By Zephyria 
Soon, a groan came from inside the glass door.
“Ugh!”
A middle-aged man with thinning gray hair shielded his eyes from the flashlight beam that reflected in his pupils.
“…Hoo, damn, almost cursed.”
While Ha-jin caught his breath, Eden scanned the inside with the flashlight. Behind the unknown middle-aged man, people stood blankly, watching them warily. There weren’t many, maybe four.
The people frowned or turned away from the harsh flashlight beam.
“A-Are they zombies? Are they human?”
A mumbled voice came from inside. Eden lowered the flashlight and looked at Ha-jin. Ha-jin, understanding immediately, nodded.
“You talk to them first. I’ll keep watch.”
While preparing for a possible zombie attack, Eden spoke to the middle-aged man through the slightly open door. The conversation seemed to go well, as Eden whistled at Ha-jin, who was nervously looking around.
Inside, they sat at a table near the door, guided by the man. Opposite them sat the man, two women in their twenties, and a boy who looked like a high school student. Two flickering candles burned between them.
Ha-jin shuddered at the gloomy and eerie atmosphere, as if ghosts might appear.
“So, you said you have others in the bathroom? May I ask how many?”
The middle-aged man who had opened the door asked. With sunken eyes and a mole on his cheek, he had an unforgettable face.
“Six, including us,”
Eden replied, and the middle-aged man exchanged glances with his group. They whispered as if discussing something.
“Actually, this is the first time anyone has come here. We’re not sure what to do. Um, you need food?”
“Yes. We haven’t eaten properly in days. There’s a child with us.”
Eden lied without batting an eye. Not eaten properly in days…? Of course, they had been eating soup and canned tuna instead of rice, so maybe it wasn’t a lie. Ha-jin clicked his tongue inwardly at Eden’s amazing acting.
“Oh dear. That must be hard. Won-shin must have sent you to me to care for our poor souls.”
Won-shin? Startled by the strange word, Ha-jin blinked. Sensing something was off, he poked Eden’s thigh, who immediately looked at him questioningly. Ha-jin gestured wildly, trying to say something.
Eden tilted his head in response. Ha-jin mumbled.
“That guy seems like a cultist. Should we just leave?”
Eden tilted his head further and brought his lips close to Ha-jin’s ear.
“So what? We can’t be picky right now.”
His voice was a bit mischievous. Ha-jin was surprised by the unfamiliar tone and widened his eyes. Eden smiled brightly and pulled away.
The middle-aged man with the blue glasses was still staring at them. Eden smiled charmingly and continued.
“We only plan to stay tonight. If you could provide us with one meal, we’ll stay quietly and leave. We’d also like to take some food from the convenience store if possible, but we don’t want to be too greedy…”
Ha-jin was speechless at Eden’s audacity. What, not be too greedy…? This was a man who could lock everyone up and take everything if he wanted to, yet he was acting pitiful. Ha-jin’s skin crawled.
Eden reassured the people with a polite demeanor, saying he didn’t want to cause any trouble. The tense faces of the people who had been wary of the suspicious visitors gradually relaxed.
“Luckily, we still have enough food to share a meal.”
The short-haired woman, fooled by Eden’s fake smile, looked at her companions for agreement.
“That’s right. A meal is fine…”
“Honestly, there’s a lot of food left in the convenience store. Strictly speaking, it’s not even ours.”
“Yes. This encounter must be a blessing from Won-shin, so let’s help as much as we can…”
Ha-jin blinked, surprised at how easily the conversation was going.
‘Is this a honey trap…?’
The initiative had long been taken. Eden asked them about how they ended up here and their relationships. Soon, Ha-jin joined in, showing off his own eloquence.
“He and I are Coffee Bene part-timers at this rest stop. This guy and his son were passing through on their way to Incheon and got stuck here.”
The two young women in their twenties were part-timers at the franchise cafe in the rest stop, and the middle-aged man and the boy who looked like a high school student were father and son. They were a small group formed by the women and the father and son who had barely survived the chaos.
“Haven’t you thought about going outside?”
“We’ve tried. About five times…? But each time, we ran into zombies and had to run back here. Sigh… We’re in a really frustrating situation.”
The short-haired woman complained, and the long-haired woman added.
“But since you guys made it here from Sangwon on foot, it seems like it’s not impossible, so we feel a little relieved.”
Ha-jin realized that none of them had any experience killing zombies. The boy asked curiously.
“Hyung, have you ever killed a zombie or a person… on your way here?”
“No. We have weapons, but we haven’t used them.”
Ha-jin, who was about to answer ‘yes’ without thinking, stopped when Eden spoke first. The middle-aged man sighed in relief.
“That’s a relief. They may look like monsters now, but they might become human again, and they’re still living beings, so killing is out of the question. It clearly goes against Won-shin’s teachings.”
“Yes. Killing is out of the question for any reason.”
Eden maintained a poker face and agreed with the ridiculous speech. His skill in creating rapport was top-notch.
He was telling ‘lies’ without any hesitation, without batting an eye. Even Ha-jin, who was like a lie detector, couldn’t tell whether Eden was telling the truth or a lie.
It was hard to believe that Eden, who had piled up about ten corpses on stage, was the same person, and Ha-jin wondered if it had all been a dream. Ha-jin had to hide the goosebumps that kept rising as he watched Jeong Tae-geon’s amazing acting.
After a thorough exploration, Ha-jin and Eden led the group back into the food court. The smell of curry filled the air, as if they had been preparing a meal. The aroma of warm cooked rice and sour kimchi stimulated their sense of smell.
“Do Ha-jin, how did you win those people over?”
Mi-so whispered, poking Ha-jin’s side.
“I didn’t win them over. Jeong Tae-geon did it all.”
“Huh? Jeong Tae-geon?”
“Hard to believe, right? I don’t believe it either.”
Ha-jin had often seen Eden smile, but this was the first time he had seen what he looked like when he made a charming smile on purpose. His expression, which was always cold when expressionless, could not have looked kinder when he creased his eyes and raised his lips to make deep dimples.
It was a fake smile that was the opposite of his usual behavior, but it was a very natural smile that anyone would fall for. To think that he was the same man who would say ‘So what?’ to him, even though he could make such a smile….
Ha-jin, with the wet laundry slung over his arm, looked at Eden, who was leading the way, with a somewhat disgusted look.