By Zephyria 
Eden laughed, his throat rumbling, at Ha-jin’s words, spoken with the gravity of a confession.
“If you look at it, Do Ha-jin seems more obsessed with his colleagues than I am.”
“…Don’t change the subject. You always gloss over things, so I get obsessed over nothing. It makes me want to win.”
Ha-jin decided to think that way instead. That he didn’t want to remain a special person to Jeong Tae-geon, but that he just wanted to scratch an unresolved itch of curiosity. …Yes, that was all.
Eden, still with a voice full of laughter, suddenly gave an answer.
“I don’t know either.”
“……?”
“The reason I brought Do Ha-jin on as a colleague, I don’t know either.”
It was an answer that deviated far from expectations. Ha-jin’s eyes were filled with disbelief at the trivial answer that didn’t suit Jeong Tae-geon, who was armed with reason and rationality.
“Are you kidding me right now?”
“Not kidding, but…”
He collected his laughter and added an explanation.
“I’ve been wondering all along. I don’t know why I decided to keep Do Ha-jin by my side. I gave it meaning from time to time, saying he seemed useful, or that it wouldn’t be boring… But I haven’t found a direct reason yet. Does that answer your question?”
In the end, it was a story of being brought along without a clear reason for being chosen. Considering that there was nothing to be proud of, Ha-jin had to desperately bite his lip to suppress the tickling sensation in his chest.
“Ah, yes. Well, it wasn’t a big deal after all. I’m not curious anymore.”
Ha-jin answered cheerfully, and Eden chuckled again. This time, the area near his collarbone tickled at the strange laugh. The feeling of floating like a balloon was awkward, so he tried to calm his breathing.
Then, the sound of a dog barking faintly came from somewhere.
Woof woof!
Ha-jin’s shoulders, which had been drooping, tensed up. He reflexively stared at the warehouse door in the darkness. Fortunately, no one barged in.
Unable to relax easily, he straightened his back, and the physical pain he had forgotten rushed in all at once.
Skin scraped raw by rough ropes, stiff wrists, a mouth parched as if filled with sand… And Chun-beom’s death.
Eden, suspicious of Ha-jin’s sudden silence, seized the opportunity to scold him.
“There’s no answer if you cry more here.”
“…I really didn’t cry this time. Don’t talk to me, I’m thirsty.”
Embarrassed, Ha-jin retorted with a hoarse voice and closed his eyes. His temples throbbed, and his whole body drooped like a water-soaked cotton.
Crying, laughing, then crying again… His mood swung endlessly every few minutes like a manic-depressive patient.
‘Even though it was only once, losing someone is… so tiring.’
Was this what he meant? Ha-jin was already getting tired of himself, crying all day long.
He felt like his heart was being torn into a million pieces at the death of a colleague he had shared life and death with for several weeks, so he couldn’t even imagine how Eden must have felt, having lost a close childhood friend he had spent several times that amount of time with right before his eyes.
“…Hey, Jeong Tae-geon.”
“Who was it that told me not to talk to him?”
“It’s okay if I talk to you.”
Ha. Eden let out a sigh of disbelief.
“Jeong Tae-geon.”
“Why do you keep calling me?”
“How did you endure it?”
“……”
For a moment, the flow of air stopped. As if he understood Ha-jin’s words right away, there was no answer from him. After keeping his mouth shut for a while, Eden replied in a subdued voice.
“I didn’t endure it. You just carry it with you. Like a cross, for the rest of your life.”
It felt like water was filled up to his chin at the brutally realistic answer. Breath gathered in his Adam’s apple.
“…Is there really no other answer than to carry it with you?”
“Yes.”
Woof woof!
The faint sound of a dog barking was heard again. And then silence followed.
Eden quietly gazed at Ha-jin, who was sparing his words, in the darkness. Just as he frowned, wondering if he was going to cry again, Ha-jin opened his mouth.
“I’m not going to die.”
The muscles around his eyes, which had been wrinkled, returned to their original position at the unexpected remark.
“I’m going to survive, so don’t die either, Jeong Tae-geon.”
A resolution like a consolation spread into the air. Eden had to grit his teeth at the sudden chest pain he felt again. It was a sensation similar to the unknown thrill he had felt in the cave.
It was unfamiliar and unpleasant, but he was going to carefully dissect that sensation this time.
Meanwhile, Ha-jin was wiggling his big toe, which wasn’t getting enough blood, as if he was embarrassed.
He wouldn’t have anything to say even if he was met with a rebuke like, ‘Do you think Do Ha-jin is that important to me?’ or, ‘If you’re unnecessarily confident, you’ll be the first to die.’
But it didn’t matter. Some sincerity is comforting just by its existence. The statement that he would not die was somewhat arrogant, but he wanted to somehow convey his wish that Eden would not carry another cross.
But the other person remained silent throughout. Ha-jin, who had been inwardly expecting his nasty retort, awkwardly cleared his throat.
Why are you ignoring me and making me feel awkward…
“…Ahem, good night.”
The awkward greeting was also scattered meaninglessly in the air. Ha-jin closed his eyes, feeling like he didn’t care anymore.
As Eden said, he had to get some sleep and recharge his energy to prepare for tomorrow. He had to do that, thinking of Park Chun-beom lying alone on the forest path.
Despite his vow not to cry anymore, his nose tingled again. Ha-jin ignored his hot eyelids and lay down on the haystack.
❖ ❖ ❖
Ha-jin’s body twitched. After moving his shoulders for a few seconds, he was startled and opened his eyes wide!
Eden was watching his dazed face, stained with tears, as if he was watching TV.
“Uh…”
“Did you sleep well? You seemed to be having a nightmare.”
Ha-jin blinked his eyelids and struggled to raise his body from the floor. A small curse flowed from his mouth along with the sound of bones cracking.
“Ah… shit…”
Barely straightening his posture, he glanced at Eden sitting across from him.
He must have washed his face, his skin was unusually smooth. Unlike himself, who had tossed and turned all night, repeatedly waking up from nightmares, he had a refreshed face.
What. Did he sleep well…?
Ha-jin was conscious of his eyes, which must have been swollen like a goldfish.
When their eyes met for a long time, Eden looked away first. Ha-jin tilted his head in confusion and belatedly looked around. He slowly swallowed as he looked around the warehouse, where hazy dust was floating. The outside was too quiet.
“I should have run away instead of sleeping.”
Eden shook his head at his whisper.
“You would have been caught soon anyway.”
The probability of being able to defeat an enemy with a loaded gun on a vast pasture where there was no suitable place to hide was practically zero.
Furthermore, considering the attack that had taken place the day before, it was obvious that the humans who had taken over this place would not be stingy with weapons. This could be seen from the fact that they had given a pistol to a novice who couldn’t even aim properly.
Of course, even aside from those reasons, Eden had no intention of letting the thugs who had killed his colleague get away with it. He had no intention of covering up their sins with the trivial option of running away.
While he was quietly vowing revenge, Ha-jin broke his reverie.
“Did Jeong Tae-geon get any sleep?”
“I slept well enough.”
Last night, after confirming that Ha-jin had fallen asleep, he went to sleep right away. Eden, who usually couldn’t sleep deeply, had a refreshing morning for the first time in a long time. Even he didn’t know why. It was such a comfortable sleep that it was hard to believe that he had been kidnapped by an unidentified thug.
If Do Ha-jin, who was tormented by nightmares and called out Park Chun-beom’s name, found out about this, he would surely be shocked and say that he had no humanity.
“I’m glad you slept well…”
Before he could finish speaking, the warehouse door suddenly burst open, and a sudden ray of morning sunlight poured over Ha-jin’s eyes.
“Ugh.”
While turning his head to avoid the light, a tall man in a police uniform strode towards them.
The man in uniform, who had suddenly appeared, stopped abruptly between the bound Eden and Ha-jin. After silently checking the faces of the hostages, he slowly bent his knees and lowered his gaze.
After rubbing his chin as if wondering where to fix his gaze, he turned to Ha-jin. Ha-jin, who had already taken a defensive posture, glared fiercely at the man.
Tension instantly swirled around them. The man’s eyebrows twitched at Ha-jin’s challenging gaze.
“I heard they caught two men, so I came to see if it was Chang-yeol… but it’s not. Well, if it was him, he would have been shouting my name.”
The man, who had been muttering to himself, raised his eyes again.
“There was a Tetra radio in your bag, where did you get it?”