Color of My Pain

14| Gamboge

Yoongi was nervous. He didn't know how to address his mother. Mom? He just met her. It wasn't that simple. Hwasa? Disrespectful.

Maybe she would give him some hint.

Was he angry at her? Maybe. If so it wasn't enough to be rude. He wanted her to love him. And already she'd shown more support and acceptance than his father ever had. His feelings were confused, but the colors seemed to be settling and dissipating.

Except the lavender Hoseok was feeling.

When his mom parked in front of a pleasant looking diner, he slid his phone out of his pocket.

"I'll be right there. I have to call Hoseok, is that okay?"

"Of course! I'll just be inside, take as long as you need." She smiled warmly and put a gentle hand on his wrist before heading inside.

Hoseok picked up on the first ring.

"Baby." He breathed.

"I'm okay." He started.

"Thank God, what happened."

"I'm still confused. I don't really know myself. I'm not living with my dad anymore. My mom's taking me to breakfast to figure out more." Yoongi worried at the faded leather on the side panel. "I have to go inside now. I'll call you tonight okay?"

"Okay, I love you Yoongi."

"I love you too. Bye."

Hobi hummed a response, letting Yoongi hang up first.

Yoongi's mom was talking quietly with the host, a tall slim woman with blonde hair highlighted with lavender.  Hwasa looked up, noticing Yoongi almost immediately.

"Hungry now?" She smiled.

He nodded, looking at his shoes.

"This is my soulmate, MoonByul." She rested her hand on the woman's arm. "Byulie, this is Yoongi."

Yoongi looked up sharply, bewildered. "H-hello."

Moonbyul smiled brilliantly, "Hi Yoongi, it's nice to finally meet you. Let's get you two seated."

Hwasa nodded and gestured for Yoongi to follow after MoonByul. He ducked his head and followed her black lace up boots to a booth by the window.

"Can I start you off with drinks?" A man waltzed up to their table as MoonByul resumed her post by the door. "Hey Hwasa. This your kid?"

"Yoongi, this is Loco."

"Hi."

After they placed their orders, they were left in silence. Hwasa fazed at him with a soft look in her eyes, sighing to focus herself.

"So we need to figure things out. I'd love for you to stay with me and Byulie, but I understand that I haven't been a good mother figure and you have no obligation to stay with me. I'll take you wherever you want me to. I just want to be a good mom from this point on. I want to earn it." She took a deep breath. "And you don't have to decide now. You can stay with us as long as you want."

"Okay, can I think about it later?" He whispered. It was so much to process, so much an overwhelmed gamboge left him feeling dizzy with the thoughts.

She nodded. "Of course. For now it's time to overeat, regrets come later."

It felt nice laughing with her.