Rainbow City Chapter 2

“Are you really a doctor?”

“…”

“Are you Doctor Stone since you’re good at playing with stones? Alright, you’re saying there’s a way to get rid of those bastards with a stone?”

The doctor found a stone with sparkling crystals embedded in it and held it up to fluorescent light. Unusually, there was glass embedded in the stone.

In a flash, Kwak Soohwan snatched the stone and threw it to one side of the room.

“It’s not very pleasant to be treated like a stone. I need to bring you to Seoul so I can avoid prison time, so please cooperate with me.”

The doctor who went to pick up the stone thrown by Kwak Soohwan picked it up and tried to open the door and leave. Kwak Soohwan walked forward with great strides and pressed the door shut with his hand.

“Where are you going?”

The doctor sighed softly, probably because he didn’t want to exert any effort, and returned to his seat. The doctor, who left the rest of the stones behind and put only the stones he had picked up in his pocket, sat motionless.

Kwak Soohwan stared at the doctor, wondering if he was breathing or blinking his eyes several times a minute. Unlike his bare feet, which were red and frozen, his face was pale. I reflexively felt a feeling of heaviness underneath, so I thought that I would have to get an injection as soon as I got to Seoul.

“Are you smart?”

“More than you.”

For a moment, Kwak Soohwan frowned but then laughed as if it was absurd. He thought he was only a smart guy, but his way of speaking was also very normal.

“I am a top graduate of the Korea Military Academy, but I am not suited to bureaucracy, so I cause accidents several times and am repeatedly disciplined and sent to the guardhouse…The reason I have to take him to Seoul is so I don’t have to go to the guardhouse.”

What followed was so refreshing that I wondered what it would be like for a six-year-old to speak the language fluently.

“I’m not Dr. Stone. I am a researcher of mutant viruses and mutations.”

Clap clap, Kwak Soohwan clapped.

“Great, researcher. I don’t give a crap about what you’re researching, let’s go to Seoul.”

The doctor, with narrowed eyes, read the bloody name tag on his chest.

“Kwak…Soohwan?”

“You can feel free to call me Major Kwak.”

The doctor neatly folded the sock with all the stones removed and handed it to Kwak Soohwan.

“Thank you for the socks. I will go to Seoul. Unless you would be willing to be my guide.”

So it meant he had a chance to go back to the guardhouse.

Kwak Soohwan sat with his knees crossed and his chin resting on the table. He considered knocking him out, but seeing his snout alive like that would be even more painful when he awoke.

“Why?”

“You’re probably here to protect me, but you don’t seem very interested in that.”

“Right, it’s done once I don’t have to go to the guardhouse. Doctor, you don’t know what a guardhouse is, do you? The bastards there whine all day, and there are maggots bigger than your face. It was my first time popping and killing them. Do soldiers have no human rights or laws? Aristotle said that only a stable state is a state where all people are equal before the law. But to you, this may be a country, but to us, it’s not, you know?”

The doctor also stared at Kwak Soohwan, who was blabbering in front of him.

The sculpted physique beneath his disheveled military uniform shows that he was more of a physical type than a brain type, but seeing him talk about human rights and even bring up ancient sayings, I thought he was a person with an inferiority complex toward the brain.

As vaccines were developed, viruses mutated to survive, and so did humanity. Humanity was also in the process of evolving to survive amidst massive population decline.

Even though there were only a few mutants, mutants with skills greater than those of humans were born, and they possessed specialized bodies or brains. However, it was believed that if one half was superior, the other side was inferior to ordinary people. This could be because they were not totally effective in evolving. Instead of increasing knowledge, the Doctor’s physical strength had reached an all-time low. Furthermore, each mutant had evidence of a strong fascination with something.

He was born and raised on Jeju Island, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t tried going out on land. The only time he went out on the ground was when he was 20, and at that time he suffered from motion sickness and headaches that were almost impossible to die from. After that, returning to Jeju Island was fear. He was able to return to Jeju Island around the time his mother passed away in his late twenties, and he had never even dared to go to the mainland.

“Why did you, who is so all-knowing about human rights, become a soldier?”

“They told me I could do the fuck I wanted. There were 100 people in my class when I applied to the Korean Military Academy. They were once an outstanding group. But now, all of the graduates of the Military Academy are on the receiving end of gunfire. My colleagues vanished one by one instead of eating a lot. The original group of approximately 100 persons has been reduced to four people, including me.”

Kwak Soohwan, who was showing his four fingers, glanced down at the face of the doctor in front of him. Despite the unpleasant behavior, the doctor just blinked his eyes once.

“So, let’s listen, doctor? Isn’t it a national loss to lock up a talented person like me in a military camp? So, tell me, are you coming to Seoul with me?”

Kwak Soohwan grinned and raised the corners of his mouth, but there was no evidence of laughing in his eyes. As he put it, transferring him to the guardhouse would be a loss of military power if he were one of the four survivors among the numerous soldiers. Although the doctor was dissatisfied with Kwak Soohwan, he felt no need to be more obstinate.

“Sure. Instead, I think I will have to undergo anesthesia on the way up to Seoul.”

Ha!, Kwak Soohwan let out a laugh.

“Expensive medicines are not there for you to sleep comfortably, doctor. You go around picking up rocks on Jeju Island and get treated like VIPs instead. Don’t you think out-of-touch with reality?”

“I know. I’m asking because I might die if I go.”

“If you don’t sleep while on a plane, you’ll die, right? Is there a need to go under anesthesia, then?”

Kwak Soohwan lifted his hand upwards. At the signal to get up, the doctor obediently got up.

Kwak Soohwan grabbed the doctor by the forearm and dragged him to the wall, holding him close to the wall. He pressed his large hand against the doctor’s chest and lowered his head. The doctor looked up at him with a displeased gaze in a position that made it look like his lips were about to drop at any moment.

“Try holding your breath.”

“…Breathing?”

“Yes, take a big gulp.”

I took a deep breath and held it in as he looked at Kwak Soohwan, who responded lightly as if to reassure him. At the same time, his hand on his chest exerted tremendous force, and as soon as he felt the pressure that seemed to take his breath away, the doctor lost consciousness.

***

Current day, Yeouido Shelter 63 Building at 10 PM

“You idiot! I’m going crazy. I’m dying because of you!”

“Who knew? I didn’t know he was that weak.”

“You all have a body of steel and an empty head! Instead, the doctor’s head, no, it’s not his head… his brain is a genius, but his body is made of glass!”

“You all? I’m different from that idiot, Colonel. Please leave me out.”

Three troops in black military uniforms and capes surrounded the doctor, who lay on the bed with his eyes closed.

Every time Lieutenant Colonel Jang took a turn, he caught a glimpse of the red lining of the cape. The military uniform was the same, but the epaulets on the shoulders indicated rank instead. The green epaulets were for Lieutenant Colonels, and the silver ones were for majors.

“Chaeyoon, please, let’s not fight with Major Kwak today, okay?”

Colonel Jang asked her a favor that was not in her favor.

“When did I start a fight? He is the one who instigates it every time!”

“Shut your trap!”

Kwak Soohwan spoke while looking down at the doctor.

“Look at him, that bastard always starts a fight!”

Lee Chaeyoon pointed at Kwak Soohwan with her finger, but the latter only roughly brushed her hair down and then let it go.

“Let’s wait it out. His heart rate is stable.”

Kwak Soohwan frowned and looked down at the doctor with his arms crossed. He didn’t expect that he would be unconscious for this long. He thought he would wake up in about an hour, but he couldn’t come to his senses even while getting off the military plane and getting to the helicopter.

“I can only hope that the doctor wakes up and doesn’t remember what he did, you know?”

“I heard he’s smart, I’m sure he will remember everything.”

Lee Chaeyoon stifled her laugh and pretended to slit her throat towards Kwak Soohwan.

“That’s why I said I was going to pick him up, so why did you have to take that idiot out of the guardhouse?”

“Scram.”

“Why did I say something wrong?”

“You’re right, so scram! As soon as the doctor wakes up, he will faint again if he sees your face.”

“Go to hell!”

Colonel Jang barely stopped Lee Chaeyoon from lifting a folding chair and throwing it at him. He tried to block it with all his might, but he couldn’t overcome her power. Kwak Soohwan caught the flying chair with his hand and threw it away. It wasn’t even a baseball game; and instead of a ball, a chair flew over the doctor’s bed. Lieutenant Colonel Jang, who had been pressing down on the goal, stopped! He shouted.

“Stop it! Hey, Major Lee! You bastard, stop it too!”

“The fuck? I’m not Bruce Lee!”

Lee Chaeyoon this time threw the chair against the wall. Kwak Soohwan suddenly started giggling and laughing.

The 63 Building Museum also featured video footage of actors from bygone eras, as well as content concerning Bruce Lee. Lee Chaeyoon’s moniker became Bruce Lee after that, and he now gets intrigued just by calling him Major Lee.

“You idiot, when did I call you Bruce Lee?! I called you Major Lee! You told me so many times. It’s okay in front of me, but not in front of others. Be careful from now on. There are already a lot of people with their eyebrows hooked.”

Lieutenant Colonel Jang was angry, but Lee Chaeyoon huffed and glared at Kwak Soohwan. Colonel Jang stood between them and opened his mouth again.

“Okay, Chaeyoon, go to the place where Major Yang requested assistance, and Major Kwak, you stay here and guard the doctor until he wakes up. Prepare to beg with both of your hands and feet.”

“Can’t I stay here? The doctor’s face is so handsome. I want to take a look.”

Lee Chaeyoon brought her face close to the doctor’s face.

“Chaeyun…please.”

Colonel Jang pointed to his forehead. It was a sign that wrinkles were increasing countless times.

“Just joking. I’ll apply for it. After the doctor wakes up, send this bastard to the guardhouse.”

“That’s a matter for the doctor to take care of. Let’s go. Hey, Major Kwak. Be good, okay?”

Kwak Soohwan just nodded his head lightly. As soon as the two left, the infirmary in the building became quiet, with only the occasional sound of air freshener being sprayed. Kwak Soohwan looked down at the doctor who was lying facing the ceiling.

Come to think of it, I didn’t ask his name. He claimed to be a researcher on mutant viruses but whether he was a genius or just someone in their early 20s doing their best to become a doctor was a curious matter.

A quivering sound was heard from inside the doctor’s lips. His saliva seemed to be clogged and sticky as if he was thirsty. However, Kwak Soohwan darted his eyes to his own lower body. He needed a suppressant however there was no medical assistance on the deck.

What should I do? I have to solve it.

“Let’s take care of it by myself.”

Kwak Soohwan unzipped his pants and put one of his legs on the top of the bed. As he ran his hand over his taut penis, it swelled even larger. It was time to bring the tip, which was leaking precum, to the doctor’s throbbing mouth.

“What the…! Colonel! Colonel!”

Hearing Lee Chaeyoon’s sharp voice, Kwak Soohwan snapped his head and looked at the open door.

“Hey, that bastard! The little bastard is trying to rub his dick in the doctor’s mouth!”

Tsk, Kwak Soohwan lowered his legs and quickly zipped them up. Lieutenant Colonel Jang, who came in late, looked at Kwak Soohwan with astonishment in his eyes.

“You bastard! Really?! Are you crazy?!”

“Major Lee, behave appropriately. I didn’t rub my dick in the doctor’s mouth.”

I tried rubbing it, but it didn’t work.

“Hey! I saw it? Do you think I’m blind?”

“Shut up. Why did you come back?”

Colonel Jang narrowed his eyes and looked at Kwak Soohwan’s lower body. A long cape half covered it, so it was hard to see clearly whether he had an erection or not.

“Major Kwak, how long has it been since you were injected with a libido suppressant?”

“Even if I didn’t take them, I wasn’t trying to let the doctor blow me.”

“I saw your dick! I’ve seen something more disgusting than a fucking cobra! What are you going to do with my eyes?”

It was so loud that Kwak Soohwan wondered if he should aim for Lee Chaeyoon’s vocal cords the next time he went to the field.

Colonel Jang was trying to scold Lee Chaeyoon because he thought that no matter how crazy Kwak Soohwan was, he would never point his dick at the doctor, especially at a man.

“Chaeyoon, no matter how much you hate Major Kwak…”

“Here…Is it Seoul?”

Lieutenant Colonel Jang and Lee Chaeyoon opened their eyes wide at the voice that came from somewhere.

The doctor, who had been lying facing the ceiling, suddenly turned towards the three soldiers. He folded his hands calmly on his chest and spoke again.

“…Where are my stones? Some water, please… ”

Another long sigh escaped.

“My lips…It smells fishy.”

***

Kwak Soohwan crossed his legs while watching the doctor calmly drink water. He couldn’t have been awake since he tried to relieve himself of him, right? He didn’t even touch his lips, but he said it smelled fishy.

“I wash twice a day.”

The doctor could not understand what Kwak Soohwan meant and simply answered, “Yes.”

“Plus, what was it again…?”

Kwak Soohwan seemed to be having trouble opening his mouth and repeatedly closed his lips and then opened them again.

“Well, I’m sorry. I never thought you would faint for that long.”

The reason the polite expression felt awkward could be because he was not used to apologizing. The doctor nodded his head once and drank the water again. Since there were only people around him as he was gulping down the ice water, it felt strange to drink water like that. For Kwak Soohwan, it was honestly frustrating.

“You should drink in huge gulps. Why are you squirting water in your mouth and drinking like a small rabbit?”

“I can have indigestion if I drink too fast.”

“It’s the first time I’ve heard of someone getting sick after drinking water.”

“You will hear this often. I say this often.”

This time, Kwak Soohwan did the opposite and broke his leg.

Looking at the doctor’s appearance, there was no particular sense of weakness. Although he was fair overall, he didn’t feel small and delicate, and even though he had an impassive face, he didn’t look cold. He looked rather dazed.

Kwak Soohwan’s gaze was drawn to the doctor, who held the cup in his hand. Likewise, he fixed his gaze on him. The tie was slack, as though the uniform was too. He didn’t appear raggedy, despite his job or his posture and manner of speech. So the doctor assumed that he would look nice in either a uniform or a suit.

“Major Kwak Soohwan, if you continue to look at me like that.”

“What if I do?”

Kwak Soohwan continued to look at the doctor.

“I will get sick.”

“They say that a freshwater crayfish dies if a person even looks at it, but I don’t think you are that type.”

“I might be.”

The doctor muttered to himself. Still, he couldn’t just stay in bed like this. The doctor got up and put his legs off the bed. He looked around slowly and walked to the large window. He had roughly guessed the location when he said Seoul.

It was the 63 Building, called the Shelter of Yeouido. It was also the office of the research institute where he worked until he went down to Jeju Island.

Looking down from the highrise, he could see the Han River railroad bridge, where trains carrying people used to pass without stopping. The train came to a halt in one spot, and an explosion severed off the railway rails in front of it. By looking at the vines encircling the railway bridge, you might tell how long the train had been abandoned.

When the virus initially spread to the mainland, there was talk of erecting a wall. That was also when they didn’t have free time. The virus spread so quickly that there was no time to construct a wall. So they planned to blow up all of Seoul’s bridges and trains. It was a naive strategy, but it was effective in buying time.

Of course, all these stories were just knowledge that the doctor had accumulated through various video media and books.

“You won’t die while standing up, will you?”

Kwak Soohwan suddenly came up next to me.

“Is the lab still on the 34th floor?”

“Maybe?”

“I’m moving there.”

“Aren’t you eating?”

“I want to stop by the lab first.”

“Do whatever you feel like. You can use this room starting today.”

That was also something he expected. He considered the stones he had left on Jeju Island, but he knew what he had to do first. Anyway, he had collected stones that were left in this building, so he had to go down to the research lab first.

Although Kwak Soohwan was playing the role of a bodyguard, he followed the doctor behind as if he were keeping watch.

As the use changed to a shelter, the interior of the building changed several times from its original appearance. Even in the elevator, it was impossible to board without a registered fingerprint.

When Kwak Soohwan placed his hand on the elevator’s fingerprint recognition system, his name, and an expressionless face appeared on the screen.

[Open.]

After hearing a mechanical voice, the elevator door opened.

“I heard from the Colonel that you weren’t coming from Jeju Island that easily, but you were more obedient than I thought.”

Who knocked out the person who was willing to follow along?

Still, the doctor nodded his head, saying he wasn’t wrong.

“Don’t you have any tasks as a mutant virus researcher? Or do you like living on Jeju Island without a worry? Baekjang once said, ‘Since you didn’t work, you shouldn’t eat but it seems you came to be too comfortable”

The doctor watched the numbers dwindling and waited for them to arrive on the 34th floor. He waited for the door to open so he could get out of this narrow box.

Shake! A hand suddenly reached out and pressed a button, and the narrow box rang once. He felt like he was getting motion sick because of the sudden stop, and the inside of the elevator was flashing red lights.

[Emergency, Emergency. It’s an alarm for a sudden stop. Major Kwak Soohwan, if you press the button for more than 3 seconds, it will operate normally, and when you press it once briefly, it will be forced to open.]

The doctor looked at Kwak Soohwan’s sudden behavior. Judging by the way he had his arms crossed, it seemed like he was not going to press the button.

“Doctor Stone, do you know why we brought you here from Jeju Island?”

Even the doctor was puzzled by that. The Yeouido Research Institute already had a senior researcher to take his place.

“Surely something happened to Dr. Oh?”

“That’s right, the old man is dead.”

Since he was an old man, it would not have been surprising if he had died from old age.

“He was murdered, to be exact.”

“Murdered…?”

“It’s not only those things out there that are dangerous.”

“Are you saying that Dr. Oh was killed by someone?”

“The case was sent to a military court. The military police are investigating the exact details.”

Kwak Soohwan, who was originally assigned to the guardhouse, was also said to have been assigned as a security guard and barely escaped.

The doctor wondered if Kwak Soohwan was involved in the murder case. No, if that were the case, there was no way he would have assigned the author as his bodyguard. So right now, that soldier is fighting a useless fight.

“So, doctor, you should watch your back as well.”

Kwak Soohwan, smiling, gently pressed the emergency button. After exactly 3 seconds, the elevator started operating normally, and the doors opened on the 34th floor.