152 Parental Pressure (19)

Good things don't happen to people just because they have good wishes. Even though Kyro's parents wanted the best for their son, they expressed it in pushing their own opinions too much, and their relationship with Kyro deteriorated at a visible rate.

Iris watched their cold war from the sidelines, unable to do anything. Often, she wanted to just stand up and hit their heads together so they stopped acting like only they knew better. Kyro's parents simply needed to understand that their son was no longer a child they could order about, and Kyro needed to open up for once and tell them why he made his choices.

It was all so obvious from the outside, but the three people involved seemed blind to such options. They continued on their tracks, rushing ahead as if everything would work out if they just lasted long enough.

In a blink of an eye, half a week passed like that, and it was Friday once more. In the morning, Iris played a bit with Lucy, then around noon took a nap. She was soon woken up by a doorbell, though.

This didn't sound right. She blinked a few times, listening to make sure it was really the doorbell. Who could have come at this time? Kyro wasn't even home yet.

Chime-like laughter came from the living room, and Iris left Kyro's bedroom with a sinking feeling. Mother couldn't have done what she thought she had done, right?

Of course she had. Near the door, two young women stood. They were around twenty and had clearly prepared for a meeting with someone they wanted to impress. One of them was wearing a light blue dress that set off her youthfulness, while the other wore an almost neon yellow tube top and mini skirt. With their perfect facial features, skin, and figures, they looked like a pair that would attract many glances on the street.

While Iris was stunned by them, the doorbell rang again, and another woman was let in. She was older than the others, clearly in her second half of the twenties, and she worked to cultivate that image. Her clothes were smart, pristine, and she wore a high bun. The only thing missing was a pair of glasses.

Kyro's mother led all of them into the living room and sat down around the sofa. There were some refreshments on the table already, and they all started chatting about various things, mostly gossip around their circles. Apparently some friend of theirs had actually been caught with drugs, and they were all condemning that woman for being an idiot.

From behind a plant, Iris watched this grouping with narrowed eyes. It all seemed like nothing more than mother calling her group of friends to chat, but who would believe that? If that was the case, she wouldn't have called women that were two-three decades younger than her and all somehow matching Kyro's age.

This kind of matchmaking pissed Iris off, and she didn't answer when she was called. If they wanted to make fools of themselves, there was no need to involve her. Unlike them, she at least knew Kyro and that he wouldn't welcome such an intrusion into his private space.

As expected, when he returned and saw the show in the living room, his gaze became thunderous. The women, whose number had increased by two, smiled at him, standing up to say hello, completely unaware that they were pulling on a lion's whiskers. He answered them politely enough, though, then made his way into his room with an excuse to freshen up after work.

Iris slipped through the living room unnoticed to join him and mother in his bedroom. The two would certainly share something interesting, and she wanted to hear what it would be. It was unimaginable that Kyro would just accept such a turn of events.

But he surprised her. Without saying anything, he changed out of his suit into more casual clothes, then looked at mother who had followed him in. "Something the matter?"

"Take the fox when you come out. You have the image of a very unapproachable person, and the cute thing will soften it."

After that, mother left, and Kyro's gaze fell on Iris. He was probably saying something without words, but she was a bit too busy trying to figure out from where the sudden anger within her was rising. The idea that she would help Kyro get a girlfriend just didn't sit well with her.

Every part of her was refusing to participate in such nonsense. Nothing good could ever come out of it, nor did she want it to do so. If Kyro got a girlfriend, then she...

Iris closed her eyes, lost in the emotions that were spilling out. She didn't like the direction in which her thoughts were going.

"Hey, will you participate in this charade?" Kyro asked, and Iris looked up at his honest face. While with her, he didn't hide his disgust for the upcoming evening, and her nerves relaxed a little.

Maybe it wouldn't go too bad? She nodded, deciding that it was better for her to join him. Like with Sheila, if sparks started flying, she could do something to stop that.

When they came out, mother was already sitting among the five women who instantly turned around. Upon seeing Kyro, they all revealed different types of smiles—bashful, knowing, sultry, professional, dazed—and Iris was ready to puke. If this was how the whole evening would go, she had to admit to herself that she might not be able to stay here through it all.

Mother then introduced everyone, but Iris didn't pay much attention to their names. Hopefully she would never have to see them again.

"We've met before, at Julia's birthday," said the girl with the blue dress, and Iris' head swiveled in her direction. Second meeting was clearly a warning sign. Things like that could lead to very unfortunate developments!

"I remember you, a close friend of Julia, right?" Kyro's voice didn't betray anything, but the fact that he remembered the woman annoyed Iris. Could he actually be more interested than he let on?

One of the two newcomers didn't seem to like where this conversation was going, either, so she swiftly pointed at Iris, who was currently lounging on Kyro's knees. His left hand was on her back as if holding her from moving about.

"Is it a fennec fox? I've never seen on in real life before!" she exclaimed, and Iris saw how the blue-dress girl puckered her lips in disappointment.

'Maybe I looked down on this show too much. It might actually end up pretty fun.' If all the women started to compete among themselves, Iris wouldn't even have to do anything to make them fail. They'd make sure of that themselves.

Kyro answered in a general manner, trying to avoid any specifics, but the women seemed to have decided that it was an interesting topic and didn't let go of it. They questioned him about raising such a pet and why did he decide on such a cute little thing, then expressed how they would have never thought he'd have such a hobby that didn't fit with what they've heard of him.

From all that talk, Kyro grew thirsty and picked a glass of water from the table. While he was drinking it, the blue-dress girl decided to speak up again.

"You said it's a girl? My cousin has a male fennec and has been dreaming about finding a match for him. What do you think? Would you like your fox to find a partn—"

Kyro choked on his drink. He coughed heavily a few times, and his eyes moved down to the fox on his knees. Iris had risen to her feet, but there was no screaming or shrieking. She just stared up at him, stupefied.