DESIRE ME IF YOU CAN [EN] - Chapter 34 - 34

"Hey, Ezra... No good. Did DeAnd... go in already? Then..."

Wilkins called several names in a row, clutching his head. Damn it, no one?

"If there's no one to go in with him, I'll go."

Just as he was about to despair, a voice of salvation came from behind. Turning around with delight, Wilkins froze in shock. Grayson was looking at him, grinning just like before.

"Uh, no, it's fine. You have no experience..."

Suspicious of Grayson from the start, Wilkins had tried to ignore it. Naturally, he turned his head away hurriedly this time as well. Grayson answered nonchalantly.

"I've had plenty of training this past month. I can handle it. Besides, I gotta do it eventually, right? I heard you're always short on field guys. Everyone says so."

He wasn't wrong. Sending a total rookie alone with the ace, however? The fire had spread significantly; going inside meant high danger. He didn't want to imagine it. In an emergency, a novice would be useless, freezing up in an unfamiliar situation. Then Dane...

I knew it. Wilkins cut his imagination short. He couldn't lose his ace in such a futile way.

"No, really, it's fine. No need to..."

He refused repeatedly, though he couldn't drag it out. Watching him fail to reach a conclusion, Dane adjusted his mask behind the flustered Wilkins. Acting as if he didn't care, he moved first.

"I'm going in."

"W-wait, wait a minute! Dane!"

Wilkins stopped Dane again just as he was about to rush into the house. Given the urgency, there was no choice. He might be crazy, yet perhaps he would do the job surprisingly well. Unless they encountered a critical situation, he just had to follow Dane closely.

Having made up his mind, Wilkins spoke to Grayson.

"Fine, since you want to so badly, go in. Don't overdo it; just follow Dane. If something happens, don't come out alone. Make sure to watch over Dane... got it?"

As Grayson said, it was something he had to go through eventually. Even for just a year, manpower was always short. Even if it was Miller, as long as he was helpful, there was no reason to refuse.

To Wilkins, who repeated his request while rationalizing to himself, Grayson answered with a consistent smile.

"Understood. Then I'll be off..."

Surprisingly, he quickly put on his mask and gear, running into the house. Dane had already entered with the hose.

"Don't act on your own! Make sure to follow Dane's instructions!"

Leaving behind Wilkins' anxious shout, Grayson disappeared inside.

***

Unsettling sounds of burnt furniture breaking and falling echoed from all directions. Intense heat assaulted his skin, threatening to burn it. Without firefighting gear, breathing would have been difficult. Grayson silently followed Dane, who held the hose steady, spraying water while advancing. Not even five minutes inside, he was already regretting it.

Was this too reckless? Just to see Wilkins get flustered?

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a part of the ceiling collapsed with a loud thud.

"Woah!"

Startled, Grayson exclaimed, stepping back involuntarily. That was close. Seeing the large chunk fall right in front of his eyes, he whistled shortly, joking with a laugh.

"Whoa. Thought I'd burn to death, not get my skull cracked open."

He even let out a cheerful laugh, hahaha, yet Dane kept moving forward without a glance. Grayson stopped laughing abruptly, tilting his head with a frown.

"Boring."

Muttering to himself, he moved to chase Dane, who had already become blurry in the smoke. Even with the oxygen supply, breathing wasn't easy. The heat felt outside the suit was immense; tension rose amidst the life-threatening flames. Maintaining breath in the limited space of the mask made it even worse. Far from stopping, however, Dane went deeper inside.

Does that bastard not feel the heat?

Grayson frowned, staring at Dane's back. Only when he felt the hose being dragged did he reluctantly move his feet. The smoke-filled interior was full of crimson flames, obscuring visibility. Yet Dane moved forward, spraying water without hesitation, as if he had been here many times.

"Charlie!"

For the first time since entering the house, Dane made a sound. Though it was just calling the dog's name. He called repeatedly at the top of his lungs; the noise of the crumbling building easily buried it.

"It's useless."

Grayson shouted. For the first time, Dane looked back. Grayson sneered, feeling a small sense of accomplishment.

"It's probably dead anyway; that's why it's not responding."

Dane looked at him silently, kicking the door in front of him hard. The fire-weakened door flew off miserably; Dane entered the room immediately.

"Ha."

Grayson let out a gasp of disbelief. Did that bastard just ignore me?

A vein popped on his temple. Grayson walked quickly towards the room Dane had entered. Just as he was about to go in, he ran into Dane coming out, seemingly having finished the search.

Rumble. A thunderous noise echoed. It seemed somewhere else had collapsed. Behind the foggy mask, Dane appeared to be frowning.

"What? Move."

Without giving Grayson a chance to step back, Dane pushed him aside.

"Hey! Listen to me!"

Angry, Grayson shouted again. Dane ignored him, entering the next room.

"Charlie! Charlie, where are you? Charlie!"

Grayson only looked at him with a cynical face as he shouted for the dog again. Let's see when you give up. He watched with a feeling close to spite; that feeling soon withered as Dane repeated the process of breaking down visible doors, rushing in, and coming out empty-handed.

"Hey, we need to talk."

When Grayson, unable to stand it, spoke up, Dane had just taken out a crowbar, smashing the door handle.

"What? Make it quick."

Grabbing the dangling handle to throw it back, he contradicted his words by immediately putting his hand into the round hole. Opening the door, he went back inside. Dumbfounded, Grayson followed him, pouring out the words he had been holding back.

"How long do we have to keep doing this stupid thing? The dog is probably dead. There's no way it's alive in this fire. It would have suffocated from smoke before even burning."

Entering to save it, wandering in the middle of the flames, was foolish. Isn't this enough? How much more do you intend to do?

As he asked, hiding numerous questions, Dane came out after lifting the mattress inside and checking the closet. He gave Grayson a short glance without a word, heading for the second floor. Dane didn't speak, yet the answer was clear.

"Wait, hold on! Wait, I said!"

Grayson shouted. Ignoring him, Dane went up the stairs quickly. Grayson ran up as if flying, grabbing Dane at the landing.

"You seem to have a thing for repeating meaningless tasks, but I hate wasting my time on crap like this. Let's go back now."

At Grayson's demand, Dane stared at him with an expressionless face. The eyes visible through the dust-covered mask looked unexpectedly bored. Hah. Dane seemed to sigh before speaking.

"That's rich coming from you, wasting your life chasing after some ridiculous fated mate."

"What?"