy.

Soon after, the boarding announcement was heard, and people flooded toward the entrance like a tidal wave.

“Uncle, let’s go in too.”

【—As of before 1 PM at your current location, there are no shared Code Red situations.】

【Is real-time tracking possible?】

“Let’s go in, Uncle Taegeon!”

【—Yes, it is possible. We will contact you through Hugo-nim if any unusual situation arises.】

Eden, who ended the call, lightly tapped the forehead of Byeol, who was grabbing and shaking his pant leg.

“Stop whining so much, you brat.”

“It’s because you’re working here even though you said it’s your day off!”

“It’s not work,”

“You’re a lying liar every time you open your mouth.”

Eden pressed his forehead as if he was done. Jeffrey chortled as if he was enjoying the spectacle of the haughty and arrogant Eden Jeong being utterly unable to handle a seven-year-old child. Park Chunbeom, who had been standing beside them like an invisible fixture the whole time, also bit his lip as if in triumph.

“Is it funny?”

Eden, letting out a sigh, turned to Jeffrey and Park Chunbeom and narrowed his eyes. Jeffrey snatched the magic show ticket from Eden’s hand and retorted playfully.

【Are you going to act like the boss even on your day off?】

Then, he shoved a poster he had been holding into Eden’s chest. Eden, wrinkling his brow in displeasure, took the poster.

‘Do Hajin’s Time Travel Magic Show!’

Was he in his mid-twenties? The face of a pale and pretty-looking man was plastered across one side of the poster. An untainted earnestness emanated from the magician’s expressionless face. Even so, he looked like nothing more than a jester who made a living off the snot-nosed money of little children.

Eden, as if it were no big deal, crumpled the poster he was holding and threw it into the trash can next to the box office.