Red Dot - 68

Ugh…

The beam of the flashlight illuminated nothing but ordinary zombies. Beyond them was a store displaying various sports goods.

No matter how much he looked around, there didn’t seem to be anything unusual.

“Is it just my mood…?”

Usually, this feeling wasn’t due to mood.

“Anyway, since I have to come back here later, I’ll take another look then.”

Although he wasn’t interested in items like tennis rackets, sports shoes, or workout clothes, there were quite useful items, so he had to stop by. He planned to descend gradually from the 8th floor instead of picking up items while going up and down, which would make it cumbersome to carry heavy loads.

Junseong and Hanseo, who reached the 8th floor again via the escalator, passed the kids’ store in front of them and headed to the electronics store where various drones were displayed.

It wasn’t a long way, but Junseong felt suffocated throughout the movement.

Despite having only two flashlight beams, Hanseo didn’t miss Junseong’s expression.

“Why are you like that?”

When Hanseo asked, Junseong clenched the flashlight tightly with a bitter expression.

In the flashlight’s fan-shaped light, there were four small children.

The children, covered in so much blood that it was impossible to tell where they were injured, looked at Junseong with red eyes, each muttering and staring at him. Because Hanseo was sticking close to him, they couldn’t approach further, but if he hadn’t been there, they would have been even more ferocious, screaming wildly.

Thinking about how these children had become so terrifying in his dream, Junseong bit his lips tightly. He felt heavy-hearted imagining them happily exploring this kids’ store with their parents.

But he couldn’t mourn or feel sorry for them individually. There was no way to turn back these poor children who had already become zombies, no matter what he did.

Swallowing the trembling in his mouth, Junseong walked forward. Hanseo, walking beside him, still didn’t understand his reaction, but he didn’t inquire further and just looked ahead.

Passing through the wandering child zombies, Junseong reached the electronics store and immediately found the battery packs without rummaging around.

Taking three extra ones and putting them in his backpack, Junseong headed not directly outside but toward the counter.

Inside the counter area, there was a man dressed in a suit, staggering and leaning against the wall; he appeared to be the employee in charge of payment.

Junseong entered the counter area and took out the money he had prepared, placing it next to the safe.

“I’ve been thinking since last time, why are you paying?”

Hanseo asked, tilting his head with a smile.

“With the situation like this, who would ask you to pay? Both the owner and the employees are all dead.”

Although it was mean, in the current abnormal disaster situation, it was ridiculous for Junseong to individually pay for the items. It was surprising enough that he had prepared money in the first place.

“It’s not because I’m kind.”

Although it couldn’t be said that the person who accurately put down the value for three battery packs was speaking, Junseong thought he wasn’t kind at all.

“I just don’t want to feel guilty. Regardless of the situation, I don’t want to think that I stole something.”

“But there’s no one to blame.”

“I’m afraid of blaming myself.”

Junseong lowered his eyes into the darkness.

“What’s scarier than others blaming you is blaming yourself.”

“Hmm, I don’t know.”

Hanseo smiled, unable to understand Junseong’s words. To him, no matter how much he thought about it, it just seemed like Junseong was being overly kind.

“Maybe it’s because no one has ever blamed me for being too good.”

“…Yeah, you’re good.”

Junseong responded with a smirk to Hanseo’s words, then got on the escalator again to go downstairs.

The 7th floor, one floor below, consisted only of men’s clothing stores.

Checking the sizes of Seo Changmin and Hwang Gyeong-oh on his phone, Junseong picked out a few comfortable-looking shirts and dress shirts, along with some pants for the two of them.

“Let’s change and head out.”

Since they couldn’t do laundry anyway, they couldn’t reuse the clothes they were originally wearing. They decided to wear new clothes altogether to reduce the luggage.

Junseong quickly found his size, but Hanseo only grabbed one black T-shirt he was wearing.

“What about pants?”

“I can’t find any here. We’ll have to order separately.”

“Don’t be so picky. Just wear something rough.”

“The length doesn’t fit.”

Junseong looked at Hanseo with annoyance, thinking, ‘He’s so picky.’

With a slight feeling of inferiority and annoyance, Junseong entered the fitting room with Hanseo trying to follow him.

“Why are you coming in? Use the next stall.”

“If I separate from you, the zombies might rush in.”

“Because of the partitions, they can’t see anyway, right? Since you only need to change one T-shirt, just wait outside near the door.”

Junseong closed the door immediately, thinking it was unnecessary for two people to enter such a narrow space. He took off his coat and hung it on a hook on the wall. Then he hung the flashlight handle’s string on another hook so he could see himself in the mirror while changing clothes.

After taking off his shirt and pants, Junseong was left with only a pair of drawers.

“Ugh, it’s cold.”

Even though they were in a department store, it was winter, and the heater wasn’t on. It was natural to feel cold when undressed.

After changing into the new drawers he had prepared, Junseong picked up a white dress shirt and listened carefully throughout the process.

Although Hanseo was in the next stall, they were completely separated, so he couldn’t help but worry about the zombies’ actions. Along with the anxiety that came every time he separated and reunited with Hanseo, it was bothering him.

“Damn post-Dohanseo syndrome.”

Junseong felt like he was more concerned about Dohanseo than the zombies themselves.

Feeling a bit like he might have withdrawal symptoms, Junseong suddenly heard the sound of the door opening in the next stall. He was startled by the sudden sound of the door opening as if someone were in a hurry.

Then, with the same urgency, the door opened again. Startled, Junseong turned around and saw Dohanseo opening the door wide and shining the flashlight on himself.

“What are you doing?”

“….”

Without saying a word to Junseong’s question, Hanseo just stared at him. Behind Hanseo, he could see zombies wandering around.

With only a shirt on and no pants, Junseong urgently reached out and pulled Hanseo towards him. Hanseo, who obediently followed, closed the door after entering.

“Do you have something to say?”

Thinking there must be a reason behind Hanseo’s urgent behavior rather than just making noise, Junseong asked in a lowered voice as he closely approached him. Since it was a small enough space for two people to move, they had no choice but to stand close together unintentionally.

Hanseo, who had been silent, hung the flashlight he was holding on the wall. With his hands free, he started buttoning up Junseong’s shirt from the bottom one by one.

Hanseo whispered in a low voice.

“I could hear the sound of clothes being taken off too well.”

“Why is that?”

Junseong asked, and Hanseo’s left arm wrapped around his waist. His hand slipped inside the shirt, softly caressing the smooth skin.

Junseong, trembling as if from the cold air, felt the warm breath of Hanseo touching his neck. Hanseo’s lips, which hadn’t yet buttoned up the second button, touched the exposed collarbone.

“Ugh, hey…!”

Not only was it being sucked so intensely that it was tingling, but he also felt a slight nibbling sensation inside his mouth. Junseong pushed Hanseo away sharply, glaring at him.

“Why are you getting worked up again?”

“Because you’re making suggestive sounds.”

“Why would the sound of clothes being taken off be suggestive?”

“Because it’s you. Didn’t you know?”

Hanseo blamed the flustered Junseong, flicking his tongue. Through the light of the flashlight hung on the wall, Hanseo’s peculiar face was visible.

Junseong, with his eyes flickering, stared defiantly at Hanseo, who was approaching him like prey.

“Stop babbling nonsense…!”

Roar!

As if blocking Junseong’s words, somewhere in the distance, a zombie’s roar echoed. The sound seemed to originate not nearby but from a considerable distance.

Following the first roar, all the zombies in the vicinity responded with their own roars.

Junseong’s eyes widened. He couldn’t be unaware of what this spreading roar meant.

Apart from the two of them, there were other living people in the department store, which had previously only contained zombies.