Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 88

Seokjae and Muyoung ran toward the upper floor as if they had agreed upon it without exchanging a word. Seokjae acted on instinct, while Muyoung chose what he knew to be the safest option from his experience rescuing people.

Screech- Their wet soles created an unpleasant sound as they rubbed against the corridor tiles.

But they had no time to worry about such things while escaping. They needed to find a hiding place before the creatures swarming from outside realized that the source of the noise was their own kind and lost interest. After that, their range of possible actions would be extremely limited.

However, there was one thing that even these two quick-thinking individuals hadn’t anticipated: the path that brought them closer to the thunder sounds wasn’t only on the first floor.

Thud-!

The moment they set foot on the fifth floor, something tumbled down from the stairs leading upward and crashed straight into the wall.

“Grrrk…”

The zombie, its front crushed from colliding with the wall, twisted its bizarrely bent body.

To make matters worse, this one wasn’t the end of it. They began to sense presences rushing toward them from all directions. It seemed as though the creatures had all moved at once, drawn by sounds coming from the roof rather than from outside the first-floor door.

“KRAA-ARK!”

Seokjae spotted a zombie running down from the upper landing and immediately turned around. The outside creatures crawling up from the first floor were now secondary concerns. Avoiding those opening their mouths right in front of them took priority.

“This way.”

Seokjae barked a command to snap the others out of their startled state upon seeing the zombie, and ran down the fifth-floor corridor while quickly assessing their surroundings.

It looked similar to the lower floors, suggesting students had fled up to the fifth floor as well. There were many open doors, but all the windows had lost their functionality, making the probability of infiltration from outside too high.

If they hadn’t been noticed, hiding might have been enough, but since they’d already been spotted, merely concealing themselves was insufficient. These creatures would find any gap to enter once they detected prey, so a sealed space was necessary.

After running all the way to the opposite end of the corridor in search of a hiding place, they fortunately discovered the only location that remained intact.

However, they couldn’t easily rejoice. Under the sign that read “Science Lab,” Kyungho muttered in a voice filled with despair:

“There’s a lock…”

A large padlock was secured on the door.

Muyoung took out the baseball bat that had been safely stored in his bag and turned around. He felt it was his time to step up.

“Grrrrk…!”

“KRAA-ARK!”

Zombies that had tumbled down the stairs were already filling the corridor. Though they repeatedly slipped on their rain-soaked feet and fell over each other, creating some distance, it wouldn’t be long before they reached the group’s position.

Planning to buy time until his companions could open the door, Muyoung gripped his weapon tightly and shouted:

“Hyung, I’ll-!”

Thwack!

But before Muyoung could finish speaking, Seokjae flipped his weapon, gripping it by the blade, and struck the padlock’s ring with the handle bottom. As the zombies’ presence drew ever closer, he moved his hand mechanically without turning his head.

BANG! CRASH!

The sound that erupted was loud enough to hurt anyone listening. After a few more ferocious striking sounds, the screws embedded in the doorframe fell out along with wooden fragments and the heavy padlock.

“KIEEEK!”

“Eek!”

Simultaneously, a zombie that had finally reached them flailed and lunged forward.

Crack.

The undead was instantly killed when Muyoung, stunned by Seokjae’s unhesitating actions, reflexively swung his blunt weapon and struck its head.

But the zombie, propelled by considerable force, slammed into the wall like a squashed persimmon. Its decaying body slid down to the floor.

“Uh, um. S-sorry…”

As the zombie crumpled into a posture as grotesque as its appearance, a thoroughly flustered Muyoung apologized without realizing it. Until now, he had been able to help others sufficiently by pushing and knocking creatures over, so this was his first time properly striking with a weapon.

“That’s enough. Come in.”

While Muyoung was floundering, Seokjae, who had already ushered the two children inside the science lab, grabbed his waist and pulled him in before closing the door.

“KRAA-ARK!”

One persistent zombie thrust its face through the gap just before the door closed completely. Seokjae frowned in annoyance and tried to kick it away. That is, if someone hadn’t moved first.

Thwack!

Despite his apologetic expression, Muyoung struck the zombie resolutely. Then, using the end of his baseball bat, he cleanly pushed its jaw away like a billiard ball, closed the door, and looked at Seokjae.

“I-I got rid of it!”

“…”

Seokjae was momentarily speechless. Partly because Muyoung looked too cute for the situation, but also because while his words clearly seemed to be seeking praise, his expression was nothing short of solemn.

Unsure whether Muyoung truly wanted praise, Seokjae decided to offer commendation first, having found no other appropriate response.

“Yes. Good job.”

“I-I’ll work harder from now on.”

Appearing satisfied, Muyoung clenched his fist as he spoke.

‘After vowing to do his share, he finally managed it.’

Seokjae inwardly chuckled at the unexpected progress of their unspoken competition, but in reality, Muyoung’s thoughts were far from what he assumed.

‘I thought killing zombies and fighting were not much different, but I was completely mistaken.’

He had just realized what was, in retrospect, an obvious fact. Even assuming it wasn’t dangerous, making someone bear alone a task that caused guilt even after handling just one was absurd.

‘I should protect my kid myself!’

Muyoung firmly resolved that from now on, he would never let him shoulder heavy burdens alone, both physically and mentally.

* * *

Even after entering the science lab, they continued moving without rest. They inserted lighting fixtures to prevent the door from being pushed in and stacked desks and chairs in front of it to create a makeshift barricade.

Fortunately amidst the misfortune, this school’s science lab had few windows facing the corridor, and even those were positioned high. Additionally, there were blackout curtains, making it safer than anywhere else.

Bang, bang, bang!

However, the zombies were already convinced that prey was inside. Either their numbers were increasing, or the intensity of the door’s shaking was gradually strengthening. Though the door wouldn’t break easily, remaining trapped like this was problematic.

“W-what do we do now?”

“Won’t they go somewhere else when thunder strikes again?”

When Kyungho fidgeted with a terrified expression, Junwoo looked at Seokjae as if hoping for his agreement.

Seokjae, who had been looking out the window, felt their gazes and nodded.

“Probably.”

Though the thunder would need to continue until those creatures lost interest.

He didn’t share the follow-up thought with the two who were exhaling deeply in apparent relief at his words. The rain was still pouring heavily, and he was just accounting for the possibility of bad timing. There was no need to create unnecessary anxiety.

Thus, they had no choice but to spend time leaving the situation to luck.

Perhaps because they had already narrowly escaped death several times today, exhaustion was evident on Kyungho and Junwoo’s faces. Nevertheless, they couldn’t relax due to the zombies asserting their presence outside, constantly watching the door with pale faces.

“It’s really fine. It doesn’t hurt even when I press on it?”

“I told you I’m okay. It just made a loud noise.”

Unlike the two, Seokjae and Muyoung were examining his hand, their heads close together.

As soon as he had a moment, Muyoung thoroughly washed Seokjae’s hand—which had struck the metal—in the science lab sink, and sighed in relief after confirming it was perfectly fine without even a scratch.

“Still, what if you’d gotten hurt? There was zombie blood on your hand too…”

“Mm, sorry for worrying you.”

Seeing Muyoung focused on him made Seokjae feel good.

‘I rather like this continuing.’

As if sensing this thought, Muyoung noticed the two boys shivering, not even having thought to dry their rain-soaked bodies, and whispered to Seokjae:

“The kids look cold. I’ll look for something they can use to dry off.”

“…Right. They shouldn’t catch a cold.”

“Exactly. You rest, Hyung—you’ve been through a lot today.”

Though his response implied that Muyoung’s attention being divided would be inconvenient, Muyoung firmly believed Seokjae was concerned about the two and immediately began darting around the science lab.

And not long after, Junwoo, who had been anxiously chewing his lips whenever the door rattled, muttered:

“I wish that zombie downstairs would make noise again… It would be great if all of them went there, drawn by the sound.”

As he heard these words, Muyoung’s eyes sparkled upon discovering a fire extinguisher next to the shelf.