Butterfly Effect

Chapter 17 - First fight

Cha Young huffed in frustration, she didn't have a key to get in, she even thought about asking for a spare key but maybe it was too much.

Perhaps he was at Japuragi talking to her father, she thought.

After going down the stairs to leave the residential area, the lawyer found the firm's door closed and the lights all off. Cha Young peeked through the windows but saw no one, her father had already closed the firm and gone home and Vincenzo was nowhere to be seen.

Vincenzo Cassano was nowhere to be seen in the plaza and he wasn't answering his cell phone.

That thought only made Cha Young's heart beat faster and faster.

What if he was hurt somewhere? Alone? What if those men had taken him? What if he was dead?

Cha Young completely panicked, she ran a hand through her hair while inhaling and exhaling deeply to try to control her breathing.

She shouldn't be feeling this way about some random man right?

The lawyer returned frustrated to the door of Vincenzo's apartment, huffing, she leaned against the wall and slid pathetically to the floor.

She waited immobile in that position for a few hours, her cell phone had already been discharged, there was nothing else she could do to distract her head.

The only thing she could think about was him.

It was completely dark and no noise was heard, not even the engine of a car, which indicated that it was quite late.

Cha Young thought about leaning her head against the wall and sleeping, but it was too cold for that.

Until some time later, the lawyer heard his footsteps echoing through the plaza before she could see him. He walked out of the darkness until Cha Young could see him, not perfectly, but enough to see the bloodstains on his shirt and suit jacket. Enough to see the cut on his cheek.

Cha Young gulped at that image, he looked like she just stepped out of a horror movie.

"Where were you?" she questioned hoarsely, feeling her throat dry.

Vincenzo didn't answer, he just took the keys out of his pocket and opened the door, entering the apartment and leaving the door open behind him.

Cha Young took this as a sign to enter.

So she did, but when she entered he wasn't there, she looked around the apartment until she heard the shower running.

Cha Young sighed, letting out the breath she had been holding since seeing him. She wasn't scared of him, it wasn't like that at all, she was scared for him, for hours her head had been constantly bombarded with thoughts of what could have happened.

Cha Young felt strange, she didn't know what to do, being there in that place felt wrong, she briefly considered the option of leaving there, but it wasn't like she had anywhere to go.

So she just sat on the couch, counting the damp spots on the wall, patiently waiting for him to come out of the bathroom.

Which didn't take long, considering there was little hot water in that building.

It felt wrong to ask but it didn't look like Vincenzo was going to tell what had happened of his own free will and Cha Young could be quite stubborn when she wanted to be, something she was even proud of.

"You did not answer." she stated feeling her voice shake a little.

Vincenzo stopped midway, his back to her, his gaze downcast.

"Solving matters." he replied.

For a moment Cha Young didn't recognize him, her voice didn't show any emotion.

"You always say that."

Vincenzo let out a wry laugh.

"Miss Hong, this is none of your concern, my private life is none of your concern."

Cha Young felt her heart stop, it wasn't entirely a lie, but she wanted to be a part of his life since he knew so much about her.

"You're right, but that's not what I meant, do you know how long I've waited at your door?" she asked in an accusatory tone.

"Whose fault is it?" he questioned back, turning to face her and for the first time Cha Young saw a side of him she had never seen. "I paid for a hotel room for you." His entire countenance was filled with anger.

Cha Young huffed irritably, gripping the edge of the couch until her fingers turned white.

"Yours, you wouldn't have to pay me anything if mob men weren't trying to kill me in the first place." she spat the words out at once, not thinking before speaking.

Cha Young was extremely impulsive at times and she hated herself for it, she knew perfectly well how much he blamed himself for what happened and even so she touched the wound.

A pain worse than lemon juice on a paper cut.

Vincenzo didn't answer, Cha Young saw him take a deep breath, probably restraining himself so as not to say something back that would hurt her, so he opened the bedroom door, entering and slamming it hard causing the walls of the apartment to shudder.