Chapter Text
Day 76 of this disaster. It was rainy season in Korea, she hadn’t slept well in 10 days, and she hadn’t gone shopping in a month.
“Mr.Nam,” Cha-young groaned miserably; her head face-planted on her desk. “tell me again, why I agreed to take this case?”
Mr. Nam approached with a hot cup of tea, placing it next to her ear. “Because you were featured in the Forbes Magazine as Defender of the People.”
“Oh yeah... ” She remembered. That was right after she had one that big case for the chemical plant workers.
“And then, you just had to help the chief editor of that ‘ELLE’ fashion magazine.” Mr. Nam recalled. “Not to mention, you did a feature.”
“Huh.” Cha-young grunted. That divorce case had guaranteed her free clothes from exclusive designer labels for at least a year.
But those cases were child’s play compared to this one. A rape case involving a convicted felon, a judge, and an underground prostitution ring. Dear Buddha, have mercy...
What’s even more stressful, she wasn’t sure she could win. The judge had everyone in his pocket, she couldn’t trust anyone’s information, and a 19 girl was depending on her, not to mention countless other girls. SHIT.
“Maybe you should take a break.” Mr. Nam suggested.
Cha-young shot him daggers, before looking at her caseload of work. “You’re kidding me, right?”
Shrugging his shoulders, he sighed. “Everyone’s tired Ms. Hong. We have three offices to run, and this case is taking up most of our time. We’re at a dead-end right now.”
“I suppose you’re right.” She admitted, glancing at the mountains of paperwork.
She couldn’t ask for a better staff. Every lawyer at Jipuragi was busting their ass trying to get her useful information to take to trial. It was because of them, that she was barely holding her head above water.
“The trial is over a month away, because of Bong Man-Shik's political ties.” Mr. Nam reminded her. “I’d take a little time off.”
Cha-young rolled her eyes. “Are you just trying to go to that all-you-can-eat buffet cruise with your girlfriend?”
Mr. Nam appeared bashful, pretending to water the plants. “I’m only thinking of your health, Ms. Hong.”
Cha-young stood, leisurely pacing back and forth across the office, in contemplation. It was July, the final trial was in August...
“Ugh...” Cha-young exhaled. Then her eyes caught something. She stared back at the post cards from Malta.
Vincenzo must have been busy because he hadn’t sent one since they’d seen each other in March. But to see his face when if she were to show up there out of the blue.
Coming to a decision, she smiled. A little break might give her a new perspective. “Alright Mr. Nam.” She nodded. “A vacation will do me some good.”
Mr. Nam’s expression brightened, his smile a mile wide. Cha-young smirked. “Yes, that means you can take your cruise. But only four days, and it’s back to work.”
“Yes Ms. Hong.” Mr. Nam agreed, before flying to the doors.
“Where are you going?” Cha-young asked.
“To pack!” Mr. Nam said, waving goodbye as he took off on his Cheetah.
Cha-young stared back at the piles of paperwork. To hell with it, she was going to pack too.
-------- 36 hours later... off the Island of Marta ----------------
Vincenzo was up to his elbows with work. Emilio was still pissed off about his vineyard, trying to get the other mafia bosses he’d paid off to join forces against the Cassano family.
Most of them were reasonable, respecting him as Fabio’s true successor. Paolo was still trying to cause trouble, evading the law and his punishment for his careless acts of crimes against the Cassano family.
Paolo had also fathered a son that Vincenzo hadn’t known about until recently. The boy’s name was Marco, and he’d come to live in Marta after the Berlusconi tried to ransom him.
Needless to say, that hadn’t sat too well with Vincenzo. No matter his ill will he had towards his brother, his nephew was just a kid. So, after bringing the Berlusconi family to near extinction, they’d settled their differences.
He had taken on a case as partner Consigliere for the Russo Clan, as a favor. His father and the Russo family were close since their infancy, so offering council was a small gesture of their alliance.
But what he hadn’t counted on, was Monica. Being the lawyer for the Russo Clan, and Gianni Russo’s niece, she was around constantly.
Vincenzo knew she wanted more than just a legal win. She had a tendency to very be affectionate. He’d had to come up with some clever ways for her to keep her hands to herself.
Only, this afternoon, he hadn’t had the energy for mind games. Marco was behind in his school work and needed a tutor, Luca was picking up some associates of his for a business dinner, and he hadn’t slept in over 10 days.
Most of his nights were filled with vivid images. The sound of Ms. Choi screaming as her body was set aflame, HanSeo’s asking for validation with his last breaths...Cha-young.
Damn, he missed her. But these past four months have been too busy, he hadn’t the time to take a breath. That didn’t mean she wasn’t doing well. Luca kept up with the Korean news for some reason, and was quite surprised to see her picture.
He remembered him running to his office, pointing frantically at his phone. “Mr. Hong!” he panted with a smile.
And there She was, beautiful and confident as ever in Elle Magazine. He’d read the article over 100 times, wishing he could call and congratulate her. When she was in Forbes Magazine as Defender of the People, he’d never been prouder. Jipuragi had three locations, all doing well, with the flagship still remaining in Geumga Plaza.
“So, best we can do is bring the charges down to aggravated manslaughter, but that still leaves the witness.” Monica spoke, looking up from the report.
Seeing Vincenzo’s gaze drifted off into space, she huffed. He’d been doing that a lot recently. “Vincenzo, Mi stai ascoltando ?”
Vincenzo came out of his thoughts, barely glancing in her direction. “ Si, mi dispiace . It’s been a long week.”
Monica closed the file and made her way over to the window where he stood. Her perfume overpowered his nose, and he had to hold in his breath not to gag. Thank goodness the window was open.
He cleared his throat and took a step back to give them some space. Of course, Monica took that as a challenge and boldly stepped forward.
Brushing some pretend lint off his shoulders, she let her fingers gently trace over the buttons of his expensive Bulooro suit.
“How about we take the afternoon off, and go get some lunch? I saw a fabulously cute, little café nearby. They just opened. What do you say?” She suggested lustfully.
“Sounds great!” A sharp voice called from the entryway.
Monica whirled around as Vincenzo’s eyes grew big as saucers. “Hong Cha-young?” he gulped.
Cha-young twinkled her fingers, her gaze hidden behind her designer shades. “Hello, darling.”