[Neo Zone] Population: 23 Kids

An Understanding Reached

The last thing the high school kids expected when heading down to the basement was for Kun to get singled out and attacked. Even with Jisung and Sungchan trying to hold him back.

"Why'd you tell her?!"

"Tell who what?" Kun scrunched his eyebrows, already getting defensive even if it was Chenle upset.

"Mrs. Suh! Why'd you tell her?!"

"Tell her what?!"

"My Mom's upstairs talking with her! She was never supposed to find this place!"

"Both of you calm down. We can't fix this if you're shouting." Ten spoke in a very threatening tone, and Chenle plopped back down between Sungchan and Jisung with a huff.

Doyoung took over the situation as those in the basement took a seat around Chenle. "Let's talk this out. How long have they been up there?"

"They were up there when we came. Johnny made it sound like they've been up there for awhile." Jeno said when it was clear Chenle wasn't going to talk anymore.

"Do we know why she's here?"

Jeno shook his head, and Kun looked at Chenle even though he wasn't returning the attention.

"I didn't tell her, or your Mom. Because in case you don't remember, her being here means I can get shipped back too."

Jungwoo, Lucas and Hendery whipped their heads towards each other. Kun never mentioned his parents and they had all forgotten he actually had them, so no one ever asked. They silently held out their fists and played rock paper scissors, figuring out which one would have to ask. Lucas lost, their antics having been completely missed by the rest of the group.

"Well if you didn't tell her, who did?" Mark asked, highly confused with what was going on.

"Does it matter? She's here no matter who did it," Doyoung paused for a moment. "Have you gone up to see her?"

"No, Johnny had just said she was upstairs and we headed straight down." Jeno answered for Chenle.

The room fell uncomfortably silent once more, Jungwoo nudging Lucas to take his opportunity.

"Why would you get shipped back? I thought your parents were dead or something." Both WinWin and Ten glared at Lucas for asking, and he shrunk back a little.

"No, they're in China. They sent me over with Chenle to take care of him and Granny. If his Mom gets salty over something and decides to tell my Mom that I haven't been doing a good job, or I ruined her child, I'll get sent back." Kun turned back to Chenle, trying to refrain from staring daggers. "Which is why I keep telling you to at least talk to her. It's the least risky option."

"Well Mrs. Suh took over that, so there's no use now."

"When did Mrs. Suh talking to parents become a bad thing? Isn't that why we're all allowed to be here whenever we want?" Xiaojun asked, slightly confused.

"Almost all of us." Mark muttered, but no one was paying attention to him.

"Oh no, Mrs. Suh talking to her is great. It's the fact that she's in the cafe and knows this is where I've been hiding that's the bad part."

Ten leaned back, resting his head against the wall. "I guess now we wait."

...

Despite Chenle's accusations, Kun was not the one to tell Mrs. Suh about any of this. She had picked up tensions on her own and heard their conversations- none of them were very good at whispering- and took manners into her own hands.

She got Chenle's Mom over through his Granny and went from there. What Johnny had failed to mention, though, was that Jisung's Dad was also upstairs talking with them. The perfect tactic to take out meeting both new parents to the scene and ensuring the conversation stayed civil.

Except Jisung's Dad had arrived late and allowed for just enough tension to build between the two women that they were ready to quit the niceties. 

"How'd you end up with Jisung?"

Poor Mr. Park was visibly uncomfortable, trying to break the tension with a hopefully light-hearted question.

"He first came when I was sleeping, but if I remember right Taeil found him outside the night you left and YangYang was walking home when he found them and brought them here. In the morning the boys asked if Ji could stay with us, and because I remembered his Mom I let him."

"So you kidnapped him and forced him to accept your selfish morals?" Mrs. Zhong asked, both adults giving her very skeptical glances.

"No... YangYang did. But he was keeping him safe for the night... What about my selfish morals?"

"You allow children to have fun. Do you realize people are suffering in the world?"

Mr. Park had no idea how those two things were connected, especially after having come from the military, but Mrs. Suh managed to remember what she had been told when Chenle and Kun had first shown up.

"I'm very aware, but not allowing your son to have fun doesn't fix that. And I had nothing to do with raising him. I just fed the kids and made sure they didn't kill each other or anyone else."

"You're telling me twenty-two boys raised my son and not you?" Mr. Park asked, not sure if he should be upset or impressed.

Mrs. Suh just shrugged, unknowingly giving Mrs. Zhong a power up.

"So Kun raised him?"

"Kun is one of those twenty-two, but I think Jaehyun's his designated parent..."

"His what?"

"Some of the older boys split up who's in charge of each of the kids just so they knew everyone was checked on. I think Taeyong's in charge of Ji."

"How do you know they're not all dating?"

Mrs. Suh would've spit out her drink if she had one. Heck, she wouldn't taken a sip even after the initial shock and spit it out just for dramatic effect and to make her angry. But that would've been a waste of coffee, and she'd never stoop that low.

"Because that would be incest."

"They're not all related..." Mr. Park mumbled, and Mrs. Suh paused.

"Oh yeah. Sorry, I forget they're not my kids. What I meant is they made a pact that they were brothers, so I know they're not dating."

The dumb and accusing questions continued for almost another half hour before Mrs. Zhong ran out. Mr. Park wasn't sure what he had just witnessed, but he was pretty sure Mrs. Suh was giving herself less credit than she deserved.

Mrs. Zhong huffed, squirmed in her seat, and huffed again. She felt attacked and dumb, but she didn't feel like she was in the wrong.

"I need to go." She got up from her seat, ready to storm out, but Mrs. Suh grabbed her arm.

"What about Chenle?"

She rolled her eyes. "What about him?"

"Well the boys are going to be waiting for a verdict. So is he staying or are you locking him away in your new place?"

"Just keep him. You've already corrupted him beyond repair."

Mrs. Suh smirked as she let go of her arm, allowing her to walk out. Mr. Park just stared at her, dumbfounded. After a moment, he managed to figure out how to use his words again.

"How do you raise a child? Because I'm pretty sure mine doesn't like that I keep making him come home for dinner, and he's very awkward."

"Oh yeah he does that sometimes. I have no idea how to raise kids, though."

"Then why do yo have twenty-three..."

"Not sure, they just kept appearing for awhile. That's what happens when they start a cult."

"A what?"

"What?"