Rainbow City Chapter 15

“Ah, it’s cold. Let’s get in quickly, haha. We might freeze the seminal tank.”

Yang Sanghoon tried to lighten the mood by laughing and speaking, but he noticed it. Very subtle, but Seokhwa frowned.

Seokhwa’s already cold mood from the morning worsened for a reason. It was none other than because of Kwak Soohwan. He barely managed to wake up in time, took a shower, and went to the medical office, but the medical officer in charge was nowhere to be seen. Since the purpose of visiting the medical office wasn’t because of the medical officer, Seokhwa found and checked the syringes that were arranged according to the user’s names anyway.

He removed the cap covering the needle of the syringe and sucked in the medicine. Those affiliated with Rainbow City’s shelter generally knew how to administer emergency aid or injections. They needed to know how to administer vaccines themselves.

After disinfecting his forearm with an alcohol pad, Seokhwa swiftly inserted the needle. Just as he pushed the medication into his body, the door to the medical office opened.

“Dr. Seok?”

Kwak Soohwan, who was asking “Dr. Seok?” initially, quickly changed to “Dr. Seokhwa?”

“Oh, right. Dogs can’t speak, can they?”

Seokhwa glanced briefly at Kwak Soohwan, who was smiling, then pushed the plunger all the way in.

“What’s that?”

Kwak Soohwan, who had closed the door and came closer, showed interest in the injection.

“An aphrodisiac.”

“What?”

He looked as if he couldn’t believe what he just heard, his face expressing disbelief. Seokhwa pressed down firmly on his forearm with the alcohol pad, unaware of what the issue was.

“You’re not considering becoming a monk?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Even a person with no sex drive would get knocked out by that.”

“I have a sex drive.”

He got erections every morning without fail.

“And I’ve been getting this for a while. I don’t need a sex drive when I’m doing research.”

Kwak Soohwan was surprised by Seokhwa, who had entered abruptly, and then, with a villainous grin, scrutinized Seokhwa’s face.

“Really? You have a sex drive? Have you ever tried it? Did you faint right after?”

The questions were incessant, clearly intended to tease.

“I specifically asked you not to use informal language.”

“Get used to it. I can’t fix it now.”

Seokhwa, knowing that wasting energy was only detrimental to himself, listened to Kwak Soohwan’s words with one ear and let them pass out the other.

“Why did Major Kwak Soohwan come?”

“If I said I came to pick up Dr. Seok, it’d be a lie.”

Kwak Soohwan lightly tapped his neck. The wounds from yesterday’s training had been healing, disregarding the normal pace of physical recovery.

“You have to prepare as much as going to the Red Zone.”

He was almost completely healed, but just in case any of Adam’s blood splattered and seeped into the wound, it would be troublesome. Even without Jwak Soo-hwan finishing his sentence, his actions made it clear. He took out a band and applied it to the injured area. It was barely visible to the naked eye. Superficial, yet not as superficial as it seemed. As a researcher, Seokhwa had some interest in Kwak Soohwan.

“By the way, Major Kwak Soohwan, it’s about sperm.”

Suddenly, Kwak Soohwan looked down at Seokhwa sitting there. He discarded the disinfectant pad into the trash and slid down the sweater he had picked up.

“When Dr.Oh was alive, on the orders from above, both the doctor and I conducted research on mutations. At that time, Major Kwak Soohwan wasn’t in this shelter.”

“But?”

“Everyone else collected sperm for records. However, Major Kwak Soohwan’s data couldn’t be found no matter how hard we looked.”

It was impossible for Dr.Oh to have overlooked Kwak Soohwan. He was acknowledged even in the Yeouido Shelter. As Seokhwa sat up straight and looked at Kwak Soohwan, he seemed to feign ignorance, saying, “Oh, that?”

“When the genius was alive, he asked me for sperm. But just looking at his face, he looked like he was dying. How could I give it to him?”

The method of collecting sperm was actually simple. Most often, it involved watching explicit videos or using magazines for self-stimulation and ejaculating into a cup. But if that was difficult, there were cases of collecting directly from the testicles. Even if Dr.Oh  had requested it, forcibly collecting Kwak Soohwan’s sperm, if he refused, would have been challenging.

“Did you collect your own sperm, Dr. Seok?”

“I did it a long time ago.”

“Through masturbation?”

Kwak Soohwan pulled up an empty chair and sat facing Seokhwa. With his legs spread apart, he leaned forward, pressing his palms against his lap and slightly hunching his shoulders. He stared intently at Seokhwa.

“By the way…”

Seokhwa replied without a change in his facial expression.

“What were you watching while masturbating?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Hetero or homo?”

“Look, Major Kwak Soohwan. Is there a need to discuss this now? After returning from the Red Zone, Major Kwak Soohwan should submit his sperm.”

Kwak Soohwan chuckled as he scratched his chin. Despite having observed Kwak Soohwan for some time, he seemed more prone to laughter than foolishness, almost like a habitual expression.

“I vaguely remember saying that the libido suppressant created by the doctor had side effects, but on second thought, it doesn’t seem to exist. Couldn’t get an erection this morning? Surely the smart research of Dr. Seok couldn’t be wrong.”

He was someone who could infuriate others easily. Seokhwa sought a way to cool down but ended up empty-handed since he had come out wearing jeans.

“I’ll collect it directly from your testicles. Let’s do it after returning from the Red Zone.”

Seokhwa got up from his seat first. Kwak Soohwan followed suit and whispered behind Seokhwa.

“If you’re doing it, do it gently, darling.”

***

This was the morning’s episode between the two. Seokhwa remained cold while Kwak Soohwan behaved as usual. Inside the Jeep, the only people present were Yang Sanghoon driving and Lee Chaeyoon in the passenger seat.

While driving, they witnessed Adam retrieval teams handling corpses and disinfecting the areas nearby. It was a sight unfamiliar to Seokhwa, one he hadn’t seen in quite a while. Though he had been on Jeju Island for reasons beyond his control, he didn’t wish to return to Yeouido. The shelter wasn’t a perfect fortress. People could be oblivious to Adam’s intrusion and end up unconscious and devoured. They called themselves chief researchers but hadn’t produced perfect research findings all at once.

One of the reasons he had to go to Rainbow City in the first place was his mother.

He didn’t know when his mother passed away, but she had said that if he didn’t come to Yeouido Shelter, she would drive the whole family out of Jeju Island. Claimed she was a citizen with no reason for protection.

Those referred to as the upper class lived lavishly where Adam’s threat wasn’t present. Even within Jeju Island, those residing on Udo Island were the top tier group of Rainbow City.

The soldiers currently inside this jeep were indeed the bullet catchers as Kwak Soohwan had mentioned. Seokhwa, who had been looking outside, turned his gaze back into the jeep. Kwak Soohwan was staring intently in his direction.

“Dr. Seok.”

He averted his eyes as if waiting for eye contact.

“How much do you know about Dr. Oh?”

Chae-yoon, who had been monitoring the mood, glanced back through the rearview mirror. Hoping for an interesting story, she puffed on her cigarette with the window open.

“What do you mean by asking that?”

Seokhwa retrieved a few peanuts from his backpack and started chewing.

“He mentioned working with Dr. Oh. Whether it’s a viral mutation or spontaneous mutation.”

“Ah! I really hate that term ‘mutation.’ Even more than ‘Bruce Lee’!”

Chae-yoon shouted. Kwak Soohwan pulled up the partition separating the front and back of the jeep. Despite Chae-yoon’s yelling, the soundproofing was quite effective.

“I did work with Dr. Oh.”

“Was there anything unusual about that genius?”

Seokhwa briefly pondered about Dr. Oh.

Thinking back, he was a senior researcher without anything particularly unusual about him, yet he also had a secretive side. Sometimes he’d leave without reporting to the upper ranks, or he’d be so absorbed in his work at the lab that he’d startle when someone approached. Of course, when the person who showed up was Seokhwa, he’d feel relieved.

“Why are you asking about that?”

“Dr. Seok, are you not interested in things like religion?”

Seokhwa, as if expressing tiredness, looked out the window again. It was a suggestion to speak directly and without beating around the bush. When Seokhwa himself had something to say, he often went straight to the point.

Kwak Soohwan turned off the power to the central video recording device located in the middle of the rear seat. Seokhwa had an inkling as to why the black box was shut down. He seemed about to bring up something secretive.

“Do you know what Dr. Oh, was researching?”

“The 7th Adam vaccine.”

“I wonder if Dr. Oh died because of that, but Dr. Seok is clever. Were there any strange contents among the things Dr. Oh, brought from his house?”

Seokhwa couldn’t quite grasp why this man suddenly delved deep into Dr. Oh’s details.

“Most of the data I brought was torn or stained with blood. But what about religious stories?”

Kwak Soohwan shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“I thought I might give religion a try during this time.”

“…Doesn’t suit you.”

Muttering quietly, Kwak Soohwan took a few peanuts he held in his hand. He tossed one into his mouth and chewed it a few times.

“Eden.”

Kwak Soohwan tossed the word out and scrutinized Seokhwa. Despite what the Mother’s data said about Seokhwa having no rebel tendencies, people could always be unpredictable.

While facing Gwak Soo-hwan’s smiling face, Seokhwa recalled Dr. Oh’s diary.

[Eden: An amazing fact. The upper ranks don’t want it.]

Should he speak up? After all, it was data in his possession, so if he wanted, anyone could read it. Moreover, falsifying existing data could raise unwanted suspicions. Rainbow City was maintained under strict control, ensuring its safety.

“There was a mention of ‘Eden’ in Dr. Oh’s journal.”

“Oh, really?”

Kwak Soohwan showed a surprised reaction.

“An amazing fact. The upper ranks don’t want it.”

“What?”

“That’s all that was written in the journal. There was nothing else.”

What ‘Eden’ was or what the upper ranks didn’t want was beyond Seokhwa’s interest. He was just a researcher working towards a better world. However, one curious thing was that no clear research data on the 7th vaccine by Dr. Oh could be found, no hypothesis or progress of experiments. So, Seokhwa visited Dr. Oh’s house. If he knew the doctor as he did, he wouldn’t have just sat idly while Adam mutated.

‘Fuck, did he hang up? Even if Major Kwak Soohwan is like that, they said the story is different for the doctor, didn’t they?’

Seokhwa vividly remembers that voice. He put his hand into the pocket of his jumper and toyed with a stone.