Vincenzo was back in his plaza apartment, the bottle of wine, the glass, everything was in the same place he left it when he hurriedly left the apartment last night.
He didn't want to be there, he didn't want to leave Cha Young in that hospital bed, but Mr. Hong was with her and she herself threatened him to leave the hospital and go home and get some rest, he laughed, she was back herself which meant she was fine.
Luca was going to the apartment so they could talk about what to do about Paolo, he was already aware of what had happened, of Paolo's attempt to kill him.
When he arrived, Vincenzo was finishing washing the dishes, they sat on the couch while drinking coffee and Vincenzo told him what had happened to Cha Young, how she had stood in front of him, how she had saved his life.
"Sembra che tu le piaccia davvero"1 Luca said with a small smile.
"Finirà per ucciderla." 2 Vincenzo replied, being perfectly aware that Paolo would not give up until he had what he wanted.
"Devi prenderti cura di Paolo per primo, le altre famiglie hanno bisogno di te."3
Vincenzo nodded, rubbing his temples with his thumbs, he loved Cha Young and needed her alive and well, but to do that he needed to protect her and there was only one way to do it, it didn't matter if it was the most painful way, what mattered was her safety, even if it meant leaving her.
"Ho bisogno che tu compri un biglietto aereo per oggi."4
"Sì Consigliere."5 Luca agreed to his friend's request and quickly left the apartment to prepare for their trip back to Italy, leaving the other Italian behind with an even more difficult task, saying goodbye to the woman he loves.
Vincenzo walked in circles in the living room of his apartment for several minutes, pulling his tie tighter and tighter with each step he took. He thought seriously about how he would do it, he didn't want to do it in person, he knew he wouldn't be able to do it, as soon as he saw Cha Young all his courage would disappear, but it was too cruel to say goodbye by message or simply leave a letter and she didn't deserve that. Vincenzo had dragged her into that chaos and he needed to take responsibility for her and protect her.
He seriously thought about buying her something, but there was no protocol that said what to buy someone when you're going to break up with them, it just seemed wrong.
While driving to the hospital he rethought his options several times, there was so much he still needed to do, recover the gold, talk to his mother and call her mother again and Cha Young. He wanted to build a life with the lawyer, get married, start a family with her, but deep down he knew he couldn't have any of that, it wasn't fair to her, after all Vincenzo didn't have a normal life or a normal job. He belonged to the Italian mafia, one of the most dangerous and powerful families, Interpol was building a case on them every day and he certainly didn't want to drag Cha Young into it.
Arriving at the hospital Vincenzo felt his heart beating so fast that it almost jumped out of his chest, his hands were sweaty and he wished he didn't have to do it, he wished he didn't have to end everything.
Upon entering Cha Young's hospital room, he found her sleeping, he seriously thought about closing the door and leaving, but he couldn't do it.
Carefully he approached the bed, running his thumb across her cheek, a tear fell from his eye and he quickly wiped it away.
Vincenzo bent down to give the sweaty lawyer a kiss on the forehead and she woke up.
"You came back quickly." She said, still sleepy, opening a smile that Vincenzo couldn't return.
Cha Young could tell from the look in his eyes that something was very wrong.
"I need to tell you something." He said and Cha Young nodded, sitting on the bed with some difficulty. "The real reason I bought the plaza."
Cha Young watched him in confusion.
"There is gold hidden in a high-security safe in the basement beneath the monks' space. 1.5 tons of gold to be precise."
Cha Young widened her eyes in confusion.
"What? But..." Vincenzo interrupted her, holding her shoulders so she looked directly at him.
"I need you to listen carefully, you are the person I trust most and you can't tell anyone this, understand?" he questioned and Cha Young nodded feeling completely stunned. "Don't worry, I will send someone to help you, but I need you to take care of this gold until I get back."
"To go back?" Cha Young questioned swallowing hard.
Vincenzo lowered his head, pulling on her tie.
"I need to take care of Paolo, I need to go back to Italy." He replied.
"For how long?" Cha Young questioned with a choked throat.
"I don't know, I don't know if I can come back, interpol and Korean entities are increasingly after me, I'm sorry, I..."
"It's fine." Cha Young stopped him by raising her hand, wishing she didn't hear anything else he had to say. "We knew it would happen one day." She responded by avoiding his gaze and biting her lip to stop the tears from flowing.
"I really wish I didn't hurt you."
"I know, it was my fault, you warned me from the beginning." Cha Young couldn't stop the tears from falling.
"Cha Young.." Vincenzo moved to hug her but was stopped.
"Please don't, it will only make things worse." She responded trying to wipe away some tears that were falling more and more.
"I promise to come back, I promise to find a way to see you again." He said and Cha Young nodded.
Vincenzo carefully pulled her into a kiss, perhaps the last, cupping her face as more tears ran down her cheeks and now his as well.
They separated and Vincenzo walked towards the door, looking one last time at Cha Young, to make sure he marked all her details in his brain.
As soon as the door slammed and Vincenzo left for the last time, the lawyer broke down in uncontrollable tears and sobs in that hospital room, where the love of her life had left her.
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1 - It seems like she really likes you;
2- He will end up killing her;
3- You have to take care of Paolo first, the other families need you;
4- I need you to buy a plane ticket for today;
5- Yes Consigliere
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Please don't kill me after this chap, the fanfic is almost in the end!
YOU ARE READING
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...
