Magic on the Dead Chapter 65

Hajin’s face crumpled. He was furious at the man’s audacity, having rummaged through their confiscated bag without permission. It was to be expected from people who didn’t even hesitate to kidnap someone, but he couldn’t hold back the wave of disgust.

“Are you the one who told us to come to Misan Ranch?”

“Answer my question first. Where did you get the radio?”

The man, in turn, pressed Hajin.

The fact that they were being absurdly misunderstood by the thugs who killed Chunbeom made him feel like his blood was boiling. These crazy bastards… what are they trying to do now.

“Hey, shouldn’t you be apologizing first?”

“What?”

“My comrade was shot and killed by you people on the pasture yesterday. Is that not enough? Are you allowed to imprison people overnight like this for no reason?”

The end of Hajin’s voice cracked hoarsely. Even though he tried to remain calm, the more he spoke, the more his anger welled up, making his whole body tremble.

The man replied to him, who was baring his teeth, in a deflated voice.

“I don’t know how your comrade died, but I have nothing to do with that incident. There’s only one thing I want to ask. The radio… no, where is Lee Changyeol?”

“He’s dead.”

Before Hajin could even open his mouth, an answer was thrown out from the other side.

The man’s head slowly turned toward Eden.

“Mr. Lee Changyeol was bitten by a zombie on the way to the police station and died.”

At the indifferent explanation, a deep vertical line creased the man’s brow.

“How can I believe that?”

“Are you saying we harmed Mr. Lee Changyeol?”

“When the radio signal came through, it was definitely Changyeol who answered, wasn’t it?”

“You must have been mistaken, officer. We didn’t impersonate Mr. Lee Changyeol, we said we were acquaintances of Lee Changyeol. You must be well aware that the signal was unstable and the voice kept cutting out.”

“……”

“If we had harmed Mr. Lee Changyeol, would there be any reason for us to bring up his name again?”

The police officer seemed at a loss for words and slowly bit his lip. The man, who had been staring blankly at a point in mid-air, suddenly ran his hand through his back hair fiercely and stood up.

“How can I believe you? There’s no way Changyeol would die so pointlessly.”

Eden smirked, as if he had expected that reaction.

“Officer. My comrade who died yesterday was not someone who would die so pointlessly either.”

A chilly silence fell for a moment. Hajin was still panting with a resentful expression, glaring at the back of the man’s head.

“Mr. Lee Changyeol was on his way to Sangwon Central Police Station to find his girlfriend, and in the process, he requested our protection. Unfortunately, he was bitten by a zombie on the way past a nearby medical clinic.”

“……”

“Whether you believe it or not is up to you, officer, but we are telling you the truth.”

Unlike his emotionless face, Eden’s voice carried a faint trace of anger. The man, as if taken by surprise, couldn’t speak for a while, and then finally let out a deep sigh.

The man, who had been pacing anxiously around the warehouse for some time, now interrogated Hajin.

“There’s no way you would have promised to protect Changyeol without getting something in return. How did you end up accompanying him?”

Hajin spat out his words at the interrogating man as if chewing them.

“Mr. Lee Changyeol promised to give us a car parked inside the police station, and there was no reason to refuse, so we just set off together.”

“…Did you hear anything about his girlfriend’s name?”

“Other than him bragging that she had short hair and was pretty, I haven’t heard anything.”

At the unhesitating answer, Sergeant Kim groaned and put a hand to his forehead.

Although naive, Lee Changyeol was the type to be discerning about people and didn’t easily reveal his weaknesses. This meant there was no way he would have gone on and on about his girlfriend to thugs who were trying to kill him.

Besides, the only reason they would have to kill him was if he had broken his promise to give them a vehicle in exchange for protection. But the junior officer Lee Changyeol that he knew would never have made a promise he couldn’t keep in the first place.

Sergeant Kim knew Lee Changyeol better than anyone, as he was his senior from the same academy and hailed from the same hometown. He was a friend who valued loyalty and promises as much as his own life.

No matter how many hypotheses he laid out and considered rationally, the story that Changyeol had died from a zombie bite was far more credible than him being killed by these people.

Moreover, the eyes of the captured hostages clearly claimed innocence and truth. It was not he who had lost a comrade unjustly, but the people right in front of him.

“Phew….”

Sergeant Kim leaned his back against the wall next to the warehouse door with a heavy heart.

“If what you’re saying is true, then I apologize for our conversation just now. I was also waiting for a junior officer I cared about, so my words came out harsher than I intended.”

“Why did you kill my comrade, and why are we locked up in here?”

Hajin, still unable to contain his anger, snapped at the man with a cold expression. Sergeant Kim avoided his gaze, as if in a difficult position.

“That is not under my authority. Lieutenant Colonel So will be here soon, so you can talk to him directly.”

An out-of-place rank popped out of the police officer’s mouth. Lieutenant Colonel…? Lieutenant Colonel was a rank used in the military, not the police.

Seemingly feeling the same sense of strangeness, Eden looked back at Hajin. Their gazes met in mid-air.

Sergeant Kim, who had been roughly running his hands through his hair for a while, asked cautiously.

“…So, did you make it to Sangwon Central Police Station?”

“Yes.”

“How was the situation?”

“If it hadn’t been bad, we wouldn’t have come all this way.”

At Eden’s cynical reply, Sergeant Kim let out a fleeting, wry laugh.

“I asked a foolish question. I apologize.”

He scratched his eyebrow awkwardly and opened the warehouse door. Then, after exchanging a few brief words with someone who appeared to be a guard, he came back inside.

In the sergeant’s hand was a bottle of clean mineral water. Hajin’s eyes widened at the sight of the water. He offered the opened water bottle to Hajin.

“Have some water.”

Hajin hesitated to take it, wetting his parched lips with his tongue. His worried face looked at Eden with an anxious gaze, concerned that it might be poisoned. He soothed Hajin as if to reassure him.

“It should be fine to drink. In a situation where every drop of water is precious, it’s unlikely they would play tricks with mineral water on a hostage.”

Hearing that, it made sense. Hajin relaxed and tilted his head toward the water bottle.

He gulped down the water greedily, as if parched, looking like a young wild animal just rescued from a pit of fire.

Eden slowly scanned Hajin’s face and body, which were noticeably thinner than before. The sight of him tilting his head back for a stranger was strangely grating, causing one of his eyebrows to twitch involuntarily.

“Catch your breath and then drink again.”

When Sergeant Kim kindly pulled the bottle away from his lips, his moist tongue peeked out as if in disappointment. Eden forced himself to look away from the grating sight and clicked his tongue. Tsk.

Having quenched his thirst, Hajin closed his eyes as if exhausted and leaned his body against the pile of hay. The man, who had brought an extra bottle of water, now offered it to Eden. Eden raised his cuffed hands and easily emptied the water bottle himself.

After that, a calm conversation ensued for a while. Sergeant Kim heard in detail everything that had happened to Eden and Hajin yesterday afternoon. The cave, the rain, the man in the black raincoat, the merciless shooting, the death of their comrade….

Having heard the whole story from the innocent hostages, he offered an apology with a face as grim as when he had first learned of Lee Changyeol’s death.

“If it hadn’t been for my radio call telling you to come to Misan Ranch in the first place, things wouldn’t have gotten this far… I’m sorry.”

His bitter voice, taking full responsibility, continued.

“I don’t know if your comrade’s body is still on the pasture, but I’ll go check on it as soon as I leave. If things don’t go well with Lieutenant Colonel So, I’ll personally help with the conversation.”

Hajin, who had regained some energy, carefully scanned the man’s face. He searched with a sharp gaze, not erasing his suspicion that he might be putting on a facade, but all of his physical reactions indicated truth.

Eden, who had likewise let down his guard, asked Sergeant Kim.

“May I ask what kind of place this is?”

It was a question laden with many implications. Just as the man, choosing his words, opened his mouth.

“This place is….”

“Hey— hello everyone!”

Creak! The warehouse door was thrown open with great force again. The heads of Hajin, Eden, and Sergeant Kim all turned toward the door simultaneously.

In that instant, the fine hairs on Hajin’s entire body stood on end like tiny scales.

‘Hey— you sirs! The rain’s stopped, you should be careful over there—!’

It was definitely that voice from yesterday. The man in the military uniform, with his hair unfashionably parted 20-80, stepped into the warehouse with a confident stride.

He boisterously pushed away the subordinates who tried to follow him in and, standing his ground, clapped his hands loudly twice. Clap clap!

“Hey, Sergeant Kim! What are you doing not untying our guests’ ropes?”