"I should be going now. Thanks for breakfast, though." Camellia finally ended her two hours of breakfast with the family. She usually takes fifteen minutes of speedy breakfast by herself. Now she not only full of food but full of warmth. She once lived with a vast and noisy family before but never like this: a real big family & honest friends. Camellia smiled with satisfaction.
It was Saturday morning. After breakfast, the children were with their respective babysitters to get through a specific schedule. The chaotic atmosphere a moment ago has turned to total silent and calm. Camellia helps out in the kitchen, cleaning the breakfast mess with the ladies.
"Come on, why so soon? Stay for a while. Shuu is coming any seconds now." Emily grabbed a dry towel to dry her hand with it before starting to prepare a hot china pot of tea set on a silver tray with a train of assorted shortcakes on a trolley. She pulls out several china teacups from the cabinet before a maid brings them to the morning room or more like a greenhouse.
Camellia begins to panic at the mention of Shuu's name. "What? Why? No. No need to trouble him to come and get me home." Belinda smiled at her antics, gestured her to follow suits. Camellia sigh and reluctantly follows the ladies heading to the greenhouse.
From the outside, the greenhouse looks wonderfully huge. The moment Camellia walks into the greenhouse, she gasped in awe. She was mesmerised by the interior of the greenhouse. It appears spacious, bright and warm. It was early summer, but it was not very hot on the inside. The multiple greens & flowers were in full bloom despite their origin.
She doesn't even recognise some of the flora. She was in the hype with the beautiful & sweet scents of the flowers. It makes her feel at peace. All her worries & sadness disappears as if it never there. But soon, she fell silent. She remembers her lonely Kaku back at Jeju Island's Greenhouse. Should she go and get her to stay with her in Seoul? She closed her eyes in dismay at how she missed those girls.
Camellia, in weak realisation, returns to her seat among the ladies. The duo has been watching her from the moment she stepped into the greenhouse was happy to see her excitement, only to wonder why she returns with gloomy looks. The duo begins to signal their thoughts to each other, but neither of them dares to ask her why.
"Oh, look. They're moving to the clubhouse now." Emily voiced out, looking outside the greenhouse towards the house rear. Camellia glanced at the men, curious about what she was talking about. All she saw was a group of tall men walking passed the greenhouse. They appeared intimidating with their present. Their looks seemed tense. One of them was Shuu. As if their mind at sync, that very moment, Shuu turned to her way, and their eyes met. He smiled at her. Camellia was flushed up in an awkward smile and turn away. She turns back to the group to see they already disappeared into a private room called the clubhouse. She never saw what inside the clubhouse, but all she can imagine was a playroom with all the men's toys.
"This is my first time watching it," Belinda joins into conversation with her clumsy Korean. "Their aura's give out a superior tense." She only confirmed her lack of conversations. She admits she never a foreign women before with a rare kind of hair colour as well. She glanced at Emily, a moment to catch her worried looks before she turned to her friend and smiled.
"Sorry about that. You caught me red-handed.." Emily looks worried, gave out a sigh. Camellia stares at her in questions. "You saw Taka took the baby with him inside, didn't you?" Camellia nodded. Emily glanced at Belinda with tenses look. Belinda reached out her free hands under the table, gave it a squeeze of comfort.
"Taka not supposed to join in the discussion. But, he successfully took the baby in with him just now." Belinda explained, this time in English. "Maybe they consider him as one of their friends after all." Camellia smiled at her explanation. "Sorry. I hope you don't mind my rough Korean. My Korean is not that good. I'm still in the learning process." Belinda continues apologetically.
Emily smirked at her. "You wouldn't believe me if I tell you she is actually a language teacher," Emily revealed to Camellia. There was obvious shook on her face, and she quickly glances at Belinda.
"Oh, I didn't see it coming." They burst out laughing. Belinda's bright skin becomes flushed pinkish. The calm & serene greenhouse suddenly echoes with their unladylike laughter gave out a shocking vibe to their surrounding.
"It's alright. I don't mind to speak English with you." Camellia trying hard to subdue her laugh unsuccessfully while wiping her tears with her fingertips. The other ladies still holding their tummy, laughing out.
It took them another fifteen minutes to make a complete stop and rearrange themselves appropriately after one of the men sticking out their head out in questions.
"Well. That was an intense exercise of the face, won't you agree, ladies?" Emily was coughing herself out from the laughing session. "Bell, why don't you go refresh yourself." Belinda's natural bright skin has turn flushed into the bright red scallop. Emily didn't dare to turn face to face with her. In understanding, Belinda excused herself to refreshen herself in a hurry. "I am so sorry that you need to see that side of us, dear Camellia."
Camellia watched Belinda walk off hurriedly and disappears into the main house. "You seemed close and knew her well."
"Aye. We are sibling, after all."
"Oh! You don't seem to have any similarity between you. Except both of you looks real beauty."
"Hey, not fair. You're making me flushed like shrimp soon." Emily sulkily turns away with a flushed face. Camellia apologies to her with a bow. "She was my only sister and also my friend while growing up. One day, Mohoing, who works as a teacher at the rural village, return home from months of not coming home, suddenly brought in a child with red hair. Wild red hair. Some say she was the devil's daughter, and that's why her parent doesn't want her as their child. Her father was dead. So, she was sent back to her grandmother, who stays at the edge of the Wood. She took pity on her grandchild, and she begs Mohoing to take her in as his adopted child." Emily continues. "She was just eight years old at that time. She has been living with us ever until she graduated from her languages degree."
"Did she knew about this?"
"Yes. she did. She asks Mohoing when she was into high school." Emily looks forlorn at the main house. "I knew this the day I went to tell Mohoing I am going to Singapore to continue my studies. I accidentally overheard them talking. The next thing I knew, Mohoing packed up our luggage and shipped us to Singapore. Something might have happened that day to her."
"So, she came here for visiting you. That's good, sister."
"Well, she came with her husband. I think you saw and met him last night."
"Who?" All of a sudden, the memories of last night with Kunihiko rushing in like a waterfall. This time, Camellia's face flushed red. A flash of memory of the stranger appearance as she rushed out of the room gave her a chill. It seemed like that man dislikes her.
"Kakeru Yamaguchi is her husband. Of course."