Rainbow City Chapter 26

Although Seokhwa’s eye corners were lower than usual, his expression remained unchanged.

“Can I repeat? The kidnapper mentioned Dr. Oh’s death to me. In fact, even now, my memories are so jumbled that I can’t recall the details.”

Sighing, he managed to wet his dry mouth. Jungkyung, feeling that something was going wrong, suddenly brought a bottle of water and placed it in front of Seokhwa. Even after receiving the confession drug, Seokhwa’s words remained unchanged, causing confusion.

“Dr. Seokhwa. Come on, damn it. This isn’t right. You went to Kwak Soohwan early in the morning, right? What did you do? Huh?!”

Seokhwa felt a sense of ridicule, but if there was a mistake in the investigation, Jungkyung would not have noticed. Sensing that something was going wrong, Jungkyung abruptly brought a bottle of water and placed it in front of Seokhwa. Even after receiving the confession drug, Seokhwa’s words remained unchanged, causing confusion.

“Dr. Seokhwa. Damn it. This isn’t right. You went to Kwak Soohwan early in the morning, right? Huh?!”

If there were instructions from the superiors to investigate Seokhwa, they had not received permission to go this far. However, Jungkyung had dealt with countless individuals with rebellious tendencies. The fact that Seokhwa’s words about the conversation with the kidnapper were inconsistent, along with his suspicious behavior of trailing Dr. Oh, made everything seem fishy.

“What did you do, damn it? Why did you try to associate with rebels, even though you’ve received all kinds of good treatments?”

Seokhwa inquired instead.

“Did Dr. Oh collaborate with rebels?”

Jungkyung, on the contrary, responded with a question.

Bang!

The door next to the Magic Mirror, which had been opened, fell off with someone’s kick.

“You shouldn’t go in right now!”

“Major!”

The soldiers from the special forces tried to intervene, but inside the shelter, there was no one with enough authority to stop the man. Kwak Soohwan pushed aside the soldiers blocking his way and slammed them against the wall.

“Chief Security Officer, you damn bastard! Who gave you the right to take Dr. Seok into custody?”

“Aren’t we incredibly fortunate? Major Kwak Soohwan, where did you learn to curse like that? I don’t know who would find a guy who frequents bars and causes trouble, though.”

Every time Kwak Soohwan caused trouble, the military police responsible for handling him was none other than Yoo Jungkyung. Each time, Kwak Soohwan failed to remember Jungkyung, or rather, he pretended not to remember while scratching the surface.

If he were like any other person, he would have spent several years in prison in Yeongchang long ago. However, due to his S-rank abilities, the higher-ups turned a blind eye to Kwak Soohwan’s actions. This was extremely frustrating for Jungkyung. He worked hard to protect Rainbow City from all sorts of troubles.

“Get up.”

Kwak Soohwan held Seokhwa’s arm.

“Major Kwak, even though it’s you, we can’t just let this go.”

Crack! He looked down at the broken medicine bottle under his foot. Knowing it was some kind of truth serum, he showed a more aggressive expression.

“So, what did you gain by administering this?”

“I was about to find out, and here you are.”

With Kwak Soohwan holding onto Seokhwa, he responded, looking at Yoo Jungkyung.

“Can I answer now?”

The two soldiers focused their attention on Seokhwa, who was muttering.

“I asked you why you went to Major Kwak Soohwan’s room in the early morning.”

“Dr. Seok, for now, shut up.”

As they had administered the confession drug, they didn’t know what Seokhwa might say. To avoid any complications, Jungkyung lifted Seokhwa’s body and embraced him. Seokhwa still looked at Yoo Jungkyung and calmly spoke.

“I went there… for something.”

“What?”

Yoo Jungkyung, who didn’t hear the crucial part, pushed the table and approached closely. Both were hoping for words that could lead to their disposal.

“For a kiss… that’s where I went.”

Seokhwa weakly responded, his body devoid of strength. Regardless of the purpose, Seokhwa’s words were, in fact, true. Moreover, it was better than being suspected as a rebel.

***

Haha, Kwak Soohwan chuckled with a satisfied laugh.

Seokhwa couldn’t turn around, leaning heavily on the wheelchair’s backrest. After calming the chaos, Kwak Soohwan, instead of carrying Seokhwa, shouted for a wheelchair.

While going up from the basement to the room on the third floor, several shelter residents became interested, and each time Kwak Soohwan proudly declared that our doctor was made like this by the military police.

Seokhwa reached out his hand toward his room’s access pad, feigning an attempt to raise it long enough. However, his hand didn’t actually move up. Kwak Soohwan grabbed his arm and placed the palm on the pad. After closing the door and entering, Kwak Soohwan hugged Seokhwa, laying him on the bed.

“I won’t leave that bastard alone, so don’t fall apart.”

He wiped Seokhwa’s face, which had regained some color, with a wet towel. The truth serum used by the military police was famous for making even S-class individuals spill their true intentions. Using such a strong substance on Seokhwa undoubtedly indicated Yoo Jungkyung’s desperate attempt to achieve results.

If it weren’t for Dr. Kim’s words about Seokhwa not appearing in the lab, bringing him here would have been delayed. Even Captain Jang was unaware of Seokhwa being taken by the military police.

“I hope you don’t think I reported you.”

Seokhwa squinted his eyes and looked at Kwak Soohwan. Kwak Soohwan removed the towel.

“Take some rest.”

He stayed in the room without leaving. Kwak Soohwan observed Seokhwa with narrowed eyes and occasionally gave him sips of water through a straw.

“What did Yoo Jungkyung ask?”

“Just the same as what Major Lee Yeontae asked yesterday.”

Seokhwa once again looked at Kwak Soohwan with dilated pupils.

“Are you conducting an inquest at this point?”

His body was weakened, but his mental strength was extraordinary. Kwak Soohwan admired genuinely.

“Surely, he mentioned that he couldn’t hear it all the way to the end due to Dr. O Yangseok’s last words.”

“Sigh….”

Kwak Soohwan would certainly not hand himself over to the military police. Yoo Jungkyung seemed to harbor inferiority within the undefeated battalion, and it seemed like he wanted to send Kwak Soohwan to Brig bundled together if there were enough merits.

“Major Kwak Soohwan.”

Although his speech was usually slow, today, with added sluggishness, it oddly affected people’s mood.

“Impressive. Even at this point, Major is still sticking to himself.”

Even after receiving the injection, it indicated that Seokhwa was fine with casual language as usual, and he approached with such intentions.

“Hey, Major Kwak Soohwan.”

Despite the injection, this meant that Seokhwa approached with no particular dissatisfaction with informal language.

“So, what should I call you?”

“Whatever is comfortable. Even if you use informal language.”

“But I don’t like it.”

“You’re allowed to do it, so why don’t you like it?”

Seokhwa blurted out without much thought.

“I don’t want to become friends with Major Kwak Soohwan.”

A vein bulged on Kwak Soohwan’s neck. The words that came out now were undoubtedly sincere, and Kwak Soohwan was a little taken aback by that sincerity.

“Didn’t I say I volunteered for the military before?”

“That’s right.”

He volunteered for the army because they promised him a hearty meal.

“Outside… Are they hungry?”

His blurry gaze no longer gave a hint as to where it was looking.

“Dr. Seok, have you ever seen anyone living outside Rainbow City? It’s true that they are hungry and desolate out there. Instead, we are confined animals within our own. We’ve suppressed our sexual desires, can’t have children recklessly, and we’re being raised within Rainbow City.”

“Well, that’s… a rebel ideology.”

Seokhwa repeated exactly what Kwak Soohwan had said.

“Actually, I don’t mind. Rather than becoming a hungry wild animal, I prefer being a well-fed animal in the safari.”

Kwak Soohwan, with oddly shaped eyes, made a statement contrary to his appearance. The one who did not look like a domesticated animal spoke well.

The truth serum developed by Wonho had the effect of gradually erasing memories along with the disappearance of the drug’s efficacy. Those who received the injection couldn’t remember what they had said or even properly recall the questions they were asked. Therefore, those who committed a crime and underwent an interrogation were fearful when their sanity returned. Aware of this, Kwak Soohwan could speak a little more comfortably. Although Seokhwa’s recent statement about not wanting to become friends was a bit mischievous.

“To protect the citizens safely, we implemented a population control policy. I learned that at Jeju Island Learning Center. Do you know why Dr. Oh and I suddenly researched mutants?”

Seokhwa moved his lips with a corpse-like complexion.

“Superiors told us that 30% of the future-born children should be mutants with abilities. They said there shouldn’t be anyone like me.”

“Like you…there’s no lack of charm in Dr. Seok in terms of appearance, at least from what I think.”

“Major Kwak Soohwan.”

Seokhwa called him once again. Until now, whenever Kwak Soohwan asked something serious, Seokhwa either diverted the conversation or tried to pass it off lightly.

“Did an outsider… kill Dr. Oh?”

“Then, who do you think did it?”

Seokhwa raised his hazy gaze to look at the ceiling. Then Kwak Soohwan leaned in, whispering into Seokhwa’s ear.

“Although you probably won’t remember the words we exchanged now, I hope at least it lingers in your subconscious.”

Like revealing a secret that no one else should hear, Kwak Soohwan slid his hand over his chest, and Seokhwa couldn’t push away Kwak Soohwan who was touching his body in a peculiar way. The cold hand gripped the nape gently and rose along the collarbone, like smelling a fragrance. Soon after, he whispered again into Seokhwa’s ear.