Fire Lodge ( jenlisa )

Part 7

Jennie breathed a sigh of relief when Jihyo and Tzuyu came into the lodge just before lunch.

"I'm so glad you decided to come back," she said.

"Well," Jihyo said, "I had wanted to stay out and keep skiing, but someone" - she looked significantly at Tzuyu - "insisted we come back for lunch."

"You can ski anywhere," Tzuyu said, "but I can only get Park Chaeyoung's soup here at Fire Lodge."

"Well, even aside from the soup, I'm glad you're here," Jennie said. "I'm sure you've noticed the snow started within the last hour. They're probably shutting down the lift even as we speak - there's a blizzard coming in this afternoon."

"A blizzard?" Jihyo looked concerned. "Is Dahyun back?"

Jennie shook her head. "No, she and Lisa are still out snowshoeing. They should get back just before the storm hits."

"Should we go find them?" Tzuyu asked.

"That would be a bad idea. I know what trail they started out on, but there are half a dozen different side trails that they could have gone off onto. No, our best bet is to wait here and not put more people at risk. Lisa's had blizzard survival training, so if they're not able to make it back in time, she'll be able to keep Dahyun safe." Jennie hoped she was able to keep the worry she felt off her face - it wouldn't do any good to have more people upset by the situation. "Why don't you two go get cleaned up and then head to the dining room. I'll tell Chaeyoung you're ready for lunch."

Hanging up their jackets and leaving their boots in the boot trays, Jiyho and Tzuyu went to go get changed into lounging clothes to get ready for lunch. As soon as they were out of earshot, Jennie got on the phone to the kitchen.

Once she got Chaeyoung on the phone, she said "Jihyo and Tzuyu are back. They'll be ready for lunch in about 20 minutes."

"Not a problem," Chaeyoung said. "I've got soup ready to warm and two fresh loaves of bread just came out of the oven. But I hear in your voice that you're worried about something, and I'm guessing it isn't lunch. What's wrong?"

"There's a blizzard coming in this afternoon, and Lisa and Dahyun aren't back yet."

"What?" Lisa could hear Jisoo's voice in the background. "We've got to go find them! Call out Search and Rescue! We've got to do something!"

Jennie sighed. "This is why I wish you wouldn't always use the speakerphone. I'll take care of things up here, you go try to calm Jisoo down. I'll call when the guests are ready for lunch."

"Sounds good," Chaeyoung said. Jennie could hear her already starting to calm Jisoo down as she hung up the phone.

Jennie crossed the lobby to the back window, hoping she would see Lisa and Dahyun coming in early. As expected, there was no sign of them. She wished she felt half as confident of their safety as she had tried to make everyone think she was.

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Lisa and Dahyun looked up and noticed that the snow had increased from a few isolated flakes while they'd been snowshoeing to a steady fall.

"We should get back to the lodge," Lisa said. "This could turn into something serious."

"Let's stay here a while longer," Dahyun said. "Today's forecast didn't call for any bad weather, and I'm not in any hurry to get back to the lodge." In response to Lisa's curious look, she went on: "When we get back to the lodge, you're an employee and I'm a guest, which puts certain limits on what we can do and when we can do it. Out here, we're just . . . us. And I like that."