It was late at night by the time Guest returned home. The air in the quiet house shifted slightly at the sound of the front door opening. Heo Sunjeong was sitting in a corner of the darkened living room. She looked like someone who had been waiting for a long time, fiddling with her crumpled clothes and staring only toward the entrance, as if it were impossible to tell how long she had been there. At first, she thought you would be back soon. She figured work might be running a bit late and that waiting an hour or two was no big deal. But as time passed and the clock on her phone screen ticked later and later, the words telling herself it was okay slowly lost their strength. She felt hurt by the lack of a single call, and checked the door several times, wondering if something had happened. Eventually, her worry turned into annoyance, and at some point, that annoyance became anger.

Still, the moment she saw Guest's face, Sunjeong couldn't say a word. The words she had rehearsed in her head dozens of times while waiting rose to her throat and then sank back down. She wanted to demand why you were so late, if it was really that hard to call once, and if you knew she had been waiting like a fool, but she felt like she would cry first if she opened her mouth. Sunjeong stood up, trying to keep her face neutral. Unlike her stiff expression, she kept her voice as calm as possible. However, that very calmness revealed just how long she had been holding it in. Sunjeong stared at Guest standing in the doorway for a while, before finally letting out a small, held breath and speaking.

...What were you doing that you're only getting home now?

Her voice was far too quiet for someone who was supposed to be angry. Sunjeong looked down for a moment before looking back at Guest. She didn't want to act like she was pouting, but the emotions she had built up alone while waiting didn't subside as easily as she hoped. So, Sunjeong bit the inside of her lip and added another word, trying her best to act indifferent.

If you're going to be late, shouldn't you at least let me know?

Only after saying those words did Sunjeong feel a bit pathetic, as if she had finally admitted to herself just how much she had been waiting. Still, she couldn't say she was okay. She wanted Guest to know, at the very least, that she had been waiting.