Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 4

“Grrr…”

“Let’s hurry.”

“Yes, hyung.”

Due to the zombies that had come close enough to smell the rotten stench, Kyungho couldn’t enjoy the moment for long.

The three of them quickly exited the emergency stairs and rushed towards the exit.

“Wait a moment.”

As soon as they stepped out of the last exit, the glass door, Seokjae lowered Junwoo from his shoulder and gently pushed him towards Kyungho. Seokjae leaned against the door, looking at the two who stood there in confusion.

“You guys go ahead first.”

It took a moment for the two to process Seokjae’s shocking suggestion, which didn’t match his elegant expression. Once they snapped back to reality, they charged at Seokjae.

“Hyung!”

“What do you mean!”

“Hey, it’s outside. We need to be quiet.”

Seokjae spoke firmly, like a teacher scolding a child, and the two siblings immediately shut their mouths in unison. However, given the gravity of the situation, Junwoo hesitated for a few seconds before expressing his frustration in a noticeably smaller voice.

“But… it’s because you’re saying something unreasonable, hyung.”

“Right. Why would we leave you behind?”

Kyungho nodded vigorously in agreement.

Despite their vehement refusal, Seokjae had no intention of retracting his decision. Instead, he explained to the two in a resolute voice.

“If we run away like this, the zombies around will definitely swarm us.”

Was there any way to escape from a dozen zombies chasing them without causing a commotion? Even if they covered their mouths to hold their breath, they couldn’t completely muffle the sound of their footsteps.

Even if, miraculously, there was a way, there was still one more problem: zombies act in groups.

If one zombie reacts, the others that were previously still will follow suit like a chain reaction. In other words, the zombies in the store would naturally chase after the three as soon as they stepped outside.

It was a brief explanation, but no one was unaware of the implications. Naturally, the faces of the two darkened.

“But hyung…”

Even if there was an unavoidable reason, was it right for him to sacrifice himself like this?

Junwoo wanted to ask Seokjae. But without any countermeasures, his words would only sound like empty rhetoric. He struggled to think of another solution that could persuade him.

Meanwhile, Kyungho, who seemed to have made a decision on his own, called out to Seokjae with a trembling voice.

“Hyung.”

“Kyungho.”

“Yes, yes?”

But before he could properly speak, Seokjae cut him off sharply.

In fact, Seokjae had a rough idea of how Kyungho, who had been wracked with guilt since the emergency stairs, would react to his words. Not realizing he was trembling, Kyungho’s tightly clenched fist caught Seokjae’s attention, causing him to smirk.

“Ugh…”

Hearing the faint sound of crying, Seokjae didn’t take his eyes off Kyungho and firmly grasped the doorknob, asking,

“Who among us is the strongest?”

“…You, hyung.”

“Who is the fastest?”

“That’s you too…”

“Who can run away the best?”

“That too…”

As the questions continued, Kyungho’s head drooped lower. The moisture began to well up in his voice as he answered. Normally, Junwoo would have teased him for being a crybaby, but he too was biting his lip, holding back tears as he couldn’t find any other solution.

Seeing their expressions, a sigh mixed with a laugh escaped Seokjae’s lips.

“Anyone would think I’m about to die.”

“B-but…”

“I’m just holding them off until you can escape. So hurry up and go while I still have some strength left.”

Thud.

One of the zombies that had chased them to the exit slammed its head against the glass door. The two, who had been focused on Seokjae, flinched as they hadn’t been on guard against the zombie.

“Hurry.”

At his urging, the two had no choice but to accept that the only thing they could do for Seokjae now was to run away quickly. Step by step, they struggled to distance themselves from the store.

“Hyung, you have to come back alive, okay?”

“I’ll be waiting, hyung.”

“Yeah. I got it, so go quickly.”

Meanwhile, while the three were having a difficult farewell, someone was eavesdropping on their conversation from inside the glass door.

“Wow, that’s… touching…”

Muyoung covered his mouth in admiration but grimaced at the sudden wave of rotten smell that hit him. He had been so focused on them that he had momentarily forgotten about the rotten guts and blood he had gotten on himself while dealing with the zombies.

In fact, Muyoung had come down to the first floor a step ahead of them. When he discovered the open emergency exit door, the zombies had already piled up and tangled together. By the time Muyoung managed to pull and push the zombies away to close the door, about half of the zombies in the store had already chased after them.

So, Muyoung quickly took the elevator down to the first floor. He had left his phone with an alarm set on the opposite side of the exit. The phone was a great distraction for the zombies, so he had been picking them up whenever he saw them in preparation for such situations.

“Hmm… will about 15 minutes be enough?”

Worried that the two might react to the alarm and give the zombies an opening, he set the alarm time a bit generously.

If the alarm didn’t go off even after they exited the building, he planned to hold the door and keep it shut for as long as he could. He could handle about eight or so zombies that didn’t have intelligence and didn’t attack for over 30 minutes.

Of course, if that happened, there was a risk that the two who had escaped would notice his presence. But since this incident was also due to not properly sealing the logistics warehouse door, he wanted to actively help them out of guilt.

Having faced the zombies that had filled the building alone and rummaged through the surrounding area daily for food, Muyoung still felt guilty. He couldn’t guarantee that there hadn’t been any oversights just because nothing had happened so far.

“I should have stacked something in front of the door…”

It was a belated regret.

Muyoung planned to move to another place after this was over to avoid any potential risks and placed the phone on the ground. He then cautiously moved towards the emergency exit.

“When will they come down? What if they’ve already gone out? That would be a relief…”

As the time alone stretched on, Muyoung found himself talking to himself more and more.

How long had he been peeking around in front of the emergency exit door when hurried footsteps grew closer.

Sniff, sniff. Muyoung quickly took a whiff. There was no scent. If it were zombies, there should be a smell of rotten blood at this distance. Realizing that the person coming down was human, Muyoung hurriedly hid in a corner.

Before long, Kyungho and Junwoo appeared at the emergency exit door. Seeing them in person, whom he had only seen on screen, Muyoung peeked out from his hiding spot. Then, his eyes widened at the sight of the unfamiliar person carrying Junwoo.

“There are three of them?”

As soon as Muyoung spotted the two, he had been too focused on the store’s CCTV to notice Seokjae rummaging through the pharmacy on the third floor. In other words, it was the unexpected appearance of a new character.

With a startled expression, Muyoung blinked, then began to scan Seokjae, who was a fascinating presence he had never seen before.

And the conclusion he reached was simple.

“…He’s big.”

The first thing that caught his eye was Seokjae’s sturdy physique and tall stature. He was so tall that the emergency exit door seemed too narrow for him to pass through. Even though he had bent down quite a bit, there was a risk of Junwoo’s head hitting the doorframe.

His disheveled black hair from the vigorous movement and his stiff face, despite having handsome features, gave off a rugged impression.

Muyoung knew that he was stronger than most adult men. But for some reason, he felt an odd sense that he would lose to this person.

Just by looking at him, Muyoung felt slightly intimidated and cautiously pulled his head back in, quietly holding his breath until they exited.

As soon as he confirmed that the three had stepped out through the glass door, he checked the time on his wristwatch. About 10 minutes remained until the alarm would go off.

It would be nice if he could just wait quietly until then, but the zombies that had followed the three were already stepping onto the first floor. They looked worse for wear, as if they had tumbled down the stairs. Broken bones were protruding from their skin, and even with their faces smashed, they walked with grotesquely twisted joints.