Red Dot - 80

For a while, he was just obedient.

He went along with whatever he was told to do, whatever was asked of him, without a word of complaint.

And it was okay.

He didn’t have to force himself to eat the dry rice and the neglected side dishes left in the fridge for who knows how long. He didn’t have to huddle alone in a chilly corner of the house. He could see his parents at least once a day, even if the faces of the parents he saw at home were entirely different from the ones he met at the research lab.

They, who seemed to have nothing to give but indifference, would affectionately stroke his head every time he dutifully cleaned his plate of the food that tasted of strange medicine at the lab. Without the need for restraints, without any rebellion, he quietly allowed himself to be drained of blood, even smiling as he watched his complexion pale.

The idea of having to help people he didn’t know was hard to grasp, but still, it was heartwarming that they would talk to him. Finally feeling like he wasn’t just their hollow child but a ‘real kid’ now, a smile graced his lips.

But such a life couldn’t feel good forever.

The windowless white cell, the continuous flow of crimson blood, the nauseating anemia and headaches, the incessant smell of potent medications.

All of it gnawed at young Do Hanseo’s mind.

As time went on, even after entering elementary school, Do Hanseo’s home was always the research lab.

“Not yet. This won’t suffice. We need to increase the blood collection frequency.”

“But Dr. Do, we’re already at our limits.”

Hanseo, staring blankly at the blood flowing out of his body through a transparent tube, looked up at his father with dizzy eyes. His father, who had been looking down coldly, habitually smiled and responded to the researcher beside him.

“Increase the dosage of the blood generation stimulant by twofold and put him in restrictive clothing to reduce his activity. Let the school know he can’t attend due to illness.”

The researcher hesitated, then nodded with a bitter expression. Hanseo, who was bright, quickly understood his father’s words and smiled back with resignation.

A word directed at the smiling Hanseo.

“Our son, can you endure this again?”

The term ‘our son’ pricked at Do Hanseo’s heart and mind. Despite knowing that it was a ‘lie,’ he simply smiled kindly.

“Of course, Dad.”

The thought of having to endure a vial filled with a harsh illegal stimulant, something he didn’t even want to imagine, but still, he had to endure it.

He had become his son for that purpose.

◉ Senior Researchers at Inhan Pharmaceuticals’ Drug Research Lab, an unfortunate boy with an incurable disease adopted by the couple

◉ The senior researcher couple are former members of Inhan Blood Bank… Inhan Blood Bank expresses willingness to cooperate in developing a cure for the adopted child’s incurable disease

◉ Intensive development of a cure for the adopted child’s incurable disease, with extensive support from Inhan Hospital

Until he reached the age of five, when he could give blood to a certain extent, he couldn’t leave the house or be neglected like trash. During that time, it seems such articles were periodically published.

Their minds worked just like those of researchers.

They had simply brought useful research materials, but they had packaged it so well, even managing to receive research funding and donations.

One day, while casually observing those articles at school, where he could be somewhat free.

Perhaps it was a short-lived adolescence that came when emotions were drying up.

“You must never do anything dangerous. If you get hurt, I won’t stand still.”

Because there had been some commotion at the time of his adoption, they had to pay attention to public eyes. Thanks to that, Do Hanseo could attend school confidently, and even indulge in brief rebellions.

In response to the innocent child’s words that he could pour out, he deliberately tried to burst out his emotions. No, he pretended to burst them out. Since he had always suppressed and diluted his emotions, he imagined how other kids would get angry and imitated their behavior.

After a minor scuffle with a burly peer, both sets of parents were naturally summoned.

At first, they came in quietly, seeming upset. Najeong reprimanded him for getting into unnecessary trouble and being called in during research.

Hanseo listened quietly, grinding his teeth hard. Then, he pushed out a bitter liquid with the tip of his tongue.

Drip, as he saw blood trickling down his lip, his pupils changed.

How dare they, his precious blood.

It was the first time.

Not only did they envelop and cherish him, but those who were usually so kind and docile also went wild like madmen. If he had been handed a knife, he would have slaughtered both the parents and the child, turning into a monstrous face.

As if their beloved child had gotten into trouble.

It was too absurd. It seemed like they laughed without making a sound, forgetting to even laugh.

There wasn’t a single trace of affectionate sensitivity left in their changed demeanor.

At the bottom of his emotions, cracked open like drought-stricken land, all that remained was a cold realization.

What these people needed was not me, but ‘blood.’

Despite knowing it, I realized it to the point of disgust.

After that, many things changed.

Do Hanseo remained the compliant blood bag they wanted, but he didn’t just passively conform to everything.

The fact that those with RH NULL blood type were almost impossible to transfuse in case of an accident was a problem, but he also acted passively due to the frequent anemia.

But Do Hanseo was different.

He persuaded the researcher couple that maintaining a healthy body would allow him to be a research material for a long time instead of being confined to a cell. He obtained permission to engage in various exercises. Moreover, pretending to admire their research, he actively provided blood and gradually absorbed their research content.

The experiments that began around that time were so agonizing and painful that even Hanseo laughed them off. Despite the increasing variety and quantity of medicines, he casually endured them.

Not only experiments, but now, even if no one else asked for blood, Do Hanseo became so proactive that he went in to collect blood himself. He was no longer a research material that needed to be coldly monitored by the researchers but a reliable collaborator. What was the need to confine him forcibly and restrain him day by day when he cooperated in everything? As he became free, the scope of his activities within the research lab naturally expanded.

Nonchalantly helping researchers from time to time, one day Do Hanseo discovered that there was another research lab.

A second research lab that could only be accessed through facial recognition of a select few.

Following another researcher, Hanseo arrived there and witnessed a horrific scene.

“Sa… save me….”

“Cough, heh…. ugh….”

“Sob…, this damn…, bastards…. sob….”

Each person was bound to a sheet resembling an operating table, one per room.

With eyes completely surrounded by red membranes, they were each vomiting blood from their mouths. Occasionally, they would contort their bodies strangely or let out eerie screams. With eyes bulging as if they were going to burst, they would thrash around or shake the sheets tied with unexpected strength.

“This batch failed too.”

“What could be the problem? The mix seemed perfect.”

“Maybe the virus is just stronger.”

The researchers, murmuring together while looking at the people behind the glass, each turned their gaze to Hanseo.

Their eyes formed proud, bitter curves.

“Oh well. Whoever created the virus, after all.”

Finally, he understood.

The reason they were turning into monsters, shouting so loudly, was because of himself.

The researchers who called themselves parents roughly knew what they were creating.

A miracle drug that could be used on anyone and cure any disease.

Upon administration, it would bind with the patient’s blood, flowing through their body, killing infected cells wherever it went and promoting healing in damaged areas.

Hanseo’s blood was at the center of it all.

But the virus that emerged in the development process was vicious. Hanseo knew better than anyone what would happen to those who contracted the virus.

That night.

Hanseo secretly entered the room where the monster with red eyes was bound.

“Ugh….”

The sound of gurgling accompanied the groans as blood filled the throat. Hanseo stood beside the man, looking down at the red membrane covering his eyes.

“Save… me…. Let me go….”

The man, sensing a presence, stuttered nervously.

“If you wanted to live, why didn’t you escape before?”

Hanseo, who knew they had received money and food and even signed a contract, asked casually. The contract stated that they would not be held responsible for the results of their clinical trials.

The homeless people gathered here for experiments had all signed themselves up, even though they knew they could die.

‘I couldn’t even do that.’

To live.

To be a little free.

There was no choice but to do as they were told, to give up everything else.

Yet, these people in front of him had chosen themselves but still begged to be saved.

You should have thought about surviving on your own, like me.

You should have… given up being human.

For the first time in his life, Hanseo’s eyes, looking down at the man who pleaded for his life from unknown strangers, were filled with disdain and disgust.