By Zephyria 
Dim light illuminated the bookstore, and Ha-jin slowly blinked, looking around.
A watercolor-like landscape, saturated with moisture. The interior, with its flickering candlelight, looked just like the peaceful world before the bloodbath.
Eden strolled leisurely through the bookstore, scanning the titles of the displayed books. He acted as if he were a man who had wandered into an independent bookstore late at night, and Ha-jin, watching Eden’s profile, fell into the vain delusion that he might be in another universe.
This is another Earth in a parallel world. With that thought, the zombie virus spreading everywhere, the little time left with Eden, and the worries about his younger brother Jun-seok, all seemed to be forgotten like a lie.
Ha-jin turned his gaze to where the man’s hand was reaching. His straight fingers passed the non-fiction section and picked up a romance novel with cute lettering. He swallowed the laughter that was about to burst out at the unexpected choice, pressing his lips tightly together.
“I saw it, you’re smiling.”
“…I wasn’t.”
“Why? Is there a law that says I can’t read these kinds of books?”
“No, it’s not that… it’s just so unexpected.”
It was just that the illustration, resembling Ha-jin’s gray eyes, had caught his attention, but Eden, quite liking Ha-jin’s face that reacted so diversely to his every action, didn’t bother to correct his taste.
Following him, Ha-jin also grabbed an essay collection. It had an unusual and lonely cover of a scarlet flamingo standing upright in the middle of a cold city. He didn’t know what the illustration meant, but Ha-jin quite liked the picture.
“Do Ha-jin is also unexpected. You don’t seem like someone who would even write a diary, yet you’re picking out an essay.”
“…I do write a diary, you know? Although it’s occasional.”
“I see.”
Eden looked down at Ha-jin with a smile on his face, then tapped the corner of the book with the flamingo on it as if flicking it.
“Did you know? Homosexuality is very commonly found in flamingos. Moreover, male couples adopt and raise children born to other females together.”
Ha-jin’s eyes widened at the new information he had never heard before.
“Huh? Animals do homosexuality?”
It was such an absurdly innocent question. Eden blinked for a moment as if he were speechless, then laughed, making a deflating sound.
“…Homosexuality or bisexuality exists in almost every species that can be observed with the naked eye.”
As the explanation followed that love between the same sex was not a human monopoly but part of the natural order, Ha-jin looked at the cover he was holding as if fascinated.
“I really didn’t know. Why haven’t I ever thought about it? How did Jeong Tae-geon know that?”
“If you’ve ever experienced confusion about your own sexual orientation, you can’t not know about it. Of course, few people know that flamingos are one of the animals that symbolize homosexuality, though.”
…Ah. A small sigh escaped from Ha-jin’s lips at the rather serious answer.
Eden’s eyes lit up for a moment, and he met Ha-jin’s gaze intently.
“I knew that Do Ha-jin has no experience with men… but seeing you like this, I really think you don’t know anything. Have you ever had a crush? On a man.”
Ha-jin put down the book he was holding and scratched the back of his neck. The kiss marks that had been embroidered all the way to the back of his neck were now quite faint.
“I’ve really never been interested in men. Of course, Jeong Tae-geon is an exception.”
Eden’s lips curved into a soft arc as if he liked the answer.
“I’ll be the first and last man for Do Ha-jin.”
If he were to be bitten by a zombie and die tomorrow, it wouldn’t be wrong, but Ha-jin felt somewhat absurd at his confidence in discussing the end so naturally.
“Still, you never know what might happen, so talking about the end is a bit… aren’t you too confident?”
“I’ll be the last as a man. The more I see Do Ha-jin, the more he seems like a hetero himself.”
He couldn’t think of anything to refute his confident words. How could he define his sexual orientation, which had suddenly fallen for a man after living as a heterosexual all his life?
A homosexual who had been living, mistaking himself for a heterosexual? Or a bisexual who loves both women and men?
Even setting aside such definitions, to be honest, Ha-jin couldn’t imagine himself meeting another man, as Eden had asserted. Ha-jin cleared his throat and changed the subject.
“When did Jeong Tae-geon first realize it? Your sexual orientation.”
“I knew it in elementary school. Even when I was young, I was more interested in making boys cry than girls. Of course, I don’t really care about gender as long as the person is good.”
He moved to the goods corner this time. There were many small handicrafts on the stand. A post-it note with round handwriting was noticeable on a book-shaped magnet made of wood.
Free goods for customers visiting the bookstore~^^ My youngest son’s work hehe Only one per person!
Ha-jin stared at the writing for a moment, then put a small magnet in his pocket. It was a gift to give to Jun-seok, who had a hobby of collecting souvenir magnets.
“I have something I’m curious about too.”
“What is it?”
“When was Do Ha-jin’s first sex?”
Eden’s voice was plain, contrary to the provocative question. Ha-jin rolled his eyes as if troubled.
“Well, I did it when I was old enough to know what’s what.”
“You’re experienced.”
“…I didn’t say how old I was when I did it.”
“I can roughly guess from the way you’re dragging out the words.”
“When did Jeong Tae-geon do it?”
“I also did it when I was old enough to know what’s what. Just like Do Ha-jin.”
“Who’s calling who experienced?”
As they bickered and climbed the pine stairs on the right, an attic with surrounding windows like a pavilion was revealed. The two sat on cushions embroidered with flower patterns and looked out the pitch-black windows.
Chirp─ Buzz─ Mee-ehm─ As the night deepened, the sounds of insects and cicadas gradually increased.
“If you’re done looking around, put your feet out.”
Ha-jin’s head tilted at Eden’s sudden request.
“Why?”
“I’m going to suck them.”
Before he could stop him, his legs were pulled down. Ha-jin, who was half-lying down, blinked in embarrassment. The socks he was wearing were quickly taken off.
“I’m kidding. I just have something to check.”
Eden massaged his stiff calves and looked at his bare feet here and there. After a while, he found a wound above his ankle and clicked his tongue.
“I knew this would happen after you limped for a few days.”
As he scolded him gently, Ha-jin glanced at him and sat up, gathering his disheveled body. A stinging gaze fell on the wound caused by the boots the other day.
“Can’t you see it’s already oozing? You kept saying you were okay every time I asked, what is this?”
Ha-jin wiggled his toes in embarrassment. As if he had prepared it in advance, Eden took out powdered ointment from the pharmacy from his pocket.
“Jeffrey has waterproof bandages, so let’s put them on before we leave tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
As if he wasn’t satisfied with just applying ointment on his foot, he carefully examined Ha-jin’s entire body. He looked like a parent scolding a child who had come home with scratches.
Ha-jin was no longer awkward about showing his wounds to his hands. Since his sincere touch had reached them, these wounds would also heal without difficulty. He now knew that every moment he had caressed his wounds was affection.
“Does Jeong Tae-geon have any hobbies?”
“Hobbies?”
“I suddenly became curious after seeing the crafts downstairs.”
At the sudden question, Eden stroked his chin as if contemplating.
“Well, I’ve been living only knowing work… um, if I had to squeeze one out, there is one.”
“What is it?”
“There’s an outdoor shooting range on the company grounds, so I visited it often. I often had meal-price bets with the executives there.”
“…Shooting guns was your hobby? Isn’t that just an extension of work?”
Although shooting guns certainly suited his visuals better than cross-stitch or flower arranging, Ha-jin couldn’t shake the feeling that his life was just as boring as his own.
Eden, who had witnessed his ambiguously crumpled expression, briefly mocked himself.
“Well, I was constantly called out by pot-bellied executives, so it’s closer to overtime than a hobby.”
“So how did the bets go?”
“I won all of them. I was at an advantage since I was from the military. After a few months, no one offered me bets because they kept losing money. After that, I naturally went to the shooting range alone.”
He playfully nudged Ha-jin’s foot and asked.
“Do Ha-jin must have shot some guns in the military. Do you want to bet with me later? At the outdoor shooting range I often go to.”
“You’ll have to be prepared if you want to go up against me.”
“Are you good at shooting?”
“Yes, I shot a perfect score during training. They said they’d let me go to the PX.”
Eden rested his elbow on the windowsill and propped up his chin with an ambiguous face, not knowing whether he was holding back a laugh or a sigh.
“What’s your favorite movie genre?”
He looked at Ha-jin intently and asked like an interviewer. Ha-jin wriggled and moved his body, leaning his upper body against the windowsill following Eden. His gray eyes rolled from side to side as if contemplating the question.
Favorite movie genre….
“I tend to watch everything without being picky, but if I had to pick one, I think I like SF. I can’t get enough of disaster movies or space movies. I think Jeong Tae-geon would like these genres too. Right?”
“Unfortunately, our movie tastes are completely different. I don’t really enjoy large-scale genres.”
“Huh? Why?”
Eden smiled as if he found his lover’s reaction of widening his eyes amusing.
“It’s a kind of occupational disease. Disaster movies or SF movies often have terrible historical research, so I can’t just let it go.”
“Then what do you enjoy watching?”
“I like comedy genres.”
Ha-jin’s mouth opened wide once again at the unexpected answer.
“No way.”
“One shelf in the study is all ‘Dumb and Dumber’ DVDs. It’s a series that’s been made since the 60s, and I’ve collected all the early script books. Have you ever seen ‘Dumb and Dumber’?”
“Ah… no?”
“I’ll show you when you come to America later.”
The conversation naturally moved on to topics such as books, music, and food that had influenced each other’s growth. From small habits to bad habits, things they did every day without fail, and even their favorite body wash. A gentle smile lingered on the faces of the two throughout sharing the pieces that made them up.
The conversation continued deep into the night. In a world where survival had become the only goal, even in the moments of sharing tastes that were now useless and making promises without a deadline, no one mentioned the possibility of parting ways tomorrow.
The two did not return to the room where the group was sleeping and lay down on the hard floor. And while the flickering candles went out one by one, they silently looked at each other’s faces. It was an obsessive gaze as if they were trying to engrave every strand of the other’s eyebrows in their minds.
Ha-jin turned his head first and kissed Eden. A kind and gentle kiss followed, but unlike his expectations, Eden did not hold Ha-jin that night.