Red Dot - 146

Chapter 146

Nothing came through the radio about talking with the hostage.

They only called each other and cried, speaking and listening to the sounds.

Hanseo found Gyeong-oh’s noise annoying but didn’t stop him. Instead, he thought it better that Gyeong-oh acted on instinct.

Judging by Gyeong-oh’s personality and the intensity of his emotions, Hanseo guessed Gyeong-oh wouldn’t ask about the hostage’s condition or investigate their location. Gyeong-oh, surrounded by relief and worry, would likely cry uncontrollably without thinking, and he did exactly that.

‘Ki-hyuk knew that, so he connected the hostage directly.’

It didn’t take long for Ki-hyuk to decide to connect the hostage, suggesting he had already calculated it and approved it.

Ki-hyuk, who knew Gyeong-oh well, likely predicted how much Gyeong-oh would wail and make a fuss when meeting the hostage. So, if Gyeong-oh suppressed his emotions and acted ‘rationally,’ Ki-hyuk would have suspected something.

He might have wondered if Junseong stood behind Gyeong-oh, holding the radio.

‘We read that much too.’

So, Hanseo didn’t give Gyeong-oh any missions like asking questions or checking things when the radio connected. Gyeong-oh needed to express his raw emotions to lure the other side.

-As you heard, your mom is safe.

The radio cut off once, then came back on, and this time a man with a low voice from the hostage team spoke. No voices of Gyeong-oh’s mom or others came through behind him.

Hanseo listened to the voice and pulled Junseong’s phone from his jacket pocket. The internet still didn’t work, but the time kept ticking accurately.

Gyeong-oh wiped his streaming tears and sent his voice to the other side.

“Uh, what, sniff, should I do… to get my mom back? Sob, please, uh, save my mom…”

Gyeong-oh, struggling to hold back sobs, heard the other side reply as if waiting.

-Just do as we say, and nothing will happen.

“B-but, you said just send a signal… and it turned out to be a b-bomb! I almost, I almost died too!”

-You didn’t die, so it’s fine.

The other side spoke as if saying, ‘What’s the problem?’ with a tone that seemed to carry a smirk. Gyeong-oh made a dumbfounded expression at their manner.

Before Gyeong-oh could say anything, a transmission came through.

-The old man’s still loud. We won’t make you do anything dangerous, so just shut up and do as told.

A new voice suddenly came.

Hanseo’s eyes twitched upon hearing it.

A pleasant baritone, neither high nor low. The voice’s playful tone carried a charm one could take pride in. Though not crystal clear through the radio, the speech, accent, and depth were distinctly specific.

It was the exact voice recorded in the video on the phone left at Inhan Hospital.

-My gift. Like it?

-Don’t worry. Your brother’s not in there.

-Haven’t killed him ‘yet,’ but maybe you want to meet?

-I’ll wait with your precious brother.

-No guarantee I’ll keep him alive till then.

Only one person came to mind.

‘Ki-hyuk.’

Hanseo wasn’t the only one who recognized the voice’s owner. Changmin also stared at the radio with a tense face.

For smooth communication, they pressed the transmit button and let a few seconds pass, during which relay teams pressed their buttons in sequence, unchanged from the usual method.

The delay remained the same.

Thus, Ki-hyuk was surely with the hostage team or not far away.

Hanseo checked the screen of Junseong’s phone again.

‘3 minutes 52 seconds. About 4 minutes.’

The distance from the hostages’ location to Ki-hyuk’s was less than 4 minutes.

Very close.

At this point, it made sense to assume the hostage team was Ki-hyuk’s own team.

-Is Junseong there? I want to hear Junseong’s voice.

A ridiculously carefree voice came through the radio. Only then did Gyeong-oh, realizing the voice belonged to Ki-hyuk, glance at Hanseo and sent a transmission.

“If, if you let me hear Junseong’s voice, w-will you let my mom go? If that’s it, I’ll go to Junseong right now!”

Right after, Gyeong-oh told Hanseo, ‘No, just kidding,’ explaining it was only to test Ki-hyuk by acting dumb. Hanseo, knowing this, only gave a cold stare without saying anything.

-What? Haha! Old man, you’re hilarious!

Ki-hyuk laughed loudly, then suddenly spoke in a chilling, murderous tone.

-Do that, and I’ll cut your mom’s head off and send it by drone.

“Eek!”

Gyeong-oh gasped, swallowing hard, nearly dropping the radio under the threat’s weight.

Meanwhile, Ki-hyuk spoke as if annoyed.

-Tell me how you plan to move tomorrow.

“Uh, um, I don’t know yet. Junseong said everyone’s tired, so we should rest. Probably we’ll meet in the morning and leave…”

-Then, before leaving, leave a note with your plans and route. Put it in your room, and my guys will pick it up.

“Y-yes… Um, you’re not, uh, planning anything dangerous… right?”

At Gyeong-oh’s dim-witted question, Ki-hyuk’s transmission paused briefly.

When it resumed, Ki-hyuk’s voice sounded like he had just stopped laughing.

-We won’t make you do anything dangerous. After that explosion, you’re a fine ‘spy’ betraying your team to save your precious mom.

Gyeong-oh’s shoulders flinched. The ‘spy’ label made his heart sink.

-No matter the reason or process, Junseong won’t take back someone who endangered his team. If he knew you blew up Inhan Hospital, he’d abandon you coldly, even with zombies swarming.

Ki-hyuk spoke as if scaring Gyeong-oh, blaming him entirely for the hospital’s explosion.

-Can you save your mom alone? You? How?

Gyeong-oh’s hands, gripping the radio, trembled.

-The only choice you have is to quietly play my spy. Do that, and I’ll send your unimportant mom back without a scratch.

Ki-hyuk drove home that Gyeong-oh had no escape, only one option.

-But… if you try anything funny, you’ll get a piece of your mom’s body every hour, so be careful.

“Sniff, ugh…”

Gyeong-oh trembled with anxiety, swallowing groans. But he didn’t rashly transmit or panic.

If Gyeong-oh were alone, he would have surely faltered.

But Hanseo, unmoved by Ki-hyuk’s cruel words, was there.

“Say you’ll do it. Say you’ll do whatever they ask.”

“Uh-huh…”

Nodding at Hanseo’s words, Gyeong-oh finally transmitted. Meanwhile, Hanseo focused solely on Ki-hyuk’s transmissions.

-Do well, and I’ll let you hear your mom’s voice again tomorrow.

“Then, uh, how long do I have to do what you say?”

-Until Junseong is in my hands.

Ki-hyuk’s voice, saying Junseong’s name, carried an obsession as intense as Hanseo’s.

-So, you’d better cooperate actively. Once I have Junseong, I don’t need hostages or anything else.

Was it an illusion that the voice’s end sounded somehow lonely?

Before anyone could wonder, the transmission with Ki-hyuk ended completely.

The large man facilitating the radio sent back the drone and radio smoothly. Both belonged to Gyeong-oh, and if they weren’t returned intact, sharp Junseong might suspect something.

Gyeong-oh retrieved the drone, closed the window, and collapsed on the spot as if tension released. He panted, whimpered, and finally burst into tears again. At times like this, he seemed like a child, not an adult.

Changmin helped the sniffling Gyeong-oh to the bed and looked at Hanseo, whose expression remained unchanged. Hanseo had been staring at Junseong’s phone for a while.

Seeing Hanseo focused without looking up, Changmin couldn’t wait and approached him.

“Did you figure something out?”

“Something?”

Hanseo smirked.

“Not just something.”

Hanseo’s sharp gaze turned to Changmin.

“I found the exact location of the hostages.”

Gyeong-oh, slumped with exhaustion, jumped up as if he hadn’t been down.