A young black-haired boy sat next to his mother, patting her back and petting her hair, trying to soothe her. His mother's chest heaved with every sob that came, and it was evident that she wouldn't stop crying. The boy laid his head on her lap and hugged her knees, trying to avert her from her crying. But to no avail, she weeped just as hard as before, completely ignoring her 5 year old son and his subtle signs of wanting to help her.

"Mommy, why are you crying?"

The boy was sitting on his knees in front of her, and decided to try and figure out what had happened, because he did not understand quite a few things that had been happening around the house.

"Because, hicc, Mommy isn't very happy right now, and Mommy feels very hurt, and doesn't know what to do.", the mother had ceased her weeping at the question, and replied sorrowfully while staring into the eyes of her beloved angel.

She her angels cheeks, and ran her hands through his pitch black hair, then continued.

"Mommy  is hurting very much right now, she also needs to see the doctor. But she can't, and Mommy doesn't like that. Mommy really wants to leave this house."

Her son's eyes widened, "You're going to leave? But, what about me? Can I come? I won't be noisy I promise, and I wo-", He was cut off by his mother picking him up of  the floor, and wrapping two protective arms around him. 

"Of course you can."

The young boy smiled and squeezed his mother and held onto her tightly. She smiled weakly and whispered too low for him to hear,"Just as long as I get you out of here unscathed, we'll be fine."

"YE JINNNN!", a loud slurred voice echoed throughout the house. The mother stiffened, then quickly stood up, still holding the most precious thing in the world to her. She panicked, but then tried to calm herself down for her son's sake.

"Mommy what's wrong?", Her son's eyes reflected fear. 

"Shh, shh. It's okay, you'll be fine. Baekhyunnie can you do something for me?", she asked gently.

Baekhyun nodded.

"We're going to play a game of hide and seek okay? It's just a game, and you have to go hide, and you can't come out until I give up. Okay? It's fun isn't it?", she said with the most forced smile  she could muster.

"O-Okay", Baekhyun replied unsure of his mother's intentions, but wanting to comply to her commands.

He ran out of the living  room and headed straight to his mother's bedroom, then jumped into her big oak closet. His mother sighed from the living room, knowing exactly where he hid, and praying to God that he wouldn't come out.

"YE JINNN-AHHH!!", The voice bellowed even louder than before. Baekhyun's mother forced her face back into a smile, and walked up to the front door of their apartment, and unlocked it to let the visitor in, although she knew very well this was not a visitor. The drunk man, with flushed cheeks, and yellow-ish eyes, and half empty beer bottle, was her husband. He smelled as if he had bathed in the stench of cigarettes and alchohol. But, the smile on her face didn't falter yet, she was used to him coming back in this state.

"Welcome back dea-"

A strong hand came down on her left cheek, causing her to stagger backwards, and the sound of the slap resonated through out the entire silent apartment.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU OPEN THE ING DOOR YE JINN", the drunk man slurred,

"I STOOD THERE FOR FIVE ING HOURSSSS", he continued.

Ye Jin regained her composture, then replied,"You actually weren't stan-"

She was cut off by another slap across her face, then felt a large hand take a handful of her auburn hair.

"DON'T YOU DARE TRY AND TALK BACK TO ME YOU LITTLE H", he pulled her hair upwards off her head. Causing her to stand on the tips of her toes while gasping.

"IF YOU TRY DOING THAT AGAIN YOU'LL BE SORRY! NOW GO AND GET ME SOMETHING FOR MY HEADACHE!", the hand released her hair and threw her to the side, making her fall on her face. Her nose began bleeding, but she quickly wiped it with the back of her hand.

"No", she said softly. The man stopped in his tracks, and turned around slowly. Then said dangerously softly,

"What?"

"I said no, didn't you hear me you ing drunkard. I'm not going to get you any damn medicine for your headache. I'm not going to keep living like a prisoner. You don't own me, or anybody else so get the out of my apartment. And yes I pay the rent for this place, so it is MY. ING APARTMENT."

A roar of rage could be heard from across the entire neighbourhood, then the shattering of glass. Then the screams of a woman, then the sound of a child unlocking a closet door and thus ending a game of hide and seek, and the sound of a child's screams. Then police sirens.Then it was over.

Byun Baekhyun sat up in his bed panting, then sighed. That dream again. Then he realized, his nose was running again, and there was no more tissue in his room He heaved his body out from under the covers, and left his chilly room. The cold hit his half body, and he decided that pulling on a navy sweatshirt was a better idea. He shivered as his feet made their way down the cold marble stairs, towards the kitchen.

Baekhyun was halfway upstairs with a box of tissue, when he decided that his room was too cold, and he knew that the warmest room in the house was his mother's. He smiled realizing that he wanted to sleep with his Mommy tonight.

Ye Jin was still awake, her auburn hair, which now had plenty of grey streaks in it was let down, and brushed.  She had on her reading glasses, and was going through her gardening catalog and looking at lists of flowers she might want to add to the winter edition. Snowdrops and winter aconite's were already at the top of the list. She smiled, business was doing great. She suddenly felt something move under her sheets. She stiffened and slowly put her catalog and list on her bedside table.

Suddenly, the face of her twenty-two year old son appeared out from under the covers. Before Baekhyun could say anything, his mother grabbed his cheeks and gave him eskimo kissess.

"AWW! Does the baby want to sleep with his Mommy tonight. Oh yes he does! Oh yes he does!", she chuckled as she trailed kisses up his nose up to his forehead. Baekhyun couldn't help but giggle, his face was very ticklish

"Moooom stoop!", he smiled and hugged her.

It was 3am, Baekhyun lay awake next to his snoring mother. Thoughts were racing through his head. He wanted to become stronger, he wanted to be able to protect his mother, he wanted to be able to defend her and also himself against anything that could harm either of them. But, how?

Baekhyun abrubtly sat up, that's it!

He knew the perfect place, it didn't cost money, it was voluntary, and it definitley would build up his strength. 

But can he really be in a place like that?