“I wonder how Zeno is doing,” Minji said as she stirred the pot of soup. “He hasn’t shown up in our group chat for the entire day.”
Eli scoffed. “You can’t live without him even for three days?”
Minji glared at Eli. “For your information, he barely talked to us when he was in the military! I can definitely survive. Although, I would much rather have him here than your grumbly ass.”
Meanwhile, Doha twirled around the room. “I bet he’s doing such a great job.”
“Yeah!” Minji exclaimed. “I bet he’s on fire!”
Zeno glanced up at the skies for a moment, mustering the most hateful stare he could give.
“Cut! CUT!” Chaewon PD exclaimed, capturing everyone’s attention.
“What’s happening? I was already so immersed with my role as a burnt man.”
“Ah, why? It was going so well.”
The other actors on the ground began questioning what was happening. Since they were immersed in their roles, they didn’t notice the catastrophe happening inside the mansion.
Meanwhile, Zeno looked around, clicking his tongue when he saw the firefighting team waiting for a signal from Chaewon PD.
Jiho’s eyes widened when he realized what was going on. It didn’t take long before the other actors and staff caught on to the situation.
“Help us!” Minseok screamed. “Get fucking moving!”
“Crap. I think the situation is serious.”
“Step back!”
“Fuck this. I’m going to run.”
Before they knew it, chaos had ensued on the set.
“Everyone, calm down,” Chaewon PD tried to say. However, deep inside, she was panicking, too.
Hyunbin felt his heart racing as he stared at the burning structure. Accidents were a part of his profession as an actor, especially in action and disaster films. However, something of this scale had never happened before.
Inside the mansion, Selina had fallen against Minseok’s shoulder, slowly losing consciousness.
He pushed her harshly, but Ian acted fast and caught her in his arms.
Minseok looked around and cursed. “Whatever! I’m leaving.”
With that, he went out of the window and used the rope that Ian used to get up. However, in the process, the anchor was yanked off. Minseok fell with a thud, but it didn’t cause any major damage.
“Man, come on. Wake up!” the cameraman exclaimed. “You were supposed to tell my wife and children if I died. Now, it seems like you’re going to be the one who will die.”
Ian’s vision began to blur. Death. Were they going to die here today?
Selina also slumped on the floor. “I worked this hard just for me to get toasted to death?” she exclaimed.
Amidst those who had cleared the area, there was one person going toward the fire.
“Zeno!” Chaewon PD exclaimed. “Stay back. It’s dangerous!”
However, Zeno continued walking. “No,” he muttered. “We need to finish this shooting on time.”
The firefighters began moving, but it was clear that their Fire Chief was missing. They were hesitant about what to do, causing Zeno to click his tongue.
“What is that crazy guy doing?” Rex exclaimed.
“Zeno!” Luli also screamed but to no avail.
“MOVE!” Zeno exclaimed as he arrived at the firetruck. The firefighters turned to him with wide eyes.
“Who are you? We got it under control.”
“Clearly not,” Zeno muttered.
“Get that inch-and-three-quarter line charged! I want water on that structure in five seconds!” Zeno instructed.
“Why should we listen to you?”
Zeno pursed his lips. “Where’s your Fire Chief?”
Nobody responded, making Zeno sigh. “For this moment, I will be your Fire Chief.”
The way he said it sent shivers down their spines, and before they knew it, they began moving.
Zeno grabbed an SCBA mask and yanked it into place. “Get the thermal imager up. If you can’t get that line working in five seconds, you’re off the nozzle.”
They worked faster now, and the hose hissed to life. They began splashing the area, with the other men extinguishing the fire from behind.
“Is he commanding the firefighters?” a staff member whispered.
“What is he? A firefighter in his past life?”
Zeno watched as the fire began to calm down. However, he knew that it would take much longer before everything was extinguished. In this case, the smoke would be a bigger problem for the actors who were still inside.
“Get the ladder out,” he said, and they began dismantling the ladder on top of the truck.
If only the rope was still on the window ledge, they could save two people at the same time. But Minseok was selfish and used it on his own.
“Who’s going up?” one of the firefighters asked.
“Me,” Zeno said without any hesitation.
“What? Are you a firefighter?”
Zeno merely glanced at him with a look that could only be described as professional.
He is.
Well, he was.
Mission #15. Guaruja, Brazil. Save the entire neighborhood from a massive fire.
“B–but you don’t have any gear on,” he stammered.
Zeno ignored them and went up the ladder with only the SCBA mask to guard him.
“He’s going up there?”
“Does he have a death wish?”
“What is he doing?”
“We are in the era of CGI,” Zeno muttered. “Why use real fire in the first place?” he began ranting angrily under his breath.
Chaewon began feeling panic claw through her veins. This wasn’t what she pictured in mind for the scene. Jiho, too, began thinking of the repercussions of his actions.
“They’re not going to die, are they?” a staff member asked, making them feel even more nervous.
Zeno climbed the ladder with unimaginable speed, making even the professional firefighters question their abilities.
“Why is he more courageous than me?”
Finally, Zeno arrived at the window and saw the situation. He clicked his tongue. The only two fully conscious people were Ian and the cameraman, but it seemed that Ian had incurred a burn on his right arm while the cameraman was showing signs of lethargy.
As soon as Ian saw Zeno, his eyes widened.
“What are you doing—”
“Get out of here,” Zeno said, pointing at the ladder. “Get your burn treated as soon as possible.”
“And you,” he said to the crying cameraman. “Follow after Ian.”
“I can’t just leave my friend!” he exclaimed.
Zeno impatiently sighed. “I’ll be taking him, alright?”
The cameraman was still hesitant, but he nodded and went with Ian to go down the ladder.
The people outside began sighing in relief when they saw Ian going down.
“Save me,” Selina muttered weakly. She began reflecting on her life. Since she was a child, she was called pretty and was given everything she wanted. Naturally, when she became an idol, people loved her, too. However, it also made her develop a ‘star syndrome’ that was becoming worse by the day.
‘Am I finally atoning for all my sins?’ she thought.
The smoke was becoming more intense and it was getting harder to gain vision. But then, she felt herself being carried into a pair of strong, warm arms.
Despite her weakness, she looked up at her savior only to see the face of an angel.
She felt like she had entered the gates of heaven as a fair man with intense eyes stared down at her. There was some ash on his face, and the smoke surrounded him like he was some kind of god.
With that, Selina’s heart began beating faster, leaning closer to Zeno.
“My savior.”