[Neo Zone] Population: 23 Kids

The Quiet Two

Getting to be able to go down to the elementary school to read to a combined kindergarten and first grade class was something the same students always got picked to do. That's just how it worked. The same few students would always get the privilege because they were the favorites, so when Taeil was told he could go down too, he was a little too excited.

He had heard they were going to be going to Chenle's school, and because he knew that he had been held back a grade for his language barrier, Taeil was really hoping he'd get his class. If not, he'd still make the best of it.

The students that were in the group to walk down with him already knew the drill pretty well. They went straight to the gymnasium where the chosen kindergarten and first grade class were, and because they had done it so often, they went right to the group of kids they always went to read to.

Leaving Taeil standing there awkwardly until a teacher noticed him and approached.

"You can join another group and sit in on the reading if you want."

Then Taeil spotted Chenle sitting without a group, another child left on the other side of the room without a group too. Was the teacher really suggesting he just leave them alone?

"What about those two?" Taeil pointed them out, and the teacher shifted awkwardly.

"The one kid over there just moved from Japan and he can't understand us, and the other one has been here since the start of the year but we still can't get him to talk or do anything. We don't think he can understand Korean either. You're welcome to try if you really want."

So to prove the teacher that they were all giving up on them too early, Taeil grabbed a book from the selection on the table, grabbed Chenle, and went over to the other kid to include him too. The teacher was indeed surprised when Chenle crawled onto Taeil's lap and started whispering to him.

"They think I can't talk. Don't ruin it."

"No wonder you say you do nothing in school." Taeil shook his head with a sigh and Chenle giggled.

"What's your name?"

The other kid looked up from his hands like he was just now noticing they had sat down next to him. What looked like a hearing aid was in his left ear, but to Chenle it looked like an in-ear piece a spy would have.

"He's a spy. I think he tells Santa if we bad." Chenle whispered to Taeil, eyeing the kid suspiciously.

"I'm Taeil, this is Chenle. What's your name?" He tried again, this time speaking slower and clearer when he remembered the teacher saying he was from Japan.

"Shotaro."

"You're from Japan?"

Shotaro nodded, and Chenle gasped loudly, smacking Taeil's arm.

"Yuta can talk with him! Let's find Yuta!"

"Shhh, we're still in school. Yuta can talk with him later. Now sit still and listen to this story before we get in trouble."

Chenle took Shotaro's arm and pulled him closer so he could see the pictures, but the book Taeil happened to grab was Snow White. So Chenle kept interrupting to tell Shotaro everything Haechan had explained to him, even if he couldn't understand him fully and hear him with Chenle's soft whisper.

Taeil was regretting his random choice of the story by the time they had finished, glad he was allowed to leave school early because he had been reading to kids. He waited in the foyer instead of going back to the classroom with Chenle while they packed up, and the teacher from before approached him.

"How'd you get them to talk?"

"Hm?"

"Chenle and Shotaro. How'd you get them to talk?"

"I didn't. The little one kept talking in Chinese and the other one just sat there. I really don't think they know Korean."

The teacher looked slightly disappointed, but it got them to leave Taeil alone while he continued waiting. If Chenle had managed to keep this up for months, he wasn't going to ruin it.

"Hyung! Why are you here?" Jaemin came bouncing over to him with YangYang, and Jaehyun not too far behind.

"I was reading to the little kids so I get out of school early. Where's Mark?"

"They called him down to the office at lunch. We haven't seen him since then."

Chenle then came down to the foyer dragging a very confused Shotaro.

"Lele, we can't just steal kids from the school. Remember how stressed out Kun was when we did that with you?" Jaehyun scolded, but that wasn't about to stop him.

"But Yuta..."

"He's Japanese and Chenle wants Yuta to meet him. His name's Shotaro." Taeil explained as if that was a decent reason to bring someone home with them. Out of all their other reasons they've had, it kind of was.

"No, can't go." Shotaro protested, digging his heels into the ground so Chenle couldn't drag him further.

"But-"

"We can't make him come if he doesn't want to." Jaehyun carefully pried Chenle's hand from Shotaro's, the younger pouting deeply as he turned to Jaemin and YangYang for help.

"But Renjun-"

"Renjun only pretends he doesn't want to be there, that's different." YangYang explained, but Chenle still didn't get it. Everyone else could kidnap other kids, yet as soon as he tried to do the same he was shut down.

Another taller kid came running through the foyer doors, looking around for someone. Shotaro's eyes lit up and he ran up to him.

"Oh there you are. Did you finally make friends?" Shotaro just shrugged and dragged the other kid over to everyone else.

"Hi! I'm Chenle! Can we steal him?"

"We're not going to steal him, we just have a Japanese friend and thought they might like to talk. We're not kidnappers. Please don't report us." Jaehyun spoke up, and the other kid laughed.

"I'll go tell my parents I'm at the library and then we'll come. I'm Sungchan."

"I'm Jaehyun, do you know where the Limitless cafe is?" Sungchan nodded. "Great, you can meet us there."

The group then split up, Shotaro following behind Sungchan. Chenle couldn't stop bouncing as they walked back to the cafe, hanging onto Taeil and Jaemin's hands.

Now he could say he contributed to the cult population. And Renjun was going to have to redo his sign.