7:24pm PST / 2:24am KST
jia; hey aunty! it's jia, i'll be arriving at incheon airport on june 14th & landing at 9pm. just confirming that you'll be picking me up? if not i can make my way to your house somehow, no worries. yeonie, mom and i miss you (:
Jia's thumb hovered over the send button, her head tilted in slight hesitation. Her mother had informed her of Aunt Mina's phone change, but one of a samsung. The button was- she double checked, indeed a blue colour; indicating another apple device.
"Just send one quick text and I'll take care of the overseas charges." She could hear the hurried voice of her mom who'd been rushing to work that morning. She was never one to make small mistakes, even ones as small as this. She was a perfectionist, in a sense of business, so it didn't quite add up in this situation. But shrugging her shoulders Jia quickly sent the message and slid the phone into her back pocket. She didn't worry about it too much, as the program she was enrolled to offered taxi rides for the lot of students upon their landing. Making her way down the twisted stairs of her house, her lips curled into a smile. She was really doing this.
She was going to be an exchange student in Korea.
Being born with parents of two different nationalities always made one parent's culture more prominent in a child's life than the other. But having her father pass at an early age in her life didn't make such change in her life. And because of that, she wanted to experience her father's roots, plus she always had a knack for adventuring in foreign places. Something her mother never understood anymore, as she let that part of her fade away when she dressed in a suit every morning.
Jia stepped into the living room, the colourful frames of the television lit the room in response. There were several toys scattered along the floor, half-stripped barbie doll, ponies, those fat and fake kitchen utensils you find in random aisles of the store; evidence of parental rejection for being an obvious clutter prone activity. And in the center of it all was her baby cousin, Nayeon. Her dark hair hung loosely on her back and her body was aligned with the TV; preoccupied with whatever was in her grasp.
"Yah.." Jia muttered, stepping over a Mr. Potato Head and made her way to her way to the dining area where she slipped onto an island chair. She's been trying to teach Nayeon "clean-up" skills, but obviously it was a bit much for a four-year-old to handle at this time.
"Dinner's almost ready, by the way." Nina chirped turning around to face her, still stirring the contents of the pot in front of her. The aroma of white sauce pasta filled Jia's senses and she smiled in return.
Jia's mom hired Nina to help take care of Nayeon when the child came to live with them and has taken up the duty of all the chores in the process; not that anyone was complaining anyways. She was a middle aged neighbourhood lady who loved sweets all too much and had a passion for cleaning, but had none for discipline.
"Oh, I texted Aunt Mina." Jia said, her words growing louder than the kitchen vent. She took her phone out from her pocket and slid it atop the island table. She pressed the circular button on the lower half of the screen: No New Notifications. The lady turned and raised a brow, lifting the pot off the stove.
"Y'know, the one I'm going to live with for the summer? For the exchange trip?" Nina's mouth made a small 'o' in slight recognition. Jia gave a small sigh as she twisted her phone on the flat surface of the table.
"Like right now?" Nina questioned, flicking off the vent and placed the pot on a flower patterned mat. Jia nodded before calling Nayeon to the table.
She raised a brow, "You do realize there's a time different right? It's like," Nina glanced at the clock on the side and thought for a moment before saying, "2:30 in the morning there."
Jia's eyes widened as she looked at her phone in disbelief. How could she forget about time zones?
"Seriously?"
Nina let out a motherly laugh and nodded. She quickly set the table as Nayeon banged against the placemats with her plastic utensils giggling happily, swinging legs and all. But Jia snatched her phone and quickly unlocked it. Her fingers fumbled out a makeshift apology in broken Korean. Although was cut off when she caught sign of a chat bubble appearing on the bottom left side of the chat: the other person was typing.
Jia stopped tapping characters mid sentence and stared at the animated bubble. Then suddenly— ding!
???; hi i'm not your aunt, sorry.
???; also can't pick you up cus i can't drive.
???; sorry again.
