The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

60 Emma’s thoughts

A faint noise made Emma slow her pace. Then, her head darted around, looking for the source of the sound. Until she found the noise getting clearer as she approached an entrance to a narrow alley.

Emma stopped in her tracks and thought in surprise, “Not on campus or on the streets. Why are there so many things like this?” she muttered to herself.

Actually, Emma had no intention of interfering in what she was about to see. But as usual, out of curiosity, Emma planned to peek into the alley to see the source of the sound.

When Emma poked her head in, she was quite surprised to see that the person who was being beaten was a man Roger meet earlier. Although she felt pity and empathy for him, Emma still had no intention of interfering in the matter she was seeing.

The man who was a former member of Hell Gate was being pushed around by two men of the same size as him. Both men wore black suits with tattooed necks and backhands. Rather than bullying, they looked more like they were forcing the man to open his mouth.

Surely this was nothing more than a crossroads between gangs groups. It just so happened that the man met another member of a gangster group. Even though he had left the Hell Gate group, the tattoo embedded in his skin still gave the impression that he was an enemy.

“Interesting show, isn’t it?”

Emma gasped and immediately turned around. Behind her, stood a man who she thought didn’t recognize her before.

“P-PB?” Emma muttered.

.....

“Emma Hilland. Do you like the show?” He smiled in a low voice.

Emma shook her head, “I just happened to be passing by. I’m going to the bus stop.” she lowered her voice too.

PB glanced into the narrow alley, then put his index finger to his lips, “We better move from here,” Then, Emma complied, and they walked away from the commotion.

“What are you doing in this area alone?” Asked PB.

“I was going to eat at the chicken tavern that time. But suddenly, I changed my mind about eating crab soup, so I went to the earlier tavern.” Emma lied.

PB nodded, “Then, why did you act like you didn’t recognize me?” he chuckled.

“Oh.. that...” Emma laughed awkwardly, “Honestly, I’m ashamed of you because I look ridiculous like this. Haha,”

PB laughed too, “Well.. Your style is a bit quirky today. But it’s okay if you think it’s good. You have to wear what you like, not what other people like.”

“You have a point.” Emma nodded. “Um.. By the way, do you know what happened in the alley just now? I think you’re quite familiar with this area, since your grandmother has a tavern here.”

PB nodded slightly as he thought, “Well.. Come to think of it, I do know this area quite well.”

“Those are.. a group that has been wandering in this area for a long time. Even though they look scary, they never bother the locals. The man who was beaten earlier.. seems to be a member of a group that once clashed with a group that already held this area. Actually, the story is quite too long. I don’t really understand either..” The man continued.

“Hem.. the gangster things again, huh? Groups like that are really troublesome. I think it’s better if there are no gangsters at all.” Emma said.

“Is that so?”

“Hmm,” Emma nodded, “They are a group that always hurt other people. Even if they do good things, I know they will usually ask for something in return. In fact, if they weren’t around, everyone would be fine. They just act like people need them.”

PB lowered his gaze to his shoes that have colour contrasted with the white of the snow. He smiled faintly then nodded, “You’re right. I also think they shouldn’t exist.” Then he raised his head, “Anyway, How’s your friend? She was unconscious for quite a while. Her head must be really sore when she woke up.”

“Kathy? She’s fine. As soon as she got home, she played the PC games until morning.” Emma smiled to herself, shaking her head slightly.

“Looks like you really love your friends, huh,” PB said.

Emma shrugged, “I think so.”

Imperceptibly, they had arrived at the bus stop. Emma looked at PB while chuckling softly, “You actually walk me here.. Haha..”

PB smiled, “I am wanted to walk you here. I thought maybe you felt insecure after seeing what happened earlier.”

Emma shook her head, “Thanks for worrying about me. Oh.. The bus is coming,” Said her when she realized a large white and blue bus was heading towards her stop, from a bend in the main road.

“Be careful on the way. Soon, the sky will get dark. You know the road conditions are pretty deserted lately because the air is very cold.”

“Okay. Thanks for the warning. I got to go now, okay? Nice to meet you here,” Emma said.

The bus finally arrived at the bus stop, and Emma waited for the other passengers to get off before getting on the bus. Unexpectedly, many passengers got off at the stop.

“Oh, right.. Can I ask you something for help?” Emma asked hastily.

PB raised his eyebrows, “Sure.”

“About today you met me. Can you not talk to anyone about it? I.. just feel ashamed if a rumour spreads that I’m hanging around in clothes like this.” Emma laughed uncomfortably while scratching the back of her head that wasn’t itchy.

Actually, Emma just used her clothes as an excuse. The girl never cared what people said about her dress style. Not to brag, but many people did say that whatever clothes Emma wears will look good.

The real reason was, Emma didn’t want the news of her whereabouts at the tavern to spread, for fear that the news would reach Roger’s ears. If that happened, Roger would surely know that Emma was stalking him.

Hearing Emma’s request, PB immediately chuckled, “I won’t say it.” He promised by raising his little finger.

Emma let out a sigh of relief. From the way the man spoke, he didn’t seem like the big-mouthed type of guy, even though he was always surrounded by girls. Therefore, Emma’s heart could feel at ease because PB had promised.

Finally, no more passengers were seen getting off the bus. Emma immediately climbed the stairs of the bus while taking out her wallet to tap it on the payment machine because there was an electronic card for public transportation in her wallet.

Before the bus door closed, PB stepped closer and held the door. Emma looked questioningly at PB, “What’s wrong?”, she just gave the lips movements.

PB shook his head with a faint smile, “Don’t be bothered by what people think about your dress style. Your style isn’t bad. Well.. even though it looks like someone in disguise. But, I like the uniqueness.” He winked as he removed his hand from the bus door which immediately closed.

Emma was still standing near the bus entrance with her eyes twinkling. PB’s words of encouragement made an imprint on her heart. Nope.. actually it wasn’t his encouraging content that made Emma think hard. However, what did that guy mean when he said Emma looked like someone in disguise?

‘He.. Can’t possibly know anything about me, right?’ Emma thought in her mind.

***

The white light from the cellphone illuminates the face which was still pretty glowing without makeup. A face with a perfect composition. The skin was as smooth as silk and as fresh as morning dew. However, a look of great difficulty appeared on the face that had a beauty that overcame the charm of the shining brightly moon.

Emma stared at the calendar app on her phone screen. The clock showed 11:59 pm, then changed to 00.00. Indicated the day had changed. Friday to Saturday. Yes.. It’s Saturday. Because of that, Emma was unable to close her eyes to fall asleep.

Was it proper for someone with a high ego like Emma to be afraid? Emma was ashamed of herself.

More than fifty men and the strongest two were said to be able to break your spine in a single blow. Had Emma had too much fun with the girls’ world that she’s not as mentally strong as she used to be?

Emma sighed loudly then put down her hand that was holding the cellphone to the side until it was bouncing on the bed. Now, her beautiful face was facing the full moon which could be seen very clearly from the large window of her room which she deliberately did not cover with curtains. She allowed the moonlight to accompany her at night and the sunlight to wake her up when the morning came.

Emma was confident that she was strong. As Jonas said, whatever we face, we must believe that we are the winners.

But now, there was no Jonas who would hold Emma’s back when the girl was kicked and bounced back. She was completely alone.

A smile appeared on Emma’s face, “I think, this is what Calvin has been feeling all this time. Calvin is right, just like him, now I am willing to defy death because the person I care about is hurt by those bastards.” she muttered.

Previously, Emma couldn’t understand why Calvin was fighting the gangsters like he was now. Even at one point, Emma had thought that the guy was just stupid. But now, it felt like Emma was going to bury her face in the sand. She was very embarrassed because she thought Calvin Lee was weird.

In her life, Emma had never really cared about other people. Maybe because she was never close to anyone, not even her own family members, except Jonas. But all this time, it was Jonas who always protected Emma. The man was very strong and independent. It was as if he was a God who didn’t need anyone’s help.

But in this new place, in this new world, Emma found people who forced her soul and conscience to move. The people who made her feel affection, but were just ordinary people with many flaws. They were not a perfect person like Jonas. Because of that, this was the first time for Emma to feel such a wave of burning anger. Felt what it feels like when the person she cared about was hurt.

After learning the information from the results of stalking Roger and Poppy, Emma began to train hard at home. She continued to practice early in the morning before leaving for lecture and when she came home from campus to the night.