Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: A Firefighter is Always a Firefighter (2)
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His wife answered with a nonchalant expression.
It was as if she were wondering what the big deal was about some old gloves.
"A firefighter in uniform dropped them off. He said you'd need them, honey."
His house was quite a distance from his workplace in Gwanghwamun.
His colleagues had never visited, so his wife didn't recognize any of them by face.
"A firefighter in uniform? Who?"
I stepped into the living room, thinking it couldn't possibly be Cheol-hoon, who'd died in the line of duty.
All the kids had moved out on their own.
The old couple just needed to pack their things and go.
"If you've got everything packed, let's head out. Your brother and sister-in-law are probably waiting."
Ever since that horrific disaster, Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong had come to despise Seoul so much he wanted to burn the whole city down.
The guilt of surviving while his colleagues perished must have played a part too.
"How long to Yangpyeong?"
Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong took the bag from his wife as he headed out the front door.
To avoid looking at the gloves sitting on the shoe rack mirror, he kept his eyes fixed on his shoes.
'Who left these gloves? They're just like the ones I gave Cheol-hoon. Weird.'
No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't recall any colleague who used the same gloves.
* * *
The sun was still high in the sky.
Upon arriving at the old family home, Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong set his luggage bag on the porch and sat on the yard platform, chatting with his older brother.
His brother, worried about his sudden visit, asked all sorts of questions, but there wasn't much he could say.
He couldn't admit that a gas explosion had killed all his colleagues and that he'd fled to the countryside like a coward.
Nor could he confess he was now a suspect in an assault case.
His brother had already heard about it on the news and deliberately avoided the topic.
Their meaningless conversation dragged on until the sun began to set.
"Looks like Jun-pyo's second kid fell into the reservoir. They called the fire station, and the young folks are forming a human chain to try and rescue him."
His sister-in-law came running back from the market, shouting.
"What? I told them never to go near the water there because people keep drowning. This is bad. Oh no!"
His brother's shout pierced Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong's ears.
Instinctively, he bolted out.
His brother hurried after him.
It was a reservoir that had been there since childhood, so he raced straight to it without hesitation.
Adults used to say that if a kid without spots on their face or neck went in to swim, the water ghost would drag them away.
It was more like a lake connected to the river—vast, deep, and full of water.
Water was drawn from the nearby river and flowed back out, making it hard to find drowned bodies.
By the time Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong arrived, a dozen villagers were already there, stomping around in panic.
In the midst of it, a sturdy young man was tying a rope around his waist, preparing to enter the water.
The village head urged him on.
"No time. Hurry!"
Glancing at the scene, Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong called out to the village head.
"Gwang-pal hyung! Where's the kid? How long?"
The white-haired village head pointed to the middle of the reservoir at Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong's shout.
"The kids say he vanished out there in the center."
Three young boys stood behind the village head.
They were probably the ones who'd been playing in the water with the drowned boy.
"We called the fire station, but why are they so late? It's been about fifteen minutes since he went under. This is serious."
Time-wise, the chances of the kid surviving were zero.
But they couldn't just stand by.
Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong stared at the spot the village head indicated, kicked off his shoes and socks at the same time, and yelled.
"I'll go in too, so you follow me. But can you swim?"
The young man hesitated at Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong's question.
"Uh... well."
He'd stepped up just because he was young.
Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong took off his jacket and waved him off.
"You stay here."
Thinking not a moment could be wasted, Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong plunged into the water.
The young man hesitated, glanced at the village head, and followed.
Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong glanced at the young man, who was swimming decently, and headed for the center.
Splash, splash—the rope, heavy with water, dragged at the young man as he struggled to keep up, gulping water nonstop.
He looked like he might sink any second, but somehow he kept going.
As Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong advanced, he spotted a dark shape swaying in the clear water at the reservoir's center.
It had to be human hair.
Seeing the object undulating like spilled ink, Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong pushed forward harder.
'Is it standing underwater?'
Something felt off, but there was no time to hesitate.
Sometimes whirlpools or currents could make a body stand upright in the water.
In those cases, getting too close could suck the rescuer in too.
The young man following behind must have seen it too, as he swam harder.
"Don't come closer!"
Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong tried to stop him, but either he didn't hear or ignored it and kept coming.
The sun hung low over the mountain ridge, painting the reservoir red.
Sunset was near.
Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong peered into the water and dove.
As his urgency peaked, he felt breath on his ear, and someone shouted.
"Don't go! Stop!"
The breath in his ear made his body shudder involuntarily.
He jerked his head above water.
A chill wind brushed over his wet hair.
Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong turned around.
The only one nearby who could speak to him was the young man, still choking on water as he followed.
'Hallucination?'
Dismissing it as nothing, he started forward again when an urgent shout hit his ear once more.
"Hyung! Don't go! No!"
There was no malice in the voice.
On the contrary, it was a familiar voice full of concern for him.
'Cheol-hoon?'
Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong recalled Park Cheol-hoon, the firefighter who'd died the previous year.
The good kid who'd always paired with the hot-headed Chan-ho, charging first into blazing infernos and exiting last.
It sounded just like Park Cheol-hoon.
'Impossible.'
As Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong floated, hesitating, the young man passed him by.
A bad feeling hit him, and he reached for the young man's shoulder.
"Huh?"
The young man's face stiffened, a short groan escaping his lips.
Suddenly, his movements quickened, and he sank beneath the surface like he was being pulled down.
Startled by the sudden turn, Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong dove after the sinking young man.
"No!"
A sharp cry rang in his ears as strong hands yanked his shoulder back.
The forceful shout snapped him alert, and Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong looked below the surface.
Beneath the calm reservoir water.
A woman stood rigidly, her ink-black hair swirling wildly.
Some of her hair had wrapped around the young man's ankle, dragging him down.
"Aaaah!"
The young man screamed in terror, gulping water frantically.
"H-hel... p......"
His scream didn't carry far, choked by the water flooding his mouth.
His thrashing began to weaken.
Unlike the young man being pulled deeper.
Strangely, the woman in the water showed no movement yet didn't sink.
She stood in place with her eyes closed.
The only thing moving was her black hair.
'No living person or corpse could stand like that underwater.'
An ominous thought struck.
"Gwang-pal hyung! Pull the rope! Hurry!"
He turned from the eerie woman and shouted to the village head on shore.
His voice didn't carry far.
The people on shore showed no reaction, as if they hadn't heard.
In desperation, he grabbed the rope around the young man's waist.
No ambulance sirens could be heard anywhere.
Not understanding Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong's words, the village head and others just stood hesitating on shore.
"Pull it! Please pull!"
As the rope didn't budge, his frustration boiled over into a louder shout.
"Pull! Pull it! Please!"
The young man's body sank deeper, and Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong's voice failed to reach far.
"Please pull! Pull!"
As the sunset dyed the reservoir, Park Cheol-hoon's voice echoed in Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong's place.
"Please pull! Please!"
Only then did the village head and villagers grab the rope and yank hard.
Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong clung to the rope atop the water, trying to keep the young man from sinking.
It was futile.
The black hair coiled around the young man's legs tightened, pulling harder.
Her hair on his legs, the rope tugging from shore—it inflicted excruciating pain on the young man.
Watching the agony right below him, Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong's heart raced.
"S-save... me."
If he just watched, the young man's lungs would fill with water before they pulled him out.
Resolving himself, Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong flipped and dove underwater.
"Ja-seong hyung! No! You'll be in danger too!"
Cheol-hoon's dead voice followed him down, pleading.
But Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong, already committed, swam to the young man and strained to pry the hair from his legs.
The woman's hair, wound tighter than wire, wouldn't budge.
Instead, it left his hands slashed like knife cuts.
He saw blood from both hands dispersing into the water.
Without protective gloves and gear, it was impossible to loosen.
Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong followed the black hair with his eyes to the woman's face.
Her closed eyes snapped open, and she bared her teeth as if speaking.
No bubbles rose from her open mouth.
Her lungs had to be full of water by now.
He couldn't hear her voice, but her lip movements made it clear.
[You're next. Die! Die!]
Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong, fixated on her lips, released the hair around the young man's legs.
Without hesitation, he turned toward her.
Startled as he lunged at her, the woman's eyes widened.
Thwack!
Reaching her face, Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong seized her head with both hands and headbutted her hard.
Her wide eyes stared as his head hammered into her face like a mallet.
Thwack! Thwack!
Two more headbutts followed.
The hair around the young man's legs loosened limply.
The rope from shore began pulling him to the surface.
Seeing her hair drift harmlessly, Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong thought the young man was saved.
'What about me... now?'
He saw the woman's hate-filled glare.
[You can't go anywhere.]
Refusing to die like this, Fire Captain Lee Ja-seong carefully averted her gaze.
He tried to relax his grip on her head and turn away.
Her bloated, limp hands rose, seized his, and held his hands—and her head—in place.
His body froze at her action. He met her eyes and tried to pull his hands free.
Her swollen hands had surprising strength.