Chapter 109
Despite his voice being small out of fear that making loud noises might agitate whatever was inside, it seemed to reach Seokjae just fine.
“……”
He must have understood, as he stopped a few steps away without questioning what Muyoung was doing.
Muyoung looked back at him and gripped the doorknob even more tightly, careful not to miss his chance.
“You’ve opened all the other doors, so I’ll open this one.”
It was a childish string of words, but he had to convince him somehow. Otherwise, Seokjae, who was looking at him incredulously, might push him aside at any moment.
‘No matter what hyung does, I absolutely won’t move aside.’
Tensing his eyes with the resolve to engage in a test of strength if necessary due to his anxiety.
Seokjae, who had been quietly observing Muyoung’s round eyes narrowing, moved his lips.
“Will you be okay?”
It was a question concerned for his well-being, not the expected prohibition or persuasion. Confused, Muyoung rolled his eyes and asked back, unable to understand what Seokjae was asking if he would be okay with.
“What? W-what do you mean?”
Seokjae tilted his head slightly and continued.
“You almost died because of a zombie yesterday.”
“That did happen…”
“There might be zombies inside. Aren’t you scared?”
When Seokjae first brought up yesterday’s incident, Muyoung had been tense, thinking he would use it to convince him. But upon hearing the last words, he felt all his strength drain away.
“Of course I am. It’s not like it was the first time I nearly died from zombies. Why are you suddenly bringing this up, haha…”
Actually, excluding the cases he couldn’t remember, yesterday was indeed the first time, but Seokjae couldn’t have known that when he spoke. It was just his usual overprotectiveness. Having reached this conclusion, Muyoung felt relieved by Seokjae’s unexpectedly friendly attitude and focused his attention on sounds beyond the door.
*Scratch… scratch…*
Clearer than when heard from a distance, but still faint enough that it would be inaudible without complete concentration. It was remarkable that he had heard it accidentally in the first place.
Nevertheless, he grew anxious that Seokjae, who sometimes seemed to exceed the boundaries of human capability, might notice it. Glancing quickly to check if Seokjae had noticed, Muyoung let out an ambiguous breath that could have been either a sigh or an exhale.
‘He doesn’t seem to hear it.’
He was looking at Muyoung with a serious expression, apparently concerned. The fact that he wasn’t trying to pull him away from the nurse’s office door confirmed that he hadn’t heard anything.
“Besides, it’s the same for you too, hyung.”
Just to be sure, Muyoung whispered one more thing while facing the door, trying his best to keep Seokjae’s attention on him.
‘When the door opens, they’ll definitely rush in right away, so I need to watch carefully and kick them down. Then I can swing the baseball bat. You can do this, Kang Muyoung.’
Meanwhile, he was mentally rehearsing what he needed to do.
‘Even if I make a mistake, I can at least buy time for hyung to prepare.’
This was why Muyoung had urgently insisted on guarding the door, content just to accompany him. He planned to take the hit for Seokjae, who seemed distracted by something since they entered the kindergarten.
Normally, Seokjae could dispatch one or two zombies in the blink of an eye, so there would be nothing to worry about if he had time to collect himself.
“Hoo…”
Muyoung took a deep breath and turned the doorknob.
*Creak-*
The door opened slowly with a small noise. The zombie inside announced its presence with the stench of decay before it even came into view.
*Scratch- grrrk…*
From somewhere, the sound of a machine motor running—*whirr*—could be heard. And the strange sound that only Muyoung had heard from outside was mixed in like a dissonant chord, filling the room.
‘Ugh.’
Muyoung frowned as he discovered countless dark red marks drawn on the wall, and a figure standing in front of it, continuously scratching the wall with hands that had worn away more than one layer. Seeing the exposed bones at the fingertips being ground against the wall along with bits of flesh made his own fingers ache.
“Gruuk…”
The moment the two of them confirmed the zombie’s existence, the predator, sensing its prey, turned its head toward the sound.
*Crack.* Eyes that seemed covered with a cloudy membrane turned exactly toward the entrance, and as soon as it spotted the humans standing there, the zombie let out a horrifying scream.
“Kyaaaa-ak!”
Perhaps due to having kept its head down for so long while decaying, its head couldn’t rise properly, and the zombie charged in a grotesque posture.
*Thwack-!*
It was immediately knocked backward by Muyoung’s waiting foot. So far, everything was going according to his plan.
*Clatter.* The zombie, thrown back as if flying, rolled on the floor and hit a chair, then crawled along the ground. Its neck, which had been bent when it fell, must have gotten twisted, as it now made a different sound, as if filled with air.
“Kak…! K… aaah…”
Muyoung, who was rushing toward the fallen zombie to swing his bat, flinched at the sound of gurgling blood. As if someone had rummaged through his head to extract memories, he recalled the moment he faced death…
“Kruk- kek.”
It was because those memories overlapped with the image of the zombie lying face down, looking up at him.
His hand holding the bat began to tremble slightly.
‘Get a grip, Kang Muyoung! How can you be afraid?’
*Hup,* he inhaled, trying to collect himself and swing his weapon, but taking advantage of that small gap, the zombie moved as quickly as a cockroach and opened its mouth wide toward Muyoung.
“Kee- ack!”
An eardrum-piercing cry echoed.
And then everything went dark.
*Crack! Crunch. Splash-*
*Thud… thump…*
Muyoung froze momentarily at his darkened vision and the sound of something being crushed and splattered. Then came an all-too-familiar voice.
“See, I told you I should open it.”
Only then did Muyoung realize that it was Seokjae’s hand covering his face. His stiff, tense body relaxed. While Muyoung was overcome with relief, Seokjae’s fingers felt his round forehead.
‘Hmm, no bumps.’
Seeing the zombie dead with its head shattered, he was reminded of Muyoung’s forehead that had hit the back of his head and bounced off.
* * *
*Creak-* As the door opened, steam that had been trapped inside escaped. From within, a freshly cleaned Muyoung walked out.
“That feels refreshing…”
As a result of Seokjae stomping on the zombie’s head with all his might, blood and crushed flesh had splattered high. The one who suffered the most damage was inevitably Muyoung, who had been standing in front of the zombie. Thanks to Seokjae’s hand covering his face, his head was safe, but the rest hadn’t survived, making a bath desperately needed.
Perhaps because it was a place with many outdoor activities, thankfully there was a small shower room connected to a changing room. Muyoung had just used it.
“Hmm- hmhmm-”
In a good mood, Muyoung was walking toward where the three would be waiting, humming a melody he’d made up, when he heard a commotion from afar.
“What? Today?!”
Startled by the exclamation mixed with shock, he instinctively ran toward it. Then, flinging open the half-open door, he shouted.
“Wh-what’s happening!”
Seokjae and Junwoo were standing face-to-face in front of the classroom bulletin board as if having an argument. As he was panting despite not being out of breath due to his surprise, Kyungho, who was standing beside the two like a bystander, greeted him.
“Oh, hyung, you’re here?”
It didn’t seem like anything serious had happened… Nevertheless, Muyoung didn’t let his guard down and quickly looked around.
Only after that did he relax, stroking his chest as he approached the three.
“You scared me… Why did you suddenly shout? I thought something bad had happened.”
“No, it’s just that today is hyung’s birthday.”
Junwoo answered his sigh-mixed question while ruffling his hair as if still in shock.
“…Birthday?”
Perhaps because he hadn’t thought about the concept of birthdays for a long time, the word felt unfamiliar. Muyoung unconsciously muttered and looked at Seokjae. At that gaze, Seokjae twitched his eyebrow as if wondering what the problem was.
“Why mention a birthday in a place like this?”
“But we can still celebrate! Like eating something a little more delicious!”
What a cold, robot-like person. Junwoo’s eyes were reproaching Seokjae in this way. He had thought of him almost like a real older brother despite his stubbornness. It was quite disappointing that Seokjae hadn’t known about Muyoung’s birthday until the day of.
“Then we can just have a hearty lunch later?”
“Ugh, really! It’s not about the food.”
Despite Seokjae’s attempt to sort out the situation in his own way, Junwoo’s face said, ‘Oh my god, I’m so frustrated!’ When things weren’t getting any better, Seokjae raised one eyebrow, looked at him, and walked past Muyoung out of the classroom.
“Since Muyoung’s out, I’ll go take a shower too.”
Unable to understand what the problem was, making it difficult to resolve, he chose to escape. One pair of eyes watching Seokjae’s retreating figure sparkled brightly.
And then…
*Swoosh-*
In the dead of night when everyone was asleep, a figure silently walked onto the kindergarten playground.
