Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 38

“…I’m bored.”

In the predawn hours, Muyoung, sitting on the bed blinking blankly, mumbled. He had been sitting still like a statue for hours. His patience was wearing thin.

“It feels strange to do nothing during what should be a busy time.”

Normally, he would be dealing with zombies on the streets for Seokjae’s sake right now. Not just that. He should have been finding a suitable hideout in a good location and organizing its interior, while also gathering food and medical supplies to bring to him.

There was no time to catch his breath if he wanted to accomplish everything within the time limit and return to Seokjae.

As a result, it felt awkward to just lie down doing nothing. This used to be his daily routine before meeting Seokjae. It seemed he had already grown more accustomed to being busy in such a short time.

“Should I go out to the yard for a bit?”

It didn’t seem like a bad idea to take a round of the yard, doubling as guard duty. Finding it hard to resist his restless body, Muyoung started exploring what he could do.

“No, I can’t. What if hyung wakes up?”

He thought it might be okay to go out to the yard with the excuse of guard duty, but after yesterday’s events, he had the impression of being persistent. He suspected that Seokjae might hear the door open and come out to check.

A normal person wouldn’t have hearing sharp enough to detect the sound of a door opening while asleep, but Seokjae wasn’t normal, so Muyoung had a strange belief that it was possible for him.

“I can’t disturb his sleep.”

Regrettably, he decided to give up on the walk. A good night’s sleep was important for someone who was both handsome and a patient.

Glancing in the direction where Seokjae would be sleeping, Muyoung leaned back and lay spread-eagle on the bed.

“From now on, hyung will be this close every day.”

He no longer had to hug a memo and wait for them to come out from the next building, or peek through window cracks enviously. If he spoke, he would get a response.

Muyoung, who had already erased from his mind the trouble this had caused him a few hours ago, hugged the blanket with his whole body and rolled around happily.

“If I’m lucky, I might even get to wake hyung up in the morning!”

Although it didn’t seem likely that Seokjae would wake up late, you never know. Dreaming of a happy future, a faint vitality circled Muyoung’s pale face as he grinned.

As he was imagining the happy days ahead, he heard the sound of a doorknob turning and a door opening. Muyoung’s movements immediately stopped.

“…”

Like a wary wild animal, he raised only his head while lying down to stare at the door, hearing footsteps of someone coming out of a room in the hallway.

Has someone already woken up?

“I hope they didn’t wake up because of me.”

Remembering how he had been jubilantly happy like a dog bathing and rubbing itself in blankets just moments ago, he felt like cold sweat was forming even though it wasn’t. Judging by the fading footsteps, the probability seemed low, but just in case it was true, he carefully opened his door, intending to apologize.

“Where did they go?”

He put his face to the gap of the slightly opened door and looked around. In the hallway, where indirect lighting was left on for safety, there was no sign of the presumed victim of wall noise.

Had they gone somewhere? As he poked his head out a bit more into the hallway to check if any doors were open, he sensed a presence at the end.

“Benefactor? Are you already awake? It’s still dawn.”

Kyungho, who had just walked out of the living room, spotted Muyoung peeking out and spoke. Whether he had trouble sleeping while nursing Junwoo or hadn’t slept at all, he looked even more tired than yesterday.

“Yeah, somehow. Did you wake up because you were thirsty?”

Muyoung awkwardly replied and asked, noticing the cup in Kyungho’s hand as he came out into the hallway. It seemed his destination was the kitchen located inside the living room.

“Ah, this isn’t for me, it’s for Junwoo.”

“Oh? Did he wake up?”

Hearing that name, Muyoung asked with wide eyes, and Kyungho’s face brightened a bit.

“Yes, he opened his eyes a little while ago. He still can’t get up from the bed because he’s dizzy, though.”

Although his tone suggested Junwoo was still far from recovery, Kyungho’s face was full of relief.

“I’m glad he’s come to his senses.”

Muyoung replied in a relieved voice, as if infected by Kyungho’s emotions.

“Yes.”

Kyungho nodded and smiled, then apologetically gestured to the cup.

“I need to bring this water to Junwoo, so I’ll head back in now.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

“If Junwoo’s condition improves more by morning, let’s greet each other together. He doesn’t even know our benefactor’s name yet.”

“Sure, let’s do that.”

Wondering if he could escape that burdensome title by morning, Muyoung gladly accepted his proposal. As the warm conversation ended, Kyungho bowed his head in greeting and went back into the room.

Left alone in the hallway, Muyoung was relieved that he hadn’t disturbed anyone’s sleep and thought about attempting the walk he had given up on earlier, since he was already out.

“Where are you going?”

If only a low voice hadn’t been heard from behind him, along with the sound of a door opening, just as he took a few steps towards the entrance.

“Eek!”

As he turned around with a start, his shoulders jerking, his eyes met Seokjae’s, who was leaning against the doorframe looking at him.

“H-hyung, you’re awake? Was I too noisy? I’m sorry.”

It seemed the sound of his conversation with Kyungho had woken Seokjae up. He had come out worried that he might have disturbed someone’s sleep, but ironically, that very act had ended up waking hyung.

“Um, they say Junwoo woke up. That’s good, right?”

Seokjae was frowning, though it wasn’t clear if he was displeased about having his sleep disturbed or if he was just not fully awake yet. Frozen stiff at that face, Muyoung blurted out the circumstances of their hallway conversation.

“…”

Seokjae didn’t seem particularly interested in why they were having a conversation at this hour, merely scanning Muyoung and the front door he had been heading towards with his dark eyes. Then, in a voice as unruly as his slanted posture, he asked again.

“So, where are you going now?”

“I was just… worried if the door was locked properly.”

Although it seemed like it would be fine to tell the truth, for some reason, looking into Seokjae’s eyes made it hard to speak, so Muyoung mixed in a slight lie in his answer.

‘The front gate is a door too.’

In a city where extraordinary events could happen at any moment, it was safer to have at least one person on guard duty. He was just trying to fulfill that role, so it should be a situation where he could be confident. Of course, if asked why he was trying to do it alone right now, he would have no answer.

‘I definitely can’t say it’s because I felt restless.’

If there were humans wandering around for such reasons in a place where zombies roamed just beyond a single wall, even he would think they were crazy.

“I already checked that earlier, so you don’t need to worry.”

Seokjae, who had been staring intently without blinking, said with a small sigh.

‘Turn away for a moment and he tries to leave.’

As Muyoung had guessed, Seokjae had indeed woken up from the sound of their conversation. But he was usually a light sleeper anyway. He didn’t have so little to do that he would get irritated over something like this.

‘I didn’t hear the door close, so I wondered…’

He had come out because it bothered him that he only heard one door close after the conversation ended. It could have been someone going to the kitchen or bathroom, but he couldn’t wait even a moment before coming to check. He briefly mocked himself for being neurotic, but he was dumbfounded to see his worries becoming reality.

‘Is it because he’s not human anymore?’

His behavior, seemingly rejecting the comfortable indoor space, felt like a wild animal continually trying to escape after being rescued by humans.

‘Should I make him wear shoes that make noise?’

Setting aside Muyoung’s human rights, wearing such things in a place crawling with zombies would be tantamount to suicide. Seokjae knew this fact. But the fact that he even had such thoughts showed how low his trust in Muyoung had sunk at the moment.

“Ah, really? I see…”

Meanwhile, Muyoung felt that the way Seokjae was looking at him seemed familiar somehow. Thinking back, he realized it was identical to the woman’s gaze when she saw the child who had come down to the first floor on her own yesterday.

He felt briefly wronged at being treated on the same level as an eight-year-old, but thinking about it, he would probably immediately stop Seokjae or the kids if they tried to leave without saying anything, so he decided to keep quiet.