Worth

chapter 8 

Then hung up before he could respond. 

The more we talked, the more entangled we became. Our five years together felt like a dream. 

Now that I was awake, there was nothing left. 

“Was it because of him that you didn’t want to live?” 

Ian asked with a knowing smile. 

The day of the fire, I had missed the best chance to escape while trying to save a ring. When the fire became uncontrollable, I called the fire department and then Yannis. 

But all I got was his scolding. 

Feeling hopeless, I sat in a corner, waiting to die. 

Then someone kicked down the door and carried me out like a godsend. 

Through the gas mask, I saw his deep eyes. 

“This rescue is too risky. You shouldn’t have taken the chance,” I said. 

“Do you want to die?” 

“Yes.” 

I had replied without hesitation. 

He didn’t say anything more, and I passed out. 

Before I lost consciousness, I heard him say, “I won’t let you die.” 

“My dear rose.” 

I thought it was a hallucination. 

But now I realized it wasn’t. 

He had really said that. 

He saw me as his rose. 

The sky began to drizzle, and Ian’s furrowed brow remained tense. 

I stared at his chiseled profile, pondering for a moment before deciding to ask, “Have we met before?” 

He seemed not to hear, so I was about to repeat the question when he finally spoke. 

“Mountain Training Base.” 

He said, turning on the blinker and pulling the car over. 

“Three months, but you forgot me.” 

Mountain Training Base was where we all trained before starting our jobs, but that was six years ago. 

I studied his face, searching my memories, and finally recalled a vague figure. 

“Are you… Eagle?” I asked. 

Eagle was the instructor in charge of our field emergency training, who had put us through hell for those three months. 

But he had never shown his face, always appearing as a mysterious figure. 

Only once, when I fell into a trap while trying to save a teammate during mountain training. 

The enigmatic “Eagle” rescued me. 

In my pain–induced haze, I caught a glimpse of a profile, but I passed out before I could memorize his features. That remembered profile now overlapped with the face before me. 

I finally understood the source of this familiar feeling. 

It turns out he had saved me both six years ago and now. 

We had known each other for so long without realizing it. 

“Last year, when the province was recruiting, your team had already recommended you, but I heard you gave it up.” Ian said with a smile, easily guessing why I had done so. 

I felt ashamed, but he looked at me directly. 

“I’m glad you finally woke up.” 

Indeed. Awakening, though late, had come.