Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 37

‘Junwoo is obviously excluded, and hyung is a patient, so he’s out too. That leaves me and Kyungho…’

Sharing a room with someone else would be like having a CCTV monitoring whether he was human or not. If they couldn’t find an extra blanket, they’d naturally end up sharing the same bed. Then, the chances of revealing physical conditions he couldn’t control would skyrocket.

‘Hyung, why are you so cold?’

‘Hyung, why can’t I hear your heartbeat?’

‘Hyung, why don’t you sleep?’

‘Hyung… are you really human?’

Imagining a future closing in like a horror movie, he finally pictured Seokjae saying, “I’m sorry, but can you leave?” and himself being kicked out in tears.

He was prepared for the fact that living among humans wouldn’t be easy, but he didn’t expect to feel this precarious from the first day…

‘I need to avoid sharing a room with anyone.’

It was an almost impossible resolution since he couldn’t always stay in places with separate rooms, but that resolution shouldn’t break now. Muyoung stared at Seokjae with wide eyes, meaning he was really fine.

“Then we’d have to sleep close together, which would be uncomfortable. I’ll just sleep out here.”

“If that’s what you’re worried about, I can sleep on the floor. You take the bed.”

“…What?”

However, Seokjae’s suggestion, casually brushing off his excuse, greatly shook his resolve.

“You mean… I’d be sharing with you? Not Kyungho?”

Muyoung was dumbfounded by this unexpected option.

“…Do you want to share with Kyungho? He’ll be moving around even at dawn to take care of Junwoo.”

Was he perplexed that an absent person was mentioned? Seokjae’s lips moved a few times before he asked in a lower voice.

“Ah, no! That’s not it. I thought you’d use it alone since your arm is still uncomfortable.”

Muyoung, who had suddenly become someone who didn’t want to share a room with Seokjae, hastily shook his head.

‘If we share a room, I’d be able to see hyung’s sleeping face and just-woken face in real-time, right?’

Muyoung, thirsting for new content, felt his judgment clouding at the temptation presented before him. The answer to agree was on the tip of his tongue, but he bit it back, barely resisting such an unacceptable proposal.

“It’s not a severe injury, so you don’t need to worry about it that much.”

“But you were in pain earlier at the hotel.”

Muyoung, firmly believing Seokjae’s feigned illness to be true, unintentionally pushed back verbally for the first time.

“…That was because I moved suddenly. It doesn’t hurt now.”

Not expecting to be caught by his own trick, Seokjae inwardly clicked his tongue. He tried to recover immediately, but Muyoung gave him no opening.

“Even so, how can I let you sleep on the bare floor? And without a blanket at that.”

This was the biggest reason Muyoung didn’t give in to temptation, besides the injury. Making his favorite person sleep on the bare floor – it would be a shame to the name of Seokjae’s number one fan.

“If that’s the case, I should be the one sleeping on the floor. But since the sofa is better than the floor, it’s still right for me to sleep in the living room.”

Even fans have their own principles. Fans should always be a source of strength for their favorite and only show them pretty and good things. As Muyoung firmly followed Gwanghun’s teachings, Seokjae immediately changed his approach.

“You don’t dislike sharing a room with me, do you?”

It was a suspicious question as the refusals continued.

“Of course not!”

As Seokjae intended, Muyoung was startled and lost the composure he had barely maintained, flustering.

“I just want you to rest comfortably.”

Flinching at his own raised voice, Muyoung covered his mouth and mumbled.

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Really really?”

“Really, really really!”

“It doesn’t seem like it.”

After this childish back-and-forth continued a few times, Muyoung felt like he was going to burst as the suspicion didn’t leave Seokjae’s expression. Finally, he had no choice but to bring up past events to assert his innocence.

“If that were true, why would I have followed you around helping?”

He didn’t want to say it himself as it felt like boasting, but currently, this was the only direct evidence that he didn’t dislike Seokjae. After all, he wouldn’t follow around and help someone he didn’t even want to share a room with!

However, it was unclear how Seokjae understood his sincerity, as his gaze became strange.

“You followed me around because you wanted to be close enough to share a room?”

“That’s not what I meant! I’m saying I like you that much.”

“Then you should be fine sharing a room with me since you like me.”

“No, why does it turn out like that again…”

As Muyoung showed another negative reaction, Seokjae made a sulky face. Seeing this, Muyoung’s face fell. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to sleep together. He felt frustrated and wronged.

‘In a way, it’s not like he’s doubting me, but more like a child pestering their parents to buy them candy…’

But perhaps because he was seeing an unexpected side of Seokjae, even though the repetitive conversation was troublesome, he wasn’t angry.

Although he had only watched from afar, Seokjae’s interactions with the kids had always been the epitome of a cool, mature older brother. But the Seokjae he was dealing with now was similar to his cousin who had just entered kindergarten throwing a tantrum.

‘It might be rude to say this about hyung, but he’s so cute I might give in.’

Instead of refusing further, Muyoung took a deep breath to compose himself.

‘Who would have thought we’d end up arguing like this over deciding on a room.’

At least he had a reason for hiding his identity, but why on earth did Seokjae want to sleep together?

‘Maybe… he wants to share a room with me?’

He briefly entertained the thought but quickly shook his head. That couldn’t be it. It didn’t make sense no matter how he looked at it.

After calmly organizing his thoughts with various assumptions, his mind cleared as if doused with cold water.

‘He must feel bad about making me sleep outside after all I’ve been through today. After all, I am his lifesaver.’

Upon careful consideration, it was clear that this childish argument arose because of his excessive sense of responsibility. Although he could now understand Seokjae’s feelings, finding a way to persuade him seemed even more hopeless.

Nevertheless, as he was racking his brain for a solution without giving up, an unexpected helper intervened.

“Are you two fighting right now?”

It was Kyungho, who appeared with a bundle of blankets in his arms. He looked back and forth between Muyoung and Seokjae with worried eyes.

Although taller than himself, when Muyoung met eyes with the youthful Kyungho, he felt like a parent who had fought in front of a child.

“No. Absolutely not. We just had something to talk about for a moment.”

“Why aren’t you resting? What’s with the blanket?”

As soon as Muyoung finished speaking with an awkward smile, trying to reassure him, Seokjae asked.

“Ah, well… I felt uneasy, so I was looking for an extra blanket to share a room with Junwoo. I thought I’d at least cover him with a quilt if there wasn’t one, but fortunately, there was a spare in another room’s closet.”

As soon as Kyungho finished speaking, contrasting expressions crossed the two men’s faces.

“Then hyung and I can each use one of the remaining rooms.”

Muyoung said with a bright smile, quickly standing up from the sofa.

“It’s already this late. We should go to sleep soon. I’ll use the room near the stairs, so hyung can use the room on the opposite side. Good night, everyone.”

“Ah, yes. Good night to you too, benefactor.”

After saying good night and naturally giving up the slightly larger room, Muyoung disappeared into the hallway and into a room before Seokjae could answer.

“…Ha.”

Seokjae inadvertently let out a hollow laugh, feeling like a blue error screen had suddenly popped up in a game he was about to clear with just one more hit.

“Hyung? What’s wrong? Did you really fight with the benefactor? Why?”

Kyungho, who had clearly heard that sound, cautiously asked.

“Kyungho.”

“Yes.”

Seokjae’s eyes, which had been staring at the spot where Muyoung had disappeared, turned to Kyungho. As he called out to him, Kyungho answered with a tense face.

“Go in and sleep quickly.”

Seeing Kyungho, who had completely misread the situation, Seokjae felt too tired even to get angry and just sighed, postponing his plans for next time.

“It really seems like they fought…”

Left alone in the living room after both Muyoung and Seokjae had gone to their rooms, Kyungho muttered while hugging the blanket.

“It seems like hyung did something wrong, so I should take the benefactor’s side.”

Knowing Seokjae’s stubborn side well from past experiences, Kyungho guessed that he might have treated Muyoung the same way.

‘If that’s really the case, I hope the benefactor beats hyung soundly. Hyung needs someone to rein him in a bit.’

He and Junwoo had failed because they were younger and less capable, but although he didn’t know the benefactor’s age, he wasn’t inferior to Seokjae in ability. Maybe he could become Seokjae’s brake.

‘Benefactor, fighting!’

Kyungho clenched his fist, sending silent support to Muyoung.