By Zephyria 
As they went on, the Station Chief’s voice rose a step at a time. Wilkins, embarrassed, tried his best to smooth things over.
“Isn’t the physical fitness test important? If they’re not properly prepared on the front lines, the lives of other team members are at risk…”
“Why are you deciding that on your own? You should have reported to me first! And if you can’t trust him, why not just leave him behind? There are ways to make him do odd jobs on site! But you dragged Miller out here and made this mess? Do you think I’m just a figurehead? Huh?”
The voices that had been bickering had already disappeared, and only the Station Chief’s voice echoed loudly. Wilkins just bowed his head and repeated, “I’m sorry.” The Station Chief, who had been raging, looked around with a flushed face, and after confirming that Grayson was not visible, he spat out in a still-rough voice.
“So, what happened? Is it still not over? When did it start!”
Wilkins answered obediently to the barrage of questions.
“It’s been about 3 hours.”
“What…!”
To be exact, it was 3 hours and 50 minutes. But everyone kept their mouths shut and anxiously watched the Station Chief. As expected, the Station Chief was furious and shouted.
“Even if you take the maximum, 2 hours is more than enough, but it’s been 3 hours? And what are you all doing here! Find Miller right now, hurry! I’ll see you later.”
The Station Chief, issuing a harsh order, pointed his finger at Wilkins and growled. Wilkins had no choice but to say, “Yes,” and turned around to quickly organize a team.
“He might be on his way back, so let’s go up the other way. And just in case, let’s pack some first aid supplies…”
Wilkins quickly gave instructions, selecting a few people with particularly good records. The staff, immediately moving to gather the necessary items, hurriedly prepared to go up the mountain. The sun would be setting soon. If they didn’t hurry…
“Uh, uh…”
Someone blurted out a dumbfounded exclamation. People who had casually turned their heads stopped in their tracks, and those who noticed the strange atmosphere followed suit, turning their gaze and stopping as well. At the end of their line of sight, the man they had been waiting for was walking towards them.
Grayson Miller.
His beautifully shining blond hair was covered in dirt and leaves, completely dusty. His whole body was covered in scratches and cuts, his clothes were in tatters, and his face was swollen as if he had been hit. In a day, there would surely be mottled bruises all over his body.
“Hey, Team leader.”
He raised one hand and greeted them brightly, as if nothing had happened. Everyone was stunned by his smiling face, revealing his white teeth. Grayson walked nonchalantly to Wilkins and stood in front of him amidst the dazed gazes.
“I’m back. Is the test over now? I finished the course safely, so I can participate in field operations from now on, right?”
He didn’t look safe at all, but Grayson was confident. Even with the appearance of someone who had clearly been in a fight, his face claimed that there was no problem. He didn’t tattle that Dane had punched him, didn’t demand to know who the instigator was, and didn’t act up.
The Station Chief, who had been inwardly nervous that he might complain about being treated this way, demand the return of his donation immediately, or even threaten to sue the entire fire station, blinked with a blank face. He had been like this since he first showed up to join the company, but he couldn’t figure out what he was thinking.
The others were just as baffled. Could he participate in field operations from now on? Absurdly, his question felt so innocent. He was clearly a seasoned man, but how could he look so pure, like a child?
Surely, even if the word ‘pure’ died and came back to life ten thousand times, it wouldn’t be able to get even one millimeter closer to that man.
“Uh, uh… well, yes.”
Ezra, who had belatedly come to his senses behind Wilkins, who nodded dazedly, shouted.
“What about Dane?”
As if that were a signal, surprised voices followed one after another.
“That’s right, what happened to Dane?”
“You were definitely faster than him, so why did you come first?”
“You bastard! What did you do to Dane? There’s no way you could have come first otherwise!”
Just as they were about to pounce on him, someone suddenly shouted in surprise.
“Dane!”
At first, it was barely audible, buried in the murmuring. But another guy who happened to hear the sound spotted him and shouted in surprise.
“Everyone, look! It’s Dane, Dane’s here!”
“Dane?”
“Where, where?”
Those who belatedly grasped the situation stirred and looked around, soon stopping. Dane was walking in the direction Grayson had come from. Reluctantly dragging his tired, exhausted feet. Seeing this, his colleagues screamed and rushed forward.
“Dane!”
“Dane, you’re here!”
“What happened? We were worried! Are you hurt?”
“Oh my god, what happened to you…”
Surrounded by people chattering, Dane just nodded without saying a word. He seemed to not even want to talk anymore, but everyone didn’t stop. It was the Station Chief who sorted out this chaos.
“Everyone, quiet! Get back to your positions!”
The employees were startled by the Station Chief’s loud shout and quickly stepped back. The path that appeared in front of Dane as if the Red Sea had parted was directed straight to the Station Chief. With a clearly reluctant expression, Dane walked to the Station Chief. The Station Chief scanned Dane’s whole body once and clicked his tongue.
“What is this mess?”
The Station Chief sighed in a voice mixed with exasperation. Indeed, Dane, like Grayson, was not unscathed. His soft red-blond hair was also disheveled, with fallen leaves and small twigs stuck to it, and his face, blackened in places, was scarred and bloodied. After confirming that his torn uniform was tattered, the Station Chief rubbed his forehead as if his head was throbbing.
“Making such a mess of your handsome face… Reflect on your actions.”
As he said, Dane was the face of this fire station. He decorated a page of the calendar every year, and in the year he was on the cover, the calendar sold out so quickly that it was reprinted several times as an exception. There were quite a few people who came to the Western Fire Station to see Dane Striker’s face, so using him to raise donations was a great help to the fire station, but he was treating his body so carelessly.
“Your body is not just yours. It belongs to all of us!”
The Station Chief sternly rebuked. Then, there were many words about being swayed by Wilkins and recklessly using his body, and that it would be difficult if his face was scarred, so he should go to the hospital emergency room, but the only thing that Dane heard was the last word.
“I’ll give you two days of paid leave. Get some rest, okay?”
Only then did Dane smile and nod.
“I will, thank you.”
“Wait a minute, suddenly?”
“No, everyone caused the accident together, but only Dane gets paid leave? Does that make sense?”
“It’s unfair! Where is the equality?”
As expected, there was a strong backlash. But the Station Chief’s will was firm.
“You guys must have dragged Dane into it! Dane is a terrible individualist who has no interest in other people’s affairs and only does his own work! It’s not like sex, money, or cats are involved, so there’s no way Dane would have stepped up and become such a mess like this! Am I wrong? And you still have the nerve to say something! Everyone, reflect on your actions!”
Nothing he said was wrong, but somehow it felt like Dane had been insulted. Feeling sorry for everyone for no reason, Dane added fuel to the fire.
“That’s right. As expected, the Station Chief knows everything.”
The others were dumbfounded by his smiling face with one hand on his chest as if he was moved. As they sighed and cursed in disbelief, Dane glanced at them. As if to say, do you dare to say anything? Of course not.