Red Dot - 46

“What, what is this? You guys!”

The person who hurriedly entered was a thin, balding man with graying hair. He was the owner of this laundry shop, who had hidden elsewhere when the zombies spread, and had only now returned.

The laundry shop owner, unaware that there were four strangers inside his shop, had a startled expression on his face when he saw them.

Inside the laundry shop, blue sheets were cut and attached, covering the length of an adult’s shoulders. On the entrance glass door, large letters spelling ‘Laundry’ were boldly displayed using sheets of various colors. The people inside were either hidden behind the sheets or positioned away from the entrance, making it hard to notice them. Perhaps it was too rushed for anyone to pay attention to such details.

Looking terrified as he stared inside with his face glued to the door, the laundry shop owner lowered his voice and shouted at the people.

“Get out right now! It’s my shop!”

Claiming it was his store made it awkward to refuse.

Just as Jian was about to gauge his reaction, the angry young man raised his voice.

“Mister, get out! There’s nothing outside but monsters! Are you in your right mind?!”

Already annoyed, the young man shouted loudly. The laundry shop owner, fearing that zombies might come due to the noise, quickly glanced beyond the door.

Sure enough, a short, thick roar could be heard, and a zombie threw itself against the glass door.

Thunk!

The zombie, stuck to the glass, opened its mouth wide.

“Ack!”

Startled, the laundry shop owner fell back from the entrance. The zombie, violently rushing and pounding on the glass, opened its mouth wide, blood streaming down like the red film covering its eyes, and a loud, gruesome scream erupted through the broken teeth.

Thunk – Crack!

Shouting loudly, it hit the entrance with blood-stained hands. Although the glass was thick, such vigorous shaking and beating couldn’t help but cause anxiety.

“Mister, quickly hide your body! Everyone, quickly!”

Jian shouted, rushing to a corner hidden by sheets. The others also skillfully concealed themselves to avoid being visible through the glass entrance. Having learned on the first day that if they stayed out of sight, zombies eventually turned away, they desperately avoided being seen.

Due to the zombie’s scream, Jian could feel that another zombie from somewhere far away was rushing towards them. The same situation seemed to be happening from different directions.

‘Ugh, really! They’re surrounding us again.’

Already tired of such scenes since the first day, Jian was now thoroughly exasperated. The zombies just didn’t seem to tire. She muttered curses under her breath, barely audible.

‘What about Oppa?’

Although Seo Changmin wasn’t her real brother, and they had just met as they sought refuge in the laundry shop, he was reliable and kind, offering his own water, finding thick clothes for everyone, and worrying about them being cold. He probably went outside to find food. Even though it was so dangerous out there.

‘He should be okay…!’

Jian, hiding under the wide ironing board in the laundry shop, turned her head and saw something shocking. At the end of her gaze, beneath another ironing board, a man, the laundry shop owner, was huddled with his face buried.

Thunk, thunk.

Tears of red were streaming from the laundry shop owner’s eyes. His eyeballs were already soaked in the red blood, and he was using one hand to cover his mouth, seemingly to prevent the blood trying to burst out from his throat.

Jian, shocked by the change in the laundry shop owner, fell backward in her crouched position. As her buttocks touched the cold floor, a shiver of horror ran through her hair.

‘Wha, what should I do…!’

Jian was the only one who saw the laundry shop owner’s transformation. Trembling, she looked around. Everyone else was focused on trying to stay out of sight from the zombies outside, so they were unaware. Meanwhile, several more zombies had stuck themselves to the entrance glass and the adjacent sheet-covered window.

Zombies, whether one or two, eventually turned away if they couldn’t see anyone in their field of vision. However, if their numbers increased and their screams grew louder, it would summon more zombies. Even if they turned away, the accumulating loud screams often drew them back in.

The current situation was far from favorable. If the number of zombies continued to increase, they would soon be surrounded, making it impossible to escape.

However, the most significant problem remained the laundry shop owner.

“Uwook!”

Unable to bear it any longer, the laundry shop owner spat blood from his mouth. People transforming into zombies tended to spit out clumps of blood like that once the red film covered their eyes.

“Eek!”

Jian, seeing the vivid spread of blood on the floor, crawled backward. Only then did the others notice the laundry shop owner’s condition.

“Uwah, what the hell, Mister?!”

“Zo, zombie?!”

“Eek! Eek! Get him out quickly!”

Everyone could only scream tightly, without any actions to take. They all hurriedly retreated, unintentionally getting closer to the entrance. The zombies outside, who had been shouting loudly, now screamed even louder. Seeing living people again, they leaped around as if celebrating.

Jian despaired at the situation.

While hoping that Changmin, who went outside, would return quickly to help, she realized that even if he came, there was no solution. In this case, it might have been a blessing that he went outside early.

“Ugh… Oppa….”

At that moment, when she involuntarily started shedding tears and held her breath.

Someone with a black hat rushed towards the zombies outside. He punched one zombie’s face, causing it to collapse. Then, he smacked another zombie’s head with the bottom of a 2-liter water bottle.

Jian widened her eyes when she recognized him.

“Changmin Oppa!”

He hadn’t abandoned them. It was evident from the water he must have found somewhere and the sight of him smashing a zombie’s face with the bottom of a 2-liter water bottle.

But the joy was short-lived.

“Ugh, aah!”

Suddenly, the laundry shop owner twisted his waist strangely, opened his mouth wide, and screamed. His shoulders twisted as if they would dislocate, and the blood-stained hands twisted here and there, like joints not functioning properly. Fresh red blood still dripped from his mouth.

Kraaaah!

A deep roar, pulled from somewhere far away, filled the laundry shop.

There was no way to cope with it.

The zombie, who had rushed to the nearest chubby man, the 30-year-old who had been lying on the floor, bit into the space between his neck and shoulder.

“Uaaah!”

A piece of flesh, almost an inch thick, fell off from his neck. Blood burst from the torn area, and the chubby man writhed in pain. The laundry shop owner, or rather, the zombie, shamelessly tore into the man’s body as if trying to chew him up.

“Ee, eek…!”

The young man, trembling with both legs, couldn’t move properly. As he backed away, his legs suddenly gave way, and he fell to the ground. Seeing this, the laundry shop owner, or rather, the zombie, stared at him. Although he was munching a delicious chunk of palm-sized flesh, his red-blood-covered eyes marked the young man as his next prey.

Crack, Krah!

The zombie, with blood dripping from its mouth, rushed towards the young man, not caring whether it was devouring its own or someone else’s flesh. The young man, who had already lost all strength in his arms and legs, could only scream desperately without even attempting to resist.

Witnessing that sight, Jian could no longer stay sane. Zombie-like screams echoed from all directions, the agonizing screams of people erupted, and everything visible was filled with blood, blood, blood, and more blood.

Jian crawled back under the ironing board, huddling inside with her hands covering her ears. Even with her ears tightly closed, she couldn’t escape the onslaught of screams and cries. She closed her eyes tightly and bit down hard.

She simply prayed for this hell to pass quickly.

Adding to the screams, including the aunty’s cries, it didn’t take long before all screams ceased.

“Could it be… all over…?”

She had no basis for such a thought, yet it vaguely crossed her mind. It didn’t matter who did what. She just hoped the zombies had all left, and this situation was over.

With a glimmer of hope, she slowly opened her eyes.

What stood before her was a zombie with red eyes, staring at her up close.

Kyaah!

“Gyaaaah!”

Similar-sounding roars and screams erupted together.

“Jian!”

Changmin, who jumped into the laundry shop, urgently kicked the head of the zombie that was about to devour Jian. The zombie flew like a squashy ball, tumbling on the floor and then awkwardly getting up.

Meanwhile, the chubby man, who was the first to be bitten, raised his upper body. Blood was dripping from his eyes and mouth, just like the other zombies.

Changmin planned to take on all of them but, grabbing the only survivor, Jian, he hurriedly fled. Holding her hand, he rushed out of the laundry shop.

Zombies that had spread throughout the shopping complex heard the commotion and were flocking toward them. As their numbers increased, Jian panicked, swallowing her breath. Even Changmin, holding her hand tightly, bit down hard beneath his black hat.

The more they ran, the more it felt like they were surrounded by zombies. The mindless zombies might not have done it intentionally, but perhaps the zombies that were already around them were gradually gathering.

‘Is there no way…’

Changmin, who had experienced all sorts of trials and tribulations, couldn’t help but feel defeated this time.

Kkuk!

At the end of the approaching zombie horde, a different type of roar rang out.

‘What is that…?’

Someone was ruthlessly smashing through the back of the zombie group, running toward them.