Red Dot - 142

Chapter 142

The director grabbed Jihoon’s arm as Jihoon dragged Youngin’s corpse.

– Do you think I brought Youngin’s corpse because I still like her?!

– Isn’t that true? You always obediently did everything Youngin wanted.

Jihoon did not hide the sneer on his lips.

– Who was it that said they would do anything to realize Youngin’s ideals?

– That was…

While the director trailed off and lowered his eyes, Jihoon kicked the director who was holding his arm. Caught off guard with no time to dodge, the director fell back helplessly.

Jihoon snorted briefly at the director and turned toward the entrance. In his hand, he still held Youngin’s corpse, which twitched slightly.

The director, who had fallen, hurriedly got up and ran somewhere. When the director returned after briefly leaving the frame, he held a very sharp kitchen knife in his hand.

– Wait!

The director gripped the kitchen knife with both hands and pointed its tip at Jihoon.

Jihoon, turning back, flinched at the knife aimed at him but soon laughed mockingly.

– What are you going to do with that? Stab me?

– …

The director, swallowing hard, made a resolute face.

– Leave Youngin behind.

– Keeping a zombified Youngin by your side won’t get you anything.

– I said leave her, Do Jihoon.

– I can’t let her rot in a place like this.

– You have no right to say that! You killed her with your own hands!

– I only spared her the pain of the virus spreading.

– Lies! You think I don’t know you did it to save yourself?! You strangled her and left her!

Jihoon chuckled and looked at the director.

– You’re right. I left her. But I regretted it.

The director, who had been raging, paused.

Perhaps thinking Jihoon regretted killing his wife, the director’s face crumpled terribly at Jihoon’s next words.

– I regretted leaving behind a ‘fresh test subject’ that had just died with the virus.

It was an ambiguous statement. But the director trembled as if he understood Jihoon’s thoughts from those words alone.

– Killing Youngin wasn’t enough, and now you want to use her as a test subject?!

– Letting her rot uselessly like this isn’t what Youngin would want.

– Stop talking nonsense!

The director rushed at Jihoon. His momentum suggested he would pierce Jihoon’s heart with the knife in one strike.

But the sharp knife stopped right in front of Jihoon’s chest.

As if blocked by an invisible barrier, the knife trembled in the director’s hand.

As if he expected this, Jihoon said with a relaxed smile.

– Do you know how to become a hero unlike any other in the world?

The director could not answer. His face, drenched in cold sweat, seemed tormented by countless conflicts.

Looking at the director, Jihoon continued.

– Solve a hopeless disaster.

Do Jihoon, Lee Youngin, and the director wanted to become ‘heroes.’ To this end, they immersed themselves in research, aiming for an absurd panacea. They even sacrificed a few people and conducted cruel experiments, giving up their humanity.

But Do Jihoon seemed to want something more than a hero through a panacea.

Jihoon looked down at Youngin, who began moving more violently. Bl00d had already formed at her closed eyes.

– Stop it!

The director shouted loudly, glaring at Jihoon while breathing heavily.

– I’m tired now… Youngin’s dead, and I don’t want to continue the research anymore. I’m sick of seeing people die every day! This isn’t what we dreamed of together since college!

– So? Are you going to give up everything we’ve achieved so far?

– Yes! Youngin, the only one who kept me going, is gone! I’m going to quit everything!

Tears welled up in the director’s eyes as he shook his head and shouted.

– I’m going to turn the infected Youngin over to the government and reveal everything about the experiments.

The smile finally disappeared from Jihoon’s face. Jihoon, now cold, glared at the director.

– If you do that, you won’t be safe either.

– I know, I’m prepared for everything.

The director’s resolute face gradually crumbled.

– Jihoon… let’s stop now… We’ve almost finished the vaccine anyway. I’ll help you make it so you can survive… and after that, let’s not experiment on people anymore. If there’s any crime, I’ll take it all. I’ll make it all my fault that Youngin died and became a zombie, so please…

The director pleaded, saying he would take all the blame. To him, Do Jihoon seemed as precious a friend as Lee Youngin.

But Jihoon’s expression, staring at the director, remained cold and terrifying.

– I see.

Jihoon looked down at Youngin, held in his hand. Her twitching movements were growing worse.

– Before that, don’t you want to see one last experiment?

At that moment, Jihoon’s gaze at Youngin seemed infinitely tender.

– A virus transmission speed experiment… Since it’s what Youngin wanted so much, shall I start it right in front of you?

– What, what?

Shocked by Jihoon’s words, the director gripped the knife tighter. The trembling knife tip, no longer a threat, aimed at Jihoon’s chest again.

– Don’t do it. I said don’t do that! I’ll stop you even if I have to stab you!

Jihoon smirked at the director’s trembling voice and looked at the knife.

– Stab me. This is your only chance to stop me.

Despite his bravado, the director couldn’t take another step and froze.

Jihoon sighed briefly and grabbed the director’s hand holding the knife. He guided the trembling hand, raising the knife tip to his forehead.

– If you’re going to kill me, aim for the head. Otherwise, I’ll become a zombie in your house even after I die.

Jihoon, defenselessly offering his head, smirked as if daring the director to try. The director, still holding the knife with both hands, couldn’t stab Jihoon’s head and stood frozen.

A heavy silence followed.

– Urgh, ugh…!

Youngin, who had only been twitching, suddenly raised her face. Her wide-open eyes, reflecting the ceiling light, were already streaming with red bl00d.

– Youngin…

The director stepped back, letting out a groan-like sound.

– Kyaak!

Youngin’s body, now stiff and twisting unnaturally, was far from normal. Sticky bl00d tears flowed from her filmy eyes, and unstoppable bl00d clots poured from her mouth as she began to scream.

Seeing Youngin’s transformation, the director finally shed tears as he stepped back.

Immediately after.

– Kyaaaak-!

Fully zombified, Youngin suddenly stretched both arms toward the director, letting out a monstrous scream. Her bl00d-stained teeth seemed ready to tear into the director’s neck.

Fortunately, Jihoon held her, preventing an attack on the director.

– Don’t worry. I have no intention of infecting you.

Jihoon still looked at the director with an indifferent expression. Having consumed Hanseo’s bl00d, he knew Youngin wouldn’t attack him, so he showed no surprise at her sudden change.

– If I become a zombie before making the vaccine, someone needs to remember and continue our research. You’re the only one who can do that.

– I… I said I’m done.

– You’ll have no choice.

Jihoon dragged the struggling Youngin toward the entrance and reached for the door handle.

– I already know you siphoned off Hanseo’s bl00d and hid it in this house. That amount should be enough for your whole family to safely escape the disaster.

Do Jihoon had noticed the director secretly storing bl00d in the warehouse. He had pretended not to know but now told the director to use that bl00d to escape the ‘coming disaster.’

The director hesitated briefly.

He reached out toward Jihoon, who flung open the entrance door.

– No, Do Jihoon!

Jihoon looked over his shoulder at the director running toward him and smiled.

– See you later.

With that, the entrance door slammed shut with a bang.

Soon after, faint screams from Youngin and several others’ cries came from outside the door. What followed was a voice begging for help, filled with the pain of being torn apart.