"I hate being lied to. It's one thing I can never accept. It doesn't matter if it's something petty or major. And it's surely something I didn't expect from someone like you." 

Wendy was in disbelief. The cheek of Irene to be angry at her for lying when she was the one who started the lie. The initial fear she had instantly vanished, and it was replaced with anger. "Just so you know, you're being a hypocrite." She was trying to be civil, but she was already gritting her teeth. 

"I had my reasons."

"So did I."

"You're making excuses for yourself," Irene spat. 

"Oh, the audacity of you to accuse me of making excuses. It's hypocritical of you to call me out for being a liar when you are one too!" 

Irene's eyebrows scrunched at the blonde's sudden outburst. "Why the hell are you raising your voice at me?"

"Because you're a hypocritical . It's not like I wanted to keep it from you. Your grandfather told me to not tell you. I hate you, you piece of !" Wendy rarely cursed, but this time she lost it. Irene was being unfair to her. She grabbed the pillow from under her and threw it at Irene. "Yah! I've been tolerating your nonsense for the past few months, you ungrateful !"

Wendy's blood was boiling seeing how Irene was glaring at her, a reaction she deemed unnecessary. She knew her actions were slightly over the top, but Irene truly struck a raw nerve. She felt like Irene was shifting the blame to her, as if everything was her fault. 

Irene's fast reflexes allowed her to dodge the attack. She swatted the pillow away. "Why the hell are you being so aggressive?!" 

"You ticked me off," Wendy retorted angrily, yanking the blanket away from Irene.

"Damn it," Irene's harsh tone turned into a grumble, "You really can't let me be the angrier one, can you?"

"If you were being reasonable, I would have listened to you." Wendy became much calmer this time. "But you pissed me off by berating me for lying, which need I remind you again that was started by YOU," she snarled, feeling the bubbles of anger rising again.

Irene ran her fingers through her hair, and let out a heavy sigh. "I know."

"What?" Wendy responded quizzically. 

"I know about your deal with my grandfather, Seungwan."

Wendy narrowed her eyes at Irene. "How?"

"Well..."

"I heard something interesting happened at work today," Soo Man said, as he gently rocked his rocking chair in his room.

"News reach you fast, don't they?" Irene responded, closing the door behind her. She had dropped by Soo Man's house to pass some groceries, and collect some documents required for her business trip to Austria.

"She's good for you, isn't she?"

A smile began to curve Irene's bottom lip, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "She is."

Irene heard a distant chuckle from Soo Man, and so decided to sit next to him. She had some spare time, and felt it was the right time to speak to Soo Man regarding a certain pressing matter. "I have something to tell you."

"What would that be?" Soo Man asked, facing his granddaughter. 

"Wendy and I aren't engaged," Irene admitted calmly. She was poised, and there was no hint of nervousness in her voice. "I asked her to pretend to be my fiancee so that you will stop asking me who my fiancee is."

Soo Man cleared his throat, and looked ahead. He nodded slowly, registering what Irene had just said to him. "So the two of you have been lying to me all along?"

"Yes, and I take full responsibility. Please let Wendy off. She's not at fault, I'm to blame."

He turned to look at Irene again, his curiosity piqued. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because I don't want to keep lying to you. And I don't want to drag Wendy into this mess that I started anymore."

"Are you letting her go?"

"No." Irene paused momentarily to collect her thoughts. "I'm not doing that."

"So you like her?"

"Yes, I do. I like her a lot."

"Does she like you back?"

"I don't know."

"Fool," Soo Man chuckled, shaking his head. "She likes you. She just doesn't realise it yet."

"Tiffany said the same."

"And Tiffany is always right." Soo Man grinned, donning a proud expression. "Ah, my grandchildren always pick the right partners. I must be the luckiest man in the world to have such offsprings."

"I guess you are," Irene replied with a smile.

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