Secret Love

Bonding Time

(Cha-young and Vincenzo take Ms Oh out)

Haru handed Ms Oh one of her mother's nicer blouse. Ms Oh was flustered to even wear such nice fabric.

"It's ok, my mama has tons of these. I'm sure she doesn't mind. She does this all the time", Haru smiled.

"What would you like to do first?", Cha-young asked.

"I would like to get my portrait taken", said Ms Oh.

"I know the best place. My family and I usually go there for our annual portrait", said Haru.

The owner of the studio was a friend of Haru from her last high school by the name of Lee Ji-hun. He greeted Haru with a smile and a hug.

"It's too early for your annual portrait. What brings you to my studio?", Ji-hun asked.

"This is my client, Oh Gyeong-ja and these are my bosses. My client wishes to get her portrait taken, so I figured why not take her to the best photographer in town?", Haru smiled.

"Then, you've come to the right place. Please, come with me", Ji-hun took them upstairs.

It saddened Haru to hear why Ms Oh wanted her portrait taken, but she smiled nonetheless, not wanting to upset her client. Ji-hun assured them that he himself will take the picture and will do his best.

Once done, Cha-young asked Ji-hun to hold for a moment. She dragged Vincenzo to Ms Oh, causing Ji-hun to turn to Haru.

"That's actually her son. She's very ill and she wanted a portrait to..., prepare for her funeral, but don't say anything, ok?", Haru whispered.

Ji-hun nodded and proceeded to take the pictures of Vincenzo, Ms Oh and Cha-young. He even waited until Cha-young made Vincenzo sat next to Ms Oh and Ji-hun took the picture of the mother and son.

It didn't take long for Ji-hun to get the pictures done and placed it nicely in the folder for them. He even gave Team Jipuragi a discounted price since Haru was a regular customer.

After that, they took Ms Oh to the park. Cha-young lightly jabbed Haru, who excused herself to go to the bathroom and then, Cha-young took her leave to answer an 'urgent business call', leaving the mother and son to have a moment alone.

Haru and Cha-young watched from afar. Haru hugged Cha-young, shedding tears at the sight.

"You think he'll tell her?", Cha-young asked.

"I think they know, but both refused to acknowledge it", said Haru.

"How often do you see a scary mafia to shed tears?", Cha-young said, despite her voice wavering.

Haru thought back to her mother and how much she missed her mother, who's in hiding in Japan. Her heart ached so much, wondering when this will end.

"Do you ever miss your mother, boss?", Haru asked.

"All the time. I used to blame my father, you know. Mr Cassano told me that regret is the most painful thing to live with..., and he's right. I didn't get to say it to him. I didn't get to say how much it hurt and how much I just wanted him to be my father, not a lawyer. I didn't get that chance".

"When Min-jun got hit that night, I thought of everything I wanted to say to him. I thought about all the things I wanted to do with him, like we used to do - fishing, hiking and camping. I wanted to tell him that it's ok. He doesn't have to save me all the time. He doesn't have to be around to protect me all the time...".

"...He always apologizes and I would always tell him to stop. He said he couldn't stop Han-seok from hurting me. He blames himself, even when his friends died, he blames himself for not being able to keep them safe".

"It must've been quite the ordeal for him, to find his friend dead in a gruesome way", said Cha-young.

"He kept to himself in his room ever since he found Yeon-shin. The only time he went out was when our mama told him to keep watch over me. If he arrived just a little late...".

"He would've found you dead too".

"We all have suffered in his hands, boss. I know you don't want to believe it, but your intern is gone. Jang Han-seok killed him".

"He was already gone to begin with. True, I do sometimes wish this was all a bad dream, but it is what it is", Cha-young sighed.

MEANWHILE

Han-seo turned to Han-seok, wondering what they're doing on a rooftop that overlooked Geumga Plaza. Han-seo knew Haru wasn't in Jipuragi since she told him that today, Cha-young planned to take Ms Oh out of the hospital for an hour or two.

"Did Haru ever mention the Guillotine file?", Han-seok asked.

Han-seo shook his head. "She never shares her work with me, sir".

"She doesn't trust you, it seems", Han-seok chuckled.

"I don't talk to her about our work and she doesn't talk about hers", said Han-seo.

"That sounds fair".

"Anyway, why are we here?".

"To cherish Geumga Plaza as a historical building", Han-seok answered.

Han-seo frowned. "What do you mean?", he asked.

Han-seok snapped a picture of the building. "I just recorded a piece of history", he chuckled.

Han-seo had a bad feeling and texted Haru discreetly. He can never tell what's in his brother's head.

LATER

Haru asked if Han-seo could come over tonight at Geumga to celebrate Chul-wook and Yeon-jin having their first child. He said that Han-seok was making him work over time.

"Miss Lee, don't frown. You'll get frown lines that way", Ms Oh pointed out.

"Is Han-seo working tonight?", Cha-young asked.

Haru nodded. "He's working too hard sometimes", she said.

"Don't worry, he's working for you. When you're married with children, trust me, he'll be home more", Ms Oh giggled.

Haru smiled seeing her hugging Vincenzo. She hugged Ms Oh too before saying goodbye to her.