Rainbow City Chapter 12

Seokhwa asked for pardon before picking up his utensils.

“Really? I’m incredibly fast!”

Sure enough, she was almost halfway through her meal as soon as she sat down. That was no different for Yang Sanghoon. On the contrary, as Seokhwa felt before, Kwak Soohwan tended to eat at a slower pace, comparable to his.

“Doctor, please take your time,”

Yang Sanghoon kindly smiled. Seokhwa wanted to return the smile, but his lips didn’t move easily. Changing facial expressions required energy. Even just smiling took effort. To express rich emotions, one needed enough energy, something Seokhwa lacked. Although he had improved significantly, in his younger days, he often wore a blank expression, barely opening his mouth. Eventually, in his attempt to accumulate energy in his body, Seokhwa’s facial expressions deteriorated.

“Doctor, we need to go to the zoo after we finish eating.”

“The zoo?”

As he questioned, Kwak Soohwan nudged his water towards his plate. It was quite a parched moment.

“Dr. Seok wouldn’t even know where the zoo is.”

Was there a zoo in an area other than Jeju or Ulleungdo? Seokhwa, drinking water, found it puzzling.

“It’s in Zone 8 Red!”

A zoo in the Red Zone? The Adam virus was a dangerous pathogen that could also transmit to animals.

“We call it a zoo, but it’s where we lock up the Adams that need research and experiment on them.”

Originally, the fun part of horror movies or zombie stories was here. Locking up zombies for experiments claimed to be research was akin to the precursor to an event. The flow of zombies breaking out and turning into an apocalypse was familiar yet interesting. However, Rainbow City had already experienced all sorts of incidents.

About 30 years ago, there was a big uproar when a soldier suffering from PTSD released an Adam locked in the shelter’s basement. Since then, any Adam for research purposes was confined not in the Green Zone but in the Red Zone. It was to contain potential risks from the start. Calling it a zoo now? It seemed like new terms had emerged during her absence. Seokhwa chewed his food thoroughly and swallowed, washing it down with water.

Wee-ee-ee-eeing— Beep-beep-beep—

In an instant, Seokhwa covered one ear as the ear-piercing siren blared. HIs eyelids twitched a couple of times in rapid succession. That siren shouldn’t be blaring here. Literally, there shouldn’t be any Adams inside this shelter.

[Emergency, Emergency, Alerting emergency in the Yeouido Shelter, Green Zone. Emergency, Emergency. Everyone, get into combat readiness. Adam sighted in B-23. 75 percent chance of contagion up to the 5th floor within 3 minutes. Emergency, Emergency.]

The nerve-racking alert started pouring out. This was a Level 1 emergency broadcast designated by the Unified Nations. Everyone in the cafeteria, including Lee Chaeyoon and Yang Sanghoon, immediately stood up. In the midst of it, Lee Chaeyoon managed to gulp down the remaining rice. Yang Sanghoon swiftly picked up a sausage and tossed it into his mouth.

Seokhwa froze, holding only his utensils amidst the confusing warning sound.

“Dr. Seok.”

Kwak Soohwan grabbed Seokhwa’s forearm, asking, “Do you want to run or be carried?”

Despite the chaos of the sirens, Seokhwa quickly organized his thoughts. Being carried would be easier than running. Without a word, Seokhwa moved behind Kwak Soohwan, wrapping his arms around his neck. He felt his body tremble. Wondering why, he was taken aback when he lifted him, smiling incredulously.

“Let’s go.”

Seokhwa prompted him, knowing this wasn’t the time to linger. The elevator had been forced into shutdown mode due to the emergency, and as per the judgment, the sequential closure from the underground had commenced. Certainly, there would be soldiers who hadn’t made it up from the underground. As the way up was closed off, they would be left with the Adams. It was clear they’d get infected. The reason why the labs of the doctors were in the upper floors was that they had poorer evacuation capabilities compared to the soldiers.

Kwak Soohwan and the rest of the colleagues smoothly ascended to the final defense line of the Yeouido Shelter, up to the 48th floor. Even though they took occasional breaks while ascending, their running speed remained consistent. Seokhwa was on the verge of passing out due to motion sickness.

[Yeouido Shelter 20th Floor Annihilated, Countdown to 48th Floor Closure 1 minute ago. 59, 58, 57…]

The voice alerting the danger was calm compared to the blaring siren.

“Ah, damn. What’s with counting seconds like crazy!”

As the sergeant outran Kwak Soohwan, he cursed at the alert and dashed up at an incredible speed.

“Hey, Freak Soohwan, acting so nonchalant and falling behind?””

Lee Chaeyoon said she’d go first and ran ahead with Yang Sanghoon. Seokhwa felt like this wasn’t going to work out.

“Haah, Lieutenant Kwak.”

“I’m the one running, why is Dr. Seokhwa panting?”

“Holding onto you is also exhausting.”

Seokhwa released the grip on Kwak Soohwan’s neck.

“…Just leave me.”

“Tell Lieutenant Jang what you heard. There’s no time to wrestle, so cling to my neck tightly.”

Both couldn’t afford to die together. Seokhwa tried to push him away and stand up, but Kwak Soohwan pulled the cape off first and enveloped Seokhwa, covering him as if in a fortification.

“I have never carried my little brother like this before.”

Kwak Soohwan started running up faster than before. Seokhwa gave up struggling and quietly embraced him. If he could run without stopping like this, he wouldn’t be in this situation… He disliked burdening others just because he received special treatment for my research.

[20, 19, 18]

They were on the 43rd floor now. Reaching the 48th floor in 18 seconds was impossible.

“It’s okay, go on your own now. Others can do the research, not just me.”

“If there were alternatives, they wouldn’t have assigned me to you in the first place. Hold on tight.”

Kwak Soohwan tightly gripped the handrail of the 46th floor’s stairs and with that momentum, leaped up the stairs. Seokhwa felt dizzy.

[5, 4, 3]

Mother’s countdown was close to zero, and Seokhwa’s eyes blurred with guilt at the thought that Kwak Soohwan might suffer because of him. At that moment, Kwak Soohwan shouted towards the 48th floor.

“I’m throwing Dr.Seok, catch him!”

Kwak Soohwan grabbed Seokhwa’s collar, pulled him swiftly off his back, unwrapped the cape, and almost threw him beneath the closing bars. Yang Sanghoon caught Seokhwa, who was wrapped in the cape, and lifted him up.

“Nice catch.”

Yang Sanghoon gave a thumbs up, saying it was a good pass.

“Freak Soohwan, good work.”

Lee Chaeyoon waved casually. They must be in the middle of Adam’s ascent, yet it was incomprehensible why they were so relaxed.

“Lieutenant… Lieutenant Kwak… there.”

Seokhwa looked outside the bars at Kwak Soohwan with a pale, expressionless face.

“Dr. Seok, listen to me. I saved you, a smart doctor, for the sake of humanity. Remember me, regret not sucking up to me, apologize for calling me dirty, and live.”

Kwak Soohwan clutched the bars with gloved hands, speaking earnestly. What on earth was happening? It had only been a few days since arriving in Seoul, yet not only the assassinated doctor but also the late senior Oh Cheong-woon and the supposedly secure Yeouido Shelter had been breached by Adam. Worse still, it was because of him that Kwak Soohwan’s life had been pushed to the brink.

Mother always told him not to sacrifice himself for others, but such things were inevitable. On the contrary, it was his actions that caused him to be sacrificed.

“…Lieutenant Kwak.”

Seokhwa’s lips trembled.

“If you had sucked up to me when asked, you wouldn’t have regrets. Take care. It was a short time, but Dr. Seok, you were quite an interesting person.”

“You moron. Are you shooting a movie right now?”

Lee Chaeyoon teased Kwak Soohwan while some soldiers behind him, unable to enter the 48th floor, looked distressed. Instead of preparing for combat, they were swearing.

Yang Sanghoon steadied Seokhwa, who was swaying.

“Dr. Seokhwa, are you alright?”

“I’m… fine.”

Yang Sanghoon noticed Seokhwa’s intermittent trembling, even reaching her shoulders.

“Dr. Seokhwa, this must be your first time experiencing this.”

“…What?”

“This, it’s nothing significant.”

Nothing significant? Seokhwa looked at Yang Sanghoon with eyes full of questions. Somehow, from his desperate gaze, Yang Sanghoon felt a sense of guilt. Kwak Soohwan teased him, but he should be the one making amends. Yang Sanghoon made an effort to smile at Seokhwa.

“It’s not a big deal, it’s an emergency drill. It started after Adam breached Gangnam Shelter. Soldiers who can’t make it in time, like now…”

“They have to undergo training. Is this the first time Freak Soohwan is doing this? Oh, come on. Doctor, did you know? Freak Soohwan once trained me right as I landed on the 48th floor. That jerk is a real piece of work.”

Seokhwa still looked at Kwak Soohwan with a pale face.

“So… this, right now… it’s not a real situation?”

Beyond the bars, Kwak Soohwan smiled suavely.

“Surely, Dr. Seok, are you scared?”

Seokhwa clenched his fist without any strength. It wasn’t tight due to the trembling. His lips were still convulsing.

“Son of a bitch.”

[Lieutenant Kwak Soohwan and 23 others will undergo retraining. Thank you for your hard work. Please return to your respective positions.]

The alert’s voice mixed in. Because of that, Kwak Soohwan couldn’t be sure if the curse came from Seokhwa’s mouth.

***

On the CCTV screen, only people were seen moving, with no sound audible.

The military training room in the shelter’s basement was divided into Adam’s side and the soldiers’ side for training. Among them, Kwak Soohwan, in charge of Adam’s side, was seen, knocking down soldiers, even attacking Adam, who was on the same side. He grabbed Adam’s arm from behind, tried to bring him down with a punch to the face but paused, realizing it was just practice. Then, he struck a soldier’s side with a punch.

“If that was the real Adam, we would have been wiped out long ago.”

The Major watching the screen shook his head as if disgusted. Yet, a sense of pride lingered underneath.

“Today’s events turned out better. Lieutenant Kwak training with those guys might be helpful in its way, and from now on, Lieutenant Kwak will probably be more diligent.”

He lifted Seokhwa but Major Jang knew. If it was Kwak Soohwan, he would have arrived on time and still had time left. But for some reason, perhaps a whim, Seokhwa, who despised being thrown around, participated in the hated training.

“Excuse me, Dr. Seokhwa.”

“Yes.”

Seokhwa pulled a snack from his pocket, a nut-covered treat. Major Jang, puzzled by his chewing, spoke again.

“He’s a bit stubborn, but not a bad guy. Lieutenant Kwak can clear a Red Zone with his own strength. He fights surprisingly well and uses his head.”

Major Jang tapped his head.

“So, perhaps reconsider changing your security detail.”

After the emergency drill ended, it was Major Jang who brought Seokhwa, who demanded a change in the guarding soldiers, to the training control room. His face, seemingly expressionless, had an almost pale hue, as if he’d collapse at a push.

“Look at this! Lieutenant Kwak single-handedly did it, didn’t he?”