The Talk
The Reckless Racoon and the Tame Tigress"Wendy, I would like to speak to you," Soo Man said as soon as he was done with breakfast. "Shall we go to my garden at the back?"
"Sure," Wendy replied. She noticed a faint look of worry on Irene's face, so she smiled, hoping it would assure the dark-haired girl that there was nothing to be worried about. It worked, because as soon as Irene saw that smile, her tensed shoulders loosened and she looked away almost immediately.
Wendy inwardly scoffed. "Yeah, keep it up with your cool attitude."
Soo Man's garden was quite a sight to behold. There was an array of colours, petals complementing and hamornizing with one another. The fragrance that drifted along with the wind combined well. It wasn't overpowering. Wendy quite liked the pleasant smell she was breathing in. The garden was so well-kept that Wendy couldn't help but wonder if Soo Man had a private gardener to do all the maintenance works.
"Have a seat," Soo Man began, as he gestured at the stain brown reclining chair.
Even taking a seat felt like a daunting task to Wendy. Her heart began to palpitate with anticipation, as she anxiously waited for Soo Man to speak again.
"What do you think of my granddaughter, Wendy?"
The question eased Wendy's tensed muscles. "She's a lovely person." Far from that. But Wendy had to lie. She couldn't be insulting Irene in front of Soo Man.
"Does she take good care of you?"
Wendy thought hard of the times Irene treated her with respect. It was rare. The images playing in her head were all of Irene's rude remarks and condescending tone whenever she opened . On top of that, last night's incident simply proved that Irene could be quite a wild tigress if not tamed.
Yet Wendy could not deny that Irene did have her polite moments. These moments came unexpectedly. Once in a blue moon, as people would say. It was something no one could anticipate. Wendy wasn't really fond of the whole hot and cold facade Irene had been putting on. Unfortunately it was something beyond the blonde's control. "She's caring in her own quiet ways," Wendy concluded truthfully.
"You don't think she's a control freak?"
"She does go berserk if things don't go her way," Wendy admitted. "It's how she is so I've kind of grown accustomed to it."
"Because you handle those type of kids in school too?"
Wendy laughed. "Yeah. But Irene keeps me entertained with her controlling antics. I guess I can tolerate it."
A smile tugged at Soo Man's lips. "She needs you, Wendy."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't you realise I'm tough on her?"
"I do notice you're the toughest on her among the three sisters."
"I love her the most. The other two are aware of it. Irene wasn't exactly her parents' favourite." His tone was sympathethic, and had a hint of regret. Wendy couldn't quite decipher which was it.
"Was there a reason for that?" she thread cautiously, not wanting to come off as nosy.
"Second child syndrome perhaps. She was independent since young. Didn't need much attention because she would always insist she could do everything on her own. So her parents just let her be most of the time. My late wife and I would often bring her over. She preferred our company to her parents and siblings."
"But Irene seems close to Jessica and Yeri though."
"They got close after their parents passed on. Have you ever heard of the New York plane crash in November 2001?"
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