FREYCREST
Outside of Choi Residence

On the bus ride from Lunistra, Emily felt the weight of her burden lighten. She had just signed a two hundred thousand Luna contract with none other than Timothy Angeles himself. It was definitely akin to winning a lottery.

However, that short reprieve was shattered when she saw her brother and Joshua outside their house, Michael's face tight with dread. Behind them was a scene she saw once as a student.

She hurried to them, her brows knitting together, "What happened?"

Joshua only looked away to avoid her gaze. Michael's hands were balled in a fist. "They're taking all our stuff," her brother muttered, his grim facade made him look older. 

"I tried, Em." Joshua's voice cracked as he finally looked at her. "Dad threatened to take Mikey to work for us...I--I knew you wouldn't agree to that--he said fine, but he's taking your furniture and appliances. As collateral." Emily felt the tendrils of apprehension wrap around her when she saw Joshua's swollen cheek and the black and blue blooming on his eye.

Her breath caught in her throat, "Oh gods, Josh!"

"I'm sorry, I really tried," As his voice broke, so did something inside her. Guilt struck her and without thinking, she pulled him in a hug. Her heart clenched when he went rigid in her embrace before slowly giving in. How could she have done this to her best friend?

She should have expected this. She should have known better that friendships never erased debts. The Reeds had been too patient, too lenient, and now their generosity had worn thin. Emily pulled away to look him in the eye, "How much?" she asked, swallowing the lump in her throat. "to at least get our stuff back?"

Joshua hesitated before answering, "One million, originally, but I managed to convince him to let you pay back 30 percent of it." That was still three hundred thousand Luna. A far cry from her current total. "He's been lenient with you guys, but he needs to draw the line somewhere. You have the largest and longest-running debt," Joshua explained. Behind him, uniformed men bearing the Reed business logo hauled out their furniture and appliances onto a truck and their small residential hut suddenly felt abandoned. She didn't want to think the worse but were those their beds?

Emily felt the ground swallow her.

She had less than ten thousand Luna in her account and Mr. Reed's workers were taking their beds!

"How long do we have?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper, praying for more time. Michael reached out to hold her hand, as if to offer respite for her worries. It didn't but at least her brother would be staying in school.

Joshua's expression became grim and Emily dreaded the words that would come out of his lips, "A week."

Emily's head spun. A week was not enough--sure, she just signed for a 200k monthly with Timothy and Laurence Angeles, but she was getting that after a month of service--A week, a week was a death sentence. Her mind raced with options on how to deal with this, but every scenario only lead to acquiring the help of her new employers.

"I'll help!" Michael blurted out, squeezing her hand in support, "I can get a job,"

But Emily shut him down with a firm "No." squeezing his hand back in reassurance.

"I'll figure something out." She was resolute. She would fix this. She had to.

Emily considered asking the Angeles cousins for an advance on her payment, even if it meant renegotiating her contract. In the meantime, she instructed Michael to stay with their aunt at Emadi, which was south of Freycrest and bordering Lunistra. It was a quieter and an often overlooked town. Her Aunt and mother rarely got along, but it will do. Besides, it was only for at least two weeks, three if redemption of their property took longer. 

A less than ideal solution, but a solution nonetheless.

She decided the only course of action now was to reach out to her new employer. Emily dialled Laurence's number, her breath catching in her throat.

"Hello Miss Choi. How may I assist?"

Having no time for small talk or formalities, Emily immediately dove into her situation with Laurence, "Hi Mr. Angeles. Can I ask for an advance payment? I'm kind of in a dire situation where it looks very, very likely that I may lose my house and shop."

There was silence on the other end, and Emily feared that Laurence had already ended the call, so just for good measure, she checked if the call was still connected. She pressed the phone back to her ear and hoped for a response.

"Let's discuss this tomorrow back at The Café."

A breath of relief escaped her lips. It wasn't exactly a confirmation, but at least they were going to discuss it. "Thank you, Mr. Angeles!"

"It's Timothy's call, and please just call me Laurence. See you tomorrow at 3 o'clock."

The call ended, and with that, Emily can breathe again, perhaps until their meeting the next day.