Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 16

“…Where did they go?”

They had definitely been following him until he entered the police substation. Judging by the gaze he felt from the window, he thought they were curious about him.

‘Was it arrogance?’

Whether the curiosity wasn’t as deep as he thought, the faint presence disappeared even before they had breakfast. Seokjae looked at the empty window, contemplating whether it would be better to go after them now or wait a little longer.

Meanwhile, the two noticed Seokjae’s stern face and became serious as well.

“Hyung, are you sick?”

“What?”

“Maybe you’re tired from moving around since early this morning?”

“Ah, that must be it. Hyung, if you’re tired, you should tell us.”

Before he could even answer, the two immediately tried to put him to bed.

“No, guys, I’m fine.”

“Then why have you been spacing out since earlier?”

“That’s just… I had something to think about.”

“What were you thinking about?”

“Um…”

No matter how much he said he was fine, their attitude was firm, and eventually Seokjae, who had something to hide, gave in. He decided to pretend to sleep as a second-best option.

Seokjae, covered with a blanket on the sofa, turned towards the direction where he had felt the gaze and didn’t take his eyes off the window for a long time. About an hour passed, but cruelly, there was no sign of return.

“…Was I not interesting enough?”

Seokjae, guessing the reason for their departure, unknowingly muttered with a serious face.

“Huh? Hyung, are you already awake?”

Kyungho, who was organizing the map nearby, reacted to his soliloquy. Though unintended, Seokjae, who had caught the timing appropriately, nodded and slowly raised his upper body.

“It hasn’t been long, why don’t you sleep a bit more…”

“No, I’ve rested enough.”

Seokjae sat on the sofa, lightly responded, and then continued the contemplation he had briefly interrupted.

‘Did they just check if I was safe and then retreat?’

If that was the case, it was rather fortunate. It meant they would appear again if a dangerous situation arose. Seokjae, who was pondering whether that being had completely left the area or just temporarily stepped away, opened his mouth.

“Guys, how about we postpone our move a little?”

“What?”

“What did you say?”

At that suggestion, Kyungho and Junwoo, who were tidying up around, widened their eyes in surprise. Kyungho even dropped the luggage bag he was holding.

Junwoo slowly leaned towards Kyungho and whispered.

“…Did hyung just say we should postpone?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Although they had spent a long time looking at the map and considering, they only reconfirmed the direction of movement without any changes to the plan. In other words, it was natural to move as they had been doing so far. Moving as much as possible during dawn or evening hours when they could secure visibility without easily catching others’ attention. It was a very simple and clean plan.

Sometimes, when they found a good place to stay like the police substation, they would rest for a few days. Of course, they couldn’t stay long, so it was at most three days. Today was exactly the third day.

Seokjae had never voiced an opinion on this format until now. He always followed what the two did. So this time too, the two were naturally packing first.

“Gasp, could it be!”

Junwoo, unable to hide his confusion, quickly looked around at a thought that crossed his mind. However, there was no noise coming from outside the police substation. It meant there was no danger making it difficult to move.

“Um, what’s the reason?”

Nevertheless, Junwoo carefully asked, thinking that he might have failed to notice an approaching crisis.

Seokjae spoke calmly despite seeing the two’s confused expressions.

“Just, I think it would be good to gather more food from around here before we go.”

“What? Is that all?”

“Yes.”

It wasn’t a strange reason, but it was suspicious coming from none other than Seokjae.

Moreover, they had already briefly scanned all the places where food was likely to be. They might find some remaining food if they searched thoroughly, but the chances of a significant yield were low. It was a fact that Seokjae, who had explored the surroundings with them, should know.

While Junwoo was confused, unable to understand why he suddenly proposed such an unexpected action, Kyungho spoke up first.

“Well, we don’t have much left now. Shall we go out in the evening then?”

“…Hey.”

Clearly surprised just the same next to him, yet pretending to calmly accept it, Kyungho annoyed Junwoo, who jabbed his side hard. Kyungho winced and clutched his side at the merciless attack.

“I see… What should we do?”

Pretending not to see this, Seokjae got up from his seat and strode to the window. Then he lifted the curtain covering the window with the back of his hand.

“…”

“Hyung? What’s wrong?”

When Seokjae stood silently in front of the window with his mouth shut, Kyungho asked curiously. Only then did he let out an “Ah” sound and slightly lowered the curtain he had raised to his eye level to just below his jawline.

“It’s nothing. Just, checking the surroundings.”

Seokjae, blocking the gap with his body so that the two behind him couldn’t see outside the window, slightly rolled his eyes to look down. Right below the window frame, crouching close, was Muyoung.

‘Aaaah!’

Muyoung covered his mouth with both hands, about to scream, and curled up his body as much as he could.

‘What should I do now?’

A little while ago, he had returned with a triumphant face after gathering plenty of food. And he approached the window without caution to peek at them, only to find himself in danger of being caught.

‘Why did he suddenly come here?’

As soon as he pressed his head close to the gap in the curtain, Seokjae walked towards where he was, and surprised by the unexpected situation, Muyoung just stared blankly at the approaching Seokjae and missed the timing to run away.

‘Please don’t look this way!’

Given that it was already too late, hiding his body in the blind spot seemed better than running away. Muyoung pressed his swollen bag tightly against his chest, worried that Seokjae might see it, and stuck close to the wall.

Indeed, if he couldn’t escape far enough to be out of sight, hiding in the blind spot and relying on luck wasn’t a bad choice. If Seokjae hadn’t originally come to check around the window, he might not have been caught at all.

‘…That is hiding, right?’

But Seokjae had no idea that Muyoung had returned. He just came to check if there were any traces left in the place where he had felt the gaze. Unfortunately for Muyoung, thanks to this, Seokjae was able to spot his round crown at once.

Muyoung froze in that position without moving, as if playing dead. Seokjae watched for a moment and then deliberately touched the window as if by mistake.

At the small vibration that resonated with a ‘thud’, the shoulders that had been curled up almost crumpled bounced up. His body, which seemed like it couldn’t bend any further, became even rounder, but Muyoung managed to hold his position without running away.

“…”

Seokjae swept his gaze over the pale nape once and then removed his hand from the curtain. Then, watching Muyoung’s movements through the gap created by the curtain not falling completely, he spoke.

“Guys, let’s go tomorrow evening.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

Their conversation reached Muyoung’s ears through the thin glass window. Muyoung’s head, which had been facing the floor, twitched.

‘I didn’t get caught, right?’

If they had discovered him, they probably wouldn’t be talking so casually.

Muyoung, who was looking around cautiously, couldn’t resist his curiosity and glanced up slightly. Not having the courage to raise his head completely, he peeked at the corner of the window and saw the curtain covering it.

Thinking he had managed to avoid detection once again, Muyoung, believing he was completely out of Seokjae’s sight, relaxed his entire body and slid down the wall.

“Haa…”

As the tension released, he finally had the composure to understand the conversation he had just heard.

‘Where are they trying to go tomorrow?’

Muyoung tilted his head. Since they said they would ‘go and come back’, it seemed they were going out for a different purpose, not leaving this place. Wondering if they needed something, he held his breath and listened closely.

“I was thinking we could go in the opposite direction of the mart.”

“What’s on the opposite side?”

“There was a convenience store next to the church, remember?”

Muyoung’s face brightened as he eavesdropped on their conversation without blinking. A convenience store. They were definitely going to look for food!

He even heard the exact destination, so there was no chance of mistaking it for somewhere else. There was only one convenience store next to a church in this area.

“I can deliver it tomorrow, then?”

He never expected an opportunity to deliver the food he brought would come so soon. It was lucky. Muyoung, praising himself for quickly going out to find food, buried his face in his bag and chuckled softly.