Magic on the Dead Chapter 24

Hajin, Eden, and their group were gathered in a small room, invited by an elderly man.

The room was filled with cozy sounds. The soft hum of conversation, the clinking of dishes, and exclamations of delight at the taste of Korean food after so long…

“It’s delicious…!”

Park Chunbeom was practically shedding tears. The elderly man patted his back gently, urging him to eat slowly, his touch full of warmth. With a kind demeanor reminiscent of Park Chunbeom’s late grandfather, the old man nearly brought him to sobs as he savored the rice in his mouth. It was the taste of home he had missed so dearly.

At best, they had expected tonight’s meal to consist of brown bananas and tap water with a fishy smell… Park Chunbeom felt genuine relief at being able to eat a proper meal before heading to Yongwoon.

No less enthusiastic about Korean food than Park Chunbeom, Jeffrey was ravenously devouring the stew. Byeol, exasperated, kept smacking the back of Jeffrey’s hand, urging him to slow down.

The elderly woman, sitting with one knee up and watching them fondly, carefully poured barley tea into a chipped glass.

Having just finished his meal, Hajin bowed deeply to the elderly couple.

“Thank you so much. We ate so well because of you.”

“You must have been through a lot. What have you been eating all this time?”

The elderly man, Kim Yongsu, asked with a concerned expression.

“We had some snacks we brought along, so we shared those little by little. Sometimes we’d scavenge for food outside…”

“Oh my, no wonder. You all look so thin.”

Kim Yongsu clicked his tongue, his white eyebrows twitching. His gaze, slowly scanning the group, finally settled on Eden.

“But, ahem, I… I feel like I’ve seen this gentleman somewhere before…”

Perhaps recalling seeing Eden on television, like Hajin had, Kim Yongsu tilted his head curiously. Eden pretended not to hear, busying himself with stabbing a piece of potato side dish with his chopsticks.

“Haha. It’s probably because he looks like a celebrity. He gets that a lot.”

Hajin quickly diverted the old man’s attention. Revealing Jung Taegeon’s identity and his abilities to others would do no good. It would only attract more people clinging to him, like Hajin himself.

Hajin, who had been smiling awkwardly, suddenly froze. Wait, what was I just thinking…? Instead of being grateful to the elderly man who had treated them to a warm meal, he had momentarily seen him as a rival, and a wave of deep self-loathing washed over him.

Eden, as if sensing Hajin’s self-reproach, gave a small smile from across the table.

He ate moderately, stopping once he had enough calories. Overeating would only stretch his stomach, leaving him hungry again soon or causing indigestion.

Jeffrey and Park Chunbeom, who had practically cleaned out the food like they were washing dishes, finally put down their spoons. After gulping down the barley tea the elderly woman offered, they bowed in thanks, just like Hajin.

“The thanks shouldn’t go to me but to this young man. Helping others without expecting anything in return isn’t an easy thing…”

Kim Yongsu patted Hajin’s back repeatedly, as if proud of him. His warm gaze remained fixed on Hajin throughout. Miso and the rest of the group, helping clear the dishes, also looked at the old man and Hajin with fond expressions.

“Thank you. Thanks to Mr. Do Hajin, we ate well.”

But the first to offer thanks was none other than Eden. Hajin, hiding a puzzled expression, awkwardly scratched the bridge of his nose. If this incident earned him some points with Eden, that would be a relief. Or so he thought.

“I’m glad you enjoyed the meal.”

Rescue me, feed me, give me a place to sleep, even get me kimchi stew… At this point, shouldn’t it be Eden begging him to be his companion, not the other way around? But the world was inherently unfair. No matter how you looked at it, the moment they stepped outside, the key to survival lay not with Hajin but with Eden.

At that moment, the elderly man spoke in his distinctive gravelly voice.

“Come back tomorrow if you’d like. We may not be able to provide three meals a day, but we can treat you to two.”

Hajin and the entire group gasped in unison. It was an unexpected kindness.

“Really? We can come back tomorrow?”

Jungbyeol, thrilled, bounced up and down, throwing herself into the elderly woman’s arms. The woman patted Jungbyeol’s backside playfully, as if she were a puppy.

“Of course, come anytime. The menu might be simple, but it’s better than eating just snacks, right?”

After expressing their gratitude, the group finished cleaning up and stepped outside. Hajin, holding the door, glanced back at Eden, who was the last to leave. Eden placed his palm just above the doorknob Hajin was holding. As their skin brushed, Hajin flinched and let go of the handle.

Even as they carefully descended the stairs, each holding their weapons, the hallway was eerily quiet. No whispers of conversation or the white noise of a television could be heard. The motel, which had been noisy all day, had fallen into silence at some point.

Hajin recalled the sobbing of a woman from the floor above the previous night, crying that her boyfriend, who had gone out to find food, hadn’t returned. More and more people were leaving the motel for similar reasons and not coming back.

Hajin glanced back at Eden following behind. As if sharing the same thought, Eden was also intently observing the rooms they passed.

It was when they reached the last step on the second floor. Crack! Kakak—!! Clunk—! A loud noise suddenly came from downstairs. A zombie was clawing at the blocked glass entrance. Startled, Hajin’s body trembled, and Eden, following close behind, firmly grabbed his shoulder.

Swallowing the curse that nearly slipped out, Hajin panted heavily.

“Huff. Hh… Thank you.”

Earning points? Yeah, right… He was so embarrassed he wanted to die.

🃏

Eden was peering outside, slightly lifting the curtain. A zombie with one arm missing was aimlessly wandering around the motel. A half-tied ponytail, a white t-shirt, a camera stick tucked into its pocket, a scratch on its eyebrow…

It was the immature guy from Room 205 who had been running “Aggro TV.” Hajin hadn’t seen him in a while, and it seemed he had gone outside at some point and gotten bitten.

Groooar… The way it roared while dodging another zombie coming from the opposite direction was grotesque. Eden, staring at the man who had once been human, fell into deep thought.

What was a zombie’s weakness? Was destroying the brain really the only way? Except for that dawn when they had gone out to catch a helicopter, zombies roamed the streets day and night, whether there was light or not.

But no living creature could be without a weakness, and zombies surely had a fatal flaw.

“Something that lets you move without being seen by zombies…”

As Eden’s eyes darted around, analyzing, someone roughly tapped his shoulder from behind.

“Mr. Jung Taegeon. Don’t you want some dessert?”

Eden, who had been staring out the window, ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek. At the luxurious word “dessert,” he turned to Hajin warily.

Hajin, holding a chocolate bar the elderly man had pressed into his hand—though it was so small it was almost embarrassing to eat in one bite—whispered as he held it out.

“Eat this, and you have to take me with you.”

At the absurd flirtation, Eden stared down at Hajin, speechless. Hajin shook the crumpled chocolate bar wrapper impatiently.

“Not taking it?”

“…What are you doing right now?”

“I have to appeal to you somehow if I want to survive.”

Jeffrey and Park Chunbeom, lying on the bed, snickered as they watched the exchange between Eden and Hajin.

“Mr. Do Hajin, fighting!”

【Hajin, you can do it, keep pushing!】

As if it were someone else’s drama, Jeffrey and Park Chunbeom even whistled. Eden shot them a fierce glare. Full and in high spirits, they had been playfully teasing, but at their boss’s sharp demeanor, they quickly averted their eyes.

Eden, after glancing at Jeffrey and Park Chunbeom, turned back to Hajin.

“I’m good.”

“You sure you don’t want it? You didn’t even let the old man have any earlier.”

As Hajin’s innocent eyes met his, Eden let out a dry laugh. Was this guy messing with him or flirting? Turning back to the darkening outside, he waved his hand dismissively.

“I don’t need it, so take it.”

As if expecting this, Hajin casually turned away and locked eyes with Jeffrey on the bed. Jeffrey gestured animatedly, whispering something to Hajin. Giving up already? Push a little harder!

Park Chunbeom, in full agreement, was sending comical signals too. They were like Dumb and Dumber.

“I’m not giving up.”

Grinning as if to say “no way,” Hajin pointed behind them with a poke. Jeffrey looked at the back wall in confusion, and Park Chunbeom scanned behind the bed.

“Huh?”

“Since Mr. Jung Taegeon doesn’t want it, you two can share it.”

Hajin winked at Jeffrey and Park Chunbeom before heading to the room where Miso and Byeol were. The chocolate bar in his hand was now somehow placed between Jeffrey and Park Chunbeom’s thighs.

“Wait, when did he put this here…?”

“Tune, impressive. This is.”

“Hey, I told you not to call me Tune! I have a perfectly good name, so why do you keep sticking me with a radio tech nickname?!”

Park Chunbeom’s face flushed with embarrassment as he scolded Jeffrey. Jeffrey, trying to console him, gave a thumbs-up.

“Good job. Embarrassment is a sin.”

“When Jeffrey speaks Korean, it feels like he’s subtly making fun of me…”

Eden, who had been scouting outside through the curtain, finally burst out laughing and shook his head.

Hajin’s flirting continued late into the night.

In the dead of night, Eden opened the bathroom door to take care of business and encountered an unexpected figure. Sitting curled up on the toilet lid in the dark was none other than Do Hajin.

Eden rubbed his forehead and asked, “What are you doing there?”

“Urgent? Big or small?”

“Stop messing around and come out.”

“I’ll move if you promise to take me with you.”

It was mostly like this. Having realized that mere conversation wasn’t getting through, Hajin was now persistently acting childish to pressure Eden.

And shortly after.

“Ugh!”

With a hint of irritation, Eden hoisted Hajin’s body like a piece of luggage and tossed him onto the bed.