Red Dot - 24

– Chapter 24

Contrary to appearances, the inside of the motel was quite decent.

The sign outside was exceptionally neat, with a clean and elegant lobby, marble floors, a well-coordinated counter, and an overall attention to detail.

As expected, there was no one at the counter.

Observing the quiet lobby, Junseong, who had let go of Hanseo’s waist, smoothly crossed over to the counter. From inside, he emerged with a black card key in hand.

“Why only one?”

Junseong asked, to which Hanseo replied as if it were obvious, “We sleep together. Even if zombies come, you’ll be safe with me.”

Junseong, with a doubtful expression at the idea of ‘sleeping together,’ also went behind the counter. Among the scattered black cards, he pulled out the one labeled 701, marked as ROYAL.

Conscientiously, Junseong carefully checked the accommodation amount written on a small note and placed the money on the counter.

The 701 room chosen by Junseong was the Royal Suite Room of this motel. Although it sounded grand, being a motel, the interior was a far cry from a high-end hotel suite. Still, it had a reasonably good-sized two-room structure with a large bed in the main room and a smaller bed in the other.

Satisfied with the room size and interior, Junseong immediately started taking off his clothes. Discarding the coat stained with quite a bit of blood, he followed by removing his shirt and pants.

“I’ll shower first…”

About to enter the bathroom with a towel in hand, Junseong could see Hanseo, who had been staring at him intently until then. Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and a fist clenched, he was scrutinizing Junseong’s body.

“Was this how you felt when examining my body?”

“What feeling?”

Hanseo laughed playfully.

“The feeling of wanting to pounce.”

Instead of answering, Junseong forcefully threw the towel he had in his hand toward Hanseo’s face. Just before it could touch his face, Hanseo effortlessly caught it. When he attempted to look at Junseong again, he had already entered the bathroom.

Hanseo, who had put down his backpack, also undressed while speaking towards the bathroom.

“Your right hand is injured. I’ll help you shower.”

“It’s fine. I can shower by myself.”

Hanseo, now completely undressed, opened the bathroom door. The Love Motel-like semi-transparent sliding glass served as the door, and there was not even a lock, making it easy to enter.

Once inside, he could see Junseong holding the showerhead and turning on the water. Without hesitation, Hanseo entered the shower booth. Feeling the space inside the booth rapidly shrinking, Junseong pushed Hanseo’s solid chest aside.

“I can shower alone.”

“When you can’t use your right hand, there are a lot of inconveniences. One of the representative ones is showering.”

With the showerhead in hand, Hanseo adjusted the water temperature himself and then attempted to wash Junseong literally.

Junseong continued to skillfully sprinkle water with his left hand, but Hanseo gently grabbed his bruised left arm. Four stripes, as if winding around the arm, displayed the aftermath of the struggle.

Hanseo, with his brow twitching, snatched the showerhead from Junseong’s hand again.

“It’s not going to work. I’m doing the victory ceremony.”

“What?”

Junseong’s arms were not in perfect condition, and Hanseo had no intention of giving in, even for this.

Helping Junseong shower somewhat forcefully and personally tying his hair, Hanseo sent him out first and started showering belatedly. Unlike when he showered Junseong, he used icy cold water this time.

Junseong, who observed Hanseo showering with cold water, found his face colder and more peculiar than any expression he had seen before.

“Are you okay?”

Right after escaping the lecture hall, Junseong’s first concern was strangely about Hanseo. Despite his weirdly heightened caution towards himself, he was worried about his well-being more than usual.

‘Especially with all those bruises.’

The rope marks remaining on Junseong’s arms bothered him.

The first time Junseong saw him.

Junseong skillfully lured the zombies away, precisely finding a path where he minimally confronted them, even creating a flamethrower to suppress the zombies. It was truly impressive.

The place Junseong intended to enter was the school building where he was. Even from outside, it was clear that the windows were covered in blood, and the corridors and classrooms echoed with screams. To Hanseo, going into such a place made no sense.

No matter how good at improvisation he was and how proficiently he wielded the machete, entering a building infested with zombies was suicidal. If it was a behavior with a death wish, there was no value in paying attention to it.

But Junseong was determined. Even knowing it was more dangerous inside, he desperately dug into something. Yet, he was also skilled in defending himself, making the fight entertaining to watch.

Hanseo’s favorite type was those who risked their lives, thinking about survival, and charged towards the enemy.

Junseong was just like that.

Looking at his determined face and actions, it was clear that diving into a building infested with zombies was suicidal. The fact that he still held his own against the zombies showcased his skill in fighting. Hanseo was curious about what he was trying to accomplish by digging so deeply into a building occupied by zombies.

When he snapped out of his thoughts, he realized they were about to hit the alarm set for 2 o’clock. Junseong manually set it to coincide with his hiding on the second floor. Thanks to employing the lecture hall microphone, there were already too many zombies around to make leaving easy.

As he moved forward, the zombies miraculously cleared a path for him, just as he arrived at the timing when Junseong hid on the second floor.

He felt a sense of accomplishment. The bodies opening a path for him.

Now, with a useless phone left on the lecturer’s desk, he followed Junseong to the third floor.

He knocked on the door to the lecture hall, and for the first time, someone responded.

“How did you get here?”

A calm and composed voice with clear caution, both calm and apparent wariness.

It pleased him. In the middle of a place filled with enemies, being overly excited, losing control of emotions, or not having a sense of caution towards strangers was undoubtedly a problem.

Entering the lecture hall and seeing Junseong in person, his gaze naturally turned towards him.

A voice that was calm, composed, and unmistakably cautious.

It pleased him.

As time passed, the reason he guarded himself became more concerning. Even the various and intense emotions that other people displayed seemed insignificant compared to Junseong’s wariness.

It bothered him, like the red scope laser of a sniper rifle targeting him.

It was only when he learned that Junseong had a special precognitive ability that he could finally understand his wariness.

He was someone not present in Junseong’s precognition.

He also did not know about the future gradually deviating due to his actions.

As evidence, the annoying coward he handed the wrench to had made a small dent in the screen door. The small dent eventually led to numerous cracks. Due to the zombies that escaped through the tunnel, Junseong had to deal with a situation that even his precognition couldn’t foresee.

Unexpected events like this could lead to his death this time.

When he imagined Junseong, covered in blood, being overwhelmed by zombies and dying, a pleasant sensation tingled in his lower abdomen.

There’s nothing as exhilarating as seeing the one who desperately rushed to survive die.

Deciding to be with him to witness Junseong dying while desperately escaping added a new layer of excitement. It was a thought of experiencing whatever was possible.

However, as he imagined Junseong being surrounded by zombies, screaming in agony, the sensation of extreme pleasure he had never felt before seemed possible. Watching Junseong, who had guarded himself fiercely, succumb to the zombies, he thought he could savor the pleasure even more by observing the blood-stained tears on his face.

That was the plan.

But then he threw himself fearlessly.

Not only did he block the way in front of him with his body, but even knowing he would die, he charged at the zombies himself.

When he came to his senses, he found himself holding him in his arms to protect him.