Red Dot - 87

“You’re right. Actually, I’m really about to go crazy right now.”

Feeling a chill from Hanseo’s abruptly changed atmosphere, Junseong tried to push him away. But Hanseo’s lips reached him faster.

“Mm, mmph!”

With his collar grabbed, Junseong had their lips forcibly pressed together and instantly had Hanseo’s tongue shoved into his open mouth. Until just moments ago it had been cold enough to make him flinch wherever it touched, but now his lips and tongue were startlingly hot.

Hanseo’s invading tongue desperately explored Junseong’s mouth, which was agape in shock. Not leaving a single spot untouched, it licked and rubbed everywhere, the small tongue refusing to stay still.

“Mmph, mmm, ah!”

Junseong felt his soul being drained by the snake-like flesh coiling around and ruthlessly grinding against his own tongue.

Before he could fully register what was happening in his mouth, his body shuddered and reacted on its own. He felt like he would instantly become intoxicated by the other’s fervent heat, swallowing down every sound escaping his throat.

“Mmph, stop…!”

Junseong dropped the flashlight he was holding and pushed Hanseo away. He thought Hanseo would release his grip on the collar when pushed back, but Hanseo’s arm that was wrapped around his waist yanked him back in forcefully. Stumbling from the merciless pull, Junseong’s lips were devoured again.

The wet sounds of their saliva-coated flesh rubbing together were embarrassingly loud. There was no one else around, only blood packs of unknown owners and the shelves storing them. Perhaps that’s why the voices seemed to echo from the start, but with these lewd noises and moans reverberating too, Junseong wanted to cover both ears.

Even when he struggled defiantly within the tight embrace, to the crazed Hanseo it was just an adorable tantrum. Yet Junseong couldn’t bring himself to bite down hard on the tongue invading his mouth, recalling what happened last time. If he bit it, Hanseo would surely take it as stimulation and get more excited.

Junseong had no choice but to fully endure the kiss, his breathing becoming ragged. Only then did Hanseo finally pull his tongue out of Junseong’s mouth and look down at him, licking his saliva-coated lips with his tongue.

His face seemed to ask if Junseong was drunk, even though he knew Junseong hadn’t had a single drink. If a flashlight illuminated his face properly, his flushed complexion would probably resemble someone who had just gotten out of a hot bath.

“Haa…why suddenly…go crazy…”

As Junseong shot him a resentful look while catching his breath, the arms wrapped around his body tightened further.

“Do you realize what you’ve done?”

“…What did I do?”

Junseong furrowed his brow in askance. Hanseo’s eyes gazing down at him were glimmering mysteriously, as bright as the flashlight beam.

Did Kang Junseong really not know?

That his actions, his words, his displayed emotions – everything had stirred something deep inside Hanseo.

During his childhood raised in the institute, there was one ‘order’ he heard countless times:

Sacrifice.

He was told that if he sacrificed himself, he could help many people. That everyone would be able to live lives free of illness thanks to him, able to shake off any sickness.

Not that he ever wanted such a thing…

He couldn’t even think to shake his head in refusal. If he didn’t obey their orders, he would lose even the freedom to move by himself, stripped of everything.

So like a foolish person devoid of thought, he meekly followed along, accepting the exploitation called ‘sacrifice’ as natural.

“Instead of sacrificing yourself…I want this whole world torn apart.”

What may have been a ‘sacrifice’ forced upon him in the future as well, Kang Junseong shattered so easily. He helped tear apart his foster parents’ pathetic ideal into pieces.

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

He outright denied a fact Hanseo had already resigned himself to accepting as natural.

“No. Even if that’s the case, I’ll pin the blame elsewhere.”

If he couldn’t deny it, he would use his selfishness to change it.

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

As if seeking revenge on Hanseo’s behalf for everything.

What if it had simply been words, nothing more?

If it was just a momentary outburst of emotion spoken without any plan, would he be this heated up rather than feeling indifferently cold and scornful, like plunged into icy water?

But Kang Junseong was not irresponsible.

The words he spoke were never light, and his actions always stemmed from justifiable reasons.

He likely had plans no one could fathom, useful information deduced with his keen intellect, and the ultimate solution hidden deep in his mind.

Even if that solution were to be disrupted and rendered useless, Junseong would surely find a new way. He was the kind of person committed to protecting those “within his boundaries.”

Until now, Hanseo’s self-awareness as a human within Junseong’s boundaries wasn’t particularly strong.

Just someone who could receive far better treatment than a complete stranger, or someone with a certain level of trust to confide in.

That was the extent of how he saw it.

Even that was enough to make him jealous, often thinking he should trim down who was inside the boundaries.

For example, thinking he should kill off Seo Changmin, Hwang Gyeong-oh, and Lee Jian once the zombie situation was somewhat resolved.

But now he realized that being a human within those boundaries couldn’t be easily described in terms of good treatment or trust levels.

For Kang Junseong, he could do anything to protect them.

Any selfish act, any vile act, any wicked act.

The more he realized this, the more his whole body tingled.

Kang Junseong didn’t hesitate to become a ‘villain’ for the sake of Hanseo, by virtue of Hanseo belonging within his boundaries.

Not only that, but who knows how many ‘justifications’ he provided.

Rather than condemning Hanseo’s actions, he gave them the name ‘revenge.’

He erased with his own hands the past that even Hanseo couldn’t discard, saying the forced sacrifices for unknown others were no longer needed.

For the lost meaning of murder (salvation), he gave the gratifying reason of ‘to protect Kang Junseong.’

Countless justifications too difficult to count were being powerfully etched into Hanseo by this one person, Kang Junseong.

Hanseo thought to himself anew.

He needed Kang Junseong.

Without Junseong, the past, present and future he had finally refined would all revert to their original forms.

“What should I do, Junseong?”

Hanseo tightly embraced Junseong with both arms, burying his face in the nape of Junseong’s neck. A pleasant scent numbed Hanseo’s senses, making him forget the pungent smell of chemicals.

“Even if you cry for me to let go, I can’t release you anymore.”

Hanseo’s heart pounded far more violently than Junseong’s labored breathing against his chest.

Before he could even adjust to Hanseo’s sudden state of excitement, Junseong was dragged by his hand and thrown onto some kind of isolation room bed.

“Ugh!”

It was called a bed, but not a high-quality hotel one – just a cheap metal frame with a hard mattress. Since it lacked much cushioning, being thrown onto it roughly sent shocks through his body.

“Throwing me around like some object…!”

As soon as he was thrown down onto his back, Junseong abruptly sat up, his body trembling without realizing it.

Like the other lab rooms or the blood storage area, this place was particularly chilly. Perhaps it was because it was surrounded by white walls on all sides, containing only this bed and some kind of tray shelf that looked like it belonged in an operating room.

Junseong picked up the thin blanket that had been thrown aside when he was tossed onto the bed. Even the flimsy white blanket covering the mattress reeked of pungent chemicals, enough to make one’s nose wrinkle.

“What is this place?”

Hanseo snatched the thin blanket from Junseong’s hands and tossed it aside, placing the flashlight on the tray instead. The light reflecting off the white walls made it seem like a decent mood lighting was turned on.

With a tense expression, Hanseo looked at the tight-lipped Junseong, set down his backpack, and discarded his outer jacket. Despite entering this chilly space, his face was still deeply flushed.

“22 years.”

After uttering those brief words, Hanseo shamelessly stripped off his shirt as well and approached Junseong. Overwhelmed by the dreadful pressure emanating from Hanseo, Junseong unconsciously shrank back against the corner of the bed.

Closing in with a smile on his lips, Hanseo spoke:

“That’s how long I grew up in this room.”

In other words, this wasn’t just a regular isolation room, but Hanseo’s own room. A space so bone-chillingly cold and reeking of harsh chemicals.

Hanseo caressed Junseong’s frozen cheek with his hand and whispered:

“I wish you could erase this place too.”

Just as you completely erased the research data, couldn’t you erase everything here as well?

The chill he had to endure for decades in this room, the stench so foul it felt like it would rot his nose, even the memories of struggling for freedom.