Chapter 38

Chapter 038: What Must Be Done (7)

Chief Jang ignored Hee-soo's startled question and began the call.

"Ah, it's me."

"Check inside that septic tank."

"The one behind the villa."

"Yeah."

"The missing man might be inside."

"I know. I know."

"Still, it's not difficult to take a look, right?"

"Yeah."

"Director Choi thinks there may be someone inside."

"Right. Check it once."

After the call ended, Hee-soo's face turned red.

"Haah. I shouldn't have fallen for your trick."

"No. It could be true."

"It's not completely impossible."

"And opening a septic tank lid to check inside isn't difficult."

He was right.

"Thank you."

"At times like this, I really feel I can't match your experience."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Go inside and rest. You must be tired today."

"Yes."

He really was exhausted.

This had been the first dispatch since Hee-soo became a firefighter where there had been fatalities.

Fortunately, they had responded extremely quickly and handled the situation well.

There was only the grandfather who had already died before they arrived, and another body whose story they still did not know.

Hannam-dong gym.

Yoon-hee asked Hee-soo, who had come for his morning workout,

"Did you hear?"

"I woke up and came directly here without meeting anyone."

"Chief Jang asked if I was awake. That's all I've heard."

"Is there some other news?"

"I heard the body of the father from the third floor was found inside the septic tank you mentioned yesterday."

"We broke the story early this morning."

Hee-soo shook his head.

"I don't watch television."

It had happened exactly as Hee-soo predicted.

However, he still had no idea how the septic tank lid had ended up like that.

Yoon-hee happened to mention that part too.

"The police are looking for whoever put the lid back in place."

"They're having trouble because there isn't any CCTV directly covering that spot."

"Well, that doesn't have anything to do with me either."

"Weren't you the first person to enter the scene?"

"I can just submit my bodycam footage."

"Ah. That's true."

When Hee-soo arrived at work that morning, the fire station was noisy.

Captain Gu had clearly been waiting for him.

"Hee-soo, you're here? Come over here."

"Why?"

Not only the captain of Team 2, who was handing over the shift, but all the team members were waiting for Hee-soo.

Hee-soo only shrugged.

Captain Gu asked him with a deeply shocked expression,

"How did you know there was someone inside the septic tank?"

"I saw a scraped mark on the window frame."

"I thought someone had jumped out through the window."

"There was a mark on the window?"

"I didn't see it."

"When I went to the third floor, I saw it for a moment."

"At that point smoke had only just begun entering seriously, so the mark was still faintly visible."

"We never even entered that room."

"I can't imagine what kind of story was behind this."

Hee-soo was curious too.

Fortunately, Yoon-hee was around, so he could hear news faster than most people.

After the commotion settled, Hee-soo completed rappel training in the morning.

There was nothing special scheduled for the afternoon.

He sat at his desk working for a long time.

Jae-sik passed by and asked,

"Want coffee?"

"No."

"You don't like coffee?"

"No, I like coffee."

"I'll bring you a cup."

Hee-soo did not even look away from his monitor.

"I'm picky about coffee."

"So I don't drink just anything."

"And this isn't my tea time."

"What, do you only drink that thing made from cat poop?"

"What was it called? Luwak?"

Hee-soo shook his head.

"It's not a regular cat. It's a civet."

"I don't like Kopi Luwak."

"I don't like Black Ivory either."

"I prefer Colombian Supremo beans, medium-roasted and brewed strong through a cloth drip."

"Espresso is fine too."

"Hmm."

"There's definitely nothing like that around here."

"You don't like instant coffee?"

"Some French barista said he'd gladly pay ten dollars for that luxurious flavor."

"I don't like French baristas."

"I prefer Italian baristas."

"R-really?"

"Yes."

"You don't have an Italian barista living at your house, do you?"

"I can make it that well myself."

"I have a barista certificate."

"Hahaha. I can't beat you."

"So what are you working on?"

"I'm thinking about how to search efficiently when visibility and movement are restricted."

"Really?"

Jae-sik, who had been only half-interested in the conversation, suddenly became curious.

"So even though things are much more convenient now, you want to improve it further?"

"The current situation is still too dangerous."

"The structure of our operations guarantees casualties among rescue and suppression personnel."

"So I want to reinforce the equipment used by personnel entering fire scenes."

"What would improve?"

"When smoke covers everything right now, we can't see anything."

"That's dangerous."

"I'm thinking about a way to restore visibility."

"Is that possible?"

"I think it is."

"That's why I'm working on it."

"Would we get to use it too?"

"Once it's ready, I'll test it first."

"After that, I'll distribute it to the team."

"When will it be ready?"

"I don't know."

That was not like the usually confident Hee-soo.

Jae-sik asked with a surprised expression,

"What? Suddenly?"

"I never thought I'd hear you say something so weak."

"I know."

"I didn't think I'd ever say something like this either."

Jae-sik looked at Hee-soo's computer screen.

"It looks like a flashlight."

"Yes."

"But it's too big."

"How big?"

Hee-soo placed a human model next to it on the screen.

It was about the size of a large searchlight.

"That size is easy enough to carry."

"It weighs about three kilograms."

"That's too heavy."

"Three kilograms is nothing."

"We already carry twenty or thirty kilograms."

"We can only operate inside a fire for thirty minutes anyway."

"That's our limit."

"So even if it's a little large, we'd only use it for those thirty minutes."

"Three kilograms is easy."

"Especially if it lets us see."

"Thirty minutes..."

It felt as though a ray of light appeared inside Hee-soo's mind.

"Then I can at least make a prototype."

But a shadow quickly returned to his face.

He shook his head and grabbed his hair.

"Haah."

"But I have to make all of this myself."

Twenty-four hours a day were not enough.

Fortunately, he could recover his physical condition with only one hour of sleep.

Even then, he still lacked time.

He wanted to delegate the work, but it was difficult to find anyone who could work to a standard Hee-soo considered acceptable.

As he suffered over it, someone knocked on the second-floor door and came inside.

Hee-soo recognized the person immediately.

It was Yoo Min-hyuk, the young man Hee-soo had saved before.

He was carrying a box of energy drinks.

The deputy captain stepped forward first.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Ah. Is Firefighter Choi Hee-soo here?"

"Yes, he is."

The deputy captain looked toward Hee-soo.

"Hee-soo, you have a visitor."

After spotting Hee-soo, Yoo Min-hyuk approached with a bright expression.

"Hello. My name is Yoo Min-hyuk."

"Do you remember me?"

Hee-soo greeted him with an awkward smile.

"Ah. Yes. Of course."

"How are you feeling?"

"Much better?"

"Yes. Thanks to you, I survived."

"My body has mostly recovered."

"I still have numbness in some places, but considering how long I was inside that gas chamber, the doctors said my prognosis is pretty good."

Hee-soo's expression twisted.

"You haven't fully recovered, but the hospital discharged you?"

"Yes."

"KEPCO Hospital said there was nothing more they could do and told me to leave."

Hee-soo was dumbfounded.

These people...

I clearly told them to make sure he had no aftereffects.

Hee-soo told the young man,

"From now on, go to Gangnam Suseong Hospital for treatment."

"I'll..."

Min-hyuk answered brightly.

"Ah. Chief Jang already told me to transfer to Suseong Hospital and continue treatment."

"How did you know?"

"Chief Jang already told you?"

"Yes."

"He said someone who only has their body needs to leave the hospital with that body completely healthy."

"He said I couldn't leave in this condition."

Hee-soo smiled.

Chief Jang really does think deeply about these things.

Min-hyuk asked curiously,

"But how does a firefighter say exactly the same thing as Chief Jang?"

"What?"

Hee-soo was the one who became flustered.

Yoo Min-hyuk had no idea that Hee-soo was Suseong's successor.

Min-hyuk spoke energetically.

"Anyway, thank you so much for worrying about me."

"But I'm okay."

"Hospital bills aren't cheap, and thanks to Chief Jang, I received good treatment at KEPCO Hospital too."

"I can't keep relying on people forever."

Hee-soo found the situation awkward, but he decided to pretend he did not know anything.

"Hmm."

"I know Chief Jang well too."

"I'm sure he wouldn't refuse if I asked him."

"I'll speak to him, so make sure you continue your treatment."

"You know Chief Jang well?"

"I haven't seen him once since I was discharged."

"Ah. Really?"

"Yes."

"I wanted to at least thank him."

"By the way, where do you live?"

"What?"

"Ah. I'm staying alone in a goshiwon in Yeongdeungpo."

"Hmm. I see."

"Could you give me your address and phone number?"

"My number?"

"Yes."

"I'll contact Chief Jang and tell him to get in touch with you."

"Could I maybe get Chief Jang's number instead?"

"He doesn't like giving it out."

"Ah. Understood."

Hee-soo received Yoo Min-hyuk's phone number.

Their conversation was interrupted by an announcement echoing throughout the fire station.

"EMS dispatch. EMS dispatch. Dobong Fire Station Rescue Team, EMS dispatch."

The rescue team ran toward the rescue bus without a second thought.

From behind Hee-soo, Min-hyuk shouted,

"Thank you for saving me! Good luck!"

A small laugh escaped Hee-soo.

Heh. So this kind of thing can feel rewarding too.

Once he was inside the vehicle, the situation report came through.

"An accident occurred during construction near Sanggye Bridge on Jungnangcheon."

"A worker has been buried underground."

"Workers at the scene and police are conducting rescue operations."

"One patient has severe bleeding, so emergency medical support is required."

It was a construction-site accident.

Underground construction was being carried out along the Dongbu Expressway when a collapse occurred.

The rescue team, rescue engineering vehicle, and the vehicle following Hee-soo arrived only one minute after the report.

The worker was not completely buried, but something like reinforcing steel had pierced his thigh.

So much blood had spilled that the ground around him was stained red.

An alert sounded from Hee-soo's phone.

There were three victims.

Hee-soo murmured quietly,

"Three..."

He quickly looked around, but could not see anyone else.

He asked the workers,

"Where are the other two?"