Cha Young didn't want to cry in front of him, she didn't want him to see her in that vulnerable state, much less humiliate herself when he had pushed her away twice.
Vincenzo didn't think twice about moving towards her, which happened so fast that Cha Young only had time to blink and his arms were already wrapped around her body.
His embrace was comfortable, their bodies fit perfectly together and Cha Young snuggled even closer against him, feeling his cologne, just enjoying the feel of his hand rubbing her back comfortingly. Cha Young had never been hugged like this.
Vincenzo let her cry in his embrace for a long time, not caring about the tear stain on his favorite pajama shirt, he held her in his arms as close as he could, alternating between rubbing her back and lovingly stroking her hair to soothe her, until the sobs became less obvious.
Vincenzo loosened his grip and held her by the shoulders so he could look directly into her eyes, which were red and shiny with tears.
"Are you okay?" he questioned taking her face in his hands. It was an extremely stupid question, it was quite evident that Cha Young was not well.
She just shook her head in response and more tears rolled down her face, tears that Vincenzo soon wiped away with his thumbs without leaving her face.
"Do not cry, please." The Italian pleaded. "Forgive me."
“It wasn't your fault.” Cha Young replied sniffling, she wasn't totally lying, it was partly his fault, but not entirely.
“What happened then?”
"I'm an idiot."
"No, you are not." He responded by gently stroking her cheek.
“I agreed to meet with an old friend and…I shouldn't have.”
Vincenzo froze, feeling anger shoot up his spine as he listened to what she said, remembering the man in the office earlier.
"Hmm, he showed up earlier at your father's firm."
Cha Young rolled her eyes.
“It was my father, wasn't it? That gave my number?” She questioned and he just nodded.
“I'm sorry Miss Hong, but I don't think he meant it.”
"I know, he didn't know..." The lawyer replied, passing her coat sleeve across her nose.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He questioned and she nodded sniffling again.
“He was in my class in high school and hmm…” Cha Young took a deep breath trying to hold back the tears again and Vincenzo continued to caress her cheeks encouraging her to continue. “He made me believe he liked me and humiliated me in front of the entire school, the video must still be on the school forum.” She finished speaking, lowering her gaze ashamed.
“I'm sorry about that Miss Hong.” He replied feeling his heart ache for her.
“It's okay, I just felt like 17-year-old Cha Young again, fragile and helpless, who was bullied every day at school.”
“You didn't deserve this.”
She let out a wry little laugh.
“You saw my pictures at dad's house, you know what I looked like.”
Vincenzo lifted her chin with his index finger, making her look directly into his eyes.
“To me you were always beautiful.” His voice was practically a whisper.
“You're just saying that to make me feel better.”
"That's not true." Vincenzo wanted to say so much more, he wanted to say that he would have fallen in love with her then, but the words died in his throat.
“Well, it doesn’t matter anymore.”
"I'm sorry for everything." He stated trying to sweat as sincerely as possible.
“I just wanted to understand why.”
“Miss Hong, I already said that I didn’t mean to hurt you, I’m sorry.”
“But you hurt me.” She responded in frustration, pulling his hands away from her cheeks.
"It wasn't my intention, sorry."
“Stop apologizing, I just want to understand.” Cha Young huffed irritably and tired of his excuses.
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Hi, for those who don't understand who this friend from school is, read chapters 2 and 3 again to remember!
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Butterfly Effect
Romance[English Version, COMPLETED] "The flapping of a simple butterfly's wings can influence the natural course of things and trigger a hurricane on the other side of the world." Cha Young's life had begun long before the flapping of a butterfly's wings...
