Red Dot - 44

Day 3

3rd day, noon.

Having slept for a long time and now feeling refreshed after a cool shower, Junseong, with a calorie bar in his mouth, was drawing a picture on a blank sheet of paper.

“The person who started from here will be isolated around this point, so then in the next building…”

“No, there were more zombies here than I thought. If I can break through here, it’s like getting the optimal hideout, but still, compared to there…”

“What about this side? Hmm…, it would be a waste to abandon that person.”

After drawing several futile circles, Junseong finally marked an X and drew another circle below it. From there, he continued to draw a winding path, zigzagging and creating circles as if following an invisible path.

Watching quietly, Hanseo asked, “What are you trying to express?”

She was curious about what meaning that awkward drawing might contain.

“My mind.”

Junseong, who answered lightly, drew another circle in the remaining space on the paper. As expected, the next step was a straight line popping out, and indeed it was. The protruding line meandered over other lines and circles, creating a new circle at the end.

“What is going on inside your head…”

Hanseo wondered if he was expressing the complexity of his mind due to what happened last night.

“Well, I’ve never really thought about it from the male perspective.”

Even though she felt that way when they kissed, seeing him freeze like that last night made him think that he might have a somewhat conservative personality.

To make sure, she asked directly, “Is it because of what happened yesterday?”

“What?”

Junseong, still immersed in drawing, responded.

“Because you touched me yesterday and it reminded you of that?”

Junseong’s hand, which had been diligently drawing circles, abruptly stopped. It was too direct, and he couldn’t ignore it.

Only now did Junseong turn his head to look at Hanseo. Surprisingly, his eyes were calm, without any noticeable emotional changes.

“I’ve sorted out what happened last night in my own way.”

“Sorted out? What did you accept?”

Junseong gestured towards the lower part of Hanseo’s quiet pants.

“It’s a pure offer to help you with your desires, regardless of gender. That way, the excitement from other impulses will gather there.”

Junseong had reflected on the events of last night while taking a refreshing shower in the morning.

The impulse to commit murder and sexual desire were just one step apart.

What Hanseo said implied that the impulse to commit murder itself could be relieved by satisfying sexual desires. Conversely, it was also possible to relieve accumulated sexual desire through murder.

Junseong and Hanseo made a promise to each other.

Not to commit murder unless the other person is in danger.

Junseong thought it was his duty as an ‘inhibitor’ to help Hanseo keep that promise.

Thinking about it that way, the gender of the person didn’t matter.

“Besides… if it weren’t for Hanseo, I would be dead by now.”

Since Hanseo didn’t seem to expect it, Junseong didn’t reveal any more hints, but he owed his a great debt. Due to his hesitation, he faced a life-threatening situation, and to save him, Hanseo had to smear the blood of a living person on his hands.

In a way, he led Hanseo to commit murder. And he was the person who helped him survive by killing someone, even if it meant the risk of his own life.

Helping him was such a small favor in comparison, lending a hand, or just offering his lips.

“So, in the future, I’ll try to help without avoiding it. But no matter what, we can’t do it in front of other people.”

When she firmly stated this at the end, Hanseo chuckled softly, covering his face with one hand.

“Yeah, I’ll do that.”

Junseong was oblivious to the fact that he was digging his own grave.

Curious, Hanseo pointed to the drawing in his hand that had caught his attention.

“So, what exactly is that drawing?”

Junseong moved closer to show it to Hanseo, making it easier for him to see. To her, it was still just circles and lines, like before.

“These are potential routes we can take later.”

“Routes?”

Junseong pointed to the circles.

“These circles represent specific buildings. The lines indicate the route when moving from one building to another.”

Although she heard a detailed explanation, she still didn’t understand. Moreover, she only saw circles and lines drawn as she pleased between the circles.

Junseong took out his phone and enlarged the map of the area around Inhan Hospital. Having memorized the map through his phone, Junseong was contemplating where to go from Inhan Hospital.

Thinking about it, he marked the buildings on the map as circles on the blank sheet. After that, his mind seamlessly merged the map and circles, making it easy to imagine the route. It felt like marking the way on paper while looking at the map directly on his phone.

Junseong was indeed accurately portraying his ‘mind’ as he had said to Hanseo earlier.

After listening to Junseong’s words, Hanseo, with valid doubts, asked, “Do we have to go?”

To Hanseo, Inhan Hospital was a comfortable and convenient place once inside, despite being challenging to enter from the outside.

The entrance was well-blocked, and above the 7th floor, there was a helipad, providing hope for rescue. There were plenty of beds, so they didn’t have to crouch on the hard floor. Moreover, water supply was still available, and if they could solve the limited food problem, it would be a perfect fortress.

Junseong had the same thoughts as Hanseo. He had even used Inhan Hospital as a base in his dreams due to these advantages.

However, Junseong had another reason for exploring other routes besides the food issue.

“I said in my last dream that I found a ‘solution’ and died, right?”

“Yeah.”

Hanseo was aware of that. What the ‘solution’ he mentioned was and where it was.

“I plan to find that solution and take it out of Inhansi.”

“Are you trying to do exactly what you did in the last dream when you succeeded in finding the solution?”

“No. If that were the case, I wouldn’t need to think about various ways like this.”

Junseong’s gaze returned to the bizarre drawing he had made.

“Even though I succeeded in finding the solution in the last dream, there were still regrets. Thoughts like ‘If this person had been there, I could have found it faster’ or ‘If I had this person, it would have been useful when I went outside with this afterward.'”

It felt like playing a game.

The feeling of going somewhere to do something to get a certain hero character, the quest to recruit a companion after doing various things.

Junseong was categorizing the survivors he had encountered in his dream after the third day into those with essential abilities and those who would be useful.

“Regardless, even if we leave this hospital for a while, we’ll definitely come back on the 7th day. My sister, the bald guy in the group, they are crucial.”

Joining forces with that person was a necessary condition for the success route, the dream where he found the solution.

Hanseo listened to Junseong’s words and summarized the content.

“So, your point is to go out before the 7th day and find useful people to absorb until then?”

“That’s right.”

Junseong nodded and got off the bed.

“But am I also a useful person?”

Hanseo pointed to herself and asked. Junseong lightly tapped his chest with the back of his hand.

“Don’t even ask the obvious. In terms of abilities, you’re the most important and the most useful.”

“Abilities… it feels like I’m a game character.”

Hanseo chuckled and looked at Junseong with a smirk.

The current Junseong seemed to exude a certain energy, whether it was his way of speaking, thinking, or the change in his gaze when he compared the current situation to a ‘game.’

Junseong seemed to have finished deciding the priorities. The paper filled with circles and lines was crumpled in his hands.

“But there’s someone I’ve failed to save in every dream so far.”

Although he wanted to gather and recruit everyone he remembered, there was a clear limitation since he only had one body. Therefore, he prioritized people he considered most necessary.

As a result, one person who couldn’t be found right now came to his mind first.

“We’re going to rescue that person right now.”

“But you’ve failed to save that person every time. Are you sure you won’t fail this time?”

When Hanseo raised the obvious question, Junseong looked up and stared at her.

“No, we’ll succeed this time. Because you’re here.”