one week [taekook] ✓

fifty-seven: mother and son

"taehyung-ah, the director called you to his office. the lady from yesterday was there as well," seokjin said as he spotted him and jeongguk playing with eunbyul. taehyung froze in spot. he turned to the younger who gave him a reassuring smile. "go on," he said.

"come with me, please?" taehyung pleaded.

"hyung, i don't thi—"

"please?"

jeongguk let out a sigh. after taking a few moments to think, he gave in to the older. "fine."

they both began walking to the directors office. taehyung was as nervous as ever. once they reached the door, jeongguk gave a light knock and twisted the door open.

"come in," namjoon's voice echoed through the room.

they both took a deep breath in and opened the door wider, taehyung leading. a lady sat on the chair in front of the director's desk. her head whipped back as soon as she heard footsteps.

she looked quite young, not a day over thirty.

taehyung couldn't move, neither could the lady. they just stared at each other. jeongguk peaked from behind taehyung. he had gone behind him to not form a misunderstanding or confusion, but the lady seemed to recognize taehyung quite well. she stood up, and walked over to the boy, eyes already teared up. jeongguk quickly slipped to the director's side, not wanting to intrude. the lady cupped taehyung's face, who also began slipping tears of his own.

"y-you are my son?" the lady questioned.

the boy didn't know what to say, as he didn't know the answer himself.

"you must be, you look exactly like your father. oh taehyung-ah, it's really you." the woman hugged him as tight as she could, while he had his arms still to his side. taehyung slowly began lifting his hands upwards to return the hug, but backed away quickly.

"tae-taehyung?" the lady shocked that the boy had gotten out of her grasp.

"who are you?" taehyung asked, each word piercing the woman like a sharp dagger.

"i'm your m-mother," she said in between sobs, "your eomma."

the boy shook his head. "no, i don't have a mother. you must be mistaken."

the lady began crying louder. "please taehyung, please. don't do this to me. i know i can never be forgiven, but please don't say those words."

"no! you aren't my mother, you can't be my mother! you know what a mother is? a mother is someone who holds you from your first day on this earth until their last. someone who gives you undying support and love. someone who is always there for you. so no, you're definitely not my mother."

the lady went down to her knees, too weak to handle all of taehyung's harsh words. "i know, i'm sorry. b-but i'm here now, and i'm here to fix everything. please, taehyung-ah, accept me. i'll answer any questions you have, all of them! just please, don't push me away!" her voice became more muffled as her tears got heavier.

taehyung went down the ground too, trying his best to hold in his cries. "i hate you, i hate you so much. how could you? i hate you. why'd you come here? i hate you!" he began to scream repeatedly, but instead of pushing the woman away, he hugged her, giving her no way to escape. she hugged back just as tight. the both both cried, taehyung still repeating the same words, 'till their hearts' content.

the director's and jeongguk's hearts ached seeing the scenario play out in front of them.

the two calmed down after a bit, and changed location to the garden. taehyung dragged jeongguk along with them. he felt quite uncomfortable sitting beside the older as his mother sat in front. the air was thick with silence, making the situation more awkward than it is.