By Zephyria 
four
An unexpected silence descended upon the chaotic fire station. Dane glanced around at his colleagues, who were groaning and sprawled across the floor. They were drenched in sweat, and some struggled to rise, only to collapse again.
What the hell is going on? He couldn’t make sense of the situation. It was hard to believe that his colleagues, who were never lacking in stamina, had been so easily knocked out. Even though he was seeing it with his own eyes.
Even more unbelievable was the fact that this man was standing before him. Dane narrowed his brow and glared at the figure. It was the same one he’d encountered at the Dominant Alpha’s Pheromone Party a few days ago. The one who had brazenly released potent Pheromone in the midst of the chaos, causing two Omegas to lose their minds, and laughing like a maniac.
To think that this guy was Grayson Miller.
He had casually knocked him out, assuming it was just a fleeting encounter, never expecting to run into him again.
But there was no time for further thought. The man’s purple eyes seemed to darken, and he immediately swung the Crowbar he was holding. The heavy sound of metal slicing through the air struck Dane’s ears.
“Whoa.”
Dane reflexively ducked. Barely avoiding the blow, he quickly grabbed the object he had prepared nearby. And…
Whoosh!
“Ugh, cough!”
Compressed powder erupted violently. The white powder, released with such force that it seemed to swallow even the air, scattered in all directions on a strong gust of wind. It filled the room like a thick fog, making it impossible to see even an inch ahead.
A gurgling, monstrous sound came from Grayson’s mouth. The fine powder clung to his skin, instantly invading his nose, mouth, and throat. But Dane, with a nonchalant expression, held the fire extinguisher with the safety pin removed and continued to relentlessly spray powder at him.
Eventually, the rampaging man lost his fighting spirit and began to cough repeatedly. Only then did Dane stop spraying, but Grayson’s coughing didn’t subside easily. Barely able to breathe, he glared at Dane with bloodshot eyes, gritting his teeth.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”
His voice was strained, as if trying to suppress his anger, but it was clear to everyone that he was incredibly furious. The men who had been sprawled on the floor were pale and at a loss, but even as they faced Grayson’s wrath, Dane, the one responsible, showed no particular reaction.
“Just breaking up a fight.”
At the indifferent words, Grayson’s barely contained anger exploded.
“Are you crazy? Don’t you know you’re not supposed to spray a fire extinguisher at someone? Especially a firefighter!”
Despite the man’s fierce demeanor, Dane simply looked at him with a nonchalant expression.
“You’re a Dominant Alpha, aren’t you? I thought drugs and stuff didn’t work on you?”
“Damn it, this isn’t a drug! Are you even listening to yourself? You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? Huh?”
Grayson continued to shout. The man, who had always been so composed, was now raging like a madman. His reaction was threatening, as if he would strangle Dane at any moment, but Dane still spoke with a nonchalant attitude.
“Was I? Well, I guess I was.”
At that moment, the last thread of reason that Grayson had been clinging to snapped completely.
“You damn son of a bitch! I’m going to kill you!”
Grayson charged at Dane with a furious roar. He looked as if he would snap Dane’s neck, but Dane still looked at him with an expression of utter annoyance. He sighed briefly and readjusted his grip on the fire extinguisher. Just as he was about to swing it at Grayson’s head.
“What in the world are you doing!”
Station Chief’s roar caused both of them to freeze simultaneously. Station Chief, after taking in Grayson, who was about to swing a Crowbar at Dane’s face, Dane, who was about to smash Grayson’s head with a fire extinguisher, the disheveled appearance of his subordinates, and the broken and chaotic furniture, let out a sigh of disbelief. He seemed stunned by the absurd scene, but he quickly regained his senses and glared menacingly at the source of the incident.
“What in the world is going on here? Why are you fighting? I allowed you to work here for a year on the condition that you would be quiet and not cause trouble for the other employees!”
Station Chief’s words were perfectly reasonable. When he had exceptionally approved the hiring, there were several conditions attached. This time, too, he had repeatedly asked him to be as quiet as possible and not to cause trouble for the other employees. He had thought he would at least last a month, but no, this mess had happened in less than half a day.
But it didn’t end there. This time, his scolding was directed at Dane.
“Dane, you put that down right now! How can you even think of hitting someone with equipment, huh? I didn’t say anything when you were in the police station and even sent a lawyer! I even understood you coming to work at this hour, but what is this as soon as you get here! How can you disappoint me like this? Huh?”
The employees avoided eye contact, unable to say anything in the face of Station Chief’s fuming. Dane reluctantly put down the fire extinguisher, and Grayson also threw down the Crowbar. In a situation where everyone was watching Station Chief’s every move, he was deep in thought.
Should I just throw away the donation and everything?
Looking at the miserable state of his subordinates, he wondered what good it was to replace the equipment and the cars. He knew without asking who had started this situation. It was highly unlikely that Grayson Miller, who had come here using his father’s influence, would cause such a major incident on his first day. That meant that his precious subordinates had caused this mess, but he hadn’t expected the backlash to be this severe.
He had even made a special request.
But now it was impossible to hold Grayson Miller responsible and kick him out. Above all, the other party was Ashley Miller. If he unfairly fired his son, whom he had hired using a loophole, who knew what he would do. He could demand astronomical amounts of compensation. Besides that, there were thousands of unimaginable ways to harass them. And if he found out that his son was in such a miserable state.
He might put me in the electric chair.
“Ugh.”
At the terrifying thought, Station Chief groaned aloud. He closed his eyes and shook his head, then glared at the dimwitted men with a fierce expression.
“I told you to just endure it quietly for a year, but can’t you even do that? Where did you all leave your brains? If you have brains, you should use them!”
He wanted to beat these big, clumsy fools, but now was not the time. The first thing to do was to sort out this situation. Yes, starting with that Grayson Miller.
“…Are you okay? Um, are you hurt anywhere…?”
The fact that he had to be so subservient and watch his every move made his heart sink once again, but it was already too late. The future had been decided from the moment he accepted Ashley Miller’s offer. This kind of situation would repeat itself endlessly for the next year.
He swallowed a series of sighs and looked at Grayson, but he only felt despair. Ugh, Station Chief groaned again, then steeled himself and looked around at the grown men.
“Everyone, go back to your posts! You, go wash up in the shower room over there, and you guys, go inside and treat your injuries! Dane, clean up here! Let’s all meet at the welcome party tonight. Got it? Let’s pretend this never happened and start from there, okay? Stop this childish behavior and act like adults!”
Station Chief pointed in various directions, separating the troublemakers, and only after confirming that the disgruntled adult men had grumbled and dispersed did he finally let out a sigh of relief.
Just as I expected.
He then recalled with a pale face. He knew that Grayson Miller would turn his peaceful fire station into a mess. He knew it, but still!
The latest fire truck and new fire suits flickered before his eyes as he clutched at his thinning hair in agony. He was going to replace the old axes with new ones, buy five new fire extinguishers, and add oxygen respirators…