IRLPLBIO Chapter 31 Part 1

Chapter 31 #6. Look Again at a Quenched Fire (5)

Unlike when he had resolved to simply put Kwang-cheol back on his proper path, realistic worries began to surface.

Jae-gu had no idea or even a guess how the relationships within the Dae-yeong Group would change going forward. He knew nothing at all about events that hadn’t happened in his previous life.

It was the same now. A deliberately set fire, which hadn’t happened last time, occurred, and he fell right into it without even suspecting a thing. Come to think of it, he himself had been lured by Yong-yong-i’s flyer.

A sudden anxiety seized him. Could he really protect Kwang-cheol like this? Even now, Kwang-cheol was practically leading him, let alone helping him.

“Hyung.”

Kwang-cheol called Jae-gu. He astutely noticed Jae-gu’s emotional change and looked at him, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. Jae-gu was nervously biting his lip.

“Don’t be anxious.”

“Huh, huh?”

“I’ll take care of things, so you don’t have to worry.”

Kwang-cheol whispered gently. Perhaps because of his soft voice, the grey smoke steadily filling the Noraebang seemed like a special effect adorning Kwang-cheol.

Jae-gu moved his head as if spellbound. Then, just as he was about to nod, he stopped abruptly and snapped back to his senses.

“No. I can’t be protected by my younger brother.”

“…It’s okay. You don’t have to worry…”

“My pride as Jae-gu is completely dead, damn it. There’s no point if I’m old enough but can’t even think straight. I need to pull myself together, yeah!”

Jae-gu slapped both his cheeks hard, then clenched his fists in a fighting pose. His stinging, red face brought him back to reality. Yes, as an older brother, he couldn’t rely on his younger brother, let alone fail to protect him.

Kwang-cheol looked at Jae-gu with a face that didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Shin Ju-hee also watched the comedic scene with an expression that seemed to say, “What kind of idiot is this?”

Fortunately, the awkward moment didn’t last long.

“Hey! Kwang-cheol! Jae-gu—!”

“K-Kwang-cheol— Jae-gu Hyung-nim—”

Muffled voices echoed through the hazy smoke. It seemed the people Kwang-cheol had contacted had arrived. They were even holding fire extinguishers, as indicated by the ‘chwiik—chwiik—’ sound.

“Hey! Over here! Here!”

Jae-gu immediately pressed himself against the door. After a few knocks that made the door rattle, the guys outside rushed over. The sound of them clearing the obstacles piled in front of the door was noisy.

“Ugh, saved…”

Click!

The sound of the lock opening was cheerful.

Before he could even wonder why Joo Hae-jun and Kim Min-jae had arrived instead of the fire department, Hae-jun started chattering.

“Hey, listen, I thought the text message was some kind of code at first. ‘Check before a fire breaks out’? It was like he predicted a fire!”

“Uh-huh, yeah, yeah.”

“But then really, the smoke! Just suddenly like this! Kwaaaah!”

“Did you call the fire department?”

Jae-gu asked, roughly covering Hae-jun’s noisy mouth. Still excited, Hae-jun nodded frantically like a broken doll. The way he rapidly pointed outside seemed to indicate they would arrive soon.

The priority was to move before the fire grew larger. Jae-gu put Hae-jun and Kim Min-jae, who could find their way through the hazy smoke, at the front. Behind them, he placed Shin Ju-hee and Kwang-cheol.

Jae-gu, standing at the very back, breathed a sigh of relief as the smoke gradually thinned closer to the exit. It was difficult to discern anything ahead, but Kwang-cheol’s back was clearly visible in his sight.

Yes, if it’s in a direction that benefits Kwang-cheol, it’ll somehow be alright.

At that moment, a chilling sensation ran up Jae-gu’s spine. Jae-gu instinctively raised his head and saw a lumpy decoration melting and dripping grotesquely.

“…!”

Perhaps the heat had seeped inside, as the half-melted decoration dropped with a thud. The distorted surface was sizzling and burning.

Kwang-cheol, unaware of the situation, turned his head as if to check on Jae-gu. The decoration was heading in a direction that would slightly graze over his head – or to be precise, directly towards Kwang-cheol’s face.

Would Kwang-cheol lose his original appearance due to burns, just like last time? Could it be that nothing could be changed…?

Jae-gu fiercely bit the inside of his cheek for having entertained such a weak thought, even for a moment.

No way. He had come back to change things.

In extremely urgent situations, time often feels like it’s slowing down. However, physical abilities don’t improve simply because time feels slower.

Jae-gu thought his hand, reaching out towards Kwang-cheol, was ridiculously slow. Knowing the danger but unable to stop it, his heart felt like it was burning dry.

No. Please, just a little more…!

Jae-gu’s fingers hooked onto Kwang-cheol’s clothing. That was enough. Jae-gu pulled Kwang-cheol’s clothing with all his might.

Snap.

With the sound of his finger breaking from excessive force, Kwang-cheol’s body tilted towards Jae-gu. At that moment, Jae-gu wrapped his arms around Kwang-cheol’s head and ducked his body. Immediately after, the burning mass fell.

Thud!

The pitch-black mass, falling onto Jae-gu’s forearm which wasn’t covered by his short-sleeved uniform, stuck to his skin, leaving a mark.

“Kkeueueuk…!”

The arm Jae-gu had used to embrace Kwang-cheol’s head tightened, then quickly released due to the pain.

Kwang-cheol, whose head was buried in Jae-gu’s embrace, realized what had happened a beat too late. The smell of Jae-gu’s burning blood and flesh was chillingly sweet.

It was just a slight burn on his arm, he thought it was nothing serious, but as Jae-gu tried to get up, his body swayed and he collapsed forward.

“Hyung!”

Supported by Kwang-cheol’s outstretched arm around his waist, Jae-gu hung limply like laundry on a clothesline. Perhaps because his head was lowered, his body temperature soared.

“Oh?” he mumbled, his voice tinged with a strange heat. His exhales were hot.

An excessively sweet scent wafted from somewhere. Cutting through the acrid smell of burning building materials, an unfamiliar, intense fragrance spread.

The moment he realized the sickeningly sweet smell was emanating directly from himself, Jae-gu’s mind drifted into a haze.