Chapter Text
It’s been more than a week since the Jipuragi lawyers were last seen in the plaza. The happiness and excitement that the tenants felt had wound down, and life returned back to normal. Miri found herself depressed and unstimulated from the lack of crumbs and so she turned to the other ladies for help.
Miri was seated at one of the tables, across from Yeon Jin, while Hee Soo was busy in her kitchen preparing the snacks for the girls.
“We haven’t heard from either of them for a while now and I’m a little depressed. The rest of the tenants, including the both of you, have resumed their lives and I feel like I’m the only one rooting for the two of them.”
“Miri-a, we’re still rooting for the two of them, always will, but both of them are busy right now so there is not much to talk about. We know they are in a relationship, and that’s good enough for us.”
“But…what if they’re not? What if we just imagined it all? What if we wanted them to be together so badly that we interpreted what we’ve been seeing as something romantic? What if the two of them are just friends or they just work really well together?”
Hee-Soo walked towards them from the kitchen, carrying bowls filled with jjajangmyeon. Setting the bowl of noodles on the table she said, “Miri-a, I don’t think we are imagining things. They are close. Whether there is something romantic or professional going on, I am already happy that the two of them found each other. And I can tell that the two of them are happier with the other’s company. That is good enough for me.”
Hee-Soo took Miri’s hand and said, “We have to give them space and let their relationship grow. If it is meant to happen, it will happen.”
It was a dejected Miri who walked towards her apartment. She was about to open her door when she spotted Han Seo. She didn’t think much of it because she knew he was there to feed Inzaghi.
That night, she scrolled through Hong Cha Young’s instagram account hoping to find something. She didn’t really find anything apart from the female lawyer being sentimental on some posts. She found it odd, but didn’t dwell too much on it. She also noticed a black heart on some of her posts. But she was so sad and in denial that those two are together that the black heart didn’t lift her spirits.
Miri decided to focus her attention on something else after that night. Miri had been trying to perfect a chiffon cake recipe for the last two nights. She was finally able to make a cake to her liking and she was excited to share it with her eonni. She was coming down the stairs towards Yeon Jin’s apartment when she bumped into Han Seo. Han Seo was going up the stairs absentmindedly and did not see Miri. The two of them bumped into each other. Miri’s cake flew and landed on the stairs landing.
Han Seo was able to hold on to the railing, his other arm around Miri’s waist. Miri’s hands are on Han Seo’s chest. Once they realize that they’re not in danger, both have their eyes looking everywhere but the person next to them. An air of awkwardness descended. It was Han Seo who broke the ice.
“I’m sorry Miri-shi. I should be paying more attention. Are you hurt?”
Miri just shook her head and moved to increase the distance between her and Han Seo. She then remembered her cake.
“My cake,” she said, disappointment evident in her voice.
“I’m really sorry Miri-shi.”
“It’s okay. It was an accident.”
“That cake must be special, and I’m sorry for not paying attention to where I’m going. I know I can’t replace the cake, but please let me try.”
“No. That’s alright. It was my fault as well.”
“Please. I would feel terrible Miri-shi. I just have to feed Inzaghi and then we can get a cake.”
Quick-witted, Miri thought that this is her chance to see what the consigliere’s apartment looks like, and if she’s lucky, maybe she can spot something.
“Um....I wouldn’t want you to feel bad. How about I accompany you to feed Inzaghi and then we can go after that?’
“That would be great. But only if that isn’t too much trouble for you.”
“Not at all,” she said, trying to hide a grin.
When the two of them entered the consigliere’s home, Miri’s first impression was that the apartment doesn’t look lived in. Apart from the fancy coffee machine and coffee pods in the kitchen, there is no sign that anyone lives in the apartment. She tried to go into the bedroom where Han Seo went, but he was done fairly quickly so she wasn’t able to see the inside of the bedroom.
Han Seo asked his driver to drive them to an upscale bakery. Miri was unable to decide which type of cake she wanted so Han Seo ordered several different slices to form a whole cake.
If there is one thing Han Seo had perfected, it was his manners. He made sure to drive Miri home, and hold the cake box as they walked up the stairs. He then handed the box to her when they reached the door. She thanked him for the cake and he apologized once again.
A couple of days later, Miri heard a knock on her door. When she looked through the peephole, she saw that it was Han Seo. She opened the door.
“Hello Han Seo-shi. Come in!”
Han Seo thanked Miri and walked in, remembering to take off his shoes. Miri gestured for him to sit as she sat adjacent to him.
“What brought you here Han Seo?”
“Miri-shi, I’m sorry for disturbing you tonight, but I was hoping to ask you for a favour.”
Miri didn’t respond, so Han Seo took that as his cue to continue.
“I was hoping you could feed Inzaghi while I attend business abroad. I will be away for a few days, a week at most.”
Miri immediately thought that now was her chance to further investigate. And so she readily agreed.
“Of course. We wouldn’t want Mr. Cassano’s bird to go hungry.”
Han Seo thanked her and explained how to feed Inzaghi. He provided Miri with the instructions that Vincenzo gave him. His hyung told him several times that he doesn’t want to come home to Inzaghi nesting in his bedroom. He told Miri how important it is to follow the instructions, or they would end up removing pigeon feathers (and who knows what) in the consigliere’s bedroom.
Miri glanced at the instructions and smiled sweetly at Han Seo and said, “It seems easy enough. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to follow Mr. Cassano’s instructions.”
The first time she fed Inzaghi, she didn’t have the chance to look through the apartment as she was really anxious about the bird. She is not really an animal person and feeding the bird kind of terrified her. And so she focused on the instructions and followed it. The following night, she was significantly less anxious and she had the chance to look at the apartment. The bedroom was as bare as the living room. The only indication that there was someone living there was the discarded shirt on the bed. That was the only thing out of place. Actually that was the only thing that indicates that someone uses the bedroom.
The following night, she thought about opening the closet but decided against it. That would be going too far, she thought. She did, however, look closely at the shirt she saw the other night. The shirt, a brown collared shirt, was weirdly familiar. A coo from Inzaghi startled her and she stopped looking at the shirt and left. The shirt though was in her mind. She swears she saw it somewhere, but she can’t place it.
Waking up the following day, she looked like a ghost as she walked into Yeongho’s snack bar. Hee Soo, being motherly, gave her soup and asked her what happened.
“I wasn’t able to sleep last night. I was thinking about this shirt that I saw. It was really familiar. But I can’t seem to remember where I saw it.”
“Why are you so invested in this shirt?”
“Because it will provide me with definite proof that the lawyers are dating and I could move on.”
Hee Soo shook her head at the younger woman and said, “And what does a shirt have to do with Mr. Hong and Mr. Cassano’s relationship?”
“Jang Han Seo asked me to feed Mr. Cassano’s bird, and last night I noticed this brown collared shirt on the bed and thought I’ve seen it somewhere.”
“Maybe you’ve seen Mr. Cassano wear the shirt.”
“That’s what I thought too, but I have a feeling I’ve seen it somewhere that is not on him and it’s been bugging me. I wasn’t able to sleep last night because I was thinking about it.”
“I can ask Yeon Jin later when she passes by. Do you have a picture that you can send me?”
“I don’t. But I can take one tonight.”
---------------
Miri didn’t even need to wait for nightfall for the ladies to solve the mystery of the brown shirt. When she checked her phone after she finished her lesson with her last student in the morning, a message from Hee Soo was waiting for her. Hee Soo asked her to come to the snack bar as soon as she was done with her class. Once there, she found Hee Soo and Yeon Jin huddled at a table in the corner.
“What happened?”
Yeon Jin held up her phone and said, “Is this the shirt you were talking about?”
On the screen of Yeon Jin’s phone was a picture of Ms. Hong from the latter’s instagram account. She is wearing a brown collared shirt.
Miri looked at the picture. The shirt is almost the same, if not identical, to the one in Mr. Cassano’s bedroom. Her eyes widened in surprise.
“How did you…?”
“This is one of her outfits from when she was featured in that magazine for winning that case against the bank chairman that put Mr. Cassano’s mother behind bars.”
An “O” formed on Miri’s lips. She did not think about searching the internet. The first thought that came to mind was to hack their phones, but neither of the lawyers were around.
“We didn’t think to search for it. But then we scrolled through Ms. Hong’s Instagram and that’s how we found it and the link to the magazine.”
“Have you tried to scroll through her instagram account? Eonni and I found a few interesting things.”
“What interesting things?” asked Miri as she sat beside Yeon Jin.
Yeon Jin just opened the app when Dal Rae woke up and started crying. That broke up their little gossip session, and the three ladies went about their day.
-----
That night, Miri didn’t even bother continuing her investigation in Mr. Cassano’s home. After feeding Inzaghi, she went straight to Hee Soo’s home. Thank goodness Yeong Ho will be coming home late because he has some extra curricular activities. The middle-schooler rolls his eyes whenever he finds the three of them gossiping about the Jipuragi lawyers.
Miri used her skills so that Ms. Hong’s instagram account could be viewed on the TV. The three of them went through every post, analyzing each one. They identified a few posts that could be proof that Mr. Cassano and Ms. Hong are dating.
The most recent post was a song recommendation. It was posted just a few days ago. Miri was able to find the song online and they listened to it.
“Omo! That’s too many I love yous. I think Ms. Hong misses how the consigliere takes care of her.”
“There’s another song recommendation.”
They listened to it as well. Miri had to stifle a giggle when she heard the ‘Hey! I’m your happiness’ line in the song. She didn’t think Ms. Hong to be the “cute” type of girlfriend.
The next suspicious post was a series of black and white photos: a food truck, a bingsoo, and a tumbler of Ms. Hong’s favourite-iced americano.
“I remember that day. Ms. Hong was telling everyone that there is a food truck that serves free bingsoo and beverages outside the plaza.”
“Their bingsoo was really good. I got the same flavour as Ms. Hong.”
“I inquired about the truck for Dal Rae’s birthday and found out that the catering service was expensive. The one parked that day also had a premium menu, and therefore more expensive.”
“I wonder who sent it?”
“I think Mr. Cassano sent the truck. That is why I wanted to show this to you.”
“You think so? How? It just says on top I support Hong Cha Young Byeonhosanim.”
“But there is a black heart at the end. Ms.Hong’s iced americano and the bingsoo posts both have black hearts.”
“What’s with the black heart?” asked Hee Soo.
“I think that’s her way of telling Mr. Cassano that she loves him. I mean, think of it, she loves him, which explains the heart. Mr. Cassano is in the mafia, which is why I think the heart is black instead of red.”
“But why would Mr. Cassano send Ms. Hong a food truck?”
“Maybe to thank her for clearing his mother’s name?”
“But why a food truck out of all things? Why not fancy jewellery, flowers, or other nice things that Ms. Hong could use?”
“I was actually more curious about the date,” said Hee Soo.
“I agree...July 7, Korean Valentines day,” added Yeon Jin.
“Eonni, Could it be a coincidence? There is no way Mr. Cassano would know about the story of the star-crossed lovers. He might look Korean, but apart from that, everything else about him is Italian.”
“You’re right. I guess the date does not matter.”
Miri went back to scrolling through Hong Cha Young’s posts. They found another recommendation. This one was more than a year ago. ‘Let me be your parachute’ was the only line Miri was able to focus on. It was sentimental. Could this be a random recommendation, or was the song intended for Mr. Cassano? She exhaled. Instead of finding answers, she now has more questions. Of course she still wants to know if the lawyers are actually dating. But she also wants to know what happened in between the time Mr. Cassano left; and when he came back to Seoul.
They continued to scroll through Ms. Hong’s posts. There were a couple more posts that contained the black heart. But other than those, they didn’t find anything else. Miri was curious about July 7, and found that Ms. Hong posted a quote two years ago.
“Do you think this is related?”
“Mr. Cassano just left at that time. Maybe she was missing him. I don’t think they were together then. If they were, that would have been heartbreaking for Ms. Hong,” said Yeon Jin.
“Maybe they were and she’s trying to understand why he has to leave,” said Hee Soo.
Silence enveloped the room as they thought about what happened two years ago. Cheol Wook had to fight for her life. Ms. Hong was shot. And Mr. Cassano had to abruptly leave.
Hee Soo patted both of the ladies’ shoulders and said, “Let’s not dwell on the past. We should focus on the blessings we have now. Cheol Wook has recovered. And Mr. Cassano is back.”
The Chayenzo (as the three of them started calling the couple) conversation ended there. But at the back of Miri’s mind, were still the same questions: did she imagine all of it? Are those two actually together? She must admit, she had a crush on Mr. Cassano, but after seeing those two together, and what they’ve been through, it was like watching a drama but in real life, and she became invested in them.
---------
A few days later, Han Seo was knocking on Miri’s door. She let him in like last time. Once seated, Han Seo thanked Miri for feeding Inzaghi.
“Miri-shi, how did it go? Did Inzaghi give you any trouble? Did you have any issues?”
“I didn’t have any issues, and it was no trouble at all. Inzaghi was...a good bird.”
“Well, I’m glad it turned out okay. Miri-shi, I would like to properly thank you so um...I was wondering if you would like to go to dinner with me.”
“There is no need, Han Seo.”
“Is there anything I can help you with then? I heard from hyung that you’re exceptional with electronics. I like to tinker with things, so maybe I can help you with a project you’re working on.”
“Actually, I am trying to build something for a client and I need some parts. If you can drive me around to look for those parts and help me install them, it would be of great help.”
“Oh that would be exciting! Are you free this coming weekend?”
“I have classes the entire day on Saturday, but Sunday works.”
“Sunday it is!”
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Sunday came and Han Seo picked up Miri. They were driving from one electronics shop to another when Han Seo noticed that Miri spaced out.
“Miri-shi, are you alright?”
“Huh?”
“You spaced out. Is everything okay? We can do this another day if you’re not feeling well.”
“No...I’m okay. I was just thinking of something.”
“Penny of your thoughts?”
“Hmmm...You know how we’ve been trying to figure out if the two lawyers are together. And we had that celebration at Arno’s because we thought they were together.”
Han Seo nodded.
“Now that the two of them have been gone for a while, I don’t feel confident that they are dating. But then I look at Ms. Hong’s posts and I feel a little hopeful that they are together.”
She sighed and continued, “I’m so sorry I am telling you all this. You must think I’m crazy for being so invested in other people’s relationships. It’s just...those two have been through a lot. And I consider Ms. Hong as an eonni. So I just want a happy ending for them both.”
Miri looked sad, and Han Seo felt bad. He wanted to cheer her up and so he moved closer to her and said in a whisper, “Miri-shi, there is something I want to tell you.”
Miri looked up but did not say anything.
“You must promise me though that you will not repeat this to anyone.”
Miri nodded.
“Hyung and noona are a couple.”