Magic on the Dead Chapter 51

The man was sitting in front of the fourth mirror placed in the dressing room for the ‘Magic Gala Show’.The man was sitting in front of the fourth mirror placed in the dressing room for the ‘Magic Gala Show’. The light from the round bulbs that surrounded the mirror’s outline like a picture frame poured down onto the man’s face. His features were not visible. Not because of the light, but because he had no eyes, nose, or mouth to begin with.

The man, who was slowly caressing his face, which was like that of a faceless ghost, turned his gaze to the playing cards scattered on the table below the mirror. The cards, stained with red ink, made a rustling sound as they overlapped in a neat row, as if they were living creatures.

Ssssss

The ink began to spread across the tabletop as well. This time, a fishy scent pricked his nose.

Blood…

Hajin’s body stiffened as he realized it was not ink, but human blood.

Bang! At that moment, the dressing room door burst open. Where he turned his head, a man stood with a white face like a peeled egg, just like himself.

‘Mr. Do Hajin, let’s leave early.’

Where are we going? Hajin’s lips moved as he looked at the man whose features had vanished just like his own.

‘Where to?’

‘If you’re up, get a grip… on yourself.’

‘If I’m up?’

‘…before more of them flock here… We’re going to hit the place first.’

‘Don’t you smell blood?’

‘Sleep-talking.’

The faceless man muttered. Because his voice was somehow familiar, Hajin’s head gradually tilted to the side.

‘What do you mean, sleep-talking?’

‘To be lazing around so comfortably, we don’t have much….’

Black lines and shadows began to form on the face that had been as smooth as a faceless ghost’s. A neat and delicate face was completed, as if drawn by the fingertips of a skilled artist. He walked toward Hajin. It was a face he knew well.

‘…Jung Taegeon?’

Hajin had no idea why he had stormed into the dressing room of the Atrium, where the Magic Gala Show was being held, right now. Along with the blooming questions, space-time twisted and his body floated upwards. The ceiling warped wildly, and the bleeding cards scattered into the air.

Crash! The mirror let out a loud shattering sound. Startled, Hajin turned his head. Through the sharp fragments, he caught a glimpse of Jung Byeol’s grimy, dust-covered face.

When he urgently reached out his hand toward the child, this time the grotesque face of a zombie with its flesh melted and dripping came right up to his nose. The zombie became Kim Sang-cheol, the trainee who had offered a handshake on stage, and then it became the face of Police Officer Lee Chang-yeol, whose skull had been smashed by his own hatchet.

Hajin’s face contorted in agony. He unknowingly uttered an apology to the approaching zombie.

‘I’m sorry.’

At the same time, someone shook his shoulders roughly.

“If you’re sorry, then wake up.”

A voice mixed with a sigh and faint irritation followed. Gasp. Sucking in a breath, Hajin woke up from his sleep immediately.

His eyes flew open. His vision was dark. It took some time to recognize reality.

“Now that you’re awake, start waking the others.”

Something black swayed aimlessly before his eyes, which he had perceived as the dawn or night sky. The moment he belatedly realized it was the black short-sleeved T-shirt Jung Taegeon was wearing, a bright, glaring light washed over him.

“Ugh.”

Hajin, wrinkling his brow, covered his face with his palm. As Jung Taegeon’s upper body, which had been blocking his view, moved back, the morning sunlight poured down on his eyes.

“What time is it?”

“It is 7:30.”

It was later than his usual wake-up time. Hajin, rubbing his eyes still heavy with sleep, looked around. Last night, because of the commotion the cultist had caused, Eden’s group had to sleep in front of the restaurant area instead of the convenience store.

Although it was a more open and dangerous place than the convenience store located in the corner, they were able to sleep comfortably for the first time in a while without setting a watch, inside a safe building enclosed on all sides.

Hajin gazed blankly at Eden’s face as he diligently collected the laundry. He, too, looked considerably more refreshed than usual.

“You seem to have slept well.”

Eden answered by glancing at Hajin.

Kaaaaah—! The faint cry of a zombie could be heard from somewhere. Ah. Sighing, Hajin pressed his forehead and looked beyond the glass entrance door. Between the clear sky and the vast parking lot, he could see a single zombie staggering about.

It seemed they had to get moving before it got any later. Hajin woke up the members of the group who were sound asleep one by one, and finally, he lifted Jung Byeol, who was sleeping while tightly clutching a joker card, into his arms. Byeol, who grumbled in his sleep for a few seconds, blinked his sleepy eyes and looked at him.

Beaming— At last, facing the angelic smile, Hajin stroked Byeol’s hair, which was a mess like a bird’s nest. Perhaps it was the aftereffect of the dream, or perhaps the aftereffect of the conversation he had with Eden last night, but he felt a strange sense of pity.

“If everyone is up, let’s raid the convenience store before we go.”

“Isn’t there anything in the restaurant area?” Miso asked, tying her undone hair tightly with a rubber band.

“I looked around beforehand, but everything was either rotten or just heavy, commercial-use cans.”

This time, Jeffrey raised his hand high.

【Can we just take the convenience store food?】

“We should take a reasonable amount.”

【Don’t we have to take only what they give us over there? They said they would pack some for us separately.】

【Fuck that.】

Eden, who spat out a small curse in English, quickly moved. The people who had been standing around blankly followed him. The group held their breath and headed for the convenience store counter connected to the restaurant area.

The cult leader, his son, and the two female part-time workers were lying inside the convenience store, still sound asleep. They showed no caution, no sense of crisis. Eden, who was looking pitifully at them sleeping so peacefully despite the arrival of unfamiliar guests, gestured to the group.

They each took a corner and packed the food they needed. If they could, they would have liked to sweep up everything, but not only was there the issue of volume and weight, but they also had to, out of courtesy, leave food for the people staying here.

Hajin and Miso moved their hands, gauging a reasonable amount, while Jeffrey and Park Chun-beom packed food as it came to hand, unconcerned. Byeol stuck close to Hajin’s side and, avoiding Eden’s eyes, stuffed things like lollipops into the front pocket of his overalls.

It was when they were heading for the exit of the restaurant area after packing a fair amount of goods.

“Excuse me!”

At the small call, the group’s heads turned back simultaneously. The two women, who had woken up at some point, were hurriedly fixing their hair and approaching them.

“A-Are you just going to leave without saying goodbye?”

The eyes of the women, who were running over breathlessly, suddenly turned sulky. They glanced suspiciously at the group’s bags, which were more stuffed than yesterday, then turned their gazes back toward the convenience store. A long sigh escaped their lips when they confirmed that the group had taken food without permission.

“…Haaa. We’ll apologize on behalf of the cultist Mister for the fuss he made yesterday. But still, this isn’t right.”

The woman with long, straight hair, her arms crossed, pointed at Park Chun-beom’s fat bag, from which a bag of cookies was abruptly sticking out.

“If you had told us, we would have packed some for you. Where did you learn such manners, to steal away secretly like thieves?”

Eden, who had been checking the situation outside, turned his gaze toward the women who were chattering on.

“The food we left for you should be enough to last you at least another month.”

“Huh, look here.”

“We were much obliged for last night. Please take care of yourselves.”

It was when Eden, who had offered the perfunctory greeting in a stiff tone devoid of any sincerity, opened the locked glass door and was about to step outside.

“Wait a minute!”

The woman with the bob cut blocked his path again. Eden suppressed his irritation with an effort and lowered his gaze.

“What is it.”

“Then please take us with you, too. We packed our things last night, so we can grab them quickly.”

Eden’s eyes narrowed at the out-of-the-blue proposal. Hajin, who was holding Byeol, stiffened his face and watched Eden’s expression.

“The food was ours anyway, so we can just share it as we go.”

Eden ignored the woman blocking his path and grabbed the glass door. He was keeping his mouth shut because he didn’t want to get into an argument, but strictly speaking, the food here did not belong to them. It was closer to them having ‘abandoned’ the food and goods left here.

Therefore, if one were to discuss the preemption of ownerless items, Jung Taegeon could have made them his own long ago. But the reason he did not go that far was because he wanted to leave at least a minimum of goodwill for those who had opened the door for them last night.

As if to soothe the flustered woman, Miso came up beside her and slowly patted her shoulder.

“I’m sorry. We don’t want to add any more companions.”

“Why? We’re just going with you, right? We’re not asking you to take care of us forever, we just need to go with you to Misan Ranch.”

“We haven’t completely decided on our destination. And the road we’re taking is very rough. We’ll be climbing mountains, so it will be very hard.”

“I can do it. I used to be a hiking enthusiast. Right? Yerim, I’m good at hiking. You come and say something, too.”

“Ah, just let them go! Have you no pride? They said they don’t want to go with us.”

The bob-haired woman glared fiercely at the uncooperative woman with long, straight hair. After shooting a sharp look for a while, she turned her gaze back to Eden.

“Please take us with you. We’ll stick close and won’t be a bother.”

Hajin habitually stroked Byeol’s hair, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the woman’s desperate face. It was a scene that reminded him of himself, when he had blocked Eden’s path and insisted on being taken along as a companion.

His shoulders slumped with a bitter expression.