"Do you know how much longer until we get there?" Jinsoul asked. Her mom shook her head, staring forward at the open freeway. Jinsoul sighed, looking out the window as well.

Jinsoul's mother had won two hotel rooms and free food for three weeks in some casino in Reno, so the two of them were going to stay there so they could figure out what they were going to do with their lives. Jinsoul thought it was a bad idea, seeing as how whatever money her mom had left would be spent at the slot machines, but at least they had a place to sleep.

"Mom, what's the name of the casino we're staying at?" Jinsoul asked after a few minutes.

"The Grand Sierra Resort," she answered quietly. The silence returned, and they drove on.

Jinsoul, a sixteen year old girl from Calabasas, California, was born rich. She had grown up in luxury and financial security- until now. Jinsoul's father was the CEO of Jung Enterprises (Jinsoul still had no idea what they did), and her mother was his third trophy wife. Once she had reached the age of forty, Jinsoul's father divorced her, wanting a younger wife that he could show off. Unlike his first two ex-wives, however, Jinsoul's mother won custody of her daughter. She and Jinsoul packed up their things, and left the house (they couldn't quite call it home) they had both lived in for most of their lives. Jinsoul didn't mind, really. Her dad was a , and her half siblings were competitive and arrogant. Her parents may have been crazy, but at least her mom was nice.

~~~~~~~~~~

After a few more hours, they finally drove up to the casino. It was huge and intimidating, and Jinsoul began to feel nervous; it would be so easy to get lost in the gigantic building. 

"I think this was the biggest hotel in the world when it was built," Jinsoul's mom spoke. Jinsoul nodded silently as they pulled up at the front door of the hotel. A valet walked over to them, and Jinsoul's mom handed over their car keys. They had a Mercedes-Benz, but they were going to sell it and buy a cheaper car once everything settled down. Another person came to help them carry their luggage, but Jinsoul and her mother sent him away.

The two of them didn't have many things that they had brought with them. They had some clothes, childhood photos, and their laptops. They left so much behind, maybe because they wanted to forget about everything from before.

Honestly, Jinsoul had a good life in Calabasas. She was the student body secretary of her grade in school and had a few good friends, but she was glad to leave. She didn't like the way her classmates treated certain people, and how everyone had so much more than others. She just felt like it wasn't fair.

But at the same time, it was hard to be happy. She had no idea where her life would go from this point forward; she didn't even know where she would live in three weeks. The future was truly an unknown to her. 

As she and her mom walked through the giant turning doors, the smell of cigarette smoke wafted through the room. There was a large lobby with a long carpet leading toward the check-in desks. Across from the carpet were the bright slot machines, making loud and grating noises; a sign and two guards near the entrance dictated that no one under the age of twenty-one could enter. There was no line at the check-in counter, so Jinsoul and her mom went right to the front.

As Jinsoul's mom talked to the woman at the desk, she looked around. She felt a slight headache coming on from the smoke, and a bit overwhelmed from all the lights and noises. Finally, her mom tapped her on the shoulder and handed her a room key.

"Let's go." Despite the prospect of freedom and vacation her voice showed only exhaustion, but Jinsoul understood. She picked up her luggage and followed her mom toward the elevators. Jinsoul looked at her key, turning it over in her hand. 

"We're on the fifteenth floor."

Her mom spared a brief glance down at her own room key. "Yeah," she answered simply. Suddenly, the elevator door opened, and they stepped in. They quickly arrived at their floor, and they stepped out to look for a sign.

"This way," Jinsoul said, pointing to the hallway to the right. The two walked down the hall, stopping in front of two rooms labelled 1542 and 1543. Jinsoul remembered she was in 1542, waving goodbye to her mom and walking inside.

It was an average sized hotel room, with a large, beige-duvet-covered bed in the center, a lamp and a bedside table next to it, a small desk in the far right corner, a mirror, a large window, a tv, and a cabinet for clothes. Jinsoul placed her things on the desk and went to check out the bathroom. It had another mirror and a sink, shower, and toilet; it was quite small. 

She looked up at herself in the bathroom mirror. She couldn't help but think she looked odd: she was unused to seeing herself without makeup, let alone so tired. She also wasn't used to her new hair color. In her hometown it had been weird to not be blonde but when her and her mother decided to leave a few days before, she'd dyed her hair back to it's original color. Jinsoul hadn't had black hair since she was nine years old, and seeing that color with her more grown up face made her feel like someone else entirely. She shook her head, going to check out the rest of the room. 

Across from the bathroom was a closet, mini fridge, and a coffee maker with a box of coffee, tea, and sugar packets next to it. Jinsoul walked back over to the desk and began to unpack her luggage. As she was placing her clothes in the cabinet, she received a knock on her door. Jinsoul peered through the peephole. Realizing it was her mom, she opened the door and smiled. Her mother walked in, sat on her bed, and sighed. Jinsoul followed.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Jinsoul answered. She still looked worried. "Mom, I'm glad we're out of there."

Jinsoul's mom looked relieved and reached into her back pocket. She handed Jinsoul five twenty dollar bills.

"Mom, can we afford this?"

"Just take it. What are you going to do for the next three weeks, watch TV? I heard there's some fun stuff for you to do here," she said. Jinsoul reluctantly placed the money in her wallet and sat back down next to her mom. 

"We'll go to dinner in a half an hour." Her mom stood up and headed for the door. "I heard that there's a buffet!"

Jinsoul smiled and showed her mom out. At least there was a buffet.

~~~~~~~~~~

Jinsoul quickly finished unpacking and her favorite channel to watch on vacation: TLC. She was half an hour into an episode of Say Yes to the Dress when someone knocked. She groaned, sitting up from her comfortable spot on the bed and turning off the TV. She again looked through the peephole, suspicious of the weirdos that might stay at this casino, and saw it was her mom.

"I'm ready honey," she said as Jinsoul opened the door. Jinsoul slipped on a pair of sneakers and walked out.

Once they arrived back on the first floor, the scent of cigarettes came back into Jinsoul's nose, and she made a face. She couldn't imagine getting used to the disgusting smell. She and her mom walked down the carpet, through the slot machines, and up a ramp. At the ramp was a short line leading up to a cash register. When it was their turn, Joonmyeon's mom talked to the woman, and then they were led to a small table outside of the smoking area. Just then, a middle aged woman with overdone hair and too much make-up approached them.

"Hello, what would you like to drink?" she asked. Joonmyeon ordered a raspberry iced tea and her mother got a cheap glass of wine. After the waitress left, they both stood up to go get food. They grabbed plates and walked off in opposite directions, quietly returning a few minutes later with full plates. 

As Jinsoul ate her food, her mother spoke. 

"Let's set some ground rules." Jinsoul nodded. "I'm basically giving you free reign. I'm going to let you do whatever you want, go wherever you want. Just don't leave the casino. And," she sighed, "Don't do anything stupid. I don't want to have to worry about you. I want to have fun here, get out of this...funk, and I can't do that if I don't know you're safe. I trust you, though. I know you'll do the right things. You always do."

"I promise I'll be good," Jinsoul said. Her mother smiled back. 

"Thank you," she answered, and the rest of dinner was silent. 

~~~~~~~~~~

After dinner, Jinsoul and her mom went back to their rooms. A few minutes later, her mom knocked on the door again. Jinsoul opened, and her mom was wearing a nice dress and simple make up. 

"I'm going out. I just wanted to say goodbye before I left."

"Alright," Jinsoul answered, and her mom left. She shut the door behind her, and walked slowly around the room. She gazed at the generic wallpaper, the unmade bed, the already messy desk.

"This is my home now, at least for a little while," she said quietly to herself. She sighed and walked up to the window, resting her forehead against the glass. She looked down, seeing the tall, bright buildings of downtown Reno, surrounded by the empty desert. Her eyes moved towards the snow capped mountains, and the homes at their feet. 

She sighed again, letting her breath fog up the glass. She drew a smiley face with her finger and just stood there. After a few moments, she walked away from the window and grabbed her phone. She put on Frank Ocean, stuffed her airpods in as tight as they would go, and turned the volume all the way up, getting under the covers like she was going to sleep.

What's going to happen after this? Do we have enough money? Are we going to be alright? she thought. Finally, after some uncountable amount of time, she managed to get some rest.