"Place to Confront"

## Plot

When Alexandre was 18 years old, he went on a fun trip to the forest with his friend Mack Ford. While they were there, they were attacked by a bear dog, but Alexandre and Mack managed to defend themselves and kiss in the process. After their adventure ended, Alexandre returned home with Mack, and they were seen by his mother, Soon-ja, who watched them from the balcony as Mack left and Alexandre returned home. Soon-ja closed the door and looked at Alexandre. He went to his room and called Mack to apologize for the awkward situation with his mother. Mack encouraged Alexandre to be honest with his mother about their relationship, even though Mack had already told Sue-Lee about it. Mack was concerned about Alexandre's well-being, and Alexandre agreed to come out to his mother.

Alexandre came to the kitchen to find that Soon-ja had made dinner. He bravely came out to her as bisexual and shared his feelings for Mack Ford from the previous summer. However, the conversation took a dark turn when Soon-ja became triggered by her own trauma and lashed out at Alexandre. In her outburst, Soon-ja even suggested that God or Cho had given her a gay son to embarrass her. She went on to accuse Alexandre of being gay because of a past traumatic experience of being raped by a military client, which she believed resulted in his mental illness.

Despite feeling hurt and angry, Alexandre tried to calm Soon-ja down and explain that his sexual orientation had nothing to do with his traumatic experience. He wanted her to understand that being gay was a natural part of who he was, and it was not something that he could control or change. Alexandre wanted to support his mother and hoped she would come to understand and accept him for who he is. After Alexandre's difficult conversation with his mother, Soon-ja, she decided to leave the house and leave him alone for a few days. Although he was used to her leaving him alone over the years since he was 12, Alexandre still wished his mother could understand and accept him. Despite feeling alone and confused, Alexandre walked to the park and saw Mack. He explained the situation with his mother, but he also shared that he didn't care that she had left the house. He had grown accustomed to it.

On the first day alone, Alexandre returned home to find that his house had been robbed by gangs. Feeling enraged, he kicked trash cans as he walked through the city, trying to process his emotions. However, when he returned to his house, he found his hidden money on the sink and felt relieved. He put it in his jacket and continued to try and move forward. When Alexandre's home was destroyed and robbed while he was away, he called Sue-Lee for help. She was understanding and offered to let him stay with her in her apartment, along with her 1-year-old son Ryan-Lee and her boyfriend Ryan. Alexandre was grateful that his money had not been stolen and felt relieved to have a safe place to stay. Sue-Lee rode with him on her new metro bike to her apartment.

Although he was still processing the difficult conversation with his mother, Alexandre felt a sense of comfort and support from Sue-Lee, Ryan, and Ryan-Lee. They embraced him in a big hug, which resulted in a chair falling over, but they all laughed and smiled, bringing positivity to the situation. Alexandre knew that he had a long road ahead of him, but he was determined to stay true to himself and live his life on his own terms, with the support of his loved ones. The next morning, Sue-Lee made a special breakfast for Alexandre while she breastfed Ryan-Lee in the nursery room. Ryan joined in and Alexandre asked how he ended up staying with them.

Ryan shared that his parents had kicked him out after finding out that Sue-Lee was pregnant with their child, Ryan-Lee. Ryan had kept the pregnancy a secret from his parents for over a year until they found out that he was not married to Sue-Lee. He had been staying with Sue-Lee for 20 days, and Alexandre patted Ryan's back with understanding. Later, Alexandre went to the living room and watched a kids' show with Ryan-Lee, who fell asleep on his chest. Ryan arrived with an air mattress for Alexandre, and they set it up in the living room. Alexandre thanked them for their kindness, but Sue-Lee insisted that he needed a proper place to sleep, and an air mattress would not suffice.

Later that morning, Alexandre and Sue-Lee took her son Ryan-Lee to the playground. Alexandre played with Ryan-Lee on the swings while an old woman watched them and commented on how cute they looked as a couple with their son. Alexandre and Sue-Lee responded that they were just friends. Alexandre and Ryan-Lee then ran on the tracks as Sue-Lee took a picture of them, capturing Alexandre's smile. They stopped at a fast-food restaurant called "Meatman" for dinner. While watching the news, they learned about the "Joy Faces" group who had kidnapped and brainwashed 35 teens in New York, Toronto, and Detroit. Sue-Lee felt disgusted and grateful that they had not fallen victim to such sick people. She tickled Ryan-Lee to lighten the mood.

After finishing dinner, Alexandre took a walk while Sue-Lee went to the bathroom to change Ryan-Lee's wet pants. She asked Alexandre to wait outside, and he agreed. He walked out of Meatman and sat on a bench as the rain started to slow down. He muttered about the rain, wondering why it always seemed to rain at night. As he sat there, he was approached by Emica Forsyth, an Asian woman with red hair. She offered him her leftover onigiris, thinking he was homeless due to his appearance and jacket. Alexandre clarified that he was not homeless, but rather waiting for his friend who was changing her son. He also shared that he disliked homelessness and thought it was dirty.

Emica started a conversation with Alexandre and asked him about his yellow hair streaks. However, Alexandre responded rudely and mentioned his past as a punk kid. He claimed to be cool now, which made Emica apologize, fearing that she had offended him. Alexandre clarified that he wasn't offended, but he found meeting new people annoying, as he believed Emica was being too nice and annoying him. Emica noticed Alexandre's tattoos and realized that he was part of a gang. Feeling nervous, she tried to lighten the mood. Alexandre shared that he used to be in a gang but was now just a thug with tattoos. He noticed Emica's sensitivity towards his tattoos, but she reassured him that she was not offended by anyone's lifestyle. Alexandre smoked a cigarette, which made Emica more worried about him. However, Alexandre told her not to worry as he was just trying to lighten the mood too, as he worried he had scared Emica due to his appearance. When the bus arrived, Emica nervously said goodbye to Alexandre and expressed that it was nice to meet him. Sue-Lee and her son arrived as they returned home.

A week later, Sue-Lee left Alexandre to babysit Ryan-Lee while she went to confront Ryan's parents. Alexandre decided to walk to the market with Ryan-Lee to get some milk. As he was walking, he was surprised to run into Peter, a 13-year-old homeless kid he had met back in 2015 at the mall. Alexandre was happy to see that Peter had been adopted by new parents, leading a healthier lifestyle, and attending high school. They caught up briefly, and Peter thanked Alexandre for his help back then before walking away with his new parents. Alexandre was glad to see that Peter was doing well and felt a sense of satisfaction that he had made a difference in his life. Upon returning to Sue-Lee's apartment, Alexandre saw Ryan confronting Sue-Lee. She was angry because Ryan's parents still rejected them. Alexandre went to the living room to sleep.

The next day, Alexandre, Sue-Lee, Ryan, and baby Ryan-Lee took a leisurely stroll along the beach, hoping to lift Sue-Lee and Ryan's spirits. As they walked, they shared stories from their past. Alexandre recounted a humorous tale about the first time he saw Sue-Lee drink beer, while Ryan jokingly teased Alexandre about being annoying. Alexandre playfully retorted that Ryan was the most annoying person he had ever met, causing everyone to burst out laughing. As they played with baby Ryan-Lee, they built sandcastles and relished in the breathtaking scenery. At noon, Sue-Lee entertained Ryan-Lee while Alexandre and Ryan had a heart-to-heart conversation about Ryan's parents. Ryan shared that his parents were strict and disapproved of Sue-Lee because they were teenage parents when they had him. They didn't want Ryan to go through the same hardships they faced. Alexandre comforted Ryan by patting him on the back and showing his support.

Upon returned from the beach time, as Alexandre received a text from Mack, who checked on Alexandre as he had lived with Sue-Lee and Ryan for a while. Mack was going on a trip alone to Ottawa and invited Alexandre to stay at his apartment. Alexandre agreed to Mack's invitation. The next day, Alexandre told Sue-Lee and Ryan that he would be leaving to stay with Mack in Ottawa. They were happy for him and gave him a big hug, which resulted in a fall due to the force of the hug.

The following day, Alexandre grabbed his bag and Sue-Lee kindly prepared sandwiches for him to eat during his journey. Ryan felt sad and wanted to cry because he would miss Alexandre's presence in Sue-Lee's apartment. However, Alexandre playfully teased Ryan and called him a crybaby as he didn't like Ryan's emotional display. Before leaving, Alexandre said a sweet goodbye to baby Ryan-Lee and even tickled him. Sue-Lee then instructed Ryan to take baby Ryan-Lee to his nursery room. As Alexandre was about to leave, Sue-Lee gave him a kiss on the forehead, causing Alexandre to blush. When Ryan arrived, Alexandre suggested they share a big group hug with Sue-Lee. The three of them ended up falling over with laughter. Finally, Alexandre left Sue-Lee's apartment and made his way to the streets. He messaged Mack to let him know he was on his way.

In the afternoon, Alexandre was waiting for a bus at the bench while eating a sandwich. Emica appeared again and was surprised to see him. She lightened the mood by talking about the weather and looking at the clouds. Alexandre made an inappropriate joke about the clouds having a shape like a penis, but Emica laughed it off. Emica also joked with Alexandre, and they both laughed. Emica asked Alexandre where he was headed, and he responded that he was going to Ottawa. Emica mentioned that she had been to Ottawa before on vacation with her boyfriend in the 1990s. She was headed to the airport to meet her family in British Columbia because she only worked part-time in Quebec. When Emica's bus arrived, she said goodbye to Alexandre again and thanked him for the conversation. One night, Alexandre's bag was stolen, and he chased after the thief. However, he was ambushed by three men who intended to rape him. They restrained him, and he was almost gang-raped by them.

Thankfully, Alexandre's mother, Soon-ja, arrived just in time and beat one of the attackers with her bag. Alexandre managed to fight off the man who restrained him and saved Soon-ja from being grabbed by one of the other attackers. The three men ran away as the police arrived. Soon-ja tearfully apologized to Alexandre, and they reunited. However, their relationship remained strained due to her intolerance towards his sexuality and selfish tendencies. She often disregarded his feelings, only caring about herself, which made Alexandre unhappy about being reunited with her.

The episode came to a close with a joyful Soon-ja grabbing Alexandre and thanking the police. They watched as a bus arrived and took a woman who was sitting on a bench, heading towards Ottawa. As Alexandre and his mother walked away to return home, the screen faded to black.