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Vincenzo had often wondered what, and where, was home.
While he had loved Italy with all his heart and soul, he had never forgotten Korea, never forgotten his mother, and a part of him had always yearned for his homeland ; the loneliness and the bullying, the way he had felt so out of place hadn’t helped either. That was why, when he had fled the country, that he had actually been hopeful to come back, and to maybe, finally, find a home. Except that it hadn’t been so simple, not only because there was still the bitterness heavy on his tongue whenever he thought of his mother, but also because the Geumga Plaza tenants were all so damn crazy and had clearly been wary, if not downright hostile, towards him; not that he could blame them. Still, it was hard to feel at home in a country he hadn’t grown up in, and hard to imagine staying in a place that seemed so set on making him leave.
That was, of course, without counting on Hong Cha Young, the woman that shone brighter than the sun and shouted louder than fireworks.
At first, the Italian man had dismissed her like everyone else. Not interested in knowing Hong Yoo Chan’s daughter, he had decided to simply ignore her. At best, he had thought, she would simply be some annoying acquaintance, that he would let be, if only out of respect for the older lawyer. At worst, she’d become the enemy, working for the very corporation that was trying to get the plaza -and while not being aware of it, his gold as well- in its greedy clutches.
But her father’s death at changed many things, and the two of them had ended up working together, fuelled by hatred and spite. The consigliere had to admit, he’d been impressed by her will to get her hands dirty for the sake of revenge ; and just like this, from shy embers to a blazing flame, a true relationship had flared to life. They were now working, eating, even bantering and laughing together -and Vincenzo couldn’t remember being able to smile so much before meeting her.
Despite this, he’d always try to keep a respectable distance -both physically and emotionally- between his fiery partner and himself, because while she was certainly not a saint, they came from a very, very different world, and the consigliere’s last wish was to drag her into his. The keyword, however, was try.
Because before he knew it, she’d wormed her way into his heart. His eyes would absent-mindedly scan crowds until they’d spot the now familiar crown of her hair, his hands would naturally find her shoulders and the small of her back like they had always belonged here.
So yes, Vincenzo does know he’s completely whipped for Hong Cha Young. There's nothing so surprising with that fact, it appears.
Because there’s no other way to explain the fondness warming his cheeks and the smile on his face as he watches her lay her weight heavily on the shoplifter she’d just tackled, his hand curling tighter on the purse she’d thrown at him before dashing after the criminal.
“You thought no one would be fast enough for you, huh ? Well think again,” she hisses victoriously as the robbed shop owner finally manages to catch up to them, red and panting.
The shoplifter trashes around, trying desperately to get free and throw the lawyer aside ; just as he gets one of his hands free and attempts to push himself up, it immediately gets stomped on nonchalantly by Vincenzo.
Hong Cha Young looks up at his partner to grin, and he mirrors her expression.
« Nice job, » he compliments.
She snickers. « Running in heels should be made an Olympic game. Imagine all the medals I’d get. »
Thankfully, the police officers arrive soon enough – and a few glares as well as some minutes of arguing are enough for the duo to be allowed to go without having to follow the officers to the police station.
As they resume their walk to Vincenzo’s car, Cha Young suddenly turns around.
« There’s a new coffee shop that opened, not far from my place. I’m craving some sewage waste, want to go and try it out ? »
« Sure, » he agrees, and he once again can’t help but smile at the nickname that had stuck to the beverage ever since that day.
The building, to its credit, looks cosy. It seems popular already, judging by the soft chatters that echo around them when they walk in, yet the atmosphere is refreshing and elegant. They find a spot in the corner, by a large bay window, and Vincenzo sits against the wall so he can have an overview of the room.
“Would you look at that,” Cha Young gushes as she reads the menu, “They have a different specialty each week.”
She throws a meaningful glance at Vincenzo, and he pretends to roll his eyes.
“Let’s try one first before deciding to go back here and eat everything on the menu.”
She accepts easily, snorting, and they wait in comfortable silence before the waitress who had taken their order comes back with their drinks and the cake Cha Young had asked for.
“You never order anything to eat, do you?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.
“I’m don’t really have a sweet tooth,” he explains, while hiding a smile behind his cup at the delighted expression she makes when she takes a first bite of her cheesecake.
“Woah, seriously,” she shakes her head at him with faked exasperation. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”
“I’m sure I don’t.”
“Oh, by the way! Did Mr Nam tell you about his latest blind date-“
They keep on talking about everything and nothing for a while, enjoying the light atmosphere and the fact that there is no serious matter to be discussed- which has become quite rare, with the last few weeks they’ve had. Soon, too soon, the sky turns gold as night starts to fall.
“This was nice, right?” Cha Young asks when they exit the café, stretching her arms with an almost feline grace. “We should come back here more often, and maybe bring Mr Nam with us next time.”
Vincenzo snorts softly. “You just want to try out all of their cakes.”
She wiggles her eyebrows - then pauses to look around, before turning back to Vincenzo.
“You should go home,” she tells him. “My house isn’t far from here.”
The problem, he realizes, is that he doesn’t want to leave her now. While his brain is telling him that the most logic course of action is to take the car and drive home right away, his heart is screaming at him to find an excuse and stay a bit longer with her.
“I’ll go with you,” his mouth blurts out on its own accord, “I need to run some errands at the shop near your place anyway. It’s in the same direction.”
She blinks at him, but accepts, and he inwardly curses at himself for the way warmth spreads through his body as they walk once more side to side.
“See you tomorrow, Ms Hong,” he tells her when they reach the iron gate, and turns to walk the way back to his car.
“Mr Cassano!” she calls out, and he whips his head in her direction.
He can tell she’s laughing, and the sight, while far from unpleasant, slightly confuses him until she continues with a teasing voice, “What about your errands?“
He suddenly feels hot as embarrassment rush to his cheeks, and he turns around to walk the opposite way.
“It slipped my mind,” he tries to justify himself, but he can see in the way Cha Young raise a mocking eyebrow that she does not believe him the slightest.
“Of course. Have fun with your little shopping trip,” she taunts him before waving at him and going inside.
The shame Vincenzo feels at being caught is great enough that he actually ends up going to that shop, if only for his dignity’s sake.
After that day, it becomes a routine : whenever they’re not too busy, they’ll stop by the café, chat for an hour or two before Vincenzo inevitably finds an excuse to walk her home. He knows that Cha Young is perfectly aware of what he’s doing, but he’s immensely grateful that she never says anything more than a teasing comment - even when he slips.
“I thought you needed to buy instant coffee?”
“I- Yes ?”
“Pff- you’re not going in the good direction, Mr Cassano.”
And yet, despite the absurdity of it all, the two of them keep playing this little game ; and the consigliere is more than happy not to have to dwell on the weird feelings that seem to be reigning over him nowadays.
It all changes, however, on a sunny Wednesday afternoon, when he’s running a bit late to their casual meeting (because there’s no way he’s going to call that a coffee date).
As he steps inside, his eyes flicker to their usual spot in the corner, looking for Hong Cha-Young. The little smile that appears when he spots her freezes as soon as he realizes that she’s not alone. She’s already sitting, but there’s a man standing next to her, a huge smile on his face as he makes her laugh about something.
While he’s mostly curious about the man’s identity, Vincenzo is painfully aware of the ugly, burning feeling that rise in his throat at the sight. But he’s a man of manners, so he pushes the unfamiliar emotion away and walks up to them.
Cha Young’s face lightens up even more when she notices him, which is an oddly soothing sight, and the stranger sends him a surprised but not unfriendly smile.
“Oh, I didn’t know you were waiting for someone, Ms Hong,” he says with a nod to Vincenzo, that the consigliere returns. “I apologize, I’ll leave you two be. Have a good day.”
With that, the man is gone like a breeze, and the two lawyers find themselves alone.
“Who was it?” he can’t help but ask as he sits down in front of her, glancing at the door where he watches the stranger leave.
“I don’t even know,” she shrugs in amusement, and at his curious expression she elaborates, “he asked for my number.”
“Oh,” is all that the Italian man manages to get out, hating the way the annoying burning in his chest comes back in full force at the words.
Unaware of his inner turmoil, she continues with a chuckle, “I said no, of course. He’s nice, but the poor boy has no idea what he’d get into.”
The jealousy- because there’s no other way to name it, Vincenzo knows that- seems to finally settle down and it suddenly feels a lot easier to breathe.
“He wouldn’t be able to handle you,” he chuckles , and she snorts in agreement.
They order their usual drinks, with a lemon pie for Cha Young. Using her spoon, she waves a bit of it menacingly at Vincenzo.
“One day,” she announces, and he’s not sure whether it’s a promise or a threat, “I’ll have you taste one of those. You can’t just keep living on black coffee and wine.”
Their soft bickering continues after that, yet Vincenzo’s treacherous mind keeps taking him back to that scene a few minutes earlier, the sight of his partner and that stranger tattooed in his mind ; as much as he tries to shake it out, the mental picture won’t budge, and his thoughts inevitably circle back to the subject. Because it would have to happen eventually, wouldn’t it? Cha Young would have to life her own life once he’d leave Korea, and she would eventually find someone to settle with- someone that wasn’t him. He knows that, had known since the start, so why was it bothering him so much now?
Did he really have to leave Korea? To leave her?
“Earth to Vincenzo Cassano?” the female lawyer calls out, snapping him out of his thoughts.
“I’m sorry. You were saying?”
Hong Cha Young sends him a concerned look. “What’s troubling you?”
Knowing that she won’t let him off if he attempts to evade the question, he opts for a half truth.
“I heard from Luca, earlier today. It seems like there’s some trouble brewing in the Cassano family.”
While it was true, it wasn’t actually worrying him that much since he knew how his adopted brother was- but the answer, at least, seems to satisfy his partner.
“Aish,” she mutters, wrinkling her nose exaggeratedly in a manner that he can’t help but find endearing. “What did he do this time?”
He smiles. “Who knows. Hopefully, it doesn’t concern me.”
When they leave the building, as always, Vincenzo hesitates. His car is parked at its usual spot, but once again he doesn’t feel like leaving her so soon. The feeling is stronger than ever, with him still disturbed by his earlier thoughts and realizations, and for once he decides to be honest with himself.
“I’ll walk you home,” he tells her, and blinks when she sends him a strange look, faltering in her steps. “What is it?”
“That’s the first time you’re not trying to find some excuse to walk with me,” she explains bluntly, sounding surprised yet pleased.
“Maybe I just wanted to walk with you, without needing a reason,” he finally admits, feeling a rush of embarrassment as soon as the words leave his mouth, but he doesn’t regret them. Because he’s tired of looking for excuses, of acting like he doesn’t care, of ignoring the way she’s making him feel alive and complete.
He’s tired of hiding.
Taken aback, Hong Cha Young parts her lips as if to speak, before finally settling for a smile. She links her arm with Vincenzo’s and resumes walking, dragging him with her for a few seconds before he matches his rhythm to hers.
“Good. I prefer when it has no reason,” she hums, and the peculiar wording rings a distant bell somewhere in his memories, without him being able to put the finger on it ; though it might be because he’s suddenly distracted by the feeling of her fingers against his arm.
He makes no move to remove them, and they walk the few minutes that separate the cafe and her home with light conversations, both inwardly basking in the other’s touch. They make the way to her home far too quickly for Vincenzo’s taste, and his partner visibly feels the same since they start slowing down, first barely enough to notice but then gradually stalling to the point that they end up visibly dragging their feet for the last steps.
They stop in front of her portal, and Cha Young removes her hand from Vincenzo’s arms with an agonizing slowness, as both wait for the other to speak. They lock eyes, and the silence suddenly gets heavier.
He should leave, he realizes as his heart pounds. That’s what he was supposed to do from the start, what would be the better option for the two of them. Leaving Korea. Leaving her.
But god, he wants to stay so badly.
“Can I kiss you?” he murmurs instead, afraid of ruining the moment if he dares speak any louder.
She blinks, and he’s now hyperaware of the length of her eyelashes, of the plumpness of her lips.
“I thought you’d never ask,” she answers in the same tone, and then she’s cupping his cheeks in her hands and standing on her toes and-
Vincenzo sighs in happiness and relief as he all but melts into her touch, deepening the kiss and holding her closer. The moment seems to last an eternity yet only a handful of seconds, as they press themselves together, desperate for more contact. She tastes like lemon and sugar and it’s the most wonderful flavour in the world. Even when they break the kiss, they don’t part right away, noses brushing against each other and as they soak in the bliss of the moment.
“Will you stay a little longer?” she breathes, almost a plea.
“Of course. I’ll stay as long as you want,” he promises, and she hums in satisfaction before kissing him again.
He was wrong earlier, he realizes. Hong Cha Young shouldn’t be compared to the sun ; rather, she’s his North Star, the compass that guides him, gives him a goal and a destination, even in the darkest of nights. And Vincenzo? With her, he’s finally home.
The next time they go to the café, he orders a lemon pie and explains to a puzzled Hong Cha Young he's suddenly craving the taste of it.
(And, well, if he kisses her after that, she’s certainly not going to complain.)