Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 106

“Hm? What’s up, Kyungho?”

Just as he was trying to change the subject, Muyoung immediately responded to Kyungho’s timely greeting, grateful for the interruption.

“Did you want to say something?”

He turned not just his head but his upper body toward Kyungho and asked eagerly. His big reaction unintentionally drew the attention of Seokjae and Junwoo as well. Everyone stopped walking and waited for Kyungho to speak.

“Ah.”

Kyungho’s shoulders stiffened in surprise at the unexpected enthusiastic response. Uncomfortable with three pairs of eyes focused on him, he averted his gaze and spoke with an uncertain voice.

“It’s… nothing special really.”

“That’s okay. Whatever it is, feel free to tell us.”

It wasn’t just empty words. Muyoung was so willing to continue the conversation that even if Kyungho had said “I’m hungry,” he would have sympathized and kept talking.

Perhaps sensing Muyoung’s enthusiasm, Kyungho swung his backpack around to the front, hugged it, and opened the zipper.

“I brought something from the science lab just in case, and I think it might be useful now.”

After rummaging through his bag for a moment, he pulled something out and held it out. It was a not-too-large rectangular container.

“Well… they look rather flimsy so I’m not sure how accurate they are, but if several of them point to the same place, that should be the right direction, right?”

“Compasses!”

“Wow.”

Inside the container were several small compasses used for experiments at school. It was an unexpected solution. Muyoung’s eyes widened, and an exclamation escaped from Junwoo’s mouth.

“When did you grab those?”

“When I was packing earlier. You mentioned before that we’d need compasses to climb mountains.”

“Huh? Did I say that?”

“You did. I thought we might need them eventually, but I didn’t expect to use them so soon. Anyway, let’s quickly check the map and direction.”

Embarrassed by their surprised welcome, Kyungho kept laughing awkwardly. Seemingly wanting to divert attention from himself, he sat down on the ground and took out the compasses. As expected, there were some defective ones in the container where the needle wouldn’t stop spinning or pointed in strange directions.

They walked in the direction that multiple compasses pointed to, as Kyungho had suggested. After walking for several more minutes through muddy soil and slippery rocks, they found a well-maintained hiking trail along with a signpost.

“Ah, we found the trail!”

With a relieved expression, Junwoo ran forward to check the place names and remaining distances on the signpost. Fortunately, the direction they had been walking based on probability turned out to be correct.

“We need to go toward this park, right?”

“That’s right.”

Perhaps because it wasn’t an official hiking trail, the mountain path behind the school was quite rough. Breathing heavily, Junwoo asked Seokjae with a brightened face, and Seokjae nodded lightly.

“So we have less than 1km left to the next town?”

“Yeah, we’re really close now.”

“Haa…”

Despite being told countless times that it would be okay if they went the wrong way, Kyungho had been worried they might be heading in the wrong direction. Now a sigh of relief escaped his lips.

“Thanks to you, we found the way easily.”

“Ah, right. Thanks, Kyungho.”

Seokjae glanced at Kyungho, who seemed to have been feeling the burden of needing to contribute something, and casually offered his thanks. Muyoung, who had been sharing in Junwoo’s joy, immediately added his gratitude as well.

“Oh, no. I’m just glad it helped.”

To receive thanks for just bringing compasses from two people who had risked their lives to protect them. Flustered, Kyungho waved his hands quickly and continued with self-deprecating words like someone receiving praise for the first time.

“I’ve been sorry for not being able to help at all since yesterday… The gown and the box were found by Junwoo alone.”

“What are you talking about? We found them together.”

“But you were the one who spotted them.”

“Geez. You’re being so rigid.”

Junwoo’s grumbling made Kyungho’s face clearly show embarrassment. But he definitely seemed more comfortable than before, having lifted some weight off his mind, which made Seokjae mutter to himself.

‘Seems like good people get sick when they can’t be helpful.’

Half-jokingly, half-seriously forming a ridiculous hypothesis, Seokjae looked down at the severely ill patient beside him and spoke.

“Shall we get going?”

“Ah, yes. Guys, let’s move again.”

After that, they just had to follow the hiking trail indicated by the signpost, which relieved much of the tension flowing between them.

Instead of the rotten smell from the streets, there was the scent of damp wood and soil. Sunlight filtered through the dense foliage.

The atmosphere was peaceful, unlike the bloody scenes they had witnessed in the city. There were no hair-raising screams, only the sound of their steady footsteps.

After walking for some time, another signpost greeted them.

“Huh?”

“What is it?”

When Muyoung, who had first spotted the new object, unconsciously made a surprised sound, Seokjae immediately responded.

“There’s something hanging on that tree next to the signpost.”

In the place Muyoung pointed to, as he said, there was a square wooden board tied to a tree with string. Though they couldn’t tell what it said, it was a rectangular plank painted in all sorts of colors—yellow, pink, orange, and more. In the forest full of green and brown, it stood out even from a distance.

The four stopped walking and cautiously surveyed their surroundings, but they sensed no presence or change.

Only after confirming it was safe did they approach to find that the suspicious plank was actually a sign.

[This way to Korea Forest Kindergarten!! This way!! →]

A colorful sign that was clearly handmade. There were two reasons they couldn’t recognize the writing from a distance despite the large letters.

First, the Korean characters looked more drawn than written. Second, the spaces were filled with all kinds of drawings like dinosaurs, hearts, and princesses, making it difficult to distinguish between text and illustrations.

“I didn’t know there were forest kindergartens, that’s interesting.”

“Does it mean there’s a kindergarten inside the forest?”

As Kyungho murmured while staring at the sign that resembled modern art, Junwoo tilted his head and added a question.

“I think so?”

“Sounds like a fun place to play.”

The two who had attended ordinary kindergartens in the city exchanged comments that seemed too mature for their age, saying things like “The world’s gotten better these days.” Meanwhile, Muyoung turned to look at Seokjae.

“Looks like there’s a kindergarten along our descent path.”

“Hmm…”

Seokjae made a contemplative sound, then turned his eyes to meet Muyoung’s gaze.

“Should we go there?”

“What?”

“They probably don’t shorten vacation periods to make kindergarteners study.”

“I-I guess not?”

Muyoung responded awkwardly, unsure whether Seokjae’s comment—applying their experience with high school senior zombies to a kindergarten—was a joke or serious.

“According to the map, if we cross over here, it’s all open space except for a few buildings. So if no one’s already claimed it, it should be empty.”

Whether he knew or not that Muyoung had been endlessly debating whether to laugh during that brief moment, Seokjae continued speaking with a casual expression.

“Wouldn’t it be a good place to rest for a while?”

“I suppose so…”

It was a suggestion to take a break before moving on after crossing the mountain.

Muyoung hesitated for a moment. Normally, he would have agreed without hesitation to Seokjae’s suggestion to rest. Since he himself had no physical limitations, he couldn’t gauge others’ stamina. In such matters, it was always right to listen to his hyung.

But today, no, from today onwards, the situation had changed slightly. A reason had emerged to leave this city as quickly as possible.

“Couldn’t we move just a li-ttle bit further?”

“…”

Seokjae, who had expected Muyoung to agree, stared intently at him, immediately recognizing something was off when Muyoung urged them to continue rather than rest.

“Well…”

Under that gaze, Muyoung opened his mouth to explain the reason he hadn’t been able to mention at school, but he couldn’t even begin before having to close it again.

“Seokjae hyung, Muyoung hyung?”

“Is something wrong, hyungs?”

Having apparently finished examining the sign made by children and the surrounding creations meant to encourage respecting the forest, the others’ attention had shifted to him and Seokjae.

Muyoung hurriedly changed his tune.

“W-well, I was just thinking, but you’re right, we should rest first! Let’s go to the kindergarten!”

It was still an uncertain hypothesis. He had to tell Seokjae for their future plans, but he wanted to avoid spreading unnecessary anxiety by telling the younger ones too.

“Haha, hahahaha…”

“…”

As the feeble laughter following his clearly evasive words continued, Seokjae’s eyebrow gradually rose.

“Huh? We’re going to the kindergarten?”

“Y-yes. We’ll rest there before continuing.”

“Great! I’m actually starving since I haven’t eaten since last night.”

“Right, let’s eat as soon as we get there.”

Muyoung deliberately kept his eyes fixed on the younger ones, trying his best to ignore the burning gaze drilling into his cheek as he laughed.

‘It’s not that I don’t want to tell you! Hyung!’ 

He silently wailed inside.