Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 33

‘Please, please.’

After mumbling and turning the key, he pressed the power button, and the engine started with a loud noise.

“Ah, thank goodness.”

If it had been winter, the battery might have died from not being started for a long time. Muyoung put on the helmet he had been holding and drove the motorcycle towards where Seokjae would be. The exhaust sound, possibly from modifications, loudly echoed through the quiet streets.

“Kyaak!”

“Grrrr.”

The faint sounds of zombies reacting and running from afar could be heard. Today, they weren’t a threat but rather helpers who would not only buy time for him and Seokjae to escape but also eliminate any future troubles.

Muyoung stopped a short distance from the large glass wall on the far right of the building the woman had pointed out.

“Whew…”

His hands trembled as he gripped and turned the handlebar. Whether it was fear of crashing into the glass wall or guilt over intentionally leading someone to their death, he wasn’t sure. What was certain was that neither of these concerns mattered much to Muyoung right now.

“Let’s just hope I don’t get torn apart.”

Although his physical durability had improved and he couldn’t feel pain, he couldn’t guarantee he’d be fine after a traffic accident. Even with the helmet on, he swallowed hard as the uneasiness didn’t completely disappear.

In reality, what he was about to do was risking his own life as well.

If he thought calmly, he might come up with a safer way to rescue him than this crazy act. But with time running short, this insane plan seemed to have the highest probability of safely rescuing Seokjae among all the ideas that came to Muyoung’s mind.

“I wonder if even a sheep would trust a wolf risking its life to save it.”

If he succeeded in this mission, Seokjae would owe him his life. Unlike before, when he helped secretly from behind, this would create a debt that Seokjae couldn’t ignore even if he wanted to.

‘Maybe…’

It might become a reason for Seokjae not to hate him if his identity was ever revealed. In that sense, it wasn’t a bad gamble.

“…Let’s go.”

Muyoung, filling his head with thoughts of the reward he might receive to suppress his fear, shifted gears and charged towards the glass at full speed.

“Ugh.”

Just before impact, Muyoung tightly shut his eyes. Terrified, his upper body leaned back and curled up. The center of gravity shifted backward, naturally lifting the front wheel of the motorcycle. Soon, the thick front tire of the motorcycle collided with the glass window with tremendous force.

Crash-! The shattered glass exploded like rain, scattering across the floor.

“Huh!”

The massive impact threw Muyoung off the motorcycle. Not having prepared for an emergency landing, as he hadn’t anticipated this outcome, he fell onto a table in the restaurant.

“Wh-what’s going on!”

“What happened!”

The hotel group panicked, making loud noises at the sudden disaster.

The four people had been patiently waiting for things to calm down after repeatedly urging Seokjae to open the door, only to be soundly defeated by his eloquent speech. Then, in the midst of this, they heard an engine sound from outside.

At first, they dismissed it as an illusion, thinking it impossible to hear an engine in this situation. But as the sound became clearer, they realized it wasn’t their imagination, and the balding man ordered the man with glasses to check the situation outside.

And just as the bespectacled man, grumbling inwardly, was about to take a step from the kitchen towards the window, the motorcycle flew into the restaurant like a missile.

After a chorus of screams, an odd silence fell over the restaurant. The man with glasses gasped at the sight of the motorcycle on the floor and Muyoung fallen on the table.

“Is, is he dead?”

“How would I know that! The window is broken!”

The balding man, who had been raging, was startled to see Muyoung stirring on the table.

“He-he’s alive!”

It was an accident that would have left an ordinary person unable to get up, yet Muyoung supported his upper body with both arms and rose. Apart from his rough breathing, as if he had just experienced an extreme sport, he seemed fine.

‘Where’s hyung?’

As soon as Muyoung raised his head, he searched for Seokjae’s whereabouts. His eyes quickly passed over the four panicking men and easily found Seokjae at the far end of the restaurant.

‘Ah, there he is.’

Seokjae, his eyes wider than usual, probably from surprise, was fortunately unharmed. Muyoung smiled broadly in relief.

Seokjae, sitting on a table in front of the kitchen door observing the whole situation, blinked blankly at the rescue method that was even more dramatic than expected and briefly marveled.

“Wow.”

Seeing the helmeted head rise after being planted on the table, Seokjae couldn’t hold back anymore and muttered in a voice full of amusement.

“I really didn’t expect him to ride something here.”

Seokjae’s comment, which would have made Muyoung curious with wide eyes had he heard it without knowing the context, was drowned out by the balding man’s shout.

“You, you bastard! How are you going to take responsibility for this!”

The man’s face, which had been unnaturally composed until now, turned red and blue as if it might burst at any moment.

Muyoung, letting the loud voice filling the restaurant in one ear and out the other, sighed softly as he looked at the motorcycle lying on the floor.

‘Good thing I didn’t need to push through.’

Muyoung’s original plan wasn’t just to break the window with the motorcycle, but to drive straight to the kitchen where Seokjae would be. He had judged that people would instinctively dodge an oncoming motorcycle, allowing him to reach Seokjae without fighting the group.

However, that plan ended before it could even begin as he was thrown off the driver’s seat while breaking the glass. Fortunately, it became unnecessary as Seokjae hadn’t entered the kitchen yet.

‘Movies and reality are really different dimensions, huh.’

After confirming Seokjae’s safety, Muyoung, now with the luxury to be afraid, briefly shuddered as he recalled the sensation of flying through the air. The tremor was so slight that it wasn’t noticeable, making it seem as if Muyoung was ignoring the balding man and only concerned about the motorcycle.

“Are you ignoring me right now?!”

The balding man, perhaps with rising blood pressure from anger, groaned and clutched the back of his neck. The group that had been just watching finally came to their senses as he was about to fall over and exchanged glances with each other.

The man with the beard nodded to the other two men, signaling them to grab Muyoung. He intended to either take him away for punishment or use him to attract the zombies’ attention if that didn’t work.

The men, who couldn’t even make a peep against Seokjae, thought they could easily subdue the relatively small-built Muyoung and were about to rush at him without hesitation.

Thud-!

A sound of something crashing heavily to the ground came from behind the three men. Startled by the loud noise, the three men, Muyoung, and even the balding man turned their heads towards the source of the sound.

The table that had been blocking the kitchen door was now flipped upside down and rolling on the floor. The faces of the four men, except for Seokjae who had caused this and Muyoung who hadn’t grasped the situation, turned pale. The bearded man shouted at Seokjae, who was standing calmly next to the fallen table.

“What are you doing!”

“I’m keeping the promise to open the door.”

“Kyaaaaaak!”

Seokjae’s answer to the man’s non-question was drowned out by the screech of a zombie coming from inside the kitchen.

Seokjae retreated to the blind spot beside the door while looking at the four men, and the zombie that had been pressing against the door since the motorcycle crashed in immediately escaped the kitchen as the obstacle disappeared.

“Kuaak!”

“Aakh!”

The zombie pounced on the bearded man who had been shouting fearlessly. The man, losing his balance and falling, hurriedly shoved the baseball bat he was holding into the zombie’s mouth.

Barely avoiding being bitten, the man shouted.

“He-help me!”

But the three men around him only retreated with terrified faces. The man glared at those keeping their distance with bloodshot eyes and pushed the zombie aside with a scream.

“Uwaaaaah!”

And as if venting his anger, he struck the zombie multiple times with the baseball bat. The man, panting after dealing with one zombie, directed his anger not at Seokjae who had opened the door, but at the group who hadn’t helped him.