Waiting for You in a City | [JenLisa Adaptation]

03

All around the central business district buildings, white collar workers crowded in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, taking photos with their phones.

As Itaewon Street billowed with thick smoke, the people inside desperately ran out while the people outside clamored with curiosity. The streets were crowded.

Jennie struggled to break through the crowd and squeezed to the entrance of the alley. The firefighters and officers had cordoned off the area, shouting at bystanders taking pictures, "Everyone disperse! Move away! -Hey you, why are you still trying to run inside?!"

"I'm a doctor." Jennie replied swiftly.

The fireman named Jackson looked at her suspiciously, "Which hospital are you from?"

"Third Military Hospital."

The firefighter lifted the barricade tape, Jennie bent under to pass through and ran into the alleyway.

Several vehicles that were blocking the road had been rolled onto their side to allow fire trucks to enter. Firefighters sprayed the high-pressure water cannon towards the burning row of houses. The damp burning smell swept over by the black smoke assaulted Jennie's senses, causing her eyes to water.

Itaewon Street was full of old houses, many with a wooden foundation. The houses were connected, so the space between them was narrow and dense, allowing the fire to spread extremely quickly. Even though there were now four high-pressure water cannons in use, the fire had not weakened.

Most of the residents had been evacuated, and only firefighters remained at the front lines.

The fire captains and instructors of several nearby squadrons gathered to look at the topographic map. The fire trucks were on the main road of the block, the fire had already spread to the side roads, many of which were alleyways that were too narrow for the fire trucks to enter and could only rely on the spray from the water cannons.

"Send in small squads to extinguish the fires." Lisa suggested.

Ten, the captain of the Jangmun Street squadron, thought this was inappropriate, "I'm against it."

"Why?" Lisa questioned.

"A lot of the houses here have hidden safety hazards. If the fire continues to burn, it will be easy for the roof beams to collapse and the floor to cave in. It's too dangerous for us to go inside. Besides, the correspondents have surveyed the area, all the families are accounted for, and no one is left. There's really no need to take risks."

"I agree." DK, another squad captain said.

Lisa shook her head, pointing at the map, "Look here, the houses in the area that are currently burning are made from brick and concrete, yet still haven't been able to be brought under control. But if it spreads to this area..."

Lisa pushed her finger, pointing to the region adjacent to the burning area, "These are all wooden buildings from the Republican Era. Once the fire spreads here, it will be too late. The affected area will be at least twice or even larger than it is now, possibly becoming completely out of control. Moreover-"

"Moreover?"

Lisa tugged at the corner of her mouth, "There are a lot of non-natives living alone in these apartments. If a couple of them are trapped, no one would realize that they are missing."

Everyone's faces turned grim. Jungkook, the overall instructor, made the decision at once, "Do as Captain Manoban said. Assemble."

Several teams planned out their route, quickly donned their fire extinguishers, and entered the scene of the fire under the cover of the high-pressure water cannons.