{exo} LOVE Spelled Backwards is EV(I)OL (2/2)
title: LOVE Spelled Backwards is EV(I)OL
pairing: Baekhyun/Chanyeol
word count: 13,892 words (in total)
rating: R (because of the horror parts)
summary: A memory buried six feet below the ground, a face that can only be recalled through dried up tears and choked sobs, a name spoken only in whispers; that was what he had become.
warnings: (highlight to see) gore, blood, character death, senseless palindromes and complete lack of talent
<-- part 1
∞∝∞∝
Go on a date,Chanyeol had said. It would be fun,he said. But Baekhyun was starting to think otherwise as he exchanged timid greetings with yet another introverted-looking guy like himself who introduces himself as Kris Wu. The guy wasn’t the eyesore that Chanyeol that had described him to be. In fact, the guy was quite handsome, looking close to an anime character. He was enviably tall too, looking like a skyscraper that Baekhyun would have a really hard time reaching up to. But when he starts opening his mouth, Baekhyun isn’t sure whether he wants to hear more of Kris’s stories (that uncharacteristically turns out to jokes) or wants the said guy to go put a sock in his mouth to make him shut up. Baekhyun decides against the last one, since he starts finding Kris amusing.
“The best way in picking up girls,” Kris pauses dramatically, tilting his head towards Baekhyun and smirking in a subtle manner. “Is this,” He picks up the glass cup that contains water and exactly three cubes of ice, as Baekhyun had observed, and lifts it to his lips as if he was going to drink from it, but not really. “Excuse me, miss.” He stares into Baekhyun’s eyes and then winks.
Baekhyun can’t help but laugh at the Kris’s silliness and almost chokes on his food. “Good thing that I’m not a girl, then.” Kris looks at him strangely, proceeding to drink the water. “You were mumbling ‘excuse me’,” Baekhyun badly imitates the way Kris said ‘excuse me’. “Like you’re some creepy weird stalker from a bar who saw human flesh for the first time.”
This time, it’s Kris’s turn to choke at what Baekhyun said. He shakes his head, as if it were enough to clear away the shame that he has caused himself. “Let me do that again,” He clears his throat and once again positions the edge of the cup at his lips and sips the few drops of water left, a cube of ice going with the flow and entering his mouth completely. He closes his mouth and swallows, and Baekhyun can’t look away from the sight of Kris’s Adam’s apple bobbing up and down his throat as he swallows the fluid.
The magic of the moment is ruined, however, when Kris decides to open his mouth and say “Excuse me,” one more time in an attempt to salvage his wrecked image and look like the cool police officer that Chanyeol had introduced him as and ending up choking on the ice cube that he didn’t swallow.
Baekhyun laughs at his awkward attempts of making himself look cool and reaches out a hand to pat him on the shoulder. “You tried.”
Kris breaks the ice cube with his teeth, chewing it well before swallowing it. He couldn’t risk choking again at a time like this-and certainly not in front of Byun Baekhyun. “Yeah, I did. I guess I shouldn’t have.”
Baekhyun gives him a wry smile. “It’s okay. I seem to like you, anyway.”
At that, Kris does choke, despite the fact that he wasn’t eating or drinking anything anymore. “WHAT.”
Baekhyun blinks. “What.”
They stare at each other for a moment, and then suddenly burst out in laughter, caught up in their own ridiculousness that they were not able to sense the penetrating stares that the Chanyeol sends them from his seat a table away from them. He has never seen Baekhyun laugh once from the whole year that they have been working together, but with Kris, Baekhyun just seems to laugh naturally, eyes crinkling every now and then as he smiles, head arched as he tosses his head back to something that Kris was saying seriously but then ends up being a joke.
But no, he was not jealous. Park Chanyeol, jealous? Of who, Kris Wu? That tall, handsome guy who’s a well-known police officer back in their hometown, born from a rich family that’s only a few hundred dollars poorer than Chanyeol’s family, is fluent in four languages, and is usually mistaken for a model because of his unrealistically handsome features? Psh, why would THE Park Chanyeol be jealous of that?
Okay, maybe he’s a liiiiiittle bit envious with Kris’s qualities that makes him the perfect boyfriend material, but he’s not jealous that Baekhyun seems to be going along well with Kris, whom he had just met and known for a few minutes, while he’s still struggling with the right words that he’s supposed to say in front of Baekhyun. Nope, he definitely isn’t.
It’s not obvious in the way he crinkles his nose at every lame joke Kris makes, only to frown when Baekhyun laughs at it. It’s not obvious in the way he stops in the middle of chewing on a slice of his favorite chocolate cake to listen in their conversation and catch everything that Baekhyun has to say. It’s not obvious from the way he squints at Kris’s attempts at making good jokes.
Nope, it definitely isn’t.
∞∝∞∝
Kris bounds off in a manner that strangely reminded Chanyeol of that one time that they went to an observatory back when they were in college for a field trip, as they had been classmates in Astronomy. Kris had been smiling a lot then, gums showing and muttering the wonders of the galaxy to himself.
Kris puts his hands in his pockets and whistles a merry tune as he heads for the comfort room, with Chanyeol looking venomously at his retreating back. When Kris was nowhere in sight, he stands up and sits in Kris’s unoccupied seat, surprising Baekhyun with a question of, “So, do you like him?”
Baekhyun looks at him calmly, not dithered by his appearing out of nowhere, a sudden question asked in greeting. “I guess so.”
Chanyeol sits back, a question still in his tongue. But he chooses to swallow it down, even if it leaves a searing pain as it slides down his esophagus and melts its way down his throat.
But what if he leaves you?
∞∝∞∝
Kris still can’t believe that it was his lucky day. After having had a lot of failed attempts at relationships before (with him ending up to be the one wet from walking outside amidst the tremendous amount of rainfall), now was his shot at forming something new. Baekhyun was great, much unlike the previous girls or guys that he had dated.Baekhyun was different; Baekhyun was gentle and kind, yet funny and sarcastic at the same time. He liked the contradictions.
He zips his pants up as he finishes excreting his bodily fluids that were stored in his bladder to a nearby urinal, and proceeds to wash his hands in the sink. He looks up to admire himself in the mirror and makes himself look better for the man waiting for him outside, only for a scream to freeze down his throat as he sees someone else’s reflection in the mirror instead of his own. Big, owl-like eyes stare back at him, black bags under those eyes exaggerating their size. The figure was dripping wet, and raises a pale hand to point a finger at Kris. A garbled sound comes from the figure’s lips, uttering a single name, “Byun Baekhyun”.
Kris backs away, hitting the door of a cubicle behind him in the process. He turns to run for the door, when he is stopped by tracks of blood beneath his shoes. He stares in terror as his eyes follow the trail of blood, which ended at the foot of a small figure standing by the doorway, clad in all black. Kris recognizes the clothes as one of the school uniforms from a nearby high school. To his horror, the figure was that very same one from the mirror a while ago, whispering Baekhyun’s name once more.
The figure steps forward, glaring at Kris with such ferocity that might have torn his limbs off. Kris steps back hastily, almost slipping on the blood. His back hits the tiled wall, and he glances to the side to see a cubicle. Fearing that he had nowhere else to hide, he grabs the opportunity and runs inside the cubicle, locking himself up. He doesn’t know if the figure was still moving forward, but the buzzing of Baekhyun’s name on the person’s lips was still imminent. He closes his eyes and covers his ears with his hands, trying to block out the dread that was creeping up inside of him.
His eyes snap open upon hearing the sound of something chinking as porcelain comes in contact with porcelain, and he turns aghast to face the toilet bowl whose lid was now open. Thick red blood pours out from the deepest pits of the bowl, and it flows out freely, as if it is just water and nothing else. Kris struggles to back away further, but it was of no use; the cubicle was cramped and he was cornered, the irregular rough sides of the cubicle door digging against his back. To his horror, something black comes out of the recesses of the toilet bowl, and he recognizes it as hair as a bloodied face looks back at him, still rising from the bloody mess. He fumbles for the lock of the cubicle and almost stumbles out in relief when he realizes that the figure was not by the door anymore.
He wipes at his face, thinking that he was only hallucinating from the wine that he drank and manages a small smile. He sighs in relief and advances to the door, only to be stopped by a cold hand clamping around his wrist, a viselike grip that reminds him of a predator waiting to pounce on its prey.
He turns his head slowly to the side, knowing fully well what was going to happen based from the horror movies that he had watched, waves of chills making their ways down his spine.
He screams.
∞∝∞∝
Baekhyun’s head snaps up as he hears a blood-curdling scream akin to that of a crow’s shrill cry.Chanyeol’s eyebrows crease with worry. “I think-“he starts to say, but whatever it was, he doesn’t get to finish it because Baekhyun is already running towards the comfort room, heart in hand and blood pounding in his ears, adrenaline kicking in.
He finds Kris lying on the floor a few steps near the door, curled into a fetal position and dripping wet from head-to-toe, as if he went swimming in his suit. Baekhyun stands frozen by the doorway, hand gripping the doorknob as if it was his lifeline.
“Oh shit,” Baekhyun almost jumps in surprise when Chanyeol breathes a curse into his ears, not realizing that the younger male had followed him, “I think your friend got him.”
“Well no shit, Sherlock,” Baekhyun wants to retort, but decides against it and peels himself from the doorway, running to Kris’s aid and helping the taller man stand up. Kris is shaking, though whether from the cold of his damp clothes or from fear, Baekhyun doesn’t know. Maybe it was bits of both.
Kris stands up with Baekhyun’s help, but yelps and immediately scrambles back once he sees that it was Baekhyun who had helped him, landing on his butt as he slips on the moisture on the floor that came from his clothes. Baekhyun bites his lower lip, feeling sorry for the guy. Kris seemed to be teetering at the borderline of sanity at the moment.
Kris stands up again on wobbly feet, trying to sound calm and collected but failing miserably, “I think it would be better if we pretend that none of this ever happened,” he looks away, swallowing the lump on his throat, “You’re a nice person, and a really attractive one at that, but I’m sorry, I just can’t do this anymore.” He sounds sorry, so genuinely sorry, and Baekhyun isn’t sure if he’s hurt because Kris had rejected him or because even though Kris might have just experienced the scariest moment of his life, he was still considerate of Baekhyun’s feelings, apologizing and all. With the other guys that Baekhyun had tried to date in the past, he wasn’t so lucky, earning curses hurled in his direction, while some even went to the extent of harming him. Baekhyun blinks, fighting away the tears brimming in his eyes and were threatening to fall. He runs, past Chanyeol and into the cold winter night, not being entirely sure of where he was going.
Chanyeol is left dumbfounded by what had transpired, but he feels lighter than he did earlier, feeling as if a burden had been lifted off from his shoulders. A strange feeling forms itself in his gut, as guilt gnaws him from the inside.
No, he shouldn’t feel happy because of what happened. He shouldn’t feel happy that Kyungsoo scared the shit out of Kris, making the development between Kris and Baekhyun’s relationship too impossible to happen now. Yet he finds himself relieved from what happened.
He stands up and mutters an apology to Kris, setting off to find Baekhyun.
∞∝∞∝
“I didn’t know that you were going to be this predictable,” Chanyeol says as he plops down the bench were Baekhyun was sitting on. From where they were seated, Chanyeol could see a magician covering a dove with his hands, yet he doubts Baekhyun sees it even if the older man was looking at the spectacle. Chanyeol is then reminded of the time when they first met.Well, this was where they had exactly first met, after all.
Baekhyun stays quiet, and Chanyeol rambles on, “You know, even before you came up that stage, even before you challenged my trick, I’ve already noticed you.”Baekhyun turns his head to look at Chanyeol straight in the eye, an inquisitive look written all over his face. “Nobody would ever miss that sad look on your face. Even when you came onstage and smiled as you were performing the trick, I could still see the sadness in your eyes.”
“I know, I’m a miserable fuck,”Baekhyun says, his voice barely a whisper, “I don’t know why I’m still here.”
Chanyeol inches forward, lightly touching Baekhyun’s shoulder. “But the thing is,that was why I noticed you. Do you know that philosophy that they say, ‘Things happen for a reason’? That everything goes this way or that because it’s needed to contribute to the grand scheme of things, for something greater in the future?” The corners of his lips turn up as he manages a small smile, “I believe that I met you that day for a reason. I believe that you were supposed to accidentally make that slip-up and say your thoughts out loud for the audience to hear.” He presses his forehead against Baekhyun’s, his free hand moving to the back of Baekhyun’s head, fingers curling, “And I believe that what happened back there happened because something better is supposed to arrive.”
He is surprised when Baekhyun doesn’t flinch away and simply stares back at him, engulfing him in those dreamy brown irises. “But what if it’s not? What if it’s just another one of those signs that means that I should give up and probably start hunting for a domestic helper that would take care of me when I get old, because I will only wither and die alone? What if I’ll never have someone I could be with, Chanyeol?” The fear in Baekhyun’s voice is raw, and Chanyeol is painfully reminded of the fact that Baekhyun is only a few months older than he was and that the latter probably didn’t have anyone to comfort him because of the situation he’s in.
Chanyeol removes his hand from Baekhyun’s shoulder and touches it to Baekhyun’s cheek, feeling the heat of the smaller boy’s face course through his palm. “Believe me Baek, it will all be okay,” He gives Baekhyun a reassuring smile, and he is glad that Baekhyun smiles back, despite it not quite reaching his eyes, “It will be okay.” Chanyeol repeats, and this time, he couldn’t help but think that it was more for himself than for Baekhyun.
∞∝∞∝
“Baekhyun!”Chanyeol calls as he spots a familiar small figure standing by the entrance of a bookstore staring at the headline of a newspaper, back facing him. But Baekhyun doesn’t turn to face him, so he calls one more. He tsksin annoyance, for Baekhyun still doesn’t pay him any attention. Was the guy deaf, or was he doing this on purpose as payback for what happened the previous night? Chanyeol isn’t sure what he’s supposed to do.
So typically, he walks up to Baekhyun, seeing as it was the most practical thing to do. But before he could reach Baekhyun, the older male struts in the opposite direction, seeming more than a hundred percent intent on ignoring him. Chanyeol rolls his eyes at how impossible Baekhyun is, but follows him anyway. He stops midway and looks back at the headline, declaring the ghastly murder of a man. He goes on and continues following Baekhyun, trying to remove what he saw from his head.
Baekhyun makes a sharp turn and enters an unfamiliar door, leaving it open. Chanyeol continues to follow even though he was exasperated at the way Baekhyun is behaving. Sure, Baekhyun was, in more ways than one, a pain in the ass, yet Chanyeol doesn’t think that he’d go as far as this to make his teeth grit in annoyance.
But everything in the room was all white, and Chanyeol is starting to become dubious of the reasons why Baekhyun has brought him here. “Baek?” he asks one last time. The person stops to look at his side, giving Chanyeol an idea of his profile. But it was not Baekhyun.
Now that Chanyeol really thinks about it, Baekhyun was taller and skinnier than this man. The man’s cheeks are plump and supple, unlike Baekhyun’s. “Who are you?”The figure simply hums in response.
“Are… are you a ghost?” Chanyeol nervously asks. The humming becomes louder in response. A memory floods Chanyeol’s mind. “Are you… the victim in that newspaper?”
Chanyeol’s ears buzz with the sound of humming as the figure turns to face him, and his eyes widen as he tries to take in the person’s appearance-the clothes he is wearing are tattered and filthy as if he had dragged himself across soil, and it would have been okay with Chanyeol, if not for the fact that his lips were sewn shut. The humming continues, and the walls of the room break down as Chanyeol is transported at a recognizable meadow, the very same man that haunted his dreams back then digging up a hole. He recognizes a small frame lying on the ground a few feet away from the man, and he remembers the shadow lurking behind a tree during Hyoyeon’s murder, the one that the unnamed man had chased down. He wants every witness to keep quiet, until the very end.
As Chanyeol comes to a realization, he finds himself in a dark alley, alone and retching out the contents of his stomach.
∞∝∞∝
The story that makes the next week’s headlines was about a man convicted of rape and two accounts of murder. The information, as the newspaper says, came from an unknown caller who had simply stated that he called as an informant out of sheer concern.
Chanyeol looks up from reading the newspaper and beams at Baekhyun, looking proud of himself. Baekhyun smiles back.
∞∝∞∝
They stare at each other. Unmoving, unblinking, chests barely rising and falling with every intake of breath they make. It’s their first time seeing each other after eight long years, after all. Most friends would jump at the sight of each other, hands going over shoulders, sharing hugs and kisses and ‘I missed you’s, but these two are quite the combo. Baekhyun sees Chanyeol a few tables away, covering his face with a newspaper. But Baekhyun could never mistake those big elf-like ears that’s enough to make Yoda cry in envy to be owned by someone else-he’s always been watching out for those features, after all. He makes a mental note to strangle the other one for his incapability to understand the big picture later.
It’s Jongdae who decides to break the silence first. “Let it go!~ Let it gooooo!~” he singsongs.
“Shut it Jongdae,”Baekhyun hisses, giving him a death glare.
“Can’t hold it back anymoooooore~~”Jongdae continues anyway, not heeding Baekhyun’s protests. He gives a smug smile as Baekhyun’s face reddens. Whether it was because of secondhand embarrassment from what Jongdae was doing that was making the other customers of the coffee shop give them either irritated or amused glances, or firsthand mortification at remembering a stupid thing he had done a few years ago when he had listened to Jongdae’s advice and drank soju for reasons he couldn’t remember, Jongdae doesn’t know.
Baekhyun reaches across the table and Jongdae thinks that his friend will really, seriously strangle him this time, but Baekhyun takes the steaming cup of espresso instead and blows on it, sending swirls of mist spreading in front of his face. He takes a tentative sip of the coffee and shrugs, reminding Jongdae of how Baekhyun wasn’t really good in complimenting things or people. He puts the cup down, and laces his fingers together. “If you do that one more time, I swear I’m going to cut you.”
“Let it-“ Jongdae begins once more, but was cut off by Baekhyun’s threat, the song dying in his throat. “Your balls or your joke? I’m giving you a choice, Jongdae. But you could only choose one.”
His eyes widen in consideration, but Jongdae just wouldn’t let this go. (Geddit?) “-go, let it-“
Baekhyun raises his hands in frustration, rolling his eyes because what else could he do? This was Kim Jongdae after all. “I was kid back then, okay.” He buries his face in his hands, muffling his answer.
Jongdae clears his throat. “Uh, Baek, that was only 2 years ago. And you were already 22 by then.” He points out.
Baekhyun looks at him pointedly, all efforts of being civilized held back by Jongdae’s acerbic words. He was used to it by now, with Jongdae always objectively explaining that “No, don’t think you’re so special just because I’m doing this to you, I treat everybody this way”, yet he has to admit, it still has a provoking edge at most times. “Oh shut up, Kim Jongdae, you insufferable little brat.”
Jongdae reaches out and shuffles his hair, the closest thing Baekhyun ever had to a friendly gesture coming from the guy from the eight years of not seeing each other. “It’s nice to see you too, Byun Baekhyun.”
∞∝∞∝
It’s a good thing that it’s starting to get late and the coffee shop’s customers have already left, for Baekhyun wouldn’t have had that much courage to assault a certain tall guy. “Okay Park Chanyeol, what is it that you want? Why are you doing this? Do you want Kyungsoo to haunt Jongdae too?” Baekhyun sits down beside Chanyeol and fires a mile’s worth of words a minute at him after Jongdae leaves the coffee shop, not even bothering a “Hi, Chanyeol, what are you doing here?” or “Oh, you’re here too? How coincidental!” and other pretentious introductions. He was sure Chanyeol knew that he knew who set up that meet-up earlier, anyways.
Chanyeol jumps back in his seat and grimaces at Baekhyun’s tone and speed. He feels as if the latter was chewing off his ears like a dog’s bone. “Whoah, slow down, Baek.” The barista gives them a cursory glance before returning to his truly interesting job of wiping the coffee mugs.
Baekhyun huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “I am not a horse,” he mutters.
Chanyeol ignores his remark and rubs at his temple, choosing to answer Baekhyun’s first question instead. It was the only thing he remembered, anyway. “Well, sorry to disappoint you but it’s a no. I’m doing this because I think it’s about time you stop hurting yourself. I think it’s about time that you go face your problems with the help of your friends.”
“But what if he hurts Jongdae? What if he hurts you?” I can’t forgive myself if that ever happens.The words taste like acid in Baekhyun’s tongue.
“Aww, c’mon Baek, nothing can hurt me. I am Iron Man!” Chanyeol spreads his arms, indicating his self-declared invincibility.
“Yeah,” Baekhyun snorts derisively. “Except corrosive fluids, rust and forgetting to recharge your batteries.”
Chanyeol shrugs, and it’s the most carefree that Baekhyun has ever seen him in a while, after all the ghosts showed up. “Yeah well maybe, but I’m willing to put that aside because what scares me the most is seeing that you’re all alone dealing with your problems and Kyungsoo coming along to make it three times worse. What scares me the most is the prospect of losing you, of not seeing your stupid face ever again, because you think your presence will cause all of us harm.”
“But how-“
Chanyeol shakes his head. “I heard you talking to your parents over the phone. I’m sorry if I was eavesdropping, but don’t you think I would find out about it sooner or later, anyway?” he looked genuinely hurt by the thought that Baekhyun was still keeping secrets from him, despite the things that happened.
“I was rooting for later.” Baekhyun says in a small voice.
Chanyeol sighs. “But it came sooner anyway, because I AM THE BEST.” Baekhyun’s guilt over the issue dissolves and he hits Chanyeol’s arm for ruining the angsty vibe eating through the atmosphere with his self-praise and bad timing to quote from a hit song by 2ne1 when they were in the middle of having a serious talk. But he guesses that with Chanyeol, things won’t always stay painstakingly serious. He’s thankful for the distraction, though, and the sudden laughter that bubbles up, because it’s not always that you get to have someone in your life that could turn your frown upside-down when things are dire and bleak, all hope seemingly lost and drowned out in memories of heart-shaped smiles and replies kept short, thrown out into an abyss of clear blue waters and late afternoon bus rides to a certain island.
Baekhyun stops and stares as he comes to a realization. “Wait, was that thing you said earlier a confession?” he just might have been misreading things and assuming an outcome that could never be, and he doesn’t want any of that. But it has been eight long years since he has been caring for someone as much as this (if you don’t include Jongdae in the head count), and he’s starting to feel that there’s something more to working together performing magic; to days spent helping out each other solve mysteries of unjustified deaths one time after another; to words of comfort and encouragement. And even if it wasn’t, he would’ve wished for it to be that way.
Chanyeol blushes at Baekhyun’s sudden straightforwardness, looking unsure of himself. He carefully picks his way through a bramble of words, not giving any hints of a downturn and not giving hints of approval, either. “Maybe. Depends on how you think about it.”
Baekhyun blinks. “What if I think it was?”
“Well then, it was.” Chanyeol agrees, a playful smile on his lips. Baekhyun is jealous at how Chanyeol seems to be able to convey his feelings as freely as that, without restraint. Baekhyun wishes that he could do that too. Someday, he might be able to, but for now, he settles for something close to that.
“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Well, maybe not really. “And I like idiots.” (Or maybe it actually is)
Chanyeol leans in and pinches his nose. “I like nagging shorties too.”
“But… aren’t you scared? Do you realize that if you’re going to date me, you will need all sorts of life plans?” Baekhyun decides to voice out his worries while it’s still early just in case they do push it with the relationship and Chanyeol ends up regretting everything some time later, cursing at him and blaming him for all the misfortune that goes on par with that of the Baudelaire orphans from Lemony Snicket’s novels, Baekhyun thinks it would be better for Park Chanyeol to know the possible outcomes of his decision so that he wouldn’t blame it all on Baekhyun in the end.
“I am,” Chanyeol looks into his eyes, and Baekhyun feels as if he could drown in those never-ending stares and be buried with that deep voice. He shakes away the thought, because it reminds him too much of Kyungsoo. “But I’m more scared of throwing away this chance and not being with you.” Chanyeol leans in, closing the gap between the two of them. Baekhyun hears a choking sound which probably came from the barista, but Chanyeol doesn’t seem to care, showing no signs of wanting to be the one to pull away first.
At first, Baekhyun stiffens, taken aback with the sudden pressure of another person’s lips on his. But en the leans forward, succumbing to his desires of finally getting a taste of Park Chanyeol’s lips. Baekhyun wonders if the barista will start making garbled noises at the back of his throat at the sight of customers making out before his very eyes, but the boy’s thoughts become muddled when Chanyeols fingers knot themselves through his hair, and he trembles in anticipation at finally being able to kiss someone after eight years of drought in the love life department. And it wasn’t just anyone-it was the Park Chanyeol, the man who he had always been eyeing but didn’t have the guts (nor the proper circumstance) to ask out. He’s perpetually a virgin when it came to these types of things-the only time he got kissed was once, back in his first year in high school with a boy he had dated for almost half a year. Sad to say, it was only a smack, and the relationship didn’t proceed as planned.
He notices that his hands are doing absolutely nothing beside him, and he hooks them around Chanyeol’s neck, deepening the kiss. He isn’t exactly sure with what he’s doing, but he simply tries to follow Chanyeol’s movements, trying to match them with his and hoping that his inexperience doesn’t show. Chanyeol moans in delight and he takes it as a sign that he’s at least doing better than he thinks. It turns into an unfamiliar game of fencing with tongues, of nibbling and licking, and they pull away from each other breathless, lips swollen and damp. Both of their eyes are gleaming, hair in disarray and Chanyeol thinks that dammit, Baekhyun looks way hotter this way, not knowing that the other one was thinking the same way about him.
They grin sappy lovesick grins at each other (because well, what should you do after kissing?), the burden of having to hide their undeniable attraction towards each other finally being lifted from their shoulders. It was a nice scenario, really, like it was from some cliché love story from a cheesy rom-com, only spiced up a few problems that you don’t usually encounter on a day-to-day basis.
But it’s not yet the end of our story, so here’s the plot twist: The moment doesn’t last. (But you were partially expecting that already, right?)
The magic of the moment is ruined when out of the corner of Baekhyun’s eye, the barista freezes in motion as if he was on video and someone decided to press the pause button. “Baekhyun,” a voice that he hasn’t heard in years calls his name in mere whispers, and it sends shudders through his skin, the blood running through his veins coagulating and freezing. The hairs on his arms and neck stand on end. Chanyeol grabs Baekhyun’s hand with his own trembling one and gives a comforting squeeze, and Baekhyun realizes that he could see him, too.
Kyungsoo peers at them through his long, wet lashes. “It’s been a long time,” Baekhyun greets, forcing his voice to keep steady. Kyungsoo simply offers him the most curious of looks. If Baekhyun hadn’t known any better, he will probably think that Kyungsoo was only asking about his new sense of fashion. Since when did you start wearing skinny jeans? I thought you were in love with leather.
Kyungsoo reaches out a hand, but stops. He closes his eyes and hums a lullaby that Baekhyun had implanted into his brain, offering more familiarity than the back of his own hand. Baekhyun finds himself humming along. Kyungsoo disappears and the world goes into a kick start once more.
“I think I know what he wants,” Baekhyun says, and Chanyeol looks at him expectantly.
∞∝∞∝
Live spelled backwards is Evil, so does that mean that living means being evil?
∞∝∞∝
Baekhyun kneels down and places the bouquet of freshly-picked flowers (well at least, that was what the florist said) on top of the marble panel that had Do Kyungsoo written on it in gold, cursive letters. He wonders if hyacinths look good together with the white roses lying there, but doesn’t push it against his better judgment. It’s the thought and the message that counts, right?
“Sorry if I suck and only got your message now. I didn’t know you only wanted me to pay you a visit,” he chuckles. “Oh, and by the way, I’m officially dating the dumb rich kid now, could you believe it?”
“Hey, I’m not dumb!” Chanyeol protests beside him, pouting. “Hey Kyungsoo, I’m not dumb, right?” Baekhyun simply laughs it off. He fixes the bouquet’s arrangement and notices something else written below Kyungsoo’s name aside from the dates of his birth and death.
“In this book of memories, I will forever be with you,”the epithet reads.
A single tear escapes Baekhyun’s eye, rolling down his cheek. He hastily wipes it away before Chanyeol could notice it, yet somehow he knows that Chanyeol did see that one. The man makes no remark whatsoever about it, though, and he’s thankful for that. Baekhyun forgets about his mantra, thinking that it was silly of him to try to forget his best friend, anyway.
He stands up and brushes the dirt away from his pants. “I’ll come back again, I promise. I’ll bring a better bouquet next time, and I’ll bring Jongdae with me. I swear if he doesn’t come with us, I’ll have Chanyeol here drag him along.” Baekhyun spares one last glance at Kyungsoo’s grave before holding Chanyeol’s hand and departing.
Had they looked further beyond, they would’ve seen Kyungsoo observing them. Had they stayed a bit longer, they would’ve been able to see the slight upturn of Kyungsoo’s lips, forming into a smile. If anyone ever saw him, they wouldn’t have minded, because they wouldn’t have noticed that he was a ghost anyway.
Ghosts don’t smile like that, don’t they?
He sighs and turns to leave. He would really miss scaring the shit out of people. He fades into the background, now just another memory that ceases to exist.
But to Byun Baekhyun and Park Chanyeol, Do Kyungsoo is the ghost with the heart-shaped smile and the owl-like eyes that was the reason behind unsaid greetings during a first meeting and the development of mutual feelings in the course of time.
∞∝∞∝
a/n: lightly based from Spellbound/A Chilling Romance
a/n2: this fic was written for firelight92 because her birthday’s coming up. I hope this satisfies her fragile BaekYeol heart. This was supposed to be entirely fluff, but I got carried away?
a/n3: tbh this was a (great) pain (in the neck) to write and I seriously thought that I wasn’t going to finish this any time soon, but alas, it has been done. It surprised me that I was able to write almost 14k of nonsense.
a/n4: loads of thanks to Lightning, who read through all 13k of this nonsense just so he could help me brainstorm for the scary scenes.
pairing: Baekhyun/Chanyeol
word count: 13,892 words (in total)
rating: R (because of the horror parts)
summary: A memory buried six feet below the ground, a face that can only be recalled through dried up tears and choked sobs, a name spoken only in whispers; that was what he had become.
warnings: (highlight to see) gore, blood, character death, senseless palindromes and complete lack of talent
<-- part 1
∞∝∞∝
Go on a date,Chanyeol had said. It would be fun,he said. But Baekhyun was starting to think otherwise as he exchanged timid greetings with yet another introverted-looking guy like himself who introduces himself as Kris Wu. The guy wasn’t the eyesore that Chanyeol that had described him to be. In fact, the guy was quite handsome, looking close to an anime character. He was enviably tall too, looking like a skyscraper that Baekhyun would have a really hard time reaching up to. But when he starts opening his mouth, Baekhyun isn’t sure whether he wants to hear more of Kris’s stories (that uncharacteristically turns out to jokes) or wants the said guy to go put a sock in his mouth to make him shut up. Baekhyun decides against the last one, since he starts finding Kris amusing.
“The best way in picking up girls,” Kris pauses dramatically, tilting his head towards Baekhyun and smirking in a subtle manner. “Is this,” He picks up the glass cup that contains water and exactly three cubes of ice, as Baekhyun had observed, and lifts it to his lips as if he was going to drink from it, but not really. “Excuse me, miss.” He stares into Baekhyun’s eyes and then winks.
Baekhyun can’t help but laugh at the Kris’s silliness and almost chokes on his food. “Good thing that I’m not a girl, then.” Kris looks at him strangely, proceeding to drink the water. “You were mumbling ‘excuse me’,” Baekhyun badly imitates the way Kris said ‘excuse me’. “Like you’re some creepy weird stalker from a bar who saw human flesh for the first time.”
This time, it’s Kris’s turn to choke at what Baekhyun said. He shakes his head, as if it were enough to clear away the shame that he has caused himself. “Let me do that again,” He clears his throat and once again positions the edge of the cup at his lips and sips the few drops of water left, a cube of ice going with the flow and entering his mouth completely. He closes his mouth and swallows, and Baekhyun can’t look away from the sight of Kris’s Adam’s apple bobbing up and down his throat as he swallows the fluid.
The magic of the moment is ruined, however, when Kris decides to open his mouth and say “Excuse me,” one more time in an attempt to salvage his wrecked image and look like the cool police officer that Chanyeol had introduced him as and ending up choking on the ice cube that he didn’t swallow.
Baekhyun laughs at his awkward attempts of making himself look cool and reaches out a hand to pat him on the shoulder. “You tried.”
Kris breaks the ice cube with his teeth, chewing it well before swallowing it. He couldn’t risk choking again at a time like this-and certainly not in front of Byun Baekhyun. “Yeah, I did. I guess I shouldn’t have.”
Baekhyun gives him a wry smile. “It’s okay. I seem to like you, anyway.”
At that, Kris does choke, despite the fact that he wasn’t eating or drinking anything anymore. “WHAT.”
Baekhyun blinks. “What.”
They stare at each other for a moment, and then suddenly burst out in laughter, caught up in their own ridiculousness that they were not able to sense the penetrating stares that the Chanyeol sends them from his seat a table away from them. He has never seen Baekhyun laugh once from the whole year that they have been working together, but with Kris, Baekhyun just seems to laugh naturally, eyes crinkling every now and then as he smiles, head arched as he tosses his head back to something that Kris was saying seriously but then ends up being a joke.
But no, he was not jealous. Park Chanyeol, jealous? Of who, Kris Wu? That tall, handsome guy who’s a well-known police officer back in their hometown, born from a rich family that’s only a few hundred dollars poorer than Chanyeol’s family, is fluent in four languages, and is usually mistaken for a model because of his unrealistically handsome features? Psh, why would THE Park Chanyeol be jealous of that?
Okay, maybe he’s a liiiiiittle bit envious with Kris’s qualities that makes him the perfect boyfriend material, but he’s not jealous that Baekhyun seems to be going along well with Kris, whom he had just met and known for a few minutes, while he’s still struggling with the right words that he’s supposed to say in front of Baekhyun. Nope, he definitely isn’t.
It’s not obvious in the way he crinkles his nose at every lame joke Kris makes, only to frown when Baekhyun laughs at it. It’s not obvious in the way he stops in the middle of chewing on a slice of his favorite chocolate cake to listen in their conversation and catch everything that Baekhyun has to say. It’s not obvious from the way he squints at Kris’s attempts at making good jokes.
Nope, it definitely isn’t.
∞∝∞∝
Kris bounds off in a manner that strangely reminded Chanyeol of that one time that they went to an observatory back when they were in college for a field trip, as they had been classmates in Astronomy. Kris had been smiling a lot then, gums showing and muttering the wonders of the galaxy to himself.
Kris puts his hands in his pockets and whistles a merry tune as he heads for the comfort room, with Chanyeol looking venomously at his retreating back. When Kris was nowhere in sight, he stands up and sits in Kris’s unoccupied seat, surprising Baekhyun with a question of, “So, do you like him?”
Baekhyun looks at him calmly, not dithered by his appearing out of nowhere, a sudden question asked in greeting. “I guess so.”
Chanyeol sits back, a question still in his tongue. But he chooses to swallow it down, even if it leaves a searing pain as it slides down his esophagus and melts its way down his throat.
But what if he leaves you?
∞∝∞∝
Kris still can’t believe that it was his lucky day. After having had a lot of failed attempts at relationships before (with him ending up to be the one wet from walking outside amidst the tremendous amount of rainfall), now was his shot at forming something new. Baekhyun was great, much unlike the previous girls or guys that he had dated.Baekhyun was different; Baekhyun was gentle and kind, yet funny and sarcastic at the same time. He liked the contradictions.
He zips his pants up as he finishes excreting his bodily fluids that were stored in his bladder to a nearby urinal, and proceeds to wash his hands in the sink. He looks up to admire himself in the mirror and makes himself look better for the man waiting for him outside, only for a scream to freeze down his throat as he sees someone else’s reflection in the mirror instead of his own. Big, owl-like eyes stare back at him, black bags under those eyes exaggerating their size. The figure was dripping wet, and raises a pale hand to point a finger at Kris. A garbled sound comes from the figure’s lips, uttering a single name, “Byun Baekhyun”.
Kris backs away, hitting the door of a cubicle behind him in the process. He turns to run for the door, when he is stopped by tracks of blood beneath his shoes. He stares in terror as his eyes follow the trail of blood, which ended at the foot of a small figure standing by the doorway, clad in all black. Kris recognizes the clothes as one of the school uniforms from a nearby high school. To his horror, the figure was that very same one from the mirror a while ago, whispering Baekhyun’s name once more.
The figure steps forward, glaring at Kris with such ferocity that might have torn his limbs off. Kris steps back hastily, almost slipping on the blood. His back hits the tiled wall, and he glances to the side to see a cubicle. Fearing that he had nowhere else to hide, he grabs the opportunity and runs inside the cubicle, locking himself up. He doesn’t know if the figure was still moving forward, but the buzzing of Baekhyun’s name on the person’s lips was still imminent. He closes his eyes and covers his ears with his hands, trying to block out the dread that was creeping up inside of him.
His eyes snap open upon hearing the sound of something chinking as porcelain comes in contact with porcelain, and he turns aghast to face the toilet bowl whose lid was now open. Thick red blood pours out from the deepest pits of the bowl, and it flows out freely, as if it is just water and nothing else. Kris struggles to back away further, but it was of no use; the cubicle was cramped and he was cornered, the irregular rough sides of the cubicle door digging against his back. To his horror, something black comes out of the recesses of the toilet bowl, and he recognizes it as hair as a bloodied face looks back at him, still rising from the bloody mess. He fumbles for the lock of the cubicle and almost stumbles out in relief when he realizes that the figure was not by the door anymore.
He wipes at his face, thinking that he was only hallucinating from the wine that he drank and manages a small smile. He sighs in relief and advances to the door, only to be stopped by a cold hand clamping around his wrist, a viselike grip that reminds him of a predator waiting to pounce on its prey.
He turns his head slowly to the side, knowing fully well what was going to happen based from the horror movies that he had watched, waves of chills making their ways down his spine.
He screams.
∞∝∞∝
Baekhyun’s head snaps up as he hears a blood-curdling scream akin to that of a crow’s shrill cry.Chanyeol’s eyebrows crease with worry. “I think-“he starts to say, but whatever it was, he doesn’t get to finish it because Baekhyun is already running towards the comfort room, heart in hand and blood pounding in his ears, adrenaline kicking in.
He finds Kris lying on the floor a few steps near the door, curled into a fetal position and dripping wet from head-to-toe, as if he went swimming in his suit. Baekhyun stands frozen by the doorway, hand gripping the doorknob as if it was his lifeline.
“Oh shit,” Baekhyun almost jumps in surprise when Chanyeol breathes a curse into his ears, not realizing that the younger male had followed him, “I think your friend got him.”
“Well no shit, Sherlock,” Baekhyun wants to retort, but decides against it and peels himself from the doorway, running to Kris’s aid and helping the taller man stand up. Kris is shaking, though whether from the cold of his damp clothes or from fear, Baekhyun doesn’t know. Maybe it was bits of both.
Kris stands up with Baekhyun’s help, but yelps and immediately scrambles back once he sees that it was Baekhyun who had helped him, landing on his butt as he slips on the moisture on the floor that came from his clothes. Baekhyun bites his lower lip, feeling sorry for the guy. Kris seemed to be teetering at the borderline of sanity at the moment.
Kris stands up again on wobbly feet, trying to sound calm and collected but failing miserably, “I think it would be better if we pretend that none of this ever happened,” he looks away, swallowing the lump on his throat, “You’re a nice person, and a really attractive one at that, but I’m sorry, I just can’t do this anymore.” He sounds sorry, so genuinely sorry, and Baekhyun isn’t sure if he’s hurt because Kris had rejected him or because even though Kris might have just experienced the scariest moment of his life, he was still considerate of Baekhyun’s feelings, apologizing and all. With the other guys that Baekhyun had tried to date in the past, he wasn’t so lucky, earning curses hurled in his direction, while some even went to the extent of harming him. Baekhyun blinks, fighting away the tears brimming in his eyes and were threatening to fall. He runs, past Chanyeol and into the cold winter night, not being entirely sure of where he was going.
Chanyeol is left dumbfounded by what had transpired, but he feels lighter than he did earlier, feeling as if a burden had been lifted off from his shoulders. A strange feeling forms itself in his gut, as guilt gnaws him from the inside.
No, he shouldn’t feel happy because of what happened. He shouldn’t feel happy that Kyungsoo scared the shit out of Kris, making the development between Kris and Baekhyun’s relationship too impossible to happen now. Yet he finds himself relieved from what happened.
He stands up and mutters an apology to Kris, setting off to find Baekhyun.
∞∝∞∝
“I didn’t know that you were going to be this predictable,” Chanyeol says as he plops down the bench were Baekhyun was sitting on. From where they were seated, Chanyeol could see a magician covering a dove with his hands, yet he doubts Baekhyun sees it even if the older man was looking at the spectacle. Chanyeol is then reminded of the time when they first met.Well, this was where they had exactly first met, after all.
Baekhyun stays quiet, and Chanyeol rambles on, “You know, even before you came up that stage, even before you challenged my trick, I’ve already noticed you.”Baekhyun turns his head to look at Chanyeol straight in the eye, an inquisitive look written all over his face. “Nobody would ever miss that sad look on your face. Even when you came onstage and smiled as you were performing the trick, I could still see the sadness in your eyes.”
“I know, I’m a miserable fuck,”Baekhyun says, his voice barely a whisper, “I don’t know why I’m still here.”
Chanyeol inches forward, lightly touching Baekhyun’s shoulder. “But the thing is,that was why I noticed you. Do you know that philosophy that they say, ‘Things happen for a reason’? That everything goes this way or that because it’s needed to contribute to the grand scheme of things, for something greater in the future?” The corners of his lips turn up as he manages a small smile, “I believe that I met you that day for a reason. I believe that you were supposed to accidentally make that slip-up and say your thoughts out loud for the audience to hear.” He presses his forehead against Baekhyun’s, his free hand moving to the back of Baekhyun’s head, fingers curling, “And I believe that what happened back there happened because something better is supposed to arrive.”
He is surprised when Baekhyun doesn’t flinch away and simply stares back at him, engulfing him in those dreamy brown irises. “But what if it’s not? What if it’s just another one of those signs that means that I should give up and probably start hunting for a domestic helper that would take care of me when I get old, because I will only wither and die alone? What if I’ll never have someone I could be with, Chanyeol?” The fear in Baekhyun’s voice is raw, and Chanyeol is painfully reminded of the fact that Baekhyun is only a few months older than he was and that the latter probably didn’t have anyone to comfort him because of the situation he’s in.
Chanyeol removes his hand from Baekhyun’s shoulder and touches it to Baekhyun’s cheek, feeling the heat of the smaller boy’s face course through his palm. “Believe me Baek, it will all be okay,” He gives Baekhyun a reassuring smile, and he is glad that Baekhyun smiles back, despite it not quite reaching his eyes, “It will be okay.” Chanyeol repeats, and this time, he couldn’t help but think that it was more for himself than for Baekhyun.
∞∝∞∝
“Baekhyun!”Chanyeol calls as he spots a familiar small figure standing by the entrance of a bookstore staring at the headline of a newspaper, back facing him. But Baekhyun doesn’t turn to face him, so he calls one more. He tsksin annoyance, for Baekhyun still doesn’t pay him any attention. Was the guy deaf, or was he doing this on purpose as payback for what happened the previous night? Chanyeol isn’t sure what he’s supposed to do.
So typically, he walks up to Baekhyun, seeing as it was the most practical thing to do. But before he could reach Baekhyun, the older male struts in the opposite direction, seeming more than a hundred percent intent on ignoring him. Chanyeol rolls his eyes at how impossible Baekhyun is, but follows him anyway. He stops midway and looks back at the headline, declaring the ghastly murder of a man. He goes on and continues following Baekhyun, trying to remove what he saw from his head.
Baekhyun makes a sharp turn and enters an unfamiliar door, leaving it open. Chanyeol continues to follow even though he was exasperated at the way Baekhyun is behaving. Sure, Baekhyun was, in more ways than one, a pain in the ass, yet Chanyeol doesn’t think that he’d go as far as this to make his teeth grit in annoyance.
But everything in the room was all white, and Chanyeol is starting to become dubious of the reasons why Baekhyun has brought him here. “Baek?” he asks one last time. The person stops to look at his side, giving Chanyeol an idea of his profile. But it was not Baekhyun.
Now that Chanyeol really thinks about it, Baekhyun was taller and skinnier than this man. The man’s cheeks are plump and supple, unlike Baekhyun’s. “Who are you?”The figure simply hums in response.
“Are… are you a ghost?” Chanyeol nervously asks. The humming becomes louder in response. A memory floods Chanyeol’s mind. “Are you… the victim in that newspaper?”
Chanyeol’s ears buzz with the sound of humming as the figure turns to face him, and his eyes widen as he tries to take in the person’s appearance-the clothes he is wearing are tattered and filthy as if he had dragged himself across soil, and it would have been okay with Chanyeol, if not for the fact that his lips were sewn shut. The humming continues, and the walls of the room break down as Chanyeol is transported at a recognizable meadow, the very same man that haunted his dreams back then digging up a hole. He recognizes a small frame lying on the ground a few feet away from the man, and he remembers the shadow lurking behind a tree during Hyoyeon’s murder, the one that the unnamed man had chased down. He wants every witness to keep quiet, until the very end.
As Chanyeol comes to a realization, he finds himself in a dark alley, alone and retching out the contents of his stomach.
∞∝∞∝
The story that makes the next week’s headlines was about a man convicted of rape and two accounts of murder. The information, as the newspaper says, came from an unknown caller who had simply stated that he called as an informant out of sheer concern.
Chanyeol looks up from reading the newspaper and beams at Baekhyun, looking proud of himself. Baekhyun smiles back.
∞∝∞∝
They stare at each other. Unmoving, unblinking, chests barely rising and falling with every intake of breath they make. It’s their first time seeing each other after eight long years, after all. Most friends would jump at the sight of each other, hands going over shoulders, sharing hugs and kisses and ‘I missed you’s, but these two are quite the combo. Baekhyun sees Chanyeol a few tables away, covering his face with a newspaper. But Baekhyun could never mistake those big elf-like ears that’s enough to make Yoda cry in envy to be owned by someone else-he’s always been watching out for those features, after all. He makes a mental note to strangle the other one for his incapability to understand the big picture later.
It’s Jongdae who decides to break the silence first. “Let it go!~ Let it gooooo!~” he singsongs.
“Shut it Jongdae,”Baekhyun hisses, giving him a death glare.
“Can’t hold it back anymoooooore~~”Jongdae continues anyway, not heeding Baekhyun’s protests. He gives a smug smile as Baekhyun’s face reddens. Whether it was because of secondhand embarrassment from what Jongdae was doing that was making the other customers of the coffee shop give them either irritated or amused glances, or firsthand mortification at remembering a stupid thing he had done a few years ago when he had listened to Jongdae’s advice and drank soju for reasons he couldn’t remember, Jongdae doesn’t know.
Baekhyun reaches across the table and Jongdae thinks that his friend will really, seriously strangle him this time, but Baekhyun takes the steaming cup of espresso instead and blows on it, sending swirls of mist spreading in front of his face. He takes a tentative sip of the coffee and shrugs, reminding Jongdae of how Baekhyun wasn’t really good in complimenting things or people. He puts the cup down, and laces his fingers together. “If you do that one more time, I swear I’m going to cut you.”
“Let it-“ Jongdae begins once more, but was cut off by Baekhyun’s threat, the song dying in his throat. “Your balls or your joke? I’m giving you a choice, Jongdae. But you could only choose one.”
His eyes widen in consideration, but Jongdae just wouldn’t let this go. (Geddit?) “-go, let it-“
Baekhyun raises his hands in frustration, rolling his eyes because what else could he do? This was Kim Jongdae after all. “I was kid back then, okay.” He buries his face in his hands, muffling his answer.
Jongdae clears his throat. “Uh, Baek, that was only 2 years ago. And you were already 22 by then.” He points out.
Baekhyun looks at him pointedly, all efforts of being civilized held back by Jongdae’s acerbic words. He was used to it by now, with Jongdae always objectively explaining that “No, don’t think you’re so special just because I’m doing this to you, I treat everybody this way”, yet he has to admit, it still has a provoking edge at most times. “Oh shut up, Kim Jongdae, you insufferable little brat.”
Jongdae reaches out and shuffles his hair, the closest thing Baekhyun ever had to a friendly gesture coming from the guy from the eight years of not seeing each other. “It’s nice to see you too, Byun Baekhyun.”
∞∝∞∝
It’s a good thing that it’s starting to get late and the coffee shop’s customers have already left, for Baekhyun wouldn’t have had that much courage to assault a certain tall guy. “Okay Park Chanyeol, what is it that you want? Why are you doing this? Do you want Kyungsoo to haunt Jongdae too?” Baekhyun sits down beside Chanyeol and fires a mile’s worth of words a minute at him after Jongdae leaves the coffee shop, not even bothering a “Hi, Chanyeol, what are you doing here?” or “Oh, you’re here too? How coincidental!” and other pretentious introductions. He was sure Chanyeol knew that he knew who set up that meet-up earlier, anyways.
Chanyeol jumps back in his seat and grimaces at Baekhyun’s tone and speed. He feels as if the latter was chewing off his ears like a dog’s bone. “Whoah, slow down, Baek.” The barista gives them a cursory glance before returning to his truly interesting job of wiping the coffee mugs.
Baekhyun huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “I am not a horse,” he mutters.
Chanyeol ignores his remark and rubs at his temple, choosing to answer Baekhyun’s first question instead. It was the only thing he remembered, anyway. “Well, sorry to disappoint you but it’s a no. I’m doing this because I think it’s about time you stop hurting yourself. I think it’s about time that you go face your problems with the help of your friends.”
“But what if he hurts Jongdae? What if he hurts you?” I can’t forgive myself if that ever happens.The words taste like acid in Baekhyun’s tongue.
“Aww, c’mon Baek, nothing can hurt me. I am Iron Man!” Chanyeol spreads his arms, indicating his self-declared invincibility.
“Yeah,” Baekhyun snorts derisively. “Except corrosive fluids, rust and forgetting to recharge your batteries.”
Chanyeol shrugs, and it’s the most carefree that Baekhyun has ever seen him in a while, after all the ghosts showed up. “Yeah well maybe, but I’m willing to put that aside because what scares me the most is seeing that you’re all alone dealing with your problems and Kyungsoo coming along to make it three times worse. What scares me the most is the prospect of losing you, of not seeing your stupid face ever again, because you think your presence will cause all of us harm.”
“But how-“
Chanyeol shakes his head. “I heard you talking to your parents over the phone. I’m sorry if I was eavesdropping, but don’t you think I would find out about it sooner or later, anyway?” he looked genuinely hurt by the thought that Baekhyun was still keeping secrets from him, despite the things that happened.
“I was rooting for later.” Baekhyun says in a small voice.
Chanyeol sighs. “But it came sooner anyway, because I AM THE BEST.” Baekhyun’s guilt over the issue dissolves and he hits Chanyeol’s arm for ruining the angsty vibe eating through the atmosphere with his self-praise and bad timing to quote from a hit song by 2ne1 when they were in the middle of having a serious talk. But he guesses that with Chanyeol, things won’t always stay painstakingly serious. He’s thankful for the distraction, though, and the sudden laughter that bubbles up, because it’s not always that you get to have someone in your life that could turn your frown upside-down when things are dire and bleak, all hope seemingly lost and drowned out in memories of heart-shaped smiles and replies kept short, thrown out into an abyss of clear blue waters and late afternoon bus rides to a certain island.
Baekhyun stops and stares as he comes to a realization. “Wait, was that thing you said earlier a confession?” he just might have been misreading things and assuming an outcome that could never be, and he doesn’t want any of that. But it has been eight long years since he has been caring for someone as much as this (if you don’t include Jongdae in the head count), and he’s starting to feel that there’s something more to working together performing magic; to days spent helping out each other solve mysteries of unjustified deaths one time after another; to words of comfort and encouragement. And even if it wasn’t, he would’ve wished for it to be that way.
Chanyeol blushes at Baekhyun’s sudden straightforwardness, looking unsure of himself. He carefully picks his way through a bramble of words, not giving any hints of a downturn and not giving hints of approval, either. “Maybe. Depends on how you think about it.”
Baekhyun blinks. “What if I think it was?”
“Well then, it was.” Chanyeol agrees, a playful smile on his lips. Baekhyun is jealous at how Chanyeol seems to be able to convey his feelings as freely as that, without restraint. Baekhyun wishes that he could do that too. Someday, he might be able to, but for now, he settles for something close to that.
“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Well, maybe not really. “And I like idiots.” (Or maybe it actually is)
Chanyeol leans in and pinches his nose. “I like nagging shorties too.”
“But… aren’t you scared? Do you realize that if you’re going to date me, you will need all sorts of life plans?” Baekhyun decides to voice out his worries while it’s still early just in case they do push it with the relationship and Chanyeol ends up regretting everything some time later, cursing at him and blaming him for all the misfortune that goes on par with that of the Baudelaire orphans from Lemony Snicket’s novels, Baekhyun thinks it would be better for Park Chanyeol to know the possible outcomes of his decision so that he wouldn’t blame it all on Baekhyun in the end.
“I am,” Chanyeol looks into his eyes, and Baekhyun feels as if he could drown in those never-ending stares and be buried with that deep voice. He shakes away the thought, because it reminds him too much of Kyungsoo. “But I’m more scared of throwing away this chance and not being with you.” Chanyeol leans in, closing the gap between the two of them. Baekhyun hears a choking sound which probably came from the barista, but Chanyeol doesn’t seem to care, showing no signs of wanting to be the one to pull away first.
At first, Baekhyun stiffens, taken aback with the sudden pressure of another person’s lips on his. But en the leans forward, succumbing to his desires of finally getting a taste of Park Chanyeol’s lips. Baekhyun wonders if the barista will start making garbled noises at the back of his throat at the sight of customers making out before his very eyes, but the boy’s thoughts become muddled when Chanyeols fingers knot themselves through his hair, and he trembles in anticipation at finally being able to kiss someone after eight years of drought in the love life department. And it wasn’t just anyone-it was the Park Chanyeol, the man who he had always been eyeing but didn’t have the guts (nor the proper circumstance) to ask out. He’s perpetually a virgin when it came to these types of things-the only time he got kissed was once, back in his first year in high school with a boy he had dated for almost half a year. Sad to say, it was only a smack, and the relationship didn’t proceed as planned.
He notices that his hands are doing absolutely nothing beside him, and he hooks them around Chanyeol’s neck, deepening the kiss. He isn’t exactly sure with what he’s doing, but he simply tries to follow Chanyeol’s movements, trying to match them with his and hoping that his inexperience doesn’t show. Chanyeol moans in delight and he takes it as a sign that he’s at least doing better than he thinks. It turns into an unfamiliar game of fencing with tongues, of nibbling and licking, and they pull away from each other breathless, lips swollen and damp. Both of their eyes are gleaming, hair in disarray and Chanyeol thinks that dammit, Baekhyun looks way hotter this way, not knowing that the other one was thinking the same way about him.
They grin sappy lovesick grins at each other (because well, what should you do after kissing?), the burden of having to hide their undeniable attraction towards each other finally being lifted from their shoulders. It was a nice scenario, really, like it was from some cliché love story from a cheesy rom-com, only spiced up a few problems that you don’t usually encounter on a day-to-day basis.
But it’s not yet the end of our story, so here’s the plot twist: The moment doesn’t last. (But you were partially expecting that already, right?)
The magic of the moment is ruined when out of the corner of Baekhyun’s eye, the barista freezes in motion as if he was on video and someone decided to press the pause button. “Baekhyun,” a voice that he hasn’t heard in years calls his name in mere whispers, and it sends shudders through his skin, the blood running through his veins coagulating and freezing. The hairs on his arms and neck stand on end. Chanyeol grabs Baekhyun’s hand with his own trembling one and gives a comforting squeeze, and Baekhyun realizes that he could see him, too.
Kyungsoo peers at them through his long, wet lashes. “It’s been a long time,” Baekhyun greets, forcing his voice to keep steady. Kyungsoo simply offers him the most curious of looks. If Baekhyun hadn’t known any better, he will probably think that Kyungsoo was only asking about his new sense of fashion. Since when did you start wearing skinny jeans? I thought you were in love with leather.
Kyungsoo reaches out a hand, but stops. He closes his eyes and hums a lullaby that Baekhyun had implanted into his brain, offering more familiarity than the back of his own hand. Baekhyun finds himself humming along. Kyungsoo disappears and the world goes into a kick start once more.
“I think I know what he wants,” Baekhyun says, and Chanyeol looks at him expectantly.
∞∝∞∝
Live spelled backwards is Evil, so does that mean that living means being evil?
∞∝∞∝
Baekhyun kneels down and places the bouquet of freshly-picked flowers (well at least, that was what the florist said) on top of the marble panel that had Do Kyungsoo written on it in gold, cursive letters. He wonders if hyacinths look good together with the white roses lying there, but doesn’t push it against his better judgment. It’s the thought and the message that counts, right?
“Sorry if I suck and only got your message now. I didn’t know you only wanted me to pay you a visit,” he chuckles. “Oh, and by the way, I’m officially dating the dumb rich kid now, could you believe it?”
“Hey, I’m not dumb!” Chanyeol protests beside him, pouting. “Hey Kyungsoo, I’m not dumb, right?” Baekhyun simply laughs it off. He fixes the bouquet’s arrangement and notices something else written below Kyungsoo’s name aside from the dates of his birth and death.
“In this book of memories, I will forever be with you,”the epithet reads.
A single tear escapes Baekhyun’s eye, rolling down his cheek. He hastily wipes it away before Chanyeol could notice it, yet somehow he knows that Chanyeol did see that one. The man makes no remark whatsoever about it, though, and he’s thankful for that. Baekhyun forgets about his mantra, thinking that it was silly of him to try to forget his best friend, anyway.
He stands up and brushes the dirt away from his pants. “I’ll come back again, I promise. I’ll bring a better bouquet next time, and I’ll bring Jongdae with me. I swear if he doesn’t come with us, I’ll have Chanyeol here drag him along.” Baekhyun spares one last glance at Kyungsoo’s grave before holding Chanyeol’s hand and departing.
Had they looked further beyond, they would’ve seen Kyungsoo observing them. Had they stayed a bit longer, they would’ve been able to see the slight upturn of Kyungsoo’s lips, forming into a smile. If anyone ever saw him, they wouldn’t have minded, because they wouldn’t have noticed that he was a ghost anyway.
Ghosts don’t smile like that, don’t they?
He sighs and turns to leave. He would really miss scaring the shit out of people. He fades into the background, now just another memory that ceases to exist.
But to Byun Baekhyun and Park Chanyeol, Do Kyungsoo is the ghost with the heart-shaped smile and the owl-like eyes that was the reason behind unsaid greetings during a first meeting and the development of mutual feelings in the course of time.
∞∝∞∝
a/n: lightly based from Spellbound/A Chilling Romance
a/n2: this fic was written for firelight92 because her birthday’s coming up. I hope this satisfies her fragile BaekYeol heart. This was supposed to be entirely fluff, but I got carried away?
a/n3: tbh this was a (great) pain (in the neck) to write and I seriously thought that I wasn’t going to finish this any time soon, but alas, it has been done. It surprised me that I was able to write almost 14k of nonsense.
a/n4: loads of thanks to Lightning, who read through all 13k of this nonsense just so he could help me brainstorm for the scary scenes.