By Zephyria 
twelve
“It’s a misunderstanding…”
That was all Dane could manage to say. Cold sweat trickled down his back, and his head throbbed.
“I told you last time, it’s a misunderstanding. Nothing happened with Yeon-woo.”
“Then why were you coming out together from there?”
He denied it again, but Grayson wouldn’t back down easily. His finger tapped the phone screen, pointing to the shopping bag Yeon-woo was holding. The store’s logo was clearly printed on it, blatantly showing, “I bought a lot and came out.”
In this situation, where there was no room for excuses, Dane could only gape, unable to speak. He couldn’t even remember how many years ago that photo was taken.
Back then, Yeon-woo had asked him to go to the Shop together, and they were photographed by paparazzi, causing quite a stir.
Dane covered his face with one hand and groaned. How much time had passed since then? He had forgotten that such a photo even existed, but it hit him like a bolt from the blue.
“He said he wanted help using tools, so I just helped him with shopping, that’s all.”
He was telling the truth, but for some reason, it sounded like an excuse even to his own ears. Dane frowned, and Grayson looked at him with suspicion.
“There’s no way you’d willingly help with something like that for no reason.”
Surprisingly, Grayson knew Dane well. Dane gritted his teeth and spat out,
“I got a Darling necklace from Tiffany’s, okay?”
Only then did Grayson’s gaze soften. Dane felt like he was being treated like a snob, which didn’t make him feel good, but it was true, so he had nothing to say. Just when he thought he had gotten through this situation, Grayson suddenly frowned and asked,
“Why did he go with you?”
“I don’t know, me neither! How would I know what the hell they’re doing, you fucking bastard!”
Dane lost his temper and slammed his fist on the table with a bang. Grayson, seeing his scary face as he glared with gritted teeth, finally took a step back.
“Okay, then.”
“‘Then’ what?”
Just as he was about to say, ‘Then that’s it,’ Grayson continued,
“When are we going to do it? I’m ready anytime.”
“Do what, again.”
Dane asked in an exhausted voice. He had spent too much energy and wanted to rest now. But the moment he saw the phone screen Grayson showed him next, his blurred eyes had no choice but to focus again.
There was a photo of a man tied up, blindfolded, and gagged.
Of course, completely naked.
Dane squeezed his eyes shut and stepped back. Grayson took the phone away with a frown, as if he didn’t want to defile his eyes any further. Only after Dane opened his eyes slightly and confirmed that the hideous thing was gone did he finally speak.
“Why would I do something like that with you?”
Grayson asked sternly, seeing his strong rejection.
“You’ve done it with guys you’ve slept with for one night, but you won’t do it with me, your boyfriend?”
Dane was so dumbfounded that his jaw dropped again.
“What… hey, when did I ever do something like this…”
He even stuttered, he was so taken aback, but Grayson immediately poured out his words.
“The reason Yeon-woo asked you for that favor was because you’re knowledgeable about that kind of stuff, right? If you’re giving shopping advice to others, how much have you done, really! If you’re that familiar with it, you should definitely do it with me too, why won’t you, why?”
Dane was speechless. Grayson’s words weren’t wrong. They even seemed like a very natural request at first glance.
Of course, he had no intention of nodding.
“I don’t need to do what I’ve done with other guys with you, pretty boy.”
Dane muttered in an exhausted voice and held out a hand to stop Grayson from saying something.
“There are times when I want to do that kind of stuff and times when I don’t. It depends on the person… Anyway, I don’t want to do it with you, I don’t feel like it.”
The photo he had seen briefly remained in his retina and wouldn’t go away. Imagining Grayson tied up like that sent shivers down his spine. No, please. I don’t want to see that guy’s naked body anymore…!
If Grayson were to pounce on him naked again, he felt like he would be traumatized. If he was trying to use shock therapy to fix Dane’s messy life, it was a very effective method. Just thinking about what happened earlier made Dane feel like he might never get an erection again in his life.
Grayson looked at Dane without saying anything. Dane was nervous, not knowing what he was going to say or push for next, but unexpectedly, he quietly backed down.
“Okay, then.”
Unlike just now, Grayson drooped his shoulders with a very dejected look. Seeing his obviously disappointed appearance, Dane hesitated.
That bastard, I told him not to put on an act.
He wouldn’t be able to break the habit easily. So Grayson making such a gloomy face was definitely calculated.
And yet.
Haa, Dane sighed and rubbed his forehead with one hand.
“Next time…”
He continued in a weak voice.
“Let’s do it next time. I’m not in the mood today…”
“Really?”
Grayson’s voice immediately brightened. He was full of energy, as if he had sucked all of Dane’s energy away. On the other hand, Dane’s face turned ashen, and he simply nodded with a soulless expression.
“Okay, then? I’m going to sleep…”
“Wait, wait a minute!”
He was getting up with a tired face when Grayson urgently called out to him. Regardless of Dane’s increasingly annoyed face, he took something out and held it out. It was a shopping bag that Dane remembered seeing. It was something he had bought at the luxury store he had gone to with Grayson a while ago, because Dane had urged him to buy something.
“It’s a gift, for our 30-day anniversary.”
Dane was taken aback that he had bought a gift for him at that moment. After hesitating for a moment, he took it, and Grayson said with an expectant look,
“You have to open it here.”
It was natural to want to see the reaction since he had given a gift. This guy must be more curious than other people, so he must be even more curious.
Dane looked inside the shopping bag without much thought. Even as he took out the beautifully wrapped box, he had no idea what was inside. And the moment he opened the box in question, Dane stopped even breathing.
“Ta-da!”
Grayson, who had been watching, made a ridiculous sound effect. Regardless of Dane’s reaction, who was silently looking at the box, Grayson reached out and took out the gift inside, immediately holding it up to Dane’s chest. Grayson, placing the flimsy piece of fabric on his chest, let out an excited sigh.
“It’s the best…!”
Dane stared blankly at him, who was blushing and exclaiming in admiration. Dane took the hand that was holding the piece of fabric to his chest and grabbed it, and what he would do next was decided. It was to beat Grayson with the bra.
“Die, die, you pervert! Die!”
“Heeheehee, heeheehee.”
The bra whipped his body like a whip, but Grayson still giggled and laughed. And Dane barely managed to refrain from strangling Grayson with the bra. After getting a promise that he would never celebrate any anniversary in the future.
Desire Me if you can
A fire truck sped down the road with a loud siren. As always, the staff were hurriedly putting on their equipment in the tense car.
“It doesn’t look like the fire is spreading to the side like last time, so let’s finish it quickly.”
Everyone answered, “Yes,” to Wilkins’ words. Soon, they arrived at the fire scene. As the Team leader said, only one house was burning.
Dane got out of the car, frowned, and looked at the flames. It’s a wonder it’s not spreading with such a big fire. As he thought that and busily slung the fire hose over his shoulder, a shadow suddenly fell over his head. He looked up and saw Grayson looking down at him. Dane, who had met his gaze for a moment, took off the hose he was wearing on his shoulder and hung it on his arm without saying anything. DeAndre, who saw this, was startled and shouted.
“Wait, wait a minute!”
116 – 116
As Dane turned to him with a frown, DeAndre asked with a surprised expression.
“What are you doing? You’re going to make Miller work? Are you serious?”
DeAndre looked back and forth between Grayson and Dane with an unbelievable expression. Dane replied to him in his usual, tiresome tone.
“He needs to do something instead of just standing around. I taught him how to spray water, so he can do it.”
“Taught him? You? Miller?”
DeAndre asked again, surprised. Dane answered without hesitation.
“Yeah.”
Goodness, what is going on? The guy who always says he’s ‘annoyed’ even taught Miller himself? Really? Seeing his wide eyes, Dane added as if it were obvious.
“The sooner the job is done, the sooner we can go rest, you idiot.”
“Ah.”
That was a plausible answer. He always looked bored and annoyed whenever they went on a Deployment. Dane Striker was the laziest man he knew, who just wanted to loaf around. He was practically a bum.
…Still, it didn’t make sense that he would go out of his way to do something so bothersome just to get off work early.
As DeAndre’s attitude softened, Dane gestured with his chin, as if annoyed, and ordered.
“You do your job, and don’t waste time loitering around.”
“…Okay.”
He didn’t want to, but he had nothing more to say. Dane took his eyes off his retreating back and glanced at Grayson. Grayson wore his signature smile as if nothing had happened. Dane said curtly.
“How many times do I have to tell you to get rid of that face?”
It wasn’t the time to grab him and talk about this and that. The sounds of fire and the shouts of his colleagues were mixed up loudly. Dane quickly told Grayson what to do and then put on his equipment. He was getting ready to enter. Grayson moved to hold the hose and spray water as he was told. Once he was in position, Dane immediately turned on the water. A strong stream of water poured over the flames, creating a hazy rainbow.
“Good job, keep doing that.”
Dane lightly tapped Grayson on the shoulder and then finished preparing to go inside with Ezra.
“Are there any people inside?”
Wilkins nodded at Ezra’s question.
“Everyone has evacuated. You guys go in first and…”
Dane, who was standing with Ezra listening to him, suddenly noticed a man. Wilkins followed his gaze and said, “Ah.”
“That’s the homeowner. He came home from work and reported the fire.”
“He lives alone, it seems.”
Wilkins nodded at Ezra’s words.
“He’s divorced. His wife left.”
The man was standing there blankly, staring at the burning house. His wife left, and now he’s about to lose all his property, so it’s no wonder he’s out of his mind. Dane even felt like he understood him to some extent. Maybe it was because of the sense of camaraderie from losing a house in a fire.
Leaving them to focus on Wilkins’ words again, DeAndre joined the busy colleagues. As soon as he arrived, one of them asked as if they had been waiting.
“What’s going on?”
It was about Grayson. DeAndre glanced in the direction he had come from and said.
“I don’t know, Dane must have taught him roughly. I guess he thought it would help if he did something…”
“It would help, but will that bastard do it right?”
Another guy spoke up, dissatisfied. Soon, words poured out from here and there.
“Who would trust Miller? They trust Dane.”
“It’s a relief if he doesn’t cause an accident.”
“Anyway, let’s check in from time to time. Everyone’s busy, but…”
“Right, we need to go and fix it right away if we think something’s wrong.”
The firefighters high-fived each other and hurriedly began to move to carry out their assigned tasks. And Dane and Ezra went into the fire.
Desire Me if you can
The inside of the house was already mostly reduced to ashes. The space was soaked by the water pouring over the burning structures and collapsed, leaving almost no space left. Stepping over the debris, Dane looked around and examined the interior of the house, passing the collapsed walls and furniture. As he had already heard, there was no sign of anyone. As he swung the hose of the fire extinguisher on his shoulder here and there to put out the remaining embers, he continued to hear the sounds of burning and collapsing.
“It looks like it’s almost over.”
Ezra said, coming out of another room.
“Was the report late? It’s burned down so completely…”
He found it after work, so it couldn’t be helped, but there were still questions. If no one was home, how did the fire start?
“It looks like the fire started here.”
Ezra said as he entered a space that was particularly blackened and charred. It was a child’s playroom, and the already burned dolls and children’s beds were barely recognizable. He was still putting out the visible fire and looking around inside.
“…?”
Dane, who had turned toward the bed, stopped. He felt something strange. Under the bed, there was something that shouldn’t be there…
“Dane?”
Ezra shouted in surprise at the sight of Dane immediately bending down. Soon after, Ezra saw what Dane had found under the bed and gasped in horror. There was a dead child, blackened, under there.
Dane, who had taken the child out in a hurry, froze in shock for a moment. The remaining flesh was covered in bruises and bloodstains. There was no healthy skin to be found.
“W-What is all this?”
Ezra also muttered in a trembling voice. It was clear to anyone that the injuries were by no means caused by the fire. Dane didn’t waste any more time and hurriedly ran outside with the child in his arms.
Desire Me if you can
Those bastards think I’m an idiot.
Grayson suppressed his rising irritation and focused on spraying water. The other guys had been glancing at him constantly since earlier. He knew what that gaze meant. They were watching him anxiously, worried that Grayson might make a mistake. Grayson was just dumbfounded by that fact.
All I have to do is spray water, what’s so difficult about that?
Besides, he was quite focused right now. He wanted Dane to think he was useful when he came back. If possible, he’d like a kiss too…
It was when he was slightly raising the corners of his mouth. Suddenly, he heard a commotion. He soon found out the reason. Dane ran out in a hurry. With a young child in his arms.
“Oxygen, give me oxygen!”
“Dane, this way! Lay him down here, quickly!”
“Prepare CPR, quickly…!”
The paramedics ran around urgently, but the commotion didn’t last long. They urgently massaged his heart and supplied oxygen, but it was already too late. Everyone knew that. A heavy silence fell. Ezra put his hand on Dane’s shoulder, who was just staring blankly.
“It was already too late when we first saw him, you knew that.”
Dane looked back at him blankly and then turned his gaze back to the child. He drooped his shoulders powerlessly and belatedly took off his helmet and covered his face with one hand. The child’s face, visible between his fingers, was blackened and charred in places. There was no life in his limp body. How terrified he must have been in that hot fire. How much he must have suffered and desperately waited for help. How much, how much.
Then, anger surged within him. Dane immediately turned his head and looked in the direction where the man who was said to be the owner was standing. He was still there. Even though this commotion had occurred, he was just standing there blankly, blinking his eyes as if it were someone else’s business.
“Dane, Dane?”
“Hey, where are you going?”
People shouted in surprise as he suddenly started walking as if running. Grayson also stopped spraying water and followed Dane’s gaze. And the next moment.
With a loud thud, Dane punched the man.
“Was it you?”
Leaving the surprised firefighters behind, Dane shouted at the man who had fallen to the ground.
“You killed him, you son of a bitch!”