Chapter 5: HTSCF CH 005 What zombie emperor? Isn’t this just a pervert?

A/N: It is Sunday here in California, and this will be the last extra chapter. With Chapter 6 and on, I will be posting on a regular schedule of Monday, Wednesday and Friday. At the moment, I've started writing Arc 7, but I still need to have Arc 2+ undergo a last edit, betaed, and run through a final check lol. 

 

Beta: Jeannette 

 

Not knowing how to react, Jun was still frozen. For a zombie emperor, this person didn’t feel or smell undead. From what he could see, his arms were normal colored, and even had a healthy tan. There was body heat radiating behind him, not to mention the puff of hot air on his ear earlier. 

 

“Baby.” The zombie emperor ground against Jun, making him stumble inside the storage unit, but the grip on his hips kept him stable. “It’s dangerous here. Why are you all alone?”

 

“… Baby this, baby that. Who’s your baby?” He muttered through gritted teeth.

 

When he felt something wet slide alongside his neck, Jun shivered. What zombie emperor? Wasn’t this just some perverted bastard trying to take advantage of him in a case of mistaken identity?

 

|It, it really is the zombie emperor, Eli Rygg, Host.|

 

|He’s clearly still alive. What makes you say he’s the zombie emperor?|

 

|Because he can’t die but can control all zombies?|

 

|That's it? He’s really not a zombie?|

 

|No, but he’s also not human.|

 

|Well, as long as he’s not a zombie.|

 

Jun shivered as the zombie emperor, Eli, licked his neck again. “Baby, tell me where that bastard Azel is?”

 

“Who?”

 

“That shithead Azel Barton. He promised me he’d watch over you in my place during the time that I was gone.”

 

“Male lead #3?”

 

“What?”

 

“… Uh, who are you again?”

 

Eli was distressed. “Baby, it’s me, Eli! Your future husband. Have you forgotten our childhood promise to marry once you’re of age?” Jun felt faint, and he passed out from this unexpected overload of information.

 

|System, I think I’m malfunctioning.|

 

|Me too, Host! Me too!|

 

When Jun woke up again, he wasn’t lying on his bed in the barracks of Silver Base but on a king-sized bed of some luxurious hotel room. His first thought was: ‘Fuck, what about my milk tea?’

 

|Is this really the time, dearest Host?|

 

|It’s always time for milk tea. But really, did the original Jun Taylor know Azel and Eli? How come it’s not written in the plot?|

 

|I don’t know, Host, because you’re supposed to be dead. Your role in the original plot was so little it was only one paragraph worth.|

 

|…|

 

|If your relationship with the zombie emperor is really as implied, it would explain why he had such hostility towards the female protagonist and male lead #3 in the original plot, don’t you think?|

 

|…|

 

|Host?|

 

|Is it just me or do I smell tea?| 

 

System 00 wanted to cry. |Host…|

 

The sound of a door opening was heard and Jun turned his head toward the direction of the alluring smell of tea. In walked Eli with a tray of freshly brewed tea, creamer, sugar, and some biscuits. He set the tray down near the end of the bed and poured the tea into a ceramic cup, then he started to mix in some creamer and sugar. 

 

“I know you like your milk tea iced, but I think it’s best to have it warm for now. Don’t worry, I used bottled water to brew the tea.”

 

‘Wow, a man after my own heart.’

 

|Host!|

 

|Don’t worry, I’m not interested in him. He’s not my type.|

 

|Do you even have a type, dearest Host? We’ve come across several male leads already as well as Oriana’s harem members. All were very handsome and none of them have been your type.|

 

|…|

 

Jun had never really thought about his ‘type.’ To be precise, he couldn’t visualize or list any physical features nor personality traits. He only knew when someone wasn’t his ‘type.’ As System 00 asked: Did he have a type? But he was certain he was gay.

 

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Seeing the dazed look, Eli stroked his cheek. Before this, Jun hadn’t paid attention to the man’s looks, but he was handsome. At over 190 cm, the man had golden hair and golden eyes. Combined with his tanned skin, he shone like the sun. What part of him looked like a zombie emperor? Jun was blinded and felt cheated.

 

(A/N: 190 cm is almost 6’3”)

 

“… Nothing.”

 

Eli saw that Jun was checking him out and grinned. He placed the teacup in Jun’s hands and sat down on the bed next to him, wrapping one arm around his shoulders. Jun scooted away and sipped while smiling like a satiated cat after rolling around in some catnip.

 

“You’re breaking my heart, baby. It’s almost as if you love milk tea more than me.” Eli’s hand was clutching his shirt where his heart would be in an exaggerated manner.

 

“I don’t even remember you.”

 

“Oh! You’re just killing me now!!” Clutching his shirt even more exaggeratedly, Eli fell over on top of Jun’s legs. Almost as if it was instinct, he took every opportunity to take advantage. As if it would be that easy to kill the unkillable zombie emperor, but for some reason, Jun couldn’t help being amused at the man’s childish antics.

 

“Pfft. Stop it.”

 

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Eli immediately sat up and held Jun’s free hand in his hands. “I’ll stop, as long as you keep your promise to give me your hand in marriage.”

 

“But I don’t remember—”

 

“I’ll just remind you?”

 

Eli met Azel and Jun when they were children. As the son of a diplomat, he was only in the country for a year and became their neighbor. During that year, all three of them became quite close. Azel, age 11, was the oldest, while Eli was 8 and Jun was the youngest at 6. Every day Azel and Eli would take Jun out to play, be it to visit milk tea shops or to take some hikes in the hills and mountains nearby their houses.

 

When it came time for Eli to return to his home country, he made a promise to Jun to marry him once he became an adult. But Jun was too adorable, and Eli didn’t feel safe leaving him behind, so he made a deal with Azel. He would allow Azel to be their third wheel if he promised to protect Jun until they met again.

 

Regarding the deal he made with Azel, Eli didn’t bother to mention it to Jun. It was obvious Azel hadn’t kept his end of the deal. Otherwise, why would Jun have been on his own the day before? This meant one less love rival so he was more than pleased, and he could forgive Azel to some extent since Jun was still alive.

 

“Let’s get married now!” Eli declared with a wide grin.

 

“… But…”

 

“But what?”

 

Jun couldn’t possibly say to him: ‘But you’re the zombie emperor and I’m not the original Jun Taylor so I have no feelings for you.’

 

“… But we’ve been apart for so long, so maybe we should get to know each other again first?”

 

“Hmm…” To be honest, Eli wasn’t exactly happy with the suggestion, but he respected Jun. He had already been waiting for over 12 years now, so what were another few months at the most? “Alright.”

 

Breathing a sigh of relief, Jun thought about how he’d move onwards. In the original plot, the zombie emperor couldn’t be killed, so having him around as a shield might be a good thing, though he did feel a little guilty taking advantage of the man’s feelings for the original Jun Taylor.

 

A voice interrupted his thoughts. “Do you not like dressing up anymore?”

 

“… Huh?”

 

“Didn’t you used to like wearing dresses and skirts? And even girl’s underwear—” Jun covered Eli’s mouth with his hand to silence him, his cheeks bright red. It was true that Jun himself enjoyed crossdressing, but to hear it be said aloud and to find out that the original Jun Taylor also had the same hobby was somewhat embarrassing.

 

|System, isn’t it a little strange that the original Jun Taylor is also gay, loves milk tea, and enjoys crossdressing as I do?|

 

|Nope, totally not strange at all.| Jun was suspicious but didn’t push the issue.

 

“… I still like it,” Jun admitted. “But I haven’t done it in a long time…” 

 

His hand was still covering Eli’s mouth, but judging by the curved eyes, Jun could tell that Eli was delighted and smiling. For a while, their eyes simply gazed at each other, but the moment was ruined when Eli licked Jun’s hand, startling him enough to remove his hand.

 

Eli licked his lips. “Mmm, delicious.”

 

As far as he could remember, no one had ever flirted so openly with him. It made his heart skip a beat and his cheeks flush.

 

After he finished his tea, Eli brought over a few sets of women’s clothing. Although Jun enjoyed crossdressing, his tastes were pretty tame. He liked earthy tones or light pastels, much like the mori girl or elegant style of clothes, which didn’t constrict his movements. What Eli brought him was mainly booty shorts, spaghetti straps, and crop tops.

 

“You’re kidding, right?”

 

“Come on, baby, wear it for me, please? You’ll look so good in them.”

 

“No way.”

 

“Please, baby.” The man got on his knees to beg, pulling a perfect example of a ‘leg cling.’ “Please…” He even gave Jun’s leg a quick peck.

 

“No.”

 

“I’ll beg for as long as it’ll take. Believe me, I can stay stuck to you for days.”

 

Jun sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Oh, he believed it. Why was it so hard to say no to this man? “… Fine.”

 

Eli shot up to a standing position and grabbed Jun’s chin to give him a hard smooch on the lips. “Thanks, baby, you’re the best!”

 

“… You… You…”

 

Mother fucker, that was his first kiss, stolen just like that by a pervert. The satisfied Cheshire Cat smile on Eli’s face made Jun itch to slap him, but he didn’t because…

 

|Oh, admit it, dearest Host. You liked it!|

 

|Ah, shut up.|

 

|Uwu, you bully the poor system.|

 

Afterward, Eli took Jun back to his storage unit so he could retrieve some supplies and complete his mission to earn some merit points. They returned to Silver Base and passed through the processing center quite easily. No one could tell that Eli was the zombie emperor. Then again, he wasn’t a zombie.

 

A mutant, maybe?

 

Just as they passed through the main gates, Jun bumped into a solid body, yet again. He stumbled backward and fell into Eli’s waiting arms.

 

All at once…

 

|It’s male lead #3 again. You really have some luck to be bumping into him twice, dearest Host.|

 

“Azel Barton, you shithead,” snarled Eli.

 

“Oh, male death flag #3…” Jun mumbled but was heard by all present.

 

“Eli?” Azel asked with surprise, his eyes fixed on those arms wrapped around Jun in a possessive manner, and for some reason, it made his blood boil.

 

— 

 

A/N: If y’all hadn’t already guessed it, the MLs are Azel and Eli. :D

 

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