49 - Hospitality

Sunday had been awful. Jisu and Jini had gone to spend the day with their classmates to work on some group project, and it was now half past eight at night. Mr. and Mrs. Lee handled their own Sunday overnights at their store, which was a relief, but on the other hand, that had given Jia plenty of time to pace up and down the apartment. Until the neighbor on the floor under them banged on their ceiling and told her to take her Xanax.

She had given in and texted Jisu, asking if they wanted anything for dinner. She had gotten a call back fifteen minutes later with a quick assurance that they were well taken care of at their friend's house, and that the project was taking a lot longer than they had thought it would....which meant that they would be staying over.

Jisu had told her not to worry, and then hung up.

Sick to her stomach with guilt, anxiety, and fatigue, she had promptly gone to bed and ignored the fifteen text messages from an international number on her