Chapter 3:

Taemin went quiet for a beat at the confession of a Miyoung-crazed bastard—then screamed like his phone was about to explode, voice full-body disgust.

—Aaaagh!!! Cooome on!!! Fuck, what the hell did I just hear?!

Listening to that I’m so sick of you tone, Yeonhoo slid his gaze toward the counter. Miyoung was taking the order of someone who’d just walked in.

—So? Did you at least show it? That you like her?

“No.”

Yeonhoo answered immediately.

It was kind of a serious problem. He raked a hand back through his hair and spoke with a dark face.

“The second I’m in front of Miyoung, I freeze. I can’t manage my expression.”

—Jesus Christ, you’re doing that again? Oh, fuck... What am I supposed to do with this big-tall-looking, perfectly-fine-on-the-outside incel-ass fucker?

Taemin kept going, sounding genuinely fed up.

—This time, for the love of God, let’s end this shitty unrequited crush. If you want that, you need a full mental overhaul first. Why do you turn into a rock the moment you’re in front of someone you like?

Yeonhoo agreed with that so painfully it almost made him wince. The reason he kept failing at unrequited love despite having a perfectly decent face and build was exactly that: the way he went stiff and rigid in front of the person he liked.

Miyoung probably thought he hated her.

—But that Miyoung—

“Add ‘Ms.’”

—Oh. Right. Anyway, do you have some kind of excuse to get closer to Ms. Miyoung? What’s her type?

Yeonhoo thought for a moment. Once, during a lull with no customers, he’d overheard Miyoung chatting with another part-timer.

He answered with a small smile.

“She likes guys who are cute and don’t do social media.”

Obviously.

“Which is literally me....”

If this wasn’t fate, then what the hell was.

—Uh, what, huh?

“I don’t do StarGram, I’m domestic, I’m cute. I’m seriously premium boyfriend inventory.”

—Ugh. And what does any of that do for you when you can’t even start a conversation?

Right on the bullseye. Yeonhoo shut his mouth for a second, then looked at Miyoung taking orders across the room and thought—

‘Such a waste of time.’

Even though he’d only been in the smoking area for a moment, he felt like the air had stuck to him, damp and sour. He hurriedly sprayed perfume on himself and brushed at his clothes.

“I’m hanging up.”

—What? Hey.

“I need to look at Ms. Miyoung.”

—Hey, wait! I didn’t call because of Ms. Miyoung! Junseok wants to know if you’re coming to the party he’s throwing today—ah, and also, do you know this person? They DMed me, and their name is—

“Yeah, yeah, I’m not going. I’m busy because I have to look at Ms. Miyoung. Stop contacting me with pointless shit~”

—Hey! Yeonhoo!!

Click.

Taemin sounded like he had more to say, but the moment Yeonhoo’s eyes met Miyoung’s, he couldn’t hear anything anymore, so he ended the call in a rush.

Of course, his phone rang again the second he hung up, but Yeonhoo breezily ignored it and went back into the café.

At the little jingle of the door, Miyoung looked over. Yeonhoo started toward the counter without thinking—then realized he needed an actual reason to go there, and his brain spun fast.

‘A cookie... should I eat one.’

But I don’t even like sweets.

Then his eyes met Kang Miyoung’s. She looked at Yeonhoo and folded her eyes into crescents.

‘If you don’t eat it, you’re a loser-ass bastard.’

It was like a nonexistent appetite flickered on. He marched straight to the counter, pointed at a random cookie, and said,

“One of those, please.”

“For here?”

“Yes.”

“Okay! Please insert your card here! One moment!”

At Yeonhoo’s order, she set the phone she’d been holding down for a moment, took out a cookie, and headed toward the microwave.

With his card still inserted, Yeonhoo stared at her like he was possessed—then his gaze drifted, without permission, to her phone.

‘Her number.’

Embarrassed for no reason, he ruffled the hair he’d so carefully styled and fixed his eyes on the phone.

‘Clean.’

For bright, fresh, baby-rabbit Kang Miyoung, it was a surprisingly ordinary clear case. Then something caught his eye.

‘A game?’

Maybe she had a privacy film on it, because the screen had looked pitch-black—until, from a different angle, it turned clear.

He knew he shouldn’t, but his eyes automatically followed the frantic movement on the screen. In the bottom-right corner was the text: Zombie Village.

Right as he was thinking he’d heard it somewhere—probably an ad—a string of text near the top-left jumped out at him: X-1211. And beside it, another word, lined up neatly.

<img alt="name" src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302046674/epub/images/Images/name.png"/>

He had no idea what X-1211 was, but seeing the word Miu emphasized so clearly, Yeonhoo smiled a little.

‘Is that Ms. Miyoung’s nickname? That’s cute.’

Miu? It’s so fucking catlike.

He was staring at the ID, weirdly pleased with himself, when she came back carrying a tray.

The instant he sensed her presence, Yeonhoo wiped the faint smile off his face like it had never existed and returned to his blank, expressionless default.

“Here’s your cookie! Ah, but also....”

But Miyoung glanced at Yeonhoo’s face, lips parting like she wanted to say something.

He blinked at her. Miyoung turned her gaze away a little, looking awkward, like she didn’t know what to do. The shift in her usual vibe made Yeonhoo feel guilty for no reason.

‘Did she catch me looking at her screen?’

I shouldn’t have looked. Why did I do that?

“Can I order?”

A customer walked in at the perfect timing, and Yeonhoo fled his spot. He dipped his head, picked up the plate, and turned away.

“Um...! Ah....”

Watching him, Kang Miyoung let out a small, disappointed sound—face faintly red—then sighed, deep and heavy.

Yeonhoo didn’t see it.

‘It got crowded that fast.’

In the time he’d stepped out, the tables had filled. He sat down first, took a bite of the cookie, and searched.

‘Zombie Village....’

Game info popped up immediately at the top.

A vivid crimson system window, a bleak-looking interface, round little characters—this was definitely the same game he’d just seen on Miyoung’s screen.

‘A zombie game? I like zombies too.’

So Miyoung liked zombies, just like him. The fact that they had something in common made Yeonhoo even happier, and he read the description.

*****

《Zombie Village: Flesh for Survival》

The world collapsed. A virus devoured the city, and people split into two kinds.

Whether you’re a 〈Human〉, or a 〈Something〉 that isn’t human—!

Build a 〈Base〉, and survive—!

But watch out. What’s scarier than zombies...

...is other 〈Survivors〉!

Roughly speaking, it looked like a game where you survive zombies and fight other players.

It must’ve been pretty popular—there was a row of loud trophy icons bragging about tens of thousands of concurrent players right after launch, and tens of thousands of downloads.

He skimmed fast and scrolled down, and a warning notice sat near the bottom.

⚠ This game is recommended for PC-based play.

However, if you download the mobile version as well, you can easily enjoy play specialized in gathering and surveillance.

PC: Core content such as base building, large-scale raids, sieges, etc.

Mobile: Auxiliary-only play such as resource gathering and surveillance

Use both PC and mobile to enjoy richer, more diverse content!]

‘So it’s a PC game.’

Mobile looked like an extension of PC—more of a support role.

‘A game....’

Yeonhoo had never really cared about games. Back in school he’d played {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} here and there with friends, but that was it.

But now—the person he liked, Miyoung—seemed to be playing this game a lot.

‘A girl with a hobby is attractive.’

With that thought, he was about to move on when Taemin’s words suddenly echoed in his ear.

‘Anyway, don’t you have some kind of excuse to get closer to Ms. Miyoung?’

No matter how decent-looking he was, what did it matter? The second he stood in front of the person he liked, he hardened like stone and treated her cold.

But what if a shared interest—this game—could tie them together?

‘Wouldn’t I be able to talk naturally without freezing?’

And if things went well, they could meet in the game and get close there, too. His friend Seongjae Kim hadn’t he met his girlfriend through a game?

‘Yeah. I don’t even have the guts to ask for her number, and I can’t do small talk worth a damn. So I should use every method I can....’