Chapter Text
Vincenzo sits down in the passenger seat of the black car, leans his head back on the headrest, and sighs softly as he closes his eyes. As he starts to relax for the first time in hours, he begins to switch his mindset from Vincenzo Cassano-nim, Korean-Italian Lawyer, Geumga Plaza resident, and Jipuragi associate to Signore Vincenzo Cassano, Cassano Family Consigliere. After a moment, he opens his eyes again and reaches for the wet wipes on the dashboard to start cleaning off the blood on his face and hands.
“Mr. Cho, have all of the final arrangements been made?” He asked in Italian.
Cho Young-woon had just started the car and was driving towards the airport as quickly as possible. He startles at hearing Vincenzo address him in Italian, but with a quick glance at the man beside him, replies in accented but still fluent Italian.
“They have, Signore Cassano. I have shipped all of your personal effects to the Italian address provided. I have also reached out to my contacts here in Korea and will liquidate enough of the gold to provide 50 million Euros as quickly as possible. When your preparations are in place for the remaining gold, I’ll be ready to liaise with your men to arrange for its transport as well.”
Vincenzo opens his eyes and looks at Cho.
“Very good. Your debt to me - first for saving your life, then for not taking it when you raised a weapon towards me - is repaid. This is your chance now to walk away. I’ll continue to call you my friend, but I won’t bring any more business to your doorstep.”
“No signore,” Cho shakes his head. “As you say - you saved my life, then while I still owed you a life debt, I pointed a gun towards you. The Guillotine File was my life’s work and I was willing to do anything necessary to obtain it, but now that it is safe in the hands of Director Tae, the rest of my life is now yours.”
“You know that Director Tae will most likely offer you your old job back soon,” Vincenzo points out. “You can have your old life from before the Guillotine File back instead of working for a criminal.”
“I’m not who I was 5 years ago,” Cho tightens his hands on the steering wheel unconsciously. “I can’t go back to the Cho Young-woon I was before I went undercover in China and committed murders on the orders of the Triad. But I can find myself a new boss, one who I trust”.
Vincenzo stares at Cho for a long moment. Cho stops for a red light, and takes the opportunity to turn his head and make eye contact, hoping Vincenzo can read the sincerity in his eyes.
“If you do this, it will be final,” Vincenzo warns. “I demand lifelong loyalty and do not tolerate betrayal from my men.”
“Of course,” Cho nods. “I expect nothing less.”
Vincenzo debates if he truly wants to drag Cho - someone he considers a friend - into the darker side of his affairs for the rest of Cho’s life. After all, the real reason that he left so much evidence while kidnapping and killing Choi Myung-Hee and Jan Han-Seok was to make sure Cha-Young (and the rest of the Geumga Plaza residents) know that he cannot ever return to Korea. They may play at being Mafia, with their talks of the Cassano Geumga Family, but he knows better than anyone that the true reality of a life in the Mafia is nowhere close to what the residents envision based on the Hollywood movies they’ve watched. Cha-Young was willing to go along with the torture and killing of those involved in the Babel case, but he doubts that she will feel the same when he has to order the burning of a restaurant that did not pay protection money, or the removal of a hand for a thief that stole from a business under the Cassano Family’s protection. By ending things in Korea in this way, he has severed ties without having to ever reveal the extent of his monstrosity.
However, he knows that Cho is not like the Geumga Plaza residents. Cho knows exactly what working for a criminal organization entails, and has seen first hand how Vincenzo operates in Italy as the Consigliere of the Cassano Family. There is no need to protect him from reality, and his skills and future position in the Korean intelligence agency can be of great benefit to Vincenzo further down the line. Mind made up, Vincenzo nods to Cho.
“Swear your oath then,” he instructs, as Cho turns the car into the airport parking lot and parks.
Cho turns to face Vincenzo solemnly, and states, “I swear that from this day forth until the day I die, I will give my loyalty to Signore Vincenzo Cassano. I swear to obey his orders and to put his interests before my own. I swear this on my life and the lives of all those I care about.”
Vincenzo acknowledges the oath with a nod. “I accept your oath and allegiance, and I swear to return your loyalty in kind.” Vincenzo pauses. “But wait - what about your family? Do you really want to put your wife and daughter at risk again?”
Cho shakes his head. “No sir, I’m not actually married. I hired the woman and her daughter to play the role of my family when I was first infiltrating the Triad, as a family man was less conspicuous in their organization. Now that this is all over, I will be able to end the deception and they will be in no further danger.”
Vincenzo opens the car door, looks over his shoulder, and says, “Very well. Then let’s go Young-woon. While I clear customs, go buy two new phones and text the phone number of each to the other. I’ll call you when I can with further instructions. In the meantime, continue to work with the intelligence agency. Do your best to rejoin and be assigned to the Italian division.”
Cho stepped out of the car as well. “Yes sir,” he said. He then extended his hand out for a handshake. “Good luck in Italy.”
Vincenzo clasped his hand. “Thank you, my friend. I hope I will not need it.”