SWITCH RELATION-SHIT! (on HIATUS)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"HOW'S your first day in school?" the caretaker of the sauna house asked Dahyun when she finally arrived at the place.

Dahyun smiled at the woman widely and greeted her with excitement. "The school was fun," she responded and smiled at her sweetly.

"Ah, I see," the woman replied and nodded her head slowly. Sadness filled her face and a tear immediately fell from the woman's left eye. "I see that you had fun, but I'm sad that your happiness would be cut shortly," the woman said and her statement made Dahyun's heart thumped for a moment. Dahyun was nervous, she had a bad feeling about the woman's words.

A deafening silence filled the whole lobby of the sauna house as the both of them failed to find any words to say.

However, Dahyun was the first one who broke the silence. "What was it, eomoni?" she asked. The woman took care of her as her own daughter during her stay at the sauna house.

"The owner did a surprise visit, and she saw your stuffs in the laundry. I told her that it was mine but she refused to believe me. She checked the CCTV footages, too, and she found out that you're staying here for good. She told me that if you wouldn't leave tonight and if she sees your things again tomorrow, she'll fire me. You know that I'm working for my children and I cannot afford to lose this job---"

"Eomoni," Dahyun cut her off as she caressed the woman's back in a comforting manner. A tear then escaped from her eye and they sobbed in chorus. "Gwaenchanhayo, eomoni. I already found a job, and maybe I can ask the owner for an advance payment for me to rent a bedspace," Dahyun continued, as she already thought of a good lie.

"I'm sorry..."

"No, eomoni. It's just fine. Don't feel sorry. It was no one's fault. In fact, I should thank you for all the things you rendered to me without anything in exchange. I'm whole-heartedly thanking you, eomoni. It was a good experience to live here secretly, after all," Dahyun cut her off and chuckled after. They both chuckled but their sadness still won over them as they put each other's body into a warm hug.

'Where should I go now?' Dahyun thought to herself as she taps her hand on the woman's back.

The two continued hugging each other tightly until a customer came and asked for a clothing.

"Eomoni, I should get going now. I promise to pay you a visit twice or thrice a week," Dahyun said to the woman as she broke their hugs. The woman wiped her tears and nodded at her, then faced the customer with a smile on her face.

"Gotta go, eomoni," she mouthed to the woman and smiled at her with assurance.

Dahyun then rushed to the luggage area of the sauna house and tears flowed down to her cheeks once more.

'My monetized stories won't give me enough money for renting a dorm, it's just enough for buying myself some snacks, I really need to find a job now, or else I'll live by the street,' she thought, however, she abruptly brushed her negative thoughts away with a smile. She wiped her tears and took out her things from one of the cabinets in the luggage area and in the laundry, and packed them up.

This simple challenge shouldn't sway her faith and belief on herself, she thought and smiled widely.

After packing her things in her luggage, she bade the caretaker a goodbye and assured her that she'll be fine after all. It took them some time to finally end up their conversation and before the woman let Dahyun go.

"Good luck on your studies and on your job! Eomoni will visit you on your dorm one of these days, arasseo?!" the woman shouted at the walking figure of Dahyun with a smile. Dahyun turned to the woman and waved at her happily.