Accidentally forgetting Xiaojun turned out to be a new normality in the basement. Even if it sounded mean, it really was unintentional. It didn't help he was one of the quieter kids and occupied himself by playing with Bella and Leon.
So despite having lived in the basement for a couple of days, they were just now heading to Xiaojun's actual house to get his things. Kun, Taeyong and Hendery were with him for emotional support, but he had wanted Johnny to come so he could have a sense of solid protection with him. Johnny, unfortunately, had a lot of work to do.
"Would you like us to come in with you?" Kun asked, an emptied backpack in his hand for Xiaojun to use.
Xiaojun just nodded and disappeared around the side of the building to grab the spare key, letting them into the small apartment. It was around the same size as Taeyong's, but it had a smaller feel to it for a reason none of them could place. It was the lack of windows that was making it seem smaller in case anyone was wondering.
"What do you need help with?"
Xiaojun stood in the middle of his living room, the backpack in his hands slipping to the floor. Pictures of his parents were all over the walls, all of them containing Xiaojun of various ages. An old wedding photo was on a side table, the only one not containing all three of them.
The goal had been to get in, grab the things Xiaojun would need, and then leave. They'd save packing up the rest of the apartment for later when they were all going to make an afternoon out of it with some of the kids' parents, but now Xiaojun couldn't imagine leaving the apartment again. At the same time he couldn't picture staying there either.
"Xiao? You okay?" Hendery put a hand on his shoulder, the other flinching at the contact. He had forgotten they were even in the room with how quiet they were being.
"Why can't I see them again?"
He'd heard stories of people being able to see ghosts, or angels when they appeared. But he had seen nothing. No one. Which was why he had gone to Renjun so he could see them again. Permanently.
"It's like when you close one eye. You know everything's still there, you just can't see it."
"I have to open my eyes?"
"I don't think it's an eye you can open. You just gotta know they're still there."
Before Xiaojun could register what he was thinking, he was crying. Full on crying into Hendery's arms. He didn't realize how much he was holding inside of him the past few days.
Hendery looked over to Taeyong and Kun with "help" written all over his face. He had no idea how to comfort someone who was crying, and he felt as if he was the reason Xiaojun was crying.
Kun took over and led Xiaojun to the couch, letting the younger curl up practically on top of him and sob. Hendery sat down on the other side of him and awkwardly patted his back, unsure of what else to do while Taeyong took to opportunity to find Xiaojun's room and pack up some things.
Xiaojun's room was the only room in the apartment with a window, the bed placed underneath it so he could always look out onto the streets, but most importantly so he could see the stars when he laid down. Various papers had been taped onto the wall, mainly pictures he had drawn or birthday cards in between the crooked picture frames.
It didn't take Taeyong long to stuff Xiaojun's clothes and a couple other things into the four backpacks that had been brought with them. Anything that looked like it had extreme sentimental value or was a necessary item was packed up and ready to go.
Just like they had planned. In and out as quick as possible.
Taeyong held up the bags when he entered the living room as a sign he was ready to go, and Kun nodded.
"Taeyong packed your things up, so when you're ready to go we can leave." He whispered gently.
"Did he get the dinosaur?"
"Yep, and I left the bag unzipped a bit so he can breathe."
"Good."
Xiaojun made no effort to get up, but his tears were reduced to a small sniffle. So Taeyong set the backpacks down and joined the three on the couch until Xiaojun was ready to go.
It took him almost twenty minutes before he said he wanted to leave, but even then he was still hesitant. As soon as he was back in the cafe, though, they made sure he got all the hugs he could possibly need.
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[Neo Zone] Population: 23 Kids
FanfictionJohnny's parents own a cafe, and no, the 23 kids did not come with the lot. They were bonuses found along the way. 𝑳𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑪𝒂𝒇𝒆 : the refuge of the ones in need and the savior of all humanity. If you need help, go through the Limitles...