The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

Calvin nodded, “We’ll talk about a strategy to attack their base and knock out the leader.”

“Oh.. When are you going to do that?” Emma asked as calmly as possible.

“As for that, we’ll talk about it tonight.” Then, Calvin glanced at Emma and smiled gently. His hand unconsciously moved and stroked her head affectionately, “Don’t worry about it, Emma..”

Emma was surprised because Calvin suddenly stroked her head like a puppy. The crazier thing was, Emma even seemed to turn into a statue with her eyes kept staring at Calvin who was still focused on the road.

“Gosh! I-I’m so sorry, Emma! I don’t know what got into me..” Calvin said quickly as he pulled his hand back. His face instantly turned red from being so embarrassed.

‘IDIOT! What were you doing, Calvin?! Have you lost your mind?!’ Calvin scolded in the heart. It felt like he wanted to cut off his own hand that was like possessed, that it moved on its own without being ordered.

Emma, ??who was still shocked and confused, couldn’t say anything. Either she should feel humiliated or nostalgic. Finally, she remembered her mother and father who rubbed her head like a puppy when she was little. And suddenly, Calvin did that to her just now.

Calvin’s stupid behaviour just now made the atmosphere in the car awkward. Even the Jazz music that was playing seemed useless. Even though it was cold, Calvin’s back was already covered with sweat. He had apologized several times, but Emma just kept quiet. This frightened Calvin, made him begin to think too far. He knew Emma was the type of a girl who was hard to trust and feel uncomfortable with men.

.....

‘Looks like this will be the last time I get to interact with Emma. Because, after this, Emma will definitely stay away from me. I really like a pervert! How could I be this stupid?!’ Calvin cried in the heart.

“I.. I don’t know what was got into me, Emma. But I’m really sorry. If you allow it, I will do whatever it takes to let you know that I didn’t mean to act rude like earlier..” Calvin said again carefully. It was his last resort before accepting the fact that he would no longer be friends with Emma.

Honestly, let alone dating, Emma never had romantic physical contact with the opposite sex. Calvin’s actions took Emma by surprise and forced her to think hard. She considered whether the action was acceptable to her or not. But after being silent for a while, Emma finally decided one thing..

“I’m not mad. I’m.. just confused.” Emma finally replied. Calvin looked straight at her and pulled the car over.

“It might sound weird, but to be honest, I’ve never dated any man in my life. My parents’ strict protection made me very rigid in my mindset towards relationships with men. I told you before, didn’t I? That I have trouble socializing? This is one example of severe cases..” Emma continued by looking at the man beside her with a sad look.

“I swear I won’t do it again if you mind, Emma. Just like you, I’ve never touched a girl. That one earlier.. I don’t know why my hand moved on its own. But I’m really scared to make you angry. I don’t want you to stay away from me because of my stupidity. I’m really sorry.” Calvin apologized quickly.

“No, Calvin. I won’t be mad at you. Even though it feels strange to me, I’ll get used to this sort of thing.” Emma answered. Then, she smiled gently, “I feel lucky that you were the first man to do this for me. You are the most polite man I have ever met. It’s just a head stoke after all.”

Calvin’s eyes lit up with joy. His face looked so relieved at Emma’s reply, as if he could breathe again, “Thanks, Emma. I meant what I said. Thank you very much.”

Emma laughed lightly, “There’s no need to go overboard like that, Calvin. You’re just stroking my head, right? I think other people will think that I’m a very boring girl for bothering about my head being stroked by a guy. Actually, this is really embarrassing..” she shook her head with a flushed face.

“Emma, ??you don’t have to normalize something that makes you feel uncomfortable, just because everyone thinks it’s normal,” Calvin replied. “All men should respect women with all their choices. If a woman has said that she doesn’t want to be touched, then the man should keep his hand away from her. No matter where, even if it’s the ends of her hair.” the man continued.

Emma smiled gently at Calvin’s words. Again, he made her chuckle in admiration, “If all men were like you, there would be no such thing as harassment of women in this world.” she said. Then, Emma looked down at the road ahead and pointed at the windshield. “Maybe we can walk again. I was afraid you’d be late for your meeting.” she continued with a slight laugh.

“Gosh.. You’re right,” Calvin replied by putting the car’s handbrake off and stepping on the gas pedal. The atmosphere was so tense that he forgot he was pulling the car over.

“By the way.. About the mysterious man you told me about, do you know who he is?” Emma asked after clearing her throat.

“Oh.. That man.. You still remember him, huh? Haha..” Calvin answered. Then he sighed softly, “Yesterday, we met him by chance, even joined the fight and talked to him. However, until this moment, we still don’t know the identity of that man.” he explained.

“Then, what are you guys going to do? Are you guys still going to find out who he is?” Emma asked again.

“If that’s possible, of course, we’d like to know. But apparently, the man doesn’t want to reveal his identity. His voice even sounds like he’s using a voice changer. At least, we’re pretty sure he doesn’t have any malicious intent.”

“Is that so?”

Calvin nodded, “That day, we found him fighting dozens of men at the Hell Gate group’s headquarters alone. He was even nearly wiped out by the strongest man there. He did that all just to save the many girls who were kidnapped in the base. Maybe it was too soon to judge him. But I admit he is very strong.”

Emma couldn’t help but put a smile on her lips. Although indirectly, but wasn’t that a compliment showed for her? Because, Emma was the person behind the black helmet. Emma was the strong man Calvin told about. She felt very proud of herself.

“You seem to like such a strong and brave man.. Erhm.. If I may let you know, I also tried to get rid of the gangsters and have helped quite of people who were extorted by them..” Calvin said jokingly after noticing Emma who seemed to be smiling alone.

“Haha.. What are you saying, Calvin? All men will look cool if they have a good heart and don’t hurt women. But to be honest, I actually admire the mysteriousness of that man. Because, living while hiding big things from other people must be very hard.”

“The only thing we know about him is, he refers to himself as Black. If he does have the same goals as us, I really hope we can cooperate in destroying the gangsters in Handway City. But apparently, he wants to move on his own.” Calvin explained.

Emma looked at the man beside her who was talking with a low sigh. There was a look of disappointment on his face that made Emma feel a little guilty, “He must have his reasons for doing that, Calvin. I’m sure no one wants to fight alone in such a tough world. After all, you have to respect his will, right?”

Calvin nodded, “You talk like you’re in the same position as Black. But you’re right, Emma. I have to understand and respect it.”

***

A man with a thin messy beard on his face was standing next to a hospital bed. On the bed, there was another man who had woken up from his brief coma who could only keep his head down with shaking shoulders.

“If you weren’t playing with us, none of this would have happened.” Ron’s voice sounded very cold. The man on the bed still didn’t answer. He forced him to sit up and removed the oxygen mask on his nose just only by his appearance from behind the door.

“I.. I’m really sorry!” Said the man in a hoarse and weak voice. His head was a little dizzy from forcing himself to sit up. But he was that scared.

“You’re Donny, right? Even though I’m not smart, my memory is good enough to remember hundreds of members of my own group. Unfortunately... knowing them doesn’t mean knowing what they’re doing behind my back.” Ron hissed.

“I.. I didn’t know it would turn out like this, Boss. I only used my girlfriend. I didn’t know she had such a strong acquaintance. If I had known, I would have never involved her in this work in the first place..” He explained with the head more lowered.

Hearing Donny’s words, Ron stepped closer to him and sat on the side of his bed.