Chapter Text
They arrive in Milan at 2pm after a very long flight. Cha-young had watched at least 4 movies and she had ordered seafood for lunch and an expensive bottle of champagne. “I can afford that much with all the money in our accounts”, she’d said. He’d shushed her quickly but couldn’t help but smile. She had accepted the situation surprisingly well, like she always did when they were confronted with a difficult choice.
After Jang Han-seok had his mother killed, Vincenzo had his fun terrorising Choi Myung-hee and him. Instead of killing them straight away, he left them with a threat. In the end, Myung-hee suffered a slow and agonising death in Cha-young’s hands. He’d handled Jang Han-seok. But first, they had destroyed Babel. Cha-young, the Geumga Plaza tenants and him, had all watched with glee as their stocks dived and the corporation went bankrupt. Then, they’d made sure Han-seo, the illegitimate half-brother, got out of this as a hero who had defied his evil brother in the name of justice. Han-seok had been humiliated, shamed and disrespected by all his peers and the media. Han-seo had taken his place in the limelight, praised and admired by all. Vincenzo and Cha-young took away everything he had, including his best ally, Choi Myung-hee.
Finally, right before the prosecution arrested him, Cha-young and Vincenzo kidnapped the Babel heir. Life in prison would be too merciful a sentence for a monster like him. They took turn in making fun of him and putting him down. Cha-young even kissed Vincenzo’s cheek in front of Han-seok.
“Someone as pathetic as you shouldn’t even be allowed to desire me.”, she’d said, disgusted. “Not even your wealth could make me want you, and now you have nothing. You’re a laughing stock!”
Thinking of how pathetic Jang Han-seok had looked as he died brought a smile to his face. Sadly, there was no way to cover up what they’d done and they had to flee the country. Although there was no extradition law between South Korea and Italy, Vincenzo had taken extra steps just to be safe.
———
“I think we should get married.”, he’d said one night while they were drinking makgeolli at his place.
“Isn’t it a little bit early to talk about marriage? You haven’t even ask me out officially yet, I mean I’m not rejecting you but maybe right now isn’t…”, her cheeks had become bright red. He smiled.
“Cha-young-ah, that’s not what I meant.”, he waved his hand, “We should register our marriage in Italy. Then you can ask for the Italian citizenship. I have contacts at the embassy and it shouldn’t take too long.”
“Am I that drunk already? I’m not following.”
“If we have to leave the country, they can’t hand you to South Korean law enforcement. It’s a good way to avoid prison. Of course, I understand if you don’t want to. I understand that being married to me might—. I was just thinking out loud. Forget about it.” He’d gotten shy all of a sudden, her piercing gaze too intense.
“I wouldn’t mind being married to you, Park Joo-hyung.”
She’d called him by his Korean for the first time that night, and his heart beat faster than ever. He’d registered their marriage the following week.
———
It was a sunny day in Milan when they landed. They took an Uber to the apartment Luca had prepared for them, and since the news of Vincenzo’s return hadn’t spread yet, they had time to relax before thinking of the challenge ahead of them.
“Wow, what a view! Mafia members really are something else.” Cha-young said while she looked around the apartment. He stared at her, unable to shake the affection he felt. She had abandoned her life to come here with him, because of him. She trusted him enough to leave everything behind and follow him to the other side of the world, a place she knew nothing about.
In that moment, Vincenzo vowed to make every day they were granted together the happiest. He would bring the world to its knees and make it kiss her feet. He would burn kingdoms down to warm her skin in the winter, and make the sky weep when she’d wish to hear the rain.
His life was now hers.
She stood still, looking over Milan’s skyline. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder. He felt her breathing halt for a few seconds. Then, she put her hands on his and intertwined their fingers.
“Thank you.” Vincenzo whispered in her ear.
She turned around without ever stepping out of his embrace, tenderly cupping his face. They stayed quiet for a while, bathing in each other’s warmth. Cha-young’s thumb was stroking his cheek. He brought their foreheads together, and he was about to kiss her when someone knocked on the door. He sighed, not wanting to let go of her. He kissed her temple as an apology and went to open the door.
Luca stood there, a bag of groceries in each hand. “Consigliere, I’m happy you made it home safely.” His friend’s smile was warm and Vincenzo couldn’t quite be angry at him for interrupting their moment.
“Thank you.” He took one of the bags and made way for Luca to enter the apartment.
Busy setting up the grocery bags on the counter of their open concept kitchen, Luca didn’t notice Cha-young right away.
“Nice to meet you.”, she said, in English.
Surprised, he looked at Vincenzo, then Cha-young again, before offering a handshake, “Hi.”
“Luca, meet my wife, Mrs. Cassano.”, Vincenzo smiles, proud. His friend's mouth fall open.
"Your what?"