The cold snap roared in late Monday night, long after they were asleep. They’d gone to bed early after the guests left—in bed by nine, mutual s by ten, and lights out at ten-forty-five, snuggled in together in Seungwan's room—and when they woke up just before five, the temperature had dropped significantly.

Seungwan was thrilled when Joohyun agreed it was too cold to walk the five blocks to the bakery.

Joohyun still protested that it took longer for her car to warm up than it did to drive there, but at least she wasn’t exposed to the biting wind at five-thirty in the morning for longer than she needed to be. By mid-day, the weather had worsened.

Seungwan: Text me when you get home.

Joohyun: I’m already cozy under a blanket, working on my business plan for Q1. I forgot to tell you Bailey Patel had an interesting idea.

Seungwan: I’ll call you after our training meeting this afternoon.

But he didn’t get a chance to call her, because there were two calls back to back before dinner, a car accident that needed fire support and then a carbon monoxide alarm that wouldn’t stop going off in one of Purpletown's few low-slung apartment buildings.

“ty evening to need to evacuate,” Minsoo said.

It was the first thing they’d agreed on in days. Seungwan silently nodded. The volunteer fire brigade was called out to manage the residents, who were temporarily sheltered in the Community Hall basement. By the time they had cleared every apartment, it was nearly ten at night.

Seungwan didn’t even try to call Joohyun, he didn’t want to risk waking her up if she was already asleep.

None of them felt like cooking when they got back, so they all fended for whatever leftovers were easiest to grab. Then Minsoo and Yunho took the recliners, Changmin crashed on the couch, and Seungwan headed downstairs in search of his brother because Baekhyun was working the night shift.

He’d just hit the bottom of the stairs when the alarm sounded. Busy night, he thought as he headed to the garage. Shoes off, step into the boots. Pants up, suspenders over his shoulder. He turned up the radio strapped across his chest, then pulled on his protective hood, then his coat.

By the time he was dressed, the others were in their positions, too. Minsoo vaulted into the driver seat, no sign of the tired old man who’d wanted to rack out on the recliner just ten minutes earlier.

And when Minsoo pulled into the frigid night and asked dispatch for the address, Seungwan was damn glad for that professionalism.

“Pumper 2, this is a retail location. 221 Main Street. General alarm sounding inside a store. Name of the store is Bunny Bake Sale. I repeat, 221—”

Seungwan's blood ran cold. He shot a quick look at Changmin, who nodded back at him, then hit his radio button. “Dispatch, this is Pumper 2’s team lead. One of our firefighter is married to the owner of that building. We may need additional support. ETA in—”

She paused and Minsoo cut in. “Ninety seconds.”

“Understood, Pumper 2.”

The longest ninety seconds of Seungwan's life. It was a general alarm, triggered by the updated system he’d installed for Joohyun when she bought the place. It could be nothing, but if it wasn’t, she would be devastated.

Seungwan would be, too.

Riding backwards in the truck, he couldn’t see the store as they approached, but as soon as Minsoo stopped, Changmin was on the ground. “I’ll circle around to the back.”

Changmin nodded, then approached the front door. “Dispatch, this is Pumper 2. We’ve arrived on site at 221 Main. No signs visible and no one is seen nearby, can you relay more details?”

Seungwan held himself back from racing through the front door, knowing there was a procedure to follow and the best way to help Joohyun would be to follow it.

And he was damn glad his brother was on the radio frequency, too.

“Pumper 2, EMT supervisor is en route to the store owner’s residence and will notify, provide transport. Over.”

“Roger.” Changmi nodded at Seungwan. “Baekhyun's on it.”

From the back of the building, Changmin checked in. “No sign of smoke or heat. Possible false alarm. Should we wait for the owner?”<