"I must say I'm surprised that you've come to me, Seokjin."

Seokjin looked at his mother dejectedly from the kitchen table where he was watching her move around her kitchen. After their harsh words to each other last night, he had stayed away from Anna. This morning he left the apartment before she came out of the bedroom and came to his parents' house.

"I just don't know what else to do," he said slowly. He had reached the end of his rope. He didn't know how to win back Anna's love and trust, and he was desperate. "I love her, but I know I've made mistakes, Mom."

"And plenty of them," she added. "Very big mistakes, very public." She pulled out a chair and sat across from him. "You know how I felt about your escapades over there. That woman was not worthy of you."

He nodded. "I know. I'm sorry I disappointed you. I'm a failure."

"Oh, son, I would never call you a failure. I was disappointed in your decisions. I wanted to blame that woman, but you were an adult. You knew what you were doing. But we all make mistakes." Her words, while stern, were not accusatory.

"That's the worst part," he replied. "I knew better. And my mistakes hurt the people I love."

Mrs. Kim sighed. "Well, I will always love you, baby. And you must've known you were hurting Anna. That girl has loved you since I don't know when. Everyone could see it whenever she looked at you, but you were always too busy looking away."

He nodded. "She has always been the best thing in my life. From the moment I met her, she brought so much positive energy, so much laughter. I was able to put up with any difficulty because she was next to me. Then when I had my big chance, I cut her out." His bottom lip trembled. "But she never abandoned me. When I had trouble, she was there. Always. Why didn't I pay attention to her? Instead I...well, I just wanted to do things on my terms. I wasn't fair to her. I wanted to escape my small-town roots because I wanted to be seen as someone more sophisticated. I tried to reinvent myself, but instead, I made a fool of myself. I was a blind idiot. She was always the best part of me."

His mother smiled. "You were just focused on what you wanted. Little Anna always supported you. She even followed you to college. She would've never interfered with your dreams. I bet she didn't mind that you fell out of touch for a while. She always wanted your success and happiness. I always hoped you two would end up together. Things would've been so different now if it had happened back then. But there's no use in regret. Now you have to focus on her."

He exhaled. "But how? Maybe some mistakes are too great to be forgiven. Maybe she doesn't love me anymore. It hurts, Mom. It hurts because it's all my fault."

She reached out and patted his hand. "Oh, my dear. I can't believe she wouldn't forgive you, and I know she loves you. Why don't you try telling her what you just told me? Talk to her about the mistakes you made. Ask her what you can do to make her happy. It's time for you to be the positive energy in her life." She squeezed his hand. "Seokjin, if you love her, you must let her know every day. Let your words be the clear expression of that love. Let your actions be the demonstration."

"But what happened with...with Norma, well, every so often, stories from the past still come out. People still talk and write about it." He sniffed. "What if one day she gets fed up?"

Mrs. Kim squared her impressive shoulders. It was plain to see where her son had inherited his physique. "Seokjin, stop feeling sorry for yourself and go talk to her. Together you will decide how to move forward from here. Both of you have to decide."

Seokjin pouted. "Mom, there's a little bit more to it."

"Son, every relationship has problems," she continued. "I don't mean to pry, and I don't want any details, but you're probably talking about sex. You think your father and I were always sing-song happy?"

His head snapped up. "Mom! What? You and dad...?" He shook his head. "No! Don't say anything! I don't want to hear it."

She chuckled. "Every couple has them. It's not important what they were. It's more important that we worked them out together. Once you get the blame out of the way, you can address the real issues. A relationship is not just about love. It's about so many other things. Ultimately, it all comes down to honesty and communication."

"But I said I was sorry. I say it all the time."

His mother nodded. "I know, son. But now you have to listen to her. You two need to lay it all out on the table, everything that is bothering you. You have to say everything that's on your minds. Only then will you have a good chance of making things work." 

"I thought loving her was enough," I mumbled.

She smiled warmly. "My darling boy, I'm surprised—-but happy—-that you believe in love's power. We all want the happily ever after." She paused. "But the truth is that it takes work to have that happiness. Nothing worthwhile is easy."

I nodded.

She got to her feet. "Let me get you something to eat. And then you're going back home to have a long, honest discussion. I don't want you to scare away my future daughter-in-law, you hear?"

Seokjin smiled. "Okay, Mom. Thank you."