Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 47

“I’m sorry.”

As soon as their eyes met, Muyoung apologized with as much sincerity as he could. Worried that Seokjae might speak loudly and the child might hear, he put his index finger to his lips in a gesture to be quiet and whispered.

“I have to go now, but I’ll explain later.”

He could hear footsteps from the living room moving towards the kitchen. He needed to hide quickly. Muyoung was about to turn around and run towards the bathroom while looking back at Seokjae.

“Ack.”

At that moment, he felt his collar being pulled back, stopping his forward movement.

“Hy-cough, hyung?”

Muyoung immediately stopped walking and freed his neck from the choking collar. Unable to stop the reflexive coughing, he turned with a flustered expression to see the face of the one who had grabbed his collar.

“Hyung…?”

“…”

Even the cough that had been coming out in surprise stopped. Muyoung, with wide eyes, forgot that he was in the middle of hide-and-seek and needed to hide, forgot that he was about to ask Seokjae why he did that, and stepped closer to him.

“What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”

Heaving shoulders. Rough breathing. The cold, stiff face now looked so contorted that it seemed like he might explode in anger at any moment. But those eyes not looking at him. Those unfocused eyes somehow made him look like a person gripped by fear.

‘Why is he suddenly like this?’

He was worried that Seokjae might collapse at any moment. When he had opened the door and come out, he didn’t look happy, but he was definitely fine. What could have happened in just a few seconds to make Seokjae’s condition worsen? Muyoung was perplexed, unable to understand.

“Hyung, are you in pain somewhere? Please say something.”

“…What were you trying to do?”

“What? What do you mean? No, more importantly, let’s not stand here. Let’s go into the room. I think you need to rest a bit.”

Though tilting his head at the incomprehensible words, Muyoung grabbed Seokjae’s hand and led him towards the room. Just as he thought Seokjae was following obediently, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Hyung?”

Only after stumbling backward once due to Seokjae’s resistance did Muyoung notice something was off.

“What’s wrong? Don’t want to lie down and rest? Should we just sit then?”

Seokjae tightened his grip on Muyoung’s hand as he watched him treat him like a child who was being stubborn despite being sick. As he realized he was in a situation where he could hold onto Muyoung even if he tried to leave, his creaking brain started to function properly again. Unlike before, Muyoung was now focusing all his attention on him.

“…You.”

Seokjae, staring at Muyoung with sunken eyes, moved his lips.

“Yes?”

Hearing what sounded like a slight cracking of hand bones, Muyoung glanced down, wondering if he had applied too much force, only to realize it was his own hand that was being crushed. While relieved it wasn’t Seokjae’s hand, Muyoung was conflicted about whether to say it hurt or wait for Seokjae to calm down.

In the midst of this, he snapped back to attention at Seokjae’s call and looked up.

“What were you trying to do just now?”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“I mean what you did in the hallway.”

It was a question devoid of any kindness to help the listener understand, solely focused on resolving his own doubt. Muyoung slightly wrinkled his nose in frustration.

‘What does he think I did?’

No matter how much he racked his brain, all he had done was try to hide in the bathroom, nothing to Seokjae.

However, judging by the repeated question, he could tell that this incomprehensible query was important to Seokjae. Sensing that they would keep standing here if he didn’t answer, Muyoung gave the best response he could in his state of complete confusion.

“I didn’t do anything.”

It wasn’t a lie. Whatever it was, he really hadn’t done anything.

“…”

Unsatisfied with the answer, Seokjae’s thick eyebrows furrowed deeply.

Taking advantage of this moment to assess his condition, Muyoung noticed that while Seokjae’s expression was still fierce, his breathing had calmed down and his eyes had returned to normal. He looked less like someone in pain and more like someone in a very bad mood. Finally feeling some relief, Muyoung let out a small sigh.

“You suddenly apologized and were trying to go somewhere. And what was that about being quiet?”

Despite having acted roughly without any explanation, Muyoung was still only concerned about him. Facing such a Muyoung, Seokjae seemed to soften a bit more and asked.

“Oh, that was because I was playing hide-and-seek and trying to hide… Ah! I was in the middle of hide-and-seek. Would it be okay if I just explain the situation to the child and come back?”

Remembering that he was still in the middle of playing with the child, Muyoung looked back and forth between the doorway and Seokjae.

“Wouldn’t it have been easier to ask me to hide you then? Why were you just trying to leave?”

As Muyoung seemed about to leave him again, Seokjae firmly grasped the cold hand already crumpled in his.

“What?”

“I was confident I could help you well.”

The lowered voice and earnest gaze, seemingly sincere, matched his face and looked incredibly handsome.

‘I-I’m glad, but… isn’t that a bit much for hide-and-seek where the seeker is an eight-year-old?’

However, Muyoung’s hide-and-seek opponent wasn’t a dangerous entity like a murderer or zombie, not even an adult, but just an ordinary eight-year-old child. Therefore, Seokjae’s sincerity seemed a bit excessive. It was bewildering to see him so ready to help seriously when the opponent was just a tiny child.

But what confused Muyoung even more was what came next.

‘So… did he want to play hide-and-seek together? No, that can’t be. He didn’t even know I was playing hide-and-seek.’

It was unbelievable that he was the reason for Seokjae’s strange behavior, to the point of making such implausible guesses. Muyoung tried his best to recall what had happened in the hallway, struggling to find the cause.

‘Was apologizing the problem? But I think it was fine when I apologized before… Then, did he think I was going to cause trouble by trying to go somewhere without explanation?’

He still felt that there was nothing particularly problematic about his previous actions. But whatever had made Seokjae make such a face, whether ordinary or not, should obviously not be done. The problem was that even if he wanted to be careful, he couldn’t figure out exactly what had upset Seokjae.

Should I just ask directly?

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“Ah.”

It seems he had been lost in thought for too long while facing Seokjae. Snapping back to reality, he saw that Seokjae’s handsome eyes had already narrowed more than before.

What did hyung ask again? Why I was trying to leave?

“I-I had a place in mind. I was going to hide in the bathroom.”

Fortunately managing to recall Seokjae’s question, Muyoung hastily answered, but his previous silence seemed to have eroded trust, as doubt clouded Seokjae’s dark eyes.

“There’s no other reason?”

“Huh?”

Expecting to be scolded for not focusing on the conversation, Muyoung’s eyes widened at this unexpected suspicion.

“Is it…”

Seokjae’s gaze briefly turned to empty space, and a hesitant voice flowed from between his lips, which moved as if wavering.

“Is it because you don’t trust me?”

To think he would end up saying this. Seokjae wanted to rip his own mouth apart.

He had resolved not to obsess over recognition that only hindered gaining Muyoung’s attention, yet here he was asking such a pathetic question. He had already done countless things since meeting Muyoung that his former self would have sneered at, but he could confidently say that what he just said was the most pathetic.

‘What are you going to do asking someone who can’t even remember?’

It was stupid enough to have fallen into such a deep sleep that he didn’t notice Muyoung leaving after just touching his head while pretending to sleep, but now, buried in memories of the past and spouting nonsense, he felt like the biggest idiot in the world.

His resolve yesterday to no longer wait patiently was meant to capture Muyoung definitively, not to disregard how Muyoung thought of him.

So obviously, he shouldn’t have acted like a madman upon seeing him play hide-and-seek with a kid, or say such stupid things as he just did, regardless of what it reminded him of.

‘Judging by his expression, I’ve really messed up.’

Lacking the courage to look directly into Muyoung’s eyes while asking, Seokjae had directed his gaze at empty space. When he finally lowered his eyes, he saw that even the surprised expression on Muyoung’s face, caused by his idiotic words, had disappeared.