There Are No Rainbows (5)

Halfway up Bukhansan Mountain, Inspector ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lee Young-ho had climbed the peak under the pretext of a camping trip.

"Ah, the air is so fresh..."

He pitched his tent at the designated rendezvous point and waited.

Clatter, clatter, clatter.

A sound like a rattling oxcart echoed from somewhere along the mountain slope.

"...What in the world?"

A truck was approaching. And it was no ordinary truck. It was even wearing a hooded robe draped over its cab, making it look like it had a head of hair from a distance.

"W-what on earth is that?"

Lee Young-ho instinctively channeled his mana.

Clatter, clatter. The truck stopped right in front of him, "looked" at him, and spoke.

"...Huh?"

Hearing it closely, it was definitely Seol Ha-woon's voice.

"But... what is... that?"

"No, I get the familiar part, but why is a truck wearing a wig—I mean, a robe?"

"..."

Lee Young-ho had no idea what to say. Even so, wouldn't a truck wearing a robe stand out more?

As if understanding his skepticism, the color of the robe suddenly began to fade. It absorbed the colors of the surrounding environment, blending seamlessly into the background.

"Ah... right. I see. It has active camouflage."

The truck hopped over and landed right next to Lee Young-ho.

It moves just like a person.

At any rate, the topic of today's meeting was quite grave.

Lee Young-ho whispered in a hushed tone, "We've preserved the body."

"I understand. And, just in case... I wanted to ask..." Lee Young-ho glanced warily at the truck. "Do you think the culprit is inside Labyrinth Exploration NaN?"

Seol Ha-woon remained silent. In truth, Inspector Lee Young-ho had already harbored similar suspicions.

He quietly broached the subject. "Kang Hyun... his father passed away quite a long time ago."

"Well... this is just a rumor I heard through the grapevine, but..." Lee Young-ho dropped a block of instant ramen into the boiling water. Plop. He watched the noodles unravel as he continued. "Mentor Kim Yoon-jun apparently asked the Volcanic Sect's informants to investigate Kang Hyun's father... Come to think of it, tomorrow is actually his father's death anniversary."

"Tomorrow. He's buried at the National Cemetery."

The truck looked lost in thought. It felt strange to say a truck had a "face," but it truly did. Its headlights curved slightly like furrowed eyebrows, which was actually quite cute.

"By the way, does that truck also appear in Labyrinth Exploration NaN?"

The National Cemetery. Seo Ji-woo visited the grounds today, but she had to bundle herself up tightly in a hat and a mask. Her newfound fame had become overwhelmingly real.

"Oppa. I'm here."

She offered a bitter smile to the gravestone.

Recipient of the Order of Military Merit, Seo Ji-hyuk. Today was her brother's death anniversary.

"But seriously... it's strange."

She narrowed her eyes as she pulled out a cleaning cloth. Every time she came here, the gravestone was already sparkling, as if someone had just polished it.

"Oppa."

Ji-woo knelt down and gently caressed the cold stone. She began to chatter to the brother who was no longer in this world.

"I've gotten super famous."

"I can't even go outside without a mask. Today, I pulled it down just a tiny bit out of curiosity, and a whole crowd swarmed me. I almost died."

"I don't think we ever have to worry about money again."

Commercial offers were already pouring in. Luxury ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠brands were practically begging her to be their ambassador, but she planned to reject them all.

"...It still pisses me off, though. Getting dragged so hard and called 'Brainless Ji-woo' and stuff."

Sure, anyone could get a little distracted the first time they saw luxury goods, but she felt like she had eaten a lifetime's worth of insults back then.

She had always scored at the very top of her theory exams at the Magic High School, yet here she was, being called "Brainless Ji-woo," "Brainless Queen"... and some crazy bastards even called her "Brain-Dead Mage." Wasn't that taking the insults a bit too far?

"I'm going to make filthy amounts of money. I'll rake in a hundred billion won and spend it like water. Oh, but no matter how much I make, I'm not giving a single cent to Dad. That crazy old man wouldn't be able to become a mage even if he poured trillions into it."

"A hundred billion? I'm jealous."

Startled by the sudden voice, she whipped her head around.

"Ah, Lieutenant Colonel. You're here too?"

"Yeah. Our timing lined up today."

Lieutenant Colonel Lee Seok-jun, who had once been Seo Ji-hyuk's commanding officer, took off his cap and smiled.

Ji-woo was glad to see him, but she couldn't help but glare.

"Are you really not going to tell me who it is?"

This man definitely knew. He knew exactly who the "friend" her brother had mentioned in his letter was.

Lee Seok-jun shrugged. "What are you going to do once you find him?"

"I want to talk to him, at least."

"If your brother wanted you to know, he would have written his name in the letter from the start."

"Excuse me?"

"So just wait. Wait until he comes to find you himself."

"...What is that supposed to mean?"

Lee Seok-jun chuckled at Ji-woo's blunt, disgruntled expression. "Ji-hyuk was considering the fact that his 'friend' might not want you to know either. He wasn't just thinking about you."

"..."

Ji-woo chewed on his words for a moment before clicking her tongue. "You really know how to leave a girl speechless. I'm leaving."

She visited often, but like most siblings, she never had that much to say once she actually stood before him. It made his absence feel all the more cruel. Why couldn't you have just stayed by my side?

"Oh, by the way," Lieutenant Colonel Lee Seok-jun said, placing a white chrysanthemum on the gravestone. "That handsome kid, Kang Hyun... I think he's here too."

"What? Kang Hyun? Where?"

"Over there. That way."

"Oh... okay. Thanks. Take care, Lieutenant Colonel."

"You too."

Ji-woo walked in the direction the lieutenant colonel had pointed. Sure enough, Kang Hyun was there. Though he was bundled up just like her, his distinct posture made him unmistakable. What is he doing here?

Ji-woo approached him.

"Hey!"

She raised her hand high, and Kang Hyun turned around.

"Why are you here? On a stroll?"

He pulled his mask down halfway.

"My dad is buried here too."

"...Oh."

Ji-woo blinked, looking at the gravestone in front of him. Carved into the stone were the three characters of his name, 'Kang Yoon-seok,' along with his birthdate and the date of his death in the line of duty.

The date of his death.

More than anything, that specific date caught Ji-woo's eye.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know."

If he was an explorer who had served the nation, it made sense that he would be laid to rest in the National Cemetery.

Ji-woo softened her gaze as much as possible.

"Um... can I ask you something?"

Normally, she wouldn't pry, but the date of his death was exactly the same as Seo Ji-hyuk's. Could there be a connection, even by some slim margin?

At her question, the corners of Kang Hyun's eyes drooped. The air around them grew cold and heavy, as if he were drifting back into a distant, frozen past.

He spoke quietly.

"I killed him."

Ji-woo blinked blankly, completely caught off guard.

"...Huh?"

"They say a person truly dies when they are forgotten by those they love. I haven't visited him once in five years."

"Hey! You jerk... why would you phrase it like that?!"

He could have just said he was an unfilial son. His choice of words was way too chilling.

"Are you here to see your brother?"

"Yeah. You know about him?"

"Yeah. I saw the latest broadcast. I heard he was friends with Ha-woon hyung."

"Not just friends, they were comrades in the same unit. Most people didn't know. Everyone just knows my brother died in the line of duty, but no one really cares about what UDT class he was in..."

Ji-woo rambled on for a bit before suddenly freezing. Only then did she notice the look in Kang Hyun's eyes.

It was a silent plea for her to get lost.

"...Ah, sorry. Look at me blabbering. Good luck. I'm off."

He was definitely a guy who drew clear boundaries. A lot of fans called him a golden retriever, but they couldn't be more wrong. He was far more like a wild beast—a tiger or a wolf suited him much better.

Kang Hyun waved at her. "Goodbye. See you later."

"Yeah, yeah. See ya..."

Ji-woo shoved her hands into her pockets and walked away.

Left alone, Kang Hyun stared silently at the gravestone. In his mind, he traced the face, the name, and every moment he had shared with the man who now slept eternally beneath this cold slab of stone.

Swoosh—

A sudden gust of wind swept through the cemetery. The lush grass swayed as if whispering secrets, and Kang Hyun slowly closed his eyes.

In the pitch-black darkness behind his eyelids, a crack formed like tearing paper. Beyond that rift, his father stood, looking back at him.

Father.

Father.

Every now and then, I feel myself drifting away from this world. Like grains of sand that slip through my fingers just when I think I've grasped them, everything that defines me feels so infinitely distant.

Father.

What did you hope for? What did you want?

Why did you leave me behind in a life so terribly vague and uncertain...?

Kang Hyun opened his eyes. He looked at "him," who had been reduced to nothing more than a stone marker.

"What are you doing?"

A voice cut through the quiet. Kang Hyun slowly turned his head.

Seol Ha-woon stood there, casually tossing a towel toward him.

"Wipe it down. Don't just stand there staring."

"..."

Catching the towel, Kang Hyun stared at him in silence, asking a question with his eyes alone. Seol Ha-woon answered that silent language.

"I know a lot of people here. If you walk around, you start seeing them one by one. Superiors, subordinates, comrades..."

He leaned on his cane, the tip pressing into the earth with a soft rustle of grass.

"Aren't you curious? Why did we ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠choose a path like this, knowing full well it would lead to our deaths?"

"...Because we believe we won't be the ones to die. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Everyone thinks they're special."

It was a delusion shared by all. An overestimation of one's own existence. Perhaps it was a built-in suicide prevention protocol programmed into the human race.

"We think, 'I'm different from the ones who've already died. Even bullets will dodge me.' That's how it starts. But..."

"It's never like that. You realize the truth every time the person next to you dies," Seol Ha-woon finished his sentence for him.

"When a piece-of-shit superior died, nobody laughed. Even though we'd wished for his death hundreds of times."

His tone was incredibly detached.

"And death always comes so suddenly. Even if you wrap your entire body in mana, a direct hit from a missile will still blow you to pieces. If you let your guard down and take one wrong step, tens of tons of explosives will swallow your lower half."

Speaking of the battlefield, a faint, worn smile touched the corners of his lips.

"You die as nothing but a lump of flesh barely clinging to shards of bone. Mana has a strange way of preserving bone above all else. But as for me... I was just incredibly lucky."

He pulled a white chrysanthemum from beneath his coat, which fluttered in the wind.

"...Why the flower?"

"What do you mean why? I bought it."

With a stiff, labored movement, he bent only his right knee and laid the flower before the gravestone of Kang Hyun's father. "For your father."

In an instant, Kang Hyun's expression froze. He clenched his jaw unconsciously, his eyes trembling.

"..."

He stared silently at Seol Ha-woon, who did not break eye contact.

Whoosh—

Another gust of wind swept through the trees.

Suspicion is born from reaction. No matter how skilled a person is at hiding themselves, there are memories that cannot be concealed. There are raw nerves that cannot bear to be touched. Seol Ha-woon had deliberately poked at one of those nerves, and Kang Hyun spoke.

"...Hyung."

Seol Ha-woon tilted his head, his long hair falling over his shoulder with the movement.

"Want to grab some gukbap? I know a place that's really good."

Seol Ha-woon's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but he quickly nodded. "Sure. Now?"

"This is the perfect time. If we hit the lunch or dinner rush, it'll be way too crowded."

"...Let's go. Lead the way."

"Yes."

Kang Hyun stepped forward first, and Seol Ha-woon followed, leaning on his cane. The two adjusted their strides to match each other.

Though they walked side by side, there was a subtle, jarring discordance in their steps.

Was it a clear, irreconcilable dissonance?

Or was it merely a harmony running a single beat behind?

It was still too early to tell.

Late at night.

Kate had gathered every scrap of evidence she could get her hands on. Inside her cramped quarters, she listened to the audio transcripts of the unit members from back then.

A conversation between men who were no longer of this world. They were voicing their suspicions about "that fucking dog." "Dog" was neither slang nor a casual insult—it meant "Hound." It was Seol Ha-woon's call sign at the time.

Kate did not like relying on mere assumptions. But...

If all the fragmented pieces of truth pointed to a single man... If everyone suspected him...

The transcript cut off there. She looked down at the black tea in her cup. Staring at the cold, dark red surface, she picked up a card.

Shimmering with a prismatic rainbow glow, it was Seol Ha-woon's Prism Rookie Card—the only one of its kind in the entire world.

"Was it you..." Kate murmured, staring intently at Seol Ha-woon's face on the card. "...who killed them?"