By Zephyria 
Contrary to Ha-jin’s expectation that Eden would pull another sly trick, Eden was surprisingly quiet. He didn’t even tease him by washing his underwear as usual, or commenting on his nipple color, but quietly focused on washing himself.
Ha-jin plunged his head into the bathroom sink and quickly finished washing up. Then, he went straight into the toilet stall and threw his soiled clothes into the trash can. Shuaaa— the sound of cool water still echoed loudly from outside.
Sitting on the toilet lid, he swept back his wet bangs, his face a complex mix of emotions.
‘Why did you get hard, you crazy bastard.’
Ha-jin reproached himself, biting his swollen lip, unable to believe that he had gotten an erection at the sight of Eden’s naked body. If he had known that his sex with Jeong Tae-geon would leave such a lingering feeling, he would never have given in to temptation.
He wondered if he was wasting his feelings on someone he would be separated from once they arrived in Dragon Cloud City anyway, and he felt a little resentful.
He stared blankly at the bathroom tiles for a while, then roughly pulled on a short-sleeved t-shirt and sighed. After confirming that his swollen member had subsided halfway, he hesitated and went back outside.
Eden, who had been waiting for Ha-jin with his back against the wall, stared intently at him as he awkwardly emerged.
“What were you doing?”
At the casual question, Ha-jin quickly replied without even making eye contact.
“I went to the bathroom.”
“Without flushing?”
At the pointed remark, Ha-jin’s neck began to flush red again. Eden watched him, amused by his inability to hide his emotions, then opened the door and went out first. Pie, who had been sitting in front of the bathroom entrance keeping watch, greeted the two of them, panting, after they finished showering.
It was still early evening, so the surroundings were bright. After diligently packing and eating food before it got dark, the two began to choose shoes and functional t-shirts that fit.
Eden maintained the same tension as usual as much as possible to make Ha-jin, who had become stiff as a robot after the sex, feel comfortable. He silently picked out clothes with an indifferent expression, and even handed him a top with a kids’ character on it as a gift.
Ha-jin, who had been awkward all day, seemed to have noticed his efforts and began to show a little reaction.
“Such childish clothes suit Do Ha-jin.”
Ha-jin, who received a rabbit-shaped character t-shirt from Eden, frowned in disgust.
“How can I wear clothes like this? Well, this bag is perfect for Jeong Tae-geon. Childishness suits you well.”
Soon, Ha-jin picked up a yellow fluorescent bag and threw it into Eden’s arms. He quickly caught the bag that flew into his chest and whistled, as if satisfied. He went one step further and slung the bag over his shoulder, causing Ha-jin to stop him with a horrified expression.
“Why are you taking it so seriously! Take it off, it doesn’t suit you.”
“You said it suits me?”
The two, who were half-heartedly picking out clothes and continuing their childish pranks, rummaged through the warehouse together for the last time. After finding a decent new hiking bag, they threw away the old, worn-out cloth and began to organize their necessities inside.
Eden smiled secretly once again as he watched Ha-jin, who was engrossed in folding short-sleeved t-shirts. Ha-jin, whose tension had risen to normal, put a hiking kids’ hat with a string on Pie’s head, and went to the counter to rummage through the drawers. He found a bag of candy and chocolate that the clerk had hidden, and he hummed a tune as if he was in a good mood.
“Jeong Tae-geon, do you want to learn magic?”
Ha-jin, who opened the cash register with the key inserted, picked up a 500-won coin.
“I wanted to teach you a beginner’s card trick, but since I don’t have any cards right now… I’ll teach you a coin trick.”
“Alright.”
Eden nodded readily and spread out the clothes on the floor and sat down. Pie, who was wearing a children’s hat sloppily, also came over and lay down next to him.
“Originally, coin magic uses a half dollar, a 50-cent coin, but since it’s hard to get now, I’ll use this 500-won coin as a substitute.”
Ha-jin sat down in front of Eden and began to explain the magic seriously. In his hand were a transparent plastic cup and three 500-won coins that he had taken from the counter.
“First, I’ll show you what kind of magic it is.”
Ha-jin, who opened the door to magic with his signature finger snap, held three coins in his right hand and a cup in his left hand, and looked at Eden.
“Shall we move the coins in my hand into the plastic cup?”
Jangling! At that moment, one coin fell into the cup with a clear sound. Eden’s face lit up with interest at the instantaneous teleportation magic.
“I’ll put more in.”
Clatter! As a short wrist snap followed, another coin fell. Pie, who was watching, was also amazed and barked softly, “Woof!”
Ha-jin, who gently stroked and calmed the excited Pie, moved the last remaining coin into the cup. With this, all three coins hidden in his right hand were instantly placed in the plastic cup in his left hand.
“It’s a technique magic, so the principle is simple. You move the coins in your right hand to your left hand in advance without the audience noticing and push them into the cup. The theory is easy, but it won’t be easy to actually do it. Jeong Tae-geon, you’ll only learn up to here today.”
“Is there a more difficult version?”
“There is.”
Ha-jin shook the three coins in the cup back into his right hand and made a fist. Then, he covered the mouth of the empty cup with his left palm.
“This time, you ask the audience how many coins they want to move into the cup.”
“…How is that possible?”
“A magician is a magician for a reason.”
Eden, who was observing Ha-jin, who was confidently raising his eyebrows with a confident expression, gave a mischievous answer.
“Then is five possible?”
There were only three coins in his right hand, so it would have been impossible to put five coins into the cup as it was. Ha-jin glared at Eden, who was acting like a heckler for some reason, and shook his head.
“You can’t do that if you’re going to learn magic.”
At that moment, several coins fell into the empty cup with a clattering sound. He poured the coins in the cup into Eden’s palm as if pouring water. One, two, four, five…. Eden, who counted the number of coins, let out a sigh close to lamentation.
“How did you do it?”
“In magic, load up is basic. You anticipate even unexpected situations and finish all preparations flawlessly.”
In other words, he had anticipated Eden’s mischievous interference and brought extra coins. Ha-jin began to explain the principle of movement of coin magic in earnest and passed on his hand skills. At his serious attitude, Eden also erased his smile at some point and worked hard to practice magic.
As the surroundings darkened, Ha-jin turned on the camping lamp he had brought and subtly illuminated the surroundings. Pie was already fast asleep, snoring softly.
Jangling— Eden, who succeeded in moving one coin awkwardly, looked at him with an expression expecting praise.
“Don’t be satisfied with this and practice so that you can push the coins into your palm more naturally. Don’t waste your pretty hands by making unnecessary movements.”
However, Do Ha-jin was surprisingly stingy with praise, at least when it came to magic.
“Isn’t this enough?”
“Not even close. You have to practice at least ten thousand times to become natural, so practice whenever you have time.”
Ten thousand times. When he sent a suspicious look at the unrealistic number, Ha-jin added.
“I practice that much too. Even experts work hard, so ordinary people have to work even harder.”
After the continued hard training, Eden succeeded in moving two coins into the glass cup. Ha-jin, who was watching, let out a relieved breath and smiled brightly.
“Be sure to show it to Byeol later. He’ll like it even more if his uncle does it.”
After continuing to practice a few more times, Eden put the plastic cup and coins in the newly packed backpack. Ha-jin wiped his hands with the wet wipes he had taken from the counter, then arbitrarily pulled Eden’s hand.
“Your fingers hurt, right? I’ll massage them for you.”
Then, he massaged his hands, applying the massage that Mi-so often gave him. His hand muscles were stiff because he had just practiced magic.
Eden, who was quietly accepting the affectionate touch, suddenly asked a question.
“Do Ha-jin. Why are you suddenly teaching me magic now?”
Ha-jin raised his head, which he had lowered, with a puzzled expression.
“Jeong Tae-geon kept asking me to teach you.”
“Is that really the only reason?”
“…Why? Should there be another reason?”
Eden replied calmly to him, who was blinking his eyelids as if he didn’t know what was going on.
“To be honest, I wondered if Do Ha-jin was planning to use me and throw me away like this.”
As soon as the words were finished, Ha-jin’s face crumbled. His gaze, filled with embarrassment, wandered in the air, and cold sweat soaked into the hands he was holding. It was the moment when Eden, who was keenly watching Ha-jin’s reaction, was about to part his lips again.
Pie, who had been lying quietly, suddenly jumped up. Leaping over the two, Pie ran towards the entrance.
“Oops…!”
Ha-jin, who leaned his upper body back to avoid Pie, turned his gaze with a dumbfounded expression.
“Pie, what’s wrong?”
As soon as he whispered, Eden immediately put his index finger on Ha-jin’s lips and said, “Shh.” He didn’t know what was going on, so he could only blink his eyes, and then he took off the index finger he had put on and pointed outside.
He stopped breathing and listened quietly, and faint voices began to be heard intermittently, like a frequency that was not tuned in.
Jeff… Won’t listen… to me?!
In an instant, the two’s eyes met in the air.
Don’t fight! You stupid… bastards!
And a moment of silence.
“……”
“……”
Mi… Don’t worry…!
Then, when someone spoke English in a thick voice, the two jumped up from their seats as if they had agreed to do so. While picking up the weapons and lamps they had put down on the floor and running towards the store door, Pie was flapping his ears, sending a signal that there were people outside.
If you fight, the zombies will come! You assholes!
As the voice became clearer and clearer, Pie barked loudly, “Woof!”