Ilsung was always there though, which was a small comfort, especially when Chenle was small. He did all the tasks that no one else did, and the things that customarily a mother was supposed to do.
"Are you okay?" Ilsung asked, emerging from the kitchen. "You sound a little...croaky."
"I'm fine," Chenle said, "Still half asleep though."
Ilsung narrowed his eyes at the boy, but was distracted when his phone started ringing.
"Oh I have to take this," he said, "It's that lovely father of yours. Eat up, then head out. And uhm, don't do drugs but also have fun at school!"
Chenle absentmindedly nodded, knowing that Ilsung was doing his best.
He scarfed down his breakfast, then opened the door, the blast of sunlight making his head pound. He was already sweating underneath the sweatshirt, but definitely not from a fever, and his head made everything seem like it was going in circles, which was probably just a normal headache.
He shook his head, but that only made him feel more dizzy so he stopped. No buses came out this far for the school he was now enrolled in on the other side of town, so he unenthusiastically began his walk.
As he walked his mind wandered, and felt half delirious as he landed on a memory he hadn't thought back to for a while.
His father was at work, and Ilsung was busy. The house was empty and eerily scary, so he'd left. It was his first time coming out alone, but somehow, he felt much more comfortable than he did inside his own house.
His feet moved on their own, taking him deeper into town, into the part his father had only taken him down to once or twice.
"You don't belong here," he'd said, the first time. "Let's go home, I'll have everything for you there."
But walking past the broken down buildings and seeing the dilapidated state of everything, Chenle felt like he fit right in. Another broken thing. Another abandoned thing.
He kept walking until he came to an old bridge, starting when he heard a voice coming from below it. He paused to listen, curiosity taking over.
"It's okay, don't worry, I'll take care of you," a small voice said, probably coming from a boy around his age.
Chenle wearily remembered that he had been around eight years old when this happened, but the recognition flashed in the back of his mind, and his delirious state kept the memory playing overtop it.
"We're both alone," the voice continued, "but that's okay. I'll help you grow."
Chenle finally peeked around the edge of the bridge, seeing a little boy sitting on his knees in front of a flower. The flower honestly looked more like a weed and was growing out from between the cracks in the concrete under the bridge, but the boy looked at it with stars in his eyes.
Chenle actually recognized the boy too, he'd seen him the last time his father had brought him here. He'd been sitting against another building, and Chenle remembered that he looked so hungry he could pass out. But when he asked his father if he could help the boy, he simply tugged at his wrist, looking disgusted.
YOU ARE READING
Elysium | Zhong Chenle
Fanfiction"You've all studied Greek mythology at some point in your life. Ever wondered why it was so important?" "They're never going to find you. They're never going to get you. You're safe. It's okay, you're safe." "You're currently the single most powerf...
