Red Dot - 104

The cold space, combined with the ongoing rain, filled the air with a chilling coolness, but fortunately, the warmth of their lips was clearly felt.

Just as Hanseo’s tongue, which had been softly tracing over Junseong’s lips and teeth, was about to move more purposefully—

“Stop.”

Junseong pulled his head back slightly and placed his hand between their lips, creating a barrier. Hanseo, dissatisfied, was left with only a brief touch that couldn’t even be called a kiss, but seeing the fatigue in Junseong’s eyes, he quietly complied.

“I feel more awake now.”

Coldly, Junseong had only used the kiss as a tool to clear his head. He pressed his fingers to his temples and let out a faint laugh as he glanced at Hanseo with a now-clear mind.

“Isn’t it funny?”

“What is?”

“That I was so confident in my predictions, and yet here I am, unable to sleep, full of anxiety.”

Junseong found his own situation amusing.

The survival of Kang Chaeyi, something he had always taken as a given and the one thing he had consistently achieved in countless dreams, was now seriously threatened in an unexpected way. By a stroke of luck, thanks to Hanseo’s reconnaissance—if it could even be called that—Junseong learned that Chaeyi had moved toward another safer route before the danger arrived.

This new safe route, which led her to meet their friend Jang Daewook and his group, meant that she would likely survive for over 12 days, even without Junseong. Adding Chaeyi to the group wouldn’t suddenly put them in such a great danger that they would be wiped out. Even if they faced trouble, Daewook was more than capable of protecting her.

If Chaeyi had joined them, she would have told Daewook about meeting her brother at Inhan Hospital. Knowing her, no matter how desperate things got, she wouldn’t believe her brother was dead without seeing his body. She would surely make her way here by today, the seventh day.

So Junseong’s task for the day was simple: prepare to assist them and create the safest path for their entry.

Despite thinking everything through in such detail, here he was, in this state.

What if his predictions were wrong?

What if Kang Chaeyi had already turned into a zombie? Or worse, what if she had somehow left the group and was wandering alone despite the clear odds that she should have joined Daewook? What if this new pattern, “Kang Chaeyi and Jang Daewook meeting on Day 1,” had disrupted their entire route and led to their deaths?

His mind wavered over these tiny, almost negligible chances. Every time he fell asleep, his anxiety worsened, tightening its grip on him. Now, he could only focus on thinking up different scenarios to keep his eyes open.

Just as he was reaching his limit and debating whether he should close his eyes again despite the looming nightmares, he realized Hanseo had been silently watching him with wide-open eyes.

Oddly, Junseong found comfort in Hanseo’s gaze, which lacked any clumsy attempts at comfort, empty words of concern, or meaningless hugs. It was as if they shared the heavy, sunken air of the room in quiet understanding. It was enough for him.

He wondered how Hanseo saw him.

Someone who had made near-perfect predictions, who had reassured himself, but now couldn’t even sleep, agonizing in silence. He must have looked utterly pathetic.

“It’s not funny.”

Hanseo’s hand wrapped around Junseong’s head. As he offered his shoulder for Junseong to rest on, Hanseo’s touch was unusually warm.

“You’re beautiful.”

“How could you possibly see beauty… in this?”

Junseong glared with narrowed eyes, but Hanseo merely chuckled, stroking his hair.

“Because it’s cute, watching you struggle so hard to control your emotions.”

“Should I slap the other cheek too?”

“Go ahead. Just make sure you wrap your hand in bandages so you don’t hurt yourself.”

“…You really are a crazy, psycho pervert.”

Hanseo didn’t deny the sudden name-calling, only smiling as he held Junseong’s right hand. He ran his fingers over Junseong’s slender ones, smaller than his own, and his gaze lingered on the still-red knuckles and the bruised back of the hand.

Then he touched the side of Junseong’s hand, where the bite mark, still shaped like teeth, was faintly visible.

“Does this still hurt?”

“A little.”

It was the wound he’d gotten on the first day when he was bitten by an infected person at the shelter. Although it was much better now compared to the day it bled, as long as he didn’t strain his hand, he barely felt any pain. It helped that he had packed some disinfectants, ointments, and bandages just in case.

“It’s been a week already.”

It had taken a week for the wound to heal this much. It would take over a week for it to fully recover.

The wound from the day the zombie virus spread.

In other words, it was a mark of the zombie virus outbreak.

By the time this wound was completely gone and healed, what would this world full of zombies look like? Not even Junseong, who had dreamt countless times, could predict that.

Junseong only focused on recognizing the approaching time as the clear “reality” and building the safest route possible.

* * *

Two hours later.

Although the sun should have completely risen by now, the sky outside was still filled with dark clouds, and the rain continued to fall steadily. The sky was much darker than usual, and after checking the time, Junseong opened the door to the hospital room.

With a creak, a startled presence was felt right next to the door.

“Uh, you, you’re awake?”

Kyungo, who had quickly splashed some water on his face with both hands, got up from his seat. It turned out he had brought a chair from the nurses’ station and had fallen asleep in it.

“What are you doing here?”

“Um, well….”

Kyungo hesitated to answer, scratching his cheek with an awkward smile.

Junseong felt he could guess the answer even without a clear response. Kyungo and the others had likely taken turns standing watch in front of the hospital room.

Feeling a bit bitter, Junseong looked Kyungo up and down, unable to bring himself to say that he had been keeping watch.

“You don’t need to worry. I won’t just run out.”

“Uh… but…”

Kyungo, hesitating, lowered his eyes as he spoke.

“If I were in your situation, I think I would sneak out in the early morning… Of course, Hanseo would have kept a good watch, I mean, comforted you well…”

As he awkwardly corrected part of his statement with a laugh, Kyungo suddenly stretched out his arms. Then, he hugged Junseong tightly, patting his back awkwardly.

“Don’t worry. Your little brother will be fine. Yes, because you predicted it, so it must be true.”

Since being carried off to the hospital room by Hanseo, Junseong hadn’t once stepped outside until now. Hanseo had only delivered a vague message to their worried companions outside, saying, “I analyzed the route, and the probability of your brother still being safe is high.”

“I was a bit lacking in words.”

Because he had conveyed it so briefly, it ended up worrying everyone, including Kyungo, for a long time.

Junseong gently patted Kyungo’s back and buried his face in his shoulder.

“Yes, he’ll be fine.”

“Of course! Now, how do we get to your little brother…!”

As Kyungo smiled brightly and continued speaking, he suddenly froze. Then he quickly released the hug.

“Ah, uh, I’ll just go take a shower to clear my head!”

Before Junseong could say anything, Kyungo dashed down the hallway, leaving his words hanging. Junseong tilted his head in confusion, then turned around at the feeling of someone approaching. There stood Hanseo, who had come out quietly, smiling but watching Kyungo with cold eyes.

“Don’t scare him. What are you doing?”

Seeing Hanseo’s outstretched arms towards him, Junseong wondered what the gesture meant. Hanseo smiled with a mischievous glint in his eyes, then pulled Junseong into a tight embrace before he could escape.

“Disinfecting.”

“Are you the germ?”

“Yeah. Besides me, everyone else is a germ, so if you touch them, you have to come and disinfect me like this, my lord.”

It seemed that Hanseo was not pleased that Junseong had buried his face in Kyungo’s shoulder. He pressed Junseong’s head down with his hand, forcing him to bury his face in his own shoulder. Suddenly, Hanseo looked up, sensing a gaze.

A small head peeked into one of the hospital rooms, observing them with curiosity. The owner of that head sent a sparkling gaze, clearly visible, and even managed a shy smile.

Jian, who had poked his head out from the hospital room, unknowingly gave a thumbs-up at Hanseo. Then, to protect Junseong’s mental state, he quietly slipped back into the room before he could notice.

“I just witnessed a very desirable scene this morning.”

Truthfully, he had hoped for something beyond just a hug, but since it was early morning, he decided to be satisfied with this for today.