Rainbow City

“Does anyone have an accurate assessment of the situation inside Yeouido Shelter right now?”

Instead of responding to Kwak Soohwan’s shout, the lieutenant bristled with anger. He was already trying to board the helicopter, urging everyone to move to a safe place.

“I asked if anyone has seen Adam inside the shelter!”

The two men in the helicopter were holding loaded guns, unsure of what to do as they watched the lieutenant rush towards the helicopter. Being a high-ranking officer, the lieutenant had no choice but to order the helicopter to depart. Sure enough, as soon as the lieutenant boarded the helicopter, he urged for an immediate takeoff. Kwak Soohwan ran to the helicopter, grabbed the lieutenant by the collar, and dragged him out.

“How dare you! Do you want to die for insubordination?!”

The lieutenant drew his pistol and aimed it at Kwak Soohwan. But before he could fire, Kwak Soohwan roughly struck the lieutenant’s wrist, causing the gun to fall.

“What are you two idiots doing? Arrest this bastard!”

The two soldiers hesitated, pointing their guns at Kwak Soohwan but not firing.

“You brainless morons! You disrespect orders and discipline, that’s why the city is in this mess! I’ll make sure you’re thrown into the military police!”

Kwak Soohwan reached into his shirt and pulled out his military ID. Swiftly, he revealed the controller ID recognized by Rainbow City.

“I’m Kwak Soohwan, Rainbow City Controller. Lieutenant Oh, who has disobeyed my orders by boarding the helicopter, has failed to fulfill his duty to take responsibility for and protect Yeouido Shelter. After this incident is resolved, I will report him to a military tribunal. If he resists, it’s permissible to shoot him.”

The two men inside the helicopter checked the internal ID and stood blocking the entrance, despite Lieutenant Oh’s protests, which seemed like lies to the other senior officials who knew him. So far, they had no choice but to follow his lead.

When he aimed his loaded gun at the noisy lieutenant, the man fell silent. Kwak Soohwan began to descend instead of going up to the rooftop where people were gathering.

Among the crowd were researchers and employees who resided in the high-rise building. Armed soldiers escorted the people, but amidst them, Seokhwa was nowhere to be seen.

Kwak Soohwan grabbed a lieutenant who was escorting the crowd.

“Has Adam come up from the lower floors?”

“Yes. The exact details are unclear, but there are soldiers among the infected. There may be survivors on each closed floor.”

There were evacuation spaces on each floor in case of Adam’s emergence. But even within those spaces, if Adam managed to infiltrate, everyone inside would be trapped and doomed.

“Since helicopter support is available, join and escort the people. After escorting all the survivors, gather all remaining soldiers on the rooftop. If I can’t join you there, Lieutenant Kim, you’ll have to push Adam down from the top again.”

Due to Adam’s emergence in various locations, many commanders, including majors and lieutenant colonels, were out in the field. What remained in the shelter were mostly senior officials and warrant officers. Even the lieutenants felt fear, but the soldiers here were the only ones capable of eliminating Adam.

“I will comply with the orders.”

Ignoring Mother’s broadcast, Kwak Soohwan hurriedly pushed people aside and descended. Major Lee Yeontae’s room was on the 58th floor. If Seokhwa hadn’t escaped the 58th floor, he would be trapped inside. Kwak Soohwan checked for people as he descended the stairs, but Seokhwa was still nowhere to be found.

Kwak Soohwan threw himself under the steel door descending from above. With a thud, as soon as he rolled in, the entrance to the 58th floor was completely sealed. Kwak Soohwan drew his gun from the holster and aimed down the corridor. The elevator was out of service, and the lights on the corridor ceiling flickered.

As Kwak Soohwan approached the soldier standing in the corridor with his gun aimed, the man was banging his head against the wall. Then he sniffed and looked up at Kwak Soohwan. With eyes reddened and blood around his mouth, it was evident that he was Adam. Kwak Soohwan fired at the man rushing towards him. But why was there only one?

Kwak Soohwan kicked the corpse and proceeded to Lee Yeontae’s room. Dr. Seok, you’re unharmed, right? Despite Adam’s emergence, the eerily silent atmosphere on the 58th floor only intensified the ominous feeling.

Blinking, blinking, even the lights seemed uneasy as if there was a problem with the power supply. What was even more strange was that all the offices visible from the corridor were closed. The auditorium door was tightly shut, and the preparation room door was tightly wound around the uniform’s rope, as if someone had locked it from the outside.

Have they locked Adam inside here? No way…

Kwak Soohwan moved as swiftly as possible towards Lee Yeontae’s room. As he turned the corner, Lee Yeontae’s room came into view, and the door was wide open. Kwak Soohwan clenched and unclenched his fist again. He walked briskly to the door and swung it open wide. A sprawled body was visible. His heart sank as he saw that the man was wearing a uniform and there seemed to be a bullet hole in his head.

Could it be that Seokhwa has already fled upstairs and I just haven’t run into him yet? No, that can’t be. There’s no way I wouldn’t have found Seokhwa.

Exiting Lee Yeontae’s room, Kwak Soohwan took a deep breath. Then I have to find him. He desperately wanted to believe that Seokhwa was hiding because of Adam.

He struck the bottom part of the steel door with his gun. Clang, kwang, clang. The sound of the door reverberated through the quiet corridor on the 58th floor.

“Seokhwa!”

At Kwak Soohwan’s shout, thud! A sound as if someone collided with something was heard. Then again, thud! It wasn’t just one person, but at least a few slamming into the door.

“Seokhwa hyung!”

Crack! Along with the sound of a wooden door breaking, the door to the military council room in the middle of the corridor shattered. At the same time, Adam, trapped inside, started screaming and rushing out. At least ten, maybe twenty of them. Kwak Soohwan thought maybe Seokhwa was the one who trapped them. If that’s the case, killing them all will be the end of it. As long as he can meet Seokhwa after killing them all.

“Major!”

It was when Kwak Soohwan shattered the jaw of the first one to rush at him. Seokhwa’s voice was heard.

It was a faint voice, almost as if I had imagined it. Kwak Soohwan instinctively turned around but had to face forward again because of Adam charging at him. It was a very brief moment, but he clearly saw Seokhwa’s face. It was from the restroom next to Lee Yeontae’s room. There, Seokhwa was poking his head out from the outside of the door. Kwak Soohwan wanted to rush to Seokhwa right away, but the rampaging ones were the problem.

“Close the door and stay inside!”

Kwak Soohwan yelled while facing the front.

!

The mutated entities were mostly soldiers, muscular and robust. Facing such opponents, Kwak Soohwan couldn’t even keep his wits about him.

With screams, the infected rushed forward, crawling over the bodies strewn in front of them, each intent on attacking first. The distance was too close for him to shoot, so he resorted to smashing skulls with his fists. Brain fluid and blood dripped down, unable to penetrate his leather gloves.

What the hell are these things?

Confusingly, one at the far end was attacking Adam. From the torn flesh on the cheek and the way it moved, it was clearly Adam. Grabbing Adam’s mandible torn off by the creature, Kwak Soohwan used it as a shield and charged forward. Those already frenzied made Kwak Soohwan breathe heavily as well.

“What are you, bastard?”

After smashing the heads of twelve, the corridor was grotesquely smeared not just with blood but with brains. No slaughterhouse could match this scene. The one gnawing on the torn cheek shook its head as if in a federal spasm. It seemed like it was behaving just before turning into Adam.

While the time for mutation varied for each person, Kwak Soohwan had never witnessed Adam attacking another Adam. If that thing is immune, then… Crunching, the creature coughed up blood from inside its throat. After making indistinct sounds, it looked at Kwak Soohwan with bleary eyes. Twisting its distorted leg, it reached inside its uniform. Suddenly, it pulled out a gun. Kwak Soohwan also drew his gun, aiming at the creature instead of using Adam as a shield.

Bang! The muzzle of the gun was pointed not at Kwak Soohwan but at its own Adam’s apple. It was unbelievable. Kwak Soohwan looked down at the soldier who had committed suicide.

Was it in the midst of mutation? Did it choose suicide before completely losing its mind? He removed the soldier’s dog tag. He was one of the sergeants guarding the 58th floor.

Kwak Soohwan only took off the ID and put it in his back pocket, then removed his gloves. Carefully avoiding any parts where brain or organs might have tainted his boots, he began to sprint.

Clang! Opening the closed restroom door, gentle classical music flowed out. This officer’s restroom, which only Lee Yeontae and similar-ranked individuals could use, might be the cleanest in the building. He closed the door firmly and stepped inside. There were only three stalls available, and only one of them was closed. Kwak Soohwan approached and called out to Seokhwa.

“Dr. Seok.”

Click, with the sound of the lock being released, the door slowly opened. Seokhwa’s pupils were dilated, eyes wide with shock and fear, making Kwak Soohwan’s heart ache. He reached out and pulled Seokhwa towards him, then cupped Seokhwa’s cheeks with both hands. Feeling the warmth, Kwak Soohwan briefly closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine. And Major?”

“I’m okay.”

He lowered his forehead and lightly bumped Seokhwa’s forehead.

“I tried to go up… but Adam kept following me… I couldn’t make it.”

If Seokhwa had climbed to the rooftop, perhaps the area above would have been devastated even before I arrived. However, Kwak Soohwan didn’t want Seokhwa to sacrifice himself. He almost blamed him for not prioritizing his own safety, but Kwak Soohwan swallowed his words.

“You did well. Did Dr. Seok lock everything up?”

After removing their foreheads, Seokhwa nodded.

“Next time, just make sure to avoid danger. Luck doesn’t always favor us.”

“It’s not luck. I was waiting for a phone call.”

“Huh?”

Despite the blood stains on his clothes, he couldn’t resist anymore and hugged Seokhwa tightly.

From his thin, trembling ears to his neck, he nuzzled his nose. Seokhwa raised his hand and stroked Kwak Soohwan’s head. His hand still trembled with tension.

“When the phone rings, infected Adams also gather at the sound. I was waiting for the right moment, but the call never came.”

Kwak Soohwan let out a deep sigh inwardly. He had clearly told Seokhwa not to call Major Lee Yeontae’s room. Seokhwa had hung up, thinking that the call would come again.

“I didn’t do it because you knew it was risky.”

“I kept calling from one room to another in Major’s room. When Adams gathered, I went there, closed the door, and escaped like that. At first, there were more soldiers who were fine, and they all tried to block them… But the Major ordered the soldiers to guard the shelter and ran away by himself. Then more people came up from below…”

The Adams below must have also come up to the 58th floor, which was closed off according to Mother’s judgment. Kwak Soohwan held the still trembling Seokhwa firmly. He wanted to continue touching and comforting him, but this city never allowed such leisure.

“What was the announcement about confirming survivors with the Adam Kit?”

Seokhwa pushed away Kwak Soohwan’s chest, indicating that he was fine now. He approached the sink and turned on the tap. Water flowed out to check if there were any problems with the water tank, and Seokhwa splashed cold water on his face. He gestured for Kwak Soohwan to come closer, who also washed his face with water.

Watching from behind, Seokhwa continued speaking.

“Among the vaccines distributed by Eden Gardens, there was a vaccine containing dormant parasites. These parasites wake up and start functioning when exposed to the Adam virus. They play a role in preventing the progression of the Adam virus. You remember the video of Serpent from Eden Gardens getting vaccinated and then administering the Adam virus to his body, right? He was definitely not Choi Hoeon, so they used a stand-in. It’s true that within the time frame we know, there were no mutations. So, the people of Eden Gardens had no choice but to trust the vaccine.”

Kwak Soohwan lifted his head and met Seokhwa’s gaze reflected in the mirror.

“So, does that mean the vaccine containing the parasite slowed down the progression of the virus?”

“Yes. The speed at which complications caused by malaria parasites occur varies for each person. There may have been instances where Adam suddenly appeared in areas where there was no Adam before.”

Seokhwa’s words were correct. The higher-ups didn’t even realize how dangerous the situation was.

“Then, it’s possible that citizens who received the problematic vaccine are still out there somewhere?”

“Yes. That’s why they asked for a broadcast advising people not to get vaccinated. It was done by Major Lee Yeontae.”

Kwak Soohwan, who was holding onto the sink, turned his body around.

“Is the hypothesis about there still being carriers of the Adam virus who haven’t mutated certain?”

“It’s a certainty. Among the evacuees, there could be people who recently received the Eden Gardens vaccine. People showing symptoms of malaria infection also need to be isolated. However, this malignant malaria doesn’t maintain a constant fever. We need to isolate those showing fever symptoms, but the problem is they could be mixed with patients with just a common cold.”

Since there weren’t many isolation rooms, those showing abnormal symptoms had to be grouped together.

Seokhwa pressed his eyes tightly with both hands and then released them. He was engulfed in immense fatigue, but he was trying hard to suppress it. Kwak Soohwan grabbed the wet doorknob with his wet hand and opened it. Perhaps because the 58th floor was closed off, only the carnage I had caused was spread out. He held Seokhwa’s hand and walked out of the bathroom to Lee Yeontae’s room. Thankfully, the room was right next door in case Seokhwa had vomited after seeing the carnage.

Kwak Soohwan, who had dragged the corpses strewn on the floor outside, locked the door. Where the corpses had been dragged away, it looked as if a mop had passed, leaving behind smeared bloodstains. Seokhwa followed the blood with his eyes before looking up. It was true that he had tried to shoot the soldier who had initiated the mutation in this room. However, the soldier somehow regained his senses and managed to leave the corridor on his own. Since then, Seokhwa hadn’t known the whereabouts of the soldier.

The bodies inside were the Adams that had been inside when Kwak Soohwan locked the mutated soldiers in the preparation room and returned. The receiver was still on the desk since the phone had been left ringing in the preparation room. Seokhwa quietly closed the Major’s door upon sensing his presence.

Adam, sensing the movement, turned around, and Seokhwa, with a firm grip on his nerves, aimed at his forehead. Although he had practiced simulated shooting several times at the learning center, facing Adam alone made his hands and feet tremble. Moreover, he had seen this soldier several times in the cafeteria before. Kwak Soohwan had mentioned it earlier. They were all someone’s acquaintances, neighbors, or family.

Back then, he had simply thought of him as a cold-hearted person, but one day he said he had killed his family with his own hands. It still hurt a lot to think about it.

Kwak Soohwan’s expression was composed as he accessed the control code on the Major’s computer. Blood was splattered all over his clothes, but he seemed to take it in stride.

Seokhwa couldn’t understand why he felt sorry for Kwak Soohwan, who was much bigger and stronger than himself. Although he had also killed Adam to survive, the thought of killing someone didn’t come easily. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how much more self-loathing Kwak Soohwan must have felt.

Now they were trapped on the 58th floor, just as they had been before. Still, as always, the priority was to do what they could in the given situation.

“Major, earlier I contacted Second Master, and Choi Hoeon answered.”

Seeing the expression that seemed to wonder if Choi Hoeon had even gone to Udo, Seokhwa quickly added more words.

“I mentioned hacking, and it seems to be about Second Master. The call I made to Second was redirected to Choi Hoeon. I don’t know anything else, but Dr. Choi doesn’t seem to want revolution or reform.”

“I agree with you. What kind of mad scientist is that guy? Is he trying to reconstruct the world as a new species? Mother, grant access to the controller.”

Kwak Soohwan, not hiding his annoyance, smoothly delivered the matter.

The Control Tower referred to the First Master, Second Master, and Adviser.

Seokhwa also approached Kwak Soohwan’s side and listened to Mother’s words.

Seokhwa blinked his cloudy eyes and parted his lips. Kwak Soohwan let out a bitter laugh once.

“It seems like the superiors also noticed the interaction between the parasite and the virus.”

Perhaps Second Master would have been the first to realize it.

Kwak Soohwan read the message.

There was no emotion in Mother’s voice. Seokhwa held onto his arm in astonishment. The revocation of the controller position meant that both First and Second Masters had agreed.

First probably knew that Kwak Soohwan had met Second. There was a high likelihood that they revoked his position, thinking he could betray them.

“Let’s just leave these guys and run away together, Major.”

It was sweet. Seokhwa had no knack for not being swayed. It seemed like they could live happily by sneaking onto some island together.

But what if he died first?

Then Kwak Soohwan would be completely alone, and the same would be true in reverse.

“Major…”

Mother interjected before Seokhwa could finish speaking. Even though Kwak Soohwan pressed confirm, only a blank window popped up.

He tried entering numbers or letters that could be guessed as his controller code number or password, but none of them were correct.

“Can we identify who left the last message?”

“Tell me.”

Kwak Soohwan nervously seated Seokhwa in the chair. Then he himself sat on the edge of the desk.

“Why did Yeonggam set a password?”

“Maybe he didn’t want anyone else to see it.”

After revoking the controller position, what else could there be to convey? Kwak Soohwan typed on the keyboard whatever came to mind. Eden Sanctuary, Serpent, Bison, Tigris, and so on, trying various options until he thought, maybe this one? And entered the password.

Seokhwa, who had been sitting in the chair gathering his strength, also opened his eyes a bit.

“What was the password?”

“I don’t know, I just typed randomly and it worked.”

Even Seokhwa, who was seated and gathering his strength, perked up his eyes a little.

“What was the password?”

“I don’t know, I just typed randomly and it worked.”

Second doesn’t know me, so what’s there to get excited about? It was clear that they would eventually revoke my authority, sooner or later.

As the transmission ended and Kwak Soohwan’s controller authority was revoked, the connection was cut. Kwak Soohwan looked at Seokhwa, who seemed to have aged a day in just one day. Seokhwa had a way to live without any trouble.

“Do you really want to live on Udo? You saw the people there. They live in peace and happiness.”

“I don’t want to go if Major Kwak isn’t there.”

Kwak Soohwan reached out and pulled Seokhwa towards him. He leaned in, pressing his face against Seokhwa’s shoulder as if playfully.

“I deliberately said empty words because I wanted to hear that.”

Seokhwa spread his legs and straddled Kwak Soohwan’s thighs. He didn’t resist and placed his hands on Kwak Soohwan’s back.

“Hey, do you trust me?”

“I do.”

Just as easily as he would express dislike or pain, Seokhwa also responded with positivity. Seokhwa’s unwavering affirmation gave Kwak Soohwan a sense of reassurance.

Kwak Soohwan enveloped Seokhwa’s head with his large hand. Ignoring Seokhwa’s slight discomfort, he kissed his lips and slid his tongue inside. Seokhwa parted his lips slightly, gripping the shirt tightly against Kwak Soohwan’s back, matching the movements of his lips. When Kwak Soohwan released his lips, Seokhwa’s tongue lingered on his lower lip.

As Seokhwa tried to adjust his tingling tongue, Kwak Soohwan, with a mischievous smirk, delved into his lips again. He teased Seokhwa’s nipples with his hands, causing him to shudder.

“Haah,” Seokhwa whimpered as Kwak Soohwan released his lips with the nipples still between his fingers, making him breathe out heavily.

Kwak Soohwan’s instinct to cling to Seokhwa’s body like a magnet led him to caress him with his tongue. Seokhwa, lying on the desk, obediently offered his chest, feeling as if he wanted more touch.

“I’m also refraining from sucking Dr. Seok.”

He wanted to suck and nibble until the nipples swelled. Kwak Soohwan kissed his lips and then gently laid Seokhwa on the floor.

“Let’s escape from here for now.”

Seokhwa responded only with a nod. There was a faint sense of dizziness lingering on his face.

Just a while ago, he didn’t even know if he had sensation in his nipples, but now, after being skillfully caught by him, his shirt felt prickly even if it brushed against him. Seokhwa massaged his chest as if trying to soothe the erectness.

As Kwak Soohwan opened the wardrobe, he looked at Seokhwa. His gaze felt like judging a person, so Seokhwa confessed the truth.

“My nipples are hard.”

“Dr. Seok, what’s wrong with your nipples?”

Kwak Soohwan spoke as if urging Seokhwa not to lose his patience.