"Hi mom," Parker forced out.

"How have you been?" Parker's mom, Lisa, asked. Lisa noticed Jumin sitting next to him and smiled politely at him. "It seems like you brought a friend." She walked towards Jumin and stuck her hand out. "I'm Lisa, nice to meet you."

Jumin shook her hand. "Jumin. Same here," he replied.

"Jumin? That sounds like a foreign name. Is it perhaps Korean?" She asked.

Jumin nodded. "It is. But it's just a basic name." Jumin felt his shirt getting pulled on and glanced at the source of it, to see that Parker was trying to call him. "It's... pretty common in South Korea."

"Oh, I didn't expect that," Lisa responded.

"But anyway, I think it's time for us to leave."

"So soon?" She asked Jumin and glanced at Parker.

"Yeah, we made some plans for later," Jumin explained.

Lisa's face screwed up and she glared at Parker. "And I thought that we can have a nice dinner later since I haven't seen you in a few months. But of course, you have to be selfish."

"I-I'm sorry, mom," Parker whispered.

Jumin looked at Parker and saw that he was on the verge of crying. Jumin stood up and pulled Parker from the bed. "It wasn't his fault. I asked him to help me with some homework that I don't understand, so I'm the selfish one here. Right, Parker?" He asked, looking up at Parker's confused expression.

"Right," Parker laughed nervously. "I forgot about that."

"He has an 85 for the subject and he told me that he'd tutor me if I want to," Jumin explained, not even lying about that part. "So he asked if I can come with today so we can go to his house to study. And Ju-" Jumin cleared his throat. "My mom wants me home early to eat dinner. That's why we have to go early."

Lisa narrowed her eyes at Parker and a pleasing smile became visible on her face. "I'm glad that my son is useful to you," she said, buying Jumin's act. "And I understand that your mom doesn't want you out till late. I'd also hate it if that happens to Tessa," she added with a laugh.

"Thank you for understanding." Jumin put his hand on Parker's shoulder. "Let's go. We don't want to be late."

"Alright. I'll call you later, Tessa," Parker grinned. His grin faded when he looked back at Lisa. "And bye mom."

"Goodbye, Parker," she smiled. "I hope to see you soon."

Parker nodded and together with Jumin, they walked back to the entrance with Tessa following them close behind. Parker sat down on the floor to put his shoes on, a frustrated expression was still visible on his face. After he was done, he saw a hand in front of him. His face brightened when he saw Jumin standing in front of him with a smile on his face.

"Thanks," he grinned and grabbed his hand. Jumin tried to steady himself to pull Parker up and almost fell trying.

"I'm sorry, Parker," Tessa whispered as they put their coats on. "Mom didn't tell me that she'd stop home to change."

"It doesn't matter," Parker replied and ruffled her hair. "It already happened. And you still need to finish that drawing of yours."

"Shit," Tessa whispered. "Um, I think that my memory is okay enough to remember, I guess."

"If you wanna meet again, I'll pick you up okay?" Parker asked.

"I'll go if there's food involved."

Parker and Tessa turned to Jumin when they heard him chucking. "You two are definitely siblings."

"Of course my dumbass brother would say something like that too," Tessa sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Look who's talking," Parker muttered as he opened the door. "We'll be going now. Do you wanna play later?"

"If I'm not busy," she replied. "I'll text you. Bye, you two!"

"Bye." Parker and Jumin silently walked to the car. Every step that Jumin took, the urge of asking Parker about his relationship with his mom became more and more. They got inside and Parker started the car up. Jumin eyed him sometimes when he was riding home if he wanted to talk about it, but he didn't want Parker to force himself.

"You want to know why I acted like that, right?" Parker asked out of the blue.

Jumin was startled that Parker spoke up and asked exactly what he was thinking. "I do," Jumin replied. "But you don't have to."

"It's fine," he smiled. "Where should I begin?" Parker thought for a few seconds. "It all started when my mom forced me to study nonstop and go to a lot of extra lessons. I wasn't that old at the time, like 8 or 9. She kept saying that it was for my good and that I can make a lot of money in the future. I didn't care about those things and only wanted to play videogames or watch anime with Skylar." Parker chuckled after he said that. "But I had to because if I came home with a low grade, which was an 80 for her, she'd hit me or lock me into my room for God knows how many hours."

"Sorry to interrupt, but is that the reason why your dad broke up or divorced her?" Jumin asked.

"That was partly the reason. The other reason why was because my dad found out that she was cheating on him with my uncle. The relationship between mom and my uncle lasted for a few years and we found out when we went to visit my uncle without telling him when it was my 12th birthday. I don't exactly remember how it went down, but I do remember their screams echoing in my uncle's house. My dad was in bad shape for a few months. He didn't get addicted to anything, which I'm glad for, but he was extremely depressed. My grandma came from the Netherlands to help us and forced my dad to go to therapy. In the end, it helped him a lot."

"How did you cope with it?"

Parked let out a forced laugh. "I was kinda happy that my mom didn't live with us anymore, but it pained me to see my dad not being his usual self and forcing himself to be happy in front of me. I always tried my best to cheer him up and it helped sometimes. But the other times, I just... couldn't. The depressing atmosphere made me sad too and we'd just sit on the couch, watching TV. My grandma told my dad that I'd be better to move out and we did. And now, we're here." Parker parked in front of the house. "We made it." Parker got out of the car and Jumin followed him.

Jumin slammed his door shut and went to the house. "Parker," he called.

"Hm? What's up?" He asked when the got inside.

Jumin walked up to Parker and wrapped his arms around him. "It's okay," he whispered as he caressed his back. "I'm here for you, Park."

Parker's eyes filled with tears when he heard Jumin say that to him. Parker rested his head on Jumin's shoulder and his quiet sobs filled the room while he stained Jumin's coat with his tears.