Love Began with the First Meeting

But Edgar was not satisfied with Cain's response. He narrowed his eyes at somewhere near where he thought that the instructor was hiding. In these past few days, he'd learned something about Cain, and he wanted to use it to his advantage. Although this man acted as if he was kind and tender-hearted, he could always learn of others' weakness. He'd spent a long time studying psychology that the ability was almost like a superpower to him. It was unreal. Cain knew all of the students well, and he also knew Claire and Edgar well. He undoubtedly discovered everyone's weaknesses. A sophisticated mind reader like him would be a dangerous threat if he were on the enemy's side. Thankfully, he seemed to stand on their side. On their side, he would be an excellent trainer or military counselor for the army.

Without saying a word, Edgar took several steps forward in the darkness of the forest. Due to his outstanding training at night and in darkness, he could easily find Cain. Now, he stood in a short distance from Cain.

"Positioning your target by sound. Very impressive." Cain looked over at him with profuse admiration. "Particularly in such a dark and complicated forest at midnight. It seems to be a piece of cake for you. You deserve legendary fame in Eagle Special Brigade. Very remarkable.

"I never think a woman belongs to a man forever," Edgar said, completely ignoring Cain's high praises. He didn't much care of what his coworker had to say about his abilities. After a pause, he continued, "If the man ends up with a girl, he must have earned her heart." He paused again, and the look in his eyes became deeper, as if he were lost in a lake of thought. "I don't mind that some other man might try and flirt with her, talk to her, and attempt at having a relationship with her. Of course, he might fail. But..." He paused again, taking two more steps forward. Now there was no distance between himself and Cain. "I never allow anyone to hurt her," he finished, his voice like a feral animal's and full of threat and powerful might.

Cain simply gave him a light, tender smile, which was so gentle that almost made Edgar forget what he had done. "You and Maggie have made the same mistake," he told Edgar in a nonchalant voice. He paused in order to emphasize his words. "It's not right for you to have a wrong impression of me. That will only distort your judgment on how you see me." Then he leaned off the tree trunk and straightened, brushing the dirt off of his clothes. He was acting as if nothing happened at all."Well, I was planning to arrange a demanding and arduous training today. But since you've promised to her not to do that, I should probably save your face. Okay. Such laborious training will be cancelled today. Let's give them some time to relax." Then Cain smiled. "Instructor Edgar, let us go back. It's late." Edgar was about to say something but then nodded and followed Cain back to the instructors' dormitory. They walked in silence; only the sounds of their footsteps could be heard. Both men had a light smile. Neither of them had won their argument, but in a way, they felt like it didn't matter. Edgar, however, was still confused about Cain.

It felt like Cain was very mysterious, and that he wore layer upon layer of secrets. He had no idea what kind of person Cain was, nor did he know anything about his background.

Silence also consumed the rest of the night for Maggie. When she returned to her dormitory, she headed straight to bed, but she did not sleep well. After the exhausting physical training which lasted almost a month, everyone was tired and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows, and for the most part, they couldn't be woken up, even during emergencies. Tonight was extremely agog for her. She had an unforgettable experience with Edgar; what happened between them played in her mind over and over again as she held on to the feeling of Edgar in her heart. Besides, she had to make sure she would be ready if something happened suddenly.

So everyone but Maggie had a good sleep that night. Maggie was in constant tossing and turning.

*

In his room, Edgar was on the phone with William, his superior. "When did Cain's profile become top classified?"

William laughed. "I have never expected that you want to know about Cain." He sounded relaxed. Then he paused a little before speaking again. "You're interested in only a few people in the world. What happened to make you want to know about Cain?" Edgar sighed a bit. "Just out of curiosity. I found that he had a strong background. He must know lots of secrets."

"Just out of curiosity?" William paused. "I thought it would be because of Maggie." He paused again. "Your instinct is correct. He has a serious background. Although his social network doesn't exist in the country, we have recruited him with great efforts for the training. He is not a simple man."

Edgar frowned slightly. He had already known that. That was not what he wanted to hear from William, but it felt like William didn't want to tell him more. On the other hand, Edgar didn't want to be completely truthful to William either, so it was a standstill for them both. Edgar didn't feel like it was necessary to inform his superior that both he and Maggie felt disturbed by Cain.

After a long time, William finally broke the silence. "Edgar. Be honest and tell me, what's the purpose for this phone call?"

"Yes, sir!" he responded instinctively. "He pays a great amount of attention to Maggie, and it makes her uncomfortable, which makes me uncomfortable as well."

"So, you are worried that she might fall in love with him?" William snorted. Then he sobered and took on a serious tone. "She wouldn't. Don't worry. If she falls in love with another man, I will break her legs."

Edgar parted his lips in surprise. This conversation was not going in the direction he hoped it would go. Edgar inhaled and then exhaled slowly, thinking. Truthfully, he didn't worry about Maggie. He knew that she would not leave him for another-that was the good thing about her; she was the kind of girl who, after she chose her man, would not waver from him. She'd stay with him forever. He was more worried about Cain.

William realized that he had gone off on a tangent, and focused the conversation back on what Edgar had said. "Cain's being paying attention to Maggie, you say? Hmm...I thought of a reason as to why that could be just now. Your father and I went to Y Country when Maggie was about 3 or 4. At that time, we visited the family who had adopted Cain. He was about 11 or 12 when we visited."

His boss's reply made Edgar feel uneasy. Something must have happened back then. That would be why Cain seemed to pay Maggie a lot of attention.

"I guess he was lonely at that time when he lived overseas. So he saw Maggie as a very close friend. Maybe that's why she's so important to him." As mixed feeling haunted Edgar, William continued, "Hmm, it comes to mind that Maggie was so soft when she was little. I have never expected that she would grow up so manly." Then he stopped, wondering why his daughter turned out to be a tomboy. He frowned and his forehead line creased. "I think you played a key role," he told Edgar.

Ignoring William's blabbering, Edgar sighed, feeling sad at the thought of Maggie and Cain's first meeting when they were both younger. It sounded cheesy, but love at first sight was real, and Edgar was aware that it happened a lot in the world. That's why movies, TV shows, and books have the love at first sight plot as the main story element. Thinking more about Cain and Maggie, Edgar grew sulkier, feeling like there had to be something else that he didn't know. ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐