Magic on the Dead Chapter 48

“Aargh! H-He’s possessed by a demon!”

“Apologize!! You’re the demon! You! You stupid demon!”

Hajin stood frozen like a stone, at a loss for words in the face of this utterly preposterous situation. Although he had been a magician for a long time, his long years of seclusion made him unaccustomed to direct heckling and disruptions. It was a farce one would typically only experience during street magic, where one is exposed to an unspecified, large audience.

Hajin was not only dumbfounded by the cult leader’s immeasurably rude behavior, but his head also throbbed as if it were being jabbed by a sudden onslaught of past memories.

When he closed his eyes, beyond his darkened vision, the audience seats with their red velvet chairs and the sharp pin spotlight reflected on the floor appeared as if it were a lie.

‘Is that really the guy who won at FISM? How can he use tricks so openly like that? And he still has the gall to participate in the Magic Gala Show as a representative. Ah, what a fucking waste of money.’

‘This is so hilarious. I’ve never seen a bastard get his trick exposed so sloppily in my entire life.’

No. Shaking his head, Hajin lowered his chin and stared blankly at the cards in his hand. An unidentifiable red liquid was staining the cards, dotting them like spots. The cards were being mercilessly crumpled within Hajin’s trembling palm.

When he opened his eyes again, several pairs of eyes were glaring at him. This time, it was backstage, inside the waiting room.

‘Mr. Do Hajin, you really just do magic as a hobby, don’t you?’

‘If this goes public, Mr. Hajin’s magic career is over too. We’re putting up with it because it’s us, but if it were anyone else….’

‘Does it feel good to tarnish the reputation of all magicians?’

With his heart pounding unpleasantly, Hajin’s breathing also grew ragged.

“Apologize, you bad man! I said apologize!”

“Aargh! Someone get this kid off me!”

“We’ll be in big trouble if zombies swarm in because of this, everyone please lower your voices!”

That day, which had been ruined by the schemes of another, that day’s terrible memory, which some had dismissed as a simple incident, those moments he thought he had overcome, now crashed over him like a tidal wave, wrapping violently around his body.

“Mr. Do Hajin.”

Eden, who had approached him at some point, shook Hajin, who was staring blankly down at the cards.

“Hey, Mr. Do Hajin.”

“…You guys were the ones who did it.”

“Do Hajin?”

“This isn’t like that, I…”

Hajin was gripping the deck of cards with enough force to completely crush it. The sharp edges looked so precarious it seemed they would scrape his palm at any moment.

When only incomprehensible mumbling came in reply, Eden, frowning, grabbed Hajin’s chin and roughly turned it toward himself. Hajin’s vacant gaze landed on the area around Eden’s philtrum.

“You’re not going to relax your hand?”

“……”

“He’s completely lost his mind.”

The low, sunken voice trickled into Hajin’s eardrums. With just that single phrase, Hajin’s pupils, which had been hazy all along, instantly regained their light.

The first thing he saw was Eden’s handsome face, so close their noses might touch at any second. As the startled Hajin blinked, a stinging sensation surged through his palm.

“Ah.”

Swhish— The contaminated and mangled deck of cards fell onto the pad with a clatter.

“Huu, apologize! Apologize to Hajini-samchon!”

“Byeol, stop it. Hajini-samchon is okay. Hmm? Look. See, he’s fine.”

Miso, who was tearfully trying to soothe Byeol, pointed a finger at Hajin, who was sitting there dumbfounded. Her gaze followed, as if asking what he was doing not quickly pacifying the child.

Barely pulling himself together, Hajin approached Byeol on his knees.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Byeol, were you really scared?”

“Waaaaah…!”

The tears that had burst out with all the sorrow in the world showed no sign of stopping. Hajin held the child, who was more upset than he was, in his arms and murmured soothingly.

“It’s okay, it’s okay….”

Hajin’s shoulder was growing damp. Hajin raised his head and met the eyes of the dumbfounded boy, the women who were covering their mouths in shock, and the pseudo-cult leader who was sniffling and crying with his bangs all tattered.

The moment their eyes met, the cult leader’s already small eyes narrowed further into triangles.

“The Original God will punish you! Cast aside those demonic sleights of hand this instant and repent now!”

Hajin tightly covered the ears of Byeol, who was in his arms, and his expression grew frighteningly cold. The pseudo-cult leader was still panting and pointing his finger accusingly, as if he were still in the right.

“This is all for Mr. Do Hajin’s sake, it is my job to save foolish mortals…!”

Hajin passed the child he was holding to Miso and stood up. As he rose to his full height, the pseudo-cult leader’s fat chin lifted upwards to follow him.

“Mister.”

A low, eerie voice echoed through the space.

Eden was looking up at Hajin’s hardened jaw muscles, trying to predict his reaction. Whether he would slickly smile and evade the situation, whether he would flee the scene as if running away, whether he would lecture on the difference between magic and trickery as he had done to him. Or if not any of that, whether he would give him the finger with some hot card magic.

But Hajin’s next words defied all those predictions.

“Just shut up. If you really don’t want to die.”

For a fleeting moment, Eden’s eyes wavered.

It was a warning so chilling that it startled everyone sitting there. The flustered cult leader gaped his mouth like a goldfish, and someone, surprised, swallowed a hiccup. Hic! After that sharp sentence, which flowed out like a cold draft, everyone’s mouth clamped shut as if by agreement.

🃏

Thwack! The crumpled deck of cards was mercilessly shoved into the bathroom trash can. Hajin stood in front of the sink, staring at the long red marks drawn across his palm.

Fortunately, he hadn’t drawn blood. Only a reddish scratch remained, which would disappear with time. His minor habit of sharpening the edges of the card deck on his pant leg, as if grinding an ink stick, had proven useful at an unexpected moment.

“…This is absurd.”

He had been about half-conscious, enough to have unconsciously gripped a card deck so roughly. He usually had quite a bit of patience for most things, especially when it came to magic, but today it was difficult to endure that nonsensical drivel.

Hajin stood before the dark sink and turned on the water. The tomato juice that had stickily smeared onto the back of his hand clung to it like blood, making him feel strange. Gush, gush, gush…. A bright light suddenly poured into Hajin’s field of vision as he was blankly washing his hands.

He lifted his head to check the mirror and saw Eden leaning against the opposite wall. He was casually illuminating the sink with a flashlight.

“Are you alright? Any injuries?”

A sudden wave of embarrassment washed over Hajin, and he turned his gaze back to the faucet.

“…You didn’t have to follow me.”

“I wanted to do just that, but you didn’t take your clothes.”

Eden clutched a T-shirt that had been draped over his shoulder. A stretched-out, ivory-colored T-shirt hung limply in his hand. It was a top that had been crammed inside Hajin’s bag.

“You got tomato juice all over your chest. You should probably wash it before you sleep.”

“…Yeah.”

Eden, who he thought would leave shortly, remained right where he was, watching Hajin while holding a hatchet. Hajin’s mouth, which had been opening and closing to tell him to go, shut again. It was because he belatedly remembered Eden’s policy that they must move in pairs of at least two, no matter what.

Squeak, squeak. Hajin, who had scrubbed until his elbows were red, grabbed the hem of his shirt. Just as he was about to throw off the short-sleeved T-shirt, he flinched and hunched his body. He didn’t really like this situation where he was becoming needlessly conscious of Eden.

The unpleasant incident from a moment ago was already distressing enough, so Eden’s gaze as he leaned against the wall and stared intently at him was certainly not welcome.

“Please turn your head.”

“Why.”

“……”

“Afraid I’m going to sneak a peek at Mr. Do Hajin’s chest?”

Hajin gently bit the inner membrane of his lower lip.

‘I’m talking about the size and color of Mr. Do Hajin’s areolas. They’re large and plump, and a light pink. Like the color of strawberry milk, shall I say.’

Even if he were called paranoid, he did not want to squirm around while being conscious of Jung Taegeon’s gaze. It was also dreadful that this kind of sentence kept replaying in his head. Hajin answered honestly.

“Yes, so please turn your head.”

“You caught me.”

Eden, who he had expected to make a remark like ‘don’t make a fuss,’ surprisingly admitted it coolly and turned his body around.

“Give me the T-shirt first.”

“Alright. This thoroughness is very good to see.”

“Don’t be sarcastic.”

Hajin hid his flushed face in the darkness and reached out his hand. Eden, who had nonchalantly handed over the shirt, turned his back again.

It felt like he was punishing a child for no reason when the child had done nothing wrong. Hajin felt a sense of urgency for no reason and changed his clothes so quickly that the hair at the back of his head stuck out.

“I’m done.”

At those words, Eden turned back around, his face full of amusement.

Hajin tried his best to ignore that unreadable smile and vigorously hand-washed the tomato juice-stained short-sleeved T-shirt, splashing water everywhere. Splash! Splash! His hand movements were so fierce that the hem of the ivory T-shirt Eden had just handed him got completely soaked.

“Did you hate that the cards got dirty?”

The strength in Hajin’s fingertips, which were wringing out both ends of the shirt, momentarily slackened. It wasn’t as if he knew anything when he asked, but the question still made him feel breathless for no reason.