Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 12

As soon as the three people disappeared into the police substation, Muyoung quickly approached the building. However, the windows had security bars and curtains were drawn tightly, making it difficult to see inside.

‘Is there any gap somewhere?’

Not giving up, Muyoung examined each window carefully and fortunately found a tiny gap between the curtains.

Through that gap, he could see Seokjae talking with two people. Judging from the bag placed on the desk and necessities scattered around, it didn’t seem like they would leave within the next few hours.

“That should be enough to ensure they won’t suddenly move.”

Having confirmed what he wanted to know, Muyoung quickly recalled the surrounding buildings one by one.

“I raided the convenience store next to the clothing shop a few days ago, and the one next to the karaoke place too…”

Counting on his fingers the places where he could get food, Muyoung realized there were no more places left that he hadn’t raided. The only remaining places were those he couldn’t touch due to his conscience.

“I didn’t want to trespass, but…”

It was residential homes.

He had long abandoned his conscience when it came to stealing things, given the situation. But breaking into someone’s home felt on a different level compared to raiding a store.

“No. If it’s for Seokjae hyung, then…”

The hesitation was brief. Muyoung naturally referred to Seokjae as ‘hyung’ and clenched his fist to steady his wavering heart. He wasn’t sure if Seokjae was older or younger, but he believed that if someone was cool, they were a ‘hyung’ regardless of age.

‘Yes. If it’s for hyung, I can endure the pain in my conscience.’

It was clear that a lot of food would be needed to maintain that admirable body. Come to think of it, he seemed a bit gaunt compared to yesterday.

“I can receive punishment in hell later.”

Although Seokjae looked as robust as yesterday, Muyoung had already inherited his grandmother’s rose-colored glasses. It meant that if Seokjae said he was hungry even once, Muyoung was ready to interpret it as if he was on the verge of starvation.

“I need to get enough for three people, so I should move quickly.”

Muyoung muttered with a worried face. He hadn’t decided where to raid yet, and he wasn’t sure if he could get enough food from just one place.

Currently, the best food he could gather was canned goods or retort foods that were convenient and could be stored for a long time. The problem was that people usually don’t stock such foods in large quantities. If he was unlucky, he might have to go to several places.

Naturally, Muyoung became impatient.

“Should I start there?”

As Muyoung wandered around the area outside the police substation, an apartment complex came into view. It seemed like a good place to search multiple homes without moving around too much, ideal for gathering a large quantity in a short time.

With the destination decided, there was no reason to hesitate anymore. Muyoung quickly moved towards the apartment. His initial target was the building closest to the street among the several buildings.

“I should check before entering.”

Before entering through the main entrance, Muyoung slowly circled the building along the outer wall. Although quite some time had passed since the zombies appeared, he couldn’t assume there were no people waiting for rescue in their homes. He needed to make sure if the houses were empty or not.

A stranger breaking in while someone was hiding and enduring in their home? It would be terrifying even if they didn’t know he wasn’t a zombie. Muyoung was prepared to be a thief, but not a robber.

“Ah, found it.”

Muyoung approached a large window on the first floor. Fortunately, there were no curtains, revealing the living room clearly.

If someone was living there, they would have used various methods to prevent the inside from being visible. Muyoung let out a small sigh of relief.

“Seems to be empty.”

Still, just in case, he hung on the railing and peered inside for a while, but there was no sign of anyone appearing.

After examining all the other homes on the first floor, he could conclude that at least the first floor was completely empty. With the most worrying problem resolved, his mind felt much lighter.

“Now the type of door lock is the issue…”

While digital door locks were common, some people still used keys for security. Even Muyoung’s parents sometimes insisted on the analog method despite more convenient options being available.

At first, he thought they were having trouble keeping up with the changing world and, as their child, tried to stay close and teach them. However, when he said to his father, “This is Samsung Pay,” he was scolded, with his father asking if he thought he was a grandfather. He ended up getting scolded instead.

‘The more convenient it gets, the more vulnerable it becomes to security breaches, Muyoung. It’s not that we can’t use it, we choose not to use it.’

At the time, he thought his father’s words were just an excuse. But it seemed that there was truth in every word adults say. Even now, wasn’t he targeting only digital door locks?

Muyoung stood in front of the outermost door after passing through the main entrance.

“Yes! It’s not a key.”

Fortunately, the owner of this house embraced modern conveniences. Muyoung let out a small cheer upon seeing the digital door lock on the entrance. He opened the front pocket of his backpack and took out a heavy object.

“Good thing I brought this from the security office.”

It was an electric shock device. He didn’t bring it with the intention of using it on zombies. He thought it might be safer than physical confrontation if he encountered bad people.

“Hmm…”

Although he took it out confidently, the most challenging hurdle still remained.

“I wonder what year this is from?”

He was attempting this method because he remembered seeing news about thieves using it to break into homes when he was young, but subsequent models were released with improvements in this area. In other words, it would be useless unless it was an older model door lock.

Muyoung looked at the seemingly new door lock with desperate eyes and carefully placed the electric shock device against it.

Zap! After taking a deep breath, he pressed the power button, and a huge crackling sound echoed through the corridor.

“Aah!”

Startled by the unexpected noise, Muyoung unknowingly screamed and dropped the electric shock device.

“Oh no.”

For a split second, Muyoung watched in horror as the falling electric shock device.

If it shattered on the floor, he would have no choice but to break a door or window to get in. That would surely make an even louder noise than the electric shock device, and he might have to move alongside zombies throughout the entire process of gathering food.

The thought of smelly zombies made Muyoung shudder, and he desperately reached out his hand. However, due to his haste, his accuracy wasn’t very good.

“Ah, no!”

The electric shock device, hit by the back of his hand, flew through the air once again.

After a few more failed attempts, fortunately, the electric shock device landed safely in Muyoung’s arms.

“Saved…”

He hugged the electric shock device tightly, determined never to drop it again. Although it lasted only a few seconds, the situation had been quite tense. As the urgent situation ended, silence settled around. Muyoung’s eyes turned to the quiet door lock.

“It looked new, so I guess it doesn’t work after all.”

Muyoung wore a gloomy expression at the still firmly locked door.

“No. There must be at least one household that uses an old door lock for a long time.”

It was too early to be discouraged after just one failure. Quickly regaining his spirit, Muyoung immediately targeted the next door’s lock.

And so, a savage light flickered in the first-floor corridor several times.

Ding-a-ling-

“It opened!”

Muyoung finally heard the clear electronic sound he had so desperately wanted.

* * *

“Excuse me…”

Although no one was there, he greeted the empty space out of conscience. Muyoung manually locked the door latch instead of the broken door lock, then nervously entered the house.

Was it because traces of life remained? It felt like the homeowner might jump out from somewhere at any moment. Although his role was reversed now as an intruder, it felt like when he first entered his own studio apartment, thinking someone might be hiding.

“Hello? Is anyone really not here? I’ll leave right away if someone’s here.”

Just in case, Muyoung addressed the empty space again. But even as time passed, there was no response.

“I’m not a bad person, I’m just here to find food. I’ll leave immediately if you tell me to.”

Trying to appease the unknown homeowner, he knocked on each door and listened. Finally, he opened all the doors to confirm with his own eyes that no one was in the house.

Only then did the tension on Muyoung’s face disappear.