Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 89

Muyoung opened the fire hydrant cabinet without hesitation. After confirming the long, neatly folded hose inside, he jumped up, turned to Seokjae with a bright smile, and exclaimed, “Hyung!”

“No.”

But before he could even start explaining, he was met with rejection. In that brief moment between taking a breath and beginning to explain his brilliant plan, Muyoung was stunned by the firm refusal and blinked slowly.

“I haven’t even said anything yet?”

“…”

Seokjae averted his gaze at the subtly wronged voice. He was startled by his own automatic response. The moment he saw Muyoung turn to him with a suddenly brightened face, he had reflexively objected.

‘For good reason… whenever he thinks something up on his own, he always does something unexpected.’

The situation was already dire, and he’d had a bad feeling from the start. He felt certain this wouldn’t be anything minor. He wished he could just ignore whatever Muyoung was thinking and move on, but…

Muyoung’s gaze—as if asking ‘What have I done to deserve this?’—was uncomfortably piercing.

If only he’d asked “Are you worried I’ll cause trouble again?” like before, Seokjae could have gently persuaded him. But instead, Muyoung stood there fidgeting with his fingers and glancing up occasionally without saying anything. It seemed he hadn’t fully regained his confidence after smashing those two zombie heads earlier.

While Seokjae thought it might be easier to handle Muyoung when he was this subdued, he disliked seeing that deflated, pancake-like expression.

Finally, Seokjae decided to back down.

“Okay, fine. What is it?”

“I’ll lure the zombies outside and come back!”

…He should have just not listened. Seokjae pressed his fingers against his temple as his head throbbed. He couldn’t respond for a while, trying to hold back expletives.

Instead, it was the frozen Kyungho and Junwoo who asked in horrified expressions what nonsense he was talking about.

“No, guys. Listen.”

Muyoung’s plan was this: He would set an alarm on his spare phone, then move through the window to another classroom and leave it there. This would draw the attention of the zombies outside.

At first, the two strongly opposed, saying it was reckless and asking what if he fell. That’s when Muyoung proudly showed them the long hose inside the fire hydrant cabinet.

“I’ll tie this around my waist and go.”

The two still hesitated to agree. But with the door constantly shaking as if about to break at any moment—

“I’ll just go down to the floor below. It won’t be that dangerous.”

After Muyoung’s persistent persuasion, they finally gave permission.

The four argued back and forth about who should go. However, considering safety, they agreed it should be someone small and light—which immediately excluded everyone, especially Seokjae.

“Hyung, will this really be okay? It’ll be slippery from the rain…”

“I’m totally energetic from being carried around, so don’t worry. Even if I fall, you and the others will pull me back up, right?”

“Of course, but still…”

“If that door breaks, we’re in real trouble. This is less scary than being anxious the whole time. Really, don’t worry.”

As the hose was wrapped around his waist, Muyoung reassured the two anxious boys. Meanwhile, he kept glancing at Seokjae, who was kneeling on one knee. Muyoung had tried to secure the hose himself, but at Seokjae’s request to at least let him do this much, he agreed.

“…”

Seokjae was glaring at the hose around Muyoung’s waist as if it were his mortal enemy, yet he silently tied the knot firmly. His silence continued until Muyoung sat on the windowsill.

*Patter-patter*

Feeling the raindrops against his body, raindrops that seemed to have no temperature, Muyoung gripped the hose tightly and called out, “Hyung.”

Seokjae, who was standing by to lower Muyoung down on the hose, glanced at him with a sullen face.

“What is it.”

Seeing his distinctly un-adult-like expression, Muyoung felt like laughing despite the situation.

‘Hyung was being stubborn about not letting me down during an emergency zombie fight.’

He seemed upset that Muyoung was using the same betting tactic. Even though this situation was infinitely safer. The fact that someone who had been calm and composed when putting himself in danger showed no trace of that composure when Muyoung took action somehow made him feel good.

‘It seems I’ve become someone really special to Hyung.’

Of course, he knew Seokjae would react similarly if Kyungho or Junwoo volunteered, just less openly. And that didn’t bother him. Just being able to see more of his inner emotions because they were friends was happiness enough.

“I’ll be back soon.”

The fear that had been rising as he faced the reality of hanging from a height suddenly disappeared in the moment he savored his special treatment. Instead, he was filled with a buoyant feeling of exhilaration.

He found himself grinning without realizing it. He briefly thought it might seem strange to be smiling before a dangerous task, but his smile didn’t fade.

Seokjae’s jaw muscles tensed momentarily, but before Muyoung noticed, he nodded slowly.

“…Okay.”

Seeing Muyoung’s smile triggered a scene in his mind that almost made him do something crazy again. But unlike before, Muyoung’s words were a promise to return, not an apology, which helped Seokjae quickly regain his senses.

‘Kang Muyoung won’t be in danger. I made sure the hose won’t come undone on its own. And since it’s high up on the building wall, zombies won’t be able to reach him.’

After calming himself, Seokjae exhaled deeply and slowly lowered Muyoung, who had positioned himself hanging from the windowsill as planned. For most people, this would be a life-threatening acrobatic feat, but Muyoung was able to reach the floor below at a leisurely pace without much difficulty.

Fortunately, there was an awning or rain shield-like space in front of the window that provided footing. Though not very wide, it was sufficient to stand on.

Muyoung balanced himself there. Despite the constant wind and rain that could push him back with one wrong move, he held onto the windowsill for stability. Then, as he applied force to open the window…

*Click*

“Huh?”

The window wouldn’t open. Muyoung’s eyes darted anxiously at this unexpected situation.

“Ugh… if I’d known, I would have brought something to break the glass.”

He sighed and muttered, but regret wouldn’t improve anything now. Knowing his head would freeze if he looked down at the distant ground, Muyoung tried to keep his gaze fixed on the window as he quickly searched for alternatives.

“Should I ask them to throw something down? No, that won’t work.”

Knowing his athletic abilities, he immediately crossed off the first option. The next method was to tap on the window himself to attract attention instead of using the phone.

However, this would not only cause great worry to the three who didn’t know he was immune to zombie attacks, but it could also result in them never trusting him with any task again.

“Nngh…”

Brushing back his rain-soaked, drooping hair while groaning, Muyoung gathered his courage and called upward.

“Hyung!”

“Yeah!”

The slight protrusion of the awning must have blocked Seokjae’s view of the situation below. Thinking Muyoung’s voice was a signal to pull him up, he yanked on the hose.

*Tug!*

“Huk!”

The tightly pulled hose yanked at his waist, instantly throwing off his balance. Muyoung called out urgently.

“No! Wait, wait! Stop! Don’t pull me up!”

“What?!”

Fortunately, his voice must have reached Seokjae as the hose quickly loosened. Though he knew he wouldn’t actually fall even if he lost his balance, fear was still fear. Muyoung squeezed his eyes shut and steadied his breath, feeling as if his unbeating heart had shriveled.

“What’s going on!”

Meanwhile, Seokjae’s voice came from above, now more urgent, clearly thinking something had happened to Muyoung. Though his legs were trembling more than before, Muyoung regained his stability and shouted back.

“The window is locked! I’ll try moving to the side!”

“What are you saying! Kang Muyoung! Forget it and just come back up!”

“Aaack! Hyung! Hyung! The bet!! The bet!!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the hose began pulling again, and the fear he had barely suppressed surged back, making him scream at the top of his lungs.

“You really…!”

Though Seokjae seemed angry, perhaps because Muyoung had indulged his stubbornness during the zombie fight at the main entrance, he released the hose more quickly than expected.

‘Phew…’

Muyoung struggled to regain his balance. If Seokjae had pulled just a little more, he would have been dragged up like a toy grabbed by a claw machine…

“Y-yes, this proves people should live kindly.”

Though he surely couldn’t feel cold, his body trembled with fear, and Muyoung pressed his forehead against the glass window, muttering to himself to release tension.

After calming down somewhat, Muyoung again gathered his courage and moved sideways, step by step, searching for an open window. He was unaware that Seokjae was watching him from above with a demonic expression. Had he known, it would have taken him much longer to find his courage.

“This is driving me crazy… They broke all the corridor windows, so why are all these locked?”

Muyoung, too tense to notice the burning gaze fixed on him, unfortunately had to pass by numerous classrooms.

After moving his trembling legs for what felt like ages—

‘It’s open…!’

By the time he had almost used up the slack in the hose, he was able to reach a classroom with an open window. However, strange sounds were echoing from inside.