"We're sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service."
Well, that settled it. The call didn't even say the phone was off anymore—it just went straight to 'out of service'.
Mother Ji crept nervously toward Mr. Ji. "Old… old man," she stammered, her voice trembling, "the… the number is out of service."
She kept her head down, not daring to look at Mr. Ji's face, her hands tightly wringing the hem of her clothes.
Mr. Ji whipped his head around and glared viciously at Mother Ji. "What?" he roared. "Out of service? Did you hear that right? Call again!"
Mother Ji flinched, stammering, "It… it really is out of service. I heard it correctly. I… I wouldn't dare lie to you."
Mr. Ji shot up from the sofa and stormed over to Mother Ji, raising his hand to strike her. "You useless thing! You can't even make a simple phone call!" Terrified, Mother Ji squeezed her eyes shut and curled into a ball.
The expected blow never landed. In the end, Mr. Ji lowered his hand.
