By Zephyria 
Eden arrived at the rest stop halfway up the mountain where Ha-jin had stayed on his first night, not even four hours after leaving the Maintenance Depot. He twirled the flowerpot-shaped keychain around his index finger as he sat on the hard wooden bench. He stroked Pie’s head, who had been a great help in the search, and leisurely looked around.
While he was carefully observing fallen hairs and such, he sensed someone approaching. Someone was entering the rest stop.
A gray-haired old man, his back bent, slowly crossed the threshold of the rest stop one step at a time. Eden narrowed his eyes and stared at the familiar axe in the old man’s hand.
It was definitely the portable axe that Ha-jin carried in the side pocket of his bag. Judging by the fact that the blade wasn’t worn and there was no blood on it, it didn’t seem like a dangerous situation had occurred, but why was this unknown old man holding his weapon?
Eden stared at the old man, who was awkwardly standing near the entrance, for a while before pointing at the axe.
“Where did you get that?”
At the sudden question, the old man looked down at the axe he was holding, still bent over.
“Huh? This axe, you mean?”
He scratched his age-spotted cheek with his other hand and made a short, thoughtful sound as if he had remembered something.
“Some young man abandoned it, you see?”
The old man muttered as he sat down on the chair opposite Eden.
“What a strange day. It’s rare for people to come up here…”
Eden slowly scanned the old man’s dark, leathery body. He had no muscles, and his back was bent so much that his upper body was leaning forward. This meant that he wasn’t someone from whom Ha-jin could easily have his weapon stolen.
After pondering for a moment, he changed his question.
“May I ask if anything happened between you and the owner of that axe?”
“You’re curious about that?”
The old man nodded as if it was no trouble at all, then subtly glanced at Eden’s luggage bag. Understanding the meaning, Eden cut off half of the chocolate bar in his bag and handed it over. For a moment, Ha-jin came to mind, sharing the last of his chocolate bars with the elderly couple he met at the motel, and he smiled faintly.
The old man’s face lit up as he received the food. He licked the chocolate off his fingers as if it were precious, then quickly explained how he had encountered Ha-jin.
“Early this morning, you see. I was patrolling nearby and came to the rest stop, and wouldn’t you know it, someone was curled up on the chair.”
“……”
“His hair was as black as night and his skin was so white~, how would I know if he was a ghost or some kind of monster? Hmph… I was thinking, ‘That guy is so pretty and handsome,’ when suddenly he opened his eyes wide.”
Although somewhat vague, the description of his appearance matched Ha-jin’s characteristics perfectly. Flowing black hair, white skin that didn’t tan easily even in the sun… The fact that he wasn’t the only one who thought he was pretty made Eden feel slightly displeased, and his eyebrows twitched slightly.
“I didn’t even do anything, but he got so flustered and started screaming. He dropped his axe on the ground and made such a fuss that I tried to pick it up for him, but in the meantime, he ran away without looking back. That’s all. Not as exciting as you thought, right?”
“You saw him early this morning?”
“Yes, early this morning. Goodness… In all my life, I’ve never seen anyone so fragile.”
The old man muttered as he shoved the remaining chocolate bar into his mouth. He didn’t forget to subtly hide the axe behind his back, just in case Eden tried to take the weapon.
‘A sunfish, huh…’
Eden chuckled softly as he mulled over the old man’s words. Ha-jin was much slower than he thought, and he had a heart so small that it was embarrassing to tease him. He certainly wasn’t the type to be good at surviving.
The determined look in his eyes when he said goodbye and the image of Ha-jin screaming when he encountered the strange old man flashed through his mind like a scene from a cartoon. Eden shook off the remaining smile on his face and stood up.
“Are you leaving already?”
The old man grabbed him with a regretful expression, but Eden left the rest stop without delay.
He habitually twirled the flowerpot keychain on his finger. Eden, who had Pie following him with his tail wagging, put the doll ring in his mouth and whispered secretly.
“Let’s go, let’s find your sunfish owner.”
❖ ❖ ❖
The next morning, someone found traces of someone rolling down a hill. Eden, who had gone around and moved down, sat down with his knees bent and looked around. A large, sharply angled rock caught his eye.
There were traces of dried blood on the hard rock. Judging by the familiar waterproof bandage wrappers scattered around, it was definitely a mark left by Ha-jin. He could vividly imagine Ha-jin rolling down the hill and getting hit by the rock, drawing blood.
“He really does it all.”
Eden frowned as if displeased, imagining the new wound on Ha-jin’s body.
Every time he reached a place where he had stayed, he was overcome with an indescribable feeling. He was worried and pathetic about Ha-jin’s clumsy behavior, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on the feeling that even this foolish side of him felt cute.
‘This is quite severe.’
Eden briefly mocked himself and stood up again.
He left the big mountain and entered a small mountain, about the size of a neighborhood back mountain. Tracking him was easier than he thought, and the speed was noticeably faster than the day before. As he had advised him to take the forest path, Ha-jin was choosing only safe places to travel.
Around 4 p.m., Pie started whining more frequently. Eden was sure that Ha-jin was not far away.
Pie, who had stopped in front of a large tree, was circling around in place as if he needed to relieve himself. Eden, who plopped down on the ground where twigs and green leaves were scattered, habitually looked under the ground.
A handful of soil, about the size of his palm, was piled up in a round shape like a grave. When he carelessly dug into it, a crumpled chocolate bar wrapper popped out. The sight of him burying his trash in the ground because there was no trash can was just like Do Ha-jin.
As he smiled and pushed the wrapper back into the ground, Pie grabbed the bottom of Eden’s top with his mouth and pulled hard. It was definitely a signal that Ha-jin was nearby. He immediately put his luggage back on his shoulder.
Eden’s biggest concern at the moment was Ha-jin’s reaction when they reunited. Would he widen his eyes in surprise, or would he burst into tears? Or would he curse at him, saying he was crazy? He could only vaguely anticipate that there would be a variety of reactions.
Eden was uncharacteristically excited. His steps were light as he climbed the low hill. He didn’t mind the twigs and piles of stones that got in his way, and he could tolerate the noisy attacks of the gnats and mosquitoes that swirled around him.
He smiled contentedly at Pie’s cute backside as he wagged his tail and walked ahead. When a cool breeze blew, the dog’s tail wagged even faster.
Five minutes later, Eden’s steps, which had been moving vigorously, suddenly stopped. The peaceful sound of mountain birds chirped in his ears, and a squirrel quickly passed in front of him. Pie, who had been walking ahead, also stopped in place after discovering the corpse lying on the ground.
“……”
A slight crack appeared on Eden’s face as he looked at the familiar figure in the distance.
‘Do Ha-jin?’
Ha-jin, his face covered in blood, was kneeling in front of the corpse with a completely blank expression. He looked much more miserable than he had imagined. A pool of blood was spreading from the corpse’s head.
Before he could fully enjoy the joy and relief, doubt poked its head out.
Perhaps he hadn’t sensed his presence, Ha-jin was frozen like a statue. Judging by his reaction, he looked more like someone who had accidentally committed murder than a Zombie.
Doo-doo-doo— At that moment, the leaves hanging on the trees shook slightly with a familiar noise. The moment Pie, startled by the sudden noise, crouched down, a helicopter passed overhead.
Instead of looking up at the departing helicopter, Eden kept his eyes on Ha-jin. He could see a smile resembling relief blooming on his dirty cheeks. It was a reaction that didn’t suit his blood-stained face at all.
Eden, who had passed Pie, who was busily guarding his surroundings, slowly walked towards Ha-jin.
Ha-jin had already buried his face in his hands. Was he finally going to shed tears? Even as he approached, anticipating the sight of him crying his eyes out, his deeply bowed head did not lift.
Eden finally arrived in front of the huddled figure. He put his foot on the Zombie’s back and bent down. Eden’s brow furrowed slightly as he watched his lover stubbornly holding back tears.
Ha-jin didn’t cry in the end. Feeling a little disappointed, he clicked his tongue, and at that moment, he saw his shoulders stiffen.
“Do Ha-jin.”
He couldn’t have been happier to call his name after so long.
“Why did you stop crying?”
At the teasing question, Ha-jin’s head, which had been motionless, slowly lifted. The dark charcoal-colored eyes he met were lost and aimlessly shaking.