Chapter 021: A Three-Legged Race With Lives on the Line (4)
Yoon-hee continued pressing the fire chief.
"Then shouldn't the person writing the statement be you instead of Captain Gu? No, if things had actually turned out that way, I don't think it would've ended with just a written statement."
The fire chief's expression hardened.
He answered in a bitter voice.
"I have no intention of putting my firefighters in danger."
"Then what you're saying is that you would've waited until the smoke extraction truck arrived and visibility was secured."
"In other words, you would've waited until that explosion happened."
"Doesn't that mean you were basically giving up on the rescue?"
"The victims even called for help themselves."
The fire chief's eyes became even firmer as Yoon-hee continued questioning him.
"I don't know how my firefighters knew where the victims were."
"But if we didn't know their location, I don't believe I could have sent my men inside."
"I don't want to lose any more firefighters."
The fire chief continued as if he had made up his mind.
"If they had entered without knowing the victims' location and started searching, it wouldn't have taken ten minutes."
"It would've taken at least another thirty."
"And everyone who entered would've been in danger."
"But everyone survived because Firefighter Choi made that bold decision."
"Isn't that what matters more?"
"That's only because we already know the result."
"At the time, waiting for the smoke extraction truck was the correct decision."
Captain Gu had been listening to their argument.
Finally, he cut in.
"Ah! Why are you making this so complicated?"
"Just make Choi Hee-soo write the statement!"
"That bastard doesn't need a promotion anyway."
"Hey, just stay a firefighter for the rest of your life."
"You've probably got more influence than the chief anyway, so it's not like anyone can fire you."
Hee-soo nodded with a resigned expression.
"You're technically right, but somehow that really pisses me off, sir."
"If you're going to do whatever you want, you should at least take responsibility for something like this."
The deputy captain agreed.
"Yeah."
"You fit the role best."
"If we have to write statements like that, it'll seriously affect our promotion evaluations."
Hee-soo shook his head as though there was no dealing with them.
"Fine."
"Let's do that."
"Since I'm the one who started all of this, I'll write it and we'll finish the matter there."
"I'll also handle the people above."
"How high do I need to go to smooth this over?"
"Would the Minister of the Interior and Safety be enough?"
The fire chief shook his head.
His patience seemed to have reached its limit, and anger slowly began rising in his voice.
"This isn't something you can smooth over at my level."
"You..."
He stopped himself.
It was obvious there was something he desperately wanted to say.
Hee-soo deliberately pushed him further.
"You seem to think there's some greater cause more important than rescuing the victims."
"Go ahead."
"Tell me."
The fire chief finally exploded.
"CAN YOU TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE LIVES OF MY MEN TOO?!"
The words burst out of him.
"If my men go in there to rescue someone and end up disabled, who's going to take care of them?"
"Even if they apply for an injury suffered in the line of duty, they can be pushed out after eighteen months."
"I can't stand seeing that!"
"Yes, firefighters rescue people in places where there are no guarantees of safety."
"But when they get hurt doing it, the country turns its back on them."
"How am I supposed to send my men into a place like that?"
His voice was low, but it was filled with anger and resentment.
"I refuse to push my men into places like that when there's no guarantee they'll be protected afterward."
"Even if every victim dies, protecting my firefighters matters more to me."
The fire was still growing.
A Level 2 response had already been declared, and the Seoul Disaster Headquarters had dispatched its command team.
Fire stations from Gangbuk, Seongbuk, and Nowon had all been mobilized to fight the fire.
The fact that the victims on underground level three had been rescued almost looked like a miracle.
The suppression teams were putting everything they had into controlling the spreading fire.
However, the atmosphere around Hee-soo and the fire chief had turned completely cold.
It almost felt as if a barrier had formed around them.
The person who broke that barrier was the head of the Seoul Disaster Headquarters.
The moment he saw the chief of Dobong Fire Station, he patted him on the shoulder.
"You really worked hard!"
"You rescued eight people from that enormous fire!"
"That's incredible!"
"Hahaha!"
The fire chief replied formally, still wearing a bitter expression.
"We only did what we were supposed to do."
"Hahaha!"
"You've upheld the pride of firefighters."
"I'm going to recommend everyone who participated in today's rescue for commendations."
"Understood."
"The personnel involved in the rescue were Captain Gu Seung-tae of Dobong Fire Station's Rescue Team 3, Deputy Captain Park Eun-hyuk, and probationary firefighter Choi Hee-soo."
The moment the headquarters chief heard Hee-soo's name, his expression froze.
"D-did he enter that building?"
"Firefighter Choi took the leading role in rescuing the victims."
The headquarters chief's face somehow managed to show surprise, happiness, worry, and fear all at once.
It was almost impressive that one person's face could contain so many emotions.
He immediately began looking around.
"Firefighter Choi Hee-soo?"
"Where is he?"
"Where?"
The moment he spotted Hee-soo, he hurried over and grabbed his hand.
Hee-soo instinctively tried to pull his hand away.
However, the grip was too tight.
More importantly, Hee-soo didn't have enough strength left.
"Oh, Firefighter Choi!"
"Why would you do something that dangerous..."
The headquarters chief suddenly realized the problem with his own words.
It sounded as though Hee-soo had gone somewhere he shouldn't have.
This was what happened when his mouth moved before his brain.
Flustered, the man cleared his throat.
"Ahem!"
"Ahem."
"Anyway, you're doing very well, but don't push yourself too hard."
"You should give the other firefighters a chance to earn achievements too."
At that moment, a notification arrived on Hee-soo's phone.
Huh?
Has the evaluation finally finished?
Wanting to check it immediately, Hee-soo smiled.
"Yes. Understood."
"Thank you for worrying about me."
"Um, excuse me for a moment."
"I just received an urgent message."
"Haha. Of course."
"Go check it."
"Yes."
It didn't look like Hee-soo would need to enter the scene again.
He was too exhausted to do so anyway.
Suppression operations were still underway.
There were no visible victims remaining inside.
Either there were none, or at the very least, none were still alive.
Hee-soo moved a short distance away and checked his phone.
His disappointment was immediate.
