Red Dot - 2

Chapter 2

Repeat, repeat, and repeat again.

The only relief was that he could try something new each time to survive.

If he changed his actions, the events that followed would also change. Depending on what he said to the survivors he met, their actions would also shift. He never thought he would experience such a high level of freedom in a lucid dream so intensely.

For about a week, he took the nightmares seriously and even tried to avoid sleeping, but it was useless. Every time he fell asleep, he would find himself standing in the middle of the same one-room apartment, forced to go through the exact same beginning over and over again.

Even though he realized it was a lucid dream the moment he opened his eyes inside the dream, knowing what was about to happen made it unbearable.

Extremely stressed, Junseong finally decided to see a psychiatrist. However, all he got in return were generic responses like, “It’s stress from quitting your job recently,” “You need to manage your stress well,” and “It might help to stop gaming and go on a trip with friends.” None of these words were helpful to him at all.

Even while desperately seeking help, his nightmares continued without mercy.

Since he had no choice but to experience the dream every night, he decided to figure out a way to escape as soon as he woke up inside it. Knowing that the dream was full of terrifying zombies, he figured that waking up before getting eaten alive would be the best option. No one would want to experience the feeling of rotten zombies biting into their skin and tearing it apart.

The first thing he tried was waking up his senses.

Like how people try to move their fingers to escape sleep paralysis, he attempted to wiggle his fingertips one by one.

But no matter how much he moved his fingers in the dream, all he was doing was simply moving his normal fingers. He was reminded once again that sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming were completely different things.

Next, he tried inflicting pain on himself. People often pinch their cheeks to check if they are dreaming, so he thought maybe feeling pain would help him wake up.

But his hope was short-lived.

Even though all his senses were intact, for some reason, he couldn’t feel pain. Hurting himself to wake up was impossible.

After much thought, he made a final choice—suicide.

He had always believed that suicide was never an option in his life, but at that moment, it was nothing more than a way to escape the dream. If getting bitten by zombies led to waking up, maybe this method would work the same way.

So, as soon as the dream began, he ran to the rooftop of the apartment building, closed his eyes tightly, and jumped. He was fully aware that it was a dream, so he had no hesitation.

However, as if mocking him, the dream placed him right back in the middle of the one-room apartment. And once again, the zombie outbreak restarted, as if forcing him to rethink the problem he had given up on.

In the end, there was only one way to wake up from the dream.

He had to be killed by zombies.

That was the cruel yet only solution that seemed to work.

After suffering from these unknown nightmares for so long that it was making him physically ill,

“Doesn’t this feel just like a roguelike game?”

A friend who had come to visit said this with fascination after hearing about Junseong’s dream. Unlike Junseong, who was miserable, his friend even said he wished he could have such a dream himself.

“Every time you die, you’re forced to start over from the beginning.”

The friend pointed out a key feature of roguelike games and excitedly compared Junseong’s dream to one.

Thinking about it, his friend was right.

Roguelike games, which lack even the simple yet essential feature of saving progress, had a structure very similar to his dream.

“If it’s a zombie roguelike game… wouldn’t the way to clear it be developing a vaccine or wiping out the zombies?”

His friend’s words felt like a ray of light in Junseong’s frustrating situation.

He still had no idea why he kept having this dream, but if he was doomed to repeat it no matter how many times he died, then maybe he should push forward and see it through to the end. If he could clear the “game,” maybe he wouldn’t have to dream about it anymore.

Thinking this way, his mind quickly calmed down. Instead of simply getting bitten by zombies and waking up, he decided to actively “strategize” and clear the game.

What were the zombies’ traits and weaknesses?

Where were safe shelters, and how could he secure food?

What kind of allies would he need to end the game, and how could he find them?

What was the ultimate solution to ending the zombie crisis?

Accepting the dream as a full-fledged game, Junseong’s mind became sharper than ever.

Two months had passed since he first set foot in the apocalypse world of his dream.

That day, Junseong finally figured out the solution to end the zombie outbreak—but was ambushed and killed before he could act on it.

After waking up from the dream, he took a refreshing shower as usual. But as soon as he stepped out, a deep sigh escaped his lips.

“Ha…”

His eyes were fixed on the online broadcast that he had instinctively turned on as soon as he woke up.

-Currently, a large riot has broken out in some areas of Inhan City…

For Junseong, it was a news report he could never mishear—one that was all too familiar.

Right after that.

Beep—!

The loud sound of the disaster alert rang in his head.

Following the alarm, Junseong unconsciously picked up his phone, unable to hide the confusion in his eyes.

[10:44 AM]

It was the exact time he always woke up in his dreams.

‘What? Am I dreaming again?’

It made sense for Junseong to think that way.

Every time he opened his eyes in his dreams, the first thing he heard was the urgent voice of the internet news anchor that he always had on out of habit. Then, the disaster alert would ring sharply from his phone, and when he checked the time, it was always 10:44 AM.

The same situation as his dreams.

Because of that, Junseong wondered if he had woken up and then immediately fallen back asleep.

‘But if I had just gone back to sleep and started dreaming again, the sensation would be different. If this were a dream, I wouldn’t have failed to notice it.’

Up until now, his dreams had always carried a clear feeling of being “just a dream.” Even though they felt realistic, he had always been aware that they were dreams, and that awareness was what kept him from losing his mind.

With a serious expression, Junseong looked toward the bathroom.

The small bathroom didn’t have a window, only a tiny ventilation fan. Because of that, after showering, he always left the door open for a while on purpose. Right now, the door was half-open as usual, and through the gap, he could see the fogged-up mirror above the sink—proof that he had just taken a hot shower.

‘I wouldn’t have had the time to shower so leisurely.’

The beginning of the dream was always the same, meaning there was never enough time for him to relax and enjoy a shower like today.

Next, he checked the date on his phone.

‘The date wouldn’t have been this clear either.’

In his dreams, anything related to dates was always strangely blurred, making it impossible to read. Even if he asked someone for the date and they answered, their words sounded like a baby babbling.

But now, the date displayed on his phone was perfectly clear.

Because of all this, the more time passed, the more certain he became that this was reality.

Trying to calm his anxious heart, he looked down at his phone. Remembering the unsettling alarm that had just gone off, he checked the message.

Emergency Disaster Alert

[Ministry of the Interior and Safety] A large-scale riot has simultaneously broken out in some areas of Inhan City.

Please refrain from going outside or engaging in outdoor activities.

Even the content of the message was the same.

Out of habit, Junseong turned off the disaster alert sound. He knew that in less than 30 minutes, communication would be cut off, but until then, more alerts would keep coming. Since the notifications could attract zombies, he silenced all of them.

Even as his body moved on its own through routine actions, his mind was in complete chaos.

Everything was the same as his dream. The internet news, the disaster message, even his own actions—everything.

The more he realized this, the more chills ran down his spine.

‘What if this is still a dream?’

‘Zombies in real life? Of course, this has to be a dream!’

‘Yeah, this time it’s just a bit strange, so I’m not realizing that it’s a dream. This is a dream, but I just don’t know it yet.’

His brain, overwhelmed by confusion, tried to convince itself that this was just another dream. Thinking of it that way made him feel a little relieved.

But then, Junseong realized the biggest difference between dreams and reality, and his mind went completely blank.

A little while ago, after finishing his shower, he had reached for a towel and accidentally hit his fingertip against the towel rack. The sharp pain had made him instinctively let out an “Ah!” as he clutched his finger.

He didn’t ignore the thought that popped into his head. Without hesitating, he grabbed his phone and smacked it hard against his thigh.

If this was really a dream, he would still feel the sensation, but there wouldn’t be any pain. However, if this was reality…

“…Ugh.”

It would hurt—just like now.

Looking down at his stinging thigh, Junseong swallowed dryly.