Ian scrambled out of the burning house, coughing furiously as he was brought down by the firefighter team.
Chaewon PD and Jiho, as well as the other staff, instantly swarmed him.
“Ian, are you alright?” Chaewon asked, her hands still trembling from nervousness.
Ian didn’t respond for a moment and lifted his red hand instead. Gasps filled the area.
“Ian has been injured! Call the doctors,” Chaewon said to Jiho.
The others started fussing around for Ian, too. “Are you alright?”
“Do you need some water?”
“What happened?”
Meanwhile, Jiho’s sweat had started forming on his ass. “They’re still on their way,” he mutterd.
Chaewon couldn’t believe it. “You meant to say, we don’t have any doctors on board?” she exclaimed.
The other actors had heard it, and they began panicking.
“We were filming in such dangerous conditions?”
“What are we going to do now? Ian seems to have a second-degree burn. Look, he’s in pain!”
The first-aiders went to where Ian was and washed his burn with saline. He winced in pain. However, he couldn’t take his eyes away from the burning house.
“They’re still there,” he said, capturing their attention once again.
“Ah, right! That extra is still there with Selina!”
The camera man, who had also descended, began crying uncontrollably. “He’s going to die! Kwong is burning to death!”
“Calm down!” Jiho shouted, but he wasn’t calm himself. “No one is going to die. The doctors are on their way.”
“How long?” Ian asked, standing as one of the first-aiders finished wrapping his burn.
Jiho pursed his lips and glanced at his watch. “Half an hour,” he responded in shame.
Ian sighed deeply, running his uninjured hand through his hair.
“Oh gosh. Is someone really going to die today?” Luli muttered.
“Sweet,” Rex smiled. “Can I livestream this?”
Luli’s eyes widened. “What are you talking about?” she exclaimed. “Stop it!”
However, it was already too late. He had whipped out his phone and started livestreaming the event. People arrived like moths to flame. The staff were also not in their right minds to stop him.
– What? Someone is still inside that burning building?
“Selina, a sound guy, and Zeno Han are still inside,” Rex discreetly said. “Let’s see if they can survive.”
– This is sick.
– Is this a joke?
– I don’t think this is a joke. Look at the people panicking!
– Crap. Is help on their way?
“The firefighters are trying to deplete the fire, but honestly, it’s just getting worse. Doctors are on their way, but eh, I think they’re arriving late.”
– So, you’re just recording everything?
– What do you want him to do? Dive inside the burning house?
– Well, someone should!
“That guy—Zeno—was the one who entered to help. He hasn’t come out, though. See, that’s why you don’t help in disasters like this.”
Meanwhile, Minseok, who’s pathetic beard had been charred, began screaming for the first-aiders to help him. “Look! I’m literally burnt,” he exclaimed, capturing their attention.
Ian clicked his tongue and looked him in the eyes. “You’re fine,” he said. “You were the first one to get out of there when the fire wasn’t that intense yet.”
“Ah, fuck!” Minseok screamed, throwing a tantrum like a little kid.
Just then, part of the ceiling collapsed, eliciting loud screams from the bystanders.
– Did the house just collapse?
“Part of it did. I don’t know. It seems they’re not getting out,” Rex said, his eyes shining from all the content he was getting.
The livestream was quickly picked up by various media sites, and different emergency authorities quickly streamlined the arrival of other resources. However, since Disaster Island was still a bit far from the city proper, they didn’t think it would be of much help.
It became eerily silent after that.
They stared at the burning mansion with ambiguous feelings. Did this film set really cause three deaths? One of which was one of the most popular idols of the fifth generation?
Before she knew it, Chaewon began to cry. It was a first in her long career. Being in the industry, she had developed a tough exterior. She didn’t even cry when she won her first grand award.
“I think they’re gone,” Rex whispered to his phone.
– Dang. Goodbye, ‘Code Black.’
– Is that really the important thing right now.
– Well, you can say they got cooked. Literally.
– Bro, that’s so insensitive.
– Welcome to the internet, everyone.
– Wait, wait! Move the camera a bit. Someone’s coming out!
At that moment, Rex admired his view count since it was the first time he had surpassed more than a million live viewers. However, as he read the comments, he frowned in confusion.
He zoomed into the window, which was barely noticeable because of the smoke, his eyes widening when he saw a shadow coming out of it.
“Someone’s there!” he shouted, capturing everyone’s attention.
Chaewon’s tears halted as she stepped closer, squinting her eyes to get a better look. The others, too, paid more attention, some also bringing out their phones to use its zoom function.
Just then, through the smoke, a large figure came out.
“Bring us down!”
The bystanders were all shocked.
“That was… That was Zeno, right?” Chaewon PD asked, feeling hysterical.
Zeno grumbled as he felt the weight of two people on his shoulders. “Why did it have to come to this?”
“It’s so troublesome.”
As the ladder was brought down, the firefighters gasped.
“Remove my mask,” Zeno said to one of the firefighters. A rookie firefighter removed the SCBA mask from Zeno, revealing his handsome face smudged with ash. The firefighter was enchanted for a moment, but he snapped out of it when Zeno began descending the truck.
Then, Zeno walked to the clearing, where the staff and actors were all waiting anxiously.
Through the fog, dust, and fiery heat, Zeno walked with Selina and the sound guy on his shoulders, carrying them like flour sacks. Time seemed to slow down as he made his way to the clear area.
And at that moment, it felt like a scene straight out of the movie.