Magic on the Dead Chapter 69

The lieutenant colonel, Sergeant Shin, and the other subordinates standing at the door all froze solid.

Eight pupils, shaking precariously, lost their focus. Including Hajin’s, that made ten pupils in total. Everyone seemed to have forgotten how to breathe. A tense strain and a chilling silence floated in the air, as if a time bomb on the verge of exploding were right beside them.

The frozen space-time was broken by Lieutenant Colonel So’s movement. He chugged down the ice water that had been left for him, quenching his burning throat.

“…Sergeant Shin, guide them to the same building.”

“Sir? Ah, yes, sir! Understood!”

Even as they walked, following Sergeant Shin’s guidance, Eden did not unclench their intertwined hands.

“Wht r yoo doin’.”

Hajin spoke through his clenched teeth. The whispered reply that came back was utterly dumbfounding.

“You gave me permission.”

Was this why he kept trying all that ridiculous skinship from before? Jung Taegeon’s endless grand plan was enough to make his head spin.

A sticky sweat began to pool in their clasped palms. Hajin, hoping to God the sweat wasn’t coming from his own hand, struggled to even out his trembling breath.

🃏

Building D, which they entered following Sergeant Shin’s guidance, was across from the quarters where the lieutenant colonel was staying.

“You can go to the bed attached to the left wall. Are you really going to use it together?”

Unless they planned to sleep in a tight embrace, the bed was not suitable for two adult men to share. It was about the level of a guardian’s cot in a hospital room.

Hajin looked up at the person still holding his hand tightly, half in a state of resignation. Eden coolly replied to Sergeant Shin.

“We’ll use it together. We’d like to wash up first, so are the shower facilities available for use? And if you have any medical supplies, we’d appreciate that as well.”

Sergeant Shin stared at the man, who had a strangely authoritative air, with a somewhat reluctant expression. Was it just his imagination? The new guy’s guts, not showing any fear at all, were strangely getting on his nerves. He didn’t like his large build, nor did he like his handsome face. Everything about him was displeasing.

“The shower facilities are behind building A. The building right next to the battalion commander’s quarters is building A.”

Eden, who had placed their bags under the bed, led Hajin out of the building. As if there were orders to keep watching them, Sergeant Shin trailed along behind the two as they moved to the shower room.

Hajin glanced back. The man didn’t hide the mix of disgust and curiosity on his face. A sigh escaped him automatically.

There were definitely soldiers here who had recognized his face. Do Hajin, the reclusive magician, would now be forever branded a homosexual in someone’s memory.

‘This is driving me crazy, for real.’

Forcibly clearing his complicated mind, he entered the rectangular, prefabricated shower facility with Eden. Eight hoses were lined up in a row on both walls of the shower room.

Hajin deliberately chose a spot farthest from Eden. He was on high alert in case he tried to pull any pranks, but fortunately, there was no notable contact.

The water trickled out like a stream. Still, it had been a very long time since he’d had a hot shower, so he took his time and washed his body thoroughly.

When he came out after showering, his hand was, as expected, grabbed once again. Sergeant Shin, spotting the two men holding hands tightly even after leaving the shower room, secretly scowled. Disgusting faggots.

The perceptive Hajin had no trouble catching the fleeting hatred that crossed his face. Although the lover act was just a performance for survival to stick close to Eden, being openly stared at with contempt gradually started to put him in a foul mood.

‘Fuck… did you chip in for anything just because I’m gay?’

Unaware that he had reached a state of over-immersion, he neatly wrote Sergeant Shin’s three-syllable name in the Death Note in his mind.

“Medical supplies are available inside the commissary, so you can go over there.”

Following Sergeant Shin’s directions, they entered a walking path. As they walked in the scorching heat without any shade, sweat beaded up above his lip. Heat also bloomed inside their clasped hands.

Gack! Gaaack!! Woof! Woof!!

From somewhere, the cry of a zombie and the barking of a dog echoed like a harmony. Startled for a moment, Hajin habitually fumbled at his waist. There was no weapon to be found. Come to think of it, the axe and club that Eden had gone to the trouble of making were in the lieutenant colonel’s hands.

As a poor substitute, he fiddled with the few cards he had tucked into his pocket. The familiar texture brought peace to his unsettled heart. If a zombie were to appear, he was determined to quickly jab a card into its eyeball.

“Where is that sound coming from?”

When Eden asked about the source of the sound, Sergeant Shin replied in a voice thick with annoyance.

“It’s either the sound from the feeding experience zone, or some bug crawled in from outside.”

“Are there zombies in the experience zone?”

No answer came back. Hajin focused on a wooden sign that jutted out in the middle of the path. A cute green map, as if drawn by a child, was painted on the sign.

Misan Ranch was larger than he thought, and it had extensive facilities to match. It was a moment when he could understand the lieutenant colonel’s desire to supplement his lack of manpower.

Sergeant Shin, who was walking ahead, pointed to the commissary with his finger.

“You can go in, get treated, and come out. The medical officer will give you the medicine.”

He immediately turned his body and went back the way he came. Hajin, after confirming the man had disappeared from sight, struggled with all his might to pull his captured hand free.

“He’s gone, so let go now.”

“Didn’t you hear him say the medical officer is inside?”

“Haaah…”

This crazy bastard must have taken a liking to acting out the gay couple of the century. Since he was no match for him in terms of strength, Hajin quickly gave up the argument. Eden let out a laugh and opened the commissary door with one hand.

In the middle of the 15-pyeong space filled with various souvenirs and snacks, an unexpected person was sitting. It was Officer Kim.

“Oh?”

As their eyes met, Officer Kim stood up with a look of welcome. Soon, his gaze moved to the two people’s clasped hands. A look of bewilderment crept over Officer Kim’s smiling face.

This time, Hajin desperately broke free from Eden’s grip. Eden shot a displeased glance at him for so heartlessly shaking off his arm.

Officer Kim maintained his poker face and guided them to the seats across from him.

“I was secretly worried, but it seems your talk went well. You made a good decision. To be honest, there’s no place as safe as here in this area.”

After saying that, he tactfully took out a first-aid box that had been put away in a drawer.

“You came because you’re hurt, right?”

Hajin nodded.

“Yes. Please just get me some medicine for body aches and cold, and an ointment for my wounds.”

Taking out two cold medicine capsules and an ointment, Officer Kim frowned slightly as he saw the wound on Hajin’s wrist.

“They must have tied the ropes ignorantly. The wound is severe.”

“If you give it to me, I’ll apply it myself.”

Eden took the ointment from Officer Kim’s hand as if snatching it. Toward him, who seemed ready to apply the ointment himself, Hajin gritted his teeth.

“I’ll jst do t mslf.”

“No. I’ll do it for you.”

A pained groan, keueung, escaped his lips. It seemed he intended to continue this absurd lover act even here.

Even when he asked with his eyes what he was doing, there was no reply. However, it wasn’t long before he understood the meaning behind his overly dramatic actions.

It was because, when he happened to turn his head and look out the window, he discovered the ghostly face of Sergeant Shin, who seemed to be checking on the situation.

‘Crazy, that scared me.’

Hajin clutched his startled chest and grumbled inwardly. The man he thought had returned to the quarters was, at some point, loitering around the commissary. Tattletale-faced and acts like a damn tattletale, too… The sight of Sergeant Shin, who looked exactly like the senior who had made his life miserable during his private first-class days, made him secretly tremble with rage.

Just then, a smooth ointment was applied to the wrist where the red flesh was exposed.

“Sseup! Aack…”

It had stung like hell when he was washing it, but when the medicine touched it, it stung twice as much. Hajin writhed and made a fuss. In the meantime, the area above his ankle was grabbed. His bare feet, shoes removed, came to rest on Eden’s firm thighs.

“Hoo…”

He didn’t want to be conscious of it, but his penis, stowed away on the left thigh, and the sole of his right foot were in subtle contact.

‘Is this bastard enjoying this right now?’

At this point, a rational suspicion began to sprout in his head. Even as he eyed the top of the bowed head suspiciously, Eden was only carefully slathering ointment on his ankle. Hajin felt a damn itch around his solar plexus and wanted to scratch his chest raw.

“Stay still.”

“J-Just slap it on already. Why are you applying it so slowly?”

“Weren’t you just whining that it hurts?”

Haaah… Letting out a deep sigh, he finally turned his gaze away from Eden. When he raised his head, his eyes met Officer Kim’s. Hajin let out a stiff, awkward laugh for no reason.