[Neo Zone] Population: 23 Kids

Unintentionally Overlooked

Yuta was laying in bed, about to fall asleep. But there was something bothering him about what he heard Renjun say. He knew it wasn't the whole sacrifice thing, that didn't bother him as much as it should've, yet there was still something...

"Did Xiaojun say he was trying to get to his parents?"

"What?" Johnny mumbled, and Yuta sat up in bed.

"Xiaojun said something about trying to get to his parents. Renjun was sacrificing him so he could see his parents. And they were in a cemetery..."

"His parents would have to have died..."

"So where did he go when everyone went home?" Yuta finished, Johnny now sitting up in bed too.

"What are you guys talking about?" Jaehyun muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"Xiaojun's parents are dead and we completely overlooked it."

Johnny and Yuta started throwing off their blankets and slipping on shoes, Leon meowing now that he was disturbed. Jaehyun managed to force himself awake again, stumbling over in the dark to shake Mark and Jisung up.

"To be sure, we're going to find him, right?" Jaehyun asked, picking up Jisung when he decided he wasn't waking up fast enough.

"We're starting with the cemetery and then we're searching the city. He should live somewhere in WinWin and Jeno's area if he goes to school with them." Yuta instructed, hoping he remembered all of that right.

"It's cold." Jisung whined, his eyes still shut as he clung to Jaehyun.

Mark grabbed a jacket for himself and Jisung, not even completely awake himself. His only current goal was to not trip up the stairs as they left the basement.

"I think we're forgetting something." Johnny mentioned as they filed out the back door.

"YangYang and Doyoung? Aren't they still in the basement?" Yuta pointed out, but they all shrugged and decided if they hadn't waken up with that commotion that they would be fine.

Jisung remained on Jaehyun's back, having fallen asleep again now that Mark draped a jacket over him. They probably could've left him in the basement with Doyoung and YangYang, but this was a safety precaution in case he got up from his bed and got into one of theirs to cuddle. It happened a lot.

They happened to find the cemetery Jaehyun had previously been in relatively quickly, but that was where the street lights stopped. So they stood at the entrance to the graveyard and questioned if it was worth going in. 

"Maybe we should just ask him tomorrow." Mark suggested, moving closer to Johnny when the wind rustled some leaves. 

"But then he'd be out here all night."

"We don't know if he's out here." Jaehyun countered in a hushed tone. 

Yuta decided they were all being chickens and walked in, hoping Jaehyun would follow at the least so they would know where to start looking. They all did follow, but very hesitantly. The lack of light added to the already spooky tone of the place, making them jump at every noise. Except Yuta, he kept walking like he had done this before. 

"Xiaojun! You here?"

"Shh! The ghosts are going to eat us if you shout!" Mark hissed, glaring at Yuta.

"Ghosts don't eat people, we'll be fine." He ruffled Mark's hair, not bothering to take his eyes off his surroundings. 

"Do you guys see that?" Johnny pointed in a direction of a headstone, causing Mark to hide behind his legs.

"Not all of us are tall- oh I do see that."

Yuta veered off the main path, making a beeline for the curled up figure they were hoping was Xiaojun and not some random other person. Jaehyun paused for a moment to adjust Jisung on his back, catching up to the others. 

Sure enough, it was Xiaojun. He had curled up in front of a joint headstone, the words freshly engraved. The boys noticed he hadn't even changed from when they last saw him maybe an hour ago, and it looked like he was using his backpack as a pillow. 

Johnny crouched down next to him, placing his hand lightly on his shoulder and shaking him awake. 

"Xiaojun?"

It didn't take much effort to wake him up, but even in the dark they could see he had cried himself to sleep. 

Despite not knowing them for very long, Xiaojun instantly was in Johnny's arms, his face buried in his chest. Mark crouched down next to him and rubbed circles on his back, not sure how else to help. 

"Would you like to come back with us?" 

Xiaojun nodded but made no effort to move, so Johnny picked him up and carried him back. Yuta grabbed his bag for him, holding open the back door to the cafe when they got there. 

And because no one was going to make him sleep on the floor, Johnny and Yuta moved their beds together so he could sleep in between them.