By Zephyria 
Despite Mi-so’s polite refusal, the bob-haired woman didn’t budge, blocking the entrance. The atmosphere gradually turned icy. After a moment, Eden asked a question that sounded familiar.
“Have you ever killed a zombie?”
The bob-haired woman’s eyes momentarily wavered, as if taken aback. Eden pressed on relentlessly.
“To survive, you have to smash a zombie’s skull with a hammer until its brains spill out, or tear its flesh with a knife. Can you do that?”
“Th-that’s… No, you guys said you hadn’t killed any yesterday either.”
“You believed that?”
A sneer touched Eden’s lips, as if she were incredibly naive.
“I’ll give you one piece of advice as repayment for last night.”
He hoisted the heavy backpack onto his shoulder and continued in a low voice.
“Don’t let strangers in so easily. The reason you’re all still alive and well this morning is because we’re leaving quietly without doing anything.”
“……”
The bob-haired woman’s open mouth snapped shut. Her eyes lost their light for a moment, like a Dead fire. Eden, unfazed, opened the door, and her body, which had been standing firm, was pushed aside powerlessly.
Ha-jin felt a stinging sensation in his heart at Eden’s harsh words. Park Chun-beom’s face also paled immediately, as if he felt the same way. Chun-beom, looking around cautiously, bowed his head and passed by the woman. Following him, Mi-so, Jeffrey, Ha-jin, and Byeol also left the scene.
The glass door swung back and forth and closed. Eden led the group, avoiding the zombies’ eyes, and hid in the bushes next to the parking lot.
❖ ❖ ❖
“…Maybe we should have just gone to the Ranch together. Should I try to persuade Jeong Tae-geon now?”
Mi-so whispered to Jeffrey, who was silently moving his feet beside her. Jeffrey shook his head as if it were impossible.
“No.”
“What do you mean, ‘no’? You mean it’s no use?”
When he answered with a firm nod, Mi-so muttered as if she didn’t understand.
“Why is Jeong Tae-geon so sensitive about traveling together? He was like that with Ha-jin and me too… Seeing how he treats other people, it’s a miracle we’re even going together like this.”
“But Eden, not bad person, no.”
“I know. I know, but sometimes I just think he’s being a bit over the top.”
Ha-jin, holding Byeol’s hand and keeping pace with Mi-so at the back, also gradually became puzzled. He figured that Jeong Tae-geon, who acted as if he had a human allergy, must have his own reasons, but he had no idea what he saw in him to choose him as a companion.
It wasn’t just repaying the favor of providing him with food and lodging at the motel; the conditions and meaning of the companionship he offered were not so simple.
Ha-jin couldn’t help but feel it even more because ‘companions’ were something he hadn’t been able to salvage even a few of in the magician world. Bubbly doubts, like the bubbles in a carbonated drink, swelled up in his chest.
It was like a palace maid who had only ever attended to the king’s feet being chosen for the king’s favor for some reason, surpassing others. Even though he himself felt the analogy was a bit demeaning, he couldn’t deny that he had been chosen by Eden, judging by his actions.
He wanted to subtly ask Eden about it as soon as today’s march was over. It wasn’t a particularly important issue, but it wasn’t a topic he wasn’t curious about either. Maybe he could have a deeper conversation with him. Ha-jin, determined to talk, supported the bottom of his heavy backpack with one hand and continued walking.
“There aren’t many zombies on this highway.”
[There aren’t many cars in the first place?]
“I guess so. We could run.”
The group, who would normally have kept their mouths shut and silently moved their feet, were unusually talkative. Whether it was because they had slept comfortably last night or because they had washed their bodies and laundered their clothes neatly for the first time in days, a rather lively energy permeated the air.
Even Jeffrey’s mischievous act of placing the not-yet-dry laundry on his head like a hat led to small bursts of laughter.
The harsh howling of wild dogs sent chills down their spines, but fortunately, the number of zombies that rushed onto the road after hearing the sound was not large, and they were able to take a break by taking refuge in an abandoned sedan.
Inside the sedan where they hid, the car keys were lying around in a tempting pose. However, due to the large vehicles occupying the road horizontally, the remnants of a collision, and the collapsed road conditions, moving the vehicle was still not feasible. The group decided to be satisfied with a short break.
“Whew. Sleeping well for one day really makes me feel alive. Right?”
Mi-so, placing her hand on Ha-jin’s shoulder, let out a refreshing sigh. The two were sitting side by side in the back seat.
“But don’t you always have energy to spare even without resting?”
“What are you talking about, Do Ha-jin? Do you think I’m a cyborg?”
“It’s a compliment, you know?”
While they were bickering, Eden, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, stared at Ha-jin in the rearview mirror. When Ha-jin, sensing his gaze, looked up, Eden’s eyes were already looking elsewhere.
Did I see wrong? Ha-jin, who had been staring at the back of Eden’s head for a while, got out of the car first. When he tilted his head towards the scorching sunlight, a familiar inscription caught his eye. It was a large outdoor billboard erected on the highway.
‘
Magic
Wipes away,
Cleanly
Natural
Bleach!
’
Ha-jin stared at the letters, which were decorated in rainbow colors on a white background. The word ‘Magic’ was boldly printed in red Myeongjo font.
“Magic….”
The phrase ‘Do Ha-jin’s Time Travel Magic Show!’ was naturally superimposed over the billboard’s inscription.
Ha-jin recalled his first magic show, which he had prepared for day and night for over half a year. Although it was a performance that ended futilely as soon as it opened, the cheers of the audience still occasionally lingered in his ears like auditory hallucinations.
‘You’re not dead yet. Nothing is over.’
Eden’s voice followed, telling him that it was too early to regret and that he should survive and stand on stage again.
Staring at the gradually approaching letters on the billboard, Ha-jin took a slow, deep breath. When he thought of that day, guilt, self-disgust, and regret filled his chest tightly, but now there was only an unknown doubt towards himself and a tingling amount of hope left.
Perhaps the fact that Jeong Tae-geon was his conversation partner last night played a big role. Was it because he had received unexpected comfort from someone who looked at the world with a cold eye rather than optimism?
Strangely, the words that came out of his mouth didn’t feel like a pipe dream, but like a reality that could be achieved and a natural truth. That strange belief had made Ha-jin quite carefree since yesterday.
Ha-jin, who rarely opened up, twitched his cheek as he recalled himself pouring out his true feelings to Eden.
While awkwardly sneering, a zombie crawled clumsily onto the billboard. Dirty blood smeared thickly over the red letters of ‘Magic.’
The zombie, half-folded and precariously clinging to the billboard, was constantly croaking towards the group walking on the road.
“Kkeueooo─!”
It was a cry that felt somehow sorrowful.
It felt as if someone had poured cold water on his head, which had been consumed by meager hope. Ha-jin, with a bitter look, stared at the cross-section of the destroyed world before turning his gaze back to the road.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Let’s set up camp here today.”
Eden sat down next to the stream, under the road, hidden by large vines. The water quality wasn’t good enough to use for drinking or showering, but the sound of the fairly strong current served as a great protective barrier.
The group, who had laid their tired bodies under the willow tree, took a break, watching the setting sun slowly disappear.
Eden, holding a hand axe, cleared the bushes within a 1-meter radius and scraped away the dirt.
“Can I help you?”
He lowered his upper body and rolled only his eyes to look at Ha-jin’s calves. Eden tossed a dry vine, which he would use as kindling, indifferently to the side and ordered.
“Please find seven stones with a diameter of about 20cm. If there aren’t any nearby, there’s no need to go far.”
Ha-jin, nodding at the simple command, took a step. He frantically brushed off a mosquito buzzing around his ear and stepped onto the uneven ground. Most of the stones were near the stream. The surface where the water had splashed was damp.
After a while, Ha-jin, making his top like a basket so as not to drop them, came back waddling with a load of stones in his arms.
“I found the stones here.”
Then, he dumped the pile of stones next to Eden with a thud. But Eden, sitting with his knees bent, casually observed the condition of the stones and quietly shook his head.
“Why?”
“Wet stones are dangerous when starting a fire. They could break or explode.”
Eden ignored the stones that he had bothered to find and turned his head to the other side, calling for Jeffrey.
[Jeffrey! Give me the shovel.]
Receiving a folding shovel from Jeffrey, he began to dig a hole in the dirt. Ha-jin stood tall beside him, at a loss for what to do.
As if he thought he was feeling awkward, Eden suddenly raised his head and met his gaze.
“It’s my fault for not saying it in advance about the stones. Instead of making a Firewall with stones, let’s dig a pit and start a fire inside. There’s also a big tree next to it, so it’ll be perfect for dispersing the smoke.”
Even though he was doing all this work alone, Eden bothered to add an explanation to Ha-jin.
Ha-jin observed the man in front of him with a newfound curiosity. Was he unexpectedly considerate? His tone was a bit annoying, but he was showing self-sacrifice and consideration as the leader of this ragtag group…
“What are you doing? If you’re just going to stand there blankly, come and dig the pit.”
…Or not. Ha-jin, frowning with an ambiguous look, plopped down on the ground.