Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 76

His wide-open eyes seemed to be daring him to say something if he had anything to say.

Muyoung turned his gaze to look at the door Seokjae was pointing at, to momentarily escape the angry glare. However, the only information he could gather from the tightly sealed door was that the sun was high in the sky, judging by the light passing through the thin paper.

“Hmm.”

Although he had already checked several times, he listened carefully outside just in case. As expected, there were no bizarre sounds like the ones heard last night.

Of course, this was why he hadn’t stopped the two from checking outside, convinced of their safety, but it would be troublesome if a horde of zombies suddenly appeared.

‘Well, I had guessed it would turn out like this, but…’

Except for one zombie that had lost its lower body when they were moving, the streets had been empty, so he thought they would move somewhere else as time passed. Fortunately, that prediction was correct, and they were out of danger.

Yes, up to that point was fine. However, there was one thing he had missed.

‘I didn’t expect them all to disappear in an instant.’

It was the zombies’ strange behavior pattern. They had been roaming around all night looking for prey, making their presence known with all sorts of creepy signs, but when morning came, they vanished without a trace. Actually, they might not have disappeared exactly in the morning.

‘When I came to my senses, it was already after sunrise… I don’t know what happened at dawn.’

By the time he had gathered his wits and focused on the outside situation, everything had already ended. In other words, he couldn’t definitively rule out the possibility that the zombies had moved between dawn and morning.

“That… they really disappeared suddenly at some point, guys.”

It’s not difficult to apologize and confess that he didn’t properly keep watch and got distracted. However, if asked what he had been doing, it would be difficult to answer, so all he could say was this seemingly insincere response.

“Not just one or two, but all the zombies that were numerous enough to be dangerous if we woke you up?”

If he hadn’t spent time with Seokjae, he might have suspected he was hearing things, as the situation seemed so unbelievable. So instead of asserting his innocence to Junwoo’s disbelieving question, Muyoung let out an embarrassed laugh.

In fact, if he had noticed and observed when the zombies started disappearing, he might have found some causal relationship.

But that opportunity had already passed. All Muyoung knew now was the horde of zombies that had gathered at the sound of the can, and the empty alley he saw in the morning. There was too little information to infer anything from these two facts.

‘Not sleeping and still failing to keep proper watch. How pathetic. …No, but still!’

While Muyoung was disappointed in himself for getting distracted in a situation where zombies were swarming, he also felt a surge of indignation.

‘How could I keep focusing on the outside when hyung was holding me tight all night…!’

He glanced at Seokjae, who was lying next to him, covering his face with his arm, trying to catch up on sleep.

But that intensity didn’t last long. The sight of his exhausted appearance automatically softened Muyoung’s gaze. He let out a small sigh.

‘I couldn’t coldly push away someone who said they were anxious.’

To others, it might sound like an absurd excuse. But for Muyoung, it was truly a fatal distraction. Isn’t it a common experience to be unable to do anything when a pet burrows into your arms? Although he was still a bit flustered because the “my baby” brainwashing hadn’t fully set in, that’s how last night was for Muyoung.

‘I had decided to be a sanctuary for him, so it was impossible to refuse when he said something like that…’

As Muyoung was inwardly listing the reasons why he couldn’t refuse him, he recalled the secret night that he could never reveal to the other two.

After the bet was settled and their conversation ended, silence fell between them, and only the presence of zombies outside filled the space.

‘Hyung, I’ll go turn off the light.’

Remembering the bicycle light that had been the cause of all this but had now become an afterthought, Muyoung tapped the arm that was still firmly wrapped around his waist. And when he got up, whether it was because he spoke and moved, or because of the bet, Seokjae quietly let go without saying he would go instead.

It didn’t take long for Muyoung to return to his spot with the light. Seokjae stared intently at him as he sat down next to him rather than in his arms. Muyoung noticed that intense gaze just as he was about to press the light button.

Click- In an instant, darkness enveloped their surroundings. Was it because the store was located at a point where the commercial buildings ended, or because the nearby streetlights were broken? There wasn’t even a faint light coming through the curtains.

Muyoung, who had accidentally looked directly at the light when turning it off, felt dazed as he saw the afterimage of light in the pitch-black darkness.

‘Hyung, did you have something to say to me just now?’

Feeling like he might lose his sense of direction if not for Seokjae, Muyoung spoke to him, using the gaze he had felt earlier as an excuse.

‘Why are you sitting there?’

‘Huh?’

Blinking to get rid of the flickering afterimage, Muyoung turned his head towards where he thought Seokjae’s face would be at his whisper. He still couldn’t see anything in front of him.

‘Come here.’

‘Where? I can’t see in front of me right now, if you guide me with your hand, I’ll hold your arm and go there.’

Wondering where he wanted him to move to when they were already in the same store, but thinking Seokjae wouldn’t suggest anything bad, Muyoung reached out and felt for his muscular arm.

Then Muyoung learned for the first time that even if he couldn’t see, he could feel his vision swaying.

‘Hy-hyung? Wh-why am I sitting here?’

He seemed to have been lifted by Seokjae, but the problem was that he had landed back in his arms, which he had just left a moment ago. In that short time, the “large dog” brainwashing had worn off, and the firm, thick body being pressed under him was too stimulating. Surprised, Muyoung flapped his arms and legs, trying to escape.

‘Are you afraid I might go somewhere again? I’m not going anywhere now, so you can relax and let me go. And we made a bet not to stop each other… Ah. The sun hasn’t risen yet.’

‘I’m scared.’

‘What?’

With his vision blocked, the sensations felt even more vivid, and Muyoung became aware that an incredibly significant part of their bodies was in contact. So he struggled with all his might for a moment. But at Seokjae’s next words, he immediately became docile.

‘There are those things roaming outside, and it’s dark so I can’t see you. I’m anxious because I can’t properly check if you’re really beside me.’

The honest revelation of his vulnerability softened Muyoung’s heart. But if things continued like this, he felt he might develop feelings that he shouldn’t have for his “baby,” so he quickly searched for another solution and suggested:

‘Th-then, wouldn’t it be okay if we just hold hands?’

‘Hmm, should we?’

Fortunately, he showed a positive response.

Just as Muyoung was about to feel a twinge in his heart, thinking that Seokjae must have really felt anxious during that time, Seokjae unwrapped his arm from Muyoung’s waist and firmly grasped both his hands, interlocking their fingers. And… that was it.

‘Ah, no, I meant we should just hold hands…?’

His body didn’t move an inch. It seemed he had no intention of letting Muyoung off his lap. Muyoung carefully explained, thinking Seokjae might have misunderstood his words, but what he got in return was a disconcerting question.

‘Don’t you like being like this with me?’

‘No, that’s not it.’

Muyoung, who was too weak against Seokjae, honestly answered despite knowing that if he said he was uncomfortable, Seokjae would let him go. It was because his voice sounded so dejected that Muyoung couldn’t even lie and say he disliked it.

It was a thought he could have only because he couldn’t see Seokjae’s mischievous face in the darkness, but it was a fact Muyoung would never know even if a lifetime passed.

‘Then it’s fine.’

Not fine at all! Muyoung inwardly cried out in protest at Seokjae’s cheerful response, but outwardly, he nodded. And hoping that Seokjae would let him go soon once their eyes adjusted to the darkness and they could see each other, he tried to accept the situation in a wholesome way.

But just when he thought it was enough and tried to pull away, Seokjae would tighten his interlocked fingers and nuzzle his face into Muyoung’s nape. Muyoung couldn’t move a single leg freely, like an owner melting at their large dog’s affection.

In the end, giving up on escaping, he just waited for Seokjae to speak first, and during that time, morning came. Originally, he had planned to check the outside situation around sunrise, decide whether to move or not, and then wake up the other two. But he had completely forgotten, entranced by the position of being held by Seokjae.

Why didn’t he tell him that quite some time had passed? When Muyoung came to his senses seeing the sunlight shining through the gaps in the paper and boxes, he looked at Seokjae in surprise.

Frustratingly, Seokjae had been sound asleep for who knows how long, breathing deeply. Fortunately, Muyoung’s senses had returned before Kyungho and Junwoo woke up, or they might have seen him being held like that.