Red Dot - 11

Chapter 11

Each area had several emergency shelters prepared for different types of disasters. This place was designated as one of those shelters.

Junseong hoped that, in his dream, he would head to this hospital, which was relatively safe and where the rescue team was expected to arrive.

‘It’s far, but this is the only way everyone can survive. And near here….’

Junseong glanced at a building next to the hospital. He regretted that if he hadn’t been ambushed by zombies in his last dream, he could have obtained ‘that thing’ from there, which could have ended this situation. If he had dreamed once more, he might have succeeded.

A thought crossed his mind.

Maybe the dream that kept repeating every day until he found a solution wasn’t meant to torment him but to warn him. What if it was trying to inform him in advance about today’s events so he could survive and even resolve the crisis?

Thinking this way, the nightmare he had cursed for so long felt like a blessing for the first time. Without it, he wouldn’t have even escaped the one-room apartment and would have died helplessly.

Imagining himself rising as a zombie after dying made Junseong clench his fist in secret.

Meanwhile, Jiwoo, who was checking the distance on Junseong’s phone, looked grim.

“This place is too far. Can’t we evacuate somewhere closer? What if we just wait for rescue here?”

Jiwoo quickly stood up and opened the refrigerator in the instructor’s office. Inside, there were five cans of coffee, three juice packs, and two bottles of water.

“There’s a little water and these drinks. We also have some snacks. If we ration them, we might be able to last until the rescue team arrives.”

Indeed, this place was relatively safe.

But that was only true until 5 PM. After that, the infected instructor would break in, making this place dangerous. Changing the door’s password or dealing with the instructor after they entered wouldn’t solve anything.

Even after the food ran out, the rescue team wouldn’t come. To conduct search and rescue operations throughout the entire Inhan City, all zombies had to be cleared first. Until then, even securing official shelters was a difficult task.

Junseong was about to tell Jiwoo that waiting for rescue was unrealistic, but Hanseo spoke up instead.

“In zombie movies, people usually go to high places to get rescued. This place doesn’t have anything like that, but if it’s a hospital, a rescue helicopter can definitely come.”

Hanseo was right.

The fire department regularly dispatched rescue helicopters to search for survivors, but to be rescued, they needed a wide and safe rooftop where a helicopter could land. The building they were in now couldn’t provide that option.

Jiwoo’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. Tears welled up in their eyes again.

Hanseo, uninterested in Jiwoo’s reaction, turned to Junseong.

“How are we getting to the hospital? Do you have a car?”

“Even if I had a car, we couldn’t drive there. The roads around here are blocked with abandoned cars, forcing people to evacuate on foot. Unless we find a road that’s clear enough for a car to pass through, it would only slow us down.”

“Then we’ll have to walk.”

Hanseo spoke matter-of-factly and stood up from the couch, extending a hand to Junseong.

“The thing on your waist—can I use it?”

With a meaningful smile, Hanseo added,

“I’m pretty good with knives.”

Junseong felt an eerie chill as he saw Hanseo’s eyes fixed on the machete at his waist.

For some reason, it reminded him of someone from his dreams.

Someone who carried the same thick scent of bl00d as Do Hanseo—a terrifying and gruesome killer.

‘Good with knives… What does he mean?’

As Junseong stiffened in caution and tension, Chaeyi spoke up.

“He really is good. He was the top student in the kendo department.”

Only then did Hanseo’s words make sense.

Junseong blamed himself for getting unnecessarily nervous over nothing. But even so, he had no intention of handing over his weapon.

Do Hanseo was an unpredictable factor.

Unlike the people he met in his dreams, this was the first time he had encountered Hanseo. He had no idea what kind of person Hanseo was, so he couldn’t just hand over his primary weapon without a second thought. Given Hanseo’s sturdy physique and the fact that he was the top student in the kendo department, if he were armed with a strong weapon, no one else would be able to stop him.

Unlike the peaceful world of yesterday, from now on, there was no law to punish those who committed crimes.

Chaeyi, observing Junseong’s hesitation, retrieved a wooden stick leaning against the wall. The pointed end was stained with dried, dark red bl00d from piercing a zombie earlier.

“Considering the length, this should be easier to use. It’s about the same size as a bamboo sword.”

Hanseo looked at Chaeyi for a moment before taking the stick with a smile. He stepped back and swung it through the air with one hand. No one could tell what was going through his mind.

Chaeyi glanced at Junseong.

Chaeyi had noticed early on that Junseong was wary of Hanseo, even though he was as expressionless as she was, making it hard for others to tell.

Even though they were in different departments, they had many overlapping subjects, so Chaeyi had taken some of the same classes as Hanseo. She knew he was an excellent student with significant popularity in the kendo department. That was why she had felt reassured and willingly opened the door when he came. But the moment he stepped into the assistant office, she sensed something different. He felt far scarier than the person she thought she knew.

Chaeyi thought maybe Junseong avoided Hanseo because he felt the same way. Or perhaps it was the faint scent of bl00d still lingering around him.

Some time later.

The five people in the assistant office gathered by the window, which they had opened wide.

The window faced the opposite direction of the parking lot Junseong had passed through earlier. Instead, it overlooked the hill surrounding the university. Below the building, a large number of zombies were wandering near the base of the hill.

Soyeon, holding an eco-bag filled with coffee and snacks, adjusted her glasses and looked at the zombies and the hill beyond.

“No way… Are we going down this way?”

“No, right? How would we even get down?”

Jiwoo’s face showed the same concern.

Instead of answering, Junseong pulled a rope out of his backpack. It looked like just a bundled-up rope at first, but one end was tied in a strange way, with four loops as if forming nooses.

As everyone stared at the unusual rope in confusion, Junseong called Chaeyi and pointed at the heavy cabinet in the assistant office.

“We’re going to drag that to the window and tie this to it.”

“Tie it? Ah…!”

Chaeyi finally realized his plan and nodded.

Once everything was ready, it was a little past noon. To get to Inhan University, Junseong had taken a taxi, knowing it would eventually get stuck in traffic. He had timed it so he could prepare the rope’s knots along the way.

Junseong explained further for the others.

“Most of the zombies inside the building are gathered on the second floor. To go down normally, we’d have to pass through the second-floor stairs, meaning we’d have to fight them.”

“So you’re saying we should jump out of the window? There are zombies down there too!”

“I’ll take care of them before we go down.”

Before anyone could even ask what he meant by “take care,” Junseong turned to Chaeyi and said exactly what he had in the dream.

“Help me move the cabinet.”

“I’ll help.”

Before Chaeyi could respond, Hanseo interrupted. He had already stepped toward the cabinet before Junseong even asked. Regardless of being wary of him, having someone willing to help at a time like this was a relief.

Junseong handed the rope to Chaeyi for a moment and moved toward the cabinet as well. It was too heavy to lift completely, but they managed to push it to the window. With a bit of noise from dragging it along the floor, the cabinet was finally positioned right beside the window.

With Hanseo’s help, Junseong tied the rope securely around the middle of the cabinet. Then he handed the end with the four loops to Chaeyi.

“These four loops will work as a harness.”

“A harness? Like the straps for dogs?”

Soyeon, who had experience raising pets, pictured the harnesses that wrapped around a dog’s shoulders and chest.

“Yeah. Just like that, we’re going to put our legs through these loops and use the rope to lower ourselves down.”

“What?!”

Jiwoo stepped back in shock and shook his head.

“That’s ridiculous! Whether we put our legs or heads through, how can we climb down on a rope like this?!”

“We can do it. If you put your legs in and hang on, I’ll lower you down slowly until you reach the ground.”

Having done it many times in the dream, Junseong responded calmly and pulled out a bundle of gloves. They were industrial work gloves, coated with a layer of red rubber.

To prevent injuries from the rope and ensure a firm grip on weapons, Junseong handed a pair of gloves to each person. Then he turned to the one he trusted the most—the one who also trusted him more than anyone else: his sister.