Tell Me That You Like It

“Aaaah! Yeon-na!”

The child’s mother immediately followed, calling the child’s name as if screaming.

“Yeon-na!”

At that time, a man who had witnessed the scene came running behind Lucino and Anna. It was the child’s father who had just come out of the restaurant and saw the child fall.

“Thank you. Thank you very much.”

The girl’s parents bent down and repeatedly thanked Luchino.

“Eh?”

Although he was wearing civilian clothes rather than the pure white chef uniform that appeared on TV, Anna recognized the child’s father at a glance.

The man who hugged the child and said thank you over and over again was Nixa Cuselli. The tall, handsome foreigner was the most famous man in Korea.

Nixa spoke in English with an American accent.

“Thank you for saving my child. Please come visit the Cuselli Restaurant again next time. If you contact me at any time, I would like to treat you.”

At those words, Lucino also recognized Nixa.

“If you tell me your name, I will remember it.”

“It’s okay. Of course I did what I had to do.”

Nixa persisted despite Lucino’s rejection. In the end, Lucino had no choice but to give his name.

As he came out holding Anna’s hand, he heard the child’s mother’s voice from behind.

“Mom told you not to run on the stairs, Yeon-na.”

Although her voice was startled, the woman was gently scolding the child.

“That’s right. You made a promise to your dad last time too. You will never run on the stairs again.”

“I’m good at it.”

“Ara, I guess I’ll have to get rid of these stairs. Last time, Yeon-na almost fell and got hurt…”

Nixa spoke seriously to her wife in a worried voice. He was planning to leave work earlier than usual and meet Ara and his daughter in front of the restaurant, but Nixa was angry at the accident that happened out of nowhere.

Nixa’s anger was stuck on the three stairs at the entrance to the Cuselli Restaurant.

He was glaring at the stairs with anger as if he was going to destroy them at any moment.

***

On the way back to the hotel, Lucino blurted out.

“The child was so cute.”

Anna smiled brightly as she looked at Lucino, hearing those words tinged with envy.

“Does Lucino want to have a child quickly?”

“Yes, but… When Anna comes to Rome, she will need time to adjust, and more than anything, I want to have time to monopolize you.”

He pulled Anna by the shoulder and hugged her. She accepted the marriage proposal and decided to live in Italy.

After resigning from the company and completing the handover, Anna decided to go straight to Rome to prepare for her wedding.

“Anna. Are you sure it’s okay? I can live here in Korea.”

“No. I also want to live in Rome with Lucino.”

He was in a different situation than her, having no family. So she thought it would be better to live in Italy.

She also wanted to learn the vocal music that Lucino mentioned in Rome. She didn’t know to what level she could develop, but she still wanted to satisfy her thirst for singing.

“I can’t wait to introduce you to my parents and my younger brother.”

Lucino’s expression of introducing his parents to her rather than introducing himself to her parents sounded peculiar.

She could definitely feel the cultural difference compared to Korea.

“Did you have a younger brother?”

“Yes. I have one younger brother named Andrea. He’s two years younger than me.”

After taking a short walk from City Hall to Gwanghwamun, Lucino returned to the hotel and showed Anna a family photo.

Anna’s heart ached when she saw the family photo that looked so harmonious. She had to tell Lucino the truth.

She had to explain that her parents were alive and why she wanted to end the relationship. But, but… When she looked at those eyes looking at her, she couldn’t find any words.

She guessed it was okay since they won’t be seeing each other anymore anyway.

She felt guilty as if she had deceived him. She tried to explain several times, but no sound came out, as if something was stuck in her throat.

She didn’t have the courage to speak.

Anna needed time. It’s just not right now, She’s just saying it a little later.

In the end, Anna decided to enjoy this happy time just a little longer.

“When I said I was going to Korea to propose, my parents encouraged me and told me to do well.”

“I thought you might not like me too much because I’m not Italian.”

“Not at all! They’re really looking forward to meeting you, even Andrea.”

The two went into the bathroom together, brushed their teeth, and kept looking at each other in the mirror. Lucino’s eyes shined softly and he could not take his eyes off Anna.

“Meeting you is the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me in my life.”

“Me too.”

“I love you, Anna.”

“I love you too, Lucino.”

He quickly rinsed his mouth and kissed Anna. The night of the two lovers who promised to get married burned hot with passion.

During the Lunar New Year holiday, Lucino and Anna explored Seoul during the day and made love at night.

The honey-sweet holiday ended quickly, but Lucino did not return to Italy right away.

While he was in Seoul, he also planned to tour Mastrojanni’s Korean branch. And urgent work could be handled using a cell phone or laptop.

When Anna got off work, Lucino was waiting for her at the cafe in front of her office.

The espresso he ordered was not tasty, but Lucino, who was obsessed with the expectation of meeting Anna soon, did not frown even at the tasteless espresso.

As he stood up happily seeing her coming out of the building, he suddenly saw a middle-aged woman approaching Anna.

He thought she was just passing by, but the woman grabbed Anna and started begging for something. Anna looked embarrassed and troubled.

Surprised, Lucino quickly left the cafe and ran to Anna. He hurried to get rid of her bully.

However, when he looked closer, the middle-aged woman seemed to resemble Anna in some way.

The face that showed traces of hardship was similar to Anna’s eyes, so Lucino, who was trying to take Anna away, stopped.

“Anna. It seems like you’ve been doing well so far.”

“How did you know about this place?”

Although it was in Korean, Anna’s voice was higher and dryer than usual. Anna’s eyes were shaking as she met Lucino’s gaze as he approached her.

“If you have money, can you lend me some money?”

Anna’s gaze, which had been focused on Lucino, glanced at the woman.

“… What about Min-seok?”

“He went to prison, leaving behind only debts…”

“Prison? What happened?”

Her voice trembled with confusion.

“He got caught using private loans to gamble illegally, so he ended up… ”

The middle-aged woman began to cry.

“Ha…!”

Anna momentarily forgot that Lucino was next to her and let out a chuckle.

“So now I’ve sold my house, my supermarket, everything… Because of Min-seok’s debt… The loan sharks keep pressuring me…”

“So you came to see me now? You want money?”

Anna glared at the middle-aged woman with a distorted expression.

Although he could not understand the conversation perfectly because it was in Korean, Lucino perfectly understood the word money in the conversation between the two people.

He realized that the middle-aged woman was Anna’s mother. Lucino took out a wad of 50,000 won in cash from his wallet, blocked Anna’s path, and handed it to the woman.

“Take it.”

Anna’s mother glanced at the money abruptly offered by the foreigner and then swiftly accepted it.

“Lucino! There’s no need for that!”

Anna shouted in English from behind, but Lucino ordered the woman with a cold voice and a threatening face.

“Go away.”

It was poor Korean, but it was enough to understand.

The woman who received the money quickly turned her back and left. There was no word to say thank you.

Lucino, who remained there, turned around. Anna just stood there like a guilty person.

“Let’s talk.”

“Lucino…”

Anna called Lucino in a trembling voice. However, although he had a firm expression, he did not let go of Anna’s hand that he was holding.

The two went to the hotel where Lucino was staying. They needed a space to talk quietly.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you, Lucino.”

Anna began a long explanation to Lucino. Why did she decide to travel, and why did she say her family was dead?

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Do you know how Lucino looks at me?”

Anna continued speaking while crying.

“…”

“You look at me as if I’m the most precious thing in the world. You value me more than anything else in this world, but how could I… How could I say something that makes it seem like I’ve been abandoned by my own family? How could I say that I’ve been treated worse than a roadside pebble, that I’ve been treated as something cheap? When in reality, I’ve been cherished by Lucino like this…”

She felt so miserable that she couldn’t speak.

They were promised to be married, and she knew she had to share everything. But every time she tried, the words got stuck, and she couldn’t go on. 

Lucino, who was looking at Anna crying loudly, hugged her. Anna cried even more sadly because of the man patting her thin back.

“It must have been really hard, Anna.”

“I… I didn’t want your sympathy.”

“It’s not sympathy, Anna. I’m proud of you.”

The voice comforting her was trembling.

Startled by the low voice mingled with tears, Anna was surprised. She thought that Lucino might be disappointed in her for deceiving him.

But he said he didn’t sympathize with Anna.

Lucino tilted his head in surprise, and there were tears in his eyes.

“I’m proud of you. For being raised so properly in such a family. Anna, I can’t even imagine how hard you must have worked to take responsibility for your family.”

He wiped Anna’s tear-stained cheeks. Ignoring his own wet eyes, Lucino only cared about Anna.

“I asked you when I started liking you, Anna. I think I fell in love with you at first because of your appearance. I fell in love with your honesty in returning the passport.”

“Of course you have to return it. Anyone would have done that.”

Anna spoke in a hollow voice.

“No one does that, Anna. If everyone in the world had a beautiful heart like you, there wouldn’t have been a theft incident in the first place. Selling that passport would more than make up for your lost expense.”

Many people approached him based solely on his looks and wealth. Whether they were men or women, there seemed to be countless individuals who sought to exploit him, only interested in his outer shell and the conditions he could provide.

For Lucino, who lived surrounded by such people in Rome, Anna was a refreshing shock.

“And… Thirdly, I think I fell in love with your body. Sex with you drives me crazy. The fourth moment I fell in love was when you sang.”

“… Why are you suddenly talking about that now?”

“I fell in love with you again for the fifth time today.”

“Even though I lied?”

“You were going to tell me someday, right? It just wasn’t right now.”

“… That’s right.”

“I fell in love with the sacrifice you made for your family. And your determination to boldly cut things out when you think it’s wrong.”

“Lucino…”

“My heart breaks because I know you must have had a hard time without me by your side, Anna.”

He was shedding tears as he regarded Anna’s work as if it were his own.

It was a reaction she never imagined. Anna, who expected that he might be angry and asked why she lied, was moved by Lucino’s warm response.

“I love you, Lucino. And I’m sorry.”

“Don’t say you’re sorry. There’s no need to say you’re sorry between us, Anna. Just tell me you love me.”

“I love you, I love you, I love you…”

His heart was so touched that all she could say was that “I loved you.”

Lucino held back his burning anger as he hugged Anna, who said he loved her.

He wasn’t angry at her. It was anger toward Anna’s family, who had emotionally abused and used her.

The next day.

While Anna was at work, Lucino hired someone to investigate her family.

Lucino, who received the report, could not contain his anger. In particular, he was extremely angry when he found out that Anna’s younger brother had torn her eardrum and she had to receive treatment.

Lucino went to see Anna’s parents, accompanied by a Korean lawyer and several sturdy men.

With a grim look on his face, he held out the contract in front of her parents.

The couple, who were scrawny because of their imprisoned son, glanced at the foreigner sitting in front of them.

The tall foreigner was glaring at the couple with a fierce expression. It was the man who gave money to Anna’s mother the day before.

“The conditions are as written in the contract.”

A lanky-looking lawyer wearing glasses spoke to the couple. Lucino just sat there without saying a word.

Anna’s parents slowly turned over the contract.

Instead of transferring the ownership of the house they used to live in, the contract stipulated that they would allow them to continue living there on the condition that they would never appear before her again.

There was no mention of transferring the house or providing money. It simply allowed them to reside in the house.

The couple spoke in a hesitant manner after reading that if they appeared in front of Anna, he would immediately kick them out of the house.

“What about money? We have some debts…”

The lawyer spoke in place of Lucino, who had his arms crossed and his lips pursed.

“There is no money.”

“Then it would be a bit difficult to put a stamp here…”

The couple glanced at things like the clothes Lucino was wearing and his watch. They weren’t sure, but the foreigner sitting in front of them smelled like money.

That started with offering to provide a house for free. This was the case with the lawyer that this handsome foreign man had, as well as the gangster-like men who wore suits and stood next to him like bodyguards.

They don’t know where Anna got this man from, but it seemed like if she did well, she would pay off Min-seok’s debt.

They were captivated by the fantasy that once Min-seok was released from prison, this man might even help him find a decent job.

At that time, Lucino, who had kept his lips tightly shut without saying a word, spoke in English.

“If you appear in front of Anna again, I will kill Min-seok.”

The lawyer quickly translated Lucino’s words.

The couple’s faces turned pale when they heard that they were going to kill their son.

“If you want to see your son alive again, you’d better never appear in front of Anna again. You won’t end up getting kicked out of the house.”

Lucino threatened the couple with ferocity.

“Each time you appear, I’ll break one of that bastard’s fingers, one by one, and eventually bury him in the ground.”

He didn’t mean to kill a real person, but he didn’t think his words would work without this level of threat to these shameless people.

He was planning to leave for Rome soon with Anna, but judging by her sense of responsibility and sincerity, it would take at least another month to complete the handover of the company.

During the time Anna had to stay in Korea, Lucino did not want to see her in pain.

He wanted to put Anna’s mind at ease until they left for Rome. He didn’t want her to worry about running into her family every time she got off work.

He assigned bodyguards to be around Anna, and he also hired additional staff to monitor the surroundings. He felt the need to prevent any creditors from approaching her.

So, he canceled his plan to go back to Rome first and waited for Anna, and changed his schedule to stay in Korea longer.

For urgent matters, he could do it via video conference, so it didn’t matter.

The couple listened to the lawyer’s interpretation and signed the contract with pale and trembling hands.

Lucino, having achieved his goal, immediately left the place.

Anna didn’t say what she wanted to do with her parents yesterday.

However, seeing as she left her family without saying a word, it seemed like she just wanted to forget about them and live her life.

If that was the case, Luciano was prepared to fulfill her wishes. If he could, he wanted to take away all her pain and suffering.

Fortunately, he had enough wealth to make that happen.