Magic on the Dead Chapter 38

“Come to think of it, there was a car on Mr. Lee Changyeol’s phone wallpaper. I’m not sure if it’s his, but it was a white sedan, and it looked a bit fierce. It looked like he took the picture himself.”

“Fierce? What exactly did it look like?”

“I don’t know much about cars. His body was covering it, so I couldn’t see the emblem, but anyway, it looked fierce… If the headlights were eyes, you know how they look like they’re slanted horizontally like this.”

Hajin pulled at the corners of his own eyes as if he was frustrated. Eden’s lips twitched slightly as he silently watched Hajin’s antics. A snort of air escaped him without him realizing it, at the innocent sight that almost looked like he was being racist towards himself.

“First of all, Mr. Do Hajin will have to come with me. The rest of the group, hide behind that red compact car on the opposite side of the road. I’ll come pick you up as soon as I get the car.”

It was better for a small number of people to move and seize the vehicle for safety, rather than moving together.

Gr-r-r-rumble— At an inopportune moment, Jeffrey’s stomach rumbled like a foghorn.

[Find it and come back quickly. I’m so hungry I need to eat something.]

Come to think of it, they hadn’t eaten anything since morning. Having survived life-and-death crises several times, it was natural to feel hungrier than usual.

[Wait, you bastard.]

Eden chuckled and handed the bag he was wearing to Jeffrey. Park Chunbeom, reading the situation, took the backpack from Hajin’s shoulder. The men, with their arms full of belongings, headed towards the opposite road first.

“Uncle Hajini, don’t get hurt and come back safely with the car.”

At Byeol’s cute request, a faint smile appeared on Hajin’s face, which had been expressionless all along.

“Okay. Byeol, you too, hold Miso noona’s, no, Miso unnie’s hand tight and cross carefully.”

“Okay! You be careful too, uncle!”

Eden, who had been watching this scene with an incredulous look, flicked Jeong Byeol’s round forehead.

“Jeong Byeol, you’re not worried about me?”

“I’m not really worried about you, uncle.”

“Why aren’t you worried.”

“I don’t know. Anyway, I like uncle Hajini more, so don’t be too sad.”

“Huh.”

Eden shook his head, at a loss for words. A niece who was infatuated with another man. His mouth turned bitter at the betrayal of the child who looked at the uncle who had even changed her poopy diapers sometime ago, as if he were less than cold rice.

Was it a mistake to have brushed off the joke about marriage? Eden’s expression turned serious.

“Be careful, Do Hajin. You be careful too, Mr. Jung Taegeon.”

Miso, giving her final farewell, picked up Byeol and quickly crossed the wide road. After confirming that they had safely crossed to the designated place, Hajin let out a deep breath and turned around. Eden’s solid chest was right in front of his nose.

“You seem to be popular with kids on a regular basis.”

Towards Hajin, who flinched and took a step back, Eden spoke with the intention of prying for a secret. However, for some reason, the way he understood it, he seemed quite embarrassed.

“No. The kids are just fascinated by the magician mister, it’s not like I’m popular or anything… They like the magic more than me.”

“When you have time later, please teach me a magic trick too.”

“…Suddenly? Didn’t you call it sleight of hand at one point?”

“I am sorry about that.”

He was a complete jerk, but his apologies were so impeccable that Hajin was genuinely at a loss for words. Now that he thought about it, it seemed Jung Taegeon used conventional greetings like “thank you” and “sorry” as a ruse to escape troublesome situations. In a way, he was truly a natural-born bastard.

“I can teach you.”

Hajin whispered to Eden, who was pressing his body against the wall and observing the situation inside.

“It doesn’t seem like the reason you’re unpopular is because you can’t do magic.”

“What did you say?”

“Or you could try speaking more nicely.”

Eden’s face, colored with bewilderment, turned towards Hajin.

“It seems zombies are a piece of cake for you now, Mr. Do Hajin? Seeing how relaxed you are.”

“Look at this. Even now, your way of speaking is so annoying.”

Hajin’s cheekbones were raised high. His face, which had been gloomy all along, cleared up. A pleasant smile spread across his face, as if he was proud of having gotten one over on him.

This time, Eden was truly at a loss for words. It wasn’t often that one heard someone call them annoying to their face, unless they were very close. Or was this the first time?

Besides, Do Hajin was smiling quite refreshingly. Of all times, at this very moment when he was trying to one-up him. Eden, with no energy left to argue, finally let out a sigh and changed the subject.

“How exactly do you plan on finding the car?”

“First, we’ll have to look for cars that look similar. It’ll probably take a while since there are so many cars… but it’s a smart key, so the driver’s side door should open automatically just by having it on me, so the confirmation process should be simple.”

This was the best method, as pressing the unlock button on the car key would cause a beep, which could attract zombies to the vehicle.

“Good. Thumb back means go back, index and middle finger together means keep going forward, and pinky finger means go sideways. If I raise my index finger to the sky, it means stand up and check the vehicle, so keep that in mind.”

It might seem like an easy signal, but in a panic situation, one could often misinterpret the hand signals, so he had to concentrate.

“Yes.”

Hajin wiped the smile from his face and listened to Eden’s explanation with a serious expression.

“We should avoid direct confrontation as much as possible, but if you do happen to come face to face with a zombie, strike the center of its forehead with the axe like before. So that it splits the skull deep.”

“Yes, I understand what you mean. So, which way do we go first?”

“With a lot this size, there’s probably a parking lot behind the building too. Let’s go past the left parking lot, circle around the back, and then move to the right side. Any other opinions?”

“No. That sounds fine.”

“Then let’s go.”

Hajin took a deep breath, hoping he wouldn’t have to use this axe.

🃏

‘Hoo, when I was in high school, the gym teacher forced me to do the duck walk, and, hoo, I shit my pants while circling the field. Haa… After that, I swore I’d never, ha, do it again, hwaa, fuck… I didn’t know they made you do the duck walk in the army too when you’re getting punished.’

His army buddy who said that ended up creating another dark history for himself that day during a group punishment. That was Hajin’s first and last memory of the duck walk.

Hajin, who had dredged up the memory from that long-forgotten day, was now taking duck walk steps, his ankles and thighs tensed.

The fact that he was taking duck walk steps, which he thought would never happen again in his life, not by force but of his own volition, felt more surreal than the existence of zombies.

‘Fuck, I’m already tired….’

Unlike the exhausted Hajin, Eden was pressed close to a vehicle near the information booth, watching for the right time to pass. A zombie wearing the same bluish-green police uniform as Lee Changyeol brushed past them.

Suddenly, Eden stood up and slammed the axe into the back of the zombie’s skull.

“Ke-ek!”

The zombie let out a death cry and collapsed.

What the. Didn’t he say to avoid confrontation as much as possible? As if to give the puzzled Hajin an answer, Eden took the walkie-talkie from the zombie’s waist and immediately handed it to him.

‘What is it?’

When he asked with his eyes, Eden moved his lips.

‘Keep it.’

Hajin tucked the walkie-talkie into his waist. Sweat trickled down as he was about to enter the full-fledged zombie den. His thighs felt like they were going to burst.

Would he be able to safely pick out Lee Changyeol’s car from this vast lot and among so many cars? He was starting to lose confidence.

Come to think of it, the car model he saw on Lee Changyeol’s phone wallpaper wasn’t the only one in the world, and there could be several of the same model here too. Maybe he had been too complacent.

Should he suggest they turn back now? They got a walkie-talkie anyway… As his internal conflict continued, he naturally became anxious.

‘…But I should at least give it a try.’

Hajin felt Junseok’s brooch poking his left thigh and forced himself to pull it together. The brooch in his pocket pulled Hajin’s wavering mind back to reality.

The heat from the ground, thoroughly warmed by the hot sun, was considerable. As he walked, constantly checking his sides and back, his stiffly tensed neck muscles also screamed in protest.

By the time they reached the middle of the left parking lot, Eden turned to Hajin and raised his index finger to the sky. It was time to stand up and look for their target.

“Hoo….”

Following his signal, Hajin took a final look to see if any zombies were approaching, and then promptly stood up.