Chapter 119
“Ah… Really?”
Approaching closely and whispering, Junwoo seemed to finally realize he should be discreet. Hurriedly glancing ahead, as if trying to move away so Seokjae wouldn’t hear, he took an awkward step back while answering.
“Yeah, yeah. Honestly, hyung didn’t do anything wrong.”
Only then did Muyoung relax, following Junwoo and also increasing his distance from Seokjae.
“……”
“I see… So it wasn’t Seokjae hyung’s fault.”
Junwoo, swallowing dryly under the fierce gaze directed at him, vaguely repeated Muyoung’s words like a dazed idol with vacant fish eyes.
‘Scary…!’
It was because Seokjae had slightly turned his head and was staring at them with just one eye.
As the sun was setting, his three-dimensional face cast with deep shadows while his dark eyes gleamed created an eerie, uncanny feeling like facing a cursed doll. Enough to frighten Junwoo and Kyungho.
‘This is annoying. Who are they messing with?’
In reality, he was just annoyed seeing his crush, who had been avoiding him for days, suddenly getting close with someone else.
“Junwoo, you don’t believe me right now, do you? I’m telling you the truth.”
The one person who might understand this truth was busy explaining to his younger friend who had given such a soulless response, so his cute jealousy had to end up being dismissed as a scene from a horror movie.
“…Tsk.”
They say there’s no dignity in the face of love. Even if the object of his jealousy was a much younger close friend, Seokjae, who had been shooting fire from his eyes, clicked his tongue softly and turned his head back. Since continuing to watch would only give him stress, he decided it was better to focus on selecting a place to stay tonight.
‘Ah… this is irritating.’
Normally, he would have found some trivial reason to separate the two, but if he did that now, they would likely stick even closer together to avoid him. Imagining that situation made his insides twist, and he gripped his weapon tightly as an outlet for his frustration.
He squeezed the weapon so hard that it left marks on his calloused, firm palm, while inwardly grumbling and constantly rolling his eyes.
‘…What’s that?’
Then he frowned at a smell carried by the gentle breeze from the alleyway.
“Yes, yes.”
“Really, really.”
“I understand. I just thought hyungs had fought because you didn’t agree on something.”
“Huh?”
“It’s been strange since you told us about changing the moving time and about the zombies acting strange. I thought you must have argued during a conversation without us…”
As the conversation lengthened, they slowed their pace to create more distance, so the two were focused on their talk without noticing the smell Seokjae had detected.
“Then why were you so sure it was hyung’s fault when it was just a difference of opinion?”
“I thought Seokjae hyung was trying to take all the responsibility again and that made you angry.”
“Ah.”
“I have experience with that. I’ve never won against him, but I thought unlike with us, you were holding your ground and turning it into a battle of endurance, but I guess not.”
Feeling sorry for wrongly assuming it was Seokjae’s fault, Junwoo rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Then, after pondering for a moment with an “umm” sound, he added:
“Oh, but if something like that happens, we’re on your side, hyung.”
“U-uh?”
“At least Seokjae hyung explains things to me and Kyungho in advance.”
So… both of them excluded the boys and did dangerous things, but unlike the unfriendly Seokjae who expected them to follow his decisions, Muyoung was better because he at least gave them a warning even though he would still do as he pleased.
“I have hyung, so…”
Muyoung reflexively defended Seokjae. Despite understanding their dissatisfaction with only being protected, he had no intention of changing his mind, so while feeling sorry, he also disliked Seokjae being criticized even slightly.
“No, hyung would have done the same even without Seokjae hyung, right? Right?”
“Hmm… I guess so? I can’t imagine Muyoung hyung saying ‘no, because it’s not possible.'”
However, Junwoo firmly shook his head and asked Kyungho, who also expressed agreement, albeit with an awkward smile at the conversation that was somehow turning into gossip.
Then.
“Kids.”
Seokjae, who had been walking ahead, called them in a low voice. Feeling guilty, the three flinched and urgently exchanged glances.
‘D-did I say something too directly?’
‘Is he angry?’
‘Calm down, kids. I’ll try to handle this.’
After a brief but intense eye conversation, Muyoung hurriedly approached Seokjae, who was four or five steps away.
“H-hyung! It seems the kids misunderstood because of me. It’s all my fault, and they were just worried—”
*Thwap.* Seokjae strode toward Muyoung as if coming to meet him and covered his mouth.
“Shh.”
Then he made a short, sharp whistle between his lips. While looking at the kids, he put his index finger to his lips, signaling them to be quiet.
“……”
“……”
“……”
Not only Muyoung, whose mouth was covered, but also Kyungho and Junwoo held their breath in an instant. After confirming everyone was quiet, Seokjae led them slowly toward the entrance of the alley.
‘Why isn’t he letting go? Is he worried I’ll be noisy?’
While dragging Muyoung like a hostage.
‘Yes, this is the feeling. It really is so soft.’
Although Seokjae noticed Muyoung rolling his eyes in confusion, he was busy feeling the smooth cheek caught in his hand. He wasn’t about to miss this opportunity when Muyoung had finally approached him first after avoiding him for so long.
“Hy… hyung?”
“Mm, let’s stay quiet.”
Though Muyoung called out “Hy… hyung?” while moving his lips under the large palm, Seokjae continued to fiddle with him like a cherished doll without any intention of letting go.
Feeling Seokjae’s firm body and fragrant scent again after a long time—even more stimulating now—Muyoung tightly closed and opened his eyes to avoid getting excited.
“Hmm…”
Amidst the large discarded objects densely packed in the narrow alley, Seokjae, who maneuvered through them flexibly despite his large build and while embracing another person, lightly exhaled as if he had anticipated the scene that unfolded beyond the alley.
“…Mmph!”
“Gasp.”
“*inhale*”
However, the other three were completely shocked by the horrific sight.
“Kruk… kuk…”
“Keuk…”
Several zombies. A dangerous but common situation. Yet there was a reason they reacted so strongly: all of them had their upper bodies impaled by metal rods, displayed like mannequins in a clothing store.
In the hot weather, after prolonged exposure to the sun, their flesh had rotted and fallen away, revealing their rib cages completely pierced by metal rods. Each one had its lower jaw completely destroyed, making for a terrifying sight.
“Could that be…”
Kyungho, who had been covering his mouth at the disgusting and frightening scene, murmured in a trembling voice while looking at Seokjae.
Even in this situation, Seokjae, who had been continually fondling Muyoung’s cheek, nodded slightly and said:
“This was done by humans. It seems there’s quite a violent group in this area.”
The metal rods fixed between large discarded items like chairs and desks, and the ropes tightly wound around the zombies’ bodies—the nauseating scene was clearly human handiwork.
‘Showing off? A warning? …No. Considering how they’ve moved the discarded items to block zombies from easily passing through the alleyway, it might just be a survival strategy.’
Seokjae tilted his head slightly, quietly turning over thoughts to deduce the group’s tendencies. Soon he felt small vibrations in his arms and looked down.
Muyoung, wearing an expression that could only be described as pitiful, was trembling.
‘If I, as a zombie, had been caught by someone scary, would my teeth have been pulled out like that too?!’
He had considered becoming a slave, but he hadn’t expected anyone would use zombies this way, cruelly removing their means of attack, so he was terrified. He had expected corpses due to the increasingly thick smell of decay, not such a horrific scene.
‘I-I’m scared…’
Paralyzed with fear, Muyoung didn’t notice that he had stopped detecting the strong scent, and his heart plummeted for a different reason than before.
At that moment.
*Footstep-*
“You might not want to go that way. It’s dangerous.”
Following the presence, an unfamiliar voice was heard. Everyone turned their heads vigilantly. In front of a building on the opposite side of the alley where they stood, a person was standing.
“Nice to meet you. I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before. Where did you come from?”
Though his face wasn’t visible as he stood in the shadows, the person who received their gaze raised both hands to show he had no intention of attacking and approached. As he walked into the area lit by the sunset, a mild-looking man appeared.
“Whoa—scary. Please calm down. I’m just trying to help out of goodwill, one survivor to another.”
The man, as if just now noticing their wary gazes fixed on him, waved his empty hands in the air to show they were empty. Then he tilted his head exaggeratedly, to the point where it seemed intentional.
“Hmm? Hmmm?”
His gaze was directed at Seokjae.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
