"What do you want to go on first baby? The slide? Monkey bars? What about the swing?" she smiled down at her son, knowing fully well what his answer would be.

"Let's go on the swing first! The swing!" he said excitedly, grasping her hand and pulling her towards the play equipment.

"Okay, okay! No need to pull my arm off," she scolded playfully. She proceeded to help him into the seat, gently pushing him as he started to gain momentum.

"Push me harder mom!" he would call out excitedly, swinging his legs every so often. 

It was one of the few days where they could indulge in such a luxury. Well, a luxury to them at least. Being a single parent, it was difficult for her to provide for her son, doing whatever she could to give him the things she wasn't able to have when she was young.

Working multiple jobs to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table, it wasn't often she could afford time off. And with her son getting older every year, his desire for things he wanted increased as he slowly started to discover the world. 

"Hey mom. What are those boys doing over there?" his question snapped her out of her thoughts. 

She looked over at the other side of the playground and saw a few small boys, around the same age as her son, playing basketball, some of their parents sitting on near by benches watching them.

"They're playing basketball baby. You haven't seen it before?" she asked, receiving a shake of the head in return. "Well, how about we go over there and ask if you can play with them?" She smiled when he nodded his head enthusiastically, proceeding to grab her hand and pull her again. 

She tiredly sat down on the bench, watching as her son laughed and played with his new friends.

She knew she wasn't the best mother in the world. She wasn't able to provide things for her son like other parents could. But regardless, he never complained. He smiled at the little things and at the end of the day, that's what mattered most to her. To be able to see his beautiful smile everyday was what motivated her to work and work and work, so that he got everything he deserved. 

"Your son's very good. Has he played before?" a young mother on a near by bench asked her. 

"No, this is his first time playing," she smiled politely.

"Wow, really? He's got quite the talent for it."

She looked back at her son as he threw the ball towards the hoop, the ball effortlessly falling in. She nodded along, realising that he did have some sort of natural talent for the sport. But what really stood out to her the most wasn't his natural proficiency for the sport, but rather how happy he looked playing it.

"Did you have fun baby?" she asked when he had finished playing.

"Yes! I love basketball!" he said excitedly. "Can we play again soon mom?"

"If you want to, we can sign you up for a team and you can play all the time," she smiled when he cheered triumphantly. They began their walk home to their small apartment building, her son telling her about all the new friends he made and how much he enjoyed playing basketball.

***

He walked through the side door of the extravagant mansion, bowing and greeting some of the other live-in housemaids as he made his way towards his mother. "Hey mom. How was your day?" he asked as he put his school bag down and gave her a hug.

"Ow!" she physically recoiled from him before catching herself. "There’s no need to squeeze the life out of me!" she scolded playfully but with a hint of trepidation behind it, not going unnoticed by her son. "And why are you back from school so early anyways?”

"I had a free period to end the day so I left early," he looked at her strangely, wondering about her peculiar reaction to his touch. He just shrugged it off and made his way into their small room, throwing his bag to the ground and lying on the hard mattress they were provided. Looking around at their room, he sighed tiredly.

He was never the type to complain about much. He was always grateful for everything his mother gave him, but seeing kids his own age showing off the fancy things their parents bought for them, he just couldn't stop himself from comparing his life to their more luxurious ones.

Looking up at the adjacent wall, he smiled when he saw the numerous posters he had stuck to the wall, most of them consisting of famous basketball players he aspired to be like. His joy was only short-lived as his gaze shifted to the new pair of basketball shoes his mother had gifted him for his birthday a while ago. He remembered when she had presented him the box and the smile she had when he opened it. He remembered throwing his arms around his mother in a tight hug and continuously expressing his gratitude to her.

He also remembered looking up information about the shoes and gasping at the price they were valued at. Guilt had consumed him when he realised his mother had spent a good chunk of her savings on him, just to see him happy. He had tried to tell his mother to return them, saying he didn't need such lavish gifts for his birthday, but she had adamantly refused. 

Breaking out of his thoughts, he heard a slight commotion coming from the kitchen. Getting to his feet, he exited the room and look through the small window in the side door, seeing his mother with her head bowed low as the matriarch of the family scolded her.

"How can you be so careless? Do you know how expensive these plates are?" 

"I-I'm sorry. It just slipped," his mother apologised, her eyes still fixated on the ground.

"You dare speak back to me?" she asked, her eyes wide with anger and disbelief.

Mino watched with wide eyes as she severely slapped his mother, her legs giving way from under her as she crumbled to the ground. Not being able to take it, he burst in through the door, causing every set of eyes to fall on him.

"Don't you dare lay another hand on her," he warned angrily. "Mom, are you okay?" he asked worriedly as he crouched down beside her.

"What are you doing? Go back to the room," his mother said shakily, pushing his hands away from her.

"You dare speak to me like that, boy? You're lucky I even let you stay here. If it wasn't for me you'd be living on the streets," she spat vehemently. 

"I don't care. Don't ever hit her like that a-"

"Mino. Shut up and go back to the room. Now."

He turned to his mother with a look of disbelief on his face. "Mom! How can you let her hit you like that?"

"Stop talking now," she gave him a pointed look. Turning back to the matriarch, she bowed lowly with a look of shame on her face. "Forgive my son for misspeaking Madame. He did not mean anything by it. Please punish me instead."

"Mo-" he stopped when she glared at him again. Shaking his head, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"You had best teach that delinquent to behave or else you'll be out on the streets. Are we clear? You're lucky we allowed you that room in the first place."

"F-Forgive me Madame. I will speak to him. This won't happen again."

He leaned against the wall beside the door, shaking his head as he listened to the conversation. Tears began to leak out of his eyes as he heard his mother being reprimanded and physically punished for his outburst. 

***

Hearing the sound of footsteps quietly entering the dark room, he shut his eyes tighter, pretending to sleep. He heard the rustling of clothes as his mother moved about the dark room, presumably preparing herself for bed as well. 

"Ow," she winced quietly, but it was loud enough for him to hear. 

Not taking it anymore, he sat up and turned the light on, coming face to face with his startled mother. 

"Mom!" he said, his eyes watering again when he saw her visibly wince away from him when he reached for her hands. "Mom, how can you let them do this to you?"

She just shook her head and looked away from him, going back to what she was doing.

"Mom! You can't let them do this to you!"

"It's not important..." she mumbled quietly. 

"What do you mean 'it's not important'? Look at you..." he trailed off when a sudden thought came back to him. "Mom... has this happened before?" he asked quietly, not receiving an answer. "Mom, have they hit you before?" he asked again, now turning her to face him. 

"I-No. No, they've never done anything like this before," she tried to sound convincing but he saw right through it. 

He gently grabbed her arm and pulled the sleeve up, his eyes angrily watering when he saw the numerous bruises on her arms. "They've done this before. Who knows how many times," he gritted his teeth as his breathing became laboured. "I'm going to kill them. I'm going to ing kill them!" He got to his feet and was about to march out of the door when his mother pulled him back down to the mattress, delivering a stinging slap that stunned him momentarily.

He looked at her in bewilderment, not believing what just happened.

"Just be quiet Mino. Okay? Just listen to me for a second. You have to stop acting like this."

"Acting like what? Defending you from these people? I can't let them hurt you!"

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is we need this place more than they need us and they won't hesitate to throw us out."

"And? Let's just go somewhere else. I can't let them hurt you anymore mom... I won't let them hurt you..."

She quietly pulled him into her arms and shushed him as he cried into her shoulder. "I'll be fine, okay? They pay me very well here and we have a place to live without having to pay any rent. You don't have to worry about me," she whispered into his ear. 

"How can I not worry about you?" he choked out. 

"Shhhh baby. Just concentrate on basketball and try to get into university, okay? Everything's going to be okay," she quietly comforted him, her own tears escaping her eyes.

***

He woke up in cold sweats as he gasped for air, trying to regain his bearings. Noticing the familiar surroundings of his tiny one bedroom apartment, he breathed a sigh of relief. Noticing that the sun was only just rising, he looked at the clock to find he still had a couple of hours until school started. 

Throwing the blanket off of himself, he entered the bathroom and looked at his reflection in the mirror. His eye bags were getting bigger as his lack of sleep was starting to take effect on him. Warily rubbing his face, he jumped into the shower, hoping it would help somehow cleanse his intangible thoughts. 

Slowing buttoning up his shirt, he took a seat on his bed and looked at the single picture frame sitting on his bedside table. It was his most valued possession. 

"Don't worry mom. I'll make you proud," he said quietly into the silence of the apartment. Wiping away the tear that was threatening to fall, he picked up the photo and kissed it before leaving his apartment to go to school. 

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