By Zephyria Where is it, where am I?
Dane frantically looked around and ran. The collapsing building was too large and ominous. Cracking sounds echoed from everywhere, and occasionally, noises like explosions erupted. Could I be mistaken? Dane thought in confusion. Am I making the wrong choice…?
“Hey! Where are you? Answer me!”
Dane shouted at the top of his lungs. But no one else’s voice could be heard.
Why am I running?
He had a thought he’d never had before. There had been many situations like this. But he had never felt such a doubtful emotion. Naturally, he would jump into the scene without any questions.
Why am I thinking this now?
“Where are you? Answer me, damn it!”
He ended up swearing. It was then, miraculously, that he found her. A woman groaning with blood flowing from her forehead.
“Hey, wake up! Hey!”
Dane shouted repeatedly, calling out to the woman. He almost missed her. The walls that had collapsed on both sides miraculously supported each other, creating a small triangular space, which saved the woman’s life. Admiring himself for managing to find her groaning in that gap, Dane hurriedly approached her. He pulled the woman out of the gap and shouted repeatedly, and she barely opened her eyes, letting out a faint groan.
“Are you conscious? Get up, we have to get out of here right now.”
He hastily supported the woman to stand up. “Ugh,” the woman groaned. Her head wound seemed to be hurting. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to be seriously injured elsewhere, so Dane decided to focus on getting out of here for now.
“Okay, we have to get out of here quickly. If we don’t hurry, you and I will both die. Do you understand?”
Die.
The word suddenly felt ominous. He had faced death countless times, but he had never felt like this before.
Stop having stupid thoughts.
Scolding himself, Dane hurriedly focused on reality. He just had to go back the way he came. There would never be an easier mission. Soon, he started running with the woman in his arms.
It’s okay, we can get out.
While running, Dane mentally calculated the distance to the outside. He was already approaching the place where he had parted ways with his colleagues. Good, this speed is enough…!
It was not a bad observation. Perhaps his prediction would have come true.
If it weren’t for another explosion.
With a tremendous “Kwang!” sound, the collapsing building shook violently.
“Aaaaaah!”
The woman screamed in terror. At that moment, the ground beneath Dane’s feet collapsed, and at the same time, without even thinking, he threw the woman across to the opposite corridor. The last sight he saw was the woman with a pale face, awkwardly sitting down, watching him fall.
“No…!”
Following the woman’s scream, a loud noise was heard, and Dane lost consciousness.
Desire Me if you can
“A woman came out!”
Everyone’s attention was focused on someone’s shout. The woman who came out, staggering, had blood flowing from her forehead. Paramedics rushed to her, and Wilkins immediately joined them.
“Hey, have you seen a firefighter? Have you seen a tall firefighter like this?”
His voice felt desperate. Seeing him shouting with a pale face, the woman gasped and answered with difficulty.
“I, I saw him. He saved me…!”
“What happened? Why are you alone?”
“Where is he? What happened?”
Following the reporters’ questions, camera shutters clicked incessantly. Amid the loud noise, she continued to speak.
“He was taking me out of the building, but the floor collapsed… He threw me across to the opposite corridor and disappeared. I could only watch him fall…”
Then, she began to sob as if the shock belatedly hit her. The reporters’ uproar continued, and Wilkins staggered back amidst the pouring camera flashes. The team members who had been waiting behind him immediately rushed to him.
“Wh, what happened? Did they see Dane?”
“Did you hear what happened?”
“Should we go back in now, even now? Wouldn’t that be better?”
Wilkins, who had been distorting his face at the impatient and pouring questions, shouted like a thunderbolt.
“You idiots! You should have stopped him earlier, why did you just come out!”
At the harsh rebuke, the team members who had come out first were momentarily taken aback, then looked at each other, embarrassed. Soon, they began to pour out words as if they were wronged.
“We tried to bring him out too, but he disappeared too quickly.”
“He suddenly said he heard a noise and ran off, there was no time to stop him.”
“What do we do now? Can we go back in to save Dane? What’s the condition of the building now?”
Seeing them full of worry and embarrassment, Wilkins could only distort his face. He couldn’t blame those who didn’t bring Dane out. If there was a fault, it was on Dane’s side for acting arbitrarily. He clearly said the building was collapsing…!
“It’s no use going in now, I can’t let you guys be in danger too.”
Wilkins muttered in a painful voice. Immediately, the team members’ faces turned pale. Wilkins continued to speak.
“From now on, we leave it to the heavens. We have to hope that Dane is lucky like last time… Damn it, I wish he would get rid of that habit of rushing in recklessly on this occasion.”
It was when he added as if lamenting.
“Huh?”
DeAndre made a strange noise. Everyone, including Wilkins, who had been wiping his face with one hand, turned their attention to him. DeAndre, noticing the attention focused on him, blinked in embarrassment and scratched the back of his head.
“Oh, no. Sorry. I think I saw something wrong.”
“Get a grip, you damn bastard.”
“In this situation, I’m just going to…”
Words of criticism poured out from here and there. DeAndre could only keep saying he was sorry.
I must have seen it wrong.
He turned his attention back to the group.
Thinking repeatedly, there’s no way.
Desire Me if you can
Crack, crack, the sound of the building cracking can be heard. Dane leaned against the wall and sat, blankly blinking his eyes. His side screamed every time he breathed. His ribs seemed to be broken. He might have punctured his lungs. The reason he was spitting blood was probably…
“Cough, cough.”
Again, blood-mixed saliva flowed down. Seeing me doing this kind of analysis at this moment, I’m such a carefree person. Haa, haa. Gasping for breath, he recalled.
His vision blurred, and he blinked again to focus. But his vision slowly became unclear again.
Is this how I die in the end?
He thought blankly. Darling is okay. In case of emergency, Josh will take care of him. Come to think of it, that actor guy, did he say he hated dogs? Was it cats? I can’t remember. …Maybe it’s better to leave it to Yeon-woo.
I never thought the end of my life would come like this. Even though I’ve jumped towards death countless times, I’ve never really thought I would die.
Of course, who in the world would want to die.
He was satisfied with his life. There was no reason to die on purpose.
…But wasn’t there no reason to live either.
“…Haa.”
At the thought that suddenly came to mind, a sigh-like laugh leaked out. Again, her face came back to life. The bloodshot eyes he saw last were vividly drawn. What was my mother thinking when she hanged herself then? Was she sorry for me, or did she curse me?
If only at that time…
Her afterimage soon changed to another face. I still remember that gaze that felt so terrible. Like this, painfully.
If only I had looked back.
Black smoke mixed with white smoke, filling his vision. Occasionally coughing, he looked into the distance.
‘Dane.’
Now I don’t know if my vision is blurry or if I’m blind because of the smoke. I’m just blankly looking at the swaying air.
If only I had…
Meaninglessly looking at the shape shaking in the air.
If only you had.
It was gradually getting closer. Is it a grim reaper, Dane vaguely recalled. Death was approaching like this. So peacefully. …Painfully.
“Cough.”
It was when he spat out blood-mixed cough again. He suddenly realized that it was not an illusion.
You are…
His eyes gradually widened. No, no way. Dane immediately denied it. There’s absolutely no way this can be. Why, how?
Why you.
He stopped a few steps away. He slowly bent down. A smile gradually spread across the man’s face, lowered to a height where their eyes could meet. As if a flower that had been crouching bloomed fully.
“Found you, Dane.”
Grayson.
Dane stared blankly at his bright face. Again, a rumbling, ominous sound echoed from afar.