By Zephyria 
It had been a long time since Ha-jin had such a quiet rest.
Unlike his exhausted body, his mind only became clearer. Ha-jin couldn’t keep his fingers still and kept fidgeting. He had lost the bag full of cards and the brooch his brother had given him.
He realized the brooch was gone right after he came down from the mountain. He tried not to be gloomy, but he couldn’t help feeling regretful and sad.
He had been stroking the brooch to soothe his anxiety whenever he doubted whether he would ever see his brother Jun-seok again….
Out of regret, he crumpled the receipt he had picked up earlier into the shape of a rose. While he was lying down for a while, Eden got up first.
“Let’s wash up quickly. We need to find something to start a fire before it gets darker.”
Ha-jin dragged his stiff body and entered the public restroom with Eden.
Fortunately, the water didn’t stop, probably because the water tank was still intact. After letting the brown water run for a while, clean water began to trickle out.
Eden washed his body first with the long hose attached to the wall, and Ha-jin carefully washed his face with hand sanitizer and soap on the sink.
‘Ah, I feel like I’m going to live.’
The moment he raised his head again, Eden’s naked body reflected in the mirror caught his eye.
“The water pressure is getting weaker. Do Ha-jin, come and wash up quickly.”
With those words, Eden nonchalantly washed his latissimus dorsi.
Ha-jin shook off the bangs dripping with water and naturally lowered his gaze. As he hesitated, Eden snatched his blood- and sweat-soaked top.
Surprised, Ha-jin raised his chin, and Eden gestured for him to take off his pants as well.
“I’ll do yours while I’m doing my laundry, so take them off.”
“Are you going to do laundry? It’ll take a while to dry. And we don’t have any clothes to wear in the meantime….”
“We can’t afford to be picky, and no one’s watching anyway.”
“…….”
“If you’re too embarrassed, wear a restaurant apron or something.”
Ha-jin’s face hardened as he was awkwardly holding the waistband of his pants. It was because he had imagined Eden and himself wearing restaurant aprons on their bare bodies for a moment.
…I’d rather die.
Eden’s lips twitched as he read his transparent expression.
“Just kidding. I found a restaurant uniform outside. It’ll be ridiculous, but it’s better than an apron.”
Ha-jin, who had been nervous, finally sighed in relief. As he took off his pants, Eden gestured to his lower body covered in briefs.
“Aren’t you taking off your underwear?”
“…Just stop it already. I can wash my underwear myself.”
Even while he was joking, Ha-jin desperately tried not to look at Eden’s body, which was wet and shiny. He fixed his gaze on the floor or stared at the empty air to an unnatural extent.
A faint smile appeared on Eden’s lips as he witnessed the ‘consciousness’ that could not be hidden.
❖ ❖ ❖
A long candle, the kind you’d use on an ancestral table, was burning, illuminating the room. Ha-jin stared at the burning candle on the table before turning his gaze to the back of his hand.
“When did you get this?”
“I’ve been keeping it in my pocket.”
Eden squeezed an appropriate amount of ointment and skillfully applied it to Ha-jin’s delicate skin. Ha-jin, who was looking down at his wrist becoming shiny, wiggled his toes for no reason.
“I can apply the ointment myself.”
“If you can’t control the amount, the ointment will run out quickly. I’m more comfortable doing it myself.”
Having nothing to say, he turned his gaze back to the burning candle flame.
‘It’s hot….’
His neck had been hot and he had been thirsty for a while now. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed to be wearing a navy short-sleeved T-shirt with an duck character on it, but he felt strangely puzzled by the heat rising at an odd time.
Eden, who had been silently playing with his index finger on Ha-jin’s skin, narrowed his brow.
“You have a lot of scratches.”
“I think I got them coming down from the mountain.”
Tsk, he clicked his tongue and moved his index finger to the upper part of his elbow. The nimble and delicate touch suddenly made the area below his navel tingle.
…What was that just now?
Ha-jin bit his lower lip tightly with his upper teeth and stared at the dark void. While he was biting his lip until it bled, Eden’s fingers kept brushing against unexpected places. He had to desperately endure the body that was trying to twitch and the moans that were about to burst out every time his touch lingered.
“I’ll take a look at your legs too, so lie down.”
He barely swallowed the words that were rising to his throat, “It’s okay, I’ll do it now,” and slowly laid down on the linoleum floor. It was obvious that if he refused for no reason, he would be accused of being conscious of it.
Again, Eden’s thumb gently touched an unexpected area.
“Ugh.”
Surprised by the sudden touch on the back of his knee, he reflexively twisted his body.
“Does it sting a lot?”
“Ah, no, it’s just a little… ticklish.”
“I guess you’re ticklish.”
“Ahem, yes.”
An unknown smile flowed from Eden. He was meticulously examining every part of his body as if he was obsessed. Only when he stood up with his ears red because he couldn’t stand the ticklishness did his fingers fall away.
Chirp, chirp— As night fell, mountain birds chirped peacefully. Ha-jin, who was somehow exhausted, folded his body and lay down on the table. He stared at the dark glass door and opened his mouth in a tired voice.
“Those bad guys who killed Chun-beom… I thought I’d feel better if I got revenge, but it’s not really like that.”
Ha-jin’s muttering, which was neither a question nor a lament, continued. Eden rested his elbows on the table and propped up his chin.
“Private Gu… the guy I cleaned the Ranch with in the morning. The guy who got shot in the thigh and was crying earlier.”
“…….”
“I still can’t believe it. That bastard was also a murderer who was in cahoots and killed the residents. You know how there are cases where you can instinctively tell if someone is good or innocent just by talking to them for a moment? Private Gu was exactly like that.”
Eden admired the soft voice and made eye contact with Ha-jin. The voice, which did not lose its neatness even when swearing, was quite comfortable to listen to.
“Even though I’ve only exchanged a few words with him, I felt strangely betrayed by Private Gu earlier. I wondered if I, a self-proclaimed magician, had no eye for people. Or maybe… having good observation skills has nothing to do with knowing someone’s personality.”
“Do you feel betrayed because that person wasn’t a good person?”
Ha-jin blinked at Eden, who was looking down at him. It was because Eden, who was listening to his meaningless grumbling, felt unfamiliar.
He didn’t want to admit it, but he sometimes felt a kind feeling from him. Just like now.
Shadows fell over Eden’s face as the flickering candlelight followed.
“Do Ha-jin.”
“…….”
“Evil is more ordinary than you think. It’s everywhere, so it’s not unique at all. Private Gu was just one of those people. It’s not your fault for not having an eye for people.”
Ha-jin opened his mouth dumbly at the unexpected philosophical advice. Evil is ordinary, huh…. It was a theory he had never thought of, but somehow it was a sentence that flew like an arrow and pierced his heart.
After pondering the words for a while, Ha-jin raised his body, which was lying on the table.
“Then what about Jeong Tae-geon? Is Jeong Tae-geon just one of those people too?”
He answered Ha-jin’s question without hesitation.
“He’s just one of those guys. I’m someone who can be easily tainted by evil.”
…Was he more self-aware than he thought? He swallowed a horrified breath as he looked at Eden, who was frighteningly rational.
“In that sense, I like Do Ha-jin. Because you’re not predictable.”
His earlobes heated up at the following words.
“…Uh, didn’t you say you hated being good and altruistic and refused to accompany me? Why are you changing your mind again?”
Feeling inexplicably shy and embarrassed, he retorted, and Eden covered his chin and mouth and laughed with a puff of air.
“That’s strange. I don’t remember saying I hated it.”
Ah.
Ha-jin’s gaze, which had missed the timing to retort, remained fixed on Eden.
Now that he looked, it seemed like he had scratches on other places besides his arms. He kept scratching his itchy chest, but he couldn’t pinpoint the exact area, so Ha-jin had to harden his brow in vain.
❖ ❖ ❖
Drip… drip, drip…. Ha-jin, who was dozing off with the apron and uniform spread thickly on the floor, slowly lifted his eyelids at the sound of rain.
“Rain….”
He muttered in a hoarse voice and turned to his side. His vision was completely dark, so he felt like he was closing his eyes even when he was opening them. When he groped for the spot next to him where Eden should be, he felt the hard floor.
‘Where did he go?’
Panicked, Ha-jin awkwardly raised his upper body and held the extinguished candle in his hand. When he lit the fire with the lighter lying on the table, the surroundings brightened in an instant.
He looked for Eden with his eyes narrowed to adapt to the light. He was asleep not far away, leaning against the wall.
‘He should sleep comfortably.’
Then Ha-jin turned his head to the wall clock. The direction the hour hand pointed to was 3 a.m. It was too early for the rooster to crow. Still, he had gone to bed early in the evening, so he had slept well for seven hours.
He massaged his aching body and slowly raised his upper body. Even with the careful movement, Eden woke up quickly. Ha-jin lowered his voice to him, who was slowly blinking his bloodshot eyes.
“Are you awake? I was going to tell you to sleep comfortably. It’s raining outside now.”
He meant to tell him to rest assured and sleep because the zombies wouldn’t be wandering around, but Eden’s gaze was only directed to an unexpected place.
“Jeong Tae-geon?”
He was looking at the dark glass door in the distance before getting up from his seat.
“Give me the candle.”
Ha-jin’s face was filled with bewilderment at the sudden command.
The Banality of Evil: A theory presented by political philosopher Hannah Arendt in “Eichmann in Jerusalem.”