By Zephyria 
“Jeong Tae-geon doesn’t seem to think about Byeol and Jeffrey either.”
“I do, sufficiently.”
Ha-jin was momentarily speechless at the composed rebuttal, but he deliberately chose provocative words to provoke Eden.
“Following us to Neverland is practically suicide.”
However, Eden scoffed as if ridiculing Ha-jin’s shallow trick, and leaned his head back against the seat headrest as well.
“If someone trying to save his brother talks about suicide, do you think I’d let him go?”
After pausing for a moment, he let out a short sigh. Soon after, a rough, metallic voice cut through the air.
“Just use me. Don’t overthink it.”
Ha-jin’s gaze, which had been fixed on the ceiling, turned to Eden’s profile. His cool eyes were narrowed as he stared at something in the air. On the face of the nonchalant man who kept encouraging his selfishness, there was no fear or vagueness to be read.
Ha-jin felt pathetic for feeling a sense of relief just from that, for his heart fluttering at the confession to use him. Watching his solid profile that seemed unshakable in any storm, he spoke calmly.
“This isn’t simply a binary problem of who we value more. You know that too, Jeong Tae-geon.”
Eden’s attitude of deliberately choosing sentences that would induce guilt and stimulate Ha-jin’s weak points was certainly nasty. But there was no denying that his heart softened at the clear expression of his intention to follow, even if he used underhanded methods.
Ha-jin rested his arm on the windowsill, turning his head to stare at the dark outside. The darkness, where he couldn’t see an inch ahead, was like a mirror reflecting his bleak future. Eden’s devoted attitude of willingly walking into that darkness with him made his heart ache.
“Still, I’ll gratefully accept your sentiment… Thank you, sincerely.”
As he spoke, swallowing a sigh, a warm hand touched his earlobe. He flinched, stiffening, as Eden nonchalantly caressed his winding ear.
“I didn’t offer that just to have you accept the sentiment. It’s a sincere proposal, so think about it seriously.”
“There’s nothing more to think about. This is a matter of life and death.”
Ha-jin could no longer tolerate the hand lingering on his ear and pushed it away. Even so, he found it difficult to make eye contact and stubbornly stared out the window. Eden, unfazed, lifted the rejected hand and this time casually stroked the back of his neck.
“Remember when I said let’s get on the same page first when we’re confused?”
Ha-jin’s body twitched at the sudden question. Eden asked in quick succession.
“What do you think was the first thing I thought after sleeping with you?”
“…What was it?”
Ha-jin’s hair, long enough to cover the back of his neck, slipped through his fingers.
“How can I take Do Ha-jin to America.”
It was an unexpected answer. Ha-jin raised his eyebrows and turned his head again. At that moment, Eden pressed the power button on the flashlight.
Click. The light that had been softly illuminating the car disappeared in an instant, and the surroundings were plunged into a blue darkness.
“Actually, there was nothing to confirm. Seeing as I was already plotting to take you to my house.”
At the sudden confession, Ha-jin bit his lip. His heart was pounding so hard he could feel the pulse behind his ear. He knew Eden’s intentions, shaking a carrot this time since the whip didn’t work, but he was helplessly swayed.
Ha-jin’s eyes, now accustomed to the darkness, traced the outline of Eden in front of him. Dark brown eyes were looking down at him with a vivid glint.
Ha-jin barely opened his mouth with a voice that was thick with emotion.
“Even if I were Jeong Tae-geon, I would have rejected this offer. In a situation where you don’t know when or how you’ll die, does it make sense to go save someone else’s family, not even your own?”
“Well. If I were in a situation where I had to save my family like Do Ha-jin, I wouldn’t necessarily reject someone who offered to help me. Because it’s beneficial in many ways.”
He was speechless at the firm answer, and as he gaped, Eden added with a soft sigh.
“That’s the difference between us. You act for the sake of others, but I act for my own sake. I can’t help it if you call me selfish.”
Eden roughly swept back his falling bangs, as if he found Ha-jin, who was rejecting his help, frustrating.
“Since there’s no way Do Ha-jin will follow me, giving up on his brother, I’m saying I’ll follow you instead.”
“……”
“Or, without overthinking it, do you want to go to America with me right now? If I said that, would you obediently follow me?”
Ha-jin clenched his fist on his thigh tightly.
The rain, which had seemed to stop, was pouring down again thunderously. Rumble…! The sound of thunder shaking the window was as if it was representing his feelings. It felt like a corner of his heart, which had been firmly walled up, was collapsing.
After taking a deep breath for a long time with his eyes closed, he lifted his eyelids, and he still felt the gaze scrutinizing his face. It seemed difficult to persuade Eden, who didn’t seem likely to back down easily.
“Judging by the way you’re talking, it seems like you’ll chase after me even if I refuse, is that right?”
Eden winked instead of answering. His temples throbbed at the mischievous gesture, but Ha-jin didn’t give up. He had to rack his brain to find a way to protect him as best as possible.
“Then I have a condition.”
At the resolute words, Eden asked as if he had been waiting.
“What is it?”
“You said there might be a few Transport plane left that can be operated at the Maintenance Depot. But that’s just a guess.”
Ha-jin lifted his hand from his thigh and grabbed Eden’s solid arm as if to persuade him.
“If there’s only one Transport plane left, Jeong Tae-geon has to go to America with Jeffrey and Byeol no matter what. The same goes even if there aren’t any left at all.”
Eden frowned as soon as he finished speaking.
“Promise me quickly. Promise me you won’t do anything crazy like following us empty-handed.”
After staring intently at Ha-jin for a long time at the resolute words, he rolled his tongue in his mouth. Then, he puffed out his left cheek as if he didn’t like something, and finally nodded reluctantly. A sharp rebuke immediately followed.
“Don’t just nod vaguely, you have to answer.”
“…Okay, I understand.”
His attitude was somehow ambiguous. Ha-jin’s eyes narrowed. The pouring rain was as relentless as the noise in a TV after the broadcast had ended.
Ha-jin, who had been looking at Eden with suspicious eyes for a long time, soon let out a self-deprecating laugh.
“What are you laughing at?”
“I’m dumbfounded. I also think I like Jeong Tae-geon more than I thought…”
Eden looked at Ha-jin with interest. Considering Ha-jin’s shy attitude after the sex—although it was sex without penetration—it was a surprisingly honest appearance. Come to think of it, he had been expressing and sharing his feelings without hesitation since he acknowledged them.
He thought he was hopeless in this area… As Eden stared silently, Ha-jin murmured as if savoring the words.
“I wonder when it started.”
“Isn’t there a specific trigger?”
“I don’t know. What about you, Jeong Tae-geon?”
At Ha-jin’s question, he rolled his eyes. He seemed lost in thought for a moment.
He had instinctively felt a strong attraction from the moment he first welcomed Ha-jin as a colleague, but if he had to pick the most vivid memory, it would probably be the magic show held in the cave.
“I remember the moment when Do Ha-jin handed me a purple flower in the cave. It was right after we simultaneously realized the zombies’ weakness, so my emotions were a bit… confusing.”
“A cave, so Jeongmang Mountain? That’s totally unexpected.”
Ha-jin shrugged and held out his palm wide open in front of Eden. Then, he folded his fingers one by one from his thumb to his pinky, and then shook a tightly clenched fist in front of his eyes.
Eden tapped Ha-jin’s swaying fist in front of his eyes with his index finger.
“What’s in here this time?”
“It’s not a flower like last time, but this time it’s a flowerpot.”
When he opened his clenched fist, a keychain in the shape of an old flowerpot appeared. A green doll, slightly smaller than the palm of his hand, was placed on Eden’s thigh. He fiddled with the grotesque keychain with eyeballs, then hooked the ring on his middle finger and spun it around.
After that, awkward conversations continued sporadically for a long time. The doll that had been rolling in Eden’s grasp was moved back to Ha-jin’s hand.
“I don’t know what will happen to us in the future, but I’m going to do my best for Jeong Tae-geon while we’re together. I don’t want to regret it later.”
Eden leaned closer to Ha-jin.
“Is that so? How are you going to do your best?”
Ha-jin pushed his approaching body towards the driver’s seat and laughed briefly.
“Your expression was so lecherous just now, Jeong Tae-geon.”
“Was it?”
Eden also smiled, pulling the corners of his mouth up coolly. Soon after, he put his arm on the steering wheel, leaned his upper body on it as before, and turned his body towards Ha-jin.
The fickle rain had once again subsided. Drip, drip… The sound of raindrops hanging from the end of the building tapping on the shutter could be heard.
A lingering gaze roamed over Ha-jin’s face.
“Shall we?”
The object was omitted, but there was no way he wouldn’t know what that meant. Ha-jin let out a trembling breath at the tension that rose in an instant. The corners of his lips fluttered, and his Adam’s apple bobbed slightly.