Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 46

Separately, after hearing the child’s whining, I had a lot to think about. Even though I had intended to send her back upstairs firmly despite her protests, thinking about how she would be surprised to see the child gone after just waking up. Except for the first day she came here, the child who had been quiet made me feel sorry for her.

Originally, she would have been running around the school playground, but she had been cooped up in the room for nearly a week, so it was understandable that she felt frustrated.

“So, what do you want to do?”

In the end, Muyoung decided to spend some time with the child. He might not be able to play as much as she wanted, but if he granted her most desired wish, maybe the child would be satisfied and go back upstairs.

“I, I’m curious about that thing over there.”

Realizing that Muyoung had changed his mind, the child grabbed his hand and pulled him into the living room. Then she stood in front of a frame hanging on the wall. It was a frame containing a golden medal attached to a red ribbon, along with a certificate.

‘The homeowner must have been a soldier.’

Even though he had passed through the living room every day, he hadn’t noticed it was there. Looking at its shiny appearance, it seemed well-maintained.

“If I let you look at that, will you go upstairs?”

Muyoung looked at the child reassuringly, thinking he could explain it within his knowledge.

“…Nope. I want to play hide-and-seek!”

As if that wasn’t nearly enough, the child shook her head and bounced in place, seemingly excited just imagining it.

“Hide-and-seek?”

Muyoung chuckled softly at the childish game he hadn’t heard of in a long time.

“Yes!”

The child nodded vigorously and crossed her arms firmly, looking up at him as if to show her determination not to go upstairs quietly unless they played hide-and-seek.

“Okay. Then let’s agree that you’ll go right upstairs after oppa plays with you.”

Muyoung, who was planning to grant her wish anyway, spoke with a gentle smile.

He first decided to explain the medal she had asked to see. After get

ting the child’s permission, he lifted the frame carefully to show it to her up close.

“This is an award given to brave soldiers who made contributions in past wars. You know those round medals you get at sports days? It’s similar to that.”

“What are wars and contributions?”

Faced with an immediate question after his explanation, Muyoung rolled his eyes, trying to think of a simpler way to explain.

“Um… War is protecting the country, and making a contribution means doing something really great.”

“I see! So this is the house of a brave soldier who protected the country? That’s awesome!”

“…That’s right.”

Hearing the child’s words made the reality that this place was originally someone else’s everyday living space hit home.

“Alright, now that we’ve looked at it enough, shall we play hide-and-seek?”

Although it was an unavoidable situation, and aside from survival, they hadn’t maliciously taken or used things, Muyoung still couldn’t feel completely at ease. So he deliberately changed the subject.

“Okay!”

“We need to be quiet so we don’t disturb the people resting in the rooms. Can you do that?”

“You mean quietly like this?”

The child tiptoed and walked carefully with exaggerated movements, and Muyoung nodded in approval.

“Yes, like that, sneaking around. Hide-and-seek isn’t about running away, so it’s okay to move calmly.”

“Then how do we know when to count to 100? What about saying ‘Olly olly oxen free’ when you can’t find someone?”

“Ah… well, about that.”

He had thought hide-and-seek would be a quiet game, but hearing this, there seemed to be a lot to be careful about. Muyoung, looking flustered, pondered how to handle this dilemma when he thought of the clocks in each room. Fortunately, the clock in the living room was a digital one with large numbers that even the child could easily read.

“Hayun, can you do addition?”

“Yes! I can even do two-digit numbers!”

“That’s impressive! Then instead of counting to 100, how about we use the clock? When we say ‘Start!’, we’ll end when the number on the right side of the clock adds 2.”

“Hmm… So if we said ‘Start!’ now when it’s 2… until 4?”

“That’s right! You’re so smart!”

Muyoung had been worried that he made the game too complicated, but fortunately, the child seemed to enjoy the new rule and participated enthusiastically.

“What about ‘Olly olly oxen free’?”

“For that, let’s wait until the number we started with adds 5. The seeker will come back here and wait if they can’t find anyone, and the hider will come to the living room.”

“Okay!”

“So, we said 4 earlier, when would ‘Olly olly oxen free’ be?”

“Uh… Um… 4 plus 5 is… 9!”

The child wiggled her fingers as she added the numbers and shouted the answer with a bright smile.

It was a relief that she seemed to understand, but Muyoung thought it would be more reassuring if he was the seeker. That way, he could make it so the child wouldn’t have to worry about the numbers.

Moreover, if he was the seeker, he didn’t have to strictly follow the time limit and could go look for her when he heard her footsteps stop. By focusing on the sound of footsteps, he could easily deduce where she went.

“Alright, then I’ll be the seeker. Hayun, you hide.”

Muyoung said, thinking she would surely be happy since he had heard that young children dislike being the seeker.

“No.”

But the child immediately shook her head firmly.

“Huh? What do you mean, no?”

The child who had been smiling happily while doing addition suddenly looked upset.

“What’s wrong, Hayun?”

“We have to decide the seeker with rock-paper-scissors.”

“Hmm? Do you want to be the seeker, Hayun?”

“No.”

Muyoung thought she might be upset because he had decided arbitrarily when she wanted to be the seeker, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Unable to follow the child’s thoughts, Muyoung spoke again.

“Then you hide, Hayun. I’ll be the seeker.”

“No. We have to decide the seeker with rock-paper-scissors.”

“Is, is that so?”

“Yes.”

Her look that seemed to say ‘You don’t even know that?’ was disconcerting, but Muyoung decided to chalk it up to a child’s stubbornness and go along with it. He forced a smile and tried to appease the child, then raised his fist.

“Okay, shall we do it?”

“Yes!”

“If you don’t show, you lose. Rock, paper, scissors!”

Please let me be the seeker! 

Muyoung inwardly pleaded as he showed scissors, but unfortunately, the child had her small hand spread out flat.

“…”

“Uh, Hayun?”

The child looked glumly at her own hand that had shown paper. Muyoung, worried that she might burst into tears, hastily spoke up.

“Sh-shall we do it again? Actually, these things are usually best two out of three!”

“…It’s okay. A lady doesn’t go back on her word.”

The child looked at the placating Muyoung with a blank face and said, lifting her chin.

“I-is that so? That’s admirable…”

It was a statement both childlike and unlike a child. Not knowing how to react, Muyoung rolled his eyes before giving a small clap.

“Hurry and hide, oppa.”

Fortunately, it seemed to be an acceptable response as the child quickly erased her gloomy expression.

“Alright.”

The child turned her back, looking at the clock, and Muyoung called out “Start!” just as the minute hand moved, then immediately walked towards the kitchen. He was planning to hide under the dining table.

“…No, wait.”

If he was found too easily, wouldn’t she whine to play one more time because it was boring? In that case, it might be better to hide more securely. After circling the kitchen once, Muyoung went back to the living room, quietly passing behind the child who was still staring straight at the clock even though no one was watching, and walked down the hallway.

“Where should I hide?”

His own room where Seokjae was sleeping was out of the question, and Kyungho and Junwoo’s room didn’t feel right either. He felt a bit embarrassed at the thought of suddenly opening the door and asking to hide there for hide-and-seek.

‘But I can’t just enter a room without the owner’s permission either.’

He thought two minutes would be plenty of time, but having to abandon his initial hiding spot and find a new one made it feel very tight. Should he hide near the second-floor stairs, or in the bathroom? While wandering the hallway in confusion, he decided the bathroom would be better and turned his body, which had been heading towards the stairs, to walk-run halfway.

Click.

“Huh?”

It was just as Muyoung was passing by his room door. He heard the sound of the doorknob being roughly turned behind him. Reflexively turning around, he saw Seokjae coming out of the room.

The last time he had seen him, Seokjae had been sleeping with a very peaceful face, but in this short time, he looked as if he had had a nightmare, his expression not just cold but fierce.

‘Did I move around too noisily?’

Thinking about it, he realized that while he had told the child to move quietly, he had been running around in a hurry, feeling rushed. He had even passed by the room door multiple times. From Seokjae’s perspective, who had been sleeping well, it must have been quite disturbing.

“Hyung.”

Feeling he should apologize at least briefly before hiding, Muyoung called out carefully, and Seokjae quickly turned his head towards him.