Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 56

As she repeatedly brought up “what ifs,” Muyoung, flustered, smiled awkwardly. Not wanting to argue, he nodded instead of pointing out the lack of realism in her words.

“Well, if that were the case, I might consider it a little.”

“…I see. Alright. You can go now.”

Seemingly satisfied with Muyoung’s answer, the woman dismissed him in a calm voice, as if she hadn’t been confrontational just moments ago.

“Okay. I’ll see you downstairs later then.”

Confused by the situation he couldn’t understand, Muyoung headed down to the kitchen, as going to the first floor was more important for now.

“Hyung, you’re here?”

“It’s good you came before the food got cold.”

As Muyoung entered the kitchen, Kyungho and Junwoo greeted him.

‘As expected…’

As he had anticipated, the three hadn’t touched their food, waiting for Muyoung to arrive.

“Sorry. I was delayed by a brief conversation. I told you to start eating without me.”

“What conversation?”

Seokjae, who had been quietly watching until Muyoung sat down, asked with a twitch of his eyebrow.

“Ah, well…”

How could he convey this without making it sound bad? After a moment’s thought, Muyoung summarized the key points.

“She asked a bit about my opinion on moving.”

“What? Did that person say something to you, hyung?”

Junwoo’s eyes narrowed fiercely, worried that someone might have said something unkind to the gentle Muyoung.

“Huh? No, no. It wasn’t anything like that. She was just curious, I think.”

“What exactly did she ask you?”

As soon as Muyoung calmed Junwoo sitting across from him, Seokjae jumped in as if taking over the baton.

“She asked if I wanted to move too.”

“…She asked you if you wanted to move?”

After a moment of silence, Seokjae asked again in a voice that seemed to carry a chill.

“Yes? Yes.”

Not knowing what was wrong, Muyoung answered with round eyes.

As Seokjae raised one eyebrow and was about to say something more, a clear sound echoed in the kitchen. Grumble. Kyungho and Muyoung’s gazes turned to the source of the sound. There sat Junwoo, stiffly holding his stomach.

“Um… shall we eat first?”

Unable to ignore the nineteen-year-old boy clutching his empty stomach, Muyoung suggested.

“No, no. This is just, anyway, it’s fine, you can continue talking.”

Embarrassed that the conversation had been interrupted by the sound from his stomach, Junwoo frowned and refused.

“Well, no. Actually, what I said just now is all we talked about upstairs.”

“…Still.”

Despite Muyoung’s consideration, Junwoo’s gaze rolled towards Seokjae, who clearly had something to say. Seokjae, who had been looking at Muyoung until now, felt the gaze fixed on him and spoke in a casual voice.

“Right, we should eat first. You’re hungry.”

Seeing his lips curl up smoothly, it really seemed like he didn’t mind. Only then did Junwoo nod, relieved.

“Yes. Thank you for the meal.”

“Thank you for the meal.”

As soon as permission was given, Junwoo attacked the heated frozen dumplings with a combative attitude, as if he had never hesitated. Kyungho, who had been quiet, also thrust in his chopsticks, not wanting to be outdone.

“Be careful, it’s hot.”

As Muyoung was watching them fondly, Seokjae’s voice came from beside him, expressing concern for the two. Although he had been seeing new sides of him lately, Muyoung thought that hyung was indeed kind and glanced at Seokjae. Strangely, he met Seokjae’s eyes, which were looking at him rather than the kids.

Only then did Muyoung realize that unlike usual, the kids hadn’t responded to his words. He pointed at himself with his index finger.

“…Me?”

“Yeah. That’s probably very hot since the kids reheated it once more before you came.”

“Ah…”

Muyoung turned his eyes to where Seokjae pointed with his chin and saw the white broth steaming heavily.

‘Right. I have to eat this, don’t I?’

Muyoung’s face turned pale again, as he had been so busy being considerate of the kids that he hadn’t realized he was hastening his own ordeal.

* * *

The first sip of the broth was, as expected, much easier to consume than other foods that needed to be chewed. Thanks to this, he was able to empty the entire bowl faster than before.

However, if there was one problem, it was that what he had eaten was hot soup. Steaming hot, at that.

“…”

“Hyung, are you okay?”

Kyungho asked worriedly to Muyoung, who was covering his mouth.

“I’m, I’m fwine.”

Flinching at the strange sensation in his tongue, a pronunciation that sounded like it came from a child with missing front teeth flowed from Muyoung’s mouth. Finding it more foolish than he expected, Muyoung covered his mouth again and groaned.

‘What’s happening…’

Was it because he had only blown on it briefly before eating? It was an accident caused by overlooking the fact that while he couldn’t feel the heat, it didn’t mean he couldn’t get hurt. Muyoung had scalded his entire mouth.

“If it was hot, you should have let it cool down a bit…”

“Wight.”

Muyoung answered with an awkward smile and unconsciously swept his tongue across the roof of his mouth. Immediately, he shuddered as if several sharp-edged papers were brushing against his tongue. The fact that it didn’t hurt made him feel worse.

‘What if this doesn’t heal?’

Muyoung was internally breaking out in a cold sweat alone in the living room where everyone had gathered to talk.

Zombies don’t have healing abilities. While it’s fortunate they don’t, as it would have made things harder for people if they did, it meant that he might have to live with this pronunciation from now on.

‘No. I’m different from ordinary zombies, so I might be okay.’

The only thing he could hope for in this situation was the fact that he was a mutant zombie. If he could feel his feet tingling, wouldn’t he have some healing ability too?

However, it was just a possibility, not a certainty, so he couldn’t help but feel anxious.

‘It, it won’t rot, will it?’

Imagining the worst-case scenario of losing his tongue and being unable to speak made him feel sick suddenly. Preparing to dash to the bathroom thinking he might have another rejection reaction, strangely, he didn’t feel nauseous.

‘Am I still okay?’

Muyoung relaxed after rolling his eyes and focusing on his condition, finding no continued reaction. Whether it was because of the small quantity or because his stomach didn’t properly recognize the broth, unlike before when he felt nauseous within 5 minutes of eating, now he was fine even after some time had passed.

‘I hope it stays like this.’

If he had considered that there would be a meeting right after the meal, he would have been more cautious about agreeing. Pressured by the children’s sparkling eyes, he only realized the pressure plate laid out before him after sitting in the living room. It was a realization that came far too late.

‘Please just stay quiet until the conversation ends.’

It was already too late, so all he could do was rely on luck. Muyoung internally pleaded with his body, hands clasped.

At that moment, a large hand approached like a snake and grasped Muyoung’s neck.

“Does it still hurt a lot? Let me take another look. Open your mouth.”

It was Seokjae, who had been watching and listening to their conversation right beside them. He pressed his thumb under Muyoung’s chin, tilting his head upward.

“It’sh, it’sh fwine-“

“Ah.”

“Aah…”

At Seokjae’s firm command, Muyoung’s mouth opened wide like a dog performing a trick. After examining the inside of his mouth thoroughly with a serious face, Seokjae tilted his head slightly to one side.

“Hmm?”

Since it wasn’t severely burned, there were no blisters to begin with, just redness and slight swelling of the tongue and palate. The swelling was still there, but the redness seemed to have subsided a bit from when he first checked.

“Has it… gotten better?”

Seokjae muttered, updating the new information about Muyoung’s body in his head. At those words, Muyoung’s face brightened.

“Yesh, it hash…”

Smiling with joy at the thought of being able to save his tongue, Muyoung hurriedly swallowed the saliva pooled under his tongue, fearing it might flow over his lips.

“It hash?”

With his mouth still wide open and grinning, he looked incredibly cute, but as Seokjae watched the writhing tongue, he focused on Muyoung’s small, red flesh for a different reason than before.

Seokjae’s fingers, which had been holding Muyoung’s chin, were slowly creeping up his lower jaw, about to invade his mouth. A bewildered voice came from outside the living room.

“What on earth are you two doing right now?”