As the weeks passed, the increasingly gloomy weather seemed to match Baekhyun’s mood. In the rare moments when he had some free time – usually on the weekends – he strayed from the house. While the cold, drizzly weather kept most everybody else inside, Baekhyun tried to find some peace in the grounds.

He was still too nervous to spend much time in the stables – now that the weather was so cold and wet, the horses were kept inside for the most part – so he found his way to the greenhouses.

Luhan was working in the first greenhouse, along with a handful of other gardeners who Baekhyun had been introduced to but who kept their distance from him. He didn’t blame them. He would keep his distance too.

Luhan was pruning some tomato vines, but he looked up when Baekhyun came in, water dripping off his raincoat and his expression cloudy. Luhan winced. “Man, you look like you’re in a mood.”

“Sorry,” Baekhyun mumbled wearily, pulling up a rickety stool near where Luhan was working. “I think it’s this weather. It’s really putting me in the dumps.”

Luhan reached out and gave him a sympathetic pat on the hand, leaving a smear of mud across the pale skin there. “Are you sure it’s the weather? Or is it the family?”

“Both, probably,” Baekhyun admitted with a heavy sigh.

Luhan lowered his voice a bit, glancing around to make sure the other gardeners were minding their own business. “Have you had any more visions?”

Baekhyun was caught off guard. “How did you-?” he began, but then he realized. “Yixing. Yixing told you.”

“Don’t get mad at him or anything,” Luhan said, going back to his pruning. “He only did it because he’s worried about you. And it’s not like he told the whole world. Just us trustworthy ones. You know, me, Kyungsoo, Chanyeol…”

“Chanyeol knows about this?” Baekhyun demanded. He slumped back on the stool. “Great. I bet he thinks I’m crazy.”

Luhan gave him a serious look. “He doesn’t think you’re crazy, Baek. None of us do. It’s just…weird, that’s all.” He hesitated. “So? Have you?”

“Had any more visions?” Baekhyun clarified, and Luhan nodded. Baekhyun sighed and shook his head. “No, I haven’t. Honestly, I’ve been a little scared for it to happen again so I’ve been avoiding touching anything unfamiliar or old.” He shuddered. “Last time it was…terrible. I want to find out what’s going on with the curse, but watching that woman kill herself…” Another shudder.

Luhan peeled off his gloves and reached for Baekhyun with clean hands. He looked like he wanted to say something comforting, but words eluded him so he just looked at Baekhyun a bit helplessly.

Baekhyun hated the pity so he opened his mouth to say something, to tell Luhan not to worry about him, but the greenhouse door slammed open so loudly that one of the female gardeners screamed. Even Baekhyun jumped, though he had to admit that just living with the Kims had made him jumpy.

It was Junmyeon, and something was obviously wrong. “Baek,” he panted. “You’ve got to come back to the house, right away!”

Baekhyun was on his feet in an instant, hurrying over to his cousin in alarm. “Junmyeon, what’s going on? Why aren’t you wearing a raincoat? You’re absolutely soaked-!”

“It’s Great Aunt Hyomin,” Junmyeon panted, clutching at Baekhyun’s arms. His fingers were cold even though Baekhyun’s raincoat. “She’s dead.”

Baekhyun felt his heart stop. He’d been worried about this very possibility – Aunt Hyomin was in her fifties, after all – but even so, it caught him off guard and there was a horrible sinking feeling somewhere in his belly.

“W-what happened?” he demanded, unaware that all the gardeners had stopped what they were doing and were straining to hear the conversation.

Junmyeon glanced around uncertainly. “I’m not sure,” he admitted in a low voice. “I’m just a bastard, so they don’t really tell me anything. But you’re technically head of the family, so they sent me to get you.”

“Is Madame there?” Baekhyun demanded, his mind reeling. There was no doubt in his mind that if Madame was involved, she would do everything in her power to cover up anything mysterious and hide it from him. He needed to get there before she did.

But Junmyeon gave an apologetic sort of shrug. “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “She wasn’t when I left, but I’m sure she’s gotten there by now.”

Baekhyun ground his teeth together. “We’ve got to hurry.”

“There’s an old golf cart parked between greenhouses two and three,” Luhan spoke up suddenly, a hint of urgency in his voice. “It’s not super fast, but it’ll get you back to the main house faster than going by foot.”

Baekhyun grasped Luhan’s hand in thanks and then he and Junmyeon were out the door.

It was still pouring, the sky a dark, slate gray. The rain came down in sheets, driving into their faces as they ran to the golf cart. Baekhyun jammed his foot down on the pedal and they were off, bouncing over the grounds in the direction of the main house. Baekhyun saw flashing lights as they got nearer, but heard no sirens.

He stopped the golf cart in the front circle and cut the engine, and Junmyeon led the way around to the side of the house. A small crowd had gathered around something on the ground, and Baekhyun had to yell and shove quite a lot to get to the center of the circle.

Beside him, Junmyeon gasped. Baekhyun felt suddenly queasy, but he couldn’t look away.

Great Aunt Hyomin was sprawled face-up on the flagstone path beside the house, one of her stocking-clad legs bent out at an awkward angle. The back of her head had been dashed open on the stones, and there was a great puddle of blood and speckled brain matter splattered around her body. Her eyes were wide open, however.

Junmyeon quickly averted his eyes.

“What are you doing here?” a shrill voice demanded, and Baekhyun realized that Madame had beaten him there.

Baekhyun drew himself up to his full height. “I am head of this family,” he thundered. “I have every right to be here. Who are you to question my authority?”

He was pushing it and he knew it, but they were surrounded by staff and emergency workers, so Madame couldn’t punish him at the moment. He could tell from the glint in her eyes that he would certainly get in trouble later, but for the time being he was going to be allowed to stay.

“I want this area cleared immediately,” he snapped, gesturing for all the curious onlookers to give the emergency workers some room. “This isn’t a circus. Show some decorum, for god’s sake, and get back to work.”

There was some quiet whispering, but the servants quickly did as instructed.

Baekhyun knelt beside one of the emergency workers, who was closing Great Aunt Hyomin’s eyes. “What happened here?” he demanded in a low voice.

The worker shook his head sadly. “Accident, by the looks of it,” he said. “It seems she was trying to open one of the windows up there, though for the life of me I can’t imagine why she should want to in weather like this.”

Baekhyun glanced up at the open window above them. It was on the fourth floor, but he wasn’t sure what room it was in.

“I think she just lost her balance while she was opening the window and fell through,” the worker admitted. “The coroner will do an autopsy, of course, but I’m pretty sure we already know the cause of death.” He gestured to the body before them.

Baekhyun thanked him and got to his feet, going over to Madame. She was wrapped in a shawl and soaked with rainwater; she obviously hadn’t had time to get properly dressed for the weather, and she was shivering.

“You shouldn’t be out here in this rain, Madame,” Baekhyun said, taking her by the elbow and leading her back towards the house. “You’ll catch a cold.” He paused, and pointed up to the open window. “What room is that?”

Madame looked like she might not answer him, but then she gave a weary sort of sigh and said, “The billiard room. Hyomin loved to play billiards in her free time.”

“Did she play alone, or did she usually have a partner?” Baekhyun pressed.

“She played alone,” Madame snapped, jerking her arm away from him and instead leaning on her cane. “I know what you’re thinking, but she wasn’t murdered. It was just an accident. A tragic accident.”

“Funny,” Baekhyun muttered as they entered the house. “Seems those sorts of things happen a lot in this family.”

Madame glared at him, but then was screaming for a servant to draw her a hot bath and another to help her out of her wet clothes and Baekhyun was left alone in the entrance hall.

Quick as a flash, he stripped off his raincoat and his muddy boots. He left them in a wet pile near the front door; a servant would be along shortly and catch sight of them. Then, wearing only his socks, he raced for the billiard room on the fourth floor.

The room was large, paneled in elegant wood with plush carpets on the floor. There was an enormous fireplace against one wall, with the head of a lion mounted above it. There were various games in the room, including a large billiard table right in the middle. There were still billiard balls scattered across it, as though Great Aunt Hyomin had been in the middle of a game when she’d gotten the sudden urge to open the window.

Baekhyun crossed over to the open window. Rain was slanting in, soaking the carpet and his socks. It was an enormous window, the drapes fluttering in the chill wind.

He reached up and tugged on the window, trying to close it a little. It wouldn’t budge. Groaning, he used both hands and, with a great deal of effort, he managed to slide it closed a few inches.

Frowning, Baekhyun wiped rain from his face and examined the window again. He tried to push it open again, but he could only get it a few centimeters up before he had to give up.

The door opened behind him and he found Mr. Ji there, looking quite put out with finding him there.

“What are you doing in here, Mr. Kim?” he demanded haughtily. “And with no shoes! Why, you’re getting quite soaked. I must insist you return to your rooms at once.”

And Baekhyun was too busy with his tumultuous thoughts to argue – or to remind Mr. Ji that, at least in name, he was head of the Kim family.

He found Yixing waiting for him in his chambers when he finally arrived, his socks leaving little wet impressions on the carpet behind him.

“Where have you been?” Yixing demanded when he caught sight of Baekhyun, who must have looked a mess. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Take those socks of right away; they’re filthy.”

Baekhyun sank down on the settee and obediently stripped off his soaked socks. “I went up to the billiard room,” he explained, still caught up in his thoughts. “That’s where Great Aunt Hyomin was when she fell.”

Yixing paused as he took the wet socks from Baekhyun. “Baek…” he began.

“You can’t tell me that this has nothing to do with the curse,” Baekhyun said, ing his damp shirt and shrugging out of it. “I was just up there testing the window. Great Aunt Hyomin was in her fifties, Xing, and she had chronic back issues. I could barely get the window to budge, and I’d like to think I’m a hell of a lot stronger than an old lady with a bad back. There’s no way she could have opened that window herself. Whether she fell accidentally or not, I can confidently say she did not open that window.”

Yixing sat down next to him on the settee. “So you’re saying someone else was there? Someone opened the window for her and pushed her out?”

But Baekhyun shook his head. “I don’t think anybody else was there,” he admitted. “I think she opened the window herself.”

Yixing threw up his hands in frustration. “Baek, you literally just told me there was no way she could have opened the window herself!”

But Baekhyun held up a hand to stop him. “Do you remember when I told you about the vision I had? About when Kim Sojin committed suicide?”

“How could I forget?” Yixing muttered glumly.

“When she cut , it was like she wasn’t herself,” Baekhyun said slowly, working through the details himself. “She cut so severely it was like her head was nearly severed. That’s not physically possible, just like it’s not physically possible for Great Aunt Hyomin to have opened that window in the billiard room.”

Yixing frowned. “So what are you saying?”

Baekhyun hesitated, chewing on his lower lip. “I’m not sure, but I think maybe the curse can take over. Like it’s a manifest thing that can possess people or something. That would explain the abnormal strength both Kim Sojin and Great Aunt Hyomin had right before their deaths.”

Yixing was silent for a long moment, and Baekhyun was sure he was going to tell Baekhyun how crazy it all sounded, but he surprised his friend by nodding. “You know what, I think you might be right.”

Baekhyun gaped at him. “Y-you do?”

“Yeah, I do,” Yixing agreed. “This is the first death I’ve witnessed personally since I’ve come to this house, but there is something not right about this. And I believe you.”

Baekhyun grasped his hand. “Thanks, Xing. That means a lot.”

Yixing squeezed his hand back. “So what are you going to do?”

Baekhyun grimaced. “As much as I don’t want to, I think I need to go looking for more visions. I need to find out more about this curse and how it kills.”  

Sorry that it's taken me so long to update guys! But growing a baby is a lot harder than I ever realized OTL

I spent the first 3.5 months throwing up, and then I've spent the last couple of weeks getting things ready for our baozi's arrival. 

Anyway, so stuff is happening! Creepy stuff! Woo!

So Great Aunt Hyomin is dead. She made it to 55, though, which is better than most people in this family. 

Who do you think will be next? 

;)