By Zephyria 
The relentless rain had subsided for a while. Taking advantage of the lull, the group, having reorganized their sturdy flashlights and weapons, ventured outside. Water pooled on the tent couldn’t bear the weight and cascaded down, soaking Ha-jin’s instep. Byeol’s sniffling reached his ears.
Ever since the boisterous hug ended, Byeol had been shedding sorrowful tears. Even when he was bravely making jokes while finishing his last meal in the kitchen, it seemed he had been desperately suppressing his sadness. Mi-so, squatting down, calmly wiped the child’s tears with the back of her hand.
Standing far away from them, Jeffrey lit a cigarette he found on the hardware store counter and puffed smoke into the air.
The moment they completely left the hardware store, the road diverged. Mi-so was planning to head into the alley lined with broken utility poles and charred houses, while Ha-jin was planning to go straight along the two-lane road.
The inevitable time of parting was approaching, but no one readily said goodbye, nor did they take the first step.
Ha-jin watched Mi-so’s profile as she comforted the child with a heavy heart. Would they be able to meet again alive? Was that really possible?
As if sensing his gaze, Mi-so raised her reddened eyes. She playfully wrinkled her nose at Ha-jin and slowly rose from her spot as if it was time.
“Yun Mi-so.”
At that moment, Eden, who had been leaning against the entrance of the hardware store, called out to her. Ha-jin and Mi-so simultaneously turned their heads toward him.
“Can I talk to you for a moment?”
Mi-so, blinking in bewilderment, hitched up the bag she was carrying and followed him into the hardware store.
Ha-jin blankly stared at the two people who had suddenly disappeared inside, then winced as a cold sensation touched his cheek. Jeffrey, reeking of nicotine, carelessly splashed raindrops on his left cheek.
“What is it?”
When he turned around with a bewildered expression, Jeffrey jutted his chin toward the entrance of the hardware store with a sullen look.
[What are they talking about in there?]
Ha-jin, rubbing the water splashed on his face with the back of his hand, shook his head.
“I have no idea.”
[Hmm….]
Jeffrey let out a suspicious sigh and craned his neck toward the entrance.
Following him, Ha-jin also stretched his neck and looked inside, catching sight of the two of them having a serious conversation in the distance. What were they talking about when they were about to part ways? It was quite a solemn atmosphere.
[Do you have any idea? Did Eden say anything to you separately?]
“I don’t know. There’s nothing like that.”
Tilting his head askew, Jeffrey lifted the handkerchief draped over Ha-jin’s neck with his index finger.
[What is this? Were you guys really just having sex?]
Ha-jin’s eyes widened at his sudden blunt question. Instinctively, he glanced at Jeong Byeol and Pie, then nudged Jeffrey’s chest with his fist as if to warn him.
“Watch your mouth. The kid will hear you.”
[Hmph….]
Ha-jin, fiddling with his reddened ears, glared at Jeffrey, who was staring intently at him.
[Then what is it? Are you serious?]
Unlike his rudely direct questions, there was surprisingly no particular malice or spite in his eyes. Ha-jin, rubbing the raindrops that hadn’t been completely wiped off his cheek with the back of his hand, let out a small sigh.
“It turned out that way.”
[What turned out that way? So is that a yes or a no? Korean is so ambiguous about these things.]
Even as he persistently pursued the question, Eden and Mi-so continued their conversation. Mi-so shrugged at his words and nodded slowly. It was hard to see what kind of expression she was making.
Ha-jin, alternating his gaze between the two people standing far away, reluctantly answered.
[It seems like they like each other. Okay?]
Jeffrey’s eyes widened at the sudden English.
[What, you….]
He took a step closer to Ha-jin as if observing a strange object.
[…I thought you only understood it, but you can actually speak English too?]
[I can only do the basics.]
Although he said it modestly, Ha-jin’s English skills were actually quite good, enough to have free-flowing conversations with foreigners. His close Magic Maker was American, and most of the Magic Lectures that Ha-jin bought were in English, so his conversational skills naturally improved.
[Then why have you only been answering in Korean until now?]
[So Jeffrey can improve his Korean skills.]
As if he had completely forgotten about seriously asking about the relationship between the two, Jeffrey blankly muttered.
[But your English voice is pretty good?]
[Thank you.]
At that moment, Byeol, who had been sniffling, approached Ha-jin and tapped his thigh. At the signal to be held, he wordlessly hugged the child and looked inside the store again. As if muted by the pattering rain, their conversation was not audible.
Jeffrey, who had been staring blankly at Ha-jin searching inside, belatedly shouted “Ah!” and tore at his hair.
[So they really like each other? That’s how it ended up?]
Ha-jin, narrowing his brow as if to tell him to be quiet at his belated reaction, gently covered Byeol’s ears with his hand. Jeffrey, undeterred, chuckled and took out another cigarette. He chewed on the filter, then muttered with a sigh.
[Eden, you crazy bastard, what are you really going to do….]
There was nothing much to say. Jeffrey’s reaction was perfectly normal. It was just that his heart ached at the fact that even for an emotion that deserved to be celebrated, someone’s worries and concerns came first. Ha-jin, recalling the passionate kiss he had shared with Eden last night, smiled bitterly.
Just as Byeol’s tears, which had been dampening his chest, were slowly drying up, the conversation between Eden and Mi-so, which had lasted quite a long time, came to an end. Mi-so’s eyelids were swollen, as if she had been crying in the meantime.
“What did you talk about? Why were you crying?”
When Ha-jin asked Mi-so as she walked out, she laughed awkwardly, making a sound like air escaping from a balloon.
“Just this and that….”
Just then, Eden, who followed behind, suddenly lifted Byeol’s body, who was in Ha-jin’s arms. Mi-so looked at the child’s swollen face and lowered her eyebrows.
“Oh, our Byeol is crying too much.”
“Hic… Unni too, Unni was crying too.”
“Unni is done crying.”
“I’m done crying too.”
She playfully touched his glistening nose, then sighed and put on the windbreaker she had taken off.
“Shall we go now?”
Jeffrey compulsively chewed on the end of his cigarette before reluctantly nodding. Mi-so opened her arms and hugged him tightly. When they separated, Jeffrey lowered his head, spat out the cigarette, and desperately bit his lower lip.
After lightly hugging Byeol and Eden in turn, she finally turned to Ha-jin. Countless emotions that could not be expressed in words passed between their eyes.
Ha-jin, hiding his body trembling with fear, opened his arms. Mi-so’s body, hugged in his arms, felt even more frail today. He was desperately holding back tears, so his throat was so tight that it was difficult to even swallow.
After silently patting each other’s backs for a while, Mi-so, pulling away, murmured as if reciting.
“Do Ha-jin. I’m going to survive for your sake.”
Her eyes, shining brightly as if she had never cried, turned to Ha-jin.
“So you have to survive too.”
❖ ❖ ❖
@Public Funds
Boom, boom…. The rain had weakened, but thunder rumbled through the dark clouds from time to time.
His outer ankle was chafed and stinging from the uncomfortable boots and the long march. But he had no time to worry about the pain. Ha-jin kept replaying Mi-so’s departing figure over and over again.
The march continued in the pitch-black darkness, where it was impossible to tell whether it was day or night. He could see the backs of Jeffrey, Byeol, Eden, and Pie walking ahead.
Jeffrey held up a folding umbrella high to protect Pie from the cold raindrops. His arm, stretched straight, seemed to be hurting, as groans occasionally escaped his lips.
Byeol, who had been shedding tears the whole time, finally perked up five hours after Mi-so left. To be exact, he only came to his senses after using up more than half of the emergency water due to dehydration.
“Are your legs uncomfortable?”
Eden, who had approached him unnoticed, examined Ha-jin’s limping leg. He fiddled with the brooch in his pocket and shook his head as if to say he was okay.
“I’m okay…”
At that moment, lightning flashed before his eyes. Crack—! Everyone stopped in surprise, and Pie, terrified, whimpered and lay flat on the ground. The lightning continued at intervals of a few minutes. Eden, after advising Jeffrey to fold the umbrella he was holding, put his hand on Ha-jin’s shoulder and said.
“Let’s stop here for today.”
The auto repair shop they encountered right after passing through the tunnel was chosen as the group’s overnight shelter. There, three ownerless vehicles were lined up, waiting to be repaired.
Except for a badly decomposed corpse in one of them, where the flesh had melted away and the shape was unrecognizable, no other peculiarities were found.
Ha-jin, who was aimlessly fiddling with the car bodies that wouldn’t even start because the batteries were dead, entered the office. Retort foods, which would have been a simple meal for the repair shop employees, were lined up in the drawers.
Jeffrey, who would normally have been humming a tune, kept his mouth tightly shut today. It was the first night after Mi-so left.
Magic Maker: A person who researches and creates new magic tricks. They also receive direct requests from magicians.
Magic Lecture: A note containing the secrets of a specific magic trick.