Red Dot - 69

“I had a feeling… and it seems my gut was right.”

Though the sudden roar was startling, the situation itself wasn’t that surprising.

Junseong had suspected that perhaps the gaze earlier might belong to a living person rather than a zombie.

If there truly were survivors, he would have two choices.

Either stay hidden where he was, holding his breath, or risk it and chase after Junseong and Hanseo.

The latter chose the most perilous path.

Amidst the screams mixed with the roars, Junseong wore a mournful expression as he heard the screams of a man.

Seeing Junseong in such a state, Hanseo, who had been silently watching him, let go of the arm he was holding.

“Are we going to help them?” Hanseo asked first. He gazed at Junseong expressionlessly as the screams grew louder.

But Junseong was calmly putting on new pants, seemingly oblivious to the noise outside.

“Why?”

“Why? Because, as survivors, it’s only natural to help, isn’t it?”

There was confusion in Hanseo’s question. If it were the Kang Junseong he knew, he wouldn’t turn a blind eye to someone in danger.

Junseong also expressed his confusion, echoing Hanseo’s sentiment.

“Why do you think it’s only natural for me to go and help?”

Junseong’s face remained expressionless as he calmly fastened the button on his pants.

“I only help those who are ‘people I know.'”

In his dream, he had come to this department store on the 10th day, five days from now. Though this visit was earlier than planned, according to the people who had been monitoring the department store on Junseong’s instructions, there hadn’t been anyone who escaped the building.

In other words, the survivor was doomed to die here anyway.

“I don’t have the luxury to risk my life unnecessarily for someone I don’t even know. Even if I were to rescue them, there’s no guarantee that they would benefit us.”

Judging human lives based on cost-benefit analysis itself was ethically problematic, but that applied only in normal circumstances. Sacrificing one’s life for a stranger, whose identity was unknown and in a situation where one’s own life was already in jeopardy, was absurd. Unless they were with about ten comrades.

“Even in such a situation, if there’s a risk of losing significant resources, I won’t budge.”

Junseong recalled the various people he had encountered in his dreams.

In the early days of his adaptation to the dream world, there were many times when he had jumped into danger without discrimination due to a strange sense of duty to help anyone who was a survivor and a desire to increase his comrades. Through this, he was able to make many good comrades, but at the same time, he met people who were united by betrayal, greed, and selfishness to the point of disgust.

As time passed, Junseong began to clearly distinguish between the people he had encountered.

A person who was kind but had a precise sense of judgment. Someone who wouldn’t betray him. Someone who could understand him. Someone who had a sense of duty to end this situation no matter what. And plenty of other useful people.

Except for his younger sister Kang Chaeyi, for whom the premise of rescue was established, everyone else had to be distinguished based on their utility. That was the only way he could survive and, furthermore, eliminate the risk of endangering his comrades.

That’s why, even in a moment where the events of the dream became reality, Junseong could only be rational.

Hanseo looked surprised by Junseong’s cold words.

“I thought you would go to rescue even at the cost of abandoning me.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Junseong flicked Hanseo’s chest with the back of his hand. His clear pupils stared directly at Hanseo.

“If I had to choose between a complete stranger and you, it would obviously be you.”

Hanseo looked even more surprised.

Junseong shrugged his chilly shoulders and picked up the coat from the wall.

“Whether they saw us or not earlier, if we rescue that person, the fact that you are the ‘vaccine’ will inevitably be exposed. That’s essentially putting you in danger.”

Junseong’s face, covered with blood-stained coat, was more indifferent than ever.

“To me, you’re much more important than anyone else’s life.”

As Junseong spoke, Hanseo’s face began to subtly change. Whether he knew it himself or not, Hanseo lowered his head, covering his face with his hand.

“What if Seo Changmin, Lee Jiean, or Hwang Kyung-oh were in danger?”

“Why are you bringing them up?”

“Answer me. If I try to save them when they look like they’re about to die, I’ll be in danger. What would you do then?”

Hanseo asked, hiding his emotions, waiting for Junseong’s answer.

Surprisingly, Junseong’s response came quickly, as if he had more to think about.

“I told you. You’re much more important than anyone else’s life.”

“…Is it because I’m the ‘vaccine’? If I were ordinary, would you still think that way?”

“Well, I’ve never thought about it.”

Junseong said, tilting his head slightly, then paused for a moment, lost in thought.

“But no matter how I try to change my perspective, the fact that ‘vaccine’ is a part of Do Hanseo remains unchanged. So, my priorities won’t change either.”

Junseong casually straightened the coat, sweeping away the useless simulations he had drawn under the assumption that Do Hanseo was an ordinary person.

“Of course, I should prepare to prevent you from being in danger in the first place… Do Hanseo?”

Junseong reached out to Hanseo, who seemed to be restless, but at that moment, his wrist was twisted and he was pulled along.

Clutching onto Hanseo tightly, Junseong widened his eyes, trying to figure out what was going on.

At that moment, Hanseo’s whispered curse reached Junseong’s ears.

“Damn it.”

Oddly enough, hearing that relieved him. Since Hanseo only cursed when he was excited.

Because of the contact between their chests and Hanseo’s rough breathing, Junseong couldn’t help but notice. He realized how fast his heart was beating.

As Junseong had expected, Hanseo’s heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst. And to make matters worse, Hanseo’s head was spinning so violently that it sounded like a buzz.

“Oh, dizzy.”

Hanseo, who had occasionally felt dizzy before, found it incomparable to this, and leaned his head against Junseong’s shoulder. It was the first time he had felt dizziness because of a rapid heartbeat, so unfamiliar yet amusing.

Junseong thought he knew Kang Junseong well, but he didn’t.

Kind-hearted Kang Junseong existed only within certain limits. Outside of that, he was as cold and icy as an iceberg. If it hadn’t been for the countless experiences he had in his dreams, he might not have been like this, but the contradiction in his altruism made him even more mysterious.

If it had been just that, Kang Junseong’s small world, he might not have gone crazy like this.

In the center of that small world, it was himself who occupied the most important position.

“To me, you’re much more important than anyone else’s life.”

As Junseong reiterated his unwavering words, the more he tried to remember them, the more his head throbbed painfully. It felt like severing the threads of reason, one by one, in his mind.

Even though he heard the cries of survivors begging to be saved, the fact that Kang Junseong could turn away from them ‘to protect himself’ was so lovely. The fact that he was protecting himself to survive in this messed-up world brought a pleasant thrill.

He wanted to tear Kang Junseong’s throat apart right then and there, to mark his own territory in that spot.

‘How can I endure this?’

He wanted to confine Kang Junseong in this narrow space, like a dressing room, and tie him up so that only he could see him forever. He even wanted to destroy anyone else’s thoughts so harshly if he was important.

Violent affection began to dominate Hanseo’s mind. The pounding heartbeat against his chest echoed through him, reaching Junseong as well.

“Junseong.”

“Yeah.”

Junseong responded briefly to Hanseo’s call, filled with rough breaths. He found himself gently stroking Hanseo’s back, as if trying to calm him down.

Meanwhile, the screams from outside gradually faded. Rather than receding, they sounded more like each person was finding their way back. Realizing what that meant, Junseong’s dark eyes flickered for a moment.

Hanseo’s arm tightened around Junseong even more.

“I…,”

Hanseo’s voice, flowing through soft lips, began to penetrate Junseong’s ears.