marina&dom << ves a casa conmigo

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long time no see, princesa

Marina & Dom

It’s unbelievable how someone’s life can change from one moment to the next. In my world, life is never taken for granted, people come and go, they live and they die the next day without any telltale sign foreshadowing the tragedy that’s about to happen. The only way to deal with it is to never get attached to anyone as they might disappear sooner than you could realize. Especially if you are the right hand of Spain’s most powerful mafia leader. Baltasar Gonzales Ferraz. The name that freaks out everyone who hears it because it means they managed to get themselves in big trouble. If he commanded me to do something, I couldn’t say no. I note the task, carry it out and return home with my place still intact next to him, my head still on my neck. If he ordered me to kill one of our own for whatever pity reason he could find, I had to look into their eyes and be able to pull the trigger without a second thought. That’s why friendships or any kind of relationships are a big no-no for me, well, with one rare exception. I think it’s safe to say that being the best friend of the man who were to inherit the business after his father’s death wasn’t an unfortunate thing. Baltasar loved his children in his own wicked way and would never do anything to harm his own son. Jorge was more like a brother to me after some point, a friend from my childhood who got me everything I have today. The man I let closer to myself only to be the one to stand over coffin, watching it go down until there was just memories proving that he’s ever existed. And now that Baltasar lost his heir, I get the ungrateful task to bring home another. The daughter who wished to do nothing with the family business. I’m flattered that Baltasar trusts me enough to bring her home safely, it’s not even hard to track her down - though she is good at hiding, it’s really impressive, I have to hand that to her - , I just simply don’t like travelling outside of Spain. I wonder why she chose South Korea out of all places,and maybe she’ll tell me later if she doesn’t get so angry upon seeing me. Instantly getting back to work is what I need to not let myself get sucked in by grief, but joining the team assigned to hunt down Jorge’s killers was the only thing I actually wanted to do. Anything beside that should have come second, but not if the big boss said otherwise. Now his daughter is my priority. Period.
I wait for her leaning on the wall opposite of her apartment door. There is no other soul around, but I still wear a hoodie and sunglasses, leaving all the expensive clothes behind to blend in. I take a look at my watch, her shift should be end by now, so she should be home soon if she doesn’t make any detours. I could have simply show up at the restaurant she works at too, but it’s safer this way from many perspectives. I don’t want her to see me as an enemy I am not, so the least I can do is approaching her without any backup. Baltasar would think it’s foolish, I think it’s tactical. She would only see my men as a threat, and we don’t need that right now. Even though we hung out sometimes, we have never been close like her brother and I were, but last time I checked she didn’t hate my guts, so I would like to keep things that way.
When someone turns up at the corner, I instantly recognize the girl I haven’t seen lately. Observing her a little, she doesn’t seem to have changed a lot, looks as beautiful as ever, which would definitely make any man who saw her for the first time forget their own name.
“Long time no see, Marina,” I push myself off of the wall, usually my significant smile would be creeping its way up on my lips that some thinks is annoying, but some find it attractive. Today however, it's just a simple smile without any trace of the real me behind it. Whether she recognizes that too or not, I guess time will tell.
I really hope she won’t run right away because the last thing I want is chasing her through the streets of Korea for multiple reasons. Nevertheless, I think she is smarter than making sudden, careless moves.

Words: 770|| Notes: Para ti <3

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so you're the harbinger of death

Dom & Marina

As I hang my black apron, change my comfy shoes for high heels and grab my leather backpack, I close my locker in the Exquisito’s changing room with practical ease and bid my goodbye towards the petite, Korean woman behind the counter, the lovely owner of this magical place.
‘안녕히 계세요 여러분’ I shout to the other waiters as well with the same practice, bending my back a little to show my respect.
Living in South Korea has many difficulties for someone as independent as me and learning the local habits - like the highly formal speech with its unique vocabulary or the submissive body language - is still something that I need to merge into my mindset. It’s not easy, of course it’s not. But when was life easy in the first place? Honestly, struggling here with the disdainful looks I constantly get from the elder generation is still better than being at home and begging my father to not hurt those whom I genuinely care about in vain then watching my loved ones bleeding out in the dock like abandoned animals.
Shaking my head, I refuse to get sucked in by my memories and shoot a smile to the corner grocery’s young shop assistant instead. I buy fresh vegetables for dinner and invite her over for chicken and beer as soon as she tells be that she has big news. Gosh! I hope that she finally get accepted by that fancy looking university, she wants to learn business administration at or that her crush finally asked her out and stopped fooling around with other chicks. Looking at her sad face whenever he comes by the shop is heartbreaking, really.
‘See you soon then. And thanks for the extra cabbage,’ I singsong as I walk out of the small building and take a sharp turn to right with two brown paper bags in my hands.
I recognize the man even with the black hoodie atop his head and automatically roll my eyes, knowing well who might have sent him here to track me down. So it took the dreadful Baltasar Gonzales Ferraz two entire months to start missing her precious daughter, how endearing!
‘Not long enough,’ I murmur under my nose as I pass him by and put the bags on the ground, fishing my keys out of my backpack.
A stubborn and proud part of me tries real hard to shut Dom’s presence out, but I’ve always been too curious for my own sake and seemingly I still am as I push the door open then keep it that way, waiting.
‘Hop-hop before I change my mind,’ I tell him with my chin held up high. Some may think that I’m being cruel but the man I’m facing with knows that acting distant and cold is in my nature when I feel myself being threatened. If I were him, I would be grateful that I’m willingly let him inside my flat which I rent from the money I stole from my father.
I put the bags on the kitchen counter and start unpacking the ingredients, looking at the man who still stands in front of the entrance as if he was waiting for something, something I can’t quite decipher.
‘Make yourself comfortable and talk. It must be important if the big boss decided to send you of all people,’ I make a mockery of them both with my tone and snort as I put the cabbage leaves into a plastic bowl paying close attention at every tiny movement of Dom’s body. That fake smile of his freaks me out and I don’t like the intense effect it has over me.

Words: 0,6k || Notes: lo siento~

Vendég

long time no see, princesa

Marina & Dom

Marina is just like I remembered, and if I were here under different circumstances, I would even smile, truly smile, at her defensive reaction which at the moment only brings me back to the old times unintentionally. She’s so much like her brother both in appearance and personality, they couldn’t deny they are relatives even if they wanted to. I instinctively gulp at the thought of Jorge, thankfully Marina can’t see it as she’s showing her back to me, during all those years I’ve spent with the Spanish mafia I learned how to mask my weaknesses and not let my pain show, but I guess I was never prepared for the possibility of my best friend, my brother, the one person who knew me better than I knew myself die suddenly, disappear from life like he has never existed. Now I was given the cruel task to come here and tell his little sister he always adored one way or another, that he’s gone. Baltasar is many things, but dumb isn’t one of them. It isn’t just because I’m his right hand and I have his full trust, he thinks that because I’ve grown up with the siblings I have a better connection with his daughter as well. Well, we’ll see about that.
I quickly scan the flat she leads me into, an old habit that saved my life countless times before: always know where you are and what are your options there. I don’t think I’m in danger with Marina, but old habits are hard to shake off, and I could never know when small details could come handy.
I hum at her response, not speaking for a long minute even if she stares holes in my body, I simply don’t know how to break the news to her, I was never in this position before and honestly, if she was just another girl losing her brother so soon I would mercilessly state the facts of his death, but Marina is not just another girl, she’s far from it, as Jorge is not just another meaningless name on the list of dead people as well.
“It’s about Jorge,” I sigh, finally finding the will in myself to look at the girl standing in a safe distance from me. “He was killed, Marina,” the words are like venom on my mouth, making me want to throw up badly, my voice is strained, and if I take off my shades she can probably spot my swollen eyes that are in a bad condition from crying so much. Good thing I’ve been wearing that since Jorge’s funeral, so no one would know about how badly am I dealing with grief.
I watch her face searching for any signs that could tell me what she’s thinking. I prepare myself for the worst reaction though, ready to handle the situation if she really freaks out. I’ve known her to be much calmer and collected than the rest of her family was, but since she’s a Gonzales, I believe it’s in her blood to make a scene, throw things at me if she loses it.
I decide to give her a minute of processing this devastating information before telling her Baltasar wants her to come back home immediately, she doesn’t need two bombs dropped at her at once.

Words: 553|| Notes: Para ti <3

Vendég

so you're the harbinger of death

Dom & Marina

I can sense the tension in the air as he markedly observes even the tiniest details of my flat’s interior design but I choose to not make a comment on it and focus on the Chinese cabbage instead. I put the leaves into a plastic bowl and wash them clean then get the chicken breasts out of the freezer and put them in another, bigger bowl full of hot water so that I can cut them up into small pieces once I prepared all the other ingredients. I act as if it was just another Thursday afternoon and Dom wasn’t standing in the middle of my living room looking ever so miserable. His fake smile and puffy eyes make it clear that he is a bit under the weather, that he can’t sleep for at least days now and that something is definitely off. But I left my family for a reason. I don’t care about the possible mishaps in the business.
Yet my hands come to a halt when the man spills the beans and tells me that my beloved brother is gone. For long seconds I don’t know what to do with this new information. Should I grab the knife on the counter and jump on him, asking him to not lie into my face? Should I cry, accepting the truth right away? It feels so surreal.
Not having enough energy in my body to actually walk back to the counter, I rather close my eyes and take a few deep breathers to even my breathing. I need to stay focused, I can’t lose it this easily even though my palms are itching to hit something, to break something, to destroy everyone who comes into my way including the harbinger of the upcoming war. Because if there is one thing I can be sure about then it’s that my father would never let anyone get away with such an unforgettable act. He will kill everyone who was a part of my brother’s murder, even their dogs to make them pay.
‘What happened?’ I ask after long minutes of silence and the symptoms of the very first stage of grief already wears off my body and mind as I walk towards the kitchen counter in utter denial. I check the chicken breasts with my fingertips whether they are soft enough to be chopped or not and start to cut them anyway.
While I’m waiting for the intruder to tell me all the details of the murder, I wonder where the man was during the happening. He and my brother were so close to each other, I don’t understand how could he left him alone. Did he die just like that without anyone near him? Was he afraid of what was waiting for him on the other side? Whom did he think of in his last seconds? Or was it such a sudden end that he couldn’t even recall his happiest memories? These are the thoughts that invade my mind when I accidentally cut my own finger without even realizing. The pain that I feel due to my brother’s death suppresses the physical one.

Words: 0,5k || Notes: lo siento~

Vendég

long time no see, princesa

Marina & Dom

Living in this cruel world of ours always had its perks for me as my job might have been hard and brutal, but at least I had a secure place next to the most influential man of Spain. The situation was never ideal from the start but either this or certain death. Which is quite funny because this life could lead to that eventually as dying peacefully in my final years sounds really ridiculous with the things that I do, but hey, despite all the different injuries and multiple gunshot wounds I’m still here, so I have nothing to complain about.
It feels like long hours till she finds her voice again and I can imagine the stormy thoughts swirling in her head looking for answers which she eventually demands, and I’m not sure how I supposed to feel about this reaction. It’s so quiet and almost tranquil except for the heavy silence that follows. I know it’s far more dangerous and I would rather have her screaming at my face, punching my chest repeatedly until she gets tired of it or I provide an answer that would just add to her sorrows. Yeah, I would rather deal with her emotional outburst than this, because in these moments, my doubts about her surface as she is so good maintaining that poker face that resembles every member of her family. What she is really thinking is a mystery for me and I can only guess while staying alert. A sad and angry Gonzales is not someone to mess with after all, they all have that in common.
Now it’s my turn to be at loss of words and the heart painfully throbbing in my chest reminds me why is that. I clear my throat and look away for a moment, not bearing to look at the girl even through the shades, her features, especially her eyes are so much like Jorge’s that it is difficult to meet them without shivering.
“I was in Barcelona for two days taking care of some business for your father,” I start talking when the silence stretches too far and I don’t want to risk being yelled at because of it. Her actions surprise me though, how can she start cooking after the terrible news I just shared with her? Man, this girl is really something else. “Jorge went to visit his new girl while I was gone. When I got back the next day your father immediately sent me to look for him because he hasn’t gotten back to the headquarters and thought he was just rebelling again by denying to show up as he has done it before. I found the bodies all bloodied and…” I stop myself before I could go into details any further. No matter how strong she is, she doesn’t need to know the gory details of her brother’s death. It’s enough that I saw it and possibly can never erase the sight out of my mind. Jorge’s head put on a silver platter on the kitchen counter was clearly a message as the other dead bodies and the writing on the wall were. “The surveillance camera showed that they came at night when everyone was sleeping and killed everyone in the house. Jorge, his new lover, her little sister and brother. We don’t know who did it and why they did it, your father sent me after you straight away because there was a message on the wall written in blood that indicated they were coming after Baltasar’s another child… you,” it’s hard to tell everything to her because the words bring me back to the afternoon that brought me here in the first place. As I talk, I see everything so vividly as if I was back in the small and run-down apartment, walking from room to room to check out every part of the building and look for survivors even though I knew it that a massacre like this wouldn’t leave any behind. Funny enough, it wasn’t my first time witnessing a gory sight, I have seen worse and frankly, had done worse, but still it is the only one that haunts me in my dreams and apparently even during the day ever since that day.
I wait for Marina to react before I say anything else, it’s bad enough that she had to find out about her brother’s head and becoming a possible target on the same day. Time is not on our side - it never was - but I want to give her some more to adjust to the news before attempting to take her with me. Hopefully she’ll come willingly because I would hate to force her.

Words: 784|| Notes: Para ti <3