Magic on the Dead Chapter 64

At the somber words, uttered as if in a confessional, Eden chuckled, his throat vibrating.

“Come to think of it, Mr. Do Hajin seems more obsessed with having a comrade than I am.”

“…Don’t change the subject. It’s because you always gloss over things that I’m obsessing over something that’s not even a big deal. It makes me feel competitive for no reason.”

Hajin decided it was better to think of it that way. That he didn’t wish to be of any special significance to Jung Taegeon, but merely wanted to scratch the itch of an unresolved curiosity. …Yes, that was all.

Eden, his voice still full of amusement, suddenly gave an answer.

“I don’t know either.”

“……?”

“The reason I took you in as a comrade, I don’t know either.”

It was an answer that was far, far from what he had expected. At the trivial reply, so unbecoming of Jung Taegeon who was armed with reason and logic, disbelief crept into Hajin’s eyes.

“You’re messing with me, right?”

“I’m not messing with you….”

Suppressing his laughter, he added an explanation.

“I’ve been wondering all along myself. I can’t figure out why I decided to keep you by my side, Mr. Do Hajin. I’ve tried to assign meanings to it at different times, like you seemed useful, or, well, that it wouldn’t be boring…. But I haven’t found a direct reason yet. Does that answer your question?”

So, the story was that he had been tagged along with aimlessly, without any clear reason for being chosen. Even though, when he thought about it, there was no substance to be proud of, Hajin had to desperately bite his lip to suppress the tickling feeling in his chest.

“Ah, yes. Well, it really wasn’t a big deal after all. I’m not curious anymore.”

When he answered with a feigned cheerfulness, Eden chuckled lowly again. At that mischievous laugh, this time the area around his collarbone tingled. The feeling of floating like a balloon was awkward, and he forced himself to even his breathing.

Just then, the faint sound of a dog barking could be heard from somewhere.

Woof woof!

Hajin’s completely relaxed shoulders shot up with tension. He instinctively stared at the warehouse door in the darkness. Fortunately, no one burst in.

Unable to hastily let down his guard, he sat with his back ramrod straight, and the physical pain he had forgotten rushed in all at once.

His skin, raw from the coarse rope, his aching wrists, his mouth, as dry as if it were full of sand…. And Chunbeom’s death.

Perhaps finding the suddenly quiet Hajin suspicious, Eden seized the opportunity to chide him.

“If you cry any more in here, there’s no hope for you.”

“…I really didn’t cry this time. My throat’s dry, so don’t talk to me.”

Feeling sheepish, Hajin retorted in a hoarse voice and closed his eyes. His temples throbbed, and his whole body went limp like a waterlogged cotton ball.

Crying, then laughing, then crying again…. His mood swung endlessly every few minutes like a bipolar patient.

‘Even though it was just once, losing someone… it was just so sickening.’

Could this be what he meant? Hajin was already starting to get sick of himself, who had been blubbering all day.

If his own heart felt like it was being torn into a million pieces at the death of a comrade he had shared life and death with for a few weeks, he couldn’t even begin to imagine how Eden must have felt, losing a close childhood friend he had spent many times that amount of time with, right before his eyes.

“…Hey, Mr. Jung Taegeon.”

“Who was it that said not to talk to them?”

“It’s okay if I’m the one talking.”

Ha. Eden let out an incredulous sigh.

“Mr. Jung Taegeon.”

“Why do you keep calling me?”

“How did you endure it?”

“……”

For a moment, the flow of the air stopped. As if he had understood Hajin’s words in an instant, no answer came from him. After keeping his mouth shut for a while, Eden replied in a raspy voice.

“I didn’t endure it. You just carry things like that with you. Like a cross, for the rest of your life.”

The brutally realistic answer made him feel as if water had risen up to his chin. His breath caught in his throat.

“…Is carrying it with you really the only answer?”

“Yes.”

Woof woof!

The faint sound of a dog barking came again. And then, silence.

Eden quietly watched the silent Hajin in the darkness. Just as he was frowning, thinking he was blubbering again, Hajin opened his mouth.

“I’m not going to die.”

At the unexpected remark, the wrinkled muscles around his eyes returned to their place.

“I will definitely survive, so you shouldn’t die either, Mr. Jung Taegeon.”

The promise, which was like a comfort, spread through the air. At the chest pain that had come again in that moment, Eden had to clench his teeth. Grit. It was a sensation similar to the unexplainable thrill he had felt in the cave.

It felt unpleasant because it was unfamiliar, but this time, he was determined to carefully dissect that sensation.

Meanwhile, Hajin was awkwardly wiggling his big toe, where the blood wasn’t circulating well.

He would have nothing to say even if he were to receive a reprimand like, ‘Do you think you’re that important to me, Mr. Do Hajin?’ or ‘If you’re needlessly confident, you could be the first to die.’

But it didn’t matter. Some truths were a comfort just by their existence. The statement that he would not die was close to arrogance, but he wanted to convey, in some way, his wish for Eden not to have to bear another cross.

But the other party remained silent the whole time. Hajin, who had been secretly hoping for his damn annoying retort, let out an awkward, dry cough.

Making a person feel awkward by ignoring them….

“…Ahem, sleep well.”

The awkward greeting he offered also scattered meaninglessly into the air. Hajin closed his eyes with an ‘oh, whatever’ feeling.

As Eden had said, he had to get even a little bit of sleep, replenish his stamina, and prepare for tomorrow. When he thought of Park Chunbeom lying alone on the forest path, he knew he had to.

Defying his resolve not to cry anymore, the tip of his nose stung again. Hajin ignored his warming eyelids and laid his body down on the pile of hay.

🃏

Hajin’s body stirred. After moving his shoulders for a few seconds, he suddenly started and his eyes flew open. Blink!

Eden was watching his dazed face, stained with tear tracks, as if watching TV.

“Uh….”

“Did you sleep well? It looked like you were having a bit of a nightmare.”

Hajin, blinking his eyelids, struggled to lift his body from where it was lying on the floor. With the sound of his bones cracking, crack, a small curse escaped his lips.

“Ah… fuck….”

Barely straightening his posture, he glanced at Eden, who was sitting opposite him.

His skin was unusually smooth, as if he had washed his face. He looked refreshed, unlike himself, who had slept poorly, repeatedly waking from nightmares last night.

What the. Did he sleep well…?

Hajin became conscious of his own eyelids, which must have been as swollen as a goldfish’s.

As their gazes lingered, Eden was the first to look away. Hajin, tilting his head in puzzlement, belatedly surveyed his surroundings. Looking around the warehouse, where hazy dust was floating, he slowly swallowed. It was too quiet outside.

“I guess I should have tried to escape instead of sleeping.”

Eden shook his head at his whisper.

“Even if you had, you would have been caught right away.”

On a wide pasture with no decent place to hide, it was safe to say that the probability of winning against an enemy with a loaded gun was zero.

Moreover, considering the attack that had happened yesterday afternoon, it was obvious that the people who occupied this place were in a state where they didn’t mind wasting ammunition. You could tell just by the fact that they had given a pistol to a novice who couldn’t even aim properly.

Of course, even setting aside such reasons, Eden had no intention of letting the thugs who killed his comrade live peacefully. He had not the slightest thought of covering up their crimes with the trivial option of escape.

While he was silently vowing revenge, Hajin broke his reverie.

“Did you get some sleep, Mr. Jung Taegeon?”

“I slept well enough.”

Last night, after confirming that Hajin was asleep, he had immediately closed his eyes. Eden, who usually couldn’t sleep deeply, woke up to a refreshing morning for the first time in a long time. It was something that even he couldn’t explain. It was such a comfortable, sound sleep that it was hard to believe he was in a situation where he had been kidnapped by unidentified assailants.

If Do Hajin, who had been suffering from nightmares and crying out Park Chunbeom’s name, were to find out this fact, he would surely be appalled, saying he had no humanity.

“I’m glad you slept we—.”

Before he could finish his sentence, creak! The warehouse door suddenly opened, and the abrupt morning sunlight poured onto Hajin’s eyes.

“Ugh.”

While he turned his head to avoid the light, a tall man in a police uniform strode toward the two of them.

The suddenly appearing man in uniform stopped abruptly between the bound Eden and Hajin. After silently checking the hostages’ faces, he slowly bent his knees to lower his line of sight.

After rubbing his chin as if contemplating where to fix his gaze, he turned to Hajin. Hajin, who had already assumed a defensive posture, glared fiercely at the man.

In an instant, tension filled the air. At Hajin’s defiant gaze, the man’s eyebrow twitched.

“I heard they caught two men, so I thought it might be Changyeol and came to see… but as expected, it’s not. Well, if it were him, he would have at least been screaming my name.”

The man, who had been muttering to himself, raised his downward-cast eyes again.

“There was a TETRA radio in the bag. Where did you get it?”