Red Dot - 26

Chapter 26

-Second Day-

Junseong woke up from a deep sleep and had to hold his breath because his whole body was screaming in pain.

“Ugh…”

His shoulders, arms, hands, legs, and even the soles of his feet—

There wasn’t a single place that didn’t hurt.

‘I should have worked out in real life too.’

Instead of blaming the muscle pain controlling his entire body, Junseong cursed himself for using his busy life in the dream as an excuse to neglect exercise in reality.

‘But I really don’t dream anymore.’

He had wondered about it.

Would he start that dream again even while going through all of this in real life? If that happened, he planned to control time deliberately to try and meet Do Hanseo. He had wanted to test which route would allow him to send Hanseo safely to the vaccine research facility. But it was a missed opportunity.

Still, maybe because he didn’t dream, he felt like he had gotten a proper rest after a long time. The body aches were one thing, but his mind was clear and refreshed.

Junseong decided to take a quick shower and organize today’s schedule in his head.

He had left his sister and her friends at the shelter, and on top of that, zombies had spread through the tunnel. Most of them were probably gathered in the train depot tunnel at Gaeyan Station, but they could expand their range, wander around, or other unexpected factors could cause the zombies to rampage elsewhere.

The one relief was that he had managed to lure the zombies far away from the shelter. Unless something extreme happened, his sister and her friends would remain safe there.

‘That old man better bring them safely.’

The path he had taken so far was slightly different from the dream, but external events should still be unfolding the same way. That meant that in six days, the bald man would leave from outside and arrive at the tunnel’s shelter. Then, just like in the dream, he would take the people there to the hospital.

Still, it was frustrating.

‘If I had arrived as planned today, Chaeyi and the others could have gotten on the rescue helicopter right away.’

Today was the day the first rescue helicopter would arrive at Inhan Red Cross Hospital. Junseong had originally planned to send the three of them on that helicopter. Conveniently, there would have been exactly three empty seats.

‘It can’t be helped. Instead, I should make sure Do Hanseo gets on today…’

“Hm…”

While he was organizing his thoughts, a small groan suddenly came from beside him. Surprised, Junseong turned his head.

At some point, Do Hanseo had climbed onto the bed next to him. And he was completely naked.

‘This guy… what the hell…?’

Junseong had told him to use a bed that suited his size and even gave him the bigger room, so he had no idea why Hanseo wasn’t sleeping there and had instead crawled in next to him.

Because of that, Junseong was now trapped between Hanseo on one side and the wall on the other. The bed was only meant for one person, which made it even worse.

“Do Hanseo.”

He called the name softly, but the only response was a faint hum. Hanseo was sleeping soundly with a peaceful face, so waking him felt unnecessary. Instead, Junseong decided to just get off the bed himself.

As he pulled the blanket aside and tried to sit up, Hanseo’s arm suddenly swung over, wrapping tightly around Junseong’s chest and pulling him back down.

“Ugh!”

The mattress shook from the impact, making his already sore shoulders and arms scream again. Grimacing, he turned his head and saw Hanseo’s half-lidded eyes blinking slowly.

“Don’t go….”

His voice was lower and huskier than usual.

‘So this is what his voice sounds like when he just wakes up.’

But that wasn’t the issue. The bed was.

“What are you doing?”

“Hm…? Sleeping…?”

“It’s too cramped. Get out of my bed.”

Instead of listening, Hanseo smiled faintly at him and pulled him into an embrace. Now, Junseong was stuck in an unintended back hug.

“You’re so stingy.”

Even hugging while clothed would be weird, but in this situation, one of them was in a bathrobe while the other was naked. It was so embarrassing that Junseong almost panicked.

“Before you call me stingy, you have a perfectly fine bed. Go sleep there. And put on some clothes.”

“Hmmm….”

Hanseo’s low breathing brushed against his ear. The warm breath tickled his skin, making his shoulders flinch involuntarily.

“It’s cold sleeping naked.”

“Then wear clothes.”

“I don’t want to sleep in dirty ones.”

“Are you a kid?”

Then, in an unmistakably intentional move, Hanseo whispered in a soft, affectionate voice right next to his ear.

“I’m your vaccine, remember? Can’t you be a little nicer to me? Instead of scolding me all the time?”

With those words, Hanseo tightened his arms around Junseong, practically restraining him.

Junseong tried belatedly to push Hanseo away, but it was no use. Realizing he was completely trapped, he sighed and gave up, letting his body go limp.

“Fine, fine. You’re pretty.”

“Where’s your sincerity?”

“Wow, so pretty. Our Hanseo is so pretty.”

Junseong’s dull compliment seemed to wake Hanseo up, and he chuckled near his ear. Junseong also couldn’t help but laugh a little.

‘We haven’t even known each other that long, but it already feels like we’ve been friends for years.’

Maybe it was because they had faced death together.

Junseong realized that his walls had completely softened compared to when they first met, but he liked how comfortable things felt now.

“…But do you have a water bottle between your legs?”

“It’s because I’m healthy. And it’s probably bigger than that.”

“Are you even human?”

After getting ready to head to the hospital, Junseong and Hanseo got on the elevator to the motel lobby.

Even then, Junseong didn’t let his guard down, worried that a zombie might suddenly jump out from somewhere in the motel.

Hanseo, who was checking the fresh bandages on Junseong’s arm, said something to help ease his tension.

“If you mean the zombies in the motel, I already took care of them yesterday.”

“Took care of them?”

“I went around every floor and killed them while you were sleeping. The reason I was naked this morning was because my shower gown got covered in bl00d from dealing with the zombies.”

He spoke so casually, but for some reason, it felt eerie.

There had been a strong smell of bl00d somewhere in the suite, and he had thought it was from their clothes. But apparently, the real culprit was Hanseo.

“Were there no people? In a motel like this, you’d expect some people to be hiding in their rooms.”

Yesterday at the counter, he had seen several card keys. But some were missing, which meant there were guests staying in the motel.

As he waited for Hanseo’s answer, he glanced at the mirror beside the elevator. Hanseo was definitely smiling, but his eyes were cold enough to feel like they could cut.

“There was no one. Nobody.”

“Oh, okay.”

Just as the atmosphere was about to turn strange,

As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, Junseong suddenly turned serious and faced Hanseo.

“Hanseo. From now on, if you go somewhere, tell me first or take me with you. Don’t even think about going anywhere alone.”

“What’s with you all of a sudden?”

Hanseo chuckled at Junseong’s nagging, which sounded like something a mother would say. Then, as if realizing something, he smirked.

“Oh, is this because I’m the vaccine? You need me to stay alive so we can figure something out about these zombies, right?”

Junseong, who had been looking at Hanseo without expression, lightly tapped his chest with his fist.

“Of course, that’s one reason you need to survive. But I’m just worried about my friend.”

Hanseo looked at Junseong, slightly surprised.

“I don’t want you to be in danger. I mean, sure, you’re the safest person when it comes to zombies, but…”

Junseong frowned as he thought of someone who had come to mind.

“Sometimes, people are scarier than zombies.”

There had been plenty of good people in the dreams he had experienced. But just as many had been cruel and selfish. Junseong knew well that those people were far more terrifying than zombies.

Hanseo covered his mouth with one hand as he watched Junseong walk toward the motel exit. He hadn’t meant to smile, but for some reason, the corners of his mouth lifted on their own.

Once outside, Junseong cautiously scanned the surroundings. From somewhere nearby, the groans of zombies could be heard, but the motel had high walls, probably to ensure privacy. The parking lot curtains were also long, covering up to their legs. Even if zombies passed by, they probably wouldn’t be able to see them.

“You could just carry me around with you.”

Hanseo, who had followed him out, said something ridiculous.

“That would work for a time or two.”

The hospital was quite far from here. Walking all the way there would take a long time, and they couldn’t just stick together uncomfortably like yesterday the whole way.

“Then how about using a car?”

“A car?”

He had noticed yesterday that the roads were clear. It wouldn’t be easy to drive straight to the hospital, but they might be able to get close. Of course, the noise of the car would make zombies rush toward them.

“I don’t know how to drive.”

“I do.”

“Even if we wanted to drive, we don’t have a car.”

“We do.”

Hanseo pointed to a black car parked in the lot. Holding up a car key, he smirked, showing that he had somehow managed to get his hands on it.