Magic on the Dead Chapter 27

Apparently deciding there was nothing more to salvage, Eden turned toward the entrance of the hardware store. Holding the hammer he had set down, he slightly lifted one side of the newspaper to peek outside, spotting a single zombie shambling about.

“Stay to my left, not behind me, if possible. I’ll open the door, and you hide behind the red car parked by that wall.”

“Yes.”

Though Eden’s personality was utterly deplorable, these were tasks Hajin wouldn’t have even attempted alone. Hajin hoisted the heavy backpack on his shoulder once more and steadied his breathing.

“One, two.”

Three. On cue, Eden opened the door. The two men moved silently, tiptoeing swiftly. They slipped behind the red car by the opposite wall as lightly as the wind.

Whoosh! At the faint noise, a zombie turned its head, clacking its teeth and staring into the void.

Hajin peeked over the hood, scanning ahead.

“Grrr…. Clack! Clack, clack….”

A zombie with its mouth torn up to its ears was passing by the car.

Seeing its shredded gums and hollowed-out eyeballs felt unreal, like looking at a monster from a video game. Blood running from its nose to its chin stained its chest a dark crimson. Hajin wiped the sweat beading on his upper lip with the back of his hand, swallowing down nausea.

For some reason, Eden grabbed Hajin’s shoulder, who couldn’t tear his eyes away from the zombie, and forcibly pulled him down to sit beside him. Then, Eden peeked out to assess the situation and beckoned with his index finger. It was a signal to follow. Their next destination was a black sedan 10 meters ahead.

Evading the zombie’s gaze, they safely crossed the road and steadily made their way toward the motel, step by step.

Hajin gritted his teeth, forcing strength into his trembling legs. Upon barely reaching the motel, sweat poured down like rain.

Eden snapped his thumb and middle finger together with a sharp click, facing Hajin, who was struggling to breathe.

“Now that I think about it, it’s not your stamina but your mental strength that’s the issue.”

Anyone would panic under such trials and tribulations, Hajin wanted to retort, but he clamped his mouth shut and climbed the stairs.

The backpack on his shoulder felt like a ton of bricks.

🃏

After heartily eating breakfast provided by the elderly Kim Yongsu, Hajin and his group exchanged farewells and stepped out of the motel in pairs.

Jeffrey, who would pick the lock of the mart’s back door, and Hajin, assisting him, took the lead.

“Assistant Manager Park, stand in the middle with Byeol. Ms. Yoon Miso, move with me at the rear. Everyone, maintain a 50-meter gap front and back while walking.”

At Eden’s concise orders, everyone moved in perfect unison.

Hajin, preparing for any sudden incidents, had a handkerchief tightly wrapped around his mouth. The handkerchief he was biting down on was the very one Eden had washed clean and returned to him previously.

Running in step with Jeffrey, Hajin turned to look at the fading, rundown motel. Despite its shabby facilities, it had been their first safe shelter, stirring mixed emotions.

‘A safe zone of this level will probably be hard to come by in the future.’

Though he never met the assistant instructors he’d been waiting for, Hajin only hoped they’d safely return to the motel someday and find a way to survive.

Lost in such thoughts, he noticed two figures waving from the rooftop. It was the elderly Kim Yongsu and his wife. Recognizing them instantly, Hajin’s lips curved into a soft smile.

The elderly couple, affectionately embracing each other’s waists, were vigorously waving one arm. Their faces naturally overlapped with those of the young couple who had taken shelter with them in the atrium warehouse.

That dawn when they left the warehouse, the young couple, waking from sleep, had waved like the elderly couple now, wishing the departing group well.

Did they survive? Did they safely reach a safe place? Regardless of his memory, the young couple’s faces were fading like paint dissolved in water.

Fleeting encounters and partings would inevitably continue to come, and the kind elderly couple, too, would someday blur in Hajin’s memory like the young couple.

For some reason, his throat felt tightly constricted. It was overly sentimental for someone just setting out toward their destination, even by his own standards.

Lowering his waving hand, his eyes met Eden’s, who stood at the rear. Eden tapped his temple twice with his index finger, as if telling him to snap out of it. Hajin’s moist eyes dried up in an instant.

‘That cold-blooded bastard…’

Letting out a deep sigh, Hajin turned forward again. Ugh! A scream he barely held back surged up his throat. Had it not been for the handkerchief in his mouth, he might have bitten his tongue.

A zombie, appearing out of nowhere, stood like a pole in front of them. Its face and torso were mottled, as if scorched by fire.

The rest of the group trailing behind also halted. An eerie silence filled the street.

“Grrrrr….”

The corpse rolled its melted eyes. Seemingly relying on hearing, it tilted its head side to side with sharp snaps, approaching in an uncanny manner. Its clothes, fused to its bare skin, were speckled with blood. It was a horrifying sight.

Hajin wiped his sweat-soaked nose bridge and looked at Jeffrey. Meeting his gaze, Jeffrey lowered his raised thumb. It was a signal to kill. A sudden chill ran through him, and cold sweat prickled across his body.

Could he do it? Gripping the pliers tightly, Hajin nearly dropped the handkerchief in his mouth at a roar erupting from behind.

“Kuak!!”

It was another zombie’s cry. As if responding, the burned zombie leaned forward and charged swiftly. As the monster with its torn mouth closed in, Hajin, without time to think, raised the pliers high.

Closing his eyes tightly and swinging down hard, a crunch sounded as the zombie collapsed. Jeffrey, with perfect timing, drove the blade of his scissors into the center of the fallen zombie’s forehead. The zombie slumped without even a scream.

Hajin spat out the handkerchief and tucked it into his pocket. Harsh breaths burst out. He’d been clenching his teeth to stifle sounds, and now his jaw muscles ached.

The right wrist bone he’d swung the pliers with throbbed painfully. Who could have imagined he’d ever smash someone’s skull with all his might?

Hajin felt like he’d lose his mind over his first official strike. The zombie, with grayish-white eyes, bleeding nose, and severe burns baring its teeth, had undeniably been a human skull.

In contrast, Jeffrey nonchalantly yanked out the scissors he’d driven into the zombie’s head. Hajin rubbed his aching wrist and temple alternately, hoisting his backpack higher. Glancing back, he saw Miso grabbing another zombie’s hair from behind and snapping its neck.

Flinching, Hajin turned away as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t have.

Repeating the process of dealing with zombies that popped up like quests, they slowly advanced toward the mart. The road was a chaotic mess of tangled vehicles. A driver, turned zombie while still buckled in, was also visible.

Suppressing nausea multiple times, they finally reached the back door of ‘A Fresh Mart.’

As Park Chunbum had mentioned, the day the zombie outbreak occurred must have been a holiday, as the parking lot connected to the back door was completely empty. With the lot fully exposed, there was even less cover to hide.

The rest of the group hid outside the fence to observe the situation.

Jeffrey pulled a thin wire from Hajin’s backpack. While handing over the bag, Hajin kept scanning for approaching zombies. Though they’d set out early in the morning, sweat was already beading up. The morning heat of early June was undeniable.

“Hajin.”

Jeffrey tapped Hajin’s shoulder, who was constantly on guard.

“What’s wrong? Is something not working?”

As Hajin leaned in with a worried expression, Jeffrey hesitated. His brown hair, reflecting the morning light, took on an even lighter hue.

“Arms crossed, no plans.”

“What?”

“Magic show, secret.”

What was he talking about all of a sudden? Amid the confusion, Hajin kept watch while racking his brain. Arms crossed, magic show, secret… Oh.

‘Thanks. But my hand, got it? Why?’

‘It’s a trade secret. If we meet again, I’ll tell you then.’

‘What, don’t know what secret means?’

Jeffrey seemed genuinely curious about the trick Hajin had performed at the magic show’s opening. It had been a week since Hajin promised to reveal the secret of the arm-crossing card trick if they met again.

Seeing Hajin’s delayed reaction, as if just recalling the memory, Jeffrey couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“Bad lie.”

“Oh, sorry, sorry. I forgot because I’ve been so out of it…”

Truthfully, back then, Hajin had said it casually, thinking he’d never see Jeffrey again. Besides, outside of educational purposes, revealing a magic trick’s secret to an audience member was something that should never happen.

Jeffrey inserted the wire into the lock, diligently moving his fingers. Even while focusing, he kept glancing back, seemingly curious about Hajin’s response.

“Let’s focus first. Once we get into the mart safely, I’ll tell you then.”

Unlike the man who’d just driven scissors into a zombie’s head, Jeffrey flashed a childlike smile, showing his crooked teeth.

About a minute passed. Click, a faint metallic sound rang crisply in his ears. Hajin clenched his fist, signaling success, and patted Jeffrey’s shoulder. But for some reason, Jeffrey’s expression wasn’t good.

“What’s wrong?”

[The barrel and pin are too…]

Not only were they loose, but it wasn’t hard to open. Moreover, as he turned the handle, faint human voices seemed to come from inside. Jeffrey furrowed his brow and cautiously turned the handle.

—Who was the last bastard to come in! Who didn’t lock the door!!

A sharp shout suddenly rang clear in Hajin’s ears. But the door was already opening. Like the muffled sensation of takeoff and landing on a plane, his clogged ears cleared, and the blocked noise slammed into his eardrums.