Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 6

“It’s, it’s so moving…”

Finally, Muyoung exclaimed in a trembling voice. Since awakening as a zombie, this was truly the first time he felt such intense emotions.

It couldn’t be, but feeling nauseous, he briefly covered his mouth, quickly pulling his hand away from the disgusting presence of various bodily fluids that had smeared on it.

Muyoung shuddered and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Yet, the excitement in his eyes did not fade. It was the same thrill he felt when he watched a play of his favorite superhero as a child.

But now was not the time to be overwhelmed by emotions. While he was like this, the other was likely experiencing the fear of impending death.

Huffing, Muyoung forcefully shoved the shoulder of the zombie blocking his path aside. Then, he turned to deal with the other zombies. It looked like they were backed up against the stone and glass door.

Since there were already zombies that had been severely injured from fighting with Muyoung and could barely walk, there were only about five left to deal with.

Muyoung was confident he could handle them without any effort from Seokjae. However, strangely, as soon as he tried to move in earnest, a strange phenomenon occurred in his limbs. It felt as if he had cramps, and his arms and legs began to tremble.

‘Why is this happening all of a sudden? Is it a muscle spasm? Can zombies even get cramps? I don’t feel any pain, so I don’t know the reason.’

While he was racking his brain for the cause, he continued to fend off the zombies with his stiff arms. Then, from a distance, a loud singing voice echoed. It was the moment when the seemingly long ten minutes had passed.

As expected, the heads of the zombies that had been continuously rushing toward the door all turned back in unison. Since it was difficult to catch the prey in front of them, they seemed to have shifted their interest to new prey.

The zombies limped and walked slowly. Watching them, Muyoung felt relieved only after they had moved far enough away and he pulled his back away from the glass door he had been leaning against.

Once he felt a bit of relief, he suddenly worried about Seokjae’s safety. What if another zombie outside touched him while he wasn’t watching? With a pounding heart and rising anxiety, Muyoung hurriedly turned to look back.

And then… he locked eyes with Seokjae, who was looking down at him with a calm gaze.

Seeing each other through a single pane of glass was different from when he had been hiding in the corner and peeking. The shadow cast by Seokjae’s face, as he looked down at the smaller Muyoung, created an illusion as if he were standing before a grand work of art.

Even though his sweat-drenched black hair clung to his face here and there, he didn’t look disheveled at all. Rather, his perfectly proportioned features, combined with a rugged charm, made him feel like an actor from a noir film.

Muyoung, who had been staring at Seokjae in a daze, suddenly shivered. Seokjae was sending him a chilling yet unpredictable, time-bomb-like murderous gaze.

“Uh… ah…”

Receiving a threat from someone he felt fond of. Muyoung was startled and let out a foolish sound. At the same time, he staggered back a step and saw a man in front of him.

A man covered in blood. It looked as if he had buried his face in something alive, with dark red liquid smeared all over his forehead and mouth, and rotten flesh stuck to his hands and legs in a grotesque manner. In short, he looked like a perfect specimen of a zombie.

‘Ah… so that’s why.’

Realizing that it was his own reflection in the glass, Muyoung could guess the reason for Seokjae’s fierce gaze.

‘He must have found it disgusting that I kept staring!’

All the other zombies had disappeared following the sound, but this one remained, staring blankly at him; it was enough to send chills down his spine. If only it had looked a bit cleaner, he might have felt less repulsed. But it was right after fighting with the zombies, so he was in tatters.

‘…Am I in danger right now?’

In reality, there would be no one who would pick a fight with a zombie without any gain. But looking into Seokjae’s eyes now, Muyoung thought that it might not be the case. He exuded a threatening atmosphere as if he could burst through the door and twist someone’s neck at any moment.

He was a good person, but it seemed that his goodness wouldn’t extend to zombies. Even though he hadn’t seen Seokjae fighting zombies, Muyoung was sure of it. Most people with someone to protect had no hesitation in killing zombies. After all, heroes are usually merciless to villains.

‘I need to run away.’

If his neck were twisted, he didn’t know if he would die or not, but he wanted to preserve the limbs his parents had passed down to him.

Muyoung immediately turned around like a broken wooden puppet, creaking as he did so. With his back to Seokjae, he rolled his eyes around and then tightly closed them, starting to act.

“G-graaaah…”

A strange sound imitating a zombie came out of Muyoung’s mouth.

Then, he began to limp toward the place where the alarm was ringing, doing his best to walk awkwardly. As a being with reason, it was incredibly shameful, but he couldn’t walk normally. That would be the same as openly revealing that he was not an ordinary zombie.

‘Since when has he been watching me?’

If he had seen him blocking the zombies, he wouldn’t be looking at him with such a fierce gaze. No, perhaps he had seen him but thought he was just a stupid zombie floundering among the others, having taken a wrong turn.

After all, who would think that a being in such a state among zombies was a human? Muyoung felt sad that his first and last encounter with Seokjae was in such a dirty state.

“G-graaaah…”

The fake zombie cry grew even more melancholic.

How long had he been holding back his legs, which wanted to speed up due to the overwhelming embarrassment? Fortunately, Seokjae did not open the door and come to kill Muyoung.

Once Muyoung had put some distance from the exit, he couldn’t contain his curiosity and slightly turned his head. Then, he glanced toward the direction where Seokjae was, his eyes nearly tearing as he did so. He caught sight of Seokjae’s back as he moved away from the exit.

“Wow, what a surprise.”

As the presence that had been pressuring him disappeared, Muyoung’s legs gave way, and he sat down on the floor.

“I never thought I’d be grateful that my heart isn’t beating.”

If he hadn’t been in this body, his heart might have raced so fast that it would have burst. It was that stimulating of a time for Muyoung.

Completely exhausted, Muyoung rested on the floor until some time passed and he regained his composure. Around that time, he began to reflect on Seokjae’s appearance he had seen today.

“He was so cool…”

Even in a life-threatening situation, his humanity remained unchanged, and his perfect face. He was truly a perfect person.

As Muyoung absentmindedly thought of him, not even knowing his name, he felt a flush rising, reflexively bringing the back of his hand to his cheek. It was a habit of Muyoung’s, who would turn as red as a tomato, as his friends would say.

However, unlike in the past, the back of his hand, which felt no temperature, brought an unsettling feeling. Moreover, the blood on his hands further dirtied his face, causing Muyoung to let out an annoyed sigh.

“Ugh… I should wash up first.”

Recalling his disheveled appearance, Muyoung staggered to his feet and headed back to the security room, his temporary shelter.

* * *

A pathway visible after a ten-minute walk from the mart. There stood a two-story police station.

All the windows on the first floor were firmly barred with iron bars, and the entrance was tightly shut with a shutter, giving the building a bunker-like feel that made it difficult for anyone to enter. Additionally, the second-floor windows were covered with wooden boards, intended to obscure whether the lights inside were on or off.

However, today, someone was lifting and lowering those boards every thirty seconds to look outside.

“Hey, Lee Kyungho. Stop crying.”

“Ugh… D-don’t say that…”

“He’ll come. He said he would come.”

“Uh-huh…”

Since returning to the police station, Kyungho and Junwoo had been crying non-stop, their eyes swollen.

After parting with Seokjae, they had moved as quickly as possible, following his not-so-urgent request. To save time, they had found an efficient route that avoided encountering zombies on the street.