Intertwined Souls (JiTzu)

Chapter 24

Tuesday Afternoon: 1:50 P.M

Jihyo's POV

Before Chewy's mom left the restaurant yesterday, she asked me to come to the place that she works and volunteers at. I was a bit hesitant as this was the woman who made Chewy's life miserable. I told her I would think about it before she bowed and left.

Nayeon and Jeongyeon-unnies had a conversation with me and asked how I felt about the sudden appearance of Chewy's mom. I was honest with them and told them about how uncomfortable I was about everything. They were very understanding about how I was feeling.

Jeongyeon-unnie was apparently doing research while Nayeon-unnie and Chewy's mom were talking. All of the locations that were mentioned are all certified and legitimate. It gave me a sense of ease, but I was still hesitant to go meet the woman.

Nayeon and Jeongyeon-unnies eventually convinced me to go meet Chewy's mom. They said that their gut feeling told them that she was being genuine. I trusted their judgement and decided to go along with this idea. The two of them allowed me to go during work hours to avoid suspicion from Chewy.

I followed the directions that I was given and arrived at the destination after getting lost for a bit. I looked up and was surprised to see a community centre. More specifically, I was surprised to see the community centre where I came to when I was younger for refuge from some of my problems.

"Jihyo!" a woman suddenly called out my name.

I turned around and was surprised when I was pulled into a hug by Chewy's mom, "Ma'am? Uh... Hello?"

Chewy's mom separated from me and eyed me from head to toe, making me feel uncomfortable, "I didn't realize this yesterday, but you are so beautiful. Not only that, but I heard you have a beautiful heart. I am blessed to have such a beautiful daughter-in-law," she said while smiling at me.

My eyes widened in surprise as my cheeks turned bright red, "Daughter-in-law?! Ma'am, that's too early! Plus, how do you even know about my relationship with Chewy?"

Chewy's mom chuckled, "Nayeon and Jeongyeon told me yesterday after I begged them. Also, please call me 'Mom'. 'Ma'am' seems a bit inappropriate since you and Tzuyu are dating."

I nodded my head, "I don't know if I can call you that. Chewy and I only just started this part of our relationship."

Chewy's mom nodded her head in understanding, "I insist that you call me 'Mom'. I can tell by the look in both of your eyes that you two will get married in the future. Might as well get ready now, right?"

I blushed once again and stopped myself from smiling at the prospect of Chewy and me getting married, "Okay... Mom."

Chew--- Mom started smiling, "Anyways, let's get going. I am technically still working. But don't worry, I was given permission to do this. I will just have to work while talking to you."

Mom led me into the community centre, and I was instantly hit with a lot of memories. I was shaken up a bit as they all stemmed from some pretty bad events, but I steeled my resolve as I was now committed to finding out more about Mom and what happened to Chewy. A lot of the things that I remembered interacting with remained the same. There seemed to be a lot of major changes in the form of a completely new wing which was where Mom was currently taking me.

Mom took me to a cafeteria and led me into the kitchen. She pulled out some vegetables and started chopping away. She then started talking about her past. She admitted that prior to being pregnant with Chewy, she was a drug addict. She didn't know that she was pregnant until she started feeling unwell and went to see a doctor. She felt enlightened upon hearing that she was pregnant and promised herself that she would clean herself up for the sake of her unborn child. In her defense, she apparently was really successful; she went to rehab and found the help that she needed to kick her drug addiction.