Red Dot - 98

When Hanseo entered the hospital room, he gently sat Junseong on the bed, contrary to what one might expect from his rough demeanor.

“Calm down for a bit.”

“…….”

In response to Hanseo’s words, Junseong bowed his head deeply and bit his lip.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand Hanseo’s feelings and those of the others. If someone in their group had done the same thing, he would have logically and firmly stopped them.

However, sometimes emotions take precedence over logic, even for someone as typically rational as Junseong.

“I need to find out what happened to Chaeyi… I have to confirm it myself.”

“How do you plan to confirm it?”

Hanseo, arms crossed, looked down at Junseong’s black hair with a mocking gaze.

“Are you going to search among the corpses displayed in the shelter? Do you plan to ask the dead friends where your sister was taken? Are you even confident you can get there safely?”

“I don’t know either!”

Junseong shouted, covering his face with both hands.

His chest felt so tight it seemed unbearable. His usually sharp mind was becoming increasingly rigid.

“I shouldn’t have left her behind…”

He knew that such regrets were useless.

The reason they left the shelter was to remove the infected and to lure the zombies away. If Chaeyi had been with them, they wouldn’t have used such a reckless method and likely would have been bitten and killed by the zombies.

But still, if they had just found a slightly different method, perhaps Chaeyi might have been safe now.

His mind was filled not with logical thoughts but with regret and frustration.

His eyes reddened. The transparent tears that formed covered his eyes, already bloodshot with anger and despair.

“It’s been a while since the shelter was in that state. Could Nam Ki-hyuk have kept Chaeyi alive until now? Is there any reason he would have…?”

There was no way to confirm whether she was alive or dead without going there personally.

“What if she’s already dead…?”

Tears flowed down his face, pooling in his cupped hands before slipping through his fingers and falling onto his knees.

Watching Junseong’s shoulders shake as he held back sobs, Hanseo felt a deep sense of discomfort.

After recognizing the small boundary within Kang Junseong, Do Hanseo held a certain hostility toward those within it. He didn’t particularly like Seo Changmin, Hwang Gyeong-oh, or Lee Jian, whom Junseong had marked as allies early on.

Still, they weren’t worth increasing his hostility towards.

They were necessary allies.

People kept within the boundary for their abilities.

To Junseong, their value was probably just that much. So he thought he only needed to tolerate them until they reached the outcome Junseong wanted.

But Kang Chaeyi was different.

Without doing anything, she was deeply rooted in the center of the boundary and wouldn’t be shaken no matter what. Even if she did unimaginably cruel things or acted irrationally, Kang Junseong would never let her out of the boundary.

Do Hanseo, having revealed everything about himself, would still get angry and selfishly act on Junseong’s behalf.

Knowing this, Hanseo even considered killing Kang Chaeyi.

Junseong’s boundary was so small and tight that the greedy Do Hanseo didn’t want to share even a speck of that space with anyone else.

‘This feels disgusting.’

Why should he watch Junseong cry because of someone else?

He didn’t know how to comfort someone who was crying. He didn’t particularly want to learn either.

But he did want to stop Kang Junseong from crying.

“Kang Junseong.”

Calling Junseong’s name, Hanseo pulled away the hands covering his face. The first thing he saw were the tear stains that had spread across his face. Then he noticed the tears welling up in his red eyes.

He had never thought seeing someone with tears in their eyes was beautiful, except for Kang Junseong.

To be precise, Kang Junseong was truly beautiful when he broke his usual calm demeanor and showed his emotions. Do Hanseo was almost certain of this, even if others didn’t know.

Interestingly, while just moments ago it felt disgusting to see Junseong crying because of someone else, looking at those teary eyes now filled him with a strange desire.

‘I want to see more.’

He wanted to tie Junseong to the bed and watch him cry endlessly, unable to wipe his tears. He wanted to see him cry until he was exhausted and see him weep sorrowfully with a broken voice.

So even though it might be good to let him cry now, it still didn’t feel right.

It meant nothing if he wasn’t crying because of Hanseo.

“Stop crying.”

Hanseo gently wiped Junseong’s tears with both hands. After wiping a few times, a slight flush appeared on Junseong’s pale face.

“If you cry like this in front of others, I’ll slit their throats.”

“What……?”

Junseong flinched at Hanseo’s kind voice, paired with his menacing words. It was terrifying because he knew Hanseo could actually do it.

Hanseo, who had wiped Junseong’s tears with his fingertips, kissed his eyes. The moist eyelashes that closed reflexively passed their dampness to Hanseo’s lips.

Hanseo released Junseong and sat down next to him on the bed. Then, suddenly supporting Junseong’s back and behind his knees, he lifted him and seated him sideways on his lap. With one arm around Junseong’s shoulders, pulling him into his chest, and the other wrapping around his legs to prevent him from escaping, Hanseo held him close.

Junseong, embarrassed by the awkward position of sitting sideways on another man’s lap, frowned.

“What are you doing?”

“Comforting you.”

Despite his face remaining cold and intimidating, his touch as he patted Junseong was gentle, like a different person.

Junseong felt like he might cry even more, so he bowed his head and struggled to push Hanseo away.

“Let go. We don’t have time for this.”

“No, we have plenty of time. Just stay like this for a moment.”

“Hey! I need to right now…!”

As Junseong began to shout in anger, Hanseo’s lips silenced him. Startled by the unexpected kiss, Junseong’s eyes widened, and then a sharp pain shot through his lips.

“Ugh!”

Junseong swallowed a groan as he turned his head, his lips bitten hard. There was a slight metallic taste, indicating that his lips had been slightly torn.

“Think straight and be yourself.”

Hanseo’s breath touched Junseong’s sore lips. This time, without biting, he gently licked the painful spot, speaking emotionlessly.

“I’m not telling you not to worry. You can worry.”

Hanseo had never experienced worrying about someone else’s safety, so he couldn’t understand the mental anguish it caused. He could only vaguely recall his time in the isolation room with Kang Junseong.

‘Was being careful not to tear it apart considered worrying? No, even before that, watching over him so he wouldn’t be scared might have been worrying about Kang Junseong.’

If it was a similar emotion, he could somewhat understand. So he didn’t try to stop Junseong from worrying.

“But I can’t watch you do something reckless because of your worries.”

“What gives you the right to allow or not allow that?”

Junseong glared at Hanseo, trying to push him away. As if anticipating this, Hanseo’s arms didn’t budge.

“Did you forget?”

Hanseo’s cold eyes looked down at Junseong.

“You’re the only one who knows my past, and you’re the one who can change my past.”

The heavy yet clear fact shook Junseong.

To Do Hanseo, Kang Junseong was someone who must never die. Even to change his past.

Junseong finally understood why Hanseo was trying to stop him.

“So I deserve this much right, don’t I?”

“What… right?”

The right entrusted with your past, perhaps.

“The right of your dog.”

“……?”

Junseong’s face twisted in confusion. The term ‘the right of your dog’ was far from what he expected, and it bewildered him.

“I’m your dog, aren’t I?”

Hanseo whispered as he teasingly kissed Junseong’s lips.

“A dog has the right to protect and comfort its master.”

“What kind of right is that?”

“A dog like Do Hanseo has that right.”

Calling himself a ‘dog’ repeatedly, Hanseo spoke softly as if soothing.

“Could you cooperate so this dog can protect its master, master?”

Not understanding what Hanseo was trying to say, Junseong’s eyes widened at his next words.

“The woman in that video, she’s not Kang Chaeyi.”