"You past all your exams with flying colors,"

    "Really?"

Jeongguk smiles as his instructor hands him his certificate, looking down at it in awe."Would it be weird to hug you right now?" He laughs.

    "Not at all," She laughs as she opens his arms, hugging Jeongguk briefly. "Congratulations, Jeongguk. You've successfully completed the High School Graduation Equivalency Examination."

    "Thank you so much," Jeongguk chuckles. "Really, for everything."

    "It's been great working with you, Jeongguk," His instructor says. "Take care, and call if you ever need anything."

    "I will," Jeongguk bows. "Thank you, talk to you later."

Jeongguk walks to his car with a bit of a pep in his step, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel the entire drive to his apartment.

When he gets there he finds Taehyung standing at the sink washing dishes.

    "Hey, baby," Jeongguk says as he steps out of his shoes.

When Jeongguk got out of the hospital after his last overdose he and Taehyung only talked once, the didn't speak for almost two months after that.

During that conversation Taehyung expressed that he needed some time before he was ready to be in a relationship with him again. He told Jeongguk that there were things they both needed to work out before they could be together.

At first Jeongguk thought that would be the end of them. And if it had been he would've understood.

He put Taehyung through a lot, and said a lot of things he wished he could take back.

But after two months of not speaking Taehyung contacted him, and he was the happiest he had been since he started treatment.

He didn't ever really get any phone calls in rehab so when Taehyung called it made his day.

They talked for a while and decided that they would try again when he got out of rehab. Taehyung wasn't at all as apprehensive as he was before about being in a relationship with him.

    "Hey," Taehyung says glancing over his shoulder. "I was starting to think you got lost."

    "There was just a lot of traffic," Jeongguk says walking to the kitchen. "The streets here are that much different than Seoul, Taehyung. Plus there's a such thing as a gps."

It was Taehyung's idea to move. After going through a rough patch with his parents, he finally decided to separate himself completely from them.

It was hard in the beginning, adjusting to providing for himself on his own, but it was better than being held under his mother's thumb financially.

He was able to find a temporary job that would get him by while he was in school. When he graduated he would hopefully be able to find a better one.

    "Shut up," Taehyung chuckles as he dries his hands. "How'd it go?"

    "Not good," Jeongguk sighs, leaning next to Taehyung against the counter. "It kinda went fucking fantastic."

    "Goddamnit, Jeongguk," Taehyung laughs, shoving him playfully. "Come on, let me see."

Jeongguk laughs as he hands him the certificate in his hand. "Check that out."

    "Wow," Taehyung smiles as he reads over the certificate. "You know what? I think it's time to break out the magnets."

    "Oh, we're breaking out the magnets?" Jeongguk asks in amusement.

    "We're breaking out the magnets," Taehyung confirms, making him laugh as he opens the drawer next to the refrigerator. He picks out a magnet before hanging the certificate at the top of the refrigerator. "Tada!" he says proudly. "It's official."

    "Do you know what this means, Taehyung?" Jeongguk asks as steps forward and lifts Taehyung onto the counter, laughing at the surprised sound he makes. "I can get a better job," He continues, looking up at him. "And I could go to college if I want. This opens up so many opportunities for me."

    "I'm really proud of you, Gguk," Taehyung smiles, putting his arms around Jeongguk's neck. "Are you gonna call Yoongi and tell him the news."

    "No, I don't think I am," Jeongguk says, his smile faltering slightly. "I think I just want this to be our thing. Like, our accomplishment, y'know?"

    "This isn't our accomplishment, Jeongguk," Taehyung says. "It's yours."

    "I know, but, I couldn't have done it without you," Jeongguk says. "So I wanna share it with you."

Taehyung smiles softly at him, leaning forward and kissing his forehead. "I guess we better celebrate then."

    "I guess we better," Jeongguk chuckles before lifting him off of the counter, Taehyung instinctively wrapping his legs around his waist as he's carried to the living room.

Taehyung laughs as Jeongguk drops him down on the couch. "You have to start warning me before you do that."

    "It's not any fun that way," Jeongguk laughs as his phone rings in his pocket. "Hang on..." He says looking at the number, his smile slowly fading as he recognizes who's calling.

    "Who is it?" Taehyung asks, his smile faltering as well.

    "It's my dad," Jeongguk says, watching the phone ring until the call drops.

    "Oh..." Taehyung says shortly. Jeongguk never opens up about his parents or why their relationship was so strained. He got used to not asking about it anymore. "Are you okay?"

    "Yeah," Jeongguk says, forcing a small smile. "I'm gonna change and we can pick some place to order food from."

    "Are you sure~"

    "I'm fine," Jeongguk smiles, kissing Taehyung's forehead before heading to the back. "It's a good day, Taehyung. Nothing's going to ruin that."

They celebrate that night by ordering an excessive amount of take out and watching all of Jeongguk's favorite movies.

It's nearly four in the morning before they decide to wrap things up with one final movie.

    "I'm really happy for you, Jeongguk," Taehyung says groggily, his head resting on Jeongguk's shoulder.

    "Thank you," Jeongguk says. "I'm really happy for myself."

That night—into the early morning—Jeongguk allows himself to hope and dream for the first time since he was a small child.

He allows himself to picture endless scenarios of himself working and going to college, with Taehyung by his side all the while.

He was proud of himself and his hard work to get to this point.

He was content...he was happy.

~

Jeongguk sighs as he walks to the front of the room, stepping behind the podium at his NA meeting. He hated talking in front of groups but looking out into the crowd and seeing Taehyung made him feel better.

    "I kinda hate talking in front of people so I'm gonna make this quick," He starts, everyone offering him a halfhearted chuckle before he continues. "I honestly don't even know where to start. But uhm, I'm Jeongguk, I'm an addict. And, today, I've been sober for a year."

The audience applauds, which shocks Jeongguk a little.

    "I wish I could say I made it this far because I've committed to my programs, and I've worked all my steps, but that's not the truth," He continues. "The truth is that a year and five days ago, I overdosed...and ended up in the hospital for the fifth time. And honestly, that scared the hell out of me. I've overdosed more than five times, I've overdosed probably more than a dozen times even. But I've only been hospitalized five times. I know that makes it sound like I have some kind of death wish, but I don't. In fact, after waking up in the hospital for the fifth time, I never wanted to be alive more.

    "I'd be lying if I said this past year has been easy, because it hasn't been." Jeongguk makes eye contact with Taehyung again. "There were dark times...really dark times. But I feel like, in a way, those dark times needed to happen in order for me to appreciate the light times—the happy times. For every dark moment, I knew there was a bright one that would replace it someday. And I think that's the mindset I've been searching for my entire life."

Taehyung nods along with Jeongguk's words, smiling softly in encouragement.

    "I've been struggling with my addiction since I was fifteen years old. For almost ten years now, I've been an addict." He continues. "So I knew getting and staying clean this time wasn't going to be easy. But having that mindset has really helped me through some low points in the past year. So I wanted to share that with you guys in the hopes that maybe it would help you too.

    "During those dark times, when you're feeling like life can't get any worse, just remember that there's a moment in the future when you'll feel like life can't get any better." Jeongguk says. "The last thing I'm gonna say is that life is what you make it. So whenever you get to a point where you feel like you're reliving the same day over and over again waiting for something good to happen, just know that the loop has to end. Things have to get good again. Because even the smallest of lights shine the brightest in the darkness."

Jeongguk nods as the group applauds, some of them stand as they clap for him. "Thank you," He says before walking off the stage, stopping and hugging a few of the group members he was close to, as well as his sponsor.

"We have to have dinner to celebrate," Jianou says as he hugs Jeongguk. "A year is a big deal."

"Yeah, definitely," Jeongguk says hugging him back. "Thank you for everything, you know I couldn't have gotten through it without you."

"Don't thank me, man," Jianou says pulling away from the hug and patting his shoulder. "You got yourself here, not me."

"Well, thank you anyways," Jeongguk says genuinely.

"You're welcome. Now get out of here," Jianou laughs. "I'll see you next week."

"See you next week," Jeongguk says back before walking away, shaking a few peoples hands before he makes it to where Taehyung is sitting.

"You did good," Taehyung smiles as he hugs him.

"You couldn't hear my voice shaking could you?" Jeongguk asks, making Taehyung laugh softly.

"A little in the beginning but you didn't sound nervous at all after you got going," He says pulling away from the hug. "You did good, I'm proud of you."

"Let's get out of here," Jeongguk says taking Taehyung's hand in his.

They walk home leisurely, swinging their arms back and forth as they enjoyed the warm weather.

"Has Doyun tried contacting you at all?" Taehyung asks. The question honestly shocks Jeongguk, Taehyung hadn't asked about Doyun since they moved last year.

"No," He answers, looking over at him as they walk. "Why?"

"I was just wondering," Taehyung says. "I know he was calling a lot at one point. I didn't know if you were keeping in contact."

"No, I'm not," Jeongguk says looking forward. "I'm done with him and that life, Taehyung. I promise."

Jeongguk was reluctant to tell Taehyung about his history with Doyun, but after opening up to him about that part of his life he felt like he could finally move on. He didn't want to talk to Doyun ever again. He just wanted be happy with Taehyung and their new life they were building together.

"I think I'm gonna call Yoongi today," Jeongguk says, causing Taehyung to look over at him in surprise.

"Really?" He asks, smiling at the thought. "You know he'd love that, Gguk. He asks about you all the time."

"Yeah, I think I should," Jeongguk says. "It's been over a year since I've talked to him now."

Taehyung nods, squeezing Jeongguk's hand reassuringly. "He's gonna be happy to hear from you."

Jeongguk nods, offering Taehyung a small smile before they continue on their walk in a comfortable silence.

Jeongguk always thought of Yoongi on sunny days, he always wondered how he spent his time when there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining down on everything.

He likes to picture Yoongi happy when the weather was warm and the flowers were in full bloom, he likes to picture him smiling.

He likes to picture him spending his sunny days with someone he loved, laughing without a care in the world.

That was his dream for himself before he met Taehyung, now he has that same dream for Yoongi.

"What are you thinking?" Taehyung asks as they approach their apartment complex.

"I'm just happy," Jeongguk responds without a second thought. And for the first time in his life he knew that he was telling the truth.

He was happy.