Red Dot - 65

When the man gestured to the crowd, all except two people headed outside the abandoned factory. The two remaining individuals each pulled out a gun, unlike the others who held weapons like sticks or metal pipes.

Shortly after the people headed outside the factory,

“Kyaaah!”

“Krrrrrrrrr!”

Zombie screams began to echo from all directions that had been quiet until then.

“Ah!”

“Z-Zombies! They’re…! Aaargh!”

Following this, the panicked screams of the people erupted.

Junseong noticed the man’s face, which had been scanning the outside of the factory while sitting on top of him, stiffen noticeably. While he had always seen the man’s face either smiling or turning fiercely hostile, at this moment, it was an expression of rare, intense tension.

“Brother, it seems there are quite a lot of them.”

One of the men who aimed his gun towards the entrance of the abandoned factory spoke, leaning towards the man protectively. Indeed, as he said, the number of zombies seemed considerable, and the screams hadn’t stopped yet. Strangely, the zombies’ screams sounded vigorous, while the voices of the people seemed to be fading.

“That’s strange.”

The man muttered, furrowing his brow.

Thud!

Suddenly, all the lights in the factory went out.

The light switches were located near the entrance and the back door of the factory, and there were so many switches that it was impossible to turn them all off with one finger.

“Brother!”

The two men holding guns called out to the man in confusion. Despite the sudden disappearance of the lights, the man remained calm unlike them.

“Calm down. One of you go and check the circuit breaker. Even if there’s someone near the breaker, whether ally or enemy, just kill them for now.”

“What? But they might be fighting zombies over there…”

“If you don’t have a plan, just follow orders.”

The man’s voice became harsh. Among the two tense men, one reluctantly moved to find the circuit breaker according to the man’s command. Meanwhile, the darkness became eerily silent.

Junseong, who was also tensely alert in the darkness, was equally startled by this unprecedented situation. On the one hand, it was bewildering, and on the other hand, he felt a slight sense of anticipation.

Perhaps there was a glimmer of hope that he might survive and escape this situation without dying.

“Junseong.”

Breaking the silence, the man called Junseong’s name. At the same time, the man’s grip tightened around Junseong’s neck.

“Ugh!”

His barely returning breath was cut off again. It wasn’t a strong pressure that felt like his neck would break, but the pressure around his neck stirred Junseong’s trauma. The painful memory of one of those days that he had almost forgotten resurfaced.

“Our Junseong seems to enjoy being choked in the dark? How cute.”

“Kkuk, huuu…. Brother, please… stop…!”

“How adorable you are, yet you want me to stop. Hey, someone bring a blindfold.”

“I refuse… huuu… Brother… Please…!”

“No, I’ll just blindfold you. Don’t worry, I’ll disinfect it nicely and give you a pretty haircut.”

“Huuu… sniff…!”

“Ah… But it’s a bit of a waste. Since you won’t feel pain, I won’t get to hear screams.”

That day was not today. It happened a few days later, in a dank basement even more sinister than this abandoned factory.

Yet, the darkness and damp smell were similar, so the memories of that day kept coming back, suffocating him.

“Come to think of it, you had a younger sibling, right? They resembled you quite a lot. I wonder if their screams were similar to yours?”

Thinking back to that moment, there was a sudden sensation of something snapping in his otherwise intact mind.

He knew full well that this was purely a dream. Regardless of whether he died or opened his eyes anew, he was aware that he could start over, and the events he recalled just moments ago could unfold differently depending on his actions.

So, Junseong desperately tried to erase the memories that had surfaced.

“Don’t think! Don’t remember! Please forget it because it won’t happen!”

However, contrary to his thoughts, the mental anguish from that time seemed deeply rooted in his body.

Even though his neck was only grasped by a hand, his breathing became rough as if suffocating, and he felt short of breath as if he would faint even without being touched. His limbs trembled, and his body was so tense that even his fingertips couldn’t move on their own.

The man who was straddling Junseong’s body while gripping his neck immediately noticed his abnormality.

“What’s wrong?”

In the darkness, the man’s voice, which had been intensely harsh, filled with a strange sense of excitement and anticipation. He seemed to bend down, then whispered sardonically in Junseong’s ear.

“Our Junseong seems to enjoy being choked in the dark?”

The same tone filled with emotions as back then, the same words.

As a strong pressure was applied to his neck, Junseong felt his mind turn blank as if everything in his head turned white.

Amidst feeling like he couldn’t think of anything and simply feeling his consciousness becoming hazy,

Suddenly, something like a water balloon flew towards the person who was holding a gun, seemingly protecting the man. As it was dark and he never expected such a thing to fly towards him, it hit him directly, making a popping sound upon impact.

The arm holding the gun became completely numb.

Immediately after, the man recoiled with a groan in the darkness. Then, he was hit again and flew away as if struck by something. Although he got up immediately as if there was no pain, the distance between him and Junseong, who had been lying down, had widened to about three or four steps.

Even though the hand that had been pressing on his neck had been released, Junseong’s breathing was so strained that he might have fainted at any moment, so he couldn’t prevent his consciousness from becoming hazy.

Someone embraced Junseong’s body. Junseong couldn’t fully understand the current situation because his mind was in complete disarray, so he weakly tried to push away whoever was holding him with his powerless hands.

“Stay still. You’re safe with me.”

Hearing his voice in his muffled ears, Junseong stopped pushing with his hands. The voice was strangely familiar.

Instead of Junseong, the man shouted.

“Who are you?!”

Kyaah-!

Responding to the man’s shout, a zombie screamed. Just as if it had been rushing towards the blood, this time, the man, along with a rough curse, pulled the trigger towards the zombies that started rushing towards the sound.

Bang-!

Along with the deafening gunshot, there was a momentary flash of light.

Thanks to that light, Junseong could vaguely see who was holding him. Despite his mind being already quite hazy, his half-closed eyes continued to look up, as if needing to confirm the presence of the person.

As Junseong confirmed who was holding him, he gradually felt his eyes closing. His mind and body, already at their limits, wished for rest.

Once again, a gunshot and a brief zombie scream echoed.

The man, who briefly illuminated the surroundings and confirmed Junseong and the one holding him, spoke in a terrifyingly harsh voice.

“Get away from Junseong right now! Let him go!”

The man pointed the gun at the person holding Junseong, not the zombie. In a situation where there were still two zombies left, his actions were reckless, but he simply couldn’t bear someone daring to touch what was his.

The muzzle spat fire towards a different direction than the zombies. Since it was dark, the bullet completely missed the target, but thanks to that, Junseong, amidst his fading consciousness, could once again catch a glimpse of the face of the person holding him.

His cold lips drew a beautiful curve.

Even amidst the zombies’ screams, someone who didn’t show any signs of tension at all, slowly lowered their gaze and met eyes with Junseong. Feeling as if the arms holding him were enveloping his whole body, Junseong shivered briefly.

“Your name is Junseong, right?”

Facing ‘Do Hanseo’ who was looking at him in the darkness, Junseong, who had been barely holding onto his sanity until then, completely let go of the thread of his mind.