han seo headcanons (part 4)
writing this is cathartic tbh. of course, i always write on the days i have an exam to prep for (aka my lit exam tmrw thats technically today)!! we make good life decisions here at clown nation <3
the first time they competed, vincenzo was away on his buisness trip to italy. he had some loose ends to tie up after his little contract and getting paulo off the helm of the mafia.
which meant that jipuragi was particularly empty without the italian-korean's presence. no one to give han seo a pat on his back. no one to look over cha-young's shoulder.
they all felt it hard, as if the firm had a huge hole where vincenzo is supposed to be
han seo felt himself looking at his desk every single time he passed by it. the first day was more jarring than the rest, he had gotten used to vincenzo's presence in his life.
it was a particularly late friday night at jipuragi. han seo lugged into the firm a gigantic stack of contracts and internal documents about babel so the laywers and him can go through each one. cha-young had to carry both her and vincenzo's load for that week with vincenzo in italy.
they were stressed and tired and had a million paper cuts from sorting through each pile of documents. all three of them were working quietly, the silence comfortable, save for the sounds of russling paper and pens scratching across notepads
"alright, i'm off for the night. i have a airplane competition tomorrow morning and i need jason to fly far for me so i can finally win that 500 dollar prize. goodnight byeonosanim, mr. jang" the paralegal said as he put on his satchel and took out his cycle. he waved his goodbyes as the he left, leaving han seo and cha-young in the office by themselves.
they had only known each other for two weeks, really. han seo always met his hyung vincenzo over drinks or over at his house. he only ever saw the pretty lawyer from a distance, usually when taking note of how his hyung vincenzo dotes over her just so he can tease him about her
and use her to distract his hyung
cha-young didn't know much about the young ceo, despite meeting him a couple times from her time at wusang. part of her never wanted to trust him, even though he had proven himself and his loyalty to vincenzo, because in the world she lived in, everyone could betray the other at any time
but his presence in the office was comforting to her. he had come in, dressed like an 80s disco star and all asking if he could join the team, and somehow, he stuck with her.
something in her wanted to trust him. he seemed unassuming and loyal to the core, especially to vincenzo. the way he always walked into the firm grinning, visiting the plaza residents. he had an energy about him that reminded him of a younger sibling she's always wanted
but she was burned once with prosecutor jung and she's learned her lesson so it was time for the ultimate test
"are you hungry?" she asked, shuffling through her papers one last time before standing up, and putting the stacks back into their file system
han seo was startled for a second, his head buried deep with in the papers, the words almost swimming together with the amount of times he had to look through these contracts
for a second, he thought she was speaking to vincenzo, not himself before he remembered that vincenzo wasn't here this week
"Oh yes, byeonosanim. Would you like to order something or..?" he'd replied as he stood up from his seat, giving his legs a strech. he had forgotten just how tired he was until she asked him, his body feeling the effects of running the company and being at jipuragi
"Yeah, we can. I have the perfect restaurant to get some food from! they're always open late too so it's really convenient" she quipped back, her back facing him as she started putting all the contracts back into place and started pulling out new ones to look over
he followed suit, clearing up the table he was working on and moving to the paralegal’s desk.
even though his work was often hard for him to understand, the legal and formal language needing multiple reads, he felt refreshed each time he came to the plaza
he'd established a daily routine here, going to check on the hee-soo at the snack bar, visiting the pawnshop
he's quite good with his hands. he'd always known he had a knack for taking things apart and fixing them, which especially helped at the pawnshop when college students and older families would come by with broken tablets and gadgets.
even though he was rich, barely anything was spent on him when his dad was alive. every single new outfit or toy always went to han-seok, where as he was stuck with the ragged hand me downs, and old toys.
so when he had gotten his first phone, and broken the keypad, (because han seok threw it across the room when he got angry that he had the same model as his illegitimate brother) he understood it was up to him to figure it out.
he was always good at taking things apart, from all his toy cars to majority of the gadgets and clocks he had in his house.
(there was a day, when he was younger, that he took apart han seok's toy car. the next school day he walked around with gloves, trying to forget about how his cuts hurt as he curled his fingers around a pencil)
taking things apart and then putting them back together the same way was somehow natural to him. but of course, none of that mattered since he couldn't score well enough on his exams to get past the courses he needed to into engineering. plus, he could imagine the sneer on his father's face if he told him what path he was considering...
for most of his life, he'd felt useless compared to his brother. he was never the quick-witted boy at school, failing his english courses and having to go to cram schools and tutoring sessions just to pass by.
he hated going to school everyday, having the teachers shame him for not being as smart as his brother, not being as charismatic or as smooth talking
the exam days were always the worst. looking at the exam sheet, his palms sweaty and his throat tight as he looked at the questions
the doubt was overwhelming. the pressure made him sweat and freeze up even though he knew the problems.
the kids at his schools always seemed to prefer han seok, for some weird reason, when to him he's always been the menace in his life.
han seok was the one to head the company. the one he can't measure up to in front of his father. the one to push the family forward. every bit of praise, every second of attention, it all went to han seok.
han seo was the mistake. the one who always fucked it up. the one who seemed to mess up his brother's plans.
his brother seemed to take it upon himself to remind him that he wasn't meant to be alive. and their father, believing it to be good for han seo, would force him to be tutored by han seok every day.
his brother had a field day with it, finding the most creative ways to abuse and torture him
of course, he's not allowed to say a word about it.
at first, working at jipuragi was anxiety inducing, sweat drenching his shirt each time he brought a document he thought useful to vincenzo, his throat closing up imagining the consequences of fucking up
he knew deep down, that vincenzo wasn't like his brother, he will not hurt him, he will not kill him
but the anxiety and panic are second nature to him
his eyes were glued to his shoes after he handed it over to vincenzo.
vincenzo paused, looking over the document with scrutiny. and his body was automatically bracing for a slap, a punch. at the very least a snide remark or a sneer.
instead he looked up at han seo, nodding, and told him "this is very useful. thank you."
the words echoed in his head as he replayed them back over and over. thank you. in all his years working, no one had said thank you. no words of appreciation were ever dealt for doing his job. for doing something right.
unable to think of a reply, he walked back to his desk and sat down, the shock overwhelming him before he got his mind working again
although it took him double the time to go through the contracts than it did vincenzo or cha-young, he was never berated. there was never a comment about how slow he was, how he wasn't cut out for this, only appriciative glances and words when he did well
and when he didn't, they corrected him, gently. never maliciously, never taunting, always gentle.
and for the first time, he could breathe
the time passed by quickly as they both continued working in silence, han seo finishing up half a stack before the doorbell rang.
"i'll get it! ceo jang, can you set the table up?" cha-young looked toward as she went to grab the food from the delivery man
"yes, byeonosanim" he replied as he went to grab some disposable plates and wooden chopsticks from the cabinet
he set everything out just in time for the lawyer to set the food down. he squinted at the bowls she pulled out, the bright red liquid a stark contrast to the white containers.
"uh, byeonosanim, what is that?"
"hm? oh it's fire noodles. you don't mind spice do you, han seo?" she quirked her eyebrow at him, her voice sickly sweet
and he grinned at her and that was enough of an answer: it was showdown time.
so there he was, sitting across from cha-young, the container of red chili oil central to both of them. both of their suit coats were off, lest they start literally heating up.
oh, and if either of them reach for their water: they're out.
for about 10 seconds, they stared at each other, trying to psych each other out, before his phone timer counted down.
....3, 2, 1 and they were off!
both of them grabbed their chopsticks and spoons and ate two large bites and drank the broth before angling for one spoon full of chili oil into their noodles.
and on they went in this cycle, eating a bite and drinking broth, and pouring chili oil in after each cycle.
3 pours in, and they were still doing good, neither of them showing any signs of redness
6 pours in and his tongue was swollen, her eyes watery, their broth bright red
7 pours in and .... was it just him or was the room getting hotter?
8 and you could see the sweat dripping the lawyer's forehead, the sniffles of the lawyer getting louder and louder. meanwhile he was panting, trying to increase the circulation into his mouth
9 and their arms meet across the table, inches from the chili oil. their eyes lock, their faces bright red and the pain of his tongue unbearable
his eyes are squinted (from his eyes burning or from concentration, we'll never know) and the lawyer is making faces, trying to get him to give in
"it'll" *huff* "be easier" *huff* "if you give in now" *huff*
he laughed back, in response. "and let you win? no way. I'M getting that paper crown"
their eyes both glance at the flimsy, blue paper crown set upon it's carrier, a stack of contracts
she scoffed back (and almost choked) "absolutely not"
they stare each other down as they pour more in and go for another round
they swallow and in that second, cha-young made a fatal mistake
she breathed in the fumes. and coughed. and grabbed the water before she could think about it.
"AHAHA I WIN!!" he yelled out, the chair flying back as he jumped up, the layer of sweat easing up when he grabbed the bottle of water and chugged the whole thing down
the lawyer on the other hand, was slumped in the seat, taking the opportunity to also chug the water.
for around 10 seconds all they did was pant, getting their bodies back into a normal pace before cha-young spoke up
"fine i guess you win, have a great night!" she jabbered out quickly but he knew what she was trying to do
"nuh uh, nope, you're not getting out of this. we agreed! loser has to crown the winner." he grinned at her, his eyes completely closed as his happiness shone through
sighing, the lawyer grabbed the crown from it's holy pedastal and stomped over.
"tun ta da da !!! all hail king han seo, destroyer of spice, the unyielding one" she sang out, her voice deeper as traces of laughter tinted her voice
she placed the crown upon his name and bowed, "may he reign forever" and looked up and shot him a wink "at least, until i win next time"
he struck a superman pose, and puffed his chest out, before both of them crumbled into laughter, cha-young dramatic one ringing above his cackling
"we should do this again please, noona!" he wheezed out, his stomach hurting from laughter.
but it was only his ringing out, as hers cut out sharply.
he paused as his head whipped around to the lawyer, her head tilted as she looked at him
did i say that? i swear i called her byeonosanim... and he replayed the moment.
"ah, i'm so sorry hong cha young byeonosanim, i overstepped, i apologize," he bowed in apology to her.
"do you call vincenzo byeonosanim hyung?"
"huh?" he looked up at her in confusion, "uh, yeah i do call him hyung. why?"
"you can call me noona then." she quipped back and for a second, he stared at her. wait what?
she clapped his back, and he choked on his spit, the clap knocking the air out of him "relax. you passed the test han-seo. i've always wanted a younger brother, you know? you can call me noona. as long as you remember your manners, that is," shooting him a wink
he glanced at her, before breaking out into the biggest grin, his gums peaking out.
"okay... cha-young noona!" he giggled, as they took their seats.
she grinned back, settling in.
"ah, you know noona, he said the same thing as you"
"vin hyung! he said the same 'you better mind your manners'" han seo laughed as he mocked the korean-italian mafia's voice
"you know, that impression is spot on!" she laughed as he continued the voice, adding in the classic hand gestures, until both of them broke into laughter.
for some reason, both of them were instantly comfortable with one another.
for han seo, laughing with cha-young, trading insults and teasing felt warm, it felt like he'd found a best friend (a best friend who once upon a time he almost maimed by sending thugs after her, but she swore to him that all is forgiven) they had similar humor, similar tastes, similar personalities
for cha-young, he felt like a partner in crime. not like the way vincenzo her partner in life in crime, but in the way that they were both pranksters, both with similar personalities and bright humor
it felt like finding a sibling, a person to commit crimes with, a person to clown together with
"you know, noona, is vin hyung..." he paused mid-sentence, contemplating if he could ask this.
"go on, han seo" cha-young encouraged him, one hand bringing the bottle of water to her mouth
"is he your boyfriend?" he rushed out the words and—
he was sprayed in the face.
cha-young was sputtering as the water dripped off his face, and his eyes shut as he wiped off the excess
"yah, why would you even ask that?" she scoffed out refusing to meet his eyes, but he could see the red tint creeping up on her neck and her cheeks
"yeah, yeah okay. he and i are... partners"
"oh." he quipped back, a sinister smile slowly spreading across his face
"no, no, no" she shook her at him, "i do not have a crush on him"
he raised an eyebrow back "who said anything about a crush hm, noona?"
she froze and he knew he'd have next weeks entertainment sorted
"you know maybe i'll take back that younger brother thing if this is how it's like" she taunted, but he didn't feel any hurt. instead her teasing just made his heart soar, her teasing somehow a comfort
"oh, we're just getting started!" he quipped back, as they cleaned up for the night, continuing their conversation as they restored the firm back to order.
"i've noticed you going to the pawnshop a lot recently" she noted, as she grabbed a stack of contracts to put back into the filing cabinet
"ahh, yeah i've been helping them out. they're having a baby you know and it must be hard on both of them to run the shop" he responded as he stacked another set of contracts together, clearing Mr. Nam's desk
"study electronics. or at least continue working for the pawnshop."
how did she know? for someone so bright and busy he didn't expect her to be so observant to him.
"oh please, like it's hard to notice. i've seen the way you always seem to be happier as you pass by the pawnshop. when i popped in during lunch, i saw you, hunched over the tablet. it's the happiest i've seen you look."
"oh." he grew quiet "it's a little too late, don't you think noona? for me to even consider that? i'd be a little foolish to follow that"
she sighed and turned to him, grabbing the stack from his arms. "let me tell you a story han seo. i'm 34 years old and a lawyer and don't get me wrong, i love doing this. but when i was little my dream was always to sing. but for years, i pushed it back, thinking i could never do it."
she stuffed the papers to the back corner, somehow managing to stuff it in and turned back to him.
"so, noona? did you do it?"
"patience. a couple weeks after my final exam for law school, i said why the hell not. and now i've been taking lessons one and off for years!"
"you should give a demo!! sing for us"
"oh, please i couldn't possibly do it" she tucked her hair back, looking bashful.
"ple-" he barely got the words out.
"oh of course, if you insist!" she grabbed the empty water bottle and climbed on her stool, the makeshift stage for the night
"noona! noona!!" han seo cheered her on as she stood up. she cleared her throat, moving her head to the side and warming up
and she opened her mouth.
if you could call that singing.
what came out was more of a series of tone-deaf screeches, making him wince but mask his face with a smile, trying to solider through the pain.
he clapped as SOON as she finished the last note, his ears grateful for the break. she took a flourished bow as she jumped off the stool
"noona, that was amazing!" he lied, trying his best to stop the ringing in his ears.
she smacked him with her water bottle "yah! you liar! i'm god awful" she made one of her classic faces.
"you know??? and you made me endure that???" he touched his ears. he expected to see blood but luckily the damage wasn't too bad
"YAH!" she smacked him again. "you brat, the point isn't that i'm good or not."
"then what is?" his eyebrows furrowed as he looked in confusion.
if you're not good at it then what really is the point? why should i keep trying?
"the point is that i'm happy. it doesn't matter how good you are at something for you to consider it an interest, as long as it makes you happy."
he paused. no one had ever said that before. to do what makes him happy. not what made his father or his brother happy. everyone's advice all his life was to stick to what you're good at and that there isn't a point in trying if you aren't good from the beginning.
"look i'm terrible at singing. but i know that if i had never pursued it, i would have grown old and regretted it. so what if i am bad! at least i got to do it while i'm alive! give electronics a shot, han seo."
han seo bit his lip slightly. and he nodded.
he was going to give it a shot.
"good! now lets get this cleaned up and go home!" she sashayed off to her desk, grabbing the last of her stuff before they left the firm.
the next week, when vincenzo was back from italy, he had expected to find the firm just like he left it. what he didn't expect was his girlfriend wife partner and brother han seo, one sprawled on the couch and the other on the floor, piles of blankets and what looked like a mic and SEVERAL bottles of sujo scattered across the table.
they were both in matching pajama sets, and snoring very loudly. he shuffled over to his desk where a note that looked like it was written in crayon was left
"dear vin hyung: noona and i were having a sleepover last night. i made sure she was extra safe and did not do anything overly amitious (like call you in the middle of the night to ask you if you had to leave) if you are seeing the mess that we probably made, please excuse it. i will clean it up as soon as i can. grazie!
p.s. you should ask noona out sometime, i have it in good word that she might be interested ;)
a/n: let this be a fic reminding you that if you are passionate about something, pursue it! our world conditions us to believe that you have to be good at something in order to be able to do it but that's absolute bs. please give your younger and future selves a chance by taking up something you've always wanted to do <3
