You encounter: Yet Another Lady at the Jjimjilbang!

This one, unlike my other two, was much shorter.  I was staying at a jjimjilbang with a friend who was leaving Seoul this past Friday night.  While I was sitting in the hot tub, feeling kind of glum and melancholy about his imminent return to Busan, I suddenly felt a tapping on my shoulder.

It was one of a crowd of ajummas who had been sitting in the Really Quite Hot tub.  She held an ice cube between her fingers and, in the manner of a doctor with a young patient, said simply, "Ahhhh."

Even though I knew exactly what was going on, I was still surprised to find the ice cube in my open mouth. I made a noise of surprise, mostly garbled around the ice cube that prevented me from saying a proper thank you, and the ajumma laughed and smiled and went back to her friends.