So, like I said before, we've gotta let people choose. Forcing a diet on someone just isn't cool.
"Well, if we don't force it, none of you would do it. I mean, if you could do it on your own, you wouldn't have gained weight in the first place."
"You got it all wrong! We just couldn't help ourselves with those tasty snacks Sihyeon brought, but we've totally turned things around now."
"Uncle Kaneff just doesn't get it. This whole diet thing is so stressful. I can't even focus on work."
Andras, Lia, and Lilia were arguing with Kaneff on the other side. It got so heated that Ryan, the host, couldn't even jump in.
"Sihyeon's been too easy going from the start. In my day, it was a blessing just to have three meals a day."
Kaneff tried to use the "back in my day" card to pressure them. But the more he talked, the more he sounded like an evil boss.
This pointless debate kept going.
Ryan couldn't take it anymore and stepped in to stop the chatter.
"Wait! Just a sec. I've heard what everyone has to say so far. Let's hear from others too. Maybe we should let Sihyeon share his side of the story a bit more?"
Thanks to Ryan's intervention, I got to speak again. I let out a small sigh and talked in a quieter voice.
"To be honest, I feel kinda hurt."
"Hurt?"
"Yeah. I started the diet for everyone's health. As the one in charge of meals and snacks, I felt responsible."
When I said I was hurt, some on the other side looked uneasy.
"I had good intentions, but I didn't think you'd all hate it this much"
I mumbled and hid my face with both hands. The diet opponents looked confused by my sad reaction.
"We didn't mean it like that"
"We know Brother Sihyeon cares about us."
"Exactly. Sihyeon hasn't done anything wrong."
Kaneff scoffed, clearly not liking what he saw.
"Look at you all now? Just a bit ago, you were so against me?"
"Are you and Sihyeon the same?"
"Mr. Kaneff, just back off."
Kaneff had no choice but to be quiet, not getting anywhere with his words.
So, just when things were starting to swing our way 'cause of how upset I looked
Speranza, who was on the other side, quickly came over to me, walking past the table. She peeked at my face from my lap.
"Papa, are you mad?"
"."
"Uh-oh?"
Speranza kept looking around, trying to figure out my mood. I could see her little fox ears poking out from between my fingers.
In the end, I couldn't keep a straight face and started laughing.
"Pfft Hahaha."
"Papa laughed, hehe!"
I mean, what dad could resist laughing when their adorable kid acts all sweet like that?
I picked up Speranza with both hands and put her on my lap. She grinned, looking pretty pleased with herself.
"Ah! Was Sihyeon faking it the whole time?"Vissit novelbin(.)c.om for updates
"Ahem. Faking? I really did feel hurt. I just added a little drama to it."
Too bad, really. If it wasn't for Speranza, I could've had everyone on our side.
My laughter let the others, who were struggling, get back on track real quick.