Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 107

Fortunately, the opportunity to clear up the misunderstanding came sooner than expected. As they got closer to their destination, things that looked designed for children’s activities—items meant to capture kids’ interest—began appearing here and there around them.

“Look, a log cabin.”

“I guess it’s used as a playground for kids? It’s well made.”

At first, they seemed to just glance at these things as they passed by, but once they reached what appeared to be a walking path for kindergarteners rather than a hiking trail, they completely relaxed. As they approached the lower part of the mountain, the path became gentler and the trees grew sparser, providing visibility far ahead, which seemed to give them a sense of security.

“I think squirrels live here too. That’s supposed to be a squirrel house.”

“More likely for chipmunks than squirrels, right? They’re more common.”

“Really? Oh, there are mushrooms over there.”

Even though they were high school students who might find such cute natural objects boring, perhaps because they were city dwellers who rarely visited mountains—maybe once a year at most—the two boys happily looked around with interest. So much so that they didn’t notice the gradually increasing distance between them and the older boys walking ahead.

‘Is this far enough that they can’t hear us? No, just a little more…’

Normally, Muyoung would have called for the lagging children or stopped to wait for them, but now he was busy deliberately widening his stride to get some distance without them noticing.

‘Since I don’t hear any signs of zombies nearby, it should be fine if we separate for a moment.’

Originally, he had planned to look for an opportunity to talk after arriving at the kindergarten. He had determined that the kids might sense something was off if they were all together, and it wouldn’t be a brief conversation.

However, he soon changed his mind and decided to clear up any misunderstanding that he was deliberately hiding something.

“……”

“……”

‘His stare is so intense!’

It was due to that persistent gaze that wouldn’t leave him.

Seokjae seemed convinced that Muyoung was hiding something. Since their awkward conversation earlier, he had been applying pressure by staring fixedly with his dark eyes.

‘If I want to have a proper conversation with hyung, it should be at least after we check the inside of the kindergarten… no, after we’ve fed the kids.’

Muyoung wasn’t confident he could endure that flashing gaze until then, which made him feel like he needed to confess to sins he hadn’t even committed. So as soon as there was sufficient distance between them and the two boys, he quietly called out to Seokjae.

“H-hyung.”

“Hmm?”

Whether Muyoung widened his stride or increased his pace, Seokjae naturally matched him, responding as if he had been waiting.

“About what I couldn’t say earlier, I’ll tell you everything later.”

Glancing quickly. Muyoung whispered rapidly to Seokjae while checking on the two boys who were poking at mushrooms growing on a tree. Just as he was about to exhale in relief thinking it was done, Seokjae gently furrowed his brow and tilted his head.

“What did you say?”

“Pardon?”

“Sorry. I couldn’t hear well. Could you say it again?”

Was his voice muffled by the sound of soil being crushed underfoot? Or was his pronunciation unclear because he spoke hastily? Momentarily flustered, Muyoung raised his voice slightly and spoke urgently.

“Later, when the kids aren’t around, I’ll—”

“Hmm. I still can’t hear you clearly. Could you come a little closer and tell me?”

But Seokjae still couldn’t understand and narrowed his brows apologetically.

Anyone else would have noticed something was off by now, but Muyoung just mentally stomped his feet in frustration. Not only did he not suspect Seokjae was teasing him…

“By the way, that’s not a poisonous mushroom, is it?”

“They wouldn’t leave something like that around a kindergarten, right? It looks pretty ordinary too.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

He was anxious because the two high school students, who seemed to have finished examining the mushrooms, were quickly approaching in his peripheral vision.

‘If not now, I don’t think I’ll get another chance!’

Having walked quickly to put distance between themselves and the two boys, they had covered quite a bit of ground. The roof of what appeared to be the kindergarten building was now visible, indicating they were close to their destination.

The boys’ periods of interest were already getting shorter. There didn’t seem to be anything else along the remaining path that would catch their attention.

‘This is really my last chance. This time for sure!’

With determination, Muyoung bit his lip and stood on his tiptoes. He planned to speak up close as Seokjae had suggested, before Kyungho and Junwoo looked his way.

‘If I speak directly into his ear, there’s no way he won’t hear me.’

It wasn’t a bad idea. However, there was something Muyoung hadn’t considered: Seokjae had never actually failed to hear him. Yet when Muyoung raised his heels, Seokjae deliberately lowered his head, pretending to match his height.

‘Huh?’

Muyoung, who had been standing on tiptoe with all his might to reach Seokjae’s height, was surprised by this unexpected accommodation, his eyes widening.

It was too late to stop. Moreover, with his chin raised to whisper in Seokjae’s ear, an accidental contact occurred.

*Smooch!*

Muyoung’s small lips pressed against Seokjae’s tanned cheek and then separated. At the same time, the air that had been squeezed between lips and cheek burst out, making a clear, distinct sound.

“Gasp.”

“…!”

The high school students, startled by the sudden romance unfolding before them, took deep breaths, but no one paid attention to them.

“Oh my.”

While everyone else was frozen, the perpetrator who had deliberately caused the accident shamelessly spoke while slowly running his finger down his cheek where the soft lips had touched.

“We bumped into each other. Are you okay?”

“……”

Muyoung slowly covered his lower face with his hand. Trembling like an aspen leaf, unable to believe what he had done.

‘My, my lips touched hyung’s cheek…’

After being momentarily stunned by the shock, he quickly realized he needed to apologize to Seokjae, who had been unexpectedly affronted, and deeply bowed at the waist.

“S-sorry. I’m so sorry, hyung!”

“I’m fine. You don’t need to apologize.”

“But, but still…”

While Muyoung apologized, not knowing the contact had been deliberately caused, Seokjae gently calmed him down while inwardly muttering:

‘Ah, this is fun.’

In truth, Seokjae had long realized that Muyoung wasn’t deliberately avoiding talking to him, but rather couldn’t speak because he was conscious of Kyungho and Junwoo. He even had a rough idea of what the undelivered message was about.

‘Judging by his sudden urgency and wanting to keep secrets from the kids, it must be about those damn zombies.’

Muyoung would never know, but if he were to ask why Seokjae had been giving him such looks while knowing everything, the answer was predetermined.

‘Well, who told you to be so cute? If you don’t want to be teased, be less adorable.’

It happens sometimes, doesn’t it? Like a puppy that thinks it did something wrong when you merely call its name in a low voice, watching nervously with its tail down. Muyoung’s appearance as he avoided eye contact was exactly like that, making it hard to resist teasing him.

‘Hmm…’

The dejected look on his face after the accidental kiss—if one could even call it that—was quite pleasant to see, unlike his usual deflated expression.

And so, unbeknownst to Muyoung, a twisted desire newly grew in the depths of Seokjae’s heart.

‘I wonder if he’d look cute crying too… Is he capable of crying?’

* * *

After the small incident, a somewhat awkward atmosphere persisted. Nevertheless, everyone continued walking toward the kindergarten.

As they kept descending, the walking path soon ended. There was a stepped bridge connecting the kindergarten to the forest. Going down the stairs would lead directly to the kindergarten playground.

Upon entering the playground, there was a colorful two-story building curved to embrace the circular playground on the right. The rest was just open space.

As Seokjae had said, except for a few sparsely built houses, the paved road ended here, and high-rise buildings like apartments were located far away. It was like an isolated island where one would need to travel all the way down the winding road ahead to access facilities like hospitals.

“It’s kind of like… a village built for filming or something,” remarked Junwoo after taking in the scene beyond the kindergarten’s perimeter fence.

Either way, the lack of people was a good thing, so the four relieved individuals immediately approached to check inside the building.

“Maybe because it’s a kindergarten. It’s designed to easily check the inside from outside,” Seokjae muttered, looking at the glass doors decorated with colorful stickers. He then pressed close to check the interior. He moved slowly from right to left, thoroughly examining the building’s interior, but there were no signs or traces of anyone.

The central entrance was the last remaining area to check.

“Wait.”

Unlike other areas, the walls on both sides of the door—about two blocks wide—had no windows, making it difficult to confirm safety. Seokjae sent the three behind him, then turned to face them with his back to the door.

“I’ll go in first—”

*Clank.*

As he naturally raised his hand, the glass door slid open.

Everyone instantly fell silent. A tense atmosphere descended. The fact that a door that should have been locked since it was vacation time was open meant that someone had been—or still was—inside.