The Black Swan Behind

277 Killing Myself

Levi looked at Emma with a stunned face. The girl just smiled and returned her eyes to the big screen in front of them. It was a meaningful answer that was used to answer two questions at once. She was smart and warm.

Levi couldn’t contain his feelings. For him, Emma was like a portal that allowed him to enter another dimension that was so much different from the world in which he was born and lived. In the world that Emma offered him, everything looked beautiful and felt warm.

He put his hand next to Emma, making her look at him questioningly. “Instead of screaming, maybe you can crush my hand when you’re startled,”

Emma couldn’t keep her amused smile from expanding. She sighed quickly as she placed her hand on top of Levi’s large, comfy warm hand. Then, their fingers intertwined.

“I’m really going to break your hand, Levi. I’m not kidding. You should know that,” Emma said.

Levi nodded with a faint smile. “I can take it,”

‘I’d better feel you break my hand first before you do it to my heart,’ He continued inwardly.

After two and a half hours, the movie the two of them were watching ended. Emma and Levi stepped out of the theatre with smiling faces. It was a good movie, but what made the two of them feel even better was the atmosphere that enveloped them.

“You did break my hand,” Levi said while looking at his hand which was red from being squeezed by Emma throughout the movie.

.....

“At least I didn’t embarrass you for shouting so loudly, did I?” Emma replied without any guilt on her face.

“In getting one thing, you have to sacrifice other things. For the sake of not getting embarrassed, I’m willing to put my hand in torture. That’s acceptable.” Levi said with a straight face.

The location of cinema that Emma and Levi visited was in a large mall in Handway City. After they finished watching, they continued to have lunch at a restaurant in the same mall.

“Order whatever you like. It’s on me this time.” Levi said while winking and handing the menu book to Emma who was sitting in front of him.

Emma smiled faintly. “Sure, if you say so. But, you know what; I’m the type of person who likes to order a lot of food even though I can’t finish it,”

Levi shook his head. “I’ll spend on you. You gave me such a nice day. Little thing like this is nothing to me,”

“You’re getting better at talking, Levi. Well... Let’s see what they have,” Emma muttered as she stared at the menu book.

Emma never joked with her words. When she said she was going to order a lot of food, she really did.

“That’s quite a lot,” Levi said when all their orders came. He looked at their dining table which was full of various types of food.

“Didn’t I tell you?” Emma chuckled.

“I know. Let’s eat,” Levi nodded.

“Gosh... This is delicious.” Emma’s eyes widened at the first bite.

Seeing Emma’s reaction, Levi smiled warmly. “I brought you here on purpose. This sushi restaurant has its own history in my life.”

“Really? Is that a fun story?” Emma looked interested.

“Rather than fun, maybe a little sad,” He replied while staring at his food.

Emma could see that sad smile. Levi was a man full of wounds. Even though he always covered his wounds so no one else could see, Emma would still understand him.

“If you want to tell me, you know I’m ready to listen,” Emma said while chewing her sushi.

Levi smiled faintly at her, then took a deep breath, “This restaurant was the place where I spent all the money I’ve saved over the years, just for a single dinner. In this place, I laughed with my mother and Lukas. It was the first time we had a fine meal.”

“Oh...” Emma looked sorry, then she cleared her throat and smiled, “But, at least you guys can enjoy a more comfortable life now. That’s a relief, isn’t it? Sometimes, we do have to go through hard times so we can appreciate what we have right now. ”

“You are right,” Levi answered. “Emma, ??have you ever loved someone?”

Levi’s question made Emma choke.

Levi rushed to give her a drink. “Sorry. Are you all right?”

Emma shook her head with the rest of her coughing. “I’m fine,”

After pushing all the food down her throat with a few gulps of water, Emma was finally able to answer the question that had somehow taken her by surprise. “The only person I love in this world is my mom. The second one is myself.”

“Oh,” Levi nodded, “So you’ve never loved anyone, have you,” he muttered.

Emma nodded. “It seems I’ve been too busy with myself. However, I realized that I’m not the type of person who will easily fall in love with someone.”

“Is there a reason for that?” Levi asked.

“Loving someone is a big thing. A person can do many things beyond her sane when she loves someone. Therefore, I will be very careful in putting my feeling,” Emma explained and responded with a nod of understanding from Levi.

“Why do you ask?” Emma asked after clearing her throat.

“First, I wanted to ask you; what would you do if you were faced with two different loves,” Levi replied.

“Huh? Two loves?” Emma repeated. Then she looked deeply at him. “Do you mean, you love two persons?”

“More or less,” Levi answered. “Am I selfish?”

Emma blinked a few times, then shook her head slowly. “I don’t think so. You can’t control your feelings – who and how many people you fall in love with. I think as long as you’re not hurting anyone, then it’s fine.”

‘I hate to think like this. But, Levi, I hope one of those persons isn’t me.’ Emma said inwardly.

Levi smiled faintly. “You think so? That’s a relief...”

“Faced with two choices is hard. But, of course, you can’t be selfish by taking both, right? You see what I mean, don’t you, Levi? Especially when it is... about women,”

The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds in silence, until Levi nodded with a small laugh. Then he took a piece of sashimi and placed it on the small empty plate in front of Emma. ?”Try this one. To me, this is the most delicious dish here.”

“T-thank you,” Emma said.

While chewing, Emma silently looked at Levi with various questions in her head. What actually happened to him? Was it true that Levi loved two women at once? Was Emma one of them? Why was that man so mysterious?

‘Geez... You don’t have to think about it, Emma. It’s none of your business. It’s best if you don’t take bother about anything related to Levi. You will only lose yourself.’

“Eating at a sushi restaurant like this reminds me of a place I went to when I first moved to this city,” Emma said to open a new conversation.

“It does? What is that place?”

“It’s a sushi shop on a street called Jen Marrie.”

Emma’s answer made Levi’s brow furrow. “Why did you come there?”

“You know that street?” Emma raised her eyebrows.

Levi nodded once. “I’ve heard of that street. You shouldn’t be there.” then he looked at Emma suspiciously, “Don’t tell me, you still go there often now?”

“Hey, I didn’t say I go there often, did I?” She replied with a chuckle. “I’ve never been there again. As you said, I shouldn’t have been.”

“Did something happen to you at that time?” Levi’s face turned serious.

“Actually, it’s a long story. But when I first visited the street, suddenly, a gangster battle occurred and I was caught in the middle of it. At that time, my friends and I were chased by some men. But luckily, we managed to escape.” Emma explained.

Emma’s story made Levi massage the bridge of his nose. He tried to catch his breath, then looked at her. “Emma, ??listen to me. You have to avoid things like that. Maybe you don’t realize it, but in this city, a lot of crime can happen.”

“I know. But I can take care of myself. You don’t have to worry about me,” Emma replied lightly before taking another bite of her food.

“No, Emma. I mean what I say. You have to be very careful. Avoid places like Jen Marrie Street. Avoid wandering around at night. If you see men in groups, you should stay away from them. Don’t bring expensive stuff when travelling alone.”

“Wow... Looks like I’ll have to use a note to write that all down,” Emma laughed.

“I’m not kidding, Emma.” Levi glared at her.

“Okay, okay. I know you’re worried. I also know that this city isn’t safe. But I’m also serious about saying that I can take care of myself.”

Levi snorted in annoyance. Besides being stubborn, this girl also underestimated everything. “Emma,”

“Yes?”

“If something happens, you should call me. Don’t rely on anyone else, let alone yourself.” Levi said.

Emma smiled amusedly. “Are you the police chief or something?”

“Stop kidding, Emma. I’ll definitely come right away if you need me. Compared to anyone, I guarantee you; I’ll be the first to come for you. And I’ll be the one you can rely on the most. Trust me.”

“O-okay,” Emma answered with a slightly uncomfortable gesture because he talked as if Emma was very important to him. In fact, they had promised to be just friends.

“Can you promise me to do that, Emma? I might kill myself if anything happened to you.” Levi said with a serious face.