Chapter 119

* * *

The fire scene was not much different from situations they had seen before. The firefighters who got out of the car after seeing the rising flames dispersed in an orderly manner to find their tasks.

Greyson quickly looked around and, seeing Dane gathering equipment, hurriedly approached him.

"Dane, what should I do?"

He spoke to him, hoping that Dane would tell him what to do like last time, but Dane didn't even look at him, let alone answer. Greyson could only stare blankly at his back as he turned away with an axe in one hand and a helmet in the other.

DeAndre, who saw their interaction from some distance away, spoke with a frowning face.

"What's going on? Did those guys have a fight or something?"

At those words, Ezra glanced briefly and then returned to his work.

"This is not the time to worry about such things, now."

"Huh? Uh... y-yeah."

At the cold tone that was unlike the usual Ezra, DeAndre felt embarrassed and hurriedly joined him to start working. But even in the midst of this, an unsettled feeling remained in his heart.

Everyone at the scene had directly witnessed Dane's furious behavior last time. He had been investigated several times and even visited by the police. Journalists excitedly churned out trashy articles, and public opinion also deteriorated. However, the situation quickly reversed. It was revealed that the man who had been assaulted had actually already killed his wife, disposed of the body, and then abused his child until he died, after which he tried to conceal his crime by setting fire to the house.

The reason he hadn't disposed of the child's body was because, unlike his adult wife, the child wasn't old enough to leave the house on his own. With a sense of crisis that neighbors would find it strange if the child suddenly disappeared and report it, he had no choice but to set the fire. He had tried to disguise it as if the child had started the fire while playing with fire alone while he was at work, but the world wasn't as easy as he thought.

Once that fact was revealed, people suddenly changed, pouring out praise for Dane such as 'As expected of a firefighter, it was a fist of justice,' 'It would have been better if he had killed him then, is he too kind because he's a firefighter?' 'This deserves a commendation. Reward our hero.' Thanks to this, the investigation and inquiry fizzled out, and in the end, it was as if nothing had happened. However, as the chief, he couldn't just bury the incident.

<We need to control Dane well to prevent such incidents from happening again.>

The words of caution given to Wilkins spread to other employees through him. Everyone had been internally tense since then, worried that Dane might commit another dangerous act. Because of this, they had been taking turns watching him, and naturally, his relationship with Greyson also came into view.

DeAndre, who had once again looked at them alternately in bewilderment, quickly redirected his attention at Ezra's urging.

They were making such a fuss about dating or whatever, what's going on now?

Though he might have welcomed this situation due to his usual dislike of Greyson, he felt uncomfortable because Dane's mood was also bad. He couldn't help but have many thoughts, especially since he had been feeling somewhat guilty for being too harsh on Greyson Miller.

After letting out a "whew" sigh, he quickly gathered his wits and focused on the task at hand. This was a scene of fighting fire. If he was careless, who knew what accident might occur.

Yes, just like now.

"DeAndre, watch out...!"

Someone shouted. Soon after, DeAndre saw a large, massive tree falling toward him and froze in place.

* * *

What should I do?

Greyson's insides were burning with anxiety. No matter what he said, no matter what he did, Dane wouldn't look at him. Would everything end like this? Why did I go that far then? With what confidence?

The distance with Dane, which he had thought had somewhat closed, had become even further than when they first met. It might be irreversible now. If that happened, if everything ended like this.

What would become of me?

Just imagining it made his mind go blank. This was different from the sensation of 'fear.' This feeling, which he was experiencing for the first time, was similar to the feeling of the ground giving way beneath his feet and falling endlessly to the bottom. His fingertips tingled, and he repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists several times.

How, how could I.

It was right then. When he saw a large tree falling toward someone.

Greyson couldn't tell who it was. The only certainty was that it wasn't Dane. But what flashed through his mind at that moment was a glimmer of hope. Just as he had once saved Dane's cat, if he could save someone again...!

"Miller, danger!"

He heard an urgent shout. But Greyson had already launched his body toward him.

It was not an altruistic action at all. It was far from saving someone or risking his life to rescue others. It was solely to regain Dane's heart, just for that purpose alone.

A single hope that if he did this, Dane might look at him again.

Crash! A thunderous sound echoed all around. The burning tree barely grazed Greyson's body and hit the ground. DeAndre, pale with fear, trembled with his eyes wide open. He couldn't believe it. Miller saved me? Greyson Miller, really?

"Miller! DeAndre!"

"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"My goodness, what's happening..."

Colleagues who rushed from here and there spoke urgently. But DeAndre still couldn't come to his senses. He was tremendously shocked by the two facts: that he might have been crushed to death by a burning tree, and that the person who saved his life was Greyson Miller.

As DeAndre was at a loss for words in a daze, colleagues forcibly lifted him up and then poured words of praise toward Greyson.

"Miller, that's amazing. You did something incredible!"

"I've been misjudging you all this time. You really were our colleague."

"Miller, no, Greyson! You're a hero. You've saved lives twice already...!"

They praised him generously from all around, but not a single word reached Greyson's ears. The reason he had risked his life wasn't to receive such praise caught up in this atmosphere. Just one thing, hoping that Dane would look at him, that was all it was.

Dane wasn't among the guys who had gathered. He wasn't visible among those who had patted Greyson's shoulder and disappeared either. Of course. He hadn't shown any interest in Greyson's direction from the beginning.

"Ha..."

Greyson let out a sigh close to a lament. He could see Dane standing far away, shooting water at the flames. Despite such a big commotion, he didn't even glance over. He was just indifferently repeating the task assigned to him as if nothing had happened at all.

Greyson finally realized the identity of the emotion he was feeling.

* * *

"Good work, Dane."

"Take care, everyone worked hard today."

After exchanging formulaic greetings, Dane left the locker room and headed to the parking lot. As he moved habitually, he suddenly noticed someone standing next to his car. There was no need to check. There was only one man that big in this area.

Tsk, Dane silently clicked his tongue and then took out his car key and pressed the button. With a short beep, the car's headlights briefly lit up.

"Dane."

As Dane was about to pass by him and open the door, he spoke. And Greyson Miller repeated once again the words he had been saying irritatingly.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong."

Dane sat in the driver's seat without any reaction. As he was about to close the door, suddenly Greyson said something unexpected.

"I know you'll never love me forever."

For a moment, Dane hesitated. When he raised his gaze, Greyson, with the corners of his mouth pulled up as Dane had often seen, smiled and said.

"This is despair, right?"

He didn't ask what it felt like. A man who rejoiced even in the emotion of despair. Dane silently looked up at him and then quietly closed the car door. And soon the car left the parking lot and entered the road. Dane quickly drove away, leaving behind Greyson, who remained standing as if he would stay there forever.