Chapter 25: Run Down, Run Back

“Kkammi.

Play with Mu-yun hyung.

I’ll bring the kimchi fried rice.”

Saying this—whether to Kkammi or to Mu-yun, it wasn’t clear—in a gentle voice, Tae-i returned to Unit 303.

 

With only the stairs and narrow hallway between them, Mu-yun pushed his front door open a little wider.

 

“Kkammi, come in.”

Glancing once toward the house where Tae-i had disappeared, then looking up at Mu-yun, Kkammi slowly came inside, sniffing the air from the entrance.

Having been here several times before, he soon found his familiar spot.

 

Kkammi went to the very place where Mu-yun had been stretching moments ago, curled his body into a ball, and lay down.

 

“This is your house, all right.”

 

Tae-i, who had quickly returned carrying a large frying pan with both hands, glanced around the living room and let out a hollow laugh.

Mu-yun checked that the front door was closed, then quickly came inside, found a trivet, and placed it on the table.

 

With a heavy thud, the frying pan was set down on it.

 

Instead of a simple fried egg on top, an omelet had been folded over an enormous amount of kimchi fried rice, piled high with seaweed powder.

 

Tae-i went to the sink, finished the dishes, and from the drying rack where bowls were turned upside down, pulled out only two spoons and stuck them firmly into the rice.

Then he set out bowls to serve the rice.

 

“That looks delicious.”

“Of course it does.”

At Tae-i’s boastful eyebrow raise, Mu-yun snorted.

 

Pulling out a dining chair and sitting down, the savory smell of kimchi fried rice wafted up.

His already hungry brain vigorously demanded that he fill his stomach.

 

“Can I eat?”

Mu-yun pulled out the spoon in front of him and asked.

“Eat.”

Tae-i nodded.

 

Mu-yun scooped away a moderate amount of egg and seaweed powder, then filled his bowl generously with rice.

Warm, steaming heat rose up.

He carefully took a bite, then gave a thumbs up before diligently putting more kimchi fried rice into his mouth and swallowing.

 

“Eat slowly.

No one’s chasing you.”

Tae-i sighed and finally picked up his own spoon.

 

The kimchi fried rice, which had seemed like too much for two people, gradually disappeared, and in an instant, it was completely empty.

Only after scraping up even the scorched rice stuck to the bottom did the two spoons lie idle.

 

Holding his full belly, Mu-yun slumped back in his chair.

Tae-i looked at him with a quiet smile.

 

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Just thinking that aside from sweet things, you really eat well.”

Mu-yun chuckled.

 

“I’m a picky eater, but it’s not that I dislike things—I just can’t eat them if I don’t like them.”

“Do you like kimchi fried rice?”

Mu-yun tilted his head.

 

“Fried rice is in the dessert category, so I’ve never thought about whether I like it or not.”

 

Mu-yun rattled on, saying that no matter what he ate, a meal didn’t feel complete unless he fried the leftover rice at the end.

Tae-i giggled.

 

“So Korean.”

“Rice power.

It’s all rice power.”

 

Thump!

 

A noise loud enough to shake the whole building made Mu-yun and Tae-i’s gazes shoot up to the ceiling simultaneously.

 

“Is this that famous floor noise I’ve heard about?”

 

Another thud, as if something heavy had been dropped, rang out once more, then the sound faded away as if being dragged further inside.

 

“Are they moving furniture at this hour?”

Mu-yun looked at the ceiling with slight dissatisfaction, then lowered his gaze.

 

“Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the person who lives upstairs.”

 

He had greeted everyone up and down right after moving in—though he had given Tae-i’s housewarming gift last—but he hadn’t personally delivered it to the upstairs unit either.

He had made an effort to find the right timing for greetings only in the very beginning.

Lately, whenever he had a day off, he was out running around, so he had completely forgotten.

 

“Unit 505?

Your schedules probably don’t match.”

Tae-i shrugged and spoke.

Mu-yun blinked.

 

“Commuting hours?”

“No, school hours.

As far as I know, a student lives alone there now.

Unless he moved in the meantime…”

Recalling his own school days when he went to school early and usually didn’t return home until around midnight, Mu-yun nodded in understanding.

His gaze went back up to the ceiling.

 

Until now, it had been so quiet that he hadn’t even thought about someone living above him, so he’d never paid much attention.

But today, the footsteps were unusually busy.

 

“Maybe a friend came over to play.”

 

Unlike them, whose days off were irregular due to four- and three-shift rotations, today was a holiday marked in red on the calendar.

 

“Could be.”

Tae-i stood up, tidying the dishes.

Kkammi also got up.

 

“Woof!”

 

Seeing Kkammi suddenly bark, Tae-i walked over.

He approached slowly, then bent down unhurriedly so as not to startle Kkammi, and reached out his hand.

 

“It’s okay.

It’s not a sound from inside the house.”

“Is he startled by that?”

Mu-yun frowned and looked back up at the ceiling as Kkammi, who had been quiet, lifted his head and kept growling.

 

“Seems like it.”

“Woof!

Woof!

Woof!”

 

Kkammi, who had been barking fiercely, now lowered his body and snarled.

Tae-i, who had been trying to calm Kkammi down, stopped abruptly.

Then he stood up on his tiptoes.

Sniffing the air with his nose twitching, he looked just like Kkammi.

 

“What are you doing now?”

Instead of answering, Tae-i quickly opened the window toward the balcony.

Then he sniffed the air again.

 

Before Mu-yun could ask what was going on, Tae-i spun around.

 

Dazed, Mu-yun watched Tae-i dash out to the entrance, then with a puzzled face, he too sniffed the air as Tae-i had done.

 

And immediately coughed.

 

There was a pungent, acrid smell of smoke.

 

“What is it?”

Tae-i, who had gone outside barefoot, came running back in.

 

“Hey!”

 

Mu-yun was about to say that he shouldn’t run around like that at this hour, but the moment he saw Tae-i’s face, he instinctively understood.

 

Tae-i’s face was too calm.

That dry, shrunken face—he had seen it somewhere before.

 

“What’s going on?”

“Smoke is coming down.”

 

Before he could even process what that meant, Tae-i scooped up Kkammi and placed him in Mu-yun’s arms.

 

“Go downstairs, check on people, and get them outside.

Once you’re out, wait there with Kkammi.”

 

The air, which just moments ago had been barely noticeable, had suddenly become thick, making it harder to breathe than before.

 

“Evacuate the next building too.”

 

In a calm tone as if nothing was wrong, Tae-i told Mu-yun what needed to be done.

Listening to the instructions pouring out like a waterfall, Mu-yun barely managed to ask,

“What about you?”

 

Not knowing what Tae-i was planning to do while giving him all those tasks, Mu-yun asked back.

 

A smile spread across his face, which had been stiff as wax.

 

“I have to go.”

 

Mu-yun reached out and grabbed Tae-i’s arm as he turned to run out.

Kkammi whined uneasily in his arms.

 

“You!

You don’t have any gear right now!”

Tae-i exhaled deeply.

 

“I’ll just check for forty seconds and come down.”

“What?”

“Any later, and I won’t even be able to do that.”

 

Tae-i pulled Mu-yun’s arm, which was holding him back, and headed for the entrance.

 

“Don’t forget to evacuate people on your way down.”

“I’m coming with you.”

Tae-i pushed Mu-yun’s back toward the stairs.

 

“Non-professionals are a burden.”

 

Mu-yun shouted, choked with emotion.

 

“You crazy bastard!

Without gear, you’ll die too!”

 

Just because a firefighter rushed into a fire didn’t mean the flames would shout ‘Oh my, I’m scared’ and run away like a criminal.

 

Tae-i smiled quietly.

 

“You know there are people up there too.

So I have to go.”

“That’s why I’m also―!”

“About twenty seconds left now.

Take Kkammi and go down quickly, don’t get in the way.

Kkammi, take hyung and go, quickly.”

Tae-i spoke and coughed lightly.

 

Mu-yun realized there was no more time to argue.

Smoke was rapidly accumulating and descending.

He watched blankly as Tae-i flung open the door to Unit 303 and grabbed a fire extinguisher from the entrance.

 

“You have to come back for sure!”

 

Mu-yun hugged Kkammi tightly and ran down the stairs in his slippers.

In the brief glance he threw back, he couldn’t even remember if Tae-i was smiling or expressionless.

 

Reaching the floor below in an instant, Mu-yun kicked at the front door with a bang.

 

“Is anyone there?”

 

Before the person on the lower floor, who opened the door in irritation, could speak, Mu-yun turned and kicked the opposite door.

 

“There’s a fire!

Evacuate!”

 

Leaving behind the bewildered faces, he kicked the door again.

 

“There’s a fire on the fourth floor!

Evacuate!”

 

His voice echoed loudly through the hallway.

Mu-yun jumped and ran down to the next floor.

 

Kkammi barked in his arms.

 

“It’s okay.

It’s going to be okay.”

Mu-yun placed his hand on Kkammi’s back and stroked him slowly.

 

“He said he’d only check for forty seconds.”

 

He had run down from the third to the second to the first floor in an instant, so it might have taken even less time.

Mu-yun swallowed hard, shouted for even the first-floor residents to evacuate, and went outside.

Unsteady footsteps followed the commotion he had created.

 

“Oh my!

Look over there!”

 

One of the neighbors, whose unit number he didn’t even know, came outside and pointed upward.

Mu-yun also looked up.

The flames weren’t visible from the outside, but black smoke was rising, dyeing the night sky.

 

Mu-yun put his hand in his pocket.

 

He unhesitatingly pressed the familiar three-digit number and let out a short breath.

[Yes.

This is the 119 center.]

“Fire at Chowon Villa, a row house at 221, Seoheung 18-gil, directly behind Seoheung 119 Fire Station, fourth floor.

Currently, only smoke is visible from the window, no flames.”

 

Mu-yun reported succinctly.

 

With the fire station right in front, it was close enough for anyone to run over in a minute.

He checked his surroundings.

 

“Over there!”

 

His eye caught a man who, like him, had evacuated with a dog.

Startled, the man looked at him.

 

“Sorry, but could you watch my dog for just a moment?”

Mu-yun set Kkammi down on the ground.

 

“Huh?

Ah, yes.”

 

Seeing the man nod vigorously, Mu-yun quickly bent down, met Kkammi’s eyes, and smiled.

 

“Wait here for hyung.

I’ll go evacuate the people in the next building.”

 

He patted Kkammi’s head, passed through the gathered people, and ran into the entrance of the next building.

On the way, he didn’t forget to grab a fire extinguisher installed at the bottom of the stairs.

 

“Is anyone here?!”

 

He had to check if anyone hadn’t evacuated yet.

After checking Unit 506, which was attached and beginning to fill with smoke, he stuck his head out the hallway window.

 

The smoke stung his eyes.

Mu-yun narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to call for Tae-i.

 

“Won Tae-i!”

 

He looked down below, but Tae-i wasn’t among the people there.

 

“Won Tae-i!”

 

He shouted with all his might, but there was no answer.

 

“What are you doing.”

 

He called Tae-i again, but still no answer.

Instead of Tae-i’s voice, sirens were heard.

Mu-yun coughed, covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve, and looked toward the sirens.

 

A pump truck was approaching behind the crowd.

 

He pulled his head back out the window and ran downstairs.

 

Beeeeeeep!

 

With a pain that felt like his head was being shaken apart, the tinnitus rang long again.

Of all times, why now?

Mu-yun gritted his teeth and staggered down the stairs.

 

He almost tumbled forward, missing a step, but pressed his palm against his ear as if crushing it and barely made it to the entrance.

 

“Move your cars so the fire truck can get in!”

 

The sound that had faded into the distance for a while crashed over him like a tidal wave.

 

Wheeeeee!

 

“Clear the way in front!”

“Pull it out as a 5-length and roll it!”

 

Without any specific orders, shouts came from everywhere, and firefighters in protective gear were running in.

 

“Evacuate, it’s dangerous!”

 

A firefighter pushing people outside stopped in front of Mu-yun.

 

“It’s dangerous here, so evacuate beyond the safety line.”

 

Mu-yun looked at the firefighter’s face, but it wasn’t a face he knew.

 

“Excuse me.”

 

Watching the firefighter busily controlling the scene, Mu-yun swallowed another short breath and parted his dry lips.

The tinnitus, ringing like a warning signal in his head, and the sirens grew unbearably loud.

 

“Captain Won Tae-i from Team 3 went to rescue someone in Unit 505.”

“Excuse me?”

 

The firefighter who had approached him, seeing that he wasn’t moving, widened his eyes.

 

“He went to check because there was a student remaining in Unit 505 on the fourth floor, but he hasn’t returned yet.”

“I’ll check right away.”

 

The firefighter pulled out his radio.

 

“Search team.

Search team.

A report came in that there are two people on the fourth floor.

Please confirm.”

[Received.]

Mu-yun threw his gaze toward the people who had retreated to a distance.

The terrible headache made him nauseous, and when he opened his eyes, tears welled up immediately, but he searched for Tae-i with his blurry vision.

 

Tae-i was nowhere to be seen.

 

His heavy legs moved.

Mu-yun slowly walked from where he was standing and craned his neck upward.

Flames were now leaping from where only smoke had been coming from moments ago.

 

A stream of water from a hose shot up toward that spot.

Before the high-pressure jet, which seemed ready to crush the surging flames, could even reach them, his anxiety swelled.

 

Boom――!!

 

With a shattering crash, Mu-yun saw greedy flames shooting high into the sky, as if even consuming everything wasn’t enough.

 

Someone grabbed his body and pulled him back, but his feet were stuck and wouldn’t move.

 

The world, moving very slowly in his vision, turned black at some point.

He opened his mouth.

 

Something was gasped out.

It might have been an agonizing cry, or it might have been someone’s name.

 

“Won Tae-i―!!”

 

***

 

DAY

“Dr. Park, operating room 3 is open.”

“I’m going up right now.”

 

Thump thump thump!

 

The light of the overhead fluorescent lamp above the gurney, which began to move rapidly, stretched like a line.

The back of the doctor on the gurney, pressing down on the patient’s chest, bounced.

 

“Move aside!”

 

The ER doctor who had been providing emergency treatment until just moments ago wiped his bloody hands, watched the gurney disappear into the patient elevator, then looked ahead again.

 

“Nurse Kim, what about that patient’s guardian just now?

Have they been contacted?”

 

The nurse looked around and met the fire investigator’s eyes.

The doctor also turned that way.

 

“They’re on their way now.”

“We need to get surgical consent, so we need to speak with the guardian.

Could you give me their contact information?”

 

As the nurse spoke, the fire investigator, with trembling hands, reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded from behind.

 

“Chief So!”

 

The investigator turned his head.

 

He saw a face he had once encountered at the police station.

The man, recognizing him as well, walked over with a grim expression.

 

“That person knows.”

The nurse looked at the newly arrived middle-aged man.

 

“I’m sorry, but the patient is going into emergency surgery right now.

We need to speak with the guardian.”

 

The nurse urged, as if time was running out.

 

“Just a moment.

Here, you can call this number.”

 

The man, hastily swallowing his breath, quickly recited a known number to the nurse.

Watching the nurse receive the name and phone number and run to the desk, the man’s eyes flashed toward the investigator.

 

“What happened?

To our team leader?”

 

At the detective’s question, the fire investigator let out a long breath.

 

“How could a man who walked home perfectly fine end up stabbed in the abdomen―”

“We… found a suspect.”

 

The fire investigator looked down as if examining his blood-crusted hands, then, seeming choked up, swallowed deeply before exhaling again.

 

The detective’s face hardened.

 

“You’re talking about the culprit from that case ten years ago, right?”

“…Yes.”

 

Fire Investigator Kang Byeong-jo nodded.

 

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