Chapter 91

The crimson flames, like Hellfire, soared high, engulfing the house. Simultaneously, an eerie crashing sound echoed.

“Darling!”

Dane’s shout bewildered the assembled firefighters, who stared at him. But Dane had no time to hesitate. He was about to rush into the house without any equipment, completely unprotected. Ezra, witnessing this, cried out in horror.

“Wait, Dane!”

“No, what are you doing!”

They grabbed Dane from all sides, preventing him from immediately running into the house. Dane tried to shake them off, but several burly men surrounded him, forming a human barricade, making it impossible for him to break through.

“Let go, I said let go!”

“Calm down, Dane! What’s wrong with you?”

“Darling is in there, Darling!”

“What?”

“What did he say?”

Everyone panicked and looked at each other. This was Dane’s house? Darling? That cat? What should they do? They wore similar questions on their faces, at a loss for what to do, when Wilkins intervened.

“What are you all doing here? Disperse! Dane, what about you? Why are you here?”

“It’s my house!”

Dane shouted before anyone else could say something.

“Darling is in there, I have to save them! Darling is in there alone! Darling!”

“Now, hold on! Calm down, Dane, calm down!”

Wilkins urgently embraced him from behind. Entangled in the powerful arms of the former professional wrestler, Dane thrashed and writhed, but he couldn’t escape. Wilkins continued to shout.

“It’s already too late, how could anyone survive in those flames! Give up, Miller is already inside trying to save them, and he can’t! No one can go in! Unless they’re crazy!”

At those words, Dane stopped moving. Wilkins nodded with a mournful face as Dane slowly turned to look at him.

“Yes, we’re preparing to go in as soon as the fire is under control, but we can’t even save people right now. How can we possibly save a cat…”

Dane’s mind became confused. Darling was already complicated enough, but what was he saying now?

“Grayson Miller went in? My house?”

He turned to Wilkins and asked.

“Why?”

“Who knows what’s going on in that guy’s head.”

Wilkins sighed deeply, as if he had a headache. It was then that an inexplicable commotion arose. Dane, who had casually turned his head, widened his eyes. Everyone looking in the same direction showed the same reaction as him. They stood there with wide eyes in astonishment. Including Wilkins, as if they couldn’t believe it.

The sight of a man staggering out of the flames.

Grayson Miller.

Someone murmured as if whispering. It was an utterly unbelievable sight. Always perfectly dressed and impeccably groomed without a speck of disarray, his face was now covered in black soot, and the platinum blonde hair that covered his nape was burnt and disheveled in places. The purple eyes that arrogantly looked down on others seemed tired and had lost their luster, and his shoulders, heaving with rough breaths, were drooping unlike usual.

He looked as if he had fought a war alone. Of course, that was the truth.

“…Miller.”

Dane repeated his name as if to himself. Wilkins carefully released Dane, who had lost his strength. Dane’s gaze shifted from Grayson’s face to the small creature he was holding precious.

Darling was breathing oxygen inside Grayson’s helmet, with their eyes closed. Grayson staggered and slowly walked towards Dane. And then, he slowly offered the cat he had been holding until then to Dane, who was standing motionless.

Dane silently, very carefully, took the cat. It was visible to the eye that Grayson’s hand, handing over Darling, was trembling.

Barely holding the cat in his arms, Dane held his breath and checked their condition. As his tense hand gently stroked their body, the cat, who had been still, flinched. Meow, making a small sound, the cat tried to rub their head against Dane’s chest, and only then could Dane let out a sigh of relief from deep within.

“Just a moment.”

After briefly asking Grayson for his understanding in his haste, he rushed to the ambulance. The waiting paramedic gently laid the cat on the back seat of the ambulance, supplied oxygen, and performed emergency measures. After performing the few tests that could be done immediately, he readily concluded.

“You don’t have to worry too much. You’ll have to go to an animal hospital for a thorough examination, but for now, you can rest assured. Well, their fur is a little burnt, but this is really good. They didn’t inhale much smoke either.”

He smiled, holding up the helmet he had taken off the cat.

“Some brave hero seems to have lent their life to your Darling.”

Dane stared at the helmet without saying a word. After checking the heavily cracked mask part, he stood there for a while without moving.

Desire Me if you can

Grayson was sitting alone some distance away from the fire scene. Sitting on the curb, holding an empty water bottle in one hand and staring blankly into the air, Dane slowly moved his steps and approached him. The other guys were now busy dealing with the remaining fires and cleaning up the remaining work.

“Miller.”

At the call of his name, he paused and slowly raised his head. Dane gazed down at his still hazy purple eyes.

He had seen it before, but it was still a sight to behold. His disheveled hair was partly burnt and broken in places, and his face was covered in ash and dust, making him indescribably dirty, and here and there he was wounded and red with blood. Seeing his messy appearance, Dane bitterly smiled.

“Pretty boy, why is your face in this state?”

Grayson didn’t say anything to the joke-like remark. This was also a different reaction than before. He should say something else that doesn’t make sense and make people feel absurd, but for some reason, he just silently looked at Dane.

He had that experience for the first time, so he might not have come to his senses yet.

It is a common occurrence for unfamiliar firefighters. But he didn’t expect Grayson Miller to show that reaction. Why did he go into the fire alone in the first place? He could have really lost his life.

There were many questions, but there was only one thing Dane could say here. He slowly moved his lips.

“Thank you.”

At the quiet words of gratitude, Grayson blinked for the first time. Dane continued, meeting his gaze that was still fixed on him.

“Darling is okay. I’ll have to do a detailed examination separately… Anyway, it’s thanks to you, thank you.”

It was a soft tone that he had never used to Grayson before. Grayson only blinked his eyes as if he was out of his mind. Feeling embarrassed by his reaction, Dane scratched the back of his head.

“Still, I was very surprised. I never imagined you would jump into the fire to save Darling…”

As Dane tried to avoid the awkward atmosphere, Grayson, who had been silent until then, opened his mouth. After moving his lips a few times, he finally made a sound.

“I was afraid you would hate me…”

Whether it was because he had inhaled smoke or for some other reason, Grayson’s voice was very hoarse. Dane paused and looked down at him. But Grayson stopped there and closed his mouth again. As if he wanted to say something but couldn’t think of anything.

Dane didn’t urge him and waited there. Until Grayson found the right expression. He lowered his head and tried to speak several times, but repeated the process of stopping.

“If Darling died, I thought you would hate me for the rest of your life. Thinking like that, I.”

Grayson, who had barely spoken, stopped again. Unable to explain his confused thoughts, he ended up listing them one by one.

“My heart was beating like crazy, I was dizzy, my mouth was dry…”

As he relived the feeling at that time, Grayson repeated the same experience again. Dane saw his hands trembling soon.

“So, my body moved first. I had to save Darling… That’s all I could think about.”

Grayson sighed. Dane, who was staring down at him with a pale face, opened his mouth.

“People call that scary.”

Grayson paused. He seemed to stiffen for a moment, then slowly raised his head. Their eyes met again, but Dane didn’t avoid it. Still looking at Grayson, Dane quietly repeated the same words.

“What you’re feeling now is the emotion of being scared. It’s similar to fear.”

Grayson slowly blinked his eyes. Like a child experiencing something unknown for the first time, he repeated Dane’s words inwardly. And slowly, Grayson moved his lips.

“…It was scary.”

“Yes.”

Dane said that and bent down. Kneeling on one knee, he opened his arms and hugged Grayson.

“You did well, Miller.”

As if to a child, Dane patted Grayson’s back a few times. Grayson was blankly embraced by him with wide eyes. His heart was pounding as if it would burst, but it was different from what he had confessed to Dane just before. It was difficult to breathe, and his vision was spinning and dizzy, but it was definitely not fear. This, this is.

“…I like you.”

As if exhaling blocked breath, Grayson confessed. Dane’s hand, which had been patting his back, stopped. After a few seconds of silence, Dane slowly moved away.

They looked at each other from a distance so close that their breaths could touch. Grayson stared at Dane’s face and confessed again, as if sighing, but with ardent conviction.

“I think I… love you.”

Kwa-gwang, and just in time, the house that had been barely holding on collapsed all at once from behind.