Baekhyun steps outside the mansion, stretching his arms. It’s been a long night; a really long night, and Baekhyun feels that nothing has been done.

There’s a disgusting, rotten smell in the air, and Baekhyun scrunches up his nose.

“Urgh, is that the squirrel Chanyeol ran over? You can smell it all the way from here now…” he mumbles to himself.

He goes for a walk, before slowly turning around and heading back up to the house. They haven’t got time to be dallying about.

“How is he doing?” Baekhyun asks Kyungsoo, as he ascends the stairs.

“Barely hanging on. What are you two doing?”

“I’m so sorry. We just haven’t made any progress…”

“You better be soon,” Kai interrupts from his chair. “We don’t have long.”

Baekhyun sighs, and works his way around the place to try and find Chanyeol. He said he was going to call the company and see what was wrong, whilst Baekhyun could get just a little shuteye for the remainder of the night.

Baekhyun smiles. Chanyeol is indeed a sweet boyfriend.

Baekhyun finally finds himself in the kitchen. A very tired looking Chanyeol is sitting hunched over a chair, a phone in his hands.

Baekhyun clicks the door shut, and Chanyeol waves him over.

“No, I understand that part, but…”

There’s a pause, as Chanyeol listens carefully.

“OK, but did you confirm it in his records?”

Chanyeol growls.

“Why was this information not made available to us?” he says angrily.

Baekhyun shuffles his way across the room to Chanyeol, pulling a chair out.

Hang on.

“Where did you get that coffee?” he asks.

“Shhh!” Chanyeol hushes him.

“But-“

“I’ll fill you in later.”

Baekhyun sighs, and leans back in his chair, listening in to the one-sided conversation. His eyes skim over the table.

Chanyeol’s coffee is untouched, it sits just on the edge of the bench. Baekhyun feels the edge of the mug.

Cold.

Chanyeol must have been sitting here for a long time, whilst he himself was sleeping. Baekhyun feels slightly guilty that Chanyeol’s doing all the work.

“Where’d you find this?” he asks.

It’s the blue and yellow rabbit, the one Baekhyun now recognizes as the last one Luhan made for Sehun. It’s sitting on the top of the bench beside the fruit bowl, looking lonely.

“It was in the lighthouse.”

Baekhyun doesn’t really remember it being there, but he nods anyway. This place is strange, and a little more strange does not surprise him.

Baekhyun waits.

“…I’m not sure. We’ll have to check on that. But what if… I suppose so.”

Baekhyun furrows his brows. Hopefully Chanyeol will be true to his word and fill Baekhyun in later.

Baekhyun leaves Chanyeol to it, exiting the kitchen to go and find someone else to pester, most likely Kyungsoo.

Baekhyun doesn’t think Kai will give him much attention; he is too intent on watching Sehun until the very end.

Baekhyun finds Kyungsoo in a bedroom on the first floor, sitting on the end of the bed.

Sheets are strewn around haphazardly, and Baekhyun doesn’t want to know what Kai and Kyungsoo had been doing in here the night before.

Kyungsoo pats the bed beside him, and Baekhyun sits down.

“I’m just so exhausted, staying up so late. I’m sure you are even more so.”

Baekhyun gives a small nod.

“But it’s normal for me, staying up late,” Baekhyun says pointedly.

“It must be harder for you because you must have been close to Sehun.”

Kyungsoo gives a small nod.

“I was his housekeeper for almost three years, back when the late Luhan was still alive,” Kyungsoo says, sighing.

“It’s the first job I’ve had, since I only just left school. It’s a good solid job, so I never had the heart of turning it down.”

Kyungsoo blushes.

“Sehun even let Kai move in with us. I think he just needed some more company. Kai goes to a dance academy, you know. He’s going to make it big one day.”

Baekhyun nods knowingly.

“What about you?”

“Oh, me?” Kyungsoo asks.

“I suppose we’ll have to move out after Sehun passes, and sell this house. I don’t know. I’ve liked to sing my whole life, but I don’t think I’ve got what it takes.”

Baekhyun shakes his head at him.

“You never know… you might as well try.”

Kyungsoo gives Baekhyun a cute smile.

“I might. But I’m good at cooking and cleaning, so I think that’s a more definite career path for me.”

“You should at least try to follow your dreams, Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun says.

Kyungsoo shakes his head.

“Hey, maybe when I’m on my deathbed, I’ll call you in and you can make that wish come true for me. But for now, I’ll just find somewhere else to housekeep.”

Baekhyun sits up and stretches out his legs.

“I should probably check Chanyeol.”

Kyungsoo gives a nod.

“Wait… before you go… Just a little before Sehun fell unconscious, he told me you’d be coming. He wanted me to pass on… his thanks. So thank you, Baekhyun. Please thank Chanyeol too.”

Baekhyun nods, before shutting the bedroom door quietly behind him.

Baekhyun finds himself once again in the kitchen, and this time Chanyeol is no longer on the phone; instead he is muttering profanities under his breath.

“What’s going on?” Baekhyun asks.

Chanyeol turns to him and gives him a grimace.

“It seems like Sehun has some hidden records from the old days.”

“…Hidden records?”

“Hidden medical records, to be exact.”










Baekhyun looks at Chanyeol in confusion.

“Apparently, during his youth, he was administered a large dose of enhanced beta blockers.” Chanyeol explains.

“They tend to have this little side-effect on a person’s memories.”

“…Beta blockers?” Baekhyun repeats, testing the phrase out for himself.

“Sehun didn’t have a heart condition, did he?” Baekhyun asks.

Chanyeol shakes his head.

“He didn’t. But I’m guessing… in such a large amount… perhaps the beta blockers where intended to do exactly that which they did.”

Baekhyun glances at him warily.

“The impact on Sehun’s memories at the time of administration must have been significant.” Chanyeol says.

“…You think that's what kept us out of his early memories?” Baekhyun asks.

Chanyeol nods.

“It’s not the machine. I called maintenance, and the machine is working perfectly,” Chanyeol notes.

“So what now?” Baekhyun asks.

Chanyeol looks at Baekhyun carefully.

“I was just given the reconfiguration frequencies that should get us past the beta blockers,” Chanyeol begins. He hesitates, and Baekhyun looks at him quizzically.

“Are you sure you want to continue? You seem to be taking these memories quite badly, and I’m sure I could get the job done on my own from now on.” Chanyeol says, rubbing Baekhyun’s arm sympathetically.

“You need to rest, Baekhyun. You look terrible at the moment.”

Baekhyun shakes his head.

He doesn’t like it too much when Chanyeol babies him, but he knows the taller means well. Baekhyun doesn’t like to look weak in front of others. Chanyeol knows this, but still he does it.

“I think I can handle it,” Baekhyun says calmly.

“Let’s just go upstairs and plug in those frequencies. Maybe we’ll finally understand what all this is about.”