Anyone But Him | JJK ✔️ (Completed)

Chapter 40

My mother's relationship and I improved significantly since the park incident involving Changmin. But not to my surprise, Changmin's and I seemed to be beyond the touch of repair.

I decided to let it be first. Maybe Changmin might get some sense into his head after a while, and then I'd be able to talk to him. There wasn't a hurry to rebuild the friendship, now that we weren't dating anymore. I'd have to bring light on facts eventually, but probably not now...

The next day when I'd came back from school, worn out from studying the last night and the Mathematics exam today. Gosh, Math was one of my weakest subjects, and undoubtedly, it was also my least favorite one. No surprise.

"Chaewon!" my mother squealed, clutching her phone like it was her most prized possession (which, in a sense, is true). "I've finally found a decent apartment for rent and have contacted the landlord too, he says it is available."

My face brightened almost instantly. "Wow, that's daebak!" I clapped my hands together a few times. "When are we moving out?"

I was eager to leave this place. After being used to residing in the spacious landed property house that my father owned, I felt like I was suffocating in the minimal amount of space in the jjimjilbang, even though it was a suite.

I'd just about realized that I didn't even got a chance to have a nice soaking in the hot spring in the jjimjilbang. That was their specialty, but apparently, I'd never experienced it before.

My mother's lips pursed as she became occupied by something on her phone. Scrolling what seemed like furiously, she announced, "Tomorrow. So we should pack our things already."

I nodded. "And since we'd never experienced a nice, hot bath in the hot spring, why don't we do it today?"

My mother grinned. "Let's go. Your next paper isn't until the day after tomorrow, so I can still be a bit lax on you for the moment."

                                                                            ***

Slowly lowering myself into the burning hot but oddly comforting water, I shifted my body over to the right a bit, draping my hands over the sides of the hot spring.

The jjimjilbang was buzzling with activity. Families and kids in swimwear were splashing about in the hot spring, almost like it was the beach or the kids' pool. The hot springs were surrounded by umbrella stands with mats seemingly for yoga purposes laid around. Some adults were lying in a recumbent position like how one would at the beach, while others were lying on their stomachs, their legs sticking in the arm, swaying from side to side, perusing over magazines or novels.

I could feel the pumping of water from the bottom of the pool, and it pushed against my feet, struggling to overcome the blockage. Beside me, my mother dipped her foot into the water, and winced at the temperature, retracting her foot from the surface of the water so quickly, it sent a small splash.

"Come on, omma, it isn't even hot," I urged, signaling for her with my right hand to get down. "I didn't know your skin was so sensitive."

She tried again, and this time, her face contorted into a funny expression, but she didn't complain. I held her arm as she climbed down from the ladder drilled into the side of the hot spring.

"Ahh, this is actually pretty enjoyable," she sighed in content. I nodded, couldn't have agreeing more. "Isn't it?"

In front of me, a little boy with a mischievous smile was splashing another girl of about his age who seemed to be his sister, laughing merrily. He was backing away from her and promptly collided into me.