Magic on the Dead Chapter 68

It was only then that Hajin could understand Eden’s strangely nonchalant attitude the entire time they were locked in the warehouse.

He had thought it odd how a man separated from his nephew was acting so strangely relaxed, but it turned out he had a reason to be confident. Hajin, who had been secretly anxious, let out a sigh of relief and relaxed his tension.

“You should have told me something like that sooner…”

At the resentful complaint, Eden shrugged his shoulders.

“Judging by Lieutenant Colonel So’s attitude, he’ll most likely try to keep us here. Will you be okay with that, Mr. Do Hajin? Even if we have to stay here for a while.”

“…What are you planning to do while we stay?”

“We’ll have to see what we can get out of it. We might be able to acquire necessary supplies or information for survival, and while we’re at it, we might be able to avenge Mr. Park Chunbeom.”

A dubious gaze swept over Eden’s sharp profile.

“Just be honest and say the latter is your real intention.”

“I do like that you’re quick on the uptake.”

…Forget it. Hajin turned his head and calmly stared at the small, awkwardly placed flower on the grave.

“I think I’d feel uneasy leaving just like this, too. Of course, I won’t be able to stay for long, for the sake of my sister and the others.”

“It won’t even take three days. Let’s solve it within that time.”

Eden’s gaze, which had been meeting Hajin’s, shifted toward somewhere behind him. He slowly began to speak.

“Mr. Do Hajin, do you trust me.”

“All of a sudden?”

“From now on, promise me you’ll quietly follow along no matter what I do.”

At the somewhat eerie warning, Hajin shivered slightly.

“N-No, I don’t want to.”

“Why?”

“You’re just suspicious.”

“What do you think I’m going to do?”

Lieutenant Colonel So, leading his subordinates, was approaching them. Eden looked at the lieutenant colonel, who had stopped near the fence, and clicked his tongue, tsk.

“Anyway, I’ll take that as a yes.”

“What? A yes to wha—, ugh!”

A firm hand suddenly wrapped around Hajin’s waist. Caught in an awkward hold, Hajin shuddered in alarm. The fingertips gripping his thin waist tightened.

Eden, in that exact state, dragged Hajin along and approached where the lieutenant colonel was. Lieutenant Colonel So spread his arms toward them as they re-entered the pasture.

“Aigoo— You’re here! You’ve been through a lot!”

So much for the informal speech from before, now he was back to using honorifics. Hajin, while struggling in the hold, glared unpleasantly at the capricious Lieutenant Colonel So.

“By the way, it seems the magician is feeling quite unwell?”

With an oily smile, Lieutenant Colonel So shifted his gaze to Hajin’s waist. He was still in what looked like an embrace in Eden’s arms.

“As you can see, he’s in a bad state. I think he’s running a bit of a fever from being tied up all night.”

Answering in his stead, Eden placed the shovel on the ground and then slowly swept his fingertips across Hajin’s left cheek.

“…!”

At the sudden, intimate skinship, Hajin’s face instantly froze.

The lieutenant colonel and his subordinates, who were watching, also seemed to have been surprised by the unexpected scene and held their breath.

‘What is this…?’

Frozen stiff by his incomprehensible actions, Hajin gulped, swallowing a coarse bit of saliva as his mind raced. In that moment of blankness, numerous glances were exchanged.

Lieutenant Colonel So, awkwardly composing his expression, cleared his throat and asked.

“Ahem…! Anyway, have you thought about my proposal?”

“Ah, we’re grateful that you’re offering to accommodate us, but we’re planning to leave now.”

As planned, Eden first chose to politely decline. At that, the lieutenant colonel wagged his index finger, which he had pointed toward the sky, from side to side.

“I thought I explained it quite gently, but it seems it wasn’t conveyed properly. Don’t be like that, and come this way for a moment.”

Hajin looked back at Eden. The distance between them was so close their noses could have touched. After a silent exchange, they quietly followed behind the lieutenant colonel.

Even as they moved, the rock-hard arm did not let go of the constantly fidgeting Hajin. The more he tried to escape, the more his strength drained, so in the end, he endured the stinging gazes of those around him and walked as if he were floating.

Even though he wasn’t on the short side, standing next to Eden made his body sway this way and that, like a paper doll. His face grew hot. It was hard to tell if the fever was rising because he was sick, or if it was rising from shame.

Still, he had to do what he had to do. Even while moving, Hajin quickly assessed the layout of the ranch. After passing a tadpole pond and a hay warehouse and moving another 300 meters, a 3-meter-high temporary wall made of neatly stacked orange sandbags soon came into view.

He couldn’t hide his surprise at the sight of the fortress, which must have required a great deal of labor. In the middle of the temporary wall was a small rectangular hole, just big enough for one person to pass through.

A soldier who was guarding the fortress entrance with a stiff posture raised the side of his hand to salute the lieutenant colonel. Upon entering, dozens of tents pitched on the wide lawn and four one-story lodging buildings came into view.

“This place is…”

The lieutenant colonel proudly introduced the space.

“It’s currently being used as official quarters, and it’s a renovated experiential campground that Misan Ranch used to operate. The space is quite large, isn’t it? Civilians also stayed here before.”

Passing by the empty tents that looked like tombs of the dead, they entered the lieutenant colonel’s quarters. The one-story cement building was an open-studio structure with no separate rooms. On the left was a bed, in the center was an open kitchen, and on the right were two desks.

Hajin took advantage of the moment the arm squeezing his waist loosened and quickly escaped Eden’s hold. The lieutenant colonel left his subordinates standing a few paces away and guided the two men to the dining table.

Soon, glasses filled with ice were placed in front of Eden and Hajin. Hajin hurriedly took a sip of the ice water. The feeling of brain-freezing cold, which he hadn’t experienced in a long time, pressed down on his temples.

As the water he couldn’t quite swallow trickled down his chin, Eden, who was sitting right next to him, raised a hand and intimately wiped his chin.

“Ugh.”

At the start of another incomprehensible touch, Hajin turned his face away.

‘Has this person truly gone mad?’

He glared, signaling for him to stop, but Eden just smiled, showing his right dimple. Just as a chill ran down his spine from that inscrutable smile, the lieutenant colonel tapped the desk, thud, thud, as if to demand their attention.

“You say you won’t stay here, so do you have somewhere else to go?”

“I have family in Yongun City. I’m grateful for your kindness, but I must hurry my journey, even a day sooner.”

It was half true and half false. Because the one who answered was Eden.

The lieutenant colonel pulled at his thick lips with his fingers as if in thought for a moment, then clicked his tongue briefly.

“Tch. I understand, but I recommend you stay here for the time being and monitor the situation. A bit of good news might be coming soon.”

Eden, with a piece of ice in his mouth, crunched it loudly and stared intently into the lieutenant colonel’s eyes. The lieutenant colonel, toward Eden who seemed to show interest in his words, added in a voice full of self-importance.

“According to what I’ve been told by my superiors, the zombie situation in the Seoul-Gyeonggi area will soon be under control. Yongun City, where your family is, isn’t far either. It would be much better to stay in a safe place and watch the situation than to move rashly and get killed by zombies for nothing.”

Bang! Ba-ang—!

Just then, the sound of an unexpected gunshot was heard. Startled, Hajin squeezed the water glass, on which beads of water had formed, tightly in his hand.

“Ah, don’t mind that. It seems more zombies or rioters have appeared nearby.”

The lieutenant colonel waved his hand, telling them not to worry. Eden smiled to himself. The remark just now was as good as an admission that they were the ones who had killed Chunbeom.

‘Besides, no one fires recklessly without my order. It’s about time we started conserving bullets, after all.’

The subordinates here, contrary to the lieutenant colonel’s claim, had the authority to fire their guns on their own without his order, and the lieutenant colonel didn’t seem to mind it either.

Hajin also noticed the contradiction and was grinding his teeth inwardly. It was a moment when Eden’s words about the lack of sincerity in his lies truly hit home.

Eden asked the lieutenant colonel in a level voice.

“I believe there is no such thing as kindness without a price. I don’t quite understand why you would offer to help find the rioter who killed my colleague, or why you would offer a place to stay. Is there something else you want?”

“As I said before, the number of people here has decreased a lot since the bloodbath. The land is wide, so we’re short on personnel to deploy everywhere. Losing a talent who knows how to make weapons is a huge loss from our perspective.”

“Are you certain there is no other purpose?”

While the two men were talking, Hajin discreetly and slowly surveyed the lieutenant colonel’s room.

“Hoho. I quite like that you’re so suspicious… I can guarantee that right now, there is no place safer than here, no matter where you go. Then, I’ll assume you’ll be staying.”

Ending the conversation on his own terms, the lieutenant colonel clapped his hands, clap, clap! and stood up from his seat.

“My subordinate will guide you to your lodgings. Hey, Sergeant Shin. Guide them to buildings A and D, one each. They must be very tired today, so give them their work starting tomorrow.”

Hajin, noticing the ploy to separate him and Eden, rolled his eyes nervously. Just then, Eden stood up and blocked the approaching Sergeant Shin.

“We will be staying in the same building.”

The lieutenant colonel, with his hands clasped behind his back, narrowed his thick brow.

“Goodness, it will be uncomfortable since there’s only one bed left in each building. It’s better to just stay separately…”

“If that’s the reason, it matters even less. We can just sleep in one bed.”

Hajin blinked his eyes, trying his best to ignore the unease creeping all over his body. Even though he had gulped down plenty of ice water, his entire esophagus felt completely dry.

“Haha, you must be joking… How can two grown men sleep in one bed.”

The lieutenant colonel, having switched back to informal speech again, laughed awkwardly. Eden, as if he had been waiting, pulled the seated Hajin to his feet.

“That won’t be difficult.”

Then, he calmly placed his left palm over Hajin’s right hand, which was hanging awkwardly at his side.

‘No way.’

One by one, his firm knuckles began to tightly entangle Hajin’s fingers like a spider’s web.

“As you can see, we’re in this kind of relationship.”

All the blood drained from Hajin’s face, which had been flushed bright red. Swoosh—