By Zephyria 
It was right after walking for four hours straight since morning.
“See Kwanghyun Engineering over there? If you turn left right there, you’ll see NK Windows. Go straight from there, and you’ll be on the Insan-Nokwang Expressway.”
Ha-jin whispered, leaning his back against the wall. Eden, who was looking in the direction he pointed, poured water into a bowl he had brought and placed it on the ground. The military dog, as if waiting for it, buried its nose in it and lapped up the water like crazy.
Perhaps because of the rain, the humidity was quite high, and sweat dripped unpleasantly even when standing still. Eden, squinting at the muggy weather, asked.
“When did you memorize the roads? I don’t remember the paper map having such detailed business names.”
Having lost the map earlier and even losing the compass, it was not easy to find the way. But Ha-jin was heading towards his destination without hesitation, as if he had a map engraved in his eyes.
“I memorized it before getting out of Lee Chang-yeol’s car. There was a map on the navigation system.”
At the nonchalant answer, Eden remembered Ha-jin adjusting the screen ratio of the navigation system for a long time.
Could he have memorized the entire road?
He thought he was only good at memorizing things, but it seemed that even that was an underestimation. Even at Blue Works, where geniuses who could fly and run gathered, it was hard to find this level of memory.
Eden watched Ha-jin quietly and let out a sigh mixed with admiration.
“I thought we’d get lost, but it was a needless worry. Thanks to Do Ha-jin, we got here quickly.”
“If you’re thankful, could you match your walking speed to mine? Jeffrey said it’s not walking, it’s running.”
“Don’t you think it’s because your legs are short?”
“Wow, they’re actually quite long? It’s Jeong Tae-geon who’s abnormally long. Unbelievable.”
Ha-jin scolded, glaring at Eden’s face with a deep dimple on his right cheek as if he was being annoying.
The two diligently set out again. On the street, zombies in a state of considerable decay were crawling around, dragging their entrails that had popped out of their abdomens. They weren’t threatening, but every time they encountered one, the military dog tried to bark loudly, making them sweat to calm it down.
Eden tried to train the dog with words and hand signals. The effect appeared immediately after only a short period of repeated learning.
The military dog now only growled lowly instead of barking even when it found a zombie. Moreover, when a zombie was nearby, it stopped in its place, raised its tail straight up, and bared its teeth. Thanks to the military dog’s signal, they were able to recognize the presence of zombies one step ahead.
“Oh, you smart thing…!”
Ha-jin stroked the dog’s side wildly as if he loved it to death. Perhaps feeling good from the praise, the military dog ran out to the opposite road with all its might.
“Uh-oh, don’t waste your energy. We have to walk a lot, so you can’t get tired.”
Ha-jin gently rubbed the brown snout of the dog, who came back panting. It was a great improvement compared to the dawn when the puppy didn’t know what to do because it was awkward.
Eden looked back at him, who had become friendly with the military dog in just one day, and shook his head as if he couldn’t help it. The expressway was finally getting closer.
“Kkeueok…!”
“Kaaaak!”
Eden, who raised his chin following the roaring sound, quickly looked around. Three zombies climbing on the transmission tower were sticking their heads out towards the bottom as if they were about to jump down.
One of them was just standing still at the top without making any sound. The opaque eyes, with no black pupils, persistently followed them.
Ha-jin, who happened to witness the same scene, trembled and lowered his voice.
“That zombie at the top. Why is it just staring without even crying?”
“……”
“…It just looks like a person, so it’s making me feel creeped out.”
“Ignore it and just look ahead.”
Eden forcibly turned Ha-jin’s head, who kept glancing at the transmission tower.
The huge piers of the expressway were right in front of them. Upon reaching the destination, the tension was relieved, and his shoulders felt stiff. The weight of the bundle wrapped around his back was considerable, so his walking speed gradually slowed down.
“Let’s rest for a bit.”
Eden suggested a break at a good time. They hid in an opaque plastic greenhouse to avoid the scorching sun. Ha-jin, leaning against the dusty farming equipment, fanned himself. The puppy was also hot, sticking out its tongue and panting.
In the meantime, Eden searched the plastic greenhouse and found two pickaxes bent in a ㄱ shape and a large amount of rope.
A Pickaxe covered in dirt was held out in front of Ha-jin, who was wiping the sweat off his face.
“Throw away the kitchen knife you’re holding. The blade will wear out or break quickly, so it’s not good.”
“Thank you.”
Ha-jin, who received the new weapon, suddenly opened his eyes wide as if he had just thought of something.
“Come to think of it, we have to give him a name!”
“Do you have anything in mind?”
“Hmm….”
The humming grew longer. He couldn’t keep calling him ‘Hey’ or ‘Military Dog,’ so he had to give him a name, but he couldn’t think of a suitable title. After thinking for a while, he poked Eden’s arm with his index finger and suggested.
“How about Spade Ace? Or Spade Five…?”
Eden, who was stuffing the rope into the bundle, was speechless when the unexpected card name popped out. Ha-jin added an explanation without giving in.
“There’s this really famous mentalist named Banachek. He conducted an experiment asking 80,000 people to name ‘one card that comes to mind right now.’ Spade Ace was among the cards that received the most answers. Doesn’t that mean it’s familiar and appealing?”
Eden, who had been listening quietly, asked, holding back a sigh.
“…I don’t understand very well, but what does that Spade Ace that Do Ha-jin is talking about have to do with him?”
“It means he’s a style that’s as familiar and appealing as Spade Ace.”
“……”
“Oh, and Spade Five doesn’t have any special meaning. It’s just my favorite card. The number 5 is stable, and the spade shape is pretty.”
Ha-jin continued to chatter in an excited voice like a delighted child.
“I’m worried for no reason. Should we just go with Spade Five? Hmm, since the name is too long, how about shortening it to Pie?”
Pie. It was an abbreviation that didn’t remind him of Spade Five at all, and it was a name that felt somewhat absurd. But looking at Do Ha-jin, who was more excited than usual, he couldn’t bring himself to tell him to drop that name.
‘Is he that happy?’
He’s been doing magic his whole life, but he’s not tired of it. Whenever a story related to magic came up, Ha-jin couldn’t control his words, getting excited.
Eden, sighing, stroked the belly of the military dog lying on the floor. The innocent puppy’s eyes sparkled like glass beads.
Ha-jin, who took the silence as agreement, excitedly called out the Doberman’s new name.
“Hey, your name is Pie from now on. Got it?”
❖ ❖ ❖
Two days had passed. In the meantime, the two skillfully headed towards their destination, solving their meals and lodging in an SUV with flat tires, a container under a bridge, and a gas station attached to a rest area.
They would arrive in Hwajeong City tomorrow. If they could hold out for about ten more days, it would be the entrance to Dragon Cloud City, and they would be able to meet the group they had been missing.
Fortunately, there were no unfortunate incidents of a swarm of zombies rushing in after passing Misan Ranch. At this rate, the day he would meet his younger brother Jun-seok seemed to be coming soon, and he kept feeling excited. He was also maintaining a much closer relationship with Eden, who was always prickly.
Ha-jin wiggled his feet, which were covered in blisters.
Everything was going smoothly.
That is, it was going strangely smoothly.
Just as he was starting to feel uncomfortable with the excessive peace, his steps stopped abruptly.
“Eurr….”
Pie growled at the strangers they suddenly encountered. Far away, a small group of survivors was standing in the middle of the road, looking at Ha-jin and Eden walking towards them.
It had already been four weeks since the zombie outbreak, and it was rare to encounter survivors on the road unless they were settling in a closed space and holding out.
The men standing there were tall and quite large. The way they were holding scythes or long sticks was unusual.
Ha-jin whispered in an anxious voice.
“Are those people?”
“Yes, they are.”
The returning answer was somewhat indifferent. Ha-jin, whose wariness had increased greatly since the Misan Ranch incident, glared at the unidentified people with a grimy face.
“Aren’t you going?”
Eden looked back at Ha-jin, who was frozen like a stone, and asked.
“…I feel uneasy.”
But it wasn’t like there was a way to detour because he was uneasy. The bridge of the expressway they were standing on was too high to jump down, and it was dangerous to go back because the sun was setting. To make matters worse, they hadn’t found any vehicles on the road for almost an hour.
It was truly a dilemma. Ha-jin rubbed his forehead as if he had made a mistake. According to the original plan, he was going to spend the night in the industrial complex that would come out right after passing the main road….
While they were unable to move forward easily and stopped in their place, dark darkness was descending on the asphalt road.