[Neo Zone] Population: 23 Kids

Walking the Streets

Mark dismissed the call on his phone once he saw it was Haechan and kept walking down the street. It was considerably colder in Canada than it was in Korea, so his jacket was wrapped tightly around him, his arms crossed to keep it that way.

His parents had decided to spend the day at his grandparent's house, and he would join them later, he really would, it just wasn't now. It wasn't like he had anything else to do since all his old friends in Canada wouldn't remember him, which is why he was just walking. This was also why he thought it was a crime to only have one child.

How was he supposed to entertain himself if all his brothers were in Korea? Now he wished he had answered Haechan's call, but that quickly diminished.

At least the streets were as beautiful and calming as he remembered them to be. That was comforting. And probably the only thing making his walk more interesting than watching soap operas at his grandparents.

A little girl with pigtails standing in the middle of the sidewalk trying to get people's attention caught his eye, and he made a quick beeline straight to her.

"Are you lost?"

She turned around from trying to get a lady's attention and looked up at Mark. She had to be what? Five? Six? Definitely not old enough to be on a street corner on her own.

"No, I know where I am."

"Do your parents know you're here?"

She blinked, "Should they?"

"Probably. It's not a good idea to be out here on your own."

"Why?"

Mark sighed, "Some people aren't so nice."

"Are you nice?"

That caught Mark off guard. He was walking around a city to avoid seeing his grandparents and he just ignored a phone call from someone he used to consider his best friend. When you put it like that, he didn't sound so nice.

"I'd like to think so. Are you nice?"

The girl nodded, her pigtails bobbing excitedly with her.

"Sweeter than candy!"

Mark smiled, "Then what are you doing out here?"

She held up a business card that was oh so familiar. Mark took it from her to look over, even though he had seen it so many times, and she reached for it after a few seconds. Almost like she didn't want him to take it.

"I'm looking for that place. Nobody knows where it is."

If he thought really hard, Mark could remember Jaehyun telling them about a girl he had met at one of the fairs Kun worked at. What was her name? Annie? Yeah, that sounded right. He only remembered it because his first thought had been that one Michael Jackson song where he repeats "Annie are you okay?"

"Are you Annie?"

She frowned, "How'd you know?"

"My name's Mark. I think my friend gave that card to you. Jaehyun, right?"

"Friend or brother?"

An odd question, but Mark figured it was a test of some sort.

"Both."

Annie nodded slowly. She got distracted by a leaf blowing in front of her face at one point, but then she quickly jolted her head and looked back at Mark.

"Can you help me find this place?"

"You're in the wrong country."

"What's that mean?"

"It means it's going to take a long time to get there."

"I can wait."

While she was adorable, it was not like he could just take her back with him. Could he? Was a child something you weren't allowed to put in a carry-on?

"We'd have to take a plane to get there, and you'd need your parents for that." 

She scrunched her nose in disgust. Mark paused and the two of them stood there staring at each other for a moment while people walked around them on the sidewalk. Deciding he had enough of being in everyone's way, Mark directed them to a bench and lifted Annie on it after watching her struggle for a second.

"So can I go here?" She held out the business card once more, but this time she was closer to her goal of shoving it in his face.

Mark carefully lowered her hand, trying to think of his legal options.

"Did you just want to talk to Jaehyun?"

She nodded as if that was supposed to be obvious.

A phone call Mark could work with. He pulled out his phone, ignored the several missed call notifications which he assumed were all from Haechan, and dialed Jaehyun's number.

"Not cool, Mark. Haechan's been trying to reach you for awhile."

"Yeah, I saw that."

"Good, he's right here and then there's something we need to tell you about."

"Actually," Mark butted in before he could hand the phone over, "I have Annie right next to me and she wants to talk to you."

"Annie from the fair?"

"Yep."

"She's in Canada?"

"Apparently."

"Then hand over the phone. Why didn't you say something sooner?"

Mark rolled his eyes as he handed Annie his phone, smiling when her face lit up as soon as she heard Jaehyun's voice.

The two talked for a bit, a conversation Mark thought included cupcake flavors, but he couldn't be too sure. The only thing he did know was that it wasn't that serious, and she just seemed like she wanted to say hi.

As soon as they were done talking, though, she hung up the phone, said thank you, and ran off in the direction Mark hoped her parents were in.

After that encounter he decided he had had enough of fresh air and it was time to succumb to the soap operas.