Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 35

“What…?”

“Hm?”

Muyoung asked back in bewilderment, but all he got in return was a look as if asking if there was any problem. Judging by the calm face without a hint of curiosity, it seemed like a question without much significance.

However, Muyoung couldn’t give any answer to that casual question. If he said yes, Seokjae might misunderstand that he valued the children more than him. But saying no would be a lie. He couldn’t guarantee that if a situation like today happened again, he wouldn’t hesitate between the children in front of him and Seokjae waiting for him.

‘If it wasn’t Kyungho or Junwoo but someone else, I would’ve said I’d go to save hyung first.’

Unaware that Seokjae was just being petty about yesterday’s incident, Muyoung was racking his brain as if making a life-changing decision.

‘If they can’t evacuate, couldn’t we go save hyung together? Wait, but that would mean I’m prioritizing the kids again.’

Unable to decide on priorities, Muyoung kept muttering meaningless sounds like “Well, you see…”

‘If it’s hard to answer, he could just ask what I mean and move on, but he’s been pondering for a while.’

The one who actually brought it up was enjoying watching him struggle because of his words.

In fact, Seokjae had expected Muyoung to laugh it off embarrassedly or apologize for being late. But he was stuck in thought, unable to give any answer. It was an unexpected reaction.

He had planned to comfort the troubled Muyoung with words of understanding while showing a bit of disappointment. If he felt guilty about this incident, the kindhearted Muyoung might hesitate even a second longer in the next dilemma.

Even though that plan had completely fallen through, Seokjae didn’t feel the slightest regret. Ideally, he would want Muyoung to choose him without hesitation, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. For now, he was satisfied with the fact that Muyoung couldn’t answer easily.

‘Let’s stop here for today. It’s dangerous to keep talking outside anyway.’

Satisfied even without any gain, Seokjae kindly helped Muyoung who had been at a loss until now.

‘First, let’s get rid of this hideous thing.’

Swoosh- Seokjae’s hand swiftly removed the clunky helmet that had been covering Muyoung’s head.

“So… I… huh?”

Underneath, a clear face with disheveled hair and evident surprise was revealed. A brief silence fell at Seokjae’s sudden action. Soon, as their gazes met in the air, Seokjae whispered.

“Why are you so flustered? I meant that I believed you would have resolved everything before coming.”

Unaware that he had been deliberately flustered, Muyoung blinked his eyes like a gentle country puppy. Watching this, Seokjae raised the corners of his mouth in a refreshing smile.

* * *

On the beige sofa in the living room, one person was sitting, or rather lying, with their body slumped.

‘Why is this so exhausting…’

It was Muyoung, completely drained and limp.

Perhaps they had been pacing in front of the entrance worried about the two who were late, but thanks to Kyungho who came out to greet them sensing their presence, Muyoung and Seokjae had to stop their conversation and enter the house. And once inside the shelter, Muyoung couldn’t relax for even a moment.

‘Hyung! Are you hurt anywhere? I’m so glad… Oh, benefactor!’

‘Huh? Me?’

‘Yes! Benefactor, really, thank you so much. Without you, I don’t know what would have happened…’

First, he had to calm down Kyungho, who kept calling him benefactor and expressing gratitude with a face that looked like he might cry at any moment.

‘That’s…’

‘Ah! Well, that person, actually, as soon as I met the kids, they found out…’

‘…’

‘We had to hurry to save you, and it would have been troublesome if they blocked the door or called other people, and they seemed to be closest to Hayun, so I evacuated them together.’

‘Hayun?’

‘Oh. That’s the child’s name.’

Next, he had to explain in detail to Seokjae, who was surprised to see an unexpected figure on the second-floor stairs.

At the time, the situation was urgent, so there was no time to think further about bringing her along, but it meant bringing someone from an unsavory group to the hideout. He should have made a more careful decision. So it was very reasonable for Seokjae to demand an explanation.

‘You said they seemed like a good person because they were close to the child.’

‘Isn’t that usually the case…?’

Although he understood intellectually, it didn’t make it any less disheartening to have Seokjae look at him as if he were a troublemaker from the very first day they were together.

‘That-‘

‘We’ll have to talk about this all together later.’

It was a thousand blessings, even in retrospect, that he ended the situation first before Muyoung could utter the irreverent words asking if he couldn’t close his eyes a bit, unable to bear the gaze.

“…I want to fall asleep like this.”

Perhaps it was too much to have so many conversations with people after a long time, but the forgotten desire for sleep gradually grew.

‘Just because I want to sleep doesn’t mean I can.’

As exhaustion washed over him, even his eyelids felt heavy. Muyoung accepted the nostalgic sensation, which was probably an illusion, without resistance.

How long had he been lying there with his eyes closed? He heard small footsteps coming down the stairs. Muyoung immediately opened his eyes and turned his head towards the source of the sound, seeing a child peeking out from the entrance hallway.

“Oppa, oppa!”

It seems she felt close despite having met only once. The child looked at Muyoung with sparkling eyes and waved her outstretched hand vigorously.

“Oppa, hello!”

“Hi there.”

Just waving back made the child burst into laughter, finding it so delightful for some reason. Although the fatigue hadn’t completely disappeared, Muyoung sat up, feeling awkward about sprawling in front of the child.

“Why are you sitting there? You can come over here.”

He then adjusted his posture and gestured to the child crouching behind the wall separating the hallway and the living room.

“Umm… I can’t.”

“You can’t?”

His eyes widened in surprise at the strange answer that it wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but that she couldn’t. Muyoung found the answer in the hand that suddenly popped out behind the child.

“Hayun! Unni told you not to talk to those people.”

The woman scolded the child and pulled her into her arms. Judging by her flinching and glancing at him, it seemed she had scolded the child out of concern, but now felt awkward for openly telling her to avoid him right in front of him.

‘Oh, benefactor! You can go into any room except where Junwoo is lying down since the owners haven’t been decided, but you can’t go up to the second floor!’

Suddenly, he remembered what Kyungho had said just before entering the room to report on Junwoo’s condition to Seokjae. It seemed that from the moment they entered this house, they had agreed to split into pairs, with Kyungho and Junwoo on the first floor, and the woman and child on the second floor.

‘As expected, she doesn’t seem to be a completely bad person.’

Listening to her reprimanding the child, he could sense that even though they were staying in the same space, she wanted to avoid encountering them as much as possible.

Nevertheless, she had come down to the first floor where the people she was wary of were staying to look for the child. Considering that she had come out to the stairs alone to check what was happening when Seokjae and he had entered the house, it seemed she was at least a person with the will to protect the child.

It was fortunate that a good person was by the child’s side. It was also fortunate that the probability of his choice turning out harmful to the group seemed to have decreased, even if only slightly. Muyoung unknowingly let out a small sigh.

‘But why is she looking at me like that?’

Even though she had been scolded by the woman, the child still wouldn’t take her eyes off Muyoung. Her eyes were shining to the point of being burdensome. Somehow, it seemed her fondness had grown several times compared to when they met at the hotel.

‘He really defeated the monster and rescued the princess! As expected, the prince is strong!’

In a city overrun by zombies, the story of Prince Muyoung and Princess Seokjae was like a ray of light for the child who was barely maintaining her innocence. Because of this, the child was perfectly immersed in role-playing, undeterred even by the unusual condition that the princess was bigger and more handsome than the prince.

‘Is this better than being disliked?’

Unaware that the child was considering him and Seokjae an official couple, Muyoung simply interpreted her unusual friendliness as ‘She must be very sociable.’