Please Shoot Me - 28

Predator and prey. It was a risk she was willing to take as long as she was with him, but it was her instinct as the prey to feel a sense of danger.

The only sound in the lingering silence was her gulping, dry swallowing, and Ryung grinned as he always did, running his eyes over her from head to toe.

“You’re nervous, aren’t you?”

“… No, I’m fine.”

Yuyeon denied it, looking him straight in the eyes. She didn’t want to make it uncomfortable since they were going to be together all night.

“No, you should be nervous. You’re alone in a space like this, with a man or a zombie, and you’re constantly on guard.”

Yuyeon’s shoulders jerked up with a different feeling.

“If you don’t feel comfortable, I’ll leave and find another room.”

She had expected him to say that. Then, with a thump, the zombies, who had been quiet for a while, started knocking on the door again. It wasn’t just one zombie; there were more.

“It’s too dangerous. Why?”

Yuyeon frowned, indicating she didn’t like that idea.

“Don’t you realize that you’re in danger?”

Ryung shot her a strange glance. Yuyeon stared back. Even now, there were clear emotions of fear and anxiety in his eyes.

“If you want to eat me, eat me. I came out with you with that in mind.”

“….”

“I was ready to die when you killed yourself anyway.”

She stretched outward and glared at the dog. The dog was sleeping soundly, even snoring. Ryung looked at the dog, then furrowed his eyebrows.

“What are you trying to say?”

“Well, listen. Before the zombie outbreak, people had compassion for wildlife that had lost their homes and were dying, or cows that were crying as they were being led to the slaughter. They would say things like ‘that’s pitiful,’ or ‘humans are cruel,’ or ‘we should just get rid of this,’… But now that the zombie outbreak happened, don’t you realize how hypocritical those feelings are?”

Yuyeon said, still looking at the sleeping dog.

“Zombies only eat humans. They don’t care about dogs or other animals, and if we’re being as hypocritical as we were back then, it’s like the best-case scenario to save other species that we felt sorry for. Maybe it’s the emergence of a new top predator that will overcome humans, and if that’s the case, it’s a natural progression and cycle that will lead to fewer humans, just like livestock and other species have been eaten or wiped out by us, so why should you resist it…”

“…”

“The answer, of course, is to live. Once I recognized my previous compassion for other species, the answer became clear. I’m a human, and I have no choice but to think like a human and fight for the reproduction and well-being of my species, which is why I emphasized when I taught you ‘who’ to fight for, because otherwise it’s confusing.”

Yuyeon’s gaze shifted from the dog to Ryung. He seemed to be waiting for the conclusion of the story.

“I never understood Seonwoo, because I’ve been living with that idea for a while. When he gave up and rejected the offer to stay in the safe zone, he said something like this. He said that even if it meant killing all the humans, he would save his sister, who was a zombie. I thought he was so selfish back then…”

Yuyeon unwaveringly stared at Ryung and smiled.

“But now… I know what it feels like.”

“…”

“Your dog is more important to you than your neighbor’s dog of the same species. Humans live their lives thinking only about themselves. I think selfishness based on affection may be a human instinct.”

“…”

“I value you, even as a zombie, more than anything else right now. That’s why I’m here to admit that I’ve been wrong about everything. So don’t you ever say anything like I want you to leave or you want to kill me. Don’t backpedal every time you’re surprised by my reaction.”

It was something she knew she would have to say at some point as she watched him lower his head with a bitter look in his eyes. Ryung’s eyes got a little w*t, and his lower lip stuck out. It was amazing that he could look so sharp and organized with his statuesque features, and he stroked his hand across his chest, looking like he might cry.

“Did I… Just get proposed to?”

As usual, Yuyeon’s face quickly hardened at the idea.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Didn’t you hear me use a dog as an example?”

“It’s different from a dog, because it means we’re going to spend the rest of your life together.”

“Anyway, you’re…”

“Then why do you have to say such nice things to comfort me? It’s all your fault. All of my delusions are the fault of you.”

Ryung smiled gently as he teased her. He cleared his throat and glanced at the dog.

“So, have you ever wondered why people pity dogs more than other animals?”

“Because dogs are so loyal to humans. You know how they say they’ve been friends since time immemorial, and they can share feelings.”

“Well, that and the fact that dogs and cats buy into people’s compassion and live off the meat of killing other animals because they’re predators.”

“You don’t…. What the hell are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying that compassion bends the food chain. Even in the most extreme of circumstances, you can’t eat your own dog because you don’t see it as food in the first place, you see it as family.”

“…”

“That’s how I feel right now, no matter how hungry I am, I don’t eat the people I love the most, unless they die with me as a companion… So, you don’t have to be afraid of that as long as we’re talking eye-to-eye like this. This is just a guess, but maybe even if I lose my mind, I won’t think to eat you because of this emotion…”

Yuyeon smirked and tilted her head.

“You believe in yourself?”

“Um… I’m not sure, to be honest. I mean, I get why zombies go crazy when they see people, but I didn’t realize human blood smelled so sweet.”

He chewed his lip and shook his head, as if recalling what happened earlier. It meant he wanted to stop talking about it. Yuyeon glanced at Ryung’s evasiveness, then removed her outer robe and pulled down the inner buttons of her military uniform. Bewilderment flashed across Ryung’s eyes.

“What are you doing… Now…”

She unbuttoned all the buttons, revealing a pink bra and flat stomach. As if asking him to take a closer look, Yuyeon pulled the garment completely open.

“I’m experimenting with my nakedness.”

His gaze clung to her white flesh, and his throat rose and fell at once.

“What the hell… Are you experimenting with?”

“Whether you have an appetite for me.”

Yuyeon stared at him, gauging his reaction. There was a hint of color on his pale face, and she could tell his heart was beating faster.

“Don’t you think that’s too much? What kind of experiment is this?”

“I think there’s something changing in you. Until yesterday, you didn’t react to the smell of human blood. I’ll have to ask Seonwoo to find out exactly what’s going on with you.”

“But this…”

“I’ll have to give you some blood, okay?”

Yuyeon reached for the dagger inside her uniform, and Ryung’s eyes opened wide in surprise. There was no sound, but his expression was one of warning and concern.

Yuyeon withdrew her hand and sighed. It was an experiment, but she didn’t know how zombies would react to human flesh. Nakedness would be more stimulating than clothedness, both visually and olfactorily. To a zombie, this moment would be like peeling back the layers of a chocolate bar.

“Tell me what you see and feel.”

“Uh, what do you mean feel…?”

His silence lengthened. His eyes moved slowly from the nape of her neck, studying her, but there was no reaction. It was then that she wondered if she’d been wrong in her assumptions. Ryung’s eyebrows furrowed slightly in pain and he groaned. It made her realize something, and she felt a little sorry for his struggle.

“Sorry, it’s you…”

“I know what you taste like.”

“… What?”

“I want to eat more of you myself…”

At the word “eat,” Yuyeon’s throat rose and fell. When she reflexively stiffened her shoulders, he dropped his eyes down to the swell of her br*asts and added a few more words.

“In a s*xual sense.”

“….”

Questions flashed in her eyes at the unexpected answer. Ryung buried his wistful gaze in his palms and let out a long, hot breath.

“So stop it. Unless you want to be overrun by a zombie…”

“…”

“And think about being a male, alone with the woman you like, in a small room.”

“…”

He made a grunting sound and muttered as he pulled his spread legs together.

“Why is your bra so f*cking cute again, f*ck…”

Kofi