[Neo Zone] Population: 23 Kids

Midnight Travelers

YangYang fumbled with the spare key to the back door of the cafe, hoping nobody was alerted and called the police. That would just be awkward. Especially when he was bringing two new friends with him.

"Got it!" He swung open the back door and motioned for Taeil and Jisung to walk in while he put the key back.

"Isn't this the Limitless Cafe?" Taeil whispered, recognizing the inside. There was also a sign hanging on the wall, but that was beside the point.

"Yeah, you've been here?"

"Once or twice, but not recently."

"That's cool. My friends are down here." YangYang opened the basement door, motioning for them to go first again. He wanted to make sure the door got shut so he wouldn't get in trouble for Leon escaping.

Jisung tugged on Taeil's hand he was still holding, and the older bent down so he could whisper into his ear. There was no point, though, since Jisung was still bad at whispering.

"Are we being stolen?"

"You mean kidnapped?"

Jisung nodded. "Stolen."

"Probably. It's a basement."

"Will your bear protect us?"

Taeil looked at the teddy bear in his arm that wasn't attached to Jisung. He knew better than to rely on a teddy bear for protection, but he kind of was before he stepped outside.

"Yeah, he will."

Jisung decided that was the only reassuring he needed, and started going down the stairs in the dark. He kept both hands on the railing no one used, and he went down very slowly. Taeil was right behind him, jumping when he heard the door shut a little too loud.

"Mister or Missus burglar, please take Johnny. He's a lot better at things than the rest of us. Just go forward fifteen steps, turn to the right a little, and you'll be at his feet." Mark spoke up, probably waking anyone that slept through the door shutting.

"Don't worry, it's me again."

"YangYang? Aren't you supposed to be home sleeping?" Johnny asked, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. He had just been about to fall asleep.

"Yeah, but I found two kids."

"Turn on the light."

YangYang ran his hand along the wall until he found the switch, both WinWin and Jaehyun groaning at the sudden light. Yuta remained sleeping, but not for much longer.

"Did YangYang steal you from your beds as an excuse to come here?"

"I did not!" YangYang looked extremely offended at Johnny's accusation.

"No, we were outside."

"Why were you outside?"

"Don't be nosy, Mark." Johnny half scolded.

"Yeah, don't overreact, Mark." Yuta muttered, confused by what was going on as he sat up carefully so he wouldn't wake Leon. He reached over with half open eyes to shake Jaehyun, and then did the same to WinWin.

"No, that's fine. I went outside to look at the moon and I saw Jisung sitting there. That's when YangYang came up and asked if we wanted to come with him." Taeil explained, hoping no one would get teased further if he did.

"Can I please sit?" Jisung asked, looking like he was in pain.

"Of course!" Johnny was expecting him to at least sit on one of the crates, but instead he just plopped right onto the floor.

"If he's Jisung, what's your name?" Yuta asked, thinking he recognized the kid from school. Probably a year ahead of him.

"Taeil. And you guys are?"

Those who were properly awake introduced themselves, and Johnny just pointed to WinWin and Jaehyun and said their names. They were half awake, but they were still clinging onto the half that wasn't.

"Jisung mentioned something about not having parents, I think, so I brought him here. Taeil's just an extra."

"Noooo," Jisung spoke up, "I have a Mom and Dad. They left for the army without telling each other and locked me out of the house. On accident."

"Would you like to stay with us? Until they come back, of course." Johnny offered, putting on the softest tone he could.

"That's what I do. It's a lot better than being on the streets." Yuta added, also not wanting to scare Jisung away.

"Will you stay with me?" Jisung looked up at Taeil with wide eyes.

"I can stay a little longer, but my parents will get worried if I'm not there when they wake up."

WinWin and Jaehyun started fully waking up when they noticed the light wasn't getting turned off anytime soon, and they all started talking with Jisung and Taeil to get to know them better. YangYang left again after a couple of minutes to actually go home, but Taeil stayed until he felt comfortable leaving Jisung with them, and Jisung was comfortable with them.

Johnny and Mark ended up pushing their beds together so Jisung could sleep between them, and Jae found clothes for him to wear even though they were big on him.

But when Taeil left, he let him keep his teddy bear for the night.