Rainbow City

Seokhwa casually spread his legs despite the subtly suggestive tone. Though lacking any hint of sexiness, he was curious if Seokhwa was aware of the firmness of his thighs, so Kwak Soohwan intentionally grasped Seokhwa’s thigh. Meanwhile, Kwak Soohwan, pulling out a parachute-shaped backpack from below, removed the bag Seokhwa was carrying and replaced it with the parachute belt. Due to the wind, Seokhwa’s back arched, pushing his hips forward.

“Just in case you’re wondering, don’t worry too much about the preparation, okay? You know how we listen to the safety briefing before takeoff on an airplane. It’s kind of like that.”

He reassured Seokhwa, fearing he might get scared once the parachute was put on. However, Seokhwa seemed unperturbed.

“If we need to escape from here, we’ll jump out through that door over there. Don’t open it immediately after jumping. Don’t jump and spread it out; you should jump straight down. When you feel the helicopter is far enough away, pull this, and the parachute will open. But don’t worry; you won’t need to use it for real.”

He repeated his reassurance several times. There was a perception that helicopters were slightly more dangerous than planes or ships, which is why he emphasized it. Indeed, helicopters were considered riskier for civilians to ride.

“Don’t worry. Even if such a situation arises, I’ll escape well.”

Kwak Soohwan tidied up Seokhwa’s head, which had been carelessly tossed about in the wind. Seokhwa closed his eyes contentedly at the touch.

“That’s enough.”

Lee Chaeyoon, who had climbed into the cockpit, thumped Kwak Soohwan’s seat with her fist. Kwak Soohwan, without yielding, neatly tidied up Seokhwa’s head before sitting in the cockpit. He flicked a switch mounted at the top.

“How long has it been since you’ve flown?”

Kwak Soohwan asked Seokhwa again, checking him once more.

“That was the last time.”

There had been no further helicopter support for the Indestructible Battalion since they lost their helicopter.

Military helicopters used jet fuel (JP-8), and fortunately, a generous amount was stored inside the helicopter. Since they would need to refuel en route, it seemed they would have to make Seokhwa’s home their destination.

After the helicopter’s engine started safely, the slow rotation of the propeller suddenly accelerated. Kwak Soohwan began to lift the helicopter rapidly, as he had during maneuver training. The helicopter’s body shook violently in the wind. Seokhwa tightly gripped the belt around his shoulder, repeatedly checking the belt I held to ensure the parachute didn’t deploy inside.

As the helicopter soared upward, the noise from the spinning propeller was deafening. Although Kwak Soohwan and Lee Chaeyoon said something, Seokhwa couldn’t hear a thing. But as they reached a certain altitude, the helicopter stabilized and began to move forward. The sea lay directly ahead. Their journey back to Jeju Island had begun.

***

Two hours later, near Jeju Island’s Sehwa Beach.

Seokhwa tried to look at Kwak Soohwan in the helicopter, which was spinning round and round, but his neck was too stiff. Kwak Soohwan, holding onto the controls, managed to maintain altitude. Lee Chaeyoon, who had been sitting in the cockpit, quickly released her seatbelt and jumped out to grab Seokhwa. She held him firmly in front of her, securing him with a belt.

Shouting, she forcefully opened the helicopter’s door with all her might.

Before she could finish her sentence, Lee Chaeyoon hurled herself into the air. Black smoke billowed continuously from the helicopter. Seokhwa tried to look up, but he couldn’t move his head due to the wind blowing from below.

As Lee Chaeyoon unfolded the parachute’s wings, a tremendous roar erupted from the direction of the helicopter.

***

[Second Master, Major Lee Chaeyoon is approaching Jeju Island.] 

Second lifted his head at the emergency alert from Mother. His office desk was cluttered with various documents and information about acquaintances of Oh Yang-seok.

“Major Lee Chaeyoon?”

While it was Rainbow City’s regulation to insert a chip for tracking into the body, there was an exception for honorific families. This was because they could be exposed to surveillance or espionage due to their central power. However, since Lee Chaeyoon was deeply associated with Kwak Soohwan, Second instructed her to insert a chip under the pretext of an Adam vaccine when she underwent a physical examination. Even as Second, he couldn’t open GPS monitoring without the adviser’s permission. Second had set up a warning to Mother if anyone approached Jeju Island among the key personnel.

If Lee Chaeyoon was approaching Jeju Island without permission, she was likely not alone.

“Connect me to Sehwa Army Headquarters.” 

After a few seconds of connection, a response came from the army headquarters.

“An unidentified helicopter is approaching Sehwa Beach.”

Second Master slammed his desk forcefully, eyes wide open.

“Stop the intercept! Stop it right now!”

“Who authorized the intercept?”

The soldier at the communication center hesitated for a moment before responding in a tone of utter disbelief.

“What did you say?”

“How on earth was this confirmation made?”

Second quickly accessed the army’s security system with his keyboard. A duplicate access system message popped up. Second instructed to track who had accessed his unique server, but the access location was his own office.

What the…

“Damn it!”

Second threw his keyboard towards the glass window. He felt tension in his legs and his toes twitched. Second covered his lower body with a large cloth.

[Master, the helicopter has been intercepted, but fortunately, there is a person who has made an emergency escape. Shooting at the emergency escape personnel has been halted.]

“Report the identity of the emergency escape personnel immediately.”

Second moved his motorized wheelchair towards the direction where the keyboard had flown. He had a ominous feeling that the person who accompanied Lee Chaeyoon might be Seokhwa. If so, he hoped that Seokhwa was the one who had escaped safely.

Second didn’t even think about picking up the fallen keyboard and instead looked out through the front glass window.

Around Eden Hill, members of prestigious families, soldiers, and researchers were arranged radially. It looked like various branches extending like a spider web. Among them, there were four rivers, and through them, Kwak Soohwan and Seokhwa emerged.

The place Seokhwa’s fellow researchers arrived at was Dr. Kim and Choi Hoeon.

A circle was marked next to Choi Hoeon’s name.

***

Even though he landed on the sandy beach with a parachute, the impact was enormous.

Despite trying to minimize the shock by moving his legs vigorously upon landing, he got tangled in the sand and stumbled. In the urgency, Lee Chaeyoon lifted Seokhwa onto her body to shield him as much as possible.

Seokhwa, covered in sand, struggled to remove the fabric of the parachute with his hands. The more he struggled, the more entangled he became. When Lee Chaeyoon cut the straps with a jackknife, Seokhwa quickly crawled forward, trying to escape from the sandy beach. There was no sign of the helicopter in the air. Only flames flickered in the far-off sea, along with black smoke. It looked like the remains of an exploded helicopter.

“…Doctor.”

Lee Chaeyoon, who had stood up and brushed off the sand, called out to Seokhwa. Seokhwa just stared blankly at the sea.

“Don’t worry. Kwak Soohwan will be fine. This isn’t the first or second time we’ve been through something like this.”

However, Lee Chaeyoon’s voice also trembled with anxiety.

“Doctor, it seems like we’re in big trouble too.”

Soldiers from the Sehwa Garrison began to surround Seokhwa and Lee Chaeyoon. Lee Chaeyoon straightened her uniform and composed herself.

“I’m Major Lee Chaeyoon from Yeouido Invincible Battalion, you guys out of your minds? Don’t you see the helicopter markings? With our already limited resources, you shoot down a helicopter?!”

The unauthorized entry into Jeju Island was the problem, but Lee Chaeyoon instead lashed out at the soldiers.

“We only shot it down because we received the request to do so.”

Seokhwa, still sitting on the ground, clenched sand in both hands. The sand slipping through his fingers felt like hundreds of glass shards.

“A request to shoot it down? Who the hell gave that order?”

Given the enormous cost and time involved in training pilots, usually only city soldiers could operate helicopters or planes. Moreover, there were very few soldiers who were trained pilots. Even in wartime situations, pilots were to be taken as prisoners, not killed. It had never occurred to anyone that a helicopter would be shot down, even in a crisis like the current one. Protecting pilots, even if they were enemies, was an unwritten rule.

“Who the hell was it?!”

When Lee Chaeyoon shouted, the platoon leader cautiously intervened.

“Second… Master.”

Although Second Master revoked the order to shoot down, he was evidently the one who initially gave the command.

Seokhwa, who had been staring blankly at the sea, finally turned to look at the platoon leader. As the soldiers approached closer to escort Lee Chaeyoon and Seokhwa, Seokhwa stood up, holding onto Lee Chaeyoon’s arm.

“Let’s not resist. We can walk. They might kill us all here, so let’s not provoke them. I’ll manage.”

Lee Chaeyoon held onto Seokhwa’s arm.

“Doctor, are you okay?”

Seokhwa gripped his chest tightly. His heart felt suffocated. It felt like someone was strangling him. It was undoubtedly because of Kwak Soohwan. That’s why he felt this pain.

“We will take you to Udo Island. Second Master ordered so.”

Seokhwa felt an immense resentment at the mention of Second Master. He had never experienced such overwhelmingly negative emotions that were so difficult to accept. It resembled anger. Someone once said that people can get sick and die from a broken heart, but he had never empathized with that sentiment. However, now, he felt like he could truly die if the anger and sadness accumulated inside him without an outlet.

When his mother passed away, he only truly realized after the funeral that he would never see her again. But the thought of never seeing Kwak Soohwan again didn’t feel real. That’s why he believed he would be safe. Seokhwa couldn’t take his eyes off the distant sea where flames were dying down. He kept imagining Kwak Soohwan emerging from the water.

***

After a 15-minute high-speed boat ride from Seongsan Port, Udo Island, the rearmost and highest part of Rainbow City where only the elite resided, came into view.

Seokhwa retched due to seasickness, and Lee Chaeyoon rolled her eyes, saying she would die at this rate. Seokhwa, despite retching on the boat, couldn’t tear his gaze away from the sea. He didn’t know if Kwak Soohwan was somewhere out there. But even until they arrived on Udo Island and drove towards Second’s mansion, Kwak Soohwan’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

Udo Island, untouched by human hands, was as beautiful as any resort in a country only recorded in history. People were seen walking along the cliffside paths, which had been naturally eroded. Seokhwa found this landscape strangely surreal. There was no hint of anxiety among those laughing and chatting leisurely on the promenade. It was a world so different from the mainland, where one couldn’t venture outside without fear.

The peace in this scene felt utterly unfamiliar. Were they all like this before Adam appeared? Kwak Soohwan wouldn’t have been in danger either, right? Was it right for countless people to sacrifice themselves for the privilege enjoyed by a few? Seokhwa didn’t envy those who lived here. The only thing he could be sure of was that Rainbow City, as Kwak Soohwan said, was wrong.

“From here, Second Master’s butler will guide you.”

It only took a few minutes to reach the mansion facing the gem-colored beach. After passing three security checkpoints, Second Master’s mansion came into view. Countless surveillance cameras monitored the vehicle Seokhwa was in. Why was such strict security even in this safe place? Seokhwa got out of the car, feeling overwhelmed by the sight of the enormous mansion.

He heard the sound of waves crashing against the cliffs. Second Master, sitting in a wheelchair in front of the central door of the mansion, smiled kindly. Seokhwa walked towards Second, feeling a bit uneasy. The soldiers guarding Second and his butler tried to stop Seokhwa, but Second gestured that it was okay.

“You must have had a hard time getting here, Dr. Seok.”

Seokhwa looked down at Second sitting in the wheelchair.

“Yes, I made it without dying.”

Seokhwa was that kind of person. Second’s smiling face turned serious.

***

The icy water, turning into hundreds and thousands of needles piercing his body, was already a familiar sensation, so it didn’t feel significant. If there was anything unbearable, it was the saltwater.

“Ah, fuck.”

Kwak Soohwan, crawling up onto the sandy beach, vomited and spat out seawater. As soon as he finished expelling the water, he collapsed onto the sandy shore. Gasping for breath, he looked up at the sky, noticing the stars densely scattered across the clear sky.

Me… surely I don’t think I’m dead, right?

If you make a move, the other party won’t stay still.

He muttered in a tone mixed with jokes, but his expression was as cold as ever. He rose to his feet and threw his soaking wet training shirt onto the sandy beach. There was no time to catch his breath in a place like this.

Behind Kwak Soohwan, who had drifted to Rabbit Island riding the current, he could see Udo Island floating steeply. Even though it was a relatively short distance, swimming against the current towards the light was obviously impossible.

Kwak Soohwan stripped off his shirt and, leaving only his military dog tags dangling loosely around his neck, began to swim towards Rabbit Island. Unlike the summer when white flowers bloomed, the dormant seagrasses rustled as the stranger entered. Rabbit Island was only connected to the mainland when the water receded, and the incoming tide was slowly approaching. Kwak Soohwan pushed through the waist-deep water towards the mainland. The speed of the incoming water was not slow, so he had to swim and escape at the halfway point.

Damn, it’s so cold.

After treading water in place and shaking off the water, Kwak Soohwan began to run towards where there were residential houses. The order to shoot down a perfectly good helicopter must have come from at least a colonel or higher, and the only person here who could watch us with such influence would be Second.

Only after confirming that Seokhwa had jumped off with Lee Chaeyoon did Kwak Soohwan move towards the sea and ditch the helicopter. Deploying a parachute over the sea would only result in drowning, so he had come this far without deploying the backpack, using it as a tube instead.

Continuing to run along the road leading to the beach, he saw small tidal pools hidden among the basalt rocks. Spitting out the gritty salt residue remaining in his mouth, he headed towards the houses by the road.

Once a popular tourist destination, there were still townhouses and guesthouses remaining, but the sewage system was not as robust as before. Construction of the city gas pipeline was also halted due to Adam’s appearance, so only houses with oil boilers or fireplaces could be inhabited.

Kwak Soohwan spotted a house with an open door. He walked in and rinsed his mouth with the water in the yard before splashing it on his body.

“Who, who’s there?”

The startled old man suddenly appeared at the door and peered outside. Kwak Soohwan scooped up water with a basin and rinsed himself again before gulping down the water. He showed the old man his military dog tags.

“I’m a Rainbow City Army Major. I’ve run into some trouble on my way to Jeju Island.”

The mention of being a soldier made the old man visibly tense. Although Jeju Island was a clean zone, the influence of the military here was not much different from the mainland. There was a rumor that a resident of Hadori, who had been receiving rice rations, was hit and killed by a soldier a few months ago.

“Oh, what about your clothes?”

The old man seemed even more uneasy with sweat on his face and body.

“I ended up stranded on Rabbit Island due to some trouble during the journey to Jeju Island. I’m sorry, but can I borrow some clothes?”

Before the old man could give his permission, Kwak Soohwan hurriedly walked towards the house. Having rid himself of the chill, he was now dripping water.

“May I come in?”

The old man looked up at Kwak Soohwan and nodded.

Taking off his military boots, Kwak Soohwan used a towel hanging on the drying rack to dry himself off. He took off the leg holster hanging on his thigh and looked around for clothes to wear. However, there were only pants and shirts that didn’t fit him at all, and they were brightly colored.

“Excuse me.”

In the inner room, the old man held out a training suit.

“My son used to wear this when he went to the mainland a long time ago. I’m not sure if it’ll fit you, but…”

It was a training suit with a faded company logo engraved on it.

“Thank you.”

The old man also handed him a new pair of underwear wrapped in transparent plastic. Knowing that he might be taken advantage of, he made sure to provide everything necessary, so Kwak Soohwan felt a little uncomfortable. He sincerely thanked the old man and changed into the clothes he was given. The top was in the form of a windbreaker, and surprisingly, it provided decent insulation.

He rummaged through the pockets of his discarded pants and pulled out his wallet. Opening the wallet drenched in seawater, he found that even the bills were completely soaked in salt. When he handed over some money, the old man’s eyes widened.

“This much money…”

“I’m grateful, that’s why.”

Kwak Soohwan wiped the moisture from his wallet with a towel and stepped back outside. The old man offered a pair of sneakers, but Kwak Soohwan declined, saying it was okay and wiped only the insides with a towel. It had been about five minutes since he entered. Kwak Soohwan, who had finished preparing to leave, tightened the laces of his military boots.

The radio playing in the background, set to the usual military broadcast for Gujwa-eup, sounded. Seeing Kwak Soohwan, who resembled the description from the broadcast, the old man clenched the bills tightly in his hands. Then, the old man’s gaze fell on the gun in Kwak Soohwan’s holster.

“P-please spare me.”

Kwak Soohwan sighed. Reluctantly, he took off his military boots and pushed the old man back into the house. He found a room with a landline phone while the old man kept repeating his plea for mercy. There was a note on the wall with the numbers for the Safe Center or the Army Center.

Kwak Soohwan didn’t pick up the receiver but switched to speaker mode. He dialed the number for the Army Center written prominently on the note.

Prestigious, my ass.

“Why am I looking for you?”

“Is Dr. Seok and Major Lee Chaeyoon being detained?”

“I’ll find out for myself, but tell me if Dr. Seok and Major Lee Chaeyoon are safe.”

The signal was a bit noisy beyond the speaker, then a confused tone was heard. Whatever. Recognizing him was easy even just by his voice.

Kwak Soohwan lowered and raised his eyelids.

“…Second Master.”

Even just from his voice, it was easy to deduce who he was.

[Why are you trying to pick a fight with me? I just can’t understand. If you had just followed my orders properly, things wouldn’t have gotten so complicated like this. You know I trust you.]

“Is Dr. Seok being held by Second Master? If Second Master harms Dr. Seok in any way…”

“Why not? Second Master, I could at least pull the trigger and die.”

Kwak Soohwan realized that his hands were sweaty despite his cold body. He wanted to believe that Second wouldn’t do anything rash, but he was worried that Second might have injured himself while jumping, or worse, that Second might have tortured Dr. Seok.

“So tell me how Dr. Seok is doing.”

Second Master emitted a low hum as if pressing down his anger.

“Is it true that Dr. Seok is with you? At least let me hear his voice, and then I’ll believe you.”

Click, the call was abruptly cut off. Now that he thought about it, it seemed that the Army Center had connected the line to where Second was. Kwak Soohwan also pressed the speaker button to disconnect the call and strapped the leg holster to his thigh.

“Old man, put that down.”

The old man was holding a frying pan, which he didn’t even know where he got it from.

“I-I can’t just die like this!”

Seeing him struggling weakly, squeezing out all his strength, made me feel like a villain. Kwak Soohwan quickly snatched the frying pan from the old man and placed it on the floor.

“If I were going to kill you, would I give you money like this? I’m really busy right now, you know?”

His lips were still tightly sealed, wrinkles deepening. It was time for Kwak Soohwan to leave.

“I can get to Seongsan Port, but Udo is guarded by soldiers, so not just anyone can go there.”

A slightly softened voice collided with Kwak Soohwan’s back.

“And the boats only sail once or twice a day. It’s so dark like this, they won’t sail anymore today.”

Telling me to wait until tomorrow is like telling me to wait until I die of thirst.

Kwak Soohwan nodded his thanks towards the old man and went back outside to put on his military boots again.

“Hey.”