Rainbow City

The appearance of the Tree of Life was so vividly engraved in their minds from countless encounters in murals and portraits in religious books that they could draw it with their eyes closed. It was only now that they realized how strikingly similar the figure in front of them, dressed in a robe, resembled it. Yet, they all hurriedly denied it, reassuring themselves that it was merely a resemblance. After all, no one would easily believe that their believed deity would appear before them in the flesh.

Seokhwa, this time without a microphone amidst the pouring stares, began to speak.

“Naturally, you may have doubts about this vaccine. I understand it’s hard to believe.”

He took an ampoule out of his pocket and displayed it.

“This is Adam’s blood. As you know, exposure to Adam’s blood results in a gradual transformation, but with my physique, it takes about 10 minutes for it to fully transmute.”

Seokhwa filled an empty syringe with the vaccine solution. Boldly, he rolled up his sleeve and administered the vaccine.

The crowd gathered beneath the platform watched in silence.

“I actually received the vaccine in advance, but to address any doubts, I injected myself. And now, I will administer Adam’s blood.”

“Is that really Adam’s blood?”

“That’s right. Would we lie after bringing untainted blood?”

“Then why don’t you try it yourselves?”

Kwak Soohwan, with a demeanor as if he would swallow Adam’s blood right then and there, spoke harshly. Seokhwa felt both grateful and guilty for understanding why he was angry.

This was expected to unfold this way. They had only intended to bring Adam in person to reassure them, but due to the winds that elevated the corrupted Adam entirely, they could only show blood tainted with the virus.

Seokhwa once again filled the empty syringe with blood, took a deep breath, knowing he would be fine, yet the tension was inevitable. Just as Seokhwa was about to prick the needle into his own wrist—

“Don’t.”

Kwak Soohwan stopped Seokhwa.

“Let me do it,”

“No.”

Kwak Soohwan’s blood didn’t produce antibodies even with the vaccine.

The vaccines were tested using blood from fifty individuals in Russia, and not a single person failed to produce antibodies. Kwak Soohwan was the only exception, but they always emphasized caution, as there might be others like him in the world. Therefore, Seokhwa was the only one who could receive the vaccine.

“I’m going to be angry.”

They had made a promise. Seokhwa looked up at Kwak Soohwan. Instead of anger, his eyes were filled with remorse. Seokhwa pierced the needle into his wrist and pressed the piston, all while Kwak Soohwan held onto his arms tightly, gazing at him. Amidst the silence, even the ticking of the clock was inaudible.

Some stepped back, fearing that Seokhwa might transform into Adam, while others, with vague hope, wished for a perfect vaccine. Some even prayed for the soldier before them, the Tree of Life that had come to save them.

Kwak Soohwan couldn’t take his eyes off Seokhwa, who had turned pale.

He wanted to erase everything. Choi Hoeon, the non-believers in the vaccine. He couldn’t understand why Seokhwa was going to such lengths to save people. No, he understood, but he didn’t want Seokhwa to sacrifice himself.

“You’re mine, Seokhwa, not some Tree of Life. You shouldn’t be everyone’s savior, but mine alone…”

Kwak Soohwan clenched his lips shut. It felt like his head would explode.

He had thought about it countless times in Russia. Can’t we just live happily together? Whether others are okay or not, can’t we just leave and live quietly somewhere?

He had once wanted to destroy Rainbow City, but now, living safely with Seokhwa had become the most important goal of his life.

“Soohwan… What will you do when I die? You’ll be left alone.”

It was a night in Russia where a snowstorm raged so fiercely that one couldn’t see a step ahead.

Thinking Seokhwa had already fallen asleep, he muttered. He felt angry at being spoken to as if he would die first, but he pretended to sleep on purpose. It felt like the words were hitting too close to home, almost making him cry.

After what felt like a century, Seokhwa finally took the microphone.

“Originally, we planned to capture Adam and use his blood. But circumstances prevented us… So we had to resort to this method. Please believe me. It’s really the vaccine. Of course, you don’t have to believe me.”

“I believe you.”

An elderly woman, who had been mingling among the crowd, stepped forward. Seokhwa’s eyes widened slightly as he saw her. It’s unmistakable…

“I believed you would come back, that you would perform miracles,” she said. She was a follower of Eden Hill whom Seokhwa had met at the mansion in Busan.

“Elder! What exactly are you believing in to take that vaccine?”

When the leader tried to intervene, the woman referred to as an elder turned around with a stern gaze.

“A savior doesn’t proclaim themselves as a savior! A true savior doesn’t deceive us by pretending to be one! A savior who denies me is the true Tree of Life!”

She shouted at the crowd with the same fervor as she did that day.

“I’ve firmly believed that he wouldn’t abandon us, from that day until now.”

She reached out her arm, urging for the vaccine. Encouraged by the elder’s words, the followers began to gather around Seokhwa, each extending their arms for the vaccine.

Kwak Soohwan looked down at them with eyes filled with disgust. What a show. Are these people the ones who would even commit suicide if the elder died? It seemed like parasites, those who didn’t believe, were the first to emerge. As Seokhwa couldn’t handle everything alone, he distributed the vaccine along with new syringes to the people. When some reached out to grab Seokhwa’s hand even once, Kwak Soohwan stepped forward to block them.

“Take the vaccine.”

Kwak Soohwan put down exactly the remaining amount of vaccine and held onto Seokhwa.

“Let’s go.”

“Where are you going? Aren’t you supposed to be with us?” The elder hurriedly approached.

“We’re planning to distribute the remaining vaccine elsewhere.”

Upon hearing Seokhwa’s words, the elder clasped her hands together and closed her eyes with a satisfied smile.

“I see. We were the first to receive salvation. We are now free from Adam.”

“Not quite.”

Seokhwa spoke urgently, but the elder simply smiled contentedly.

“I have to go. There’s no time.”

“The vaccine isn’t a cure-all. It’s just a precaution against unavoidable risks.”

He pleaded, but he wondered if anyone truly understood those words. As his wrist was grabbed by Kwak Soohwan, people followed him outside, and Kwak Soohwan threatened to shoot anyone who followed him further. He got on the motorcycle parked in front of the building and sent a message to Moon-gil on the radio.

To rejoin his comrades, he increased the motorcycle’s speed. Seokhwa called him a few times from behind, but there was no answer. He only noticed that his muscles felt tenser than usual, indicating his immense anger. Moon-gil joined him halfway up the mountain trail, with blood splattered on his white shirt. Moon-gil wasn’t seriously injured, so it was time to resume their journey.

“General.”

“Don’t hesitate, just speak.”

“Did the General know?”

“About what?”

Moon-gil’s already fierce demeanor became even more distorted. He looked like a bear about to roar.

“Kid, spit it out properly.”

“The reason why the soldiers are guarding there!”

“I’ll give you a second.”

“General! Adam is there! That’s why the soldiers were guarding it! Did the General know?”

The rumbling sound of the motorcycle’s engine subsided. It was because Kwak Soohwan turned off the ignition.

“What?”

“The guys I subdued at the outpost. I know one of them, and I thought we came to deal with Adam. They said there’s a lab in the Northern Division. But those guys said some really weird stuff…”

“What about the guys at the outpost?”

“They had to die. Those bastards said we’d all become test subjects…”

In the end, they killed them all.

“Why the hell is the lab in the Northern Division? General, what else are they up to?”

“Take Dr. Seok and join the kids.”

After Kwak Soohwan got off the motorcycle, he helped Seokhwa down.

“What about Major?”

“I need to see for myself.”

“Major…!”

He forcibly sat Seokhwa behind Moon-gil, who was struggling.

Kwak Soohwan gripped the handlebars of the motorcycle and turned the front wheel in the opposite direction. After mounting the motorcycle, he started to go back the way he came as soon as he started the engine. Seokhwa had to watch his disappearing figure without moving a muscle.

“Don’t worry, Doctor. Our Major is incredibly tough.”

Moon-gil patted Seokhwa’s shoulder with his rough hands.

“There have been many more dangerous situations than this before, and the Major always came back unscathed. Hold on tight, we’re leaving.”

As Seokhwa couldn’t take his eyes off, Moon-gil started to drive the motorcycle upward. Seokhwa had no choice but to turn his head and hold onto Moon-gil’s waist.

He couldn’t catch up to Kwak Soohwan in an instant, nor could he insist on following him. “I’m always a burden.” That fact remained unchanged.

“…I really hate myself.”

Seokhwa murmured with his head bowed.

“Haha, I like you, Doctor.”

Moon-gil, with his bright ears, tried to comfort him, but Seokhwa’s eyes kept following the disappearing figure of Kwak Soohwan. He could only firmly believe Moon-gil’s words that he would return safely.

“What’s going on, damn it!”

Kwak Soohwan grabbed the collar of the person blocking his way and threw him aside. He quickly removed the rope from the uniform and barricaded the door of the Northern Division, then put on gloves with both hands. As people crowded around, he fired a gun towards the ceiling, and the surroundings split like the Red Sea. Kwak Soohwan started to run smoothly towards the basement he had seen before. Even his awkward cape swayed in the wind, so he just threw it away.

The damp and musty smell of the underground stimulated the sense of smell. Candlesticks illuminated the stairs instead of electricity, and another hall was visible below. The Elder and the Guide sat facing each other, holding hands.

“You’ve returned! Have you come back with the Savior?”

The Elder greeted Kwak Soohwan warmly upon seeing him. He had discovered another staircase leading further underground, but the entrance was blocked by iron bars.

“What’s down there?”

The Elder shrugged nonchalantly.

“It’s a prison where prisoners are confined.”

“Do you know that Serpent is the Master?”

As the firelight flickered, shadows fell over the Elder’s smile, distorting his face like a demon.

“My mother mentioned it before. The one who was supposed to guide the Savior sadly became a devil. Are you that person?”

Kwak Soohwan pushed aside the Elder’s shoulder and fired a gun at the padlock on the iron bars. But the Elder blocked his path.

“Step aside, or you’ll die.”

“Don’t interfere with the Serpent. A person as insignificant as you can’t understand his deep intentions. The Savior has created the vaccine, and now all that’s left is to distribute the vaccine to the people and spread the teachings of Eden. Everyone has only salvation left.”

“That’s right, that’s what you should do.”

“I understand! We’ve already delivered the Savior’s story to the South and East. Now, all you need to do is take the vaccine and move there.”

“Are you the Guide?”

The Guide, who had been silent and standing behind them, rolled his eyes without saying a word.

“Is Adam down here?”

The one who showed the most agitation after the lock on the iron bars was broken was the Guide.

“You’re different from the Elder, aren’t you? In fact, you don’t even believe in things like the Tree of Life, right? You’re not just pretending to believe because you need a comfortable place to trust, are you?”

“The Guide is not that kind of person! He understands our teachings better than anyone else. How dare you!”

“You also honestly think the Elder is stupid, don’t you? There’s no such thing as the Tree of Life. The one who developed the vaccine is just Adam Virus’s chief researcher. What kind of Savior can an ordinary person be? What if Choi Hoeon falls? You won’t be safe either, starting from you guys at the forefront.”

Kwak Soohwan didn’t have any intention of nailing the wobbly Guide. He pushed the Elder aside and leaped down the stairs, not even bothering to look back to see if the Elder and the Guide were following. Their absence meant there was something down here they wanted to avoid.

Thud! A cracking sound echoed from inside. Kwak Soohwan shone his flashlight forward and ran again. The scraping sound of Adam echoed through the darkness. The sounds of beasts would have been clearer and cleaner than this. There were several iron doors along the way, but the only closed one was here. He raised the flashlight to illuminate the iron door.

[Experimental Room 3]

Bang!

Crack, crunch! Adam with square eyes slammed his face against the bars. When he saw a living person, he ground his teeth against the bars. From one to two, now at least five of them were pressing against Kwak Soohwan through the iron door.

They were like moths. Were they drawn to Choi Hoeon, or were they born into a world where they had to head straight for the fire from the start? But at least if they had followed Commander Cha, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.

They betrayed and left, but now they acted like jelly, spilling their guts on the floor. They jostled around, jealous of the living as if they were jealous of life itself. Kwak Soohwan wiped his face.

The men who had followed him as their General lay their intestines on the ground, having abandoned all dignity as human beings, and roamed around like jealousy. He checked his remaining ammunition and reloaded his gun. They were still his subordinates. He didn’t want to resort to smashing their heads with his hands.

Kwak Soohwan grabbed the latch of the iron door. Since the locking mechanism was on the outside, it was easy to open. He pushed it aside as if giving them freedom. Stepping back, he waited for them to come out. He placed the hand with the flashlight over the hand holding the gun on his wrist.

Click, creak! The first guy who opened the door stumbled and fell onto his own intestines. Kwak Soohwan fired at his forehead, then quickly caught the others rushing out and pierced their brows. The stench was more intense than any Adam he had ever seen before. Despite firing five shots, one of them hit the throat and charged at him energetically. He was ignorant and strong even when he was alive, and he remained the same after becoming Adam.

“I’m sorry.”

Kwak Soohwan jammed his fist into the gaping mouth of his subordinate’s face. He mounted the fallen body and relentlessly pounded his fist. Thud, thud, the sensation of shattering skulls reverberated through his hand and pierced his head like a needle. The writhing body soon went limp. He glanced at the still wide-open door. Stepping inside, he saw a subordinate with dead fish-like eyes in the corner. His lower body was completely destroyed, with thigh bones exposed. It wasn’t that his legs had rotted and fallen off due to some experiment; they had been artificially severed. Yet, despite making eerie noises, he still tried to crawl towards Kwak Soohwan as if the sound was calling him the General.

With no bullets left, he plunged a jackknife into the subordinate’s forehead. He sat crouched in front of the dead subordinate for a while. He had killed his parents and siblings with his own hands. He didn’t have the luxury to dwell on such trivial matters. He pulled out the jackknife and got up, then the red light from the surveillance camera flashed above his head.

He looked up at the camera in the pool of blood. With force on his shoulders, he threw the blood-stained jackknife to smash the camera. Yet, the red light continued to blink.

“Commander, this…”

Commander Cha opened his mouth to receive several bloodstained dog tags.

“Bury those in the mountains at least.”

He briefly entertained the thought of whether he had found and killed the traitors before realizing it was not the case. It was because he had heard vaguely from Moon-gil. His subordinates had truly become test subjects.

“Let’s move for now. The military will soon begin a search. They’ll tear your hide apart like during the J-type field training. I’ll call out the rendezvous point now, so your squad leaders write it down.”

Kwak Soohwan unfolded a military map on the bonnet and set up a base close to Sangnam according to military coordinates. It was the location of a building that had long been used as a science training center.

Seokhwa couldn’t approach Kwak Soohwan and just watched from a distance. Thankful for his safe return, Kwak Soohwan seemed unusually exhausted. As he always overflowed with energy, Seokhwa just silently sat down in the passenger seat of his jeep. He wanted to ask what had happened, if he was okay, but couldn’t find the words.

“Did Moon-gil drive well?”

He started the engine and spoke first.

“Are you hungry?”

Seokhwa took out an energy bar from the auxiliary drawer, removed the packaging, and handed it to Kwak Soohwan. After taking it and chewing it slowly, Kwak Soohwan replied, “If you’re tired, I can drive.”

“I’m still okay,” Kwak Soohwan said.

Seokhwa pondered asking about the bloodstained dog tags but ended up biting into the energy bar instead.

“When I went underground, I found a place called a laboratory,” Kwak Soohwan said, not hiding anything about Seokhwa’s curiosity.

“I’m not sure what they were up to, but I brought this just in case,” he added, handing Seokhwa a vial bottle containing dark red liquid.

“It’s blood from one of the guys in the lab, and the bottle used to contain the vaccine, so the blood might be contaminated,” Kwak Soohwan explained.

Seokhwa wrapped the vial in a towel and placed it in the auxiliary drawer. “Were they soldiers you knew?” he asked.

“They were my subordinates,” Kwak Soohwan replied quietly. Seokhwa sighed silently. He wanted to offer some comfort, but any words would sound hypocritical knowing that Kwak Soohwan himself had ended their lives.

“Dr. Seok,” Seokhwa suddenly stopped eating the energy bar, feeling tense for some reason. Though his body temperature rose and his head throbbed more than usual, he didn’t show any signs of discomfort.

“Did you see those bug-like guys properly?”

“Bugs?” Seokhwa asked, puzzled.

“With the Elder preaching about being the savior and all, they swarmed like bugs to get the vaccine. Why do I keep getting angry?” Kwak Soohwan drove through the dark forest without even turning on the headlights. The only light came from lamps illuminating the floor inside the vehicle. The light didn’t reach Kwak Soohwan’s face, so Seokhwa couldn’t see his expression.

“Why does Dr. Seok have to become a test subject to save those bastards? Isn’t it normal to hit them if you don’t believe? Shouldn’t you?”

“…How can people who’ve just met me believe everything I say?”

“Well, if they don’t believe, just get rid of them. We only need those who believe. Pretending to be saviors of a fake Eden is all fine. But when I saw those followers myself, they all seemed like rats to me. What have those humans been doing all this time? They’ve done nothing but live in complacency, so why should we bother with them?”

Seokhwa sipped on the remaining water. He understood perfectly well what Kwak Soohwan was saying.

“We’ve talked about it countless times in Russia. An Adam-less world was supposed to be normal. If we could just prevent infection, wiping out Adam would be a bit easier.”

“Well, I just hoped that Rainbow City would go down, but meeting Dr. Seok and pretending to be apostles of justice seems too mismatched for me.”

“You’re right… Major… Is… not afraid of Adam. But I am.”

Seokhwa didn’t want to die when bitten by Adam, nor did he want to become like Adam.

If Adam attacked him now, he wouldn’t have the confidence to fight back. Having Adam around was no different from living with a tiger in a huge cage. He had to be prepared for attacks anytime, anywhere, and always carried the heavy burden of anxiety. Besides, while a predator wouldn’t hunt when it was full, Adam attacked any living human unconditionally.

“Well, I’m here anyway,” Kwak Soohwan retorted, dismissing further concerns. 

“If it weren’t for Major, I might have been dead already. But not everyone travels with someone like Major.”

“Why should I care about that?”

“Did you forget? I was bitten by Adam. If it weren’t for that, I might not be here right now.”

The sound of gripping the handle was clear.

“Major is also part of humanity born from the city’s technology. I know there have been many sacrifices to create perfect genes.”

“When did I ever say I wanted to be born like this?”

“Then let’s go to Russia now. Let’s go, and I’ll just be a burden trapped inside iron bars, unable to go anywhere without Major.”

Seokhwa also spoke straightforwardly. Kwak Soohwan looked at him and then laughed astonishingly.

“Seokhwa hyung, you’re really good at speaking at times like this. It’s a word that can twist people’s minds.”

Seokhwa regretted his words, but this time he couldn’t back down. Of course, he knew. The argument that had arisen was because he always prioritized himself.