Magic on the Dead Chapter 82

With an unbearable shame clinging to his reddened ears, Hajin continued speaking in a rapid-fire manner.

“We should probably look for things like mouthwash the next time we stop by a supermarket. And hand soap, too. Actually, paper soap would be convenient, but I don’t know if we’ll find any. Oh, and it would be good to stock up on a few more pairs of socks. Maybe next time we can stop by an empty private house or something… Ugh?”

Suddenly, Hajin’s collar was grabbed, and his body was pulled forward helplessly.

“…?!”

At the same time, he felt a vivid inhalation and a hot exhalation, as if the skin near his Adam’s apple was about to be sucked in. Eden had his head buried near Hajin’s collarbone like a dog, sniffing him.

As the raw breath touched him, goosebumps broke out all over his body.

“Wha, what are you…!”

A thick hand wrapped around his struggling waist with a powerful grip.

“I said you don’t smell.”

“I get it, I get it!”

“Just you try avoiding my hand one more time.”

“I said I get it?!”

Only when he pounded on his shoulder did Eden finally let go of his collar and waist. Hajin clutched his dizzy head and shot him a look that said he was seeing a complete lunatic.

“Use your words, your words!”

“You wouldn’t listen even when I used words, so I was just letting you confirm it for yourself.”

“Why on earth did you have to confirm that…”

But Hajin couldn’t finish his sentence. It was because he had witnessed something unusually prominent on Eden’s thigh.

Noticing his wavering eyes, Eden nonchalantly glanced down at his own groin. As if a serpent were hiding there, his penis had swelled to a formidable size.

He clicked his tongue briefly, as if this were a bother. Whenever an opportunity arose to touch Hajin or smell him up close, his lower half would spring to attention regardless of the place, making it incredibly troublesome.

He had felt it under the bridge as well, but Hajin’s sweet body scent, which he couldn’t quite put his finger on, had a strange addictive quality that both relaxed his body and mind like a tranquilizer and fiercely stimulated his arousal.

Eden, who had been suppressing his excitement for a while, asked casually.

“Are you going to rest? I’m going to go take care of myself.”

“……”

“Or we can take care of it together.”

Take care of what together? He couldn’t even begin to figure out how to respond. In the time it took him to swallow hard, the man got to his feet.

Eden picked up the blood-stained pickaxe and, leaving the frozen Hajin behind, strode into the sunset-drenched forest path.

🃏

Hajin was moving his feet at a faster pace than ever before.

The official reason was to meet up with their companions quickly, but in truth, the biggest reason was the embarrassment of facing Eden, who had returned last night after masturbating.

Of course, there was nothing strange about the act of satisfying one’s desires itself. The problem was him, who had ended up oversleeping after stealing glances at the man’s neat right hand, which had likely been used in the act.

‘What am I even doing.’

Since when had sexual frustration become a contagious virus? Hajin rubbed his tired eyes and let out a deep sigh.

Eden, oblivious to his inner turmoil, grabbed his shoulder to stop him, seeing that he seemed to be pushing himself a bit too hard.

“Let’s eat something and rest for a bit. It’s only 12 o’clock, so we have plenty of time to travel today. There’s no need to overdo it.”

Only after being forced to a stop did a sharp, tingling pain shoot through the soles of his feet. After some thought, Hajin ended up following him to a nearby village community center.

The sliding front door was shut tight, but thankfully it wasn’t locked.

“Shall we go in?”

No sooner had Hajin spoken than Pi bared its teeth and raised its tail stiffly. It was a signal that there was a zombie. The two of them assumed a defensive stance and stepped aside.

As the door opened, a blackened, dead hand shot out as if it had been waiting.

“Kiiieek…!”

However, before he could even raise his pickaxe, the white-haired zombie tripped on the threshold and tumbled to the floor. Flop.

They prepared for a possible follow-up attack, but it just writhed like an earthworm and couldn’t easily get up. Hajin’s shoulders, which had been tense, slumped down.

“Let’s go in.”

Eden stepped ruthlessly onto the old zombie’s back and went inside.

The linoleum floor was covered with the corpses of elderly people who had died even before turning into zombies. Hajin, forcing himself to look away, endured the stench of death and rummaged through the kitchen.

A considerable amount of sweet bean jelly, beef jerky, puffed rice snacks, and vitamin drinks came into his hands. Eden, who had come out of a small room with several bottles of water, suggested.

“If we’ve found everything, let’s go up to the roof. I don’t think I can eat anything in here.”

At that moment, they heard a faint crying sound. The two, who were about to head outside immediately, froze at the slight sign of human presence.

“Grandma, hic…”

The sobbing was coming from beyond the open sliding front door. When they turned their heads, they saw two boys who looked to be in elementary school, kneeling in front of the zombie.

The fingertips desperately clutching the shoulder of the still-undead creature were drained of color.

Grasping the situation, Hajin quickly darted out from under the shoe cabinet.

“What are you kids doing! Get away, it’s dangerous!”

As he brandished his pickaxe to stop them, their tear-stained gazes all turned to Hajin.

“I said get away! What will you do if you get bitten!”

Putting his weapon down, he grabbed the brothers by the scruffs of their necks and pulled them up at once. He was taken aback by how much lighter they were than he expected.

“Huuu, Grandma…”

The children struggled, looking desperately at the zombie. The sorrowful tears showed no signs of stopping.

As if reacting to the crying, the zombie’s body writhed along with them.

“Kiiieek…”

While he was wondering what to do in this difficult situation, Eden crossed the threshold with Pi. Spotting him about to step on the fallen zombie, Hajin quickly stopped him.

“Mr. Jung Taegeon! That zombie, no, don’t step on the grandmother, come out around her.”

“Pardon?”

“I said don’t step on the grandmother, just come out.”

Hajin scrunched up his face as if to say, can’t you take a hint? and sent an additional signal. Finally, Eden, who had lifted his foot, withdrew it and, with a frown, came out, avoiding the zombie’s body.

Pi, who had been whining and watching nervously, also leaped over the old zombie and came to Hajin’s side.

By now, the children, with snot running down their faces, were looking at Eden, Hajin, and Pi with curious eyes. Hajin gave an awkward smile and let go of the necks he had been holding.

“Hey kids, why are you two wandering around by yourselves? It’s dangerous.”

His uniquely friendly voice cut through the silent air. One of the children, who had been darting his eyes around warily, answered in a small voice.

“…Dad… went to find food.”

“Are you two brothers, by any chance?”

“Yeees…”

“Okay, okay. But why are you out here? It’s dangerous. You should hurry home.”

Without answering, the child only shook his head and reached out for the lying zombie again.

“Hey, hey, it’s dangerous, I told you no! You can’t touch her. If you get bitten…!”

As he desperately tried to stop him, the child grabbed Hajin’s arm tightly. For such a skinny body, his grip was surprisingly strong. Surprised by this, he met the child’s eyes, and his plump lips hesitantly opened.

“Excuse meee…”

The way he dragged out his words was unusual.

“I’m really, hic, sorry, but…”

What is he trying to say? Don’t tell me he’s asking me to save his grandmother who’s already a zombie? Or to give him food? Or maybe it’s a request to take them with us.

Hajin, counting the obvious possibilities, waited with an anxious face for the child’s next words.

“Our grandma is in a lot of pain, so… just…”

“……”

“Could you please… kill her? I want her to not, hic, be in pain anymore…”

But the request that came from the child’s mouth was completely unexpected. While he was frozen in shock, Eden, who had been watching the situation, turned the children’s bodies to face away.

“Don’t look. And don’t cry.”

At his firm voice, the children closed their eyes as if holding back their fear and hugged each other tightly.

He strode over to the zombie and swung the pickaxe without hesitation. Thwack! With the sound of the skull crushing, the writhing zombie’s movements came to a complete stop.

Hajin and Eden quickly moved the body inside the community center. Even after the situation was resolved, the children still couldn’t open their eyes, clinging tightly to each other.

“We men are going to go now.”

As he patted their backs, the brothers bowed deeply. Holding back their sorrowful cries, asking for their grandmother to be killed, and now bowing politely like this—all of it was unbecoming of children their age.

They were at an age where they should still be busy protecting their childhood innocence. Hajin’s heart ached at the thought that the children had been forced to mature early by this cruel world.

“Let’s go rest now.”

At Eden’s urging, Hajin, barely composing his stinging heart, nodded. Although he desperately wanted to help the brothers more, their connection ended here.

“Go home quickly because it’s dangerous, and stay healthy and hang in there.”

Only after giving the children one last tight hug was he finally able to turn away. Eden pointed to the stairs at the back of the community center. He immediately started walking after him, but for some reason, Pi didn’t follow.

“Pi?”

Puzzled, he returned to the entrance and saw the back of Pi, who was pacing in place with its tail tucked, looking anxious.

“Pi, you’re not coming, what are you doing there…”

Hajin’s mouth fell open as his gaze followed Pi’s.

The children, whom he had thought had gone home, were pushing open the sliding door of the community center.