Chapter 43

“This is driving me fucking crazy.”

Thirty minutes after leaving the restaurant, the group took shelter in a bank occupying the second floor of a nearby building. With watchful eyes and zombies everywhere, they had not had the luxury of choosing their destination carefully.

Blood covered much of the bank, but there were no people or zombies inside. Muwon carried Yu-su to the least damaged of the long couches and laid him down.

“Jeong Yu-su. Can you hear me?”

“Ugh…”

Despite the desperation in Muwon’s voice, the only response was a low, pained groan. Fever burned beneath Yu-su’s pallid skin, flushing his entire face an unhealthy red.

Grinding his teeth, Muwon pulled a battered box of fever reducers from his pocket.

“What the hell happened to that?”

Sim Gorak had just returned from barricading the door. He stared at the box in disbelief, though the answer was obvious.

The contents were in no better condition than the paper carton, which looked as though it had been trampled beneath military boots. Of the eight capsules that should have been neatly sealed inside the blister pack, only three remained. One of those was unusable because the torn packaging had allowed blood to soak into it. In reality, they had only two pills left.

Muwon scowled.

“The pharmacy had already been looted.”

“All of it? There wasn’t a single thing left?”

“Kid, it looked like an entire military unit had swept through the place. How the fuck should I know? I was lucky to find this much.”

Gorak fell silent, his surprise giving way to thought. When he finally spoke, guilt weighed down his voice.

“I was assigned to civilian transport… but there must have been another team operating under different orders.”

“Ha…”

“Calm down, Manager Do. We still have two pills. The priority is getting one into him as quickly as possible.”

“Obviously.”

Muwon pulled Yu-su halfway upright and cradled him against his chest. He slipped the fever reducer into Yu-su’s mouth, then carefully poured in a little water.

Joo Hee-eun watched closely. “Manager Do, rub his throat and chest.”

“Yeah.”

Muwon’s broad palm moved slowly over Yu-su’s throat. Even through his clothes, the heat pouring from him was alarming. Every patch of skin Muwon touched felt scorching beneath his fingertips.

Jeong Yu-su, please.

Under their anxious gazes, Yu-su appeared to swallow the medicine.

Then his body convulsed.

“Ugh… cough…!”

Yu-su folded forward, violently retching up both the water and the pill. The fever reducer struck the blood-slick floor before anyone could catch it and immediately turned dark red.

“Fucking hell.”

After the coughing fit subsided, Yu-su seemed unable to summon the strength for another spasm. His body trembled once before slumping forward, completely limp. Muwon patted his back while Gorak crouched to retrieve the fallen pill. One look at it made him grimace.

“It’s already filthy. I don’t think we can use this anymore.”

“Ha…”

The capsule was slick with blood, whether human or zombie, and crumbled between Gorak’s fingers.

Only one pill remained. Even if they tried again, there was no guarantee Yu-su would manage to swallow it.

“What are we supposed to do?” Hee-eun’s worry sharpened her voice. “If he chokes on it, that could be just as dangerous.”

Muwon brushed his fingers against Yu-su’s cheek.

“Jeong Yu-su. Wake up. You need to take your medicine.”

“…”

Yu-su’s eyelids fluttered, but the faint tremor was the only response he could manage.

Anxiety clawed at Muwon’s sanity.

I’m the fucking asshole.

No matter how furious he had been, he never should have left Yu-su’s side. If Muwon had stayed, that man might not have died protecting him. Yu-su might not have snapped and lost the fragile grip he had maintained on his sanity.

Muwon knew what kind of person Jeong Yu-su was. He was incapable of ignoring someone in need. He would gladly share the little he had and could never look away when another person was struggling. Even when his own circumstances were desperate, he willingly shouldered other people’s burdens.

He was such an altruistic fool that it was infuriating.

That very nature was why Muwon had never been able to abandon him. It was also why, after hearing Yu-su’s story about the loop, Muwon had chosen to believe enough of it to let the lie pass. He had assumed there must have been a reason behind it.

Even so…

He had never wanted things to end like this.

“…”

The bank fell silent, disturbed only by Yu-su’s faint, labored breaths.

Muwon finally spoke. “What if we dissolve the pill in water and give it to him little by little?”

“It might work,” Hee-eun said, “but wouldn’t that reduce its effectiveness?”

They had only one fever reducer left. If diluting it made the medicine less effective, they would eventually need more.

After a moment’s thought, Muwon eased Yu-su away from his chest and rose abruptly.

“You two give Jeong Yu-su the medicine and stay beside him.”

“Hyung?” Gorak stared up at him. “Are you planning to go outside?”

“Yeah. I’ll go alone.”

“Manager, you can’t.”

Hee-eun grabbed Muwon’s arm, and Gorak hurried to his feet to block the way.

“That’s absolutely impossible,” Hee-eun insisted. “The ground is buried in snow, and it’s already dark. How are you supposed to get anywhere?”

“She’s right.”

“There’s no other fucking choice. I have to try something.”

Hee-eun sucked in a breath as an idea struck her. “Instead of going out, maybe we should try a folk remedy. I heard that wiping someone’s body with a wet cloth can lower their temperature as the water evaporates.”

“You want me to wipe Jeong Yu-su down?”

“Yes. If his fever drops, he might regain consciousness. Then we can give him the medicine.”

“There’s bottled water in the bag. Get it.”

“Yes!”

Gorak quickly retrieved a bottle while Hee-eun tore several pieces of clothing into strips large enough to use as towels.

“All right. Please take off the Assistant Manager’s clothes.”

“Do… Muwon…”

At the weak, breathless call, all three of them turned at once.

“Wait. Just now…”

“Jeong Yu-su?” Muwon lunged back to the couch. “Jeong Yu-su!”

“Assistant Manager, are you awake?”

Muwon immediately pulled Yu-su into his arms, lifting his upper body with care and resting him against his chest. He could not conceal the anxiety in his voice.

“Jeong Yu-su. I’m right here. What is it?”

Hee-eun and Gorak drew closer, holding their breaths as they focused entirely on Yu-su.

After a long moment, Yu-su’s lips, reddened by the fever, finally parted.

“You… fucking asshole…”

You fucking asshole.

“What?”

“Ha.”

“Oh.”

Gorak’s gaze darted between them. The moment his eyes met Hee-eun’s, he sprang upright.

“I’ll, uh, search the bank. You two can talk.”

“What fucking talk? Where are you going? Hey. Where the hell are you going?”

“Gorak, I’ll come with you.”

“Joo Hee-eun. Are you planning to come back?”

At Muwon’s gritted call, Hee-eun, who had nearly made it out of the room, poked her head through the doorway.

“I can’t exactly stay while you undress the Assistant Manager. You handle it, Manager.”

“Hey. Even if you put it like that, you two are seriously…”

Their shadows had already disappeared toward the teller windows.

Muwon glared at the closed door and sighed.

Yu-su began sliding from his arms, too weak to support himself. Finding the position awkward, Muwon lifted him onto his lap and turned him around until they sat facing each other. Then he wrapped both arms around him.

“…”

His calloused fingertips tapped gently against Yu-su’s pale cheek.

“Why are you crying, Jeong Yu-su?”

Hot tears dampened his fingers. Muwon frowned as they seeped from beneath Yu-su’s closed eyelids and rolled down one after another. Yu-su’s lips continued to move, but no sound emerged.

“Ha…”

An asshole.

Maybe that was exactly what Muwon was to Yu-su.

He had lost control of himself, run wild, and left nothing behind but wounds.

Afraid that further touching might rub the delicate skin around Yu-su’s eyes raw, Muwon hesitated. He could not bring himself to wipe the tears away, but neither could he simply watch them fall. Eventually, the tears that had welled up without end began to subside.

“…”

Muwon released a long breath and started unbuttoning Yu-su’s shirt.

Click. Click.

Yu-su’s pale chest emerged from beneath the fabric, flushed a deep red by the fever. His abdomen was just as lean, with little more than muscle stretched over bone.

How had he endured for so long in a body like this?

Muwon exhaled sharply and began wiping Yu-su’s forehead, eyelids, cheeks, and ears with the damp cloth. Yu-su turned his face away and squinted, recoiling from the cold.

“Bear with it, Jeong Yu-su.”

Muwon’s voice was calmer than usual, softened by such gentle care that anyone listening might have doubted it belonged to him. He swept Yu-su’s hair back into place, then guided the cloth down the side of his neck. By the time Muwon traced the clean, defined line of Yu-su’s collarbone, the towel had already grown lukewarm. He soaked it again, wrung it out firmly, and wiped Yu-su’s shoulders and chest in broad strokes.

As the damp cloth passed over his fevered chest, Yu-su’s pink nipples tightened slightly, adding another shade of color to his overheated skin.

“Ugh… hic…”

Yu-su instinctively curled inward, but Muwon held him steady with one arm. He slipped his other hand farther around Yu-su’s body, brushing his flank as he followed the narrow line of his waist.