Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 26

“Hyung, why aren’t you answering…?”

Junwoo, unable to contain his frustration, grumbled as he asked, but trailed off as he faced Seokjae. After their return, the silence that had disappeared settled over the living room once again.

Drip, drip. For a while, only the sound of water droplets falling from their clothes to the floor could be heard. Whether it was from the rain or from seeing Seokjae before them, Junwoo shivered, feeling a chill. Snapping out of it due to that small movement, Kyungho gathered his courage and asked.

“…Hyung. Did something happen?”

“Gasp, could it be that those bastards came back?”

Junwoo said with a frown, suddenly struck by the thought. If that wasn’t the case, there was no reason for hyung to have such an expression. Junwoo thought to himself as he glanced at Seokjae’s face, which was so cold it was almost scary to look at again.

“……”

No matter what they said, Seokjae remained lost in thought. Perhaps due to his frustration at losing Muyoung, he exuded an atmosphere like a devil crawling out of hell.

The two, who had been running around outside out of concern for the injured Seokjae, whispered in fear, not knowing what was going on.

“Could he have walked all the way here after being beaten like that?”

“That’s true. I didn’t think he’d wake up today.”

While they were debating whether to speak to Seokjae again, Junwoo belatedly noticed the first aid kit on the floor and the bandage wrapped around his arm, and his eyes widened.

“Was there a first aid kit?”

“Huh? There really is!”

Kyungho’s eyes also grew round as he crouched down in front of the first aid kit and opened the lid. Inside were disinfectant, spare bandages, ointments, and more. Kyungho, who had been worried because they could only find band-aids at the convenience store, broke into a broad smile.

“Wow! Thank goodness. Did you treat yourself with this? Where was it?”

“Ah, I managed to get it somehow.”

Only then did Seokjae stop his thoughts and answer, looking at him.

“You got it?”

Kyungho tilted his head, finding it odd that Seokjae said he “got” it rather than found it, but thinking that all’s well that ends well, he excitedly examined the medical supplies.

“There’s medicine too. Hyung, did you take any painkillers?”

“Hmm, it’s not that serious. The bleeding has stopped now. It’ll heal if I leave it like this.”

Seokjae raised the corners of his mouth as he watched Kyungho chattering away as if he had never been scared. Then, realizing the state of the two who he hadn’t paid attention to while thinking about Muyoung, he put on an apologetic expression.

“You went through trouble outside because of me.”

“No, it’s fine. Actually, this is all we could find…”

Kyungho made an embarrassed expression as he pulled out a pack of band-aids from his bag.

“There weren’t any pharmacies around, so we went to places like convenience stores, but it seems they were all taken already. There was no disinfectant or ointment.”

“Still, you searched hard for me, even in the rain. Thank you.”

“We couldn’t do anything when you were fighting, so this much is only natural, hyung.”

“That’s right.”

The two didn’t feel at all upset that their efforts, even getting caught in the rain, had been in vain. They were just glad that Seokjae had been able to treat his wounds with the first aid kit of unknown origin, and they felt embarrassed that they couldn’t be of any help despite leaving with big words.

As they exchanged thanks, the mood that had been down became warmer. It was then that a cough suddenly burst from Junwoo’s mouth.

“Cough.”

“Junwoo?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Just my throat itching…”

When Kyungho looked at him in surprise, Junwoo waved his hand as if it was nothing. But before he could finish speaking, a series of coughs erupted.

Seokjae got up from his seat with a worried look and pushed Junwoo towards the bathroom.

“You must have been in wet clothes for too long. Go wash up quickly before you catch a cold.”

“Come on, in summer…?”

Even as he said this, Junwoo frowned as the discomfort in his throat didn’t disappear. Realizing his friend’s condition wasn’t good, Kyungho joined Seokjae in pushing Junwoo’s back firmly.

“You need to wash up anyway. You go first, quickly.”

“Ah, alright. I’m going, aren’t I?”

Unable to resist the urging of the two, Junwoo ended up being the first to wash up and come out, followed by Kyungho and Seokjae in turn. They managed to deal with Seokjae’s bandaged arm somehow with plastic wrap from the kitchen.

The three, now fresh and clean, decided to postpone their plans and stay overnight, moving the next evening, considering it was raining and they had been through a lot that day.

Before the three went to bed, Seokjae called out to Junwoo.

“Junwoo.”

“Yes, hyung. What is it?”

“Let’s take some medicine before sleep.”

“Ah, hyung. I’m really fine. Taking medicine now would be a waste. It’s hard to get, too.”

“…Okay. I understand. If you need it later, just say so.”

A good night’s sleep should make it better. Junwoo grumbled out of embarrassment and strongly rejected his offer. Seokjae looked down at Junwoo quietly, blinking as if in thought, then nodded and backed off.

Although Junwoo had been prepared to refuse at least three or four more times, he was taken aback when Seokjae accepted it in one go, but was satisfied that there was no childish argument about his physical condition.

The next day. Junwoo regretted rejecting his offer. When he woke up, his condition had worsened rather than improved from the day before. He pretended to be fine in front of Seokjae and Kyungho, hoping it would get better before they left, but it was a vain hope.

“Cough, cough! Ahem.”

“Junwoo, are you okay?”

“Ah, I’m fine. I’m fine…”

Kyungho’s eyes were full of concern at the sound of the intensified coughing. Junwoo, who had been considering asking Seokjae for medicine even now, ended up pretending to be strong without realizing it when faced with Kyungho’s worry.

Even while cursing himself as a stupid idiot for putting on airs, Junwoo ultimately couldn’t bring himself to reveal his condition until they were fully prepared to move. Having been used to acting strong in front of the timid Kyungho since childhood, it was difficult for him to honestly say he was sick even now.

“Did you pack everything?”

“Yes.”

Junwoo answered Seokjae’s question, gritting his teeth and resolved to endure. At that moment, Kyungho spoke up with an embarrassed face.

“Um… Can I just go to the bathroom one last time?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Saying he’d be right back, Kyungho left. Silence fell over the entrance where only the two remained, and after rolling his eyes for a moment, Junwoo cautiously spoke to Seokjae.

“Ahem. Hyung.”

“Yes?”

“Uh… Is your arm okay?”

“It’s not bad.”

Worried that it might seem like he was concerned out of the blue, Junwoo was relieved when Seokjae glanced at him and spoke calmly. Junwoo hesitated for a moment, seeing how fine Seokjae looked despite being severely cut by a knife, and then continued speaking haltingly.

“You didn’t take painkillers today either, right?”

“No. It’s bearable.”

“…Even though you bled that much?”

“Still, it’s not as bad as I thought.”

“I see…”

He had been wavering on whether to secretly tell at least him, but Junwoo decided to keep his mouth shut at the end of the conversation. Compared to Seokjae, who had been bleeding profusely yesterday, his condition seemed like just a cold. It felt like he was being childish to make them worry about this level of illness.

It might be stubborn, but Junwoo didn’t want to rely on Seokjae just because he was older than them.

However, regardless of the reason, ignoring a problem that was about to burst wasn’t a solution, and eventually, as if following a predetermined course, trouble broke out.

“Junwoo!”

“Huff… huff…”

Less than an hour after they started moving from their shelter, Junwoo’s temperature rose and his mind became foggy. After more than two hours, Junwoo couldn’t hold on any longer. His knees buckled and he fell forward.

Kyungho, who was next to him, quickly caught him, preventing the misfortune of his nose being broken.

“What’s going on?”

Seokjae, who had been walking a bit ahead to flexibly respond to changes in the surroundings, strode over at the commotion.

“Hyung, Junwoo…!”

“……”

Seokjae discovered Junwoo groaning with a face red with fever in Kyungho’s arms and made a serious expression. Then, as if there was no other choice, he sighed.

“We can give him medicine here, but we need a place to rest.”

“Yes, yes. Let’s go quickly!”

“…There are no buildings with memos attached nearby.”

Originally, they would have found shelter on their own without memos. But perhaps they had become accustomed to the repeated kindness, entering a building without any authentication now felt more dangerous than before.

Kyungho swallowed, glanced down at Junwoo, and answered.

“Let’s go into any place. We used to do that anyway, right?”

“That was when we were in good condition. If we unfortunately stumble upon a place densely populated with zombies, we’d have to run away carrying Junwoo… That wouldn’t be good for him either.”

“Then, what should we do?”