NOVGO.NET Chapter 31 Making him smile.
Chapter 31: Chapter 31 Making him smile.
It was morning time and the sunlight that was supposed to be golden with beautiful rays now looked weak. Despite its fading golden glow, the reddish light still burned slowly against the skin, carrying a lingering heat that made everyone uncomfortable.
It was another day for Luna and her companions inside the bunker, and this time the males didn’t talk much. Each of them had loads upon loads of questions, but Luna wasn’t giving any satisfying answers. Instead, she danced around every question until they eventually got tired of asking.
Kai, who was usually the most persistent one and was almost famous for asking countless useless questions, had surprisingly given up. He hadn’t spoken more than a few words all morning, making both Rowan and Adrian glance at him every now and then just to check if he was alright.
"Doing alright there, man?" Adrian asked after noticing the younger man hadn’t lifted a single box, almost as if he dreaded touching another one.
"I’m fine."
That was his only response before silence swallowed him once again.
Although Adrian was an introvert himself, he had been learning social skills without realizing it, mostly because of Kai. Even if he refused to admit it, Kai’s endless questions, ridiculous observations, and random facts somehow kept the gloomy atmosphere alive.
Luna never cracked proper jokes. She merely stared at people with that lifeless gaze Adrian believed could freeze an entire population of zombies.
Walking over to Rowan, who was basically another version of Luna—cold and quiet, except Luna gave orders while Rowan simply followed them like an obedient disciple—Adrian sighed.
"Kai... come on, say something. I don’t usually pressure people like this, but everything here feels dead without your nonsense."
He continued stuffing expensive supplies into Luna’s plain-looking backpack, watching another section worth millions of dollars disappear into the mysterious storage space hidden inside it. The bunker itself was becoming emptier by the day, and in another two days he was sure they would have taken everything worth taking.
At the opposite corner, Rowan continued packing canned meat into the bag before looking toward Adrian’s failed attempts at making Kai speak. His eyes drifted toward Luna, who seemed more interested in calculating supplies than paying attention to them.
He scoffed.
"Could you go over there and at least try making him smile?"
Luna, who rarely looked surprised by anything anymore, paused.
Her?
Luna Hart?
Make someone smile?
Wasn’t that the dumbest thing she had ever heard?
She didn’t even know how to do that.
It had never happened before either... unless she counted the fake laughs people forced out back in her previous life just because she was rich and they wanted her favor. Looking back now, she had finally realized something.
Her sense of humor had always been as dead as humanity’s last remaining hope.
So how exactly was this supposed to work?
Besides...
She never signed up to babysit anyone.
"Well, I can’t because I promised to make you all breakfast, and I’m trying to calculate the ingredients I’ll use. Aren’t you disturbing me?"
That made Rowan frown.
"Although I hate saying this... you’re probably the best person for it."
Luna stared at him.
"..."
"You two are already a weird combination, so just go make him smile. At least let this boring bunker come back to life."
Both Rowan and Luna let out identical sighs.
Painfully enough...
He wasn’t wrong.
They had all wished for Kai to keep quiet at one point.
He was always talking.
Always analyzing.
Always suggesting another plan.
Always blabbering without stopping.
Now...
The silence almost felt offensive.
"Can’t we wait for just one day?" Luna argued. "Maybe we should appreciate the silence for once."
Rowan glared at her.
"This kind of silence makes people lose their minds."
His voice became quieter.
"In a world that’s ending... I think talking is the best option. People need to let things out of their chest."
He looked toward Kai again.
"So please... get him talking."
They were almost done packing everything anyway, and Luna could already tell breakfast would be the next thing she had to deal with.
Yet...
It wasn’t only Kai who had fallen silent.
Outside the bunker...
No humans came.
No zombies came either.
Nothing.
That unnatural silence wrapped itself around the entire place like an invisible blanket, making every second feel heavier than the last.
"...Fuck this."
Luna rubbed her forehead.
"I can’t believe I’m actually doing this."
She pointed a finger toward Rowan.
"Just know it wasn’t you that convinced me."
With another sigh, she walked toward Kai.
Behind her, Rowan simply grinned.
He knew perfectly well that she had only changed her mind because of what he had said.
Poor guy.
Yesterday’s massacre must have shaken him badly.
Just how innocent was Kai Blackwood?
"How is he?" Luna asked Adrian, who had stepped away from Kai after several failed attempts at conversation.
"I don’t know," Adrian admitted. "He hasn’t said a word since yesterday."
Something unreadable flashed across Luna’s eyes before disappearing almost immediately.
She stopped in front of Kai.
"Mr. Blackwood... what is going on with you?"
Behind them...
Adrian and Rowan nearly died from second-hand embarrassment.
"Oh dear..." Adrian muttered.
"It seems we aren’t the only ones with social issues."
He covered his face.
"Madam here might actually be worse."
Rowan nodded seriously.
"What kind of conversation starter was that?"
"It was horrendous."
Completely unaware that she was being judged from behind, Luna continued staring at Kai.
"I want some bacon and toast."
Her voice remained detached despite her obvious attempt to soften her expression and appear compassionate.
Unfortunately...
It wasn’t working.
Every effort somehow made her look even more robotic than before.
From Rowan’s point of view, she looked less like someone trying to comfort another person and more like a commander preparing to declare war.
"Should we go save her?" Adrian whispered.
"I’m getting embarrassed just watching this."
Rowan shook his head.
"No."
"Let her cook."
"If we interrupt now, we’ll ruin whatever this is."
So both of them remained exactly where they stood, silently waiting to see what Luna would do next.
Kai still didn’t answer.
He simply stared at her.
Without blinking.
As though she were nothing more than another pile of supplies stacked inside the bunker.
Luna frowned.
"Stop glaring and just talk."
Silence.
"I’m sure the zombies didn’t take your tongue..."
Another pause.
"Although I honestly wish they did."
She folded her arms.
"Gosh... you’re so annoying."
The moment those words left her mouth...
Kai disappeared.
Luna blinked.
"...?"
One second he had been sitting there.
The next...
He was gone.
Before she could react, something shifted behind her.
Her instincts exploded.
She spun around instantly, hands already raised to attack—
Only to find Kai standing there.
He burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Oh my God..."
He pointed at her face while laughing even harder.
"You looked exactly like Peppa Pig!"
His laughter echoed throughout the bunker.
"I swear... for a second I thought I was looking at my favorite cartoon character."
The entire bunker fell silent.
Then Adrian froze.
Rowan froze.
Even Luna stood there without moving.
Slowly...
Very slowly...
She turned around to glare at both Adrian and Rowan.
Those two idiots were the reason she had embarrassed herself like this.
As for Kai...
What kind of grown man proudly admitted that Peppa Pig was his favorite cartoon?
That was completely unreasonable.
Kai wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes, still laughing.
"Got all of you pretty good."
He inhaled deeply before calming himself.
"But don’t worry."
"I’m not getting depressed anytime soon."
Relief quietly settled over the bunker.
The strange silence from earlier finally disappeared, replaced by Kai’s familiar grin.
Luna, however, had already lost every ounce of patience she possessed.
She turned around and walked toward the cooking area without looking back.
"I swear to God..."
Her cold voice echoed through the bunker.
"Even if you’re lying there shitting yourself..."
She paused.
"...don’t call me."
Ignoring the three idiots she somehow ended up traveling with, Luna focused entirely on preparing breakfast.
Behind her...
Kai started laughing all over again while Adrian and Rowan could only shake their heads.
Somehow...
This noisy idiot really did make the bunker feel alive again.