nct dream ; critical zone

PROPELUS

[10 years ago]

Eight year-old Renjun was inside their car with his parents, Zhou and Jie.

His mother, Jie, was sobbing at the front seat while his father, Zhou, was obviously furious, breathing heavily while driving.

"Stop crying, Jie. You're only making it worse." Zhou scolded his wife.

"What response are you expecting from me? He's only 8 years old, Zhou."

Renjun covered his ears and started crying, he hates it when his parents fight which was happenong more often recently.

"Please stop, mama. Please stop, papa. Do not fight anymore." Renjun chanted, with the same tone as a nursery rhyme.

Renjun was pretty much still a baby. He was always cared for since he was the youngest in the family.

His father stopped driving once he heard his son do such actions. Both of Renjun's parents turned to him, balled up at the back of the car.

Jie removed Renjun's hands from his ears and gestured to come to the front of the car.

"Don't cry, little prince. We will be alright." His mom said, wiping his tears away. Jie's voice was sweet and soft. Zhou patted Renjun's head, giving him an assuring smile and nod.

"Wanna sit on mom's lap the rest of the trip?" Jie asked her little prince, and he nodded.

Zhou started to drive. Jie asked Renjun to sing and he did it wonderfully, proving he has a voice as sweet as his mother's.

Zhou put the car to stop once they've arrived in the middle of Propelus, the city that is put together by the interesting power of its own government.

Everything in this city seems organized but it's also gloomy and blue.

The family went down the car. They walked towards a small laundry shop.

"Renjun, my little prince." His mother called, kneeling down to his height.

"Mama is gonna buy ice cream and papa is going to buy tools for the house. Stay here, okay?" Renjun's mother said but he was smart enough to know what is going on

Renjun started crying along with his mother. Tears were also present in his father's eyes.

"Take care, Renjun. Will you wait for us?" His father asked, kneeling down and patting his head. Renjun just nodded bursting into sobs and hugging his parents.

It took a few minutes before they finally said goodbye.

With his parents walking away, Renjun knew better than to follow them. He had seen this happen in his town, Arkius.

Renjun sat on his bag of clothes and cried. When he was able to prop himself up, he started walking around Propelus.

With tears still present in his eyes, he found a crying boy too. The boy was probably younger by a year or two.

"Hey, hey. Why are you crying?" Renjun tried comforting the younger one.

"Mama left me here." The boy answered in between sobs.

Renjun realised that he is not the only one and he wanted to help the boy.

"Now, don't cry. I know exactly how you feel." With that, the boy's eyes bore into Renjun's.

"Did your parents leave you too?" The boy asked innocently and Renjun nodded.

"What's your name?" Renjun asked.

"I'm Chenle."

"I'm Renjun. Now, let's get some food?" And Chenle nodded.

Renjun held Chenle's hand while walking through the public market. Both of them had some money enough to last a week or two.

Right then, Renjun wanted someone and Chenle came. He wanted to take care of the boy and make sure he doesn't leave too.

That night, at 9pm, they found a place for lost children. They went inside and asked for help.

The people at the shelter were nice and only five boys were in it too.

"Hey boys. Would you mind if these two stayed here?" The owner of the shelter asked the five boys in the room of bunk beds.

The boys nodded in unison and the owner left Renjun and Chenle to the boys.

Mark, the eldest, along with Haechan, Jeno, Jaemin, and Jisung, were the only few in the shelter.

"Hi guys, What are your names?" Haechan asked.

"I'm Renjun."
"I'm Chenle."

"Where are you guys from? You seem to come from another town..." Mark asked.

"You know, Arkius?" Renjun asked back.

"Whoa, that's so far from here." Jeno said.

"I'm from Helius." said Chenle.

"I guess your parents dropped you somewhere in town, huh?" Jaemin suspected and the two can't help but nod.

"Don't worry, we're in good hands here, plus you got us now." The boys smiled at each other, each of them happy that they found someone.

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This is a really short one but no worries, the next few will be a lot better. Continue the support, ily.