Instinctively, I squeezed my eyes shut and flattened myself against the ground.
Then—
Thunk!
Something caught above my head.
Confused, I cautiously lifted my gaze.
A long wooden pole had fallen at an angle, stopping the collapsing pile of garbage from crashing down on me.
I've definitely used up all my luck for the rest of my life.
Cold sweat streamed down my face as the fire crept closer, the heat so intense it felt like it would roast my skin.
“LOPEZ!”
Chester's desperate shout rang out from beyond the debris.
Snapping back to my senses, I immediately started crawling through the wreckage.
Chester was lying flat on the ground as if he was about to dive into the debris himself.
The moment he saw me, he thrust out his hand.
“Take my hand!”
Without hesitation, I grabbed his soot-covered hand.
He gripped me tightly and yanked me out of the rubble.
And then—
CRASH!
The debris collapsed completely.
The very second I escaped.
“Th-Thank you, Chester.”
If I'd been even a little slower...
The thought sent chills down my spine.
Quickly, I accepted his support and stood up.
“...”
Chester was staring at me with a deeply twisted expression.
It was strange.
But this wasn't the time to worry about his feelings.
“Let's get out of here! If we stay any longer, it'll be dangerous!”
“...Okay.”
I squeezed his hand tightly and hurried forward.
The flames were so fierce that running wasn't an option.
We carefully navigated around the fire that seemed determined to devour us.
Then—
Voices.
Lots of them.
People shouting.
The exit was close.
“Run! We can run now!”
Chester and I immediately sprinted toward the sound.
The thick gray smoke began to thin.
Human figures emerged through the haze.
The exit!
Crackle! Crackle!
RUMBLE—
I glanced behind me.
The mountain of garbage was collapsing at terrifying speed.
Grinding our teeth, we pumped our arms and legs harder.
And finally—
We burst free of the incinerator grounds.
“Haah... haah...!”
Stumbling through the smoke, we practically fell outside.
For the first time in what felt like forever, fresh air filled my lungs.
Chester and I sucked in breath desperately before looking at each other.
We were filthy.
Covered in soot and dirt.
But I grinned anyway.
“We made it out!”
“Yeah... we did!”
Relief flooded Chester's face.
For a brief moment, neither of us could hide our joy.
Then—
Several teachers came running toward us carrying buckets of water.
The moment they spotted us standing outside the incinerator, their faces turned deathly pale.
“Good heavens! Lopez! Chester!”
“You came out of that incinerator?!”
“How in the world did this happen?!”
The happiness lasted all of five seconds.
Perhaps because all the tension finally left my body.
I couldn't even respond to the frantic teachers rushing toward us.
My vision blurred.
The strength drained from my limbs.
And everything went dark.
The moment Lopez collapsed, Chester immediately caught her.
“L-Lopez!”
Thankfully, he managed to support her before she hit the ground.
But the instant he touched her—
Something felt wrong.
Her body was burning hot.
Her forehead was drenched in sweat.
Whether it was from the heat or a fever, he couldn't tell.
But one thing was obvious.
Lopez was not okay.
Chester's face went white.
“L-Lopez is burning up!”
Gale rushed over and quickly examined her condition.
The moment he noticed her dripping wet hair, he sighed.
“She poured water over herself...”
Without wasting a second, Gale removed his coat and wrapped it around her.
Pouring water over your body before entering a fire was admittedly safer.
But for someone already suffering from a severe fever?
It was reckless.
Far too reckless.
“We need to put out the fire before it spreads!”
“Bring more water!”
“Get sand too!”
The teachers scrambled into action.
The sudden fire had completely caught everyone off guard.
“Teacher Carrington! Hurry! Why did a fire suddenly—”
One teacher muttered the question.
Carrington jumped as if she'd been burned.
Then she shouted,
“I'll stop the fire from spreading! Keep the children away!”
As chaos erupted around them, Gale lifted Lopez into his arms.
Then he looked toward Chester.
Now that he thought about it...
Chester wasn't in much better shape.
“Chester, are you alright?”
“I'm fine... but Lopez's hand...”
Chester bit his lip hard.
Fighting not to cry.
Nobody knew how terrified he'd been.
Inside that inferno, he'd genuinely thought he was going to die.
Then Lopez had appeared.
Even though she was barely able to stand because of her fever.
Even though she was sick.
She never let go of his hand.
And on top of that... she took my place...
Chester unconsciously clasped his own hands together.
As if trying to preserve the warmth that still lingered there.
Gale examined Lopez's palm.
The skin was bright red.
A burn.
Thankfully, not a severe one.
Still.
It was a burn.
“Chester, can you walk?”
“Yes.”
“Then come with me.”
Holding tightly onto the coat wrapped around Lopez, Chester followed Gale at a run toward the infirmary.
The moment they arrived, Gale gently laid Lopez on a bed.
Her body was still blazing hot.
Meanwhile, Chester silently wrung out a cold cloth and placed it on her forehead.
His emotions were tangled beyond belief.
Thanks to Lopez, he hadn't inhaled much smoke.
She'd immediately extinguished the flames on his sleeve.
Not a single injury remained on him.
And then—
She had shoved him away from collapsing debris.
Trapping herself instead.
...I didn't do anything for her.
In fact—
He'd openly disliked her.
Lopez had falsely accused Medina.
Tried to drive her out of the orphanage.
Of course he'd hated her.
Yet despite that...
Lopez had risked her life to save him.
And to someone like that... I...
Chester lowered his head.
Guilt weighed heavily on him.
Gale watched him quietly before patting him on the back.
“It's alright, Chester. Her life isn't in danger. You don't need to be so upset.”
“...”
Chester remained silent.
His shoulders drooped.
Gale sighed softly and began preparing medicinal herbs for burns.
Once they were ready, he carefully applied the medicine to Lopez's injured palm before wrapping it with bandages.
Even after the treatment was finished, Chester refused to move.
Gale looked at him with concern.
“Chester, you're a patient too. You should return to your dormitory and rest. I'll take care of Lopez.”
“No.”
Chester shook his head.
Until now, he'd never once held positive feelings toward Lopez.
She'd been the enemy of the person he cared about most.
Medina.
And yet—
When disaster struck.
The first person to rush into danger for him had been Lopez.
“Teacher...”
His voice was quiet.
“If someone loses their memory... can they really change this much?”
Gale studied him for a moment.
Then smiled gently.
“Well... does it matter?”
“...”
“Whatever happened before, isn't it enough to look at who they are now?”
Who they are now.
Chester slowly turned his gaze toward Lopez.
His expression remained complicated.
Then—
BANG!
The infirmary door flew open.
“CHESTER!”
Medina rushed inside.
Klein right behind her.
They'd clearly run the entire way.
Sweat glistened on Medina's forehead.
The moment she saw Chester sitting there looking like a guilty criminal, she hurried over.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Then Klein noticed Lopez.
And froze.
Her damp hair clung to her forehead.
Her breathing was rough.
Her face was flushed crimson.
One hand was wrapped completely in bandages.
The color drained from Klein's face.
“Hey. What's wrong with her?”
His voice rose sharply.
“You look fine! So why does she look like that?!”
“While saving me...”
Chester's throat tightened.
The rest of the words wouldn't come out.
He lowered his head.
Meanwhile, Klein stared between Chester and Lopez.
Something inside his chest burned.
An ugly, uncomfortable feeling.
His stomach churned.
Was it anger?
Sadness?
Or helplessness because he hadn't been there?
He couldn't tell.
Medina turned anxiously toward Gale.
“T-Teacher... is Lopez okay?”
“Well, about that—”
Before Gale could answer—
A weak voice interrupted him.
“Please tell them... I'm perfectly healthy.”
Everyone turned.
Lopez's eyes were open.
Her voice was horribly hoarse.
At those words, both Chester's and Klein's expressions twisted as if they were about to cry.
Neither of them managed to speak.
Only their lips moved silently.
“...”
“And please add...”
Lopez sniffled loudly.
“Tell them all to hold hands and leave together.”
A line of mucus dangled embarrassingly from her nose before she sucked it back in.
The room instantly went silent.
Everyone froze.
No one even dared move.
Minutes passed.
Eventually, Lopez's breathing became slow and steady.
She had fallen asleep again.
Only then did Gale wave his hand.
“You should all go now. I'll take care of the rest.”
Nobody moved.
Not a single child.
Finally, Chester lifted his head.
His expression was completely serious.
“Teacher.”
“Yes?”
“I need treatment too.”
“...”
“So I'd like to stay here.”
The room fell silent once more.
