Coming into this village, Jason didn't really think too much about it.
In fact, he had expected to see mostly elderly men and women, so he had never thought of the possibility of seeing beautiful young girls, much less a stunning goddess who seemed to be around the same age as him.
When Jason noticed the pretty lady bowing respectfully to him, he decided to do the same as well.
His Grandpa noticed this, so he turned around to see Joanna standing behind him.
"Oh, let me introduce you to Joanna over here. She's Kim Joanna, and she's the receptionist and assistant manager of the spa," Grandpa Humphrey introduced Jason to Joanna before leaning close to Jason's ear to whisper a few things so that only he would hear what he was about to say.
"Aside from being the receptionist and assistant manager of the spa, she's also a full-time scary young lady."
Jason furrowed his brows in confusion but Humphrey continued. "She's also hardworking too, and she's been keeping this place running better than I ever did, but don't worry about it, she'll teach you everything you need to know."
"She seems to be around the same age as you, so you should be able to handle her on your own right, if you know what I mean." His Grandfather chuckled softly before flashing him a wink.
But Jason smiled before lifting his gaze back to Joanna .
However, she wasn't standing by the doorway anymore.
Instead, she had returned inside to continue her work, and this surprised him a little.
His Grandfather noticed this as well and spoke.
"She's heard a lot about you from me, so a part of her doesn't think you're ready to become the new manager. Anyway, you'll be learning everything you need to know from her over the next couple of weeks before becoming the full manager, so you two should try to get along with each other."
Everyone in Jason's family knew that Jason had always had a habit of not working too hard, or hard enough, as everyone else around him whenever he was called upon to do anything.
And to be honest, most people had seen this habit of his as being lazy. But Grandpa Humphrey had also witnessed moments when Jason was actually a fast learner who could easily thrive even under pressure.
And even though Grandpa Humphrey had shared this info with Joanna , she still wasn't entirely convinced that Jason would be passionate about managing the spa the way his Grandpa had been.
"Oh well. I guess this is yours now," Grandpa Humphrey said as he pulled out a small key ring.
"Your room's upstairs and my ledger is in my office, so if there's anything you need to know about massages, herbal treatment, or anything about the spa, you can check it out if you want,. Anyways, I'll be taking my leave now."
"Wait a minute, you're leaving? Already?"
"Yeah, I am," his Grandpa replied with a smile.
"This old body is retiring, and right now, I need to travel out to treat my illness. But maybe once I'm done, I'll go get myself a vacation or two."
His Grandpa slowly walked away while waving without looking back.
"Good luck, kiddo. I'll be seeing you again whenever I feel like it..."
Grandpa Humphrey laughed out heartily as his body vanished into the distance, but Jason simply stood still with the key in his hand.
He glanced down at the key, but a part of him couldn't help but feel like maybe his Grandpa had lied about being unwell.
Of course, he knew his Grandpa could have simply been trying his best to mask any pain he might be feeling in his body, just to seem like he wasn't hurt or struggling with any illness.
But still, Jason couldn't help but have a few lingering thoughts that maybe his Grandpa was simply too tired to continue his work as a spa manager, so he dumped all the responsibilities on Jason while he traveled out to enjoy a long, well-deserved vacation.
Either way, Jason didn't really mind.
Right now, being a spa manager seemed far better than the jobs he'd been juggling for the past three months.
'Anyways, let's go in for now.'
'I'm so tired and exhausted.'
"And I definitely need a nap, right about now," Jason uttered in his thoughts as he stepped inside.
It was getting late, so he wanted to rest and possibly fall asleep.
He climbed up the stairs before finding the room that would now become his.
Jason walked in and slowly sat on the futon in front of him.
He looked around and noticed how the walls were thin. He could even hear the sound of flowing water in pipes, running just under the wooden floor.
Aside from this, Jason noticed the single shelf in his room, which seemed like it was holding some books about herbs, their usage, and some traditional massage techniques as well.
His room also had a dusty fan spinning above his head, but in all, it wasn't really as bad as Jason had imagined this place would be.
In fact, it looked even more comforting than he had expected it to be.
These were the thoughts that spiraled around his mind, but Jason didn't allow them to linger too long because, right now, all he truly wanted was to sleep.
So, he closed his eyes to fall asleep, with the hope of experiencing how his first day in the spa would feel like tomorrow.
The next morning, Jason slowly woke up with a long yawn.
His eyes slowly opened as he heard the sound of birds chirping softly outside.
The rays of sunlight passed through the curtains to brighten up his room.
Then he stretched out his arms before getting up and heading straight to the bathroom.
There, he brushed his teeth, rinsed his face, and took a warm shower to clear the grogginess from his head.
Once done, Jason stepped back into his room to dry his hair with a towel, then he noticed a new message notification on his phone.