Huff, Huff!

The rough sound of breathing through the oxygen tank echoed like thunder.

The radio kept buzzing, but the sound didn't come through.

“Captain Park Joon-sik! What should we do?”

At the words of Gu Jung-seok, a firefighter in his third year who had entered the fire scene with him, Park Joon-sik fell into thought.

The rescuee was definitely beyond this door.

He could sense it with the ability he had acquired at some point.

They were definitely there. And still breathing. There was no turning back.

“You go downstairs!”

“But, Captain! What are you going to do alone?”

“Don't worry! I'm wearing my fireproof suit, and more importantly... you know my ability.”

Gu Jung-seok had been transferred here not long ago.

What had shocked him about the firefighters at the 12th District Fire Station was their abilities.

Not all of them had them, but some, including Captain Park Joon-sik, possessed powers like awakened ones.

But even those abilities weren't omnipotent. Especially in a situation like this.

“I know! I know very well! But there's a high chance of a backdraft explosion!”

The place where the rescuee was presumed to be was in a smoldering state.

Thinking that someone could still be alive there was ridiculous enough, but going in without considering the risk of a backdraft seemed utterly reckless to Gu Jung-seok.

Wasn’t a backdraft one of the most feared phenomena for firefighters?

Gu Jung-seok had actually lost his mentor to a backdraft two years ago.

In fact, his transfer wasn’t entirely unrelated to that incident. Despite receiving long-term psychiatric treatment, his trauma had never completely disappeared.

And now, losing another colleague to a backdraft?

A colleague he had barely known for even two weeks?

‘I can’t let that happen.’

Just as Gu Jung-seok was about to stop Park Joon-sik, the captain suddenly made an unexpected move.

He stripped off his fireproof suit and oxygen tank.

“Captain Park!”

Gu Jung-seok was so taken aback that he didn't even bother with honorifics.

Going into a place at risk of a backdraft with his own two feet was absurd, but now he was even ditching his protective gear?

It was as good as a death sentence.

“Go downstairs first!”

“But…”

“There's no time to argue! Get down there now! Or do you want the rescuee to die?”

“……”

After hesitating, Gu Jung-seok reluctantly turned away.

By the time he reached the bottom floor, his radio crackled.

Chhhhhh—!

— Lieutenant Gu, are you all the way down?

Having made it out of the building, Gu Jung-seok looked up at the smoke-filled structure and responded.

“Yes! So please, Captain, come down immediately!”

Chhhhhh—!

The radio cut off amid static.

Even Chief Cho Hyunggu kept radioing repeatedly, sensing something was wrong.

And then—

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A deafening explosion rang out from the upper floors, where Park Joon-sik was presumed to be. The very backdraft they had feared.

The firefighters sprang into action.

Cho Hyunggu was reporting the situation to headquarters via radio, while the other firefighters focused on evacuating the gathered civilians.

Only one firefighter stood still—Gu Jung-seok.

His eyes, devoid of focus, remained fixed on the building.

Countless embers fell like snowflakes.

“……”

Gu Jung-seok clenched his fists.

Again.

He had lost another colleague to the flames.

Should he have dragged him out by force?

Or was he cursed?

Why did this keep happening to the colleagues he worked with?

‘I…’

I don’t belong here.

He thought to himself.

His dream of becoming a firefighter had begun a long time ago.

Back in high school, he had been rescued by a firefighter. After that, his hero and aspiration wasn’t an awakened warrior but a firefighter.

Even after the emergence of awakened ones, he had admired those who silently protected people's lives and property—unawakened heroes.

But now, maybe he needed to rethink everything.

He couldn’t keep leading his colleagues to their deaths.

“Ugh.”

Tears burst forth.

His shoulders shook as he sobbed.

And then—

A sudden cheer erupted from the crowd.

“Waaah!”

“He’s alive! He’s alive!”

Alive?

Gu Jung-seok’s head shot up.

Covered in soot and burns, Park Joon-sik was panting heavily as he laid the rescuee down on the ground.

Cho Hyunggu approached him.

“I thought I’d be attending your funeral. Are you fearless, or just crazy?”

“Maybe neither? Haha.”

“You’re laughing? In this situation?”

“Hmm, should I cry instead?”

“Forget it. How’s the rescuee?”

“Doesn’t seem to be in critical condition, but it’d be best to get them to a hospital quickly. They look fine on the outside, but they inhaled a lot of smoke.”

“Good work.”

Letting out a small chuckle, Park Joon-sik poured a bottle of water over his head.

“Ah, now I can finally breathe.”

Then, he noticed Gu Jung-seok in the crowd.

The younger firefighter’s expression was dark.

“Lieutenant Gu, you okay?”

“Thank you.”

“For what? Oh, was the rescuee someone you knew?”

When he pointed to the rescuee being loaded into the ambulance, Gu Jung-seok shook his head.

“No. Just… thank you for coming back alive.”

“You’re being dramatic. Anyway, since we finally pulled off a good rescue together today, let's go have a drink. The chief's buying.”

“You little brat! When did I say that?!”

“See? That means yes. Let’s go, I know a great place.”

Seo-jun, who ran the bar One Drink, welcomed every guest without prejudice.

Especially firefighters.

“It’s been a while since you last came.”

“It has, boss. The accidents just wouldn’t stop, so I couldn’t make time.”

“Lately, I’ve been hearing sirens more often. You must have had a lot of callouts.”

“There’s been an increase in unexplained fires. As you can see, I’m coming straight from the scene. Haha.”

“Unexplained fires?”

“Yes. Recently, there’s been a rise in fires suspected to be arson.”

“Arson, you say?”

“Yes. Well, in District 12... it’s a rough area, so it’s not surprising if someone sets a fire anywhere at any time. But the frequency has increased lately, so we’ve been just as busy.”

“That must be tough on you.”

“It’s nothing. At least there haven’t been any casualties, and even in the major fires, no one has been injured or gone missing.”

“That’s thanks to you firefighters.”

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Park Joon-sik scratched his head before introducing Gu Jung-seok. Gu Jung-seok bowed politely in greeting.

“I’m Gu Jung-seok, recently transferred.”

“I’m Lee Seo-jun. Nice to meet you.”

Seo-jun turned to Park Joon-sik and asked.

“Is this gathering to celebrate Firefighter Gu Jung-seok’s transfer?”

“No. We already had that at the station. Today’s gathering is because this guy pulled off something big.”

“Something big?”

“Thanks to him, we put out the fire easily and saved the victim. That’s worth celebrating, isn’t it? Hahaha.”

Gu Jung-seok quickly waved his hands in denial.

“No, no. Captain and the others did everything. I was just in the way.”

“Why are you being so modest, Lieutenant Gu? You followed me up to the seventh floor in full gear.”

“That was just…”

“You basically rescued the victim yourself.”

“I was too afraid of the backdraft, so I ended up going back down even though the victim was right in front of me.”

“That was my order. You wouldn’t have come down if I hadn’t told you to.”

Gu Jung-seok didn’t deny it.

Because it was true.

“So, it’s as good as you being the one who saved them. Isn’t that right, Boss?”

As Park Joon-sik turned, Seo-jun grinned brightly and nodded.

“Yes. You worked hard, Firefighter Gu Jung-seok.”

“See? Even the boss says so.”

“…I don’t think I deserve praise, but thank you.”

As Gu Jung-seok looked flustered, Seo-jun took their order.

They usually ordered cheap snacks like fried eggs or squid legs, but today, they had chosen a more expensive dish—spicy pork belly.

Even Yeon-jun, looking at the bill, tilted his head in confusion.

“Hyung, did Park Yeon take this order?”

“No? Why?”

“It looks like there was a mistake. The firefighters ordered spicy pork belly. Fifteen servings, too.”

“No mistake. That’s what they ordered.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Then should I bring them some fried eggs and fruit punch, too? Firefighter Park Joon-sik likes fried eggs.”

“Good idea. Let’s do that.”

Seo-jun headed to the kitchen.

He took out twenty servings of pre-portioned spicy pork belly from the fridge.

Then he heated six burners and placed six frying pans on them.

Sizzle—!

Hiss—!

Four pans were used for the pork belly, while the remaining two were for Arutus eggs.

Recalling that Park Joon-sik preferred his eggs runny, Seo-jun made them soft-boiled.

The spicy aroma of the now-signature dish, "One Drink" spicy pork belly, filled the restaurant, followed by the rich scent of the Arutus eggs.

Finishing the cooking in no time, he served the food to the firefighters’ table.

“Wow… Look at this feast.”

“This is the legendary spicy pork belly from ‘One Drink’! Boss, we’re digging in!”

“Hey, don’t just thank the boss! The one treating us today is our fire captain.”

“Oh, right. Thank you, Captain!”

“Ugh… My wife is going to kill me.”

Back in the kitchen, Seo-jun searched the fridge for fruit.

‘A proper fruit punch would be best.’

He opened his subspace.

Inside were awakened cultivation fruits.

He had bought them with the money he earned from selling monster remains to Hwang Tae-su.

It seemed best to bring out the fruit punch when the firefighters were halfway through their meal.

Since both the Arutus eggs and spicy pork belly were rich dishes, the punch would help balance the flavors.

Meanwhile, the firefighters’ drinking session was getting livelier.

Even Park Joon-sik, who rarely showed signs of being drunk, had a flushed face.

The other firefighters were the same.

Especially Gu Jung-seok, the newly transferred one.

“Captain…”

“Huh? Huh? I’m not drunk.”

“Earlier at the scene… You asked why I was crying.”

“Yeah, I thought maybe the victim was someone you knew.”

“Like I said, I was crying because I was so grateful you made it back alive, Captain.”

“Huh?”

“…I lost my superior in a backdraft before.”

“…”

“It’s been quite a while, but I still can’t forget it. The image of my superior being swallowed by the flames… I still dream about it.”

“…So I was just really grateful. Because you came back alive, unlike him.”

Drip—.

“This one is for your superior, Lieutenant Gu. And this one is for you.”

Breaking the heavy silence, Cho Hyunggu spoke.

“Your superior… It was Kang Jung-sik, the one lost to a backdraft, right?”

“…Yes.”

“To Firefighter Kang Jung-sik, who pushed forward through the flames even as they consumed him.”

Cho Hyunggu raised his glass. The others followed suit.

Only Gu Jung-seok, head bowed, shoulders trembling, hesitated.

“Lieutenant Gu.”

Wiping his tears, Gu Jung-seok finally lifted his glass.

Soon, the firefighters’ glasses clinked together in the air.