Chapter 5: The Mask Drill

On Monday, Seo-won brought tuna sandwiches to the Mapo fire station.

He had bought nine, because he had not known how many men a squad was.

The young firefighters cheered.

"The architect brings gifts," one of them sang. "Hyung, he brings sandwiches!"

Tae-min came down the stairs with wet hair and a face still tired from the warehouse.

He looked at the paper bag, and then at Seo-won.

"You listened."

"You said tuna."

"I said a sandwich. I didn't say nine."

"I didn't know how many you were."

Tae-min bit his lip, and it was not about the sandwich at all.

"Come on. I'll show you the engine."

Captain Yeo was filling a kettle at the sink when they passed.

He gave Seo-won the flat look of a man who had seen young fools bring food before.

"You're the watch," he said.

"Sir?"

"The watch. The titanium thing. It's in his locker with a note on it that says do not touch."

"Captain." Tae-min groaned. "That was private."

"I'm a captain. Nothing is private." Yeo turned back to the kettle.

"He didn't sleep on Saturday, you know."

"He sat in the truck after the fire and checked his phone for an hour."

Seo-won felt that land somewhere under his ribs.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Just text him next time. We keep the kind of hours where nobody answers."

Tae-min was bright red and pretending the engine needed him.

He showed Seo-won the long red truck, the hose beds, the rescue tools, the rack of orange helmets.

He laughed at his own stories.

He pulled down a breathing apparatus and put the harness on, to demonstrate.

"This weighs fifteen kilos. When you've got it on, your world is this big." He tapped the clear mask.

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