By Zephyria 
“Huff, huff…!”
Ha-jin fiddled with the revolver Eden had given him and the grenade in his pocket, peering around from behind the old tree. All the effort of showering was wasted; his whole body was soaked in blood and sweat, and he felt like throwing up with every breath.
He was on his way down to the middle of Jeongmang Mountain after a horde of zombies had passed. The off-road vehicle’s wheels were clogged with zombie flesh and bone, so it wouldn’t roll anymore, and the roof was gone, making it impossible to fend off the zombies attacking from all sides.
In the end, they had to abandon the hard-won vehicle and take refuge in the deep mountains with nothing but their bodies. Ha-jin stared at the car left far away on the mountain path, touching his feverish forehead.
“Hoo… I guess we’re just not meant to have a car.”
He whispered to Eden, who was hiding behind a tree across from him. Eden shushed him, raising a finger to his lips. After a moment of silence, he carefully surveyed the area below. There were still zombies nearby.
As Corporal Shin had said, who regularly cleared out the zombified residents, there were many Aberrants stationed near the Ranch. He didn’t know how many there were, but even when he tried to distract them by throwing grenades far away, they kept popping out from all directions, and he had narrowly escaped death several times.
The dagger had chipped against the hard skulls and could no longer function as a knife, and all he had were a loud gun and grenades. The only way to safely escape the mountain was to quietly run away, avoiding the zombies’ eyes.
“Let’s play dead for an hour.”
Following Eden’s suggestion, Ha-jin, Chief Kim, and the cult leader’s son anxiously killed time behind the trees. He was so nervous that the soldiers might come after them that all the muscles in his body tensed up.
As time passed, the zombies that had been clustered together began to scatter. Ha-jin followed Eden’s hand signals and tumbled down the rugged mountain. His calves and arms were covered with stinging scratches.
After finding a hiking trail, they were able to quickly escape the mountain. The four of them took a short break next to a large SUV in the parking lot. Black smoke rose from the mountainside, indicating that the power plant was properly on fire.
“Thank you for your trouble. And thank you again for giving us a ride from the Ranch.”
Chief Kim, who had been sitting, stood up and offered Eden a handshake.
“You worked hard to cover us too, Chief.”
Eden readily accepted the handshake and gestured towards Ha-jin, who was lying on the ground. It was a signal to get up and leave.
Ha-jin groaned and straightened his bent knees. Chief Kim, who was next to him, reached out to help him up.
“Ha-jin, you worked hard too. Thank you.”
“Thank you too.”
“By the way, where are you two headed?”
Another offer to travel together. Ha-jin’s pride was hurt by the fact that he naturally looked to Eden like Pavlov’s dog whenever this happened.
‘He’s going to refuse again, obviously.’
He was about to stroke the head of the child standing next to him, expecting the obvious result.
“We’re planning to go to Dragon Cloud City.”
Eden gave an unexpected answer. Ha-jin looked at him with confusion, wondering why he was so easily revealing their final destination.
Chief Kim’s face lit up as if it was a good thing.
“Oh, you’re going to Dragon Cloud City? We’re thinking of going to Incheon. It’s the child’s hometown, and my family home is in Incheon, so we’re planning to go that way.”
Incheon was a city to the left of Dragon Cloud City and was located at the entrance of Hwajeong City, which they would pass together.
“Since we’re here, how about we travel together?”
As expected, Chief Kim suggested traveling together. Ha-jin felt uneasy and followed Eden with his eyes. Surely not….
“We’re planning to go up the Insan-Nogwang Expressway. Is that the right route for you?”
This time, he was completely taken aback. Eden had given an answer that was clearly affirmative.
Meanwhile, the child sniffled and hugged his waist tightly. It was only a brief encounter at the rest stop, but he seemed to feel quite relieved since they had met before. Even when they were rolling around in the mountains to avoid the zombies, the child never left his side.
“Hyung… it would be nice if we could go together, right?”
Ha-jin’s face gradually darkened as he stroked the top of the child’s head.
In the meantime, Eden and Chief Kim had been talking about their destinations. He waited quietly and then slyly grabbed Eden.
“Can I talk to you for a second?”
Then he grabbed Eden’s arm and pulled him to the other side, whispering softly.
“Are you going with Chief Kim?”
“I was just about to ask you. What do you think, Do Ha-jin? I don’t think I’d lose anything by going with him just to Hwajeong City.”
“…Jeong Tae-geon, isn’t it your rule not to travel with anyone?”
“As you saw with Chief Kim earlier, his shooting skills weren’t bad. He’s also quick to assess the situation. The child may be a burden, but it’s only a few days to Hwajeong City from here, so it’s worth considering going together.”
“You’re taking Chief Kim because he’s useful?”
“It sounds a bit strange, but if you have to put it that way, yes.”
Ha-jin was silent for a moment. He was confused by the sudden change in his attitude, but he also thought it made sense that Chief Kim was useful, so he was deeply troubled.
Eden’s eyes narrowed as he looked down at Ha-jin.
“Is there a problem? I thought you’d be happy, Do Ha-jin.”
It wasn’t just Eden who had changed his attitude. Ha-jin himself was somehow different. He hesitated to travel with them, which he would never have done before, and he felt strange, so he couldn’t easily open his mouth.
A few minutes passed. Ha-jin, avoiding the child’s pleading gaze from afar, finally shook his head slowly.
“I need time to think.”
“I don’t think you have time for that right now. We don’t have time to waste here. Are you not going with us? Don’t make it so difficult.”
“Then… I’m against traveling together. Even for just a few days.”
Eden tilted his head in confusion and asked.
“Why?”
“I just… I don’t want to get attached.”
Was it the aftermath of losing Chun-beom? Ha-jin was now afraid of sharing his feelings with anyone. He didn’t want to lose anyone again, and he didn’t think he could handle the emotions. The child’s eyes, which were clinging to him, and Chief Kim’s face, which was smiling brightly and saying he had worked hard, were already making his heart weak.
Ha-jin kicked the parking lot floor with the toe of his shoe for no reason. Eden’s subtle gaze immediately followed.
Ha-jin, feeling awkward, added a remark that was not in his heart.
“…You can go with them if you want to. I’m just saying that’s my opinion.”
“Is it because of Park Chun-beom?”
His mouth shut again at the sharp question. Eden looked at Ha-jin for a moment and nodded as if he understood.
“Okay, I’ll take your opinion into account.”
“……”
“Then let’s just be the two of us. As you wish, Do Ha-jin.”
Ha-jin’s eyes shook uneasily. What was this? It felt like the point was slightly off…. He hesitated for a while, then finally said, “Okay.” He didn’t forget to thank Eden for readily accepting his opinion.
When they finished talking and returned, the child ran up to him as if he had been waiting. His eyes were filled with tears, as if he had been crying again.
“Hyung!”
But before he could hug Ha-jin, the child’s body was thrown back by a strong force.
“Why does a grown-up keep trying to hug me?”
Eden grabbed the child by the scruff of the neck and shook him, warning him.
“Ugh? W-Why are you suddenly doing this?”
“Don’t interrupt the adults and wait quietly.”
“B-But you just said I was a grown-up. I’m an adult too…?”
Ha-jin looked at Eden, who was suddenly bickering with the child, with a puzzled expression. Then Chief Kim chuckled softly and whispered quietly.
“You two look good together.”
“Yes?”
When he didn’t understand at once, he tilted his head and whispered again.
“I was a little surprised when you were holding hands at the Ranch, but you really look good together like this.”
“…Y-Yeah?!”
Eden’s heavy arm was placed on Ha-jin’s shoulder, who was about to wave his hands in a hurry, saying it was a misunderstanding. He stopped him from explaining and shook his head at Chief Kim as if he was sorry.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to go to Hwajeong City together. We’re very tired right now, so we want to be alone with my Darling for a while. Please understand that it’s a little too much for us to take care of ourselves.”
…Ah.
Ha-jin, who had been frozen by the words that had finally come out, slowly turned his head. Eden’s chin and Adam’s apple, which were almost hugging him, were too close.
‘…Is he really crazy?’
He wanted to punch his lips right away.
But the absurd excuse that he wanted to be alone with his Darling had an unexpected effect.
“Ah, I was only thinking about myself. I’m sorry, of course you want to be alone. The world is what it is these days…. I understand completely.”
Chief Kim apologized immediately, as if he had made a mistake.
The child, who had been pushed away by Eden, was shocked by the sudden situation and had his small eyes wide open.