Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 81

‘My ears hurt so much… It feels like they’re torn.’

The pain extended from deep inside his ears to his entire head, making it impossible to pinpoint exactly where it hurt. If he had to describe it, it was like the shock of plugging in earphones and playing music without realizing the volume was at maximum, forcing you to rip them out in agony. It was similar to that, no, even worse.

Muyoung didn’t have the presence of mind to realize he was feeling pain, nor the leisure to find its cause. He could only curl up more tightly, trying to escape from the unbearable sensation.

Guk-

At that moment, something larger overlapped his hands covering his ears, pressing down with additional force.

Perhaps because the sound was blocked a little more, the pain seemed to lessen. When he lifted his head and opened his eyes, his gaze met Seokjae’s tense face.

“Are you okay?”

Seokjae asked, firmly holding Muyoung’s head in place while covering his ears, as Muyoung kept trying to hide and curl up like a baby hedgehog.

Although he couldn’t hear the voice due to his blocked and muffled ears, Muyoung recognized the concern from Seokjae’s expression and lip movements. He managed to move his fear-stiffened lips with difficulty.

“My, my ears.”

“Ears?”

“My ears hurt…”

Flash-!

The moment Muyoung finished speaking in a trembling voice, the sky burst into another brilliant flash of white light, pouring down heavy rain.

“Huk.”

Muyoung let out a sob-like sound as soon as his eyes lost focus from the bright light. It was because he knew the pain that would follow.

Forgetting he was in the middle of a conversation with Seokjae, he strained his neck, trying to escape the hands holding his face. It was to curl up again. Although he knew Seokjae covering his ears was better for blocking the sound, the overwhelming fear clouded his judgment, making him act on instinct.

However, Seokjae’s hands, which were almost completely enveloping his head, didn’t let go easily.

“Let go, let go please!”

He wanted to quickly bury his head somewhere before another loud sound came. Muyoung spoke breathlessly, but Seokjae just watched silently, seemingly unmoved. Usually, Muyoung liked this calm aspect of Seokjae, but now his rationality was so consumed by fear that he found Seokjae’s composure, in contrast to his own urgency, almost irritating.

Rumble-

As expected, a threatening low rumble was heard, like a beast warning before it roars.

Just as Muyoung was about to make a choking sound in preparation for the impending pain, he got what he wanted. Seokjae pulled him close, grabbing the back of his head and burying it against his chest, completely trapping him in his embrace.

Whoop. In an instant, his vision darkened, and just as he started to relax a little due to the familiar body scent and comfort, a loud sound struck.

Kwagwang! Kwareureureu—

The enormous rumble penetrated even through the thick body. Perhaps because his face was pressed against Seokjae’s body and he was trapped in his arms with his cheeks almost crushed, or because he had gritted his teeth in preparation, it was better than the first time which had nearly made him faint.

‘My head hurts…’

Although it wasn’t completely painless, he tensed up his muscles again, wincing at the ringing in his ears.

Muyoung clung to Seokjae as if he was the only one who could save him from this pain, forgetting he had found him irritating just moments ago. And Seokjae, whom Muyoung trusted…

‘Why is he acting like this? Does he have some trauma related to thunder? Or is he scared of loud noises? No, he said it hurts. Did something go wrong with his ears because of the loud noise?’

He was at a loss in this utterly bewildering situation. Contrary to Muyoung’s thoughts, Seokjae hadn’t been calm for a single moment since Muyoung started showing this strange reaction. He might have appeared composed on the outside, but he was actually frozen in shock, unable to react.

‘He wasn’t this bad even when he was about to die being torn apart by zombies.’

That’s because although Muyoung appeared weak, he was brave enough to try to smile even in the face of death. Seokjae never imagined he would see Muyoung crumble so helplessly, let alone that the reason would be thunder.

In the midst of this bewilderment, the reason Seokjae was able to pull Muyoung into his arms was, funny as it sounds, thanks to his escape detection radar that only worked in this specific situation.

Seeing how Muyoung had plopped down on the ground and was frantically scraping the floor with his heels trying to get away, Seokjae predicted that if another loud sound occurred, he would struggle with all his might and run away like a startled cat.

Sure enough, as soon as the thunder sounded, Muyoung clung to him, scratching his back. If Seokjae hadn’t held onto him, he surely would have run away somewhere.

‘I don’t know the reason, but if it’s because of the sound, we’ll have to stay like this until the thunder stops.’

After looking down at Muyoung in his arms with relief, Seokjae decided he needed to move while carrying him.

‘Muyoung won’t be attacked, so being in my arms shouldn’t put him in danger. Should I be careful not to let blood splash?’

During this time, the rain was gradually getting heavier, turning into a downpour that could soak them completely in just a few seconds. Despite raindrops flowing down his forehead and blurring his vision, Seokjae didn’t loosen his arms around Muyoung and spoke to the two people fidgeting beside them.

“I’ll carry Muyoung and move. Stay close behind me and follow.”

“…Hyung.”

He expected to hear the usual tense response, but what came back was a call mixed with fear along with tension.

Only then did Seokjae become alert enough to observe the surrounding situation rather than just Muyoung.

Hududuk- Chulpuk- Jik…

A presence mixed into the wet rain sounds like a dissonant chord. A familiar sound of something being dragged and scraped. As soon as he noticed it, Seokjae raised his head on alert and couldn’t hold back the curse rising from within, even in front of Muyoung.

“Shit.”

Tuwook, keueugeuk… Keueok-

He had expected the outer walls to have collapsed from zombie attacks, but he didn’t know there would be over a dozen zombies residing in each building. The numbers were vast in every single building, as if all the zombies in the area had been herded in. Moreover, most of the doors and windows were broken, leaving nothing to block their movements.

In a situation where luck had plummeted to an absurd degree, Seokjae muttered lowly.

“These zombie bastards are even living indoors now.”

With that many, it wouldn’t have been easy to clear them out alone, so should he be glad they found out before going in? Or should he consider it a bigger problem now that they have to deal with several times more than just one building’s worth?

One thing was for sure – they were pretty fucked right now.

‘Did they come out in response to the thunder?’

He didn’t know why so many were inside the buildings. However, seeing them looking up at the sky, screaming incoherently, and stumbling around, it was clear they hadn’t come out because of Seokjae’s group.

This was their first encounter with thunder since the zombie outbreak began, so he hadn’t immediately thought the zombies would react to this sound.

“Kids.”

As soon as Seokjae finished his assessment, he whispered to call the two people who were standing stiffly, trying not to startle them. Then he gestured towards the ground with his chin and mouthed:

‘Sit down.’

Fortunately, even in this somewhat messed up situation, they hadn’t lost their minds. The two quickly crouched down at Seokjae’s command.

Carefully scanning the surroundings while holding his breath, Seokjae saw the zombies wandering around, dragging their decaying bodies, searching for the non-existent prey that dared to make such a loud noise, as if confirming his thoughts.

‘I’m not sure if this is bad luck or good luck.’

The zombies had simply come out because they heard a sound from outside. It was just bad luck that the direction happened to be where Seokjae’s group was.

Still, as they say, where there’s life, there’s hope. Thanks to the vehicles filling the pathway, the zombies didn’t seem to have discovered them.

Shwaaaaa- Tududuk- Teng, Teong-

Thankfully, the pouring rain created all sorts of noises as it hit the cars and buildings. Plus, the sky was still rumbling, warning of more loud cries to come. It seemed likely that any signs of the four of them would be completely masked.

‘If they’ve all come out, the inside of the buildings is likely to be empty.’

Although it looked difficult to enter the buildings with the zombies crowded in front, having just come out, they might be able to find at least one building with an empty entrance after some time.

‘Even if we don’t, what else can we do? If we stay here, it’s only a matter of time before we’re discovered.’

They still had some distance from the zombies, but there were already a few zombies approaching in their direction.

The deliberation was brief. Seokjae pressed his lips close to the back of Muyoung’s hand that was covering his ear and whispered.

“Muyoung.”

Perhaps due to the close distance where his lips brushed against the back of Muyoung’s hand as he spoke, or maybe because Muyoung had found some stability while being held in his arms. Muyoung flinched and trembled.

“Take your hands off your ears for a moment and put your arms around my neck. Wrap your legs around my waist.”

After saying this, Seokjae didn’t give Muyoung time to respond. He wrapped one arm around Muyoung’s waist and the other under his buttocks. Then he pulled him close, supporting him firmly, and carefully stood up.

Startled by the sudden lift, Muyoung gasped and half-instinctively followed Seokjae’s instructions.

‘Wh-what on earth is happening?’

In fact, from the moment he heard the curse word from Seokjae’s mouth, he had tried to gather his wits, thinking he must have gone mad to hear such a strange sound. Now, clinging to Seokjae like a koala on a tree, Muyoung realized that surprise was more effective in forgetting pain.

“Sseup.”

As Muyoung’s eyes widened in surprise, he heard the sound of air being sucked in through teeth. When Muyoung failed to properly tighten his legs around Seokjae’s waist, Seokjae made this sound as a warning before he would slap Muyoung’s buttocks.

“Below, you need to tighten properly.”

Chap!

Even though it was a light slap, the wet impact sound was heard due to the moisture-soaked pants.