I pull into Uncle Kim's driveway and turn off my car. I stare at the house key I still have on my keychain and run my finger over it wondering if I should use it or knock.

Before Taehyung came back, Uncle Kim would just meet me in the city for lunch on Saturdays so him telling me to come over instead today kind of threw me off. Even though this was home, I still didn't know if I should just barge in like I'm still sleeping in the downstairs bedroom and running up his water bill or not.

I decide to knock as I walk up to the door. I know he's expecting me today, but what if he just got out of the shower or something. I love Uncle Kim to pieces but I'd rather not be traumatized.

"Who is it?" He yells from the other side of the door.

"Um...Ava." I reply, my voice almost cracking.

"Ava?" He swings open the door and crosses his arms. "Girl, why are you knocking? Do I need to get you another key?"

He pulls me to get me to step inside and wraps his arms around me to hug me tightly.

"I have it." I laugh at the squeezing. "I just wasn't sure if I should use it since you live alone now."

"Nonsense! This is your home. It's not like I walk around inappropriately." He shakes his head and gestures for me to follow him.

I kick off my shoes by the door and follow him into the kitchen where I see a lot of ingredients laid out along with a notepad, pen, and laptop.

"Okay," he begins as he opens the laptop and starts to type, "first things first. This is a family session."

He smiles and turns the laptop to show me a smiling Taehyung on the screen. Looks like I'll be video chatting with him during this lesson as well.

"Annyeong gongju." Taehyung beams and waves at me.

"Hey baby!" I smile and wave back.

"Second thing," Uncle Kim pipes up, "we will only be speaking in Korean once we get started. I will translate for you if I have to or Taehyung will but the best way to learn is to hear it being used."

I nod and look back at Taehyung and clear my throat to correct myself, "Annyeong jagi."

He gives me his wide boxy grin that turns his eyes into slits and I smile just as wide back to him.

"Have you been using your app? Learning Hangul?" Uncle Kim asks as he clicks the pen and passes it over to me.

"Ne." I respond.

He smiles and pushes the pad over to me next.

"Write out Taehyungie's name. Family name and given name. I want to see how much you know already. I know it hasn't been long." He instructs as I begin to write.

김태형

I slide the notepad back over to Uncle Kim and scrunch up my nose, worried that it may be wrong.

He takes a good look at it and then smiles up at Taehyung on the screen before looking back at me, "Gosaenghaesseoyo."

"Good job?" I translate hoping that was correct. I think I heard that one during one of my lesson's on my app.

"Ne, gosaenghaesseoyo!" Taehyung beams proudly with a little clap.

I smile wide and exhale in relief. Maybe today won't be so bad. I mean, it's not like they'll scold me for getting it wrong.

Uncle Kim has me write out multiple phrases in Hangul to test my skills. Most I get right or guess correctly from sounding it out but there was some that I messed up on. Overall, though, by the time the Hangul portion was done, both of the guys were pleased with how much I've picked up on already.

"Learning Hangul will make it a bit easier for you, so just keep practicing but no one expects you to be fluent by Christmas." Taehyung comforts me and I smile at him sweetly, nodding to show I understood.

"Okay. What's next?" I rub my hands together.

Screw it. Let's get really into it.

"Yorihada." Uncle Kim states and I look confused.

He hands me an apron and stands me in front of the stove, handing me a utensil, "yorihada."

"Yorihada...yorihada." I repeat trying to guess what it may really translate to. "Cook?"

"Ne!" Both men exclaim and clap as if I just found the way to end world hunger.

"You already cook Korean foods well, but there's some major ones that you haven't done yet or tasted and well, I know my sister-in-law." Uncle Kim smiles and I nod.

I look back at Taehyung watching intently and laughing. Apparently his mom is a stickler for Korean cooking. I'm sure she'll want to make sure I could take care of her one and only son.

After what feels like forever, I finish cooking all of the stews, rice dishes, kimbap, and meats that Uncle Kim could show me in one day. At least I won't be going back to the dorm hungry since I had to try each one.

I was also given the warning to not leave any food on my plate. She will test me and so I should arrive hungry and ready to finish off anything thrown my way.

"Last thing we'll go over today and then we'll continue on speaking Korean next week, what will you wear to meet his parents?" Uncle Kim asks.

I look to Taehyung with wide eyes. I haven't thought about it to be honest and while I know I wouldn't exactly show up in club attire or looking like I'm an extra in a Cardi B music video, I didn't realize it needed to be discussed.

"The good news is, you'll be meeting them in December so the chances of your skirt being too short is not likely." Taehyung says with a reassuring smile. "And as much as I love your loose sweaters, showing your shoulders wouldn't be good either. Also, clean shoes in good condition. They're not so traditional, but since it's the first time they're meeting a girlfriend, conservative would be best."

I take a deep breath and nod at all the information given to me. So no shoulders, no short skirts, conservative clothing, brand new shoes, eat everything given to me and learn as much of the language as possible. Got it.

My head feels like it's going to explode! I nod again with wide eyes while looking at Uncle Kim and back over to Taehyung over and over.

"Oh...no. Uncle Kim, she's panicking." Taehyung says as he watches me begin to freak out.

"What do I do?" Uncle Kim questions.

"Hug her for me!" Taehyung pleads as my eyes meet his through the screen.

Uncle Kim wraps me in his arms and pulls me into his chest, rubbing my back as I take deep breaths.

"It's okay, jagi. You're doing so good and we're so proud of you!" Taehyung supportively says as he watches my anxiety rear it's ugly head.

I nod with my face still planted in Uncle Kim's chest, unable to speak with my mind wandering so much.

"They will love you." Uncle Kim calmly says as he pulls me back to look him in the eyes.

"What if they don't?" I question with wide eyes as I look back at Uncle Kim.

"Then I will love you enough for them. It wouldn't change a thing about how I feel or us getting married in a few years." Taehyung answers in his place.

"And you have my approval already. You're already family to me." Uncle Kim adds.

I take another breath to steady my anxieties and nod that I'm okay. At least I didn't cry, but I could use a drink...and I don't usually even like to drink.

"I will do my best babe." I tell Taehyung who looks a bit less worried about me.

"You always do. Saranghae. Drive safely, please." Taehyung says before ending the video chat.

I nod, "Saranghae."

He waves and kisses his ring and I do the same from a distance before the screen goes back to the main page.

"Please don't stress yourself out. Taehyungie is the lucky one anyway. I don't know what you see in that kid." Uncle Kim jokes.

I crack a smile and playfully push him before running my hands through my hair. There's no way around it. The closer I get to seeing him again, the more excited and nervous I am. A mix of emotions that my brain and my heart battle with each other about.

At least it's only for a little over two weeks. It's not like I'm moving there so when I am back in the states, I could just practice even more before the next visit. Right? And like Taehyung said, no one expects me to be fluent. I just hope his parents recognize my efforts.

After saying my goodbyes to Uncle Kim with the promise to text him when I make it back safely to the dorms, I leave out to go back to the university.

I take a few deep breaths before turning on my car and putting it in reverse, "Relax Ava. Quit assuming the worst before anything has even happened."

Before turning off of the residential street, I think about my own mother and wonder how she is. I pull out my phone to send a text to Uncle Kim to let him know I'm making a detour so that he doesn't worry when I don't get back to the dorms within an hour.

Just driving to my childhood home seems strange now. What once felt so natural now seems alien. I'm not even sure if she's there, but I figured it would be worth at least trying to check up on her.

As I pull into the driveway, I see her car parked under the carport and smile. Knowing she and my father are separated makes it easier for me to come here, but the memories this home holds puts a dark cloud around the otherwise jovial exterior.

"Ava?" My mother beams as she opens the door and sees me in the driveway.

"Hey mom!" I smile back at her as I exit out of my car.

I walk up to her and she wraps me in a tight hug that damn near squeezes the life out of me.

"I missed you so much baby girl! Come on inside, let's catch up." She steps back so that I can enter, closing the door behind me.

I look around as if I had never been here before. The decor, the floors, the paint on the walls, even the smell seemed like a distant memory. One that I wasn't too fond of.

"How have you been? How is Taehyung?" She asks while I follow her into the kitchen where we had our talks on many occasions.

"I'm good. School is going well and so is work. I had an art show that I had to host recently and that went really well." I nod my head slowly with a tight lipped smile. "Taehyung is good. He's back in Korea for now. I'll be visiting him around Christmas."

She sets down a cup of tea in front of me and takes a sip out of her cup as she sits down adjacent to where I was. Her eyes glued to me as if I was going to disappear.

"I'm glad to know you two are still going strong. He seems like a really nice young man." She smiles at me.

I nod, "He is."

A few moments of awkward silence looms over us and I start to regret coming here. Maybe I should have just invited her to dinner or something instead. Somewhere other than here.

"Your father asks about you all of the time." She adds.

I glance up at her with a furrowed brow, "To be honest, mom, I really don't care. Why are you even still talking to him?"

Before she answers, I notice a bruise on the inside of her dainty wrist and she places her hand in her lap immediately.

"Did you go back to him?" I glare at her as I sit my cup down on to the round wooden kitchen table.

"Ava, you don't understand. It's just something your father and I are working through. He means well and..."

"And he'll never change. What's it going to take, mom? Getting beat or worse? Hell, maybe that's already happened." I cut her off from finishing the same bullshit spiel she's always given me.

"Ava, watch your mouth." She scolds and I huff out a laugh.

"Mom, I love you, but I can't keep doing this. You're an adult. I shouldn't have to always come to your rescue or try to speak some sense into you." I stand up and grab my purse off of the back of the chair. "I was really hoping that you and I could have reconciled our relationship, but I can't stay around this toxic environment and especially knowing that my father could show up at any moment. I wish you the best. Should you one day find your worth, let me know. Bye mom."

I head towards the front door, my heart racing in hopes that I don't run into my dad before I have a chance to leave.

"Ava, sweetie. It's really not as bad as it looks. You'll understand one day. Men just lose their temper sometimes." She says just as I reach out for the door knob.

I take a deep sigh and close my eyes tightly. This was a mistake. This was a huge mistake coming here. While I loved her dearly and she always had my back, no doubt getting the shit end of the stick for taking up for me throughout my life, I couldn't do this anymore.

"No, mom. Men don't act the way dad does. Assholes do. I'll be praying for you and your safety, but I'm not a child anymore. I have to protect myself now. I love you. Goodbye." I walk out, shutting the door behind me and briskly walking towards my car.

I don't know where he is, but I don't want to run into him. Especially without Taehyung around. I don't feel safe and now that I'm not in his care, Lord only knows if he'll end up getting physical with me.

Just as I'm pulling away from the stop sign, my dad's police cruiser turns in. His eyes meet mine and I turn to head back to the city, praying the entire time that he doesn't use his job as a means to force me to pull over.

After a full thirty minutes of driving, I relax and breathe through it. All I want to do is call Taehyung. Better yet, all I want to do is to run into his arms, but that can't happen.

By the time I park at the grocery store down the street from the dorms, I pull out my phone and let Uncle Kim know I made it safely so that I wouldn't forget or keep him worrying about me. I swipe across my screen until I see the clock app and tap it so that I can see what time it currently is in Seoul.

"It's only five in the morning." I sigh and press my head against the headrest.

I stare at his name in my contacts list for a moment, conflicted on if I should call him or not. I know he's asleep. He already stayed up late to help Uncle Kim with my lesson.

Screw it, at least I can hear his voice on the voicemail.

"Gongju? Everything okay?" He groggily answers after a few rings.

"I'm sorry babe. I just..."

He clears his throat and sounds like he gets up from his bed, "Don't ever apologize for calling me if you need me. What's wrong jagi? Talk to me."

"I went to see my mom today." I begin to explain.

"How did that go?" He sleepily asks.

I fully unload on him. Spilling my frustrations and worries as he just listens intently. Surely doing his best to understand everything I'm saying.

"You didn't know baby. I know you just wanted to see her." He calmly says just above a whisper.

"I feel so stupid for thinking anything would actually change." I sigh out, still sitting in my car.

"We all hope for the best, but I hope you know what she said isn't true." He adds.

"What part?" I roll my eyes and slouch into my seat.

"The part about men losing their temper. I may get angry with you one day, but I won't do that to you. I won't be like him." His tone of voice sincere and worried.

"I know baby." I reassure him. "I'm going to let you go back to sleep. I'm sorry for waking you."

"Like I said, don't ever apologize for coming to me if you need me. I love you gongju. Forever and always." He replies just before kissing me through the phone.

"I love you too. Sweet dreams. Call me when you wake up."

"You know I will."

I look out of the passenger window towards the front of the grocery store and see a man, his wife and their daughter walking hand-in-hand, occasionally swinging her as she giggles out loud. Normally, I would swoon over something like this, but seeing a happy family brings a tear to my eyes. It's something I can't relate to and knowing that I will never be walked down the aisle by my father, I will never drop my kids off at their grandparent's house, I will never have family dinners or family holiday parties saddens me. More for my future children than myself.

I wipe away the small tear from the inner corner of my eye and look at myself in the rear view mirror, silently telling myself to suck it up and move on for the day.

The aisles of the grocery store were filled with upcoming Christmas decor and carols quietly sang through the speakers as I looked for snacks and essentials I needed back at the dorm.

"Ava?"

I look back and see Lucas walking towards me holding a bottle of New Amsterdam liquor and a variety of different kinds of chips.

"Hey. Wasn't expecting to see you today." He smiles as he walks up.

"Hey," I say a bit more solemn than I thought I would, "what are you up to?" I nod towards the liquor gripped tightly in his hand and the chips cradled in his arms.

"Party tonight. Are you okay?" He furrows his brow when he notices my expression and tone of voice.

I shake my head, "rough day."

"I see. Well, hey, if you'd like to come to the party tonight, you're welcome to. You can bring your friends if you want. It's nothing like that, I promise! You just look like you need to unwind. I mean, if Taehyung won't be upset. I don't want to start any more problems. I've done enough." He chuckles and I smirk in return.

"I'll think about it. Thanks."

"Okay, well, text me if you want to come and I'll send you the address." He nods with a smile and turns away to head towards the checkout line.

Maybe a night at a party wouldn't be so bad. Typically, it's not my scene but I could use a distraction and Lord knows Madison will be all up for it. Maybe I'll see if Emma and Megan would like to come along. At least Emma wouldn't leave me high and dry if Madison should want to leave to go be with Justin.