Chapter 54

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 54

Chapter Title: Fan Swarm and Frail Steps

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Damn it, fuck. I finally get why in apocalypse ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stories, when zombies come swarming in, people just panic and freeze up, unable to do a damn thing. That's exactly me right now.

Is this whack-a-mole or something? Where the hell are they all popping out from, hiding somewhere? Suddenly, all eyes are on us, and one by one, people start flocking over like they're mesmerized, steadily closing the distance.

'Well, no shit we're eye-catching.'

Come to think of it, this was the first time I'd ever stepped outside with my roommates during broad daylight, when the sun was blazing and it was nice and warm. The very first time.

Even at night, I'd thought their looks were hard to hide. So what must it be like in the daytime?

And today, we'd even added Yun Sua to the mix. Her bundled-up outfit was conspicuous enough on its own, but with three beauties of such distinct charms standing side by side, it was bound to draw even more eyes. If I had to add anything, it was probably the squid wedged in the middle doing its part too. Goddamn it.

"Ah… what, what is this?"

Yeah, what is this?

But why did Yun Sua sound less scared and more overwhelmed with excitement? Was she thrilled?

"Heh, this body's beauty is incredible! Oh Hana is incredible!"

Have you been dialing back on that "incredible" crap lately, or what?

"Hyunwoo, handle it."

"Pardon?"

I jumped. Han Aebom had shoved me forward so casually, like it was the most natural thing. It looked so routine. Now that I thought about it, there had been moments like this before. Like the first day when she'd demanded coffee as if it were her due—Han Aebom had these ingrained habits etched into her very being.

Wait, handle what? How?

'As you command, miss.'

...Should I say that and pull out a dagger or something?

"Hep."

While I was panicking solo, drumming up my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠own drama, the crowd had already closed in right up to us. Seeing that, even without Han Aebom's words, I felt a fierce instinct kick in as the only guy in this party to protect the girls.

"Hey, what the hell? Sudd… ugh."

Fuck. What the hell.

"Hey!"

I lightly ignored them, squid-out-of-the-way vibes, and zeroed in on the folks approaching the girls. It wasn't just guys—plenty of women mixed in too.

No, more than that, do they seriously not see me? Damn it.

"Excuse me, you're idol trainees, right? I searched images online and nothing came up. Oh, is it that you can't post photos or something?"

"No ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way. Unnies, you're all so gorgeous. How are you even that pretty?"

The questions were straight out of some kiddie pop song. And they weren't even phrased as questions—they were dead certain. Like no explanation for looks like that unless they were idol trainees.

Once they swarmed and gained confidence, then bombarded with questions all at once, any shyness or fear vanished. Once the floodgates opened, regular folks like me became helpless against the disaster. Like a massive tidal wave.

"Sua."

"Ha, haaah."

In the midst of it, I made sure to shield Yun Sua by holding her close. If my guess was right, her body was definitely frail. Plus, Han Aebom and Oh Hana? What can I say—they'd probably survive even if dropped in the middle of a desert, each in their own way.

"Eek! People mistaking us for idol trainees? Hooong, I should've actually tried out for real—"

Oh Hana's excited chatter cut off abruptly. A voice so icy and menacing had sliced right through.

"Excuse me. What do you think you're doing, coming at us out of nowhere like this? No manners, no asking permission, just blocking our path like idiots. What's an idol trainee to you people?"

Does she seriously not know?

Han Aebom's genuinely pissed tone made the whole crowd shrink back. What the hell. It felt like actual shards of ice were dripping from her voice.

"Uh, aren't you idol trainees? But you're so pretty…"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. What bothers me is you people suddenly swarming us and obstructing traffic."

That was when it happened. Someone hidden in the crowd grumbled.

"Jeez, if not, then just say no. Acting all high and mighty."

What gall. They swarm us first with their assumptions, and when Han Aebom isn't nice about it, they whine like that. Like those convenience store Karens at dawn.

I scowled hard, whipping my head around to find the culprit. But Han Aebom beat me to it, already speaking.

"I don't know who said that just now. But there's zero reason for me—or us—to hear crap like that. If you don't back off right now, I'll call the cops. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠And if anyone's bold enough to repeat that after facing our legal team, feel free to stick around."

Legal team? Does our one-room have one of those?

But the way Han Aebom said it, it felt like she'd radio in an order and a squad of cool black-suited guys would burst out of our building any second. For real. Dead serious.

"Hey, let's go. She's not."

"Yeah. Sounds like she's a bit off her rocker."

"Tell me about it. Up close, she's not even that pretty."

Bullshit. Even if you brought someone with minus eyesight and took off their glasses, you wouldn't say that in front of beauties like them.

...I could've sworn I heard a voice like that in my ear. They swarmed in in a flash and scattered just as fast.

'I get why idol bodyguards sometimes overreact.'

Honestly, what just happened was tame. Deranged superfans apparently charge like actual zombies with rolled-back eyes. Faced with that, even I might've pulled a taser from my pocket and fired. Hell, real zombies might be easier. At least you can just kill those.

These weren't zombies, which made them trickier. That's why even I couldn't do shit. Yeah, let's go with that.

"Hey, Hyunwoo. How long are you gonna keep holding Sua like that?"

"Whoa! Sorry."

I jolted away from Yun Sua. Her tone was way angrier than when chasing off the crowd. No way, surely not...

"What, unnie? Are you jealous right now?"

Han Aebom didn't bat an eye at Oh Hana's question.

"And what if I am?"

For a second, it felt like time stopped. My heart itched like crazy. Eyes on us and all, I nearly kissed Han Aebom. Insane.

Even Oh Hana seemed thrown by Han Aebom's boldness, her reply lagging a beat.

"...Well, nothing to do about it. Impressive, unnie."

"Who’s your unnie? And slipping in that casual speech again. Don't you ever get tired?"

"Ah! If you're nitpicking, maybe you should give up first! Wouldn't it be easier for unnie to just go casual with me?"

"Ridiculous! Give an inch, and you'll take a mile later."

"Nuuuh, nuuuh~."

Oh Hana's infuriating attitude triggered another low kick from Han Aebom on instinct, but Oh Hana's moves outdoors were lightning-quick.

She dodged back nimbly, then looked at me and shook her head pityingly.

"Man, unnie was so cool back there. What about you, oppa? Seriously. Got shoved aside with one shoulder bump like a wimp, then sneakily kept hugging Sua unnie the whole time."

Damn. No excuse. I really hadn't done jack.

"If it were me, I'd have just smashed their heads—bam!"

"As if. You'd do the same."

I flashed a scoffing smirk. Talk is cheap. Anyone can be a fight webtoon's MC with words.

"Ugh, next chance I get, I gotta show off this body's killer kicks."

"Whatever. Sua, you okay?"

At my question, Yun Sua nodded with an innocent smile matching her flushed cheeks.

"Yeah. It was just... my heart was pounding so hard. Like it might burst."

Can't have your heart bursting. The walk hasn't even properly started.

"Living life, you see all kinds of crap."

"Tell me about it."

Only Yun Sua empathized with my grumbling. Han Aebom and Oh Hana acted like this was routine for them. Seeing that, I scratched my cheek awkwardly.

Feels embarrassing for no reason. Honestly, I had been pathetic back there.

'Maybe I should work out on my own.'

I muttered inwardly. Then Han Aebom spoke up.

"Let's get going."

She strode ahead briskly, but the back of her neck was beet red—noticeably so.

Maybe that's why. The three of us behind her exchanged silent chuckles, staring at that neck. She was embarrassed.

Well, yeah. Saying something that cringe and acting unfazed ain't easy.

"Aebom, take it slow and easy. Nice and relaxed."

"Ah."

Han Aebom, who'd glanced at Yun Sua, nodded.

And so, after weathering a storm right from the start, our walk finally began. To accommodate Yun Sua, who'd mentioned her poor stamina beforehand, we strolled really slowly. Truly, painfully slowly.

We passed a market-like alley near the neighborhood, wandered into an apartment area by accident and cut through a playground. Then we ambled along a short local walking path we stumbled upon, filling our lungs with fresh natural air.

About two hours in?

A normal person would've already knocked out over 3km by now, easy.

Ironically, we hadn't even hit half yet.

And that wasn't all.

"Haa, haa, haa…."

Far from out of breath—in fact, at a pace where a normal person wouldn't even sweat—Yun Sua was heaving like she was about to cough up blood, swaying on the verge of collapse right there.

"…Sua unnie, you okay?"

First time seeing Oh Hana with such a grave look.

Yun Sua staggered to a nearby bench, clutching her chest over her heart like it was crushing her, forcing a pained smile.

"Y-Yeah, I'm f...fine. Sorry, because of me... haa, holding everyone back."

Her face screamed the opposite, making us ache too.

"……."

"…I'll grab some water. Hang on."

I spotted a convenience store, but ended up finding a rare street vending machine and got her a 1,000-won bottle, rushing back.

I even twisted off the cap before handing it over, but as Yun Sua took it from me, she dropped the whole bottle. Water gushed out with a loud splash, sounding sharper than the cars whizzing by on the road.

We all had to look grim. I'd long forgotten about the quest in my head.

Yun Sua's condition was so obviously dire, even a non-doctor could tell.

"S-Sorry. You went out of your way to buy it…."

"No, it's fine. Just rest easy. It's not even 3 PM yet."

"Okay."

Yun Sua murmured softly, delicately covering her face with the back of her left hand as she leaned against the bench. After catching her breath like that for a bit…

"Uu-huk, heu-euk, heu…."

Suddenly, she burst into heartbroken sobs—loud enough to startle passersby—tears streaming down.

Even as she wailed "Uuueeeng," bawling her eyes out, none of us could offer lighthearted comfort.

We could pity her, sure, but claiming true empathy for someone this fragile would just be a well-meaning lie. Straight-up deception.

That was how unwell Yun Sua's body was.

"……."

We really... even living under the same roof...

...knew jack shit about each other.