S C A N D A L

Chapter Six

Two days before the wedding, Takeo with his lovely wife Azumi arrived to visit Shiro and his mother, accompanied by their other sons. This both intrigued and amused Shiro for he had never met such colorful characters in his life. Each one of the Matsumoto sons had very different personalities.

The eldest among them was Masahiko, and he was a man of few words. They said he was in a serious relationship with a famous model-turned-actress but had never thought of marriage yet. He seemed to possess a brooding character and though he did smile upon meeting Shiro, it was only out of politeness and what was expected of him. No more and no less. Shiro thought that it would probably take a great deal of patience to even become friends with this one.

Tetsuya, the second son was delightful and funny. A younger image of their father. His humorous and outrageous flattery soon had Shiro dissolved into fits of laughter. He was rather chatty and had a great deal to say about Kurou and his childhood. Not to mention, his knowledge of his brother's many scandals. Surprisingly, this comical man was a doctor and a director of a hospital which left Shiro and even Kumiko speechless.

The third brother was no doubt the favorite of Kurou...and even Yoshihiro. Shiro quickly saw how his cousin's eyes twinkled at the sight of a handsome man with small eyes and very fair skin. There was something always pleasing about his mouth when he spoke and his manner left Shiro no doubt that he was highly educated at a prestigious university. He also noticed how he drew a fleeting grin from Kurou himself, which meant that among his three brothers, this was the one he trusted the most and probably knew most of his secrets. Even his name sounded like it came out of a novel---Raiden. Well, Yoshi was half in love with him already.

Meanwhile, Kurou was moody and subdued. He was self-detached from others, making only short, polite replies, and appearing as if he didn't know what was happening to him. It secretly amused Shiro to see him nonplussed. He wondered if Kurou had ever behaved such an idiot in all his life.

To the utter shock and horror of Kumiko and Shiro, Atsuko Seki dropped by to pay them a visit on the same day. It seemed his father Naoki was still displeased by being the last person to know that Shiro was engaged. Although Shiro already explained in their phone call that this engagement wasn't something that he planned. Naoki still ended up choosing what to believe and completely ignored his son's plight. This was one of the reasons why Shiro could no longer return to Ehime. His new wife did change him and unfortunately, she changed him for the worse.

"Does Naoki know you're coming over?" Kumiko was obviously irritated to see the woman in her house, arriving at the right moment when her son would be meeting his in-laws.

Atsuko was a beautiful girl, petite and very slim with a rosy white complexion. There was grace and sophistication in the way she moved but there was also arrogance and vanity in the way she looked and spoke. Needless to say, she wasn't a very likable person and she tends to compare herself to just about anyone. Especially to Shiro.

"I came here at the behest of my husband," she smiled, putting an emphasis on 'my husband' to let others know that she was indeed married to Shiro's father, making her his stepmother. "Unfortunately, he is stuck doing most work to manage the estate and the bathhouse so he couldn't come."

When she flickered her gaze to Shiro, it was only to make him feel guilty for leaving when she was the one who caused it. Shiro kept his smile frozen on his lips as he didn't want to start something with this woman that could ruin this simple gathering. Kumiko followed his lead though she kept an eye closely to her ex-husband's new wife. How she loathed her! But not because she was married to Naoki, but because she was treating Shiro as her personal maid.

"It's fine, Okasan," he whispered to his mother and turned to his stepmother. "I'm sorry, we didn't expect you here. Otosan didn't tell me about your arrival."