Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 44

Seokjae’s hand reached behind Muyoung’s back and rested on the backrest over his opposite shoulder. If Muyoung were to lean back completely against the sofa, he would be in a position of being embraced by Seokjae’s arm.

As Muyoung’s body stiffened with tension, Seokjae tilted his head and rested it against the side of Muyoung’s head.

“Why are you so stiff? Don’t you like being like this with me?”

Then he glanced down at Muyoung’s face as he spoke. His voice was quite gentle, but there was a subtle sharpness in his dark eyes that might make anyone who saw them misunderstand it as a delinquent threatening an innocent model student.

“No, no. It’s not that, just a bit awkward.”

“Really? I’m comfortable.”

“I-I see.”

As Seokjae’s breath tickled his hair, Muyoung slightly hunched his shoulders without being able to look to the side. However, as if not allowing even the slightest gap, Seokjae closed the distance even more, leaving Muyoung with no choice but to give up on avoiding it.

Originally, Seokjae wasn’t a person who was stingy with skinship or expressions, fitting the term “tsundere,” but today he was particularly uninhibited.

Of course, Muyoung didn’t dislike it. There’s no way anyone would dislike their favorite person being intimate with them. Muyoung, who had been rolling his eyes, quietly relaxed his body.

‘He smells like the same shampoo as me.’

Erasing from his mind the fact that everyone in the house used the same bath products, Muyoung was simply excited to find something in common.

‘We’ll have to move again soon, so we won’t have the luxury to be like this for a while, right?’

Although he was still coughing occasionally, Junwoo was recovering his health every hour, probably because he was young. Muyoung guessed they would start moving again in about two days.

‘When we’re moving, I won’t be able to see him relaxed like this.’

Muyoung thought as he secretly glanced at Seokjae’s profile watching TV. Since they had wasted three days for unexpected reasons, he had to enjoy everything he could in the little time left.

However, it wasn’t long before Muyoung couldn’t hide his perplexed feelings. It was because Seokjae seemed determined not to leave his side for even a moment.

He didn’t notice the strangeness from the beginning. After spending a happy time watching TV cozily in the morning, when Seokjae suggested accompanying him during the inspection time around the house and yard, Muyoung was just happy thinking, “Finally, hyung trusts me!”

After finishing what felt like a walk to him. Even when Seokjae suddenly pulled his wrist at lunch, making him accidentally sit on his lap, although a bit embarrassing, Muyoung felt good thinking Seokjae was looking out for him by making him sit next to him.

Feeling like he had enjoyed more than enough of his daily life with Seokjae just from these previous events, Muyoung tried to take a short break. He needed to calm his elevated mood before he did something rash out of happiness.

‘I should roll around on the bed with my pillow and go wild.’

Thinking this and inwardly smiling, he tried to quickly return to his room, but Seokjae followed.

“I want to go to your room.”

“My room?”

“Yeah.”

When asked why, the answer came back as “Just because I want to.” Somehow finding it difficult to ask more, Muyoung had no choice but to postpone his wild time and nod.

Click. As they entered the room, Seokjae scanned the not-so-large space. Watching this, Muyoung thought, ‘He must have been curious about someone else’s room. How cute!’ and was busy breaking his fifth imaginary wall of the day, noticing a beat late that Seokjae had sat down on the bed.

As soon as their eyes met with Seokjae sitting on the edge, he reached out his hand, gesturing Muyoung to come closer. Momentarily flustered, Muyoung couldn’t ignore the outstretched hand and walked to the bed, taking his hand.

“What should we do now?”

Seokjae asked, gripping Muyoung’s hand placed on his own as if he had been waiting for it. Not having expected him to stay in his room, Muyoung’s lips quivered.

“What were you going to do alone originally?”

When no answer came, Seokjae changed his question as if trying to help.

“I was just… going to roll around on the bed.”

Muyoung once again explained, packaging his “wild time” to preserve his dignity.

“Okay, let’s do that then.”

But then Seokjae climbed completely onto the bed, moving to the inside to make room for Muyoung to get on.

“What? Do what?”

“You said you were going to roll around on the bed, right? Let’s do that together.”

“W-Why?”

Muyoung urgently asked, looking at Seokjae who had already lain down without the bed owner’s permission.

Why had he avoided sharing a room with Seokjae in the first place! He never imagined that even without sharing a room, a situation would arise where they would lie side by side on one bed.

“…You don’t like it?”

Seokjae, who had been staring at Muyoung with his pitch-black eyes as he pondered how to avoid this situation, narrowed his eyes and asked.

‘Why is he acting like this today of all days?’

At this point, even Muyoung, who had only been thinking his luck was good today, couldn’t help but notice something was off. Until now, although Seokjae would suddenly push in, he had always allowed Muyoung to keep his life intact, but now he was rushing in without any mercy, leaving Muyoung’s heart racing.

It was too much to brush off as just a matter of condition, especially since Seokjae had shown his usual attitude towards Kyungho and Junwoo, leaving Muyoung even more confused and unable to understand.

It wasn’t a normal situation that he was showing a new side that had never been seen when observed from afar only in front of Muyoung, and that the distance he wanted was extremely close for people who had just met.

But… he didn’t dislike it. To be honest, he wanted to be together. He had barely resisted falling for the temptation before and refused, but now that another opportunity had come, he was conflicted.

‘Maybe it’s okay just this once.’

Above all, he felt like Seokjae would be hurt if he said he didn’t like it at this point.

The idea that Seokjae would be hurt by just one rejection from him – he knew it was an overestimation of his own importance, but seeing the handsome face becoming increasingly stern as he hesitated to answer, he couldn’t help but think that way.

Allow it and risk having his secret discovered vs Refuse and hurt his favorite person. Faced with these options, the answer that would come out of Muyoung’s mouth was predetermined.

“No, I don’t dislike it.”

Having recklessly agreed to share the bed with Seokjae like this, Muyoung, as a last defense, refused the space Seokjae had made for him and sat leaning against the wall.

“You’re going to stay like that?”

Seokjae’s eyebrows twitched, but fortunately, he didn’t question why Muyoung was sitting when he had said he was going to roll around.

“Alright then. I guess I can lie down comfortably too.”

Instead, he quickly lay down on the new pillow prepared in front of him.

“H-Hyung?”

“Muyoung.”

“Yes?”

Despite suddenly losing the freedom of his lower body, Muyoung obediently responded to Seokjae calling his name.

“I’m going to sleep for a bit. I’m sleepy.”

With those words, Seokjae closed his eyes.

“What? What do you mean…”

Startled, Muyoung grabbed Seokjae’s shoulder to shake him, but Seokjae shifted on his thigh as if trying to find a comfortable position.

“…Mmm.”

“Gasp.”

I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to express it this way, but the sensation of Seokjae’s head rubbing against his thigh and then burying his face in Muyoung’s lower abdomen sent a tingling shock through his entire body, making his hands tremble.

“Hyung? Hyung, are you really going to sleep? Hyung?”

Surprised by Seokjae’s sudden movement, Muyoung called out to him anxiously, frozen in an awkward posture like someone who had been told to ‘put your hands up,’ unable to lower or raise his arms.

Although he wasn’t tied up anywhere and could have just stood up if he didn’t like it, Muyoung kept his lower body still and only craned his neck, looking around, afraid that Seokjae’s head might roll off his thigh.

“Hyung?”

It was impossible to fall asleep so quickly, but Seokjae’s closed eyelids didn’t even twitch. After trying to wake him up a few more times with no result, Muyoung decided to quietly accept his role as a pillow.

Staring down at Seokjae lying with his head on Muyoung’s thigh, which felt so unreal, Muyoung carefully lowered his hands that he had been holding up onto the bed.

‘I wanted to see his sleeping face, but I didn’t expect to get such a front-row seat.’

Thanks to Seokjae having his eyes closed, Muyoung could leisurely observe his face up close. Although he had intended to sit still like a meditating monk so as not to disturb Seokjae’s sleep, at some point Muyoung became engrossed in Seokjae’s appearance, and the angle of his head tilted slightly more than at first.

‘…He’s handsome.’