MDMG [ PROLPGUE ]

PROLPGUE

Black smoke rose so thickly that it was impossible to see even a few steps ahead.

Heat could be felt from every direction.

If there really was such a thing as hell,

then perhaps this was it.

But jumping into this hell again and again was the job we had to do.

For the survivors who were still holding on to the last thread of hope inside this place.

To save precious lives, we once again willingly opened the door that led into hell.

“Two survivors confirmed inside! One person in their eighties and one college student in their twenties!”

“Get the survivors out first!”

“Yes!”

The situation was becoming more and more urgent.

Bang! Bang!

I tried to open the door, but perhaps the heat had melted it, because it would not open easily.

At times like this, there was always a way.

I raised my foot high and—

Bam!

Whether I damaged the property or not.

‘Saving the person comes first!’

The two survivors we had been told about earlier immediately came into view.

I quickly handed them wet towels.

“Cover your mouth and nose with these, and go down the stairs! Sir, let me carry you on my back!”

“T-thank you…… Cough!”

Luckily, the fire had not spread too much yet, so the rescue operation went smoothly.

But we could never let our guard down.

Fire was a terrifying thing. In the blink of an eye, it could swallow everything around it.

One college student and one elderly man.

Right after I safely took the two of them outside—

“Team Leader! Are there any other survivors inside?”

―No, I’m still looking.

“Understood. I’ll go back in too.”

There was still a possibility that more survivors were left inside.

I really did not want to go back in.

‘But I can’t help it.’

I moved my feet, even though they felt like they would not move.

It was not because my equipment was heavy.

Even firefighters were afraid.

We willingly jumped into the boundary between life and death.

How could anyone not be afraid?

And so, I headed toward the fire scene once again.

And then……

That choice became the greatest turning point of my life.

“……”

I barely managed to lift my heavy body.

Perhaps it was because I had taken a short nap while sitting and leaning my upper body forward.

“Ugh!”

A burp escaped from me.

“Ah, this is killing me.”

I stretched my body, trying to drive away the sudden tiredness.

Just then—

“Hey, Gichan.”

Someone opened the security office door and called my name.

It was an older brother-like man who worked as an apartment security guard with me.

“Yes, hyung.”

“Did you get some sleep?”

“Ah…… I’m sorry. My spring fatigue has been pretty bad lately……”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Young or old, being tired is the same for everyone. You looked so tired that I deliberately didn’t wake you up. I thought you should get some sleep.”

“Thank you, hyung.”

“What are you thanking me for? We help each other and live together. Want a cup of coffee? Earlier, the lady from Building 213, sixth floor, gave us two cans of coffee to drink.”

“I’ll enjoy it.”

It had been only a month since I started working as an apartment security guard.

I had been a little worried before starting this job because the news often talked about apartment residents mistreating security guards.

But after actually doing the job, there had been nothing as serious as the things people talked about on the news.

On the contrary, there were many residents who were kind to the security guards like this.

After drinking the coffee the lady had given us, I felt a little less sleepy.

“I should have had some coffee earlier.”

“Still, don’t drink too much. You might not be able to sleep at night. Didn’t you say your insomnia is pretty bad already, Gichan?”

“Yes, well……”

Could I really call it insomnia?

It would be more accurate to call it an aftereffect.

Seeing me trail off, hyung gave me a bitter smile.

I had told him roughly about my situation before.

That I had worked as a firefighter, quit the job, and now worked as a security guard.

Hyung looked at my left hand, which was covered by a glove, and spoke.

“There’s no such thing as an easy job in this world. But don’t get too caught up in the past. You’re still only forty-five, aren’t you? You’re much stronger and healthier than an old man like me, so pull yourself together and keep going.”

“Thank you. I’ll do that, hyung.”

“Good. And while you’re at it, why don’t you think about getting married? Want me to set you up with someone?”

As soon as marriage came up, an awkward smile escaped me.

“I have a niece who still hasn’t gotten married. She’s in her late thirties. Gichan, you have a good personality, and you’re handsome too. You’re exactly the kind of man she would like. What do you say? Want to meet her once?”

“No, hyung. I’m not thinking about marriage.”

“No? Why not? Do you know how lonely it gets when you get old and live alone?”

“I’m not alone.”

“……Huh?”

For a moment, hyung looked as if he could not understand.

“Do you have a woman you’re seeing?”

“She is a woman, but it’s not like that.”

“What does that even mean?”

“I have daughters. Three of them.”

Hyung’s face was filled with shock.

Well,

it was understandable that he would be surprised.

If an unmarried man said that he had three daughters, anyone would react like this.

That was how it had always been.

“Wait, what exactly do you mean? You said you never got married.”

“Yes.”

“But you have daughters?”

“Yes. My eldest is twenty-eight, my second is twenty-six, and my youngest is twenty-three.”

“You said you’re forty-five, right?”

I nodded firmly at his words.

“But how could you……”

“There are some circumstances.”

“……”

There were complicated circumstances.

Strictly speaking, the three children I raised were not legally my daughters.

But—

“They are my precious daughters, born from my heart and raised by me.”

After hearing that, hyung let out a heavy sigh.

“Little brother, you’re a much better person than I thought. You’re practically an angel.”

As he said that, he looked at my left hand, which had been badly scarred by burns.

“Okay. I won’t ask any more questions.”

Everyone had complicated circumstances in life.

Perhaps because he understood my situation, hyung decided not to question me any further about my family.

Honestly, that made things easier for me.

“But little brother. You said you have three daughters, right? From what I’ve heard, they’re all adults. Have they all found jobs?”

“My eldest said she was going to start a business, so she moved up to Seoul. My second followed her sister there. It’s been about two years.”

“Are they both running businesses?”

“No. Only my eldest. My second said she was doing some kind of broadcasting work. But honestly, I’m completely clueless about that field. She tells me about it, but I don’t really understand.”

“What about your third daughter?”

“She lives with her sisters and attends university.”

“Oh, you raised all three of them by yourself. And you even put them through college.”

I heard things like that quite often.

Maybe it was because I had never married.

Honestly, I had never really struggled financially.

Except when I helped my eldest daughter with the initial money for her business, I had never had much financial trouble.

Now, all I had to do was save enough money for my retirement.

“Do you keep in touch with your daughters often?”

“Since they moved to Seoul, we only contact each other about once a week.”

“You must feel lonely.”

“They’re all taking care of themselves and living their own lives, so I’m very satisfied with that alone.”

“So you probably only see each other during the holidays.”

“Haha……”

I had no choice but to keep my answer short.

After my daughters moved to Seoul, we had hardly met in person.

Most of our contact was through phone calls.

That did not mean my daughters had completely forgotten about their father.

Quite the opposite.

They had tried to come down and visit me several times, but I had stopped them.

It was not close by, and I felt there was no need for them to spend their precious time traveling such a long distance just to see me.

They were all probably busy making a living.

During the holidays, either I was working or one of my daughters was working. Our schedules never matched, so we could not see each other.

Perhaps hyung noticed something from my words. He clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Tsk, tsk. Raising daughters doesn’t seem to be worth much in the end.”

“No. Even though they had to grow up in difficult circumstances, I’m satisfied just knowing that they grew up well.”

That was not a lie.

I truly meant it.

Even now, I remembered clearly the first time I met my daughters.

A memory I wanted to forget, yet one I could never forget.

Three lovely angels I met in hell.

Lee Jinhye, Lee Seonhye, and Lee Mihae.

My precious daughters, whom I loved more than anything in the world.

“Still, thanks to you, hyung, I got to talk about my daughters after a long time. It feels nice.”

“Try contacting them sometime. It’s good not to bother your children too much, but they’re your children—the ones you gave birth to in your heart and raised yourself, right? You should at least hear how they’re doing from time to time.”

“Yes. I think I should.”

Just as we were talking, I received a phone call.

It was from my eldest daughter, Jinhye.

Hyung glanced at my smartphone and asked,

“Is that your daughter?”

“Yes. My eldest.”

Jinhye had actually called me first.

I was worried that something serious had happened, but at the same time, I was happy.

“Hey, Jinhye.”

―Dad. It’s me. Where are you right now?

“Dad? I’m working as an apartment security guard.”

―Wait a moment. It was Sunhwa Apartment, right? I’m heading there now, so please wait for me.

“Huh? You’re coming? Here?”

―Yes. I went home, but you weren’t there. I’ll see you in a little while.

That was all.

Hyung tilted his head and asked me,

“Is that it already?”

“Yes. She said she’s coming here now.”

The distance from my house to this apartment was not far.

About five minutes on foot.

‘She said she was leaving from home, so she should be here soon.’

But it was strange that she suddenly decided to come here.

Just then, a car began entering the apartment’s open parking lot.

As soon as hyung saw the vehicle, he let out an exclamation.

“Wow, little brother. Look at that car. Isn’t that a Rolls-Royce? Does someone in our apartment really drive a car that expensive?”

“I don’t think so. As far as I know, no one here does.”

Even seeing a Benz in the parking lot was enough to make us go, “Wow!”

So why had someone driving such an expensive foreign car come to our apartment?

But something even more shocking happened moments later.

The car suddenly stopped in front of the security office.

A man who appeared to be the driver opened the rear door.

Then a young woman slowly stepped out.

As soon as the long-haired woman took off her sunglasses, I accidentally dropped the can of coffee I was holding.

“Little brother, what’s wrong?”

“I-I……”

I could not believe my eyes.

The young woman who had just gotten out of the car walked quickly toward us—or, to be exact, toward me—her heels clicking against the ground.

Then she suddenly threw her arms around me.

“Dad, it’s been so long!”

This girl was my eldest daughter, Lee Jinhye, one of my three precious treasures.

I’ll keep Lee Jinhye, Lee Seonhye, and Lee Mihae exactly consistent in the following chapters.