You kept on walking, not knowing where to go anymore. You wanted to see something interesting, but every signage you passed by was either too corny or too dull for your taste. As you walked through the school corridor, a bunch of screaming girls ran past you. One of them even stepped on your feet, making you cuss out loud.

“Frickin girls,” you hissed as you cradled your feet. As you were crouching, your eye noticed something black at the end of the corridor. Curious, you started walking towards it, and your eyes sparkled as you jumped up and down in excitement.

A horror house. Mwahahahaha.

“I’m here for a star,” You said brightly to the man at the door. He just blinked at you in a bored way.

“Find the unforgiving soul. He has what you want.”

“Ok!” You nodded enthusiastically and ran into the dark maze without hesitation. Immediately, bloody props started popping everywhere and you easily punched and kicked them away. You started laughing evilly.

“That star is going to be miiiine Mwahahahaha.”

You continued running through lefts and rights, but you seemed to be lost already. But you didn’t care. As long as you had dummies to punch, you’d enjoy being in here even if for an eternity. Then, a human size zombie popped towards you from the side, and just like before, you gave it a good punch to the stomach.

“OOOOOOWWW!!!!” A male voice screamed, and the zombie that you thought was just a prop, fell down the floor as he clutched his stomach. Horrified at what you have done, you crouched down to check him.

“Omo, I’m so sorry! I thought you weren’t real! Does it hurt so much?”

“Why... are you... so strong?” He coughed. You apologized over and over again, until he finally stopped coughing and sat up to lean against the wall. He sighed. “I really shouldn’t have agreed to this.”

“I’m really sorry,” you mumbled again guiltily. You could only see his face with the faint red light, and though he had a few bloodstains down his chin and neck, you could tell that he looked cute. He had especially puffy cheeks, and now that he’s pouting, he looked even more adorable!

“It’s ok, you were probably just surprised.” He forced a smile, though still rubbing his stomach.

“Actually, I wasn’t really scared... I just felt like doing a horror props massacre. So yeah, they shouldn’t have hired a human being because of violent students like me.”

He laughed at your remark.

“Uh, maybe you should avoid the way for the meantime. To avoid getting beat up further, I guess.” The boy nodded and you helped him up. The two of you went inside a small dressing room at the side, and thankfully, that was the only place that was well lit and didn’t reek of fake blood. Since your conscience was still eating you up from the inside, you decided to somehow make it up to him and decided to introduce yourself.

“I’m ______ by the way... Just in case you want to sue me. Or something.”

This made him laugh again, and only then did you appreciate how cute his smile was. You might have gotten stuck in a daze at that moment, but fortunately, he put out his hand for a handshake. “I’m Kim Xiumin. No, I’m not going to sue you.”

“Honestly speaking, Xiumin, you don’t seem fit to be a zombie.”

“Yeah, I was originally from the cosplay café, but then my friends dragged me and forced me here...” He pouted as he looked down the floor. You tried to imagine what he must have looked like in their cosplay café. Yeah, he definitely would suit a barista costume better.

“Um, if you’re feeling better now, maybe I should get going.” You stood up and smiled at him.

“Really?” He seemed surprised as he stood up as well. Then he blinked, as if he regretted what he just did. “Um, well, are you here for the star?”

“Yes!” Your eyes widened. “This may be too much but... Can you point out the directions to me so I wouldn’t get lost and accidentally punch another person?”

“Yeah, no problem!” That bright smile appeared again as he followed you to the door. “But if it’s okay for you, I can guide you there.”

“Really? OMG thanks!” You jumped in excitement and hugged him without thinking. Then, as you realized what you have done, you quickly pulled away and awkwardly stepped back. Both of you turned red, and Xiumin cleared his throat as he went out of the door first. You were back in the red smoky maze, but Xiumin seemed to know the way really well as he confidently led you through lefts and rights. He was kind of jumpy whenever a prop pops up, which was kind of entertaining. How could a guy be so incredibly adorable?? >w<

Eventually, we reached a creepy circular room. There was a low humming sound at the background, sending a shiver up your spine. The mist crawling on the floor was quite cold too, giving the feeling of spirits caressing you.  Ok, not bad. It made you feel a teenie bit creeped out.

“There it is, the unforgiving soul.” Breathing heavily, Xiumin nodded towards a significantly huge demon-like figure seated at the throne in front. It was holding a skull staff in one hand, and a gold box in the other. You were about to step forward, but you realized Xiumin was hiding behind you, holding onto your arm for dear life.

“It’s ok, Xiumin. It’s not real.” You almost wanted to pinch his cheeks because of his oozing cuteness. Carefully, you stepped forward again.

“DON’T YOU DAAAARE!!!”

A deep voice boomed, making you jump. Xiumin let out a little shriek. The demon’s head suddenly turned towards you, and it’s eyes started glowing red.

“ARE YOU HERE TO STEAL MY STAR AS WELL??!!!”

“Um, yes?”

“DON’T YOU DAAAARE!!!”

“___, maybe we should just leave.” Xiumin squeaked behind you. You reassuringly patted his hand and took another step forward.

“ARE YOU HERE TO STEAL MY STAR AS WELL??!!!” It repeated, and this made you freeze in realization. It’s just a recording.

“See, Xiumin? It’s not real. It’s just a statue.” You chuckled as you walked towards it. It’s head followed your path, but that didn’t bother you anymore. It was most probably programmed with a motion detector. On second thought, that’s pretty cool. You pried open the demon’s bony hands and grabbed the golden box. Smiling proudly, you ran back to Xiumin, who was still carefully eyeing the statue. Chuckling, you opened the box, and there sat the precious star sticker.

“Come on, this place is creepy.” Xiumin yanked at your hand and dragged you towards the door. Then, it was like he lost all his composure and kept on shrieking as you ran together. You only stared at his back in utter shock. What in the world. Did he just became possessed?

“Xiumin? Maybe we should slow down?” You tried to say, but he probably didn’t hear you because of his own shrieking. Then, as if fate decided to agree with you, a skeleton prop dropped from the ceiling right in front of your path. Shrieking once again, Xiumin turned around at the speed of light, but it just so happened that you were right behind him, and you both came crashing down together.

“Can’t... breath...” You groaned as you blinked repeatedly, trying to comprehend what just happened. As you looked up, you came face to face with no other than Xiumin. Just mere inches away from your face. You both froze as your positions tried to sink into your heads. He kind of smelled... nice. He’s probably the nicest smelling zombie you would ever smell in your life.

“Uhh... Xiumin, I still can’t breathe.” You tapped his shoulder, and finally, he snapped out of his daze and rolled off you. You quickly stood up and fixed your shirt, then kicked away the silly skeleton. Then thankfully, the two of you walked towards the exit in a more dignified way. As you reached the door, you awkwardly stood there while glancing at your toes.

“Thanks for guiding me... and I’m sorry again if I punched you.” You smiled awkwardly. He patted your head and smiled.

“And I’m sorry if I screamed so much.”

“Would you be ok going back?” You asked, and he glanced back at the dark room nervously.

“I-I’ll be fine. It’s where I’m assigned to anyway.”

“Ok then...”

“Yeah...”

“If... If ever you return to the cosplay café, I’ll look for you there, ok?”

He looked surprised at this, but then showed another of his dazzling smile. “Ok. I would really like to see you there.”

And so, you turned around and started walking again. But on second thought, maybe being a zombie might not be so bad for him. At least you could go through that scary maze again, and hear him shriek and cuddle close to your arm.

Who knew zombies could be so lovable?

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