Red Dot - 15

Chapter 15

“Kyaaak-!”

A zombie, with its mouth torn all the way to its ears as if someone had purposely ripped it open, bared all of its teeth and let out a roar. Junseong mercilessly struck the horrifying-looking zombie, which was enough to make Jiwoo scream, with his machete.

Thunk!

The machete slammed down hard, embedding about a finger’s length into the top of the zombie’s head. It wasn’t deeply buried, but even that much was enough to damage part of its brain.

Junseong kicked the twitching zombie to the ground and yanked out the machete. Then, he immediately swung his arm toward a shadow that suddenly jumped out from the side alley.

Kehek!

The machete struck the second zombie’s forehead. It twitched like a lagging video before stumbling backward. Junseong quickly turned around. If things played out like in his dream, a zombie should be charging at the last person in their group right about now—Soyeon.

Junseong turned, expecting Soyeon to be at the very back. But there was an unexpected change—Do Hanseo had joined them, which meant he was now the one at the rear instead. Right on cue, a zombie leaped out, charging toward where Soyeon and Hanseo were standing.

“Graah-!”

“Kyah!”

Even though they were on high alert, it was impossible not to be shocked when a bl00d-covered zombie suddenly jumped out.

Soyeon froze, unable to even think about swinging her broom. Just like in his dream, Chaei was about to swing her hammer to save Soyeon.

Whack!

A sharp whooshing sound cut through the air, followed by a strong impact that could almost be described as crisp. The zombie, struck in the head as if it had been sliced, collapsed to the side, twitching.

Without a single change in his expression, Hanseo, who had just struck the zombie’s head with his staff, looked at Junseong.

At that moment, Junseong felt as if his legs had frozen. His bl00d ran cold.

“Oppa, are you okay?”

Chaei, who was nervously scanning the area, unsure where another zombie might pop out, shook Junseong when she saw him suddenly freeze.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m fine.”

Thanks to Chaei, Junseong snapped back to reality and dashed forward again. But even as he moved, he couldn’t shake off the eerie sensation making the hairs on his body stand on end.

Cold, emotionless eyes.

Lips curved into a grin filled with excitement.

Junseong thought that no matter how composed Hanseo was, even he couldn’t possibly remain completely at ease in a situation where one wrong step meant becoming zombie food. His forehead should be damp with cold sweat, his eyes filled with tension and unease, and his mouth void of any trace of a smile. That would be normal.

But as Junseong watched Hanseo strike the zombie, he realized his assumption was wrong.

Hanseo looked as if he was enjoying this unreal, life-or-death situation.

At that moment, a face from his memory flashed through Junseong’s mind—the face of a man who had brutally killed people, not for survival, but purely for fun. A monstrous serial killer who murdered out of sheer amusement.

That murderer was the worst kind of comrade—someone Junseong never wanted to meet again, even in his dreams.

‘No.’

Junseong clenched his legs and forced himself to shake off the thought.

‘Hanseo is different. He’s not the same person.’

He tried to erase the image of that killer from his mind. Even if it had only been a dream, the trauma it left behind was real. That man wasn’t here. After many failed attempts, Junseong had finally found a way to avoid crossing paths with him. There was no way he’d meet him in reality.

Junseong convinced himself that his momentary overlap of Hanseo and that murderer had been nothing more than a fleeting illusion. He forced his shaken mind to settle.

Uuurgh-!

Kehek, thunk!

Junseong led the way, swiftly taking down every zombie they encountered at regular intervals. The others were amazed at how fearlessly he charged ahead, striking down zombies one after another. Not only did he handle the zombies in front, but he also eliminated those attacking from behind or gave clear instructions to the group.

It was as if he already knew exactly where the zombies would come from and who they would target.

Every time the dream restarted, he changed his approach, but at least until they entered the subway, the path remained the same. It was the only way to keep his sister and her friends alive.

‘Next, at the very back of the group…’

As soon as the zombie, which Junseong had strongly shoved with his shoulder, staggered, he swung his machete. Without even glancing at the now frozen zombie, he kicked it away and turned around.

“Soyeon…!”

If things were happening just like in his dream, Soyeon, who was standing at the very back again, was about to be attacked.

But this time, the one standing at the very back was Do Hanseo.

Behind him, a bl00d-covered zombie with half of its jaw missing raised its head. Because his timing was off, the zombie had already gotten close to Hanseo’s left shoulder and looked like it was about to bite down on him.

Just as Junseong gasped and was about to warn Hanseo instead of Soyeon—

He saw the zombie ignore Hanseo, move past him, and lunge at Soyeon instead.

At that moment, Hanseo swung his staff fiercely and struck the zombie’s forehead. He hit it so hard that its forehead caved in. The zombie, which fell backward as if it had been thrown, showed no sign of getting up.

‘What was that just now?’

Junseong felt a strong sense of unease as he watched Hanseo casually brush off the dark red bl00d that had splattered on his shoulder with the back of his hand.

‘For things to play out exactly like my dream… that’s ridiculous. Was it just a coincidence?’

If things were following the dream, Soyeon should have been attacked. However, the reason she had been attacked was simply that she was the closest human in the zombie’s line of sight. Since Hanseo was now standing at the very back, it made sense for the zombie to have chased after him instead. But why had it gone past him and attacked Soyeon instead?

‘Maybe I saw it wrong.’

In the two months of experiencing the dream, Junseong had met countless people, but none had ever been able to avoid a zombie’s attack. Hanseo shouldn’t be an exception either. He convinced himself that he had just misinterpreted what happened, and before he could confirm it, Hanseo had already taken care of the zombie.

There was no time to dwell on it. Junseong and the group had already reached the entrance of the subway.

Junseong turned around again. The zombies scattered nearby were now rushing toward them one by one.

“Don’t stop! Keep running!”

Junseong picked up his pace, leading the group forward.

Zombies were screaming as they climbed up the stairs from below. Some were crawling up the stopped escalator.

There were five of them, but since they were coming up one at a time, Junseong calmly took them down one by one as he ran. Right behind him, Chaei desperately swung her hammer at the zombies’ heads to help, while Jiwoo, though on the verge of tears, swung his wrench skillfully.

Normally, this would be the point where Junseong would pull Soyeon forward since she was the least capable of fighting, armed only with a broom. But this time, Hanseo, who was right behind her, was smiling as he knocked off a zombie’s head. Even though it was terrifying, Junseong had to admit that it was reassuring.

After making it down all the stairs, Junseong tensed up at the sight of the horde of zombies rushing toward them from behind. At a glance, there were more than twenty. He had seen this scene in his dream, but witnessing it in reality sent an unavoidable wave of fear through him.

Doubt kept creeping into his mind.

‘What if things don’t go the way I saw in my dream?’

‘What if nothing happens at the expected time?’

‘I’ve already encountered someone I didn’t see in the dream—Do Hanseo. What if more unpredictable things happen?’

The cruel doubts and distrust swirling in his mind weighed down on his legs.

That brief moment of hesitation allowed a zombie to get right in his face.

“Oppa!”

Thanks to Chaei grabbing his shoulder and yanking him backward, he found himself staring at the zombie’s snapping teeth, which came dangerously close. If he had been even a second slower, his face would have been bitten off.

Just as the zombie opened its mouth wide again, ready to chomp down—

A sharp whistling sound sliced through the air.

At the same time, a few thick drops of bl00d splattered onto Junseong’s face.

Kuhhk-!

The zombie, which had been opening its mouth so wide that its lips nearly tore, was suddenly impaled by a flying staff. It had struck somewhere around the forehead—if it had hit there, it might not have crushed the skull, but luckily, the staff had lodged itself inside the zombie’s gaping mouth.

Due to the impact of the impalement, the zombie staggered, and in that instant, Jiwoo’s wrench came crashing down onto its skull.

The zombie, unable to even let out a proper sound, collapsed backward.

“Hyung, are you okay?!”

Junseong never expected that Jiwoo would end up saving him.

But there was no time to purely be impressed or surprised.

Junseong glanced back at Hanseo, who had thrown the staff to save him. Behind Hanseo, a swarm of zombies was closing in fast.

Without hesitation, Junseong started running again.

‘It’s fine. I can do this. I have to do this.’

Repeating those words in his head like a mantra, Junseong quickened his pace, his expression growing more serious.

Finally, the group reached the ticket gates. The zombies that had been roaming nearby let out screeches and started rushing toward them in even greater numbers.