ISSUES || Taegi

Epilogue

... POV

The average person meets around 10,000 people in their lifetime, but it's not like we remember every single one of them by heart, maybe at some random point you'll remember that kid in second grade who would stick boogers under his table, but in general, we only really remember semi-regularly people who have in some way or another impacted us in a deeper way. Even when you remember someone who was once very important to you, as the years go by you might start forgetting details, maybe their eyes aren't so clear anymore, maybe you've forgotten the exact sound of their voice, or maybe you've even begun to erase memories that were once very precious. But sometimes, even when you believe that occasional thought is irrelevant, a simple connection, like a smell, can bring you all the way back to something you thought was already buried six feet deep.

Taehyung had moved on, I mean, how could he have not moved on, it had been seven years since that day at the station. The first few months were a mess, a whole mess, he had never felt so lonely in his life, and the need to at least text Yoongi to ask him how he was doing consumed him constantly even if he never did it. He began going to a therapist almost as soon as they got installed in the new city, it was a scary experience, but he managed; after a while, he ended up getting a potential diagnosis, they said it might have been depression or an anxiety disorder, but that his symptoms seemed to go a bit more towards a personality disorder, yet they couldn't determine that as he was not over 18, so he just kept on going until they could tell otherwise, but despite the lack of a clear diagnosis, Taehyung began noticing the changes.

He finished that year online and began his senior year in a new school, that's not really the kind of experience anyone wants to have, but surprisingly he made a couple of friends, and the year wasn't that bad at all, he focused on his work and on himself for the most part. Six months after moving he visited his friends for the first time, after the first few times of Yoongi texted him he decided to change his number, and he agreed with his friends that they would not even mention the topic, it might have seemed a bit extreme, but as his therapist said, sometimes you really need to cut every tie in order to heal. He grew up in that year more than he had in his entire life, even if the journey is never easy and self-acceptance is a challenge, Tae was determined to be happier, and if not that, at least content.

Graduating high school kind of felt like the cherry on top, that part of his life was actually over, and he couldn't be happier about it. Tae kept on going to visit his friends every six months or so, even when he began going to University and studying Literature and making lots and lots of new friends, which had been easier because he had managed to break that shell he had created, little by little, and with a lot of help, but he had done it. Also, he was finally diagnosed with BPD, which at first came in a bit of a shock, but it helped him work better around it, giving it a name meant the path to recovery was more clear, and even if it didn't exactly have a cure, he now knew he was going to be okay. At peace is the best way you could describe his demeanor after a few years.

That's the path of self-recovery, it's long, it's tumultuous, it never really ends because we can always learn something new, but it's rewarding every step of the way none the less. When Taehyung finally felt ready, which took a very long time, he actually put himself out there and began dating, and after a while, he had settled with Joohyun, a pretty girl who he had been friends with ever since he began University. Now that he had grown so much, now that he actually felt he was in right path for healing and for loving himself, the relationship went pretty smoothly and nicely, they were really compatible and you could say that he finally managed to fall in love again, even if it took a lot to get there. He was incredibly happy by her side, and the only reason they ended up breaking up once University was over was because she was moving to the UK for her Master's degree, and even if it was harsh they both agreed that it was better to end it there than to end up breaking up badly because of the distance. They stayed friends none the less, and even if it hurt Taehyung that they didn't get that future together, he knew very well sometimes things aren't meant to be... But at least she was still in his life unlike someone else.