Red Dot - 86

When Hanseo looked straight into Junseong’s eyes, demanding an answer, he answered unwittingly.

“Yes.”

After uttering that short reply, the corners of his unmoving mouth curved upward again.

“I can believe anything you do.”

“Okay.”

Junseong also smiled, following Hanseo’s lead, and released his collar.

Over the radio, Changmin’s voice called out. “Junseong.”

“It seems someone other than the director visited the security room.”

Changmin’s words made Junseong flinch. In the midst of the spreading zombie virus, another person visited the security room.

It was easy to guess who that person was without even asking.

Do Hanseo went to the security room to delete the CCTV footage of himself. In the process, he was undoubtedly captured by the camera monitoring the security room.

“The director suddenly hid in a corner of the security room and then the door opened, but there’s no footage after that,” Changmin said regretfully. Shortly after, Gyeong-oh chimed in.

“Ah, it seems someone forcibly cut the wires for the security room CCTV. There’s only footage up until right before it cuts out.”

As Gyeong-oh spoke, Hanseo smiled and took out his jackknife to show it.

‘He’s admitting his involvement.’

He must have investigated the security room in advance. That’s how he was able to selectively cut the wires for just the security room CCTV, while leaving the other CCTVs monitoring the institute intact. Just like he said he selectively deleted information related to himself from the research data in Lab 2, he did the same for the CCTV footage.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. Under the slogan of “creating a panacea to cure all diseases and help everyone,” did Do Hanseo want to erase the dirty and cruel deeds his foster parents had committed over the years?

Did he want to prevent his foster parents from being dishonored, even after their deaths from research they so yearned for recognition?

Thinking that way, Do Hanseo’s smiling face momentarily seemed a bit scary.

However, thanks to Do Hanseo leaving the CCTV footage, one thing became clearer.

On the day of the incident, the director was definitely here.

Moreover, Hanseo hid and watched as the security room CCTV was cut and the footage of himself was deleted. Afterwards, Hanseo surely left the security room first, while the director observed the situation and exited later.

This increases the likelihood that ‘the director took the infected foster mother’s body.’

To be precise, that’s the only possibility to consider, since the last person to leave the institute alive was not Do Hanseo, but the director.

Junseong quickly organized his thoughts and turned on his radio.

“Thank you for your work. I’ve confirmed what I needed, so you can head back out now.”

“What about you two? Did you find the exit properly?” Changmin asked worriedly.

“Yes. But the path is a bit complicated and long, so it might take some time to get out.”

“Understood. I’ll wait, so just get out safely.”

Even until the radio call ended, Changmin couldn’t shake his concern. He was probably making a worried face even as he headed out of the blood center.

Junseong put the radio in his coat pocket and shared his deduction with Hanseo.

“Based on what we just heard, the director left the institute later than you did. At that time, he probably took the dead foster… that woman’s body with him.”

As I thought about it, I even felt annoyed attaching the word ‘foster mother’ to her. After hearing about all the deeds he committed together with her foster father, I didn’t even want to give her that title.

“So I can’t be fully certain yet that you spread the virus.”

Junseong didn’t consider himself a crusader for justice or an ethical person at all. Rather, with his narrow interpersonal circle, he could be as cold and selfish as needed for the sake of those he kept within his boundaries.

Although what happened at the institute was Do Hanseo’s doing, in Junseong’s view, the researchers brought it upon themselves. They simply reaped the consequences of their own misdeeds, and he didn’t think Hanseo, who suffered as an experimental subject for so many years, should be blamed for that.

But certainly someone will fear him and point fingers at him.

‘I won’t let that happen.’

To prevent that, he needed to reveal exactly who the culprit was that spread the zombie virus to people completely unrelated to the situation.

“That man also left here while infected,” Hanseo said, as if reminding him not to forget.

“If that man was fully infected and bit someone, and that’s how the virus spread, then I would be the original source.”

“No,” Junseong said confidently, poking Hanseo’s chest with his index finger.

“Even if that’s the case, I’ll pin the blame elsewhere.”

As if reminding him not to forget.

“I’ll place all the blame on the people you rightly wanted revenge against.”

Junseong knew how selfish the words coming out of his mouth were.

But he was angry enough to say them regardless.

This rotten institute, these trashy researchers, that damned foolish ideal – they took away all of Hanseo’s time and emotions.

Even as Hanseo recounted his past, he was as calm as if he were simply narrating the plot of a novel he had read somewhere. The only emotion showing on his face was a hint of excitement when talking about ‘murder.’

Seeing Hanseo like that made me want to needlessly hug him, my arms still itching to do so.

Hanseo looked at Junseong’s angry face with interest.

“But that won’t solve anything,” he said, an unavoidable fact flowing from his lips.

“Now there’s no more research data left. In this state, the only way to develop a vaccine is for me to cooperate and continuously supply a large amount of my blood.”

If not that, then the core missing from the research data kidnapped by Nam Gihyeok would have to be handed over to the government. But the government would simply dismiss the contents lacking the core as useless trash.

Junseong was well aware of Hanseo’s concerns.

“You don’t want the world to be ruined because of zombies, do you?”

Hanseo thought Junseong wouldn’t make ‘that’ choice yet.

He has a younger sister. He has colleagues like Changmin, Gyeong-oh, and Jian.

If they all disappeared and only the two of them were left, then Hanseo would have immediately understood such a choice.

No matter what happened to the world, to Junseong, who had already experienced countless rounds of the zombie apocalypse in his dreams, it would be nothing more or less than his dream continuing unbroken. Moreover, if only Hanseo remained within his boundaries, he would have to erase the existence of a vaccine to avoid losing even him.

But not now.

The current Kang Junseong needs the vaccine. To eliminate the zombies of this world and keep the people within his boundaries safe, he would not rashly make the choice to get rid of it.

Just as Kang Junseong knew Hanseo well, Hanseo had also grasped a decent understanding of Kang Junseong.

Hanseo’s sharp eyes prompted Junseong.

“Is there another solution besides the research data?”

Junseong silently looked at Hanseo, then turned and started walking. He headed towards the blood storage room they had visited earlier.

“Isn’t this strange?”

Junseong stopped in front of the shelf where Do Hanseo’s blood had been stored. Since the only remaining blood pack of Hanseo’s had been in Junseong’s possession until now, the shelf was naturally empty.

“According to you, they drew as much blood as possible every day…the maximum amount, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why was there only one blood pack left? They wouldn’t have needed hundreds of ml of blood every day just for research.”

The corners of Hanseo’s eyes twitched upwards.

Come to think of it, even though the blood drawn each time was a substantial amount, it was strange that only one extra pack remained. There were no traces of the foster father who was the only one to leave alive on the day of the incident visiting the blood storage room, so it didn’t make sense that he took the blood. Above all, it was Hanseo himself who directly checked the inventory in the blood storage room.

So what happened to all the blood drawn until now?

Junseong told Hanseo part of his final dream.

“When I first met the director, there was a storage case resembling a small refrigerator in the storage room of his house. It was completely filled with unlabeled blood packs.”

This was information Hanseo didn’t know.

“At the time, I just thought ‘he’s temporarily storing some special blood’ when he told me that, but thinking about it, isn’t that illegal even for the director of a blood center? There’s no way he could keep ‘normally donated blood’ at his home.”

Junseong added his deduction, driving the point home.

“I think all that blood was yours.”

It doesn’t make sense otherwise. There’s no reason for someone who knows everything about the research to secretly collect ordinary people’s blood at home while even setting up facilities for it.

The only reason to go that far is if that blood is extremely precious.

Junseong held up Hanseo’s blood pack in front of its owner.

“At least ten packs of a similar size to this one.”

Hanseo smiled again as he looked at his own vivid blood reflected in the flashlight beam.

“If it’s that much, even without you and the research data, they should be able to figure out how to produce and distribute a vaccine on their own. If they can’t handle even after being spoonfed like that, then this country is just dumb.”

If only the raw material is supplied, a vaccine can be made.

They may not know how the virus originated, what mutations it underwent, through what process the main ingredient for the vaccine was discovered, or the results of clinical trials. But for an urgently needed vaccine, they could definitely make it.

Even if Hanseo’s existence is concealed and the research data containing his past is gone.

“Of course, since the material is limited, they may not be able to make a lot but if they do that…”

Junseong’s words made Hanseo cover his mouth with one hand. He seemed worried his wide grin would look too scary.

When Hanseo suddenly covered his mouth and shook his shoulders, Junseong scrutinized his face.

“What? Why are you doing that?”

“Kang Junseong, you really…”

Since Hanseo spoke too softly and had his mouth covered, Junseong couldn’t quite make it out and stepped closer.

As soon as the distance closed, Hanseo reached out and grabbed Junseong’s collar, pulling him in just like when he asked if Junseong trusted him earlier.

“Don’t you think the material will run out? How many people are there in Korea?”

Hanseo’s quickened breath hit Junseong’s face.

Junseong let out a tense voice to the fiercely staring Hanseo, whose eyes seemed to bore right through him.

“Hey, your eyes…you look crazy.”

In response to Junseong’s voice, the corners of Hanseo’s mouth stretched upwards in a wide, creepy grin.