Not My Bias - An Im Jaebeom (JB) Fanfic

Departure - Chapter 17

༺ ¤○•° Sharay °•○¤ ༻

We left the park early evening, and as we were heading out of the gates I saw an elderly couple taking selfies. It was clear they were on some sort of anniversary trip, so I walked over to them and handed them the tickets I had received from Gavin's parents the day before. Since we had left Daniel alone for the day, I didn't have the heart to leave him at night again to attend a show. Even if he felt well enough to go with Mom in our stead, I wasn't prepared to be alone at the hotel with Jaebeom, because I was not confident I wouldn't back out of my prior commitment to keeping a distance from him.

Upon return to the hotel, we found that not only had Daniel rallied, but Dad had called to say all power had been restored at home. Instead of heading straight for home, Mom decided we would stay the night and leave in the morning.

At dinner Jaebeom got a call, so he excused himself and took the call in the foyer of the restaurant. When he returned, he looked distracted but didn't comment on the call. Instead, he sat down and continued his meal.

After dinner, he asked to speak with my mom alone. It was at that point that I started sensing trouble and assumed that he would be returning to Korea way earlier than expected. Daniel and I decided to give them their space, so we headed over to the hotel lobby and gift shop.

"Sit down kids. There's been a change in plans," my mom said upon our return. I knew what was coming. I could see it on Jaebeom's face, as he couldn't meet my eyes.

"Jaebeom got a call earlier from Mr. Park. Apparently, last Friday there was an incident that has caused some problems and he needs to return to Korea to address it. Instead of returning here afterwards, he's going to continue his training via Skype for the next few months. Sharay, I'll need you to work with me on scheduling the times for that and coordinating the training that would be most effective," Mom said, looking to me as she explained the last part.

Even though I had predicted it, I felt numb. It was one thing to push Jaebeom back so I wouldn't become even more attached to him. It was quite another to know that he would be leaving and not staying for the three weeks that had been planned. In a perverse way, it was a bit of a relief, since this afternoon had been a bit tense and awkward. However, it also meant we wouldn't have the time to work out how our friendship would go from here with the new boundaries I had demanded.

Looking over at Jaebeom, I wondered if he even cared. He had, after all, agreed to my terms without so much as a single comment.

"Wait," Daniel chimed in. "Exactly when is he heading back?" he asked of Mom.

"Thursday morning. His original return flight from Miami has been changed to the one leaving out of Ft. Myers, going through Dallas, just like the last time. Sharay, you can drive him to the airport again," was her reply.

I merely nodded and didn't say a word. What was I supposed to say? What could I say? I knew what the situation was and how problematic it would be if he didn't return given that it apparently hadn't died down with the efforts they already made.

"I really want to make sure that I continue with my training, "Jaebeom was saying. "I know it'll take longer since I won't have six or more hours a day and immersion the rest of the time. If I set aside 2-3 hours four days a week and an hour on the other three days, schedule permitting, do you think I'll really be totally fluent by early December?"

"Yes. You have great work ethic Jaebeom, and I'm sure that Sharay will make sure that your vocabulary, reading, writing, and conversational skills are up to par by then. I've almost completed the cognitive part of your training. If we put in four hours tomorrow, we'll be almost there," my mom assured him.