By Zephyria 
“Come to think of it, Lee Chang-yeol had a car as his phone wallpaper. I’m not sure if it’s his, but it was a white sedan that looked kind of fierce. It looked like he took the picture himself.”
“Fierce? How exactly did it look?”
“I don’t know cars very well. I couldn’t see the emblem because it was covered, but anyway, it looked fierce… if the headlights were eyes, they were shaped like this, all stretched out horizontally.”
Ha-jin grabbed the corners of his eyes and stretched them wide as if frustrated. Eden’s lips twitched slightly as he quietly watched Ha-jin’s antics. A snort escaped him involuntarily at the innocent sight of him seemingly self-racializing.
“First, Do Ha-jin, you’ll have to come with me. The rest of the group, hide behind that red compact car across the road. I’ll come pick you up as soon as they bring the car out.”
It was better to have a small group move to steal a vehicle for safety rather than moving together.
Koo-roo-roo-rook— Jeffrey’s stomach rumbled at an inappropriate time.
[Find it quickly and come. I’m hungry, I need to eat something.]
Come to think of it, he hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. Having survived several life-or-death situations, it was only natural that he felt hungrier than usual.
[Wait, you bastard.]
Eden chuckled and handed the bag he was carrying to Jeffrey. Park Chun-beom, also catching on, took the backpack Ha-jin was carrying on his shoulder. The men, carrying a pile of things in their arms, headed towards the opposite road first.
“Ha-jin Samchon, don’t get hurt and bring the car back safely.”
A faint smile appeared on Ha-jin’s face, which had been expressionless the whole time, at Byeol’s cute request.
“Okay. Byeol, hold Mi-so Noona’s, no, Mi-so Unni’s hand tightly and cross carefully.”
“Okay! Be careful too, Samchon!”
Eden, who had been watching the scene in disbelief, flicked Jeong Byeol’s round forehead.
“Jeong Byeol, aren’t you worried about me?”
“I’m not that worried about Samchon?”
“Why aren’t you worried?”
“I don’t know. Anyway, I like Ha-jin Samchon more, so don’t be too upset.”
“Huh.”
Eden shook his head, speechless. A niece who was distracted by another man. His mouth felt bitter at the betrayal of the child who looked at the uncle who had even changed his poopy diapers as if he were worse than cold rice.
Was it a mistake to dismiss the joke about getting married? Eden’s face became serious.
“Be careful, Do Ha-jin. Please be careful, Jeong Tae-geon-ssi too.”
Mi-so, who gave her last greetings, picked up Byeol and quickly crossed the wide road. Ha-jin, after confirming that they had safely crossed to the designated location, took a deep breath and turned around. Eden’s firm chest was right in front of him.
“You must be popular with kids usually.”
Eden spoke to Ha-jin, who paused and stepped back, with the intention of finding out his secret. But he seemed quite embarrassed, as if he had misunderstood.
“No. It’s just that the kids are curious about the magician, it’s not like I’m particularly popular… they like the magic more than me.”
“Teach me a magic trick sometime when you have time.”
“…Suddenly? Didn’t you say it was just sleight of hand?”
“I’m sorry about that.”
Ha-jin was truly speechless at how he could be so obnoxious and then apologize so perfectly. Now that he thought about it, Jeong Tae-geon seemed to be using even common greetings like thank you and sorry as a trick to avoid annoying situations. In a way, he was truly a born talent.
“I can teach you.”
Ha-jin whispered to Eden, who was leaning against the wall, observing the situation inside.
“It’s not like Jeong Tae-geon-ssi isn’t popular just because he’s bad at magic.”
“What?”
“Or you could try speaking nicely.”
Eden’s face, filled with absurdity, turned to Ha-jin.
“Do Ha-jin-ssi, it seems like zombies are easy for you now? You seem so relaxed.”
“See? Your tone is obnoxious even now.”
Ha-jin’s cheekbones were raised high. His face, which had been gloomy all along, cleared up. A pleasant smile spread across his face, as if he was proud of having landed a blow.
Eden was speechless this time. It wasn’t often that you would hear someone say you were obnoxious to your face unless you were close. No, was this the first time?
Besides, Do Ha-jin was smiling quite refreshingly. Especially at this moment when he was trying to get the better of him. Eden, who didn’t have the strength to argue anymore, finally sighed and changed the subject.
“How exactly are you planning to find the car?”
“First, I need to look for cars that look similar. There are a lot of cars, so it will take a long time, but… it’s a smart key, so the driver’s seat door will open automatically as long as you have it on you, so the verification process should be simple.”
This method was the best because if they pressed the door opening button on the car key and the signal sounded, the zombies could swarm towards the vehicle.
“Okay. Thumbs back means go back, index and middle finger together means keep going forward, and pinky means go sideways. If you send your index finger up to the sky, it means stand up and check the vehicle, so keep that in mind.”
Even though the signals seemed easy, it was important to concentrate because they often misinterpreted the hand signals when faced with a panic situation.
“Yes.”
Ha-jin erased his smiling face and listened to Eden’s explanation with a serious expression.
“You should avoid direct collisions as much as possible, but if you happen to face a zombie head-on, hit the center of its forehead with the axe like before. Split the skull deeply.”
“Yes, I understand what you’re saying. Which way do we go first?”
“If this is the size of the site, there will probably be a parking lot behind the building as well. Go past the left parking lot, go around the back, and then go to the right. Any other opinions?”
“No. It seems fine.”
“Then let’s go.”
Ha-jin took a deep breath, hoping that he wouldn’t have to use this axe.
❖ ❖ ❖
‘Hoo, when I was in high school, the gym teacher forced me to do the duck walk, hoo, and I had diarrhea while running around the field? Heo-eok… After that, I swore I would never do it again, ha. I vowed, hoo-ah, shit… I didn’t know they would make me do the duck walk when I was slaving away in the army.’
That army buddy, after saying that, ended up creating another dark history by receiving group punishment that day. That was the first and last memory Ha-jin had about the duck walk.
Ha-jin, who had dredged up that day’s memory that he had long forgotten, was taking duck walk steps while putting a lot of strength into his ankles and thighs.
The fact that he was taking duck walk steps, which he thought would never happen again in his life, not by force but voluntarily, felt more unrealistic than the existence of zombies.
‘Shit, this is already hard….’
Unlike the exhausted Ha-jin, Eden was sticking close to the vehicles near the information booth, watching for the right timing to pass. A zombie wearing the same kingfisher-colored police uniform as Lee Chang-yeol passed by them.
Suddenly, Eden stood up and slammed the axe into the skull of the zombie who had turned around.
“Ke-aek!”
The zombie let out a death cry and collapsed.
What. Weren’t we supposed to avoid collisions as much as possible? As if answering the puzzled Ha-jin, Eden took out the radio that was attached to the zombie’s waist and immediately handed it to him.
‘What is it?’
Eden moved his lips as Ha-jin asked with his eyes.
‘Keep it.’
Ha-jin tucked the radio into his waist. Sweat dripped down as he was about to enter the full-fledged zombie den. His thighs felt like they were about to burst.
Would he be able to safely pick out and ride Lee Chang-yeol’s car among this vast site and many cars? He suddenly felt unsure.
Come to think of it, the car model he saw in Lee Chang-yeol’s phone wallpaper wasn’t the only one in the world, and there could be several of the same model here. He might have been too naive.
Should he tell them to go back now? Since he got the radio anyway… As his internal conflict continued, he naturally became impatient.
‘…But I should at least try.’
Ha-jin felt Jun-seok’s brooch poking at his left thigh and tried to calm himself. The brooch in his pocket pulled Ha-jin’s loosening mind back to reality.
The heat from the ground, which had been heated by the hot sun, was considerable. As he walked, constantly looking to the sides and back, his stiff neck muscles also cried out in pain.
As they reached the middle of the left parking lot, Eden turned to Ha-jin and raised his index finger to the sky. It was time to stand up and check the target.
“Hoo….”
Following his signal, Ha-jin, after finally checking that there were no zombies approaching nearby, immediately stood up.