Red Dot - 27

Chapter 27

“Where did you get the car keys?”

“They were at the counter. Maybe someone asked for parking? Or maybe they belong to the owner.”

“Is that so.”

Junseong tilted his head.

‘When I went to the counter, I didn’t see any car keys.’

He just figured he must have missed them because he was too distracted yesterday.

Hanseo, sitting in the driver’s seat, started the car instantly, as if it were his own.

Zombies staggering down the street lifted their heads at the sound of the engine and started running wildly in front of the parking lot. The sound was coming from close by, but since they couldn’t see any humans, they seemed to be wandering aimlessly.

Through the bottom of the parking lot curtain, Hanseo saw two pairs of bloodied legs moving frantically back and forth. He didn’t care about the zombies and headed straight out of the parking lot.

Just as the car was slowly leaving the parking lot,

he suddenly stepped on the accelerator, and the car shot out from under the parking lot curtain, sending the two zombies flying.

“Grah!”

“Gack!”

The sudden lunge of the car threw the zombies backward. Their tattered bodies quickly got up. Since they couldn’t feel pain, one of the zombies, despite having its arm bent at an unnatural angle from the impact, shook its whole body and charged at the car.

Before they could cling to it, Hanseo sped onto the road.

Aside from those two, other zombies also began running toward the sound of the engine. If it had been a person instead of a car, they would have surely been caught.

Fortunately, the distance between the car and the zombies grew, and soon, the chasing zombies disappeared from sight.

Junseong, watching the zombies through the side mirror, let out a sigh of relief and looked at Hanseo. Holding the steering wheel with one hand, Hanseo was touching various parts of the car with the other, checking things as if he was used to driving.

“I just go straight this way, right?”

“Yeah. I’ll guide you.”

Junseong took out his phone and checked the offline map he had downloaded earlier. He measured the streets and buildings with his own eyes and gave directions.

He worried that the road might be blocked ahead, but thankfully, only a few abandoned cars were scattered along the way, so passing through wouldn’t be a problem.

Among the parked cars, one had its driver’s door wide open.

Inside, a driver who had already turned into a zombie was thrashing violently. It seemed completely trapped in the driver’s seat due to the seatbelt. Maybe it had tried to get out and was bitten, or maybe it knew it would turn and had secured itself beforehand—either way, it was a pitiful sight.

Nearby, a young zombie with only one arm and one leg was crawling along the ground. Since there was some distance and a car between them, its gaping mouth moved soundlessly. It was probably making horrific noises, but its pitiful and desperate movements made it look like it was crying instead.

A little farther down the road, a car’s windows were smeared with what looked like bright red paint—bl00d covering everything. From a slightly open window, a pair of bloodshot eyes, coated in dark red filth, stared blankly outside. Who knew how it had turned into a zombie, but with almost no intelligence, it remained trapped inside the car.

There were many other kinds of zombies on the road as well.

Junseong had never seen this particular street in his dreams, but it looked no different from the hellscapes he had seen before.

Looking outside, he was reminded once again that this was reality, not a dream. A bitter feeling spread inside him.

As he observed the horrific appearances of the zombies one by one, he finally asked a question he had been hesitant to bring up to Hanseo.

“Where is your family?”

Hanseo simply looked at Junseong without answering.

“Are they… okay?”

“Probably.”

“Probably…?”

Could they be in Inhan City?

Fortunately, Hanseo, with an emotionless look, mentioned another place.

“I don’t have siblings. My parents are in Cheongmu City. I live alone near Wimyeon-dong, a bit away from my university.”

“Wimyeon-dong… wasn’t that where people occasionally went missing? I also heard about a murder case there.”

“That’s why the rent is cheap. When you live alone, cheap rent is the best.”

“That’s true.”

He gave off the impression of someone who would be covered in luxury brands, but in reality, he preferred cheap housing.

Junseong found this unexpected side of Hanseo surprisingly relatable.

“Come to think of it, Cheongmu City has a military-run temporary shelter and a vaccine research facility.”

At Junseong’s words, the faint smile on Hanseo’s face started to fade.

“The rescue helicopter arriving at the hospital today is heading there too.”

“A research facility…”

For a very brief moment, Hanseo’s eyes showed displeasure. It was so fleeting that Junseong didn’t notice.

“If things go well, you’ll be able to meet your family soon. That’s good.”

Hanseo responded with a simple “Yeah,” but he didn’t seem particularly interested. It was as if he didn’t care whether his parents were safe or not.

Unlike when talking about his own situation, Hanseo’s expression changed slightly as he asked Junseong a question.

“What about your parents?”

“They’re gone.”

Junseong answered without hesitation. It was like being asked if his parents were home and replying that they weren’t at the moment.

“Both of them passed away in a plane crash.”

“I see.”

Hanseo secretly smiled at the fact that Junseong’s parents were no longer in this world.

‘Good. That means he has fewer things to lose.’

Unaware of Hanseo’s thoughts, Junseong simply continued his story.

“Now, it’s just me and my younger sibling. They live in a dorm, and I live on my own a bit farther away.”

Hanseo smiled with his eyes.

“You two could live together later. It would save on rent.”

“You’re thriftier than you look.”

“Am I?”

A comfortable smile passed between them. But Junseong didn’t notice that Hanseo had been watching him with an analyzing gaze the whole time.

“You seem close to your sister.”

“Us? Not really.”

Like most siblings, Junseong denied it at first, then chuckled.

“We just text once in a while if there’s something to say. Otherwise, we don’t talk much. Just normal.”

“For that, she seems to rely on you a lot.”

“Does she?”

Junseong lowered his gaze slightly and smiled as he thought of Chaeyi. Hanseo watched him with a blank expression. Even so, his voice was gentle as he asked,

“What about you?”

“Huh?”

“What do you think about your sister?”

“What do you mean… what do I think?”

Junseong hesitated as he gathered his thoughts before answering.

“She’s kind. She takes care of others, and she’s smart. She pretends she’s not, but she has a soft heart, which worries me. But after seeing her yesterday…”

“Not that.”

Hanseo didn’t care what kind of person Kang Chaeyi was.

What mattered was how important she was to Junseong.

“What does she mean to you?”

It was an odd question, but Junseong thought about it seriously.

“She’s important. She’s my only family.”

For a moment, Junseong’s usually reserved face turned warm.

“Isn’t it the same for all older brothers? No matter what, if it’s your sibling, you want to protect them.”

Not every eldest sibling might feel that way, but what mattered was that Junseong felt that way about Kang Chaeyi.

Hanseo turned his gaze toward the window so Junseong wouldn’t notice. His reflection in the glass carried a sharp chill.

A few minutes later, they were still driving down the road.

Junseong, who had been calculating how much distance remained, told Hanseo to turn right soon.

Screech—!

Suddenly, Hanseo slammed on the brakes. Junseong felt himself lurch forward, but he was fine. He was wearing a seatbelt, and Hanseo had anticipated it, reaching out an arm as a makeshift barrier.

“Is the road blocked?”

Thinking that might be the case, Junseong lifted his head with a disappointed expression—only to see a white car that had stopped right in front of them. A man sat in the driver’s seat, someone who looked vaguely familiar.

‘Who is that? Have I seen him in a dream?’

He couldn’t remember clearly. The man’s face was too plain to leave a strong impression.

The startled man soon brightened and rolled down his window, leaning his head and left arm out, waving excitedly.

“Should I just ram into him?”

“Huh? What did you say?”

Junseong hadn’t caught the quiet mumbling, and Hanseo gave a small smile.

“Nothing, just wondering if we should say hello too.”

Just then, the man unbuckled his seatbelt and rushed out of his car, running toward their driver’s side window and knocking frantically. Up close, his bloodshot eyes and dry, cracked lips were visible.

Hanseo only rolled the window down slightly, just enough to see his eyes.

“Z-Zombies! Run! Ah, please take me with you! Save me! The door! The back door!”

The man clung to the rear passenger door, desperately yanking at the handle in terror.

Hanseo found his condition suspicious. Actually, even if he had seemed perfectly fine, he had no intention of letting him in.

But just as Junseong recognized the man and reached for Hanseo’s arm to ask him to open the door—

A massive horde of zombies came charging from the direction the man had run from.