Magic on The Dead - Chapter 25

Spectators secretly observing the situation from the next bed whistled. This time, there were not two but four of them—Jeffrey, Park Chunbeom, Miso, and Byeol—sitting in a row, stifling their laughter.

“Oh, does anyone have popcorn? This is too entertaining.”

When Miso teased him, Hajin glared at her while lying flat on the bed where he had been thrown.

“Yoon Miso. Why don’t you try appealing too?”

“I’m not interested at all.”

Miso flicked her tongue as if she didn’t understand the problem.

Yeah, you’re proud of your physique, aren’t you? Hajin knocked the back of his head against the pillow a few times. With a sigh, he straightened up with a determined face.

Just then, Eden came out of the bathroom. When their eyes met, Eden quickly turned and went to the adjacent room. Hajin hurriedly followed him before the door could close.

Watching them leave, Park Chunbeom adjusted his glasses and asked Byeol, “Byeol, do you want to go with them too?”

“Yes!”

“Do you like your big sister that much?” Miso interrupted, pinching Byeol’s chubby cheeks.

“Well… actually, I want to marry Magician Uncle Hajin, so of course, I have to go.”

Byeol’s unexpected declaration left Jeffrey, Park Chunbeom, and Miso on the bed gaping in surprise. Marriage? The three exchanged glances and eventually burst into silent laughter.

While the group chatted away, Hajin quietly closed the door. Click. The sound made Eden, who was sitting on the bed, turn his head. His furrowed brows seemed to ask, What now?

Hajin approached him in one stride and suddenly draped a blanket over Eden’s shoulders.

“I’ll stand guard. Sleep well.”

Surprisingly, Eden remained calm. His expression seemed resolute, as if he refused to respond to such trivial flirting.

“No need.”

Supporting his body with his arms, Eden leaned back and stared at the black TV screen.

Is he really going to stop talking to me now? Feeling a bit disappointed, Hajin pouted and sat down next to him.

“I get it. You won’t fall for my flirting, so I’ll stop. But at least let me make one last appeal.”

The unusual seriousness in Hajin’s voice made Eden glance at his profile reflected on the TV screen. His face looked resolute yet anxious. The mischievous glint of a playful child was nowhere to be seen.

“First of all, I’m not as nice as you seem to think, Mr. Jung Taegun.”

Eden’s eyes narrowed slightly at the unexpected humility. Hajin lowered his head.

“Actually, saving you and giving that chocolate bar to a stranger—all of it was for me. Not for anyone else.”

Taking a deep breath, Hajin looked like a rookie salesperson giving an important presentation to a major client. Eden observed him quietly and asked, “For you? What do you mean?”

“You might not understand, but it’s just that my personality doesn’t allow me to leave things unresolved. I saved you purely for my own peace of mind. I couldn’t stand the thought of those moments haunting me later.”

Eden shifted his gaze from the dark TV to Hajin, who was sitting next to him.

“And if I were truly a good person, I would’ve stayed quiet after you refused to let me join. But I couldn’t do that. I have to survive. I have a younger sibling I need to protect. Honestly, even if you hadn’t allowed it, I was planning to follow you anyway.”

Hajin, who had been rambling without pausing for breath, slowly raised his head. He had expected Eden to look annoyed, but instead, he found him wearing an indescribable expression.

Feeling a bit awkward, Hajin added, “You said you needed someone who can kill zombies barehanded, right? I might not be able to do it barehanded, but I think I could manage with a hammer. With some practice, I’m sure I can do it. You weren’t born swinging an axe, were you?”

Hajin felt like his words were getting more tangled the longer he spoke.

“Anyway, the point is, I understand that this world requires us to be rational and selfish to survive. I can be that way too when necessary. Of course, sometimes people do save each other…”

“Are you done with your appeal?”

“No.”

Hajin took a deep breath, locking eyes with Eden’s dark gaze.

“Mr. Jung Taegun, you need someone like me. Someone who can show you there’s more than one right answer. Someone who can offer alternative choices. And I need you too. Please reconsider letting me join you.”

As Hajin stood up with the air of a rookie salesperson who had successfully completed his pitch, Eden looked up at him.

It was an impulsive decision that made Eden stop Hajin as he opened the door.

“Do Hajin.”

Hajin flinched at the sound of his name and turned around, visibly nervous.

“No matter how much you say it was for your own peace of mind, I’m truly grateful for everything you’ve done. But joining me is a different matter altogether. I trust you’ll understand whatever decision I make. I’ll give you an answer by tomorrow. Also…”

“…?”

“I get what you’re saying, but that still makes you a good person, Do Hajin.”

Eden nodded as if to say, You can go now. Hajin felt his ears heat up, scratching them awkwardly before bowing slightly and leaving.

Left alone, Eden listened to the chatter coming from the next room.

“So, how did it go? Did you settle it?”

“No. He said he’ll think about it and let me know…”

[Ah! Eden, that boring guy, playing hard to get. Should we just leave him behind?]

“He didn’t say no, right?”

“No, he didn’t. He just said he’d think about it, so don’t worry too much…”

“I want to go with Uncle Hajin!”

“Hahaha.”

“By the way, we’re eating breakfast on the third floor tomorrow, right?”

“Wasn’t it lunch? Or was it?”

“My stomach hurts.”

“Are you hungry?”

“Ah, yes. Hungry.”

The voices blended harmoniously, as if they’d known each other forever.

Leaving the warm atmosphere behind, Eden leaned against the headboard, lost in thought.

He had expected Hajin to act childish and demand his way, like with the chocolate bar. Instead, Hajin had calmly and logically made his case.

“You need someone like me. Someone who can show you other choices.”

Eden couldn’t find any flaws in Hajin’s argument. After all, it was Hajin’s altruism that had saved him, and thanks to his refusal to ignore the old man, Eden had replenished much-needed calories.

On top of that, the phrase sometimes people save each other struck a chord.

With a sigh welling up from deep inside, Eden quietly closed his eyes.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Hajin crossed over to the next room, which was wide open. On the bed, Miso and the child were asleep, hugging each other. Likewise, there was no sign of Eden anywhere.

After hesitating for a moment, Hajin carefully shook Chunbeom, who was lying on the floor, to wake him up.

“Chunbeom, Chunbeom. Wake up.”

“Mm…”

“Tune!”

When Hajin called out the nickname that Jeffrey usually used, Chunbeom finally opened his eyes wide.

“Huh? What?”

“Sorry to wake you up. Have you seen Jung Taegun?”

Blinking blankly for a moment, Chunbeom slowly raised his upper body.

“Ah… the director… if you can’t see him, he’s probably on the rooftop.”

“The rooftop?”

“Sometimes he goes up there at dawn. To, um… check the movement of the zombies.”

Since it wasn’t Hajin’s turn to stand guard, he almost never woke up at dawn and had no idea Eden went up to the rooftop. Nodding, Hajin gently patted Chunbeom’s shoulder.

“Sorry to bother you. Go back to sleep.”

“Yawn… But Hajin, you didn’t just call me Tune, did you?”

“Don’t start copying Jeffrey. That’s dangerous,” Chunbeom added playfully before lying back down.

After making sure he had fallen asleep again, Hajin stood up. The weapons in the shoe rack were gone, meaning Eden had probably taken his hammer. After thinking for a moment, Hajin grabbed Miso’s weapon—a pair of pliers.