♡

Unfortunately for Mia, a week has passed and there was no time telling any of her friends that Taehyung and her were dating. They have both been so busy with work and schoolwork that they haven't even discussed about no one even knowing.

When the next weekend came, Mia was excited to finally be able to see her boyfriend. He suggested that he could go over to her house to hang out with him and she immediately agreed. She didn't care if they didn't even do anything; she just wanted to be in Taehyung's presence.

Taehyung had been working all week and Hay was nice enough to take double the shifts so Taehyung could have the day off to see Mia. He thanked her by hugging her excessively and promised her that he was going to cook them dinner for a whole week.

He was slightly nervous about going over to Mia's house since she told him that he could come over but her mom might come home sooner but she didnt know for sure. He didn't mind meeting her mom, it just seemed so soon. Plus, he was scared that she would know how he screwed up and that she already hates him. He knows he's a good guy now, but he doesn't know if her mom knows that.

"Babe," Mia had exclaimed while hugging Taehyung tighter as they cuddled on the couch.

"Yeah, baby? What's wrong?" He sat up slightly since he was alarmed by being pulled out of his thoughts.

"Nothing, you just seemed pretty out of it," she said as she looked up at him.

He sighed, "Yeah, I'm just nervous since I might meet your mom. What if she hates me? W-what if she doesn't want me to date you and then we break up and t-"

"Tae, that's not going to happen," Mia laughed, "she already knows how much I love you, okay? She's excited to see who you are. The real you," Mia looked at him lovingly and kissed him on the lips.

He would've enjoyed the kiss and may have deepened it if he wasn't so in his head and overthought about how Mia said 'the real you'.

He backed away and looked away for a moment, "I-But that was the real me, Mia. That was a part of me at one point in my life. I know no one loved that guy but that was the real me at one point. You and I both have to accept that. This is the new real me. I'm a better guy because of my family, our friends, and because of you."

"I didn't mean it like that, babe," she shook her head and sat up quickly, "and you're wrong. I loved you. I loved the guy you were before, no matter how you hurt me or anyone. And I love the you now. That's all  that matters."

Tae hesitated for a second but he then hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead, "I love you too."

"I know, and that's the greatest feeling ever," she smiled while giggling.

"We need to tell our friends soon because I'm getting pretty bothered by not kissing you the moment I see you in front of everyone," Tae said as he got up to stretch.

"Oh come on, being a secret is hot," Mia teased as he turned around and looked at her disapprovingly, "Im kidding babe! Let's tell them tomorrow. We can be like 'We're in love and you can't do anything about it!'" she laughed as she saw Taehyung roll his eyes.

"You're so dramatic, I'm sure they will have no problem with us benign together. I mean I hope. But even if they didn't, that wouldn't stop me from showing you how much I love and care about you," Taehyung sat back down and moved her hair behind her ear. She instantly moved her head towards his hands in comfort and felt content.

"Sounds good then," she smiled. They both leaned in and kissed one another. The feeling was obviously familiar but still nonetheless exciting. She loved kissing him and she couldn't wait to do it hopefully for a long, long time.

"You know, when I first saw you, I thought 'Damn, who the hell is that?'" Taehyung laughed at the thought now since he was such a player.

Mia giggled, "Well, I did come up to you abruptly asking you what grade you were in," she mentioned.

"No—well that was funny—but that wasn't the first time I saw you. I was walking into the common area and of course people approached me and asked me to sit with them but I just wanted sit alone at that time. As I was sitting, enjoying the peace, I heard one of the most loudest laughs—but it was so joyous and happy. I look over," he looked into Mia's eyes as his fingers were playing with ends of her hair,"and I saw you pushing Jungkook and Jimin for making fun of you for wearing makeup on a day that it rained. You obviously didn't know it was going to rain on you so you ended having some smudges of makeup everywhere. Hence why the guys were picking on you but instead of being mad, you laughed with them."

"You even," he laughed in the midst, "got a smudge on your finger and acted as if you were gonna wipe it on one of the guys. You were so happy even though you were drench and worn out—but your face. It was so bright. I-" he inhaled, "I thought you looked beautiful. Then I wondered to myself 'What does someone have to do to be that happy?' since I wasn't too happy at that time. But I would have never admitted that to anyone. Anyway, and then that's when Yoongi popped up out of nowhere, spun you around, and kissed you. Then it clicked," Taehyung looked around while nodding, as if deep in thought,"That he was it. He was a big contribution to your happiness and so were your friends. Your life was all in order and great, it seemed. And I was only hoping that he was taking care of you enough to make sure you were always like that."

"Tae..."Mia whispered since she obviously has never heard about this. His words were so heartwarming and he was making her tear up a little.

"But now, I'm him. I'm the guy to make sure you're happy. I know you don't need me to keep you happy but I want to contribute to that amazing feeling. When you came up to me, I was shocked to say the least." He mentioned and laughed full heartedly.

"Hey! You asked me who was I!" Mia slapped him on his shoulder.

"But I didn't know who you were," he finally calmed down, "I asked because I wanted to know you and your name so damn badly."

"You could've just asked, ya know?" She leaned up against him cuddling into him even further.

"Pft, you would've rejected me," Taehyung rolled his eyes, knowing damn well that Mia knew his reputation and that she would've shot him down that second if he were to come up to her first.

She sighed, "I guess you're right,".

As soon as that was said, they heard keys jingling through the door and they shot up instantly and Taehyung looked nervous as hell.

"Oh my god. Your mom is here," he held his breath out of nervousness.

Mia just shook her head and patted him on the shoulder,"You'll be fine. She'll like you," she smiled reassuringly.

"Oh, hello. You must be Taehyung," a older woman who resembled Mia greatly, approached him with her arms wide open.

The two hugged for a few seconds and her mom could feel how tense he was.

"Sweetie, it's fine. I'm not going to bite," she laughed as she headed towards the kitchen,"Mia! Did you guys want to get take out?"

Mia was more than happy to order take-out but she could tell Taehyung felt stressed in a sense and was hoping he was going to be able to loosen up a bit.

Once the food had arrived and they got settled at the table, Taehyung and Ms. Ahn starting discussing about his life.

"Yeah, I really didn't have any real friends to hang out with until Mia and the whole gang came into my life. All the people who I was acquainted with were people who, not to be crude, wanted to party and sleep with people all the time. I thought thats was the kind of life that I wanted because," he inhaled and noticed how her mom didn't have a single ounce of judgement on her face and he could tell she was listening to him thoughtfully,"I thought I deserved that kind of life. A life where I didn't deserve true friendship and actual romance from anyone and I was okay with it for awhile. I wasn't good to anyone. Not even my family. But then I noticed I didn't want that life anymore and I just-" he laughed, embarrassed for getting slightly emotional,"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spill my whole life story to you Ms. Ahn."

"Sweetie, don't be. Talk however long you want. But, don't be discouraged by your past, Taehyung. It doesn't define you now. It defined the person you were at that time. Not now. Your actions that you do NOW are defining you as of this moment. And even in the future, this moment may not even matter unless you let it," she rest one of her hands on Taehyung hand since she could sense he was getting more emotional, "I think 100% in my heart, that you are a genuine, caring young man who is finding his path to his certain journey he wants to take. Whether you choose it be to filled with love, family and happiness or sadness and despair — but I will say that you deserve to be happy, baby. I can tell you want to give out so much love but you have let yourself receive it. Let yourself be loved. Never run away from a good thing. Try to make it last. And if somehow, it goes away, cherish it—don't let it rot."

Taehyung was on the verge of tears at this point and so was Mia. She was so happy that her mom had said something since she knows that Taehyung loves her but she loves him too and she feels a slight barrier like as if he's not letting her love him all the way. He's scared of hurting and being hurt, and she understood that. She just wants Taehyung to believe in himself and their relationship.

"I'm so glad Mia found someone to make her happy again," Mia's mom mentioned.

Taehyung smiled and sniffled,"I'm glad to find someone who can make me realize what true happiness is," he smiled while holding Mia's hand from underneath the table.

"You guys, I'm right here," Mia blushed as she looked away from them to stop herself from being completely embarrassed, but in a good way.

"I like you, Taehyung. I can tell you want to treat my daughter good," she smiled up at him as she collected the plates to clean but Taehyung stopped her.

"It's okay, Ms. Ahn. I'll do the dishes!" Taehyung grabbed the plates from the kind woman and headed towards the sink.

"He's really sweet," Taehyung heard Ms. Ahn whisper to Mia, followed with a hushed, "Oh my god , Mom. He can hear you," which made him smile wider.

Although there was a touching talk, he was still nervous that he might not be good enough for Mia and her mom but he's trying his best. Deep down, he knew that if he voiced that worry out loud that they would call him ridiculous but it's true.

Thoughts about how maybe her mom liked Yoongi better and how she may want Mia to date someone else from the group rather than him entered his mind earlier but he had let those thoughts go after what was said.

He couldn't believe how fast everything came to be. He couldn't believe he feels this strongly for someone and he worries every now and then that it may be too fast. But he can't help who loves, you know? He just hopes Mia felt the same way.

"Well, Taehyung. It was lovely to meet you. I hope to see you more often," Mia's mom has exclaimed from the door while the couple were standing next to his car.

"You too, Ms. Ahn! Next time, I'll take you both out to dinner!" he smiled beautifully and looked towards Mia, who was already looking at him fondly.

"I love you, you know that?" Mia put her arms around his neck.

"Hm," he looked at her and wrapped his arms around her waist, "I think so," he kissed her cheek, making her giggle, "I love you too. And I can't wait to tell everyone," he kissed her on her soft lips.

"Me too, baby. Me too."

♡

hey guys. i know it's been forever since i updated. i'm so sorry you guys had to wait for so long. i may have lost readers but that's okay. a lot of stuff was going on but i'm back!

i guess you can say i was in a funk. i was feeling weird about my writing and wondering if i was good enough i guess to write this story anymore. but don't worry. i'm good :)

school has been so hectic and that's also part of it but now this semester is ending and i'm so happy abt that.

i thought about you guys a lot though! i read all of your comments and i love all of you so much.

and you guys... 122k reads???? you guys!!!!like that's so omg ;( you are all so beautiful and i see some of you reread ;) lol

AND houdkovakarolina is translating my book in Czech!! (i hope i worded that right) it's the first time anyone is ever translating my book??? omg?? i'm so honored.

ANYWAYS, i love u guys so much. i'll back to you. sooner than later, i promise. mwah ❤️