Chapter 168:
Chapter 168
Z-Day. (3)
Naowoo Shin, who thought he was dead, regained consciousness and faced the bleak ceiling.
‘Am I alive right now…’
He closed his eyes again at the sound of the zombies’ conversation coming through the hallway.
“Let’s just tie him up here.”
“Kanghyuk, he’s from Hwaun Pharmaceuticals. We have to send him back anyway.”
Anyway, Naowoo Shin was an employee of Hwaun Pharmaceuticals, and if an employee was absent from work without a word, he would be suspected sooner or later, so they had to let him go.
“You finally found him and you’re going to let him go?”
“There’s a way, he’s awake.”
Naowoo Shin heard all of their conversation. Even though it was a conversation in the hallway behind the closed door, it sounded as clear as if it was next to him. Junhee Kim noticed the change in Naowoo Shin’s breathing and opened the door.
“Huh…!”
Naowoo Shin jumped up and tried to run away, but the exit was blocked by Kanghyuk Kim.
“Don’t, don’t come near me!”
Naowoo Shin tore off the metal frame of the bed and swung it at Junhee Kim and Kanghyuk Kim. Naowoo Shin didn’t realize it yet, but it was an action that no human could do.
“What are you, why did you save me!”
Naowoo Shin gasped for breath. Junhee Kim and Kanghyuk Kim decided to wait until he calmed down.
“What are you trying to do now! If you’re going to do this, kill me!”
“Mr. Shin.”
When Naowoo Shin didn’t seem to stop, Junhee Kim sighed and called him.
“Your leg, it’s all healed, right?”
“…Huh?”
Naowoo Shin stopped breathing. He lowered his head and looked at his leg. His jeans were torn, so he could easily see the wound, but the wound was healed cleanly without a trace.
“What… how.”
“Put that down too. It’s a rare bed, and thanks to you, Mr. Shin, it’s ruined.”
“This… I…”
Naowoo Shin dropped the metal frame on the floor. His legs gave way and he knelt down.
“Can you listen to me for a moment?”
Junhee Kim crouched down in front of him and looked him in the eye.
The zombies he thought would kill him were trying to persuade him, and his thigh that was stabbed by a knife was fine. And even the bed frame that he didn’t know how he did it…
With a confused expression, Naowoo Shin couldn’t understand the situation and listened to his explanation.
“Sometimes humans with resistance to the virus appear. Like you, Mr. Shin.”
“Me, me?”
“They don’t age like zombies.”
Junhee Kim tapped his forehead.
“As long as you don’t smash this, you won’t die either. A human with only the advantages of zombies.”
“Ah, you scared me.”
Junhee Kim suddenly reached out and grabbed Naowoo Shin’s chin and turned it around. Naowoo Shin frowned and tried to shake off his hand.
“Aren’t you hungry right now?”
“If I’m hungry, why don’t you buy me some food?”
“See, normally when a wound heals, you get hungry and lose your reason and eat humans. You lose your mind.”
Naowoo Shin felt a chill run through his body at Junhee Kim’s dry words.
Who eats humans? Me?
While Naowoo Shin was confused, Junhee Kim patted his shoulder. His cold and clumsy touch felt like a robot stroking him.
“You can’t live normally anymore, Mr. Shin.”
Naowoo Shin looked up and stared into Junhee Kim’s eyes.
“If you want to live, it’s better to be protected by us.”
“Protected? By you? By zombies?”
Naowoo Shin spat out a bitter breath and looked back and forth at Junhee Kim and Kanghyuk Kim. He clenched his teeth.
“It was you bastards who bit me in the first place.”
“Mr. Shin.”
Junhee Kim bowed his head and sighed.
“If Hwaun Pharmaceuticals had made a good vaccine, this situation wouldn’t have happened.”
“…What?”
Naowoo Shin’s eyes shook uncontrollably. Junhee Kim smiled bitterly.
“They can make it, but they don’t. They need zombies to study the benefits of zombies.”
Immortality, wouldn’t humans with a lot of greed dream of it at least once? They don’t get sick, and their wounds heal cleanly. Of course, those in power would covet it.
“If they find out about you, Mr. Shin, aren’t you curious what will happen?”
“…….”
Kim Junhee smiled. But his eyes were not smiling, and his lips barely twitched due to his stiff facial muscles. His laugh was so creepy that Na Ushin avoided his gaze without a word.
He had laid the groundwork. Kim Junhee got up from his seat and nodded at Kim Kanghyuk.
“Go home, Mr. Woo. You’ll find out in a few days.”
Kim Kanghyuk opened the door for him. Na Ushin glanced at them alternately and then hurried out.
“Cut! Good job!”
***
The morning shoot was over and it was lunchtime. Ian took off the mask that was suffocating his head. He didn’t care about the makeup, since he would have to redo it after eating.
“Ian, let’s go eat.”
Kim Minjae, who played the role of Na Ushin, waited for Ian to remove his makeup and then walked side by side with him.
Kim Minjae, who was somewhat shy, stuck to Ian, who he had become close with. They were the two top leads, so they had to match their chemistry a lot, which was not bad for Ian either.
“I heard that Jihwan’s fandom sent us a meal support.”
“Oh, really?”
They could have a decent meal with the budget that E-Flix provided, but they had no reason to refuse the support that the fandom occasionally sent. Besides, the idol fans were so sincere that the staff’s mouths were full of smiles.
“This is Jihwan’s gift.”
“Wow. Thank you so much, noona.”
Eom Jihwan thanked his fan who was in charge of the support over and over. Eom Jihwan’s fans swallowed their breaths when they saw Ian and Kim Minjae.
“Wow, what is all this?”
“This is amazing.”
Ian and Kim Minjae opened their mouths at the buffet-style space.
Ian smiled brightly as he saw Eom Jihwan approaching him. His fans behind him clenched their mouths at his smile.
“Mr. Jihwan, I’ll enjoy it.”
“Don’t mention it, it’s all thanks to my fans. Take some gifts later.”
“There are gifts too? Wow, idol fans are different.”
The fans’ gifts were not the end of it. They had prepared separate wrapped gifts for the supporting actors and the writer and director.
Kim Minjae gave him a thumbs up. Eom Jihwan shrugged his shoulders.
“Don’t you guys do this?”
“We decided not to receive any support this year.”
“Oh, I see.”
“You know, it can be a burden for the fans.”
Eom Jihwan, who heard Ian and Kim Minjae’s conversation, smirked.
‘What a joke.’
Eom Jihwan was doing well these days. With the Cheonghwa Group’s advertisement and the media play that came along with it, everyone called him a rising star. He was so intoxicated by the atmosphere that he sometimes acted immaturely.
‘Look, these are my fans.’
He had been conscious of Ian since the first shoot. Jin, who was hovering around Ian, was reporting Eom Jihwan’s changes in real time.
[He’s doing it again.]
‘He has a reason to be proud. Look at the fans’ sincerity.’
[That’s not pride, that’s jealousy towards you.]
‘How many people are jealous of me? Oh, the ribs look delicious.’
Ian didn’t think much of it.
After the meal, they were given a break. The shooting site was very relaxed, thanks to E-Flix’s generous budget and director Park Pyohyeon’s value of giving enough rest time to the actors and staff.
“Ian.”
“Yes, hyung.”
Kim Myungjin’s face was full of anticipation. Ian couldn’t hide his curiosity at Kim Myungjin’s expression that usually appeared only when he was off work.
“What is it? Do you have some good news?”
“A coffee truck came, come and see.”
“A coffee truck for us? I thought we don’t receive any support.”
Ian got up from his seat and followed Kim Myungjin.
‘Maybe it’s from the CEO.’
Lee Byunghun, the CEO of BHL Entertainment, had once given them luxury clothes as a gift, telling them not to be discouraged by the fact that they couldn’t receive any support from the fans.
“Thank you, Ian.”
“Enjoy your drink.”
The staff who passed by Ian showed him their drinks and smiled brightly. Ian, who still didn’t know who sent the coffee truck, nodded politely with a smile.
Drink some caffeine vaccine and go!
AWI members support [Z-Day] actors and production team!
“What?”
Usually, they just sent a coffee truck, not come in person. The members were handing out the drinks they made, and even Kim Juyoung was among the people who were making shots.
Ian laughed bitterly. So that’s what they were whispering about at the hostel. He playfully tapped Kim Hyun’s side as he handed out the drinks.
“What’s going on here?”
“Did you come? How is it, awesome right?”
Kim Hyun puffed out his chest proudly. All the members of Awi, except for Jo Tae-woong who was recovering at his grandmother’s house, had visited the set of ‘Z-Day’.
“Ian is here?”
“Did you come?”
Lee Joo-hyuk and Park Jin-hyuk came up to Ian’s side and sipped their coffee.
Ian stared blankly at Kim Joo-young, who was busy making shots.
“Wait, Kim Joo-young knows how to make coffee? Why is he doing that?”
“We have a lot of free time, you know. He even got a barista certificate. He said he wanted to practice.”
“Crazy.”
“He’s secretly talented, I told you.”
Ian retorted to Park Jin-hyuk’s words.
“Not secretly, but blatantly.”
“He also got a cooking certificate, I heard.”
“Kim Joo-young, what the hell…”
Ian’s mouth dropped open at Lee Joo-hyuk’s information. He could dance well, had a great sense of music, and now he could cook too?
‘I have a lot to learn from him.’
What was Ian good at, he had complained about trying YouTube or something, but Kim Joo-young was living more diligently than anyone. Ian felt a new motivation.
“We were going to do the meal support, but someone already applied for it.”
“Oh, the NineSeven fandom did it earlier.”
“Too bad. We always get there first.”
Why are you so disappointed about that? Ian felt a warm feeling in his heart. He felt awkward to be moved by what the members did for him.
Kim Joo-young came down from the coffee truck and approached Ian.
“How is it?”
“Tell us how you feel.”
The members surrounded Ian and watched his reaction. They all had their cheekbones raised, expecting his answer. Ian pretended to be annoyed and said.
“Don’t you guys have anything to do? Doing this kind of thing?”
“Look how much he likes it. Am I right? Come on, pay up.”
Kim Hyun held out his hand and shook it in front of the members. The members groaned and took out five hundred won from their pockets and put it on Kim Hyun’s palm. Ian frowned.
“Damn, you bet on it?”
“Of course we did.”
“What did you bet on?”
Ian’s words were answered by Park Seo-dam and Kim Joo-young.
“I said you would be grateful and not know what to do, and Hyun hyung said you would act cool and not be moved.”
“Hyuk hyung and Jin hyuk hyung said you would tell us not to do this and smile awkwardly, and I said you would cry with emotion.”
“Why are the choices so extreme?”
Ian laughed incredulously, and Kim Min-jae greeted Ian and the members with a drink in his hand.
“Ian, I’ll enjoy it. Thank you.”
“Please take good care of our hyung!”
Park Seo-dam smiled brightly and replied. Ian looked at Park Seo-dam with his eyes wide open, but he couldn’t say anything. It was something he often did to Park Seo-dam.
‘Revenge, huh.’
For being too nice to him.
“Mr. Ian, thank you.”
“Director.”
“Hello, director!”
When Park director appeared, the members bowed and greeted him. They looked like they were paying respect to a gang boss. Park director laughed.
“As expected, Mr. Ian’s members are all interesting people.”
The members smiled shyly and scratched their heads. Park director looked at Ian and the members’ faces with a pleased smile, and then suggested to them.
“Since you’re here, do you want to watch the filming?”
“Really?”
The members exclaimed with excitement.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦