The cracks were handled by the seasoned personnel, and any abnormality was immediately reported so that the Espers could get there on time before an emergency.
And the time range for such disasters to strike after an abnormality is noticed was about two hours.
But for this case, there was no such time. As soon as the abnormality was noticed, the disaster struck.
A fire dragon made its way out of the crack, expanding it and burning the entire area to the ground, and this disaster spread towards the residential area nearby, causing huge losses.
The crack, which managed to expand with its escape, released more monsters that spread out and caused damage to even more areas.
Sung-min, who was still dealing with the aftermath of the Earthquake, was supposed to go on patrol close to that area that night, but didn't go, and well, you can guess how that turned out.
Sung-min didn't go to dinner with me. He dropped me off where he believed was a short walk to my house and then left after saying these few words,
"Being brave and being reckless are different things. You'd better be able to tell which is good and which is plain stupid."
I stood there, breathing in the dust he left with his expensive car, and then sighed.
"Of course I know the difference, idiot," I exclaimed and turned around. "For whom do you think I'm doing all this for if not you?"
My gaze turned soft and a bit regretful. I wish I could've hugged him before he left.
Well, look on the bright side. We might be staying with each other from now on thanks to the stunt I was going to pull tonight. If I played my cards right, that is.
I was even able to sneak his number into my phone so this much is fine.
I picked out the things I considered important from my house. Well, nothing much. Just my wallet and banknotes. That should do it. Money was the most important thing here, after all.
In this house that had no fond memories, no warmth, no heat of another... I think it's about right I give it a little warmth, haha.
I took my bath, changed into my night clothes in order to seem convincing, and then went to bed. At least, that's what it would seem.
After about two hours, my eyes shot open and I stood up, my hands on the mattress, sinking in as it began to melt as if it had been touched by fire.
Then, a flicker appeared on my sheets and I stood up, taking steps back.
I don't know, maybe I overdid it, or maybe I didn't, but I started the flames from my bed.
It's not like I can conjure flames out of nowhere or on my bare hands the way Sung-min can conjure ice on his body. I'm not an Esper, after all, but I was hot.
The exact opposite of Sung-min and while it was a blessing, because I knew I would be able to save Sung-min like this, it was a curse in another sense.
This heat... I would never be able to get rid of it unless I was with someone like Sung-min, an ice property user.
In a way, Sung-min wasn't the only one who was prone to a breakout in this new life I was living. I, who carried an unimaginable power that could not be fully understood, was also a danger.
One day, I might actually wake up and discover I had burned the world.
That's why holding hands with Sung-min felt so good.
"Alright, this should do it," I said, seeing my mattress, as well as my walls, catch on fire.
No matter how much they investigated, they would never be able to find out the source of the fire, so I wouldn't be filed for any charges, and I'd get my fire insurance money as well.
Win-win.
*Cough.* I coughed.
The smoke was already spreading so much in the air. I had to get out if I didn't want to lose my consciousness to the smoke and get into a bigger issue.
Come to think of it, does this mean I'm immune to fire?
Well, I don't want to find out so let's get out of here first.
I grabbed my banknote and my wallet, running out right away as I yelled,
"Fire! Someone help! My house is on fire!"
This commotion, as well as the smoke, brought just about enough attention, and the firefighters were called.
And in the midst of all this, I felt I had forgotten something important. I couldn't think of what it was until someone asked me if I had anyone to call and stay the night with.
I was immediately going to call Sung-min but then I realized that I had left my phone on my lamp stand.
"Shit!" I grabbed my hair. "My phone is in there."
And the apartment was already burned down so I had no hope of getting my phone back. Still, I had to try. Maybe it wasn't exposed to the flames like that.
So, even though they were still trying to put out the fire, I rushed in carelessly.
I felt that if I lost that number, I wouldn't be able to contact Sung-min anytime soon, and then I wouldn't be able to avoid the flame dragon disaster.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" The firefighters yelled but I ignored them and ran to where the fire started.
My bed.
But the phone, unfortunately, had been completely destroyed.
I palmed my face.
So much for an elaborate plan.
I felt angry that I didn't think of everything well before starting the fire. And somehow, my rage ignited the flames around me even more. Despite most of the fire already gone, the place was wet, and the fire came up again, burning the wet surface as well.
I was stuck in self-blame and didn't realize the wooden frame above my bed was crumbling.
"Hey, get out of there. It's gonna collapse." The firefighters yelled, and I turned. What was going to collapse?
And then, I looked up, but it was too late, it was already falling, and I wasn't fast enough to avoid it. My leg would get caught.
So, I placed my hopes on the belief that fire wouldn't burn me and took cover, waiting for the impact but what hit me wasn't the wooden frame but a chilly breeze and then ice that immediately engulfed my surroundings, making it an ice room.
"It hasn't even been 24 hrs," I heard a familiar tone and my eyes lit up. "And yet you manage to cause yet another incident."
He stood on my broken window frame and stared at me, his chilly gaze on me twinkling ones.
"Choi Joon-ho, just what are you up to?"