Moonlight | Kim Taehyung

37: Luna

"Luna..." my mum says gently and I force myself to look at her. "I... I shouldn't have been so harsh towards you... I'm sorry... even though I know that saying sorry doesn't mean anything and I know that I broke my promise that I'll do anything for you... but just know that I feel so regretful... I'm your mother after all and as a parent I should be supportive of you..."

"You're right," I reply. "Saying sorry doesn't mean anything unless you prove that you're truly sorry. It's easy to just say sorry without even feeling sorry. And broken promises can't be easily mended either."

I say that even though I just said sorry for a multiple of times to my sister just moments ago.

"I'll make up for it..." she says quickly. "I promise you that I will. This time I won't break my promise to you... I owe you too much..."

It makes me so heart-broken to talk to my mum. I don't know if I should give her one last chance and believe that she'll make it up to me. I know I should forgive her and let her start over, since she is my mother after all, yet she made me live a miserable childhood; how will she ever make up for that? I'm overwhelmed and stressed by the situation, as my head begins to hurt.

I feel Taehyung's presence as he sits down beside me and wraps an arm around my shoulders protectively. I'm surprised that he's beside me and not at the counter working, as he should be. Instead, Anthony is there as he sends me a smile and nods. I guess he allowed Taehyung to come over to me.

"Mrs Park," he begins to say politely and my mum seems startled to see him. "I'm sorry for intruding, but I just wanted to say: I know that you may have your reasons for wanting her to study law and I know that you're worried about her future. Maybe its because you want her to have a more successful future and you don't want her to struggle in the music industry, because it's hard to gain success, but is success really that important to you? Are wealth and money all that matters? Isn't happiness important too? Isn't keeping a healthy and loving relationship with your daughter more crucial?"

My mum keeps silent as she focuses on Taehyung and comprehends what he's saying. I too am listening in silence as well, as my mum becomes struck by his words.

"Growing up, my parents weren't rich and they didn't really pay much attention to wealth. My dad was struggling in his business, so we moved to California, where they found better jobs that they enjoyed doing. They didn't make a lot of money, but that didn't really matter, because they were contented and I was too," Taehyung continues to say. "They didn't mind that I didn't want to go to college and they didn't hate me for wanting to live alone. You know why? It's because they trust me and love me. It's because they want me to be happy, and they know that I love them too. A parents' job is to love their children and care for them by being supportive and by making them happy. At least, that's what I believe."

My mum sighs and fiddles with her fingers as she avoids Taehyung's gaze, until she eventually looks up at him and says, "You're right... I should be more supportive of Luna and I should understand that contentment is more significant than wealth... but I always thought that wealth would lead to happiness... I'm just so worried that she won't have a good future by studying music... I guess its just my own perception..."

"That can be true too," Taehyung replies. "But that's not always the case. This small cafe doesn't allow me to make millions of dollars, but at least I enjoy working here, and that's all that matters to me. I think Luna would think the same way."

"I do..." I say and try my best to remain calm and control my emotions. "Mum, please understand that I'm not your ex-boyfriend, things might go differently for me. Have some faith in me... please?"

She breathes in and smiles at me, "Okay... I do want to improve our relationship... and I know that I can do a lot better as a mother. I'll try my best... I really will."

She says that so earnestly and with so much hope in her eyes that I believe in her and I almost forget about the neglectful ways she treated me in my early teenage years. I'm willing to forgive her if she really does try her best and stops being so opposed to the fact that I'm passionate about music. I know that she secretly feels upset with herself when I hurt myself, I can tell when she tried to mend our relationship once dad left us. And now, she's willing to let me do what I want, even though it might not bring wealth to the family. I guess she's trying to improve herself as a mother figure, and I'm so grateful for that. I appreciate that she wants to see me live a contented life.

"Also... I have an idea. What if Luna sings and plays music at this cafe during her gap year? To decide if music is the right path for her," Taehyung proposes and I'm intrigued by his suggestion and my mum seems to approve.

He then turns to me to say, "If that's okay with you, of course."

"That's a great idea, I would love to!" I reply joyfully as I beam at him. "Thank you."

"That does sound like a good suggestion," my mum replies and nods her head and a small smile appears on her face. "Okay... if that's what you want, Luna."

I nod my head at her, then relax under Taehyung's arm around my shoulder and I feel him become less tense too as he looks back at my mum and says, "I'm glad you're seeing things in a new perspective. I love your daughter and it makes me happy to see her having a healthy and loving relationship with you... because you never know how long you'll get to live with each other..."

I know that he's thinking about Haneul at this moment when he says that; he takes a deep breathe and continues to say, "What I mean is that, you should enjoy and cherish every moment you have with each other before it's too late."

I notice his eyes glisten under the light, and he gulps as if trying his best to not show that he's feeling miserable and that he's affected by losing Haneul so early. He holds back his tears and forces a grin.

"Thank you," my mum says sincerely and smiles at Taehyung. "Thank you for telling me that and thank you for loving my daughter and bringing her joy."

"It's no problem at all," Taehyung replies. "I too want to thank your daughter for bringing me joy and love."

He turns to me and plants a quick, yet passionate kiss on my lips, then whispers, "Thank you, Luna."

"Thank you, too..." I reply as my cheeks redden and I bit down on my lip.

From the corner of my eye, I see my mum looking at us with a beam on her face and a tear rolling down her cheek.