"Hi, Mom," he spoke. "It's nice to see you again!"
                          
"Hello, my dear son!" his mother exclaimed, opening her arms to incentivize Taehyung to hug her. He followed her cue and wrapped his arms around her, bending down slightly awkwardly to match her height. "I'm so glad you could make it. Now, come in, come in! I'll take the soju from you."
                          
Taehyung obeyed his mother, handing her the bottle before following her through the small sitting room at the front of the house and into the kitchen, where a middle-aged man was pouring a steaming liquid into mismatched tea cups. This, Taehyung realized, must've been the man that his mother was seeing. He plastered a large smile on his face and bowed to the man once their eyes met.
                          
"Hello, sir," Taehyung greeted. "I'm Kim Taehyung."
                          
"Taehyung!" the man exclaimed, a gleam in his eye. "I'm Min Hangyeol. I've heard so much about you!"
                          
"Mom, you've been talking about me?" Taehyung asked, blushing. He had no idea why he was shocked by this, yet somehow, he couldn't keep the surprise out of his tone.
                          
"Of course I have!" his mother exclaimed. "I tell everyone about my brave son who's endured so much if they'll listen."
                          
Taehyung's blush deepened, and he had to resist the urge to cover his face with his hands. The notion that anyone talked about him when he wasn't there was something he simply wasn't used to, and it was certainly showing.
                          
"Your mother tells me that you're attending university in Seoul. Is that true?" Hangyeol asked Taehyung as he carried the steaming mugs over to the small kitchen table. There were three chairs clustered around it, but it was obvious that one had been added for him, as it did not resemble the others at all.
                          
"Yes — I'm on the pre-medicine track to become a doctor."
                          
"A doctor!" Hangyeol exclaimed, gesturing for Taehyung and his mother to join him at the square table. "You must be very smart. I always wanted to, but I never had a mind for that sort of stuff, so I focused on architecture instead. It just made more sense to me."
                          
Taehyung sat down next to his mother and across from Hangyeol, who was gazing at him contently. Taehyung immediately felt more comfortable and welcome around this man than he ever had with his own father, and it was extremely comforting. Was this what it felt like to have a supportive father who genuinely cared what you were doing in life? Taehyung didn't know, but he hoped he would.
                          
"I'm sure I'd be a horrible architect, sir," Taehyung spoke, taking a sip of his tea. Green tea -- his favorite. His mother must've remembered that from when he was little. "I was undeclared during my first year of university, but after witnessing an accident, I decided that I wanted to be a doctor to help as many people as I could."
                          
"Humble beginnings," Hangyeol hummed. "I like that."
                          
Taehyung nodded before glancing at his mother, who was happily switching her gaze between Taehyung and her partner. She seemed so happy now, as if a part of her that had been extinguished for so long had finally been reignited. Taehyung knew that she was probably ecstatic to see the man she loved and the son she loved getting along so well already, so he decided to continue the conversation.
                          
"What were you guys thinking of doing today?" he asked.
                          
"Well, we discussed going to the Daegu botanical gardens," his mother said. "We were going to have a late lunch there as well, if that's okay with you."
                          
"It sounds lovely," Taehyung said warmly. "I haven't been there since I was young, anyway. I think it'd be nice to revisit."
                          
"Let's go then!" Hangyeol exclaimed, setting his mug down on the table.
                          
"Finish your tea, dear," Taehyung's mother said gently. "You put so much trouble into it to make it just right -- it'd be a shame if you  just left it sitting there while we were gone."
                          
"Oh, yeah," Hangyeol chuckled.
                          
For the rest of the hour, Taehyung chatted happily with his mother and her partner about anything and everything. He found that he immensely enjoyed Hangyeol's presence, and he felt very welcome around him. Somehow, he knew that when Hangyeol would learn of all the untypical things about him, he would accept him, appreciate him, and treat him as if he were his own son. Taehyung knew that his mother had chosen the perfect person for her, and he couldn't be happier about her choice.
                          
—
                          
When Taehyung arrived at his hotel room much later that night, he sighed happily before flopping onto his bed. He had had a wonderful afternoon at the botanical gardens with his mother and Hangyeol, and he knew that everything was finally right in his world. He had gotten the closure that he had traveled to Daegu searching for, and the outcome of the trip had far exceeded his expectations. For the first time in years, he felt truly and deeply satisfied with every aspect of his life. He had wonderful friends, a promising future, a loving boyfriend, and finally, a good relationship with his mother and the person who he now viewed as his father figure. 
                          
The complex and dark times he had experienced months ago only seemed as if they were becoming more embedded in the past, and he no longer had nightmares about the horrors of what he had endured. Through love, acceptance, and therapy, Taehyung was learning everyday that there was always hope in life, and that there was always a chance for things to improve. He still pitied Seokjin, because he knew that the elder had never given life a chance to improve, but what if it had been Taehyung who had wandered down that same path? What would he be like then?
                          
Luckily, Taehyung didn't have to worry about that much, because he knew that he was exactly where he was supposed to be in his life. All he had to do now was return home to the family that he had created and the family that had created him — the family that built him up from nothing when he was beyond broken. He looked happily upon his past with his mother, yet he looked forward to his future with his newfound family of Jeongguk, Yoongi, Hoseok, Jimin, and Namjoon.
                          
With a genuine smile, Taehyung closed his eyes and fell asleep almost immediately, dreaming of the happy days to come.