By Zephyria 
Jeong Tae-geon was like a ‘Clip Shift’ when it came to magic tricks.
Clip Shift is a technique where a card instantly changes right before the audience’s eyes. The card showing its back might flip to its front, or the Ace of Clubs might become the Ace of Hearts. The audience, who had been blankly watching the cards, doubts their own eyes and brains when they see the card change in the blink of an eye.
Ha-jin felt that his own situation, where he ended up scrutinizing Eden, was similar, in that the audience tensely watches the card, not knowing when it might change again.
“If the world really ends, you know? If only one person survives, it’ll be Jeong Tae-geon.”
“What nonsense are you spouting now?”
Mi-so glared at Ha-jin, who was saying something out of the blue, as if he were strange, and entered the restaurant.
As the number of people increased, so did the number of candles, now six. Even in the bizarre atmosphere that felt like a horror movie, the people wore bright smiles.
Gathering around the table, they devoured the curry rice as if they were starving.
Park Chun-beom, eating a proper home-cooked meal for the first time in days, was so moved that he even sniffled as he picked up some spicy kimchi.
Jeffrey, who had enjoyed Korean food like a staple even in America, reveled in the power of curry that could be heated up in three minutes, exclaiming things like, “Korean food is just unbeatable. Comparisons are forbidden,” which made everyone burst into laughter.
In between devouring the food, the middle-aged man’s religious speeches were added like unappetizing seasoning, leaving no room for boredom.
“Now that you’ve all eaten, how about we offer a prayer together for our Won-shin, who has provided us with our daily bread?”
The Cult Leader quietly closed his eyes and made a small circle with his thumb and index finger. It wasn’t just a simple prayer with palms together. The way he looked as if he were meditating made Ha-jin’s face subtly contort. It was so strange that he couldn’t tell whether it was a cult derived from Christianity, Buddhism, or even Allah.
“Who is Won-shin? Is that person dead too? Did that person make this curry?”
Byeol’s innocent question made people bow their heads deeply, desperately trying to hold back their laughter.
“Won-shin is the only god left in this world. He embraces all the paths we take.”
The man, undeterred, explained in detail about the god he served. It was a religion that Ha-jin was hearing about for the first time, and the man himself said he had founded it, so he was clearly a Cult Leader, but people didn’t bother to point that out.
In any case, they had managed to get a meal thanks to his religious belief of ‘helping those who have not been saved,’ so they didn’t particularly feel like arguing. If believing in Won-shin or whatever was the method this man had chosen to avoid going crazy, then all the more so.
Eden, each time the words heaven and reincarnation came out of the man’s mouth, suppressed the sighs that were about to burst out and turned his gaze outside. The pitch-black outside, where not a single light could be seen, was as vast as the black maw of a predator.
Rattling, clattering. The people, who had been on edge even at the sound of the door shaking in the wind, were now leaning back in their chairs, holding their full stomachs. The conversation naturally continued.
Stories about their hometowns, worries about pets left at home, and news about grandmothers living in remote villages were exchanged, but the topic circled back to the starting point.
“Is the situation in Sangwon really that serious?”
“It’s beyond serious. At least the neighborhood we were in was completely wiped out.”
“I suspected as much. The lower regions must be a mess too, right?”
“Probably.”
“Our electricity was cut off almost two days ago, so we couldn’t watch the news. We were always stuck listening to the radio, so we didn’t really know what was going on.”
“There wasn’t much on TV either. It was all just telling us to stay in a safe place.”
At Mi-so’s bitter reply, the short-haired woman nodded as if dejected. Then, suddenly, her round eyes sparkled.
“Oh, right, if you’re heading north, you’re going to Misan Ranch, right?”
“Misan Ranch?”
“If you’re going there, I was wondering if we could join you. We were planning to move there when the time came.”
“Ah, well, we don’t think we’ll be going that way… Our destination isn’t clear yet.”
Following Eden’s advice not to reveal information about their destination, Mi-so vaguely trailed off. The short-haired woman, who had been excited, drooped her shoulders as if disappointed.
“That’s a shame. It would be really great if we could go together… Maybe we could go as far as we can together?”
Mi-so gave an awkward smile instead of answering, and Ha-jin reflexively glanced at Eden. Eden’s gaze was directed outside. He didn’t seem to be paying much attention to the woman’s words. No, he didn’t seem interested in the conversation itself in the first place.
Just then, the long-haired woman slapped the short-haired woman’s shoulder and complained.
“Hey, why do you keep saying useless things? We should just stick here and wait for rescue. You’ll get eaten by zombies if you act recklessly. Have you not seen enough people die?”
“Ugh… Didn’t you listen to the radio? They’re telling us to go to Misan Ranch, no matter what! And if they were going to send a rescue team, they would have sent it already. It’s been two weeks now, you know?”
“Honestly, there’s no guarantee that the Ranch is safe.”
“Why not? Our Manager went there alive, so doesn’t that tell you something? I heard it clearly on the radio, the Manager’s voice. If we hold out here and run out of food, we’ll really starve to death, you know?”
It was when the short-haired and long-haired women were arguing and asserting their respective claims that Park Chun-beom cautiously inquired.
“Misan Ranch… is telling people to come? Who is?”
The short-haired woman, who had been puffing out her cheeks with a disgruntled face, replied curtly.
“I don’t know. I heard it on the radio. They said there are soldiers and police gathered there. Misan Ranch is at the entrance to Nokwang City, and they check for infections before letting outsiders in. I heard there’s also a shelter where they distribute food. I heard the zombie situation in Nokwang City has calmed down to some extent.”
It was the first time Ha-jin had heard this story. Surprised, he once again turned his gaze to Eden. Eden, too, was now looking at the woman with a puzzled expression.
“The zombies in Nokwang City have been caught? When, when did you know about this?”
Park Chun-beom asked, trembling in surprise.
“They’ve been broadcasting it all the time, so I knew it a long time ago. Don’t you all have radios?”
“We have one, but we’ve never been able to get a signal.”
“Oh, dear.”
The woman clicked her tongue as if feeling sorry and stood up. The short-haired woman, heading towards a dark corner, soon appeared with a small radio.
“It’s the most important story, and you haven’t heard it. They’ve been broadcasting it every day for about a week. That’s our final destination too. As you can see, it hasn’t been agreed upon yet. Let’s see, I wonder if they’re broadcasting now? Ah… it doesn’t look like they are now.”
The woman, who had been turning the channel back and forth, smacked her lips as if disappointed.
Misan Ranch in Nokwang City, huh…. Nokwang City was a special autonomous city that was on the shortest route to Dragon Cloud City. Eden chewed on the woman’s words and rubbed his chin. He had thought they seemed rather calm for people who had been trapped for two weeks, but it turned out they had something to rely on.
“Do you think that’s true?”
Eden ignored Ha-jin, who was whispering behind his head, and asked the short-haired woman.
“You know someone who went there.”
“Yes? Ah, yes. Our Manager escaped quickly and went there. I even heard his voice on the radio the other day. I was so relieved….”
“What did he say?”
The short-haired woman, who had been curt with Park Chun-beom all along, lowered her voice and replied gently to Eden’s question.
“What did he say… um… he said he arrived here two days ago, and if there are people listening to the broadcast, he told them not to hesitate and come over. He said it with a very excited voice, saying there was plenty of food and water.”
“Is that so.”
Eden, who replied plainly, turned his head back. Ha-jin was still leaning back in his chair, looking at the back of his head. When their eyes met, Ha-jin whispered as if he had been waiting.
‘Jeong Tae-geon. Where was our radio?’
But Eden didn’t answer, instead, he just stared at Ha-jin’s lips as if admiring them. The plump, peach-colored lips without a single wrinkle were quite tempting.
Whether there were zombies right in front of him or he had heard rumors of a shelter distributing food, he couldn’t stop his gaze from naturally drifting towards them. Was it simply because his appearance was his type?
‘Why aren’t you answering?’
When Ha-jin frowned, Eden simply shrugged his shoulders once.