Red Dot - 158

Chapter 158

Afterward, Junseong cautiously observed his surroundings until late at night, but no suspicious person followed him or Ki-hyuk. The next day, the day after, and even the final day when he died from a zombie bite, the murderer he feared so much did not show even a single hair.

He felt relieved.

He decided to avoid the place near their hideout where the murderer likely lurked, believing the killer merely stayed nearby.

However, as the cycles repeated, frightening events kept occurring.

A companion who disbelieved his story, cursed him, and left appeared as a corpse the next morning at a street corner where the two walked. Only the torso and head remained, without limbs, and the eyes bulged as if the person endured horrific pain.

On another day, a grateful companion who showed infinite trust died. Someone carved the body into pieces, arranged them like a star for some sick joke, and placed the head, with its tongue pulled out, in the center. A star carved into the tongue with a knife particularly sent chills down his spine.

On some days, companions who split between belief and disbelief vanished silently at dawn. Searching for them caused delays in plans, so Junseong and Ki-hyuk moved alone, but they gasped in horror upon seeing the group hanging from the fourth-floor window of a building. Bl00d dripped like rain from the headless corpses onto the zombies clamoring below.

Gruesome scenes, like those from a slasher movie, followed them. Junseong never met the murderer directly, but the killer’s cruel methods and the stench of bl00d left him unable to think clearly.

Junseong mentally collapsed when his friend Daewook died.

He already knew when and where to find Daewook. Around the 20th cycle, specifically on the first day of the 19th cycle at dawn, he met Daewook at Anhyup Station, and later saw him pass by distantly in other cycles.

Though Junseong knew Daewook’s location and considered him trustworthy, he could not travel with him until now.

Daewook had many companions from the first day. Given his personality, abandoning his group to join Junseong seemed unlikely. When Junseong considered proposing teamwork, Daewook strongly persuaded him to move together with his group, causing Junseong to struggle to separate himself.

To end the situation, Junseong needed to gather as much information as possible and act strategically, requiring a small, select group rather than many companions. More people slowed movement and exponentially increased tasks.

Junseong thought Daewook perfectly fit his “small, select group” but gave up boldly after considering Daewook’s personality and the number of his followers.

His feelings remained the same when they met again by chance, but ignoring Daewook’s outstretched hand felt impossible due to accumulated mental exhaustion.

“Do you know how you look right now? You’ll die like this,” Daewook said seriously, grabbing Junseong upon meeting.

“What’s going on? Can’t I know too?” Daewook asked.

Junseong hesitated at his words.

In this cycle, he met Daewook just three hours after joining Ki-hyuk, on the evening of the second day.

“Until now, the murderer appeared no earlier than the fourth day,” Junseong thought.

New companions or those deemed trustworthy from past cycles required at least that much time to build mutual trust. Trust increased the likelihood they would believe his story and cooperate.

The murderer began lurking around that time. Targeting a group met by chance on the second day seemed unlikely.

But Junseong soon realized his grave mistake.

On the morning of the third day in the cycle where he met Daewook, a woman’s scream woke him. Overwhelmed by rising anxiety, Junseong rushed out.

He saw a pool of bl00d spread across the hideout’s lobby floor, with Daewook’s head placed alone in the center. His body lay outside, torn apart among wandering zombies.

With Daewook’s head before him, Junseong collapsed, and Ki-hyuk, who followed, faced the group’s wrath. Clearly not a zombie’s doing, the two newcomers naturally seemed suspicious to the group, who trusted Daewook.

Junseong, appearing as Daewook’s friend, nearly faced severe beating over suspected personal grudges. Without Ki-hyuk shielding him, he might have been torn apart.

Lost in shock, Junseong belatedly pushed Ki-hyuk away, who took blows for him.

“Hyung, I’m okay… Don’t protect me…” Junseong said.

“No… Ugh!” Ki-hyuk replied firmly, but a steel pipe struck his head hard.

“Hyung!” Junseong shouted, trying to protect Ki-hyuk’s collapsing head, but Ki-hyuk tightly embraced him instead.

“I’ll take the hits… Stay still,” Ki-hyuk said.

“No, I don’t feel pain. I’m not hurt, hyung… So let me…” Junseong pleaded.

“No,” Ki-hyuk refused.

“Hyung!” Junseong cried.

“It’s okay…! Ugh!” Ki-hyuk groaned.

Two large men pulled Ki-hyuk’s arms, separating him. Then, the steel pipe swung at Junseong again.

Amid Ki-hyuk’s desperate calls, Junseong felt his body creak. Though painless, he sensed bones breaking in several places.

He saw Ki-hyuk whisper to a hot-tempered man holding him.

“What?! You bastard!” the man shouted, grabbing Ki-hyuk’s collar and punching his face repeatedly while yelling at others. Junseong, hit near his ear, couldn’t understand their shouts.

The beating on Junseong stopped. Instead, the group approached Ki-hyuk menacingly.

A scraping sound and vibration made Junseong’s eyes tremble. He saw a man dragging a menacing axe head across the floor.

“No… Hyung…” Junseong tried to speak, but no sound came. His body felt powerless.

After blinking slowly a few times, a heavy thud shook the floor as the axe struck.

“Here, a gift,” someone said, placing a head before Junseong’s eyes.

It was Ki-hyuk’s head, eyes wide open in death.

“Ugh, ah…!” Junseong groaned, his damaged lungs scratching his throat. His dazed mind flared up instantly.

“Damn it, we know you’re involved! We’ll make you like Daewook!” the group shouted.

Having lost their precious leader, they found it easier to blame outsiders than suspect their own. In a broken world where killing carried no consequences, their savagery erupted under the stress of potential zombie deaths.

Junseong witnessed it all vividly, haunted by the murderer shadowing him.

Another axe strike sounded, and Junseong closed his eyes, feeling the floor spin.

Killed by humans, Junseong opened his eyes again in his house.

He couldn’t plan or move as before. Though he needed to gather supplies and prepare, he walked out empty-handed, dazed.

His sharp mind felt frozen. He wandered aimlessly like a lost soul.

Junseong’s steps stopped at a café, bustling with people fleeing after emergency news reports.

One man sat calmly, sipping coffee. Junseong approached his back and spoke.

“Hyung…” Junseong said.

Startled, Ki-hyuk turned with a surprised face, then smiled happily.

“What do I do, Junseong?” Ki-hyuk said, standing and hugging him tightly.

“I love that you come find me,” Ki-hyuk added, a phrase he said whenever Junseong found him in a new cycle after sharing everything.

Junseong hugged Ki-hyuk back, arms trembling around his back. His stalled mind began to turn.

“Hyung…” Junseong said, burying his face in Ki-hyuk’s shoulder, swallowing tears.

“I don’t… understand why…” Junseong said.

“Those guys in his group? Yeah… They went too far,” Ki-hyuk said, rubbing Junseong’s back to comfort him, recalling his last memory of death.

“I’ll protect you from now on…” Ki-hyuk promised.

“Tell me…” Junseong said, gripping Ki-hyuk’s clothes tightly.

“Why did you do it?” Junseong asked.

“What?” Ki-hyuk replied.

Junseong lifted his head from Ki-hyuk’s shoulder. His eyes held a mix of resentment, lament, pain, and questions.

“Why did you have to kill them all?” Junseong asked.

“…What?” Ki-hyuk said.

Tears welled in Junseong’s eyes and fell weakly.

“You’re the murderer…” Junseong said.

At those words, Ki-hyuk’s kind face turned cold instantly. His gentle smile twisted into something sinister.