Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 123

So you were the cause after all!

Muyoung bit his lip to hold back the harsh words that nearly escaped. Calling someone he’d only known for a few hours “you” in such a derogatory way. They say love changes people—was this something like that?

While surprised at this new side of himself he hadn’t known about, he immediately asked, realizing that Lim Sangjin was the only one who might know Seokjae’s whereabouts.

“Do you know why Seokjae hyung left? He didn’t tell me…”

His posture was very polite, with hands carefully folded. Seeing Muyoung, who had previously challenged his words, now approaching with such a submissive attitude, Lim Sangjin quickly became emboldened and opened his mouth very easily.

“Seokjae, you see, went out because he wanted to repay me.”

“Repay you?”

What on earth could Seokjae have to repay him for? It was Sangjin who had made things difficult with his unnecessary suggestion, so if anyone should be repaying, shouldn’t it be Lim Sangjin? Thanking Seokjae for accepting his help.

“Want to hear more? Ah— this gets a bit long…”

Muyoung had asked again because the statement was so absurd he thought he’d misheard, but Lim Sangjin interpreted it as curious prodding and deliberately dragged out his words teasingly.

“If you could just tell me where hyung went—”

What conversation had passed between them that made Seokjae go out to repay something he didn’t need to? He was curious. But what mattered more was Seokjae’s whereabouts, so Muyoung wasn’t swayed at all by the intentional silence.

“Ah, fine. It’s okay. I should tell you since you’re so curious. I can’t sleep anyway. Until a few days ago, I was staying with a group, and while going out to find food, one guy got bitten.”

At this, Lim Sangjin, who had been fully prepared to talk, became eager and immediately began his story.

“There was some history between us, and since he was still human, it seemed wrong to kill him, so we tried to reason with him but he got torn apart… The bastard didn’t know gratitude and stabbed us in the back! Maybe because it was a small bite, but that zombie bastard stubbornly refused to turn and followed us back to our hideout. He clearly didn’t want to die alone. Selfish bastard.”

Having lived alone since that day, Lim Sangjin had built up resentment without anyone to vent to. Curses about the now-dead person poured from his mouth like water through a broken dam.

“Anyway, do you know how much commotion that guy caused? Do you know how many zombies came? Phew— so in the end, everyone died and only I survived.”

“I see…”

Only after cursing with every vulgar word imaginable did he seem satisfied, and the story that Muyoung hadn’t been interested in finally concluded.

“Oh, right. Going there today, you know. I went back to see if anyone had survived. Keu— isn’t that loyalty impressive?”

No, apparently there was a bit more…

‘He’s lying.’

Even if someone had survived after several days, they wouldn’t return, would they? Of course, one could wait, thinking they might come back for supplies they couldn’t bring while fleeing urgently. But this man seemed like the one going to retrieve items, not the one waiting.

‘Wait, could it be…?’

As this thought occurred to him, a bad premonition brushed against his skin.

“So where did hyung go…?”

Muyoung finally opened his reluctant mouth, both wanting and not wanting to know. Lim Sangjin, looking satisfied as if relieved, made an “ah” sound and finally got to the point.

“That guy said there were necessities and such there, so he said he’d bring them back as repayment for letting him in here. Even when I offered to go together, he said I’d just be in the way and that he’d go alone… well, what could I do?”

He shook his head exaggeratedly and spoke with a voice of regret. But there was joy in his eyes, making it unconvincing.

Muyoung had no mental space to pay attention to such minor details.

‘I heard that if you hit the back of the neck wrong, you can die, not just faint…’

Despite roughly guessing that Seokjae had gone to do something dangerous, having it confirmed through someone else’s mouth doubled his anxiety, and he was busy considering if there was any way he could go help.

Though he racked his brain, he couldn’t think of a means to guarantee both Lim Sangjin’s life and the children’s safety. In the end, Muyoung had to accept that he couldn’t go help Seokjae.

‘I know hyung isn’t doing this because he wants to, but putting others before himself is really not great…’

Muyoung grumbled inwardly, completely forgetting everything he had done himself. He mistook this as a rare occurrence caused by a compulsion to be good that stemmed from some kind of trauma.

‘I wish he wouldn’t do that even for people he doesn’t like… No, just for people as close as us… No, actually it would be better if he didn’t do it at all. …I wish hyung wasn’t so kind.’

Muyoung would never know that he had sighed while wishing for exactly the same thing that Seokjae had always wished for him.

Meanwhile, finding the flowing silence awkward, Lim Sangjin cleared his throat unnecessarily.

“Ahem, hem.”

After discovering what he wanted to know, Muyoung had immediately become lost in thought.

‘Surprisingly, he has similarities to that bastard Tae Seokjae. Birds of a feather, indeed.’

Having inwardly criticized him, Lim Sangjin chose to speak rather than leave. Just as Muyoung had obtained information from him, he too had something he was curious about.

“By the way, you two seem quite close? Seeing as he only told you before leaving.”

“What? Ah, y-yes. I guess he feels comfortable because we’re similar in age.”

Pulled out of his own world by that question, Muyoung smiled awkwardly and offered a suitable reason. He felt sorry for getting lost in thought during the conversation, and simultaneously couldn’t say that Seokjae had awakened him because he judged Lim Sangjin to be a dangerous element.

“By that logic, I too… Huh? There’s only a 3-year difference between us. But this is the first time I’ve seen that guy act like that. How did you two get so close?”

Despite Muyoung’s lukewarm attitude, Lim Sangjin persisted and dug deeper. There was clearly something peculiar about the atmosphere between the two. In other words, he was confident that he could use Muyoung.

‘What? Does he want to become friends with hyung?’

Misunderstanding Lim Sangjin’s enthusiastic attitude, Muyoung gave another answer that wasn’t a lie but was as vague as possible, driven by unconscious competitiveness.

“Um… just, various things? He helped me a lot at first, so maybeee that’s why?”

That was a mistake. As soon as he mentioned “helped,” a scene flashed in his mind and his throat closed up. But knowing that stopping would prompt questions about why, Muyoung used all his strength to finish his sentence.

‘Aaaah, don’t remember! Don’t remember, you pervert!’

Though there was a slight pitch change at the end, he completed his answer. But he couldn’t hide the physical reaction that followed.

Unknown to him, a faint blush had risen on Muyoung’s body as he lowered his gaze shyly. His cheeks, ears, and down to his neckline visible through his loose t-shirt—the subtle red hue stood out even more against his pale skin.

That appearance perfectly matched his nickname “tomato,” and…

“Come on, just for helping you, he… hmm?”

It created such a peculiar feeling that it stopped Lim Sangjin’s words as he was about to press like an interrogator. The sight of Muyoung’s flushed body bathed in the soft light from the study cafe equipment had quite a stimulating quality.

‘Forget it, forget. As long as the East Sea’s waters and Mount Baekdu… A, B, C, D, E, F, G! Good.’

While fidgeting with his fingers, having barely pushed away the memories of that hot and warm day, Muyoung sensed a gaze intently watching him.

“Um…”

“Huh, what?”

“Do you have something to say?”

“No, it’s just, well…”

When he asked about the strange look in Lim Sangjin’s eyes, the man even began to flounder. Frowning in confusion at this bizarre reaction, Muyoung finally received something resembling an answer from Lim Sangjin.

“Huk, haah… Ah, right. What do you th-th-think?”

“Pardon?”

His face had turned red, his breathing rough from just that bit of struggling. It was a strangely discomforting sight.

Unable to understand the question without a subject, Muyoung asked again, and Lim Sangjin added an explanation with an “aaah” sound.

“If someone you knew did such a thing, I mean.”

“What kind of thing are we talking about…”

“Killing someone because they might have been bitten by a zombie.”

Though wondering if this was worth such flustered questioning, Muyoung found it somewhat novel and pondered deeply.

“Isn’t that straight-up murder? Huh? Wouldn’t that give you chills? Right?”

Watching him, Lim Sangjin urged for an answer as if expecting something.

After a while, Muyoung’s lips slowly opened as he frowned in thought.

“Not particularly?”