by ThePerfNerd

Baekhyun’s eyes scanned the exterior of the house he was facing, a hand clutching onto the handle of his suitcase and another holding his son’s much smaller hand. He’d been standing there and eyeing their new house for the past five minutes, in which his husband Sehun was busy taking out their remaining suitcases out of the car. It wasn’t that he doesn’t like it; he really does – nothing beats the satisfaction of moving out of Sehun’s parents’ home. In his defense, Mrs. Oh never favored him because reasons Baekhyun really doesn’t like dwelling with. So to have their very own house to settle in was the perfect reason to get out and now he finally didn’t have to face Mrs. Oh.

There was just something, though, about this very house he had been staring at. It’s bigger than he would like for just the three of them, and their son Minguk has yet to reach his fifth year.  His parents said once that the bigger the house, the quieter it would be. And Baekhyun never liked quiet – he likes neighbors and going out to watch their kids go to school. They were at a desperate measure, however, and it had been Baekhyun who had persuaded Sehun to get a house.

Sehun finally took his place next to Baekhyun, hands on his hips as he smiled up at the mansion. “We have a lot of work to do with this place. Could have had everything ready if you were a little patient.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, bending down to carry Minguk in his arms as the child was beginning to get restless. “You aren’t the one who has to face your evil mother every day, Oh Sehun. While I get questioned about being the best husband to you, you’re in your cozy little office, probably flirting up that secretary of yours. What’s her name again? Hyuna?”

“Baek, please.” It was Sehun who rolled his eyes this time, but there was a smile that grazed his lips as he placed his hands onto Baekhyun’s hips, despite having Minguk in between them. “You can’t seriously be jealous of Hyuna noona. She’s married too, you know?”

Baekhyun shifted Minguk in his arms and the baby whined. “Married or not married, who the hell wears a low cut V-neck to work, as a secretary, to probably the office’s only good-looking man? You must have been gawking down her chest whenever she’s in your office.”

Sehun’s grip on his hips hardened, but in a way that had Baekhyun biting down his lower lip to keep the moan from slipping. “Oh Baekhyun, if I was interested in ies, I would not have married you. And would you watch your language? Minguk is barely five. We can’t be teaching him all the bad words.” Sehun chuckled when he spotted a smile curling at Baekhyun’s lips. “I love you.”

Rolling his eyes again, Baekhyun used his free hand to slap playfully at Sehun’s tummy. “Stop being cheesy. Now we need to get these bags inside and Minguk has to take a nap.”

“I only said I love you, though.” Sehun laughed, but he moved to pull two of the suitcases. “And please, the last time I was being cheesy, you finished the whole box of tissue for your tears.”

“That was seven years ago, Sehun!” Baekhyun grumbled, following Sehun into the house and pulling his suitcase in. “And I was young then and you were being foolishly cheesy I almost hated you.”

Another laugh from Sehun as he pulled Baek down to sit next to him on the couch, Minguk already on the floor playing with what used to be Sehun’s Pinku Pinku. “Seven years ago, huh? Time flies.”

Sehun’s softer voice made Baekhyun smile wider, and he leaned into his husband to bury his face into the broad chest he’d slept against for the last seven years. “We were married for two days then, in Bali for our honeymoon and your mother was being so mean to call you every two hours.“ Baekhyun chuckled, playing with the fabric of Sehun’s shirt as his eyes stayed on Minguk. “But you were so sweet and I didn’t think I deserved to be so lucky to have you.”

“Who’s the cheesy one now?” Sehun interrupted, chuckling as he placed a kiss into Baekhyun’s newly-dyed brown hair. “My mother loves you, you know? She just doesn’t know how to show it.”

Baekhyun lets out a humorless chuckle. “You tell a lame joke, Sehun. No, she doesn’t. She wanted you to marry Irene but when she found out you have a thing for , she’d wanted you to marry the next gay man she knows, which happened to be Zitao.”

“Well, true but hey, Zitao never liked me that way and he actually met a girl who he liked enough to turn straight for. I chose you because I love you and I’m the one who married you, not my mother. She’ll come around, Baek. Don’t worry.”

Minguk made grabby hands for Baekhyun and he reluctantly left Sehun’s side to carry the boy onto his lap. “I don’t worry. It’s been seven years and she never came around. It’s alright, though. I got used to it. But if we didn’t move out soon enough, I might go insane.”

He watched as Minguk crawled from his lap onto Sehun, latching himself to his father with his stubby arms wrapping around Sehun’s neck, a kiss on the cheek and then Minguk was giggling to himself.  Baekhyun chuckled, letting Sehun take his hand. “Thank you for putting up with everything.”

Baekhyun leaned to give his husband a peck on the lips. “I wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t for you.”

The sound of little footsteps was what woke Baekhyun at three in the morning. It had been a week since they moved in, and Baekhyun had finally gotten somewhat used to the living atmosphere. Sehun was softly snoring next to him, tired from a day at work and he didn’t have the heart to wake Sehun from his sleep. Baekhyun got off the bed as slowly and quietly as he could, the only image in his head being Minguk out of his crib and playing around in his room next door.

Minguk has a habit of climbing out of his crib and Baekhyun was worried that the child would hurt himself since it is a new house and Baekhyun hadn’t gotten the time to check every corner of the room. With his lips pursed, Baekhyun left his room and headed towards Minguk’s to check on him. He could see without turning on the lights that his son was fast asleep, adorably in his crib, and he had to smile at the sight. Just as he closed the door, however, the same set of footsteps came again.

Baekhyun whirled around so fast his head began to hurt but it was the least of his concerns. It was instinct that made him open the door to Minguk’s room again, and this time what he saw terrified him. Minguk wasn’t in his crib and Baekhyun’s heart banged against his chest. He left the door opened as he ran down the stairs where he had heard the footsteps, afraid to know if Minguk had left the confines of his room. He didn’t bother calling for Sehun.

“Minguk?” He called out, quietly so as to not scare his son. “Minguk baby, it’s appa. Don’t play around now, okay? It’s time for bed.”

He was greeted with silence, one that had his hairs standing on ends and a shiver ran down his spine. He was about to bend down and look to see if Minguk had taken a hiding under the couch when he was startled with another set of footsteps, this time going up the stairs. There was a giggle trailing in its wake, and what made Baekhyun shudder was that it didn’t sound like Minguk at all.

His curiosity got the better of him, however, and soon he found himself running up the stairs, following the little footsteps further along the corridor where another flight of stairs lead him up to the attic. Breathless, Baekhyun slowed down, his eyes scanning the darkened room where he and Sehun had spent storing most of their items that have yet found a suitable place in the house. There was a movement at the corner of his eyes, and he swore he saw a flash of red and white and then it was gone. He gasped when his gaze landed on the life-size window, Minguk sat at the edge.

His son wasn’t alone.

Next to him was a girl, not much bigger than Minguk but definitely older, in a red dress and white socks, black doll shoes on her feet. Her back was facing Baekhyun, standing at the edge of the open window. He moved slowly towards Minguk despite his racing heartbeat, watching the girl closely as he planned to grab Minguk in his arms. Minguk didn’t seem afraid, staring up at the girl who stood behind him, dangerously close to jumping off the window. Baekhyun’s breathing grew rapid as he finally picked up Minguk and he was contemplating on whether or not he should help the girl when she took a step forwards and fell.

The sound of body falling to the ground hit Baekhyun like a crash and he fell back on his bottom, Minguk toppling down with him and started crying. There was a scream and he was pretty sure it was his but at that moment he was stunned to silence, too afraid to move. Minguk began to wail but Baekhyun froze in his spot. His fingers trembled and his vision blurred.

That was when Sehun, finally, appeared and immediately squatted down to pick up the crying Minguk. The child continued to cry even as Sehun rocked him. Sehun, noticing that Baekhyun was still on the floor, crouched down, concern filling his gaze. “Baekhyun, what happened?”

“She fell,” Baekhyun said, pointing at the window. “There was a girl here with Minguk and she jumped off the window, Sehun. She jumped.”

Sehun frowned, confused but he handed Minguk over to Baekhyun to stand back up, walking over to the window hesitantly, peering down at the ground below. Baekhyun watched his husband quietly, rocking Minguk in his arms to hush him. Minguk stopped crying and Sehun came back with an even more confused look. “There was nothing there, Baek. Maybe nothing happened and she ran off.”

Baekhyun stared at Sehun as his husband helped him stand up, incredulous. “She’s a little girl, Sehun. She couldn’t be more than five. And it’s three stories high, for goodness’ sake. I would break my leg if I jump, a little girl like her would die.”

His husband sighed, once again taking Minguk from Baekhyun and leaning in to kiss Baekhyun’s forehead. “I didn’t see anyone, babe. We’ll talk about it tomorrow, alright? Now let’s go.”

The lump in his throat grew as Sehun walked back towards the attic door, Minguk already asleep in his arms. Baekhyun was curious and even though he was afraid he wanted to see it for himself. He took a tentative step forward, determined to see the figure of a girl on the ground when Sehun’s fingers wrapped around his wrist and pulled him back. Sehun shook his head and Baekhyun couldn’t do anything but do what he was told, hesitantly leaving the attic and following his husband out.

Sehun didn’t sleep until Baekhyun did after they tucked Minguk in.

The incident left Baekhyun worried about Minguk’s safety, afraid that if Minguk was able to get to the attic once that it would mean he would be able to again. He went up to check that the windows are locked every night, and then locked the attic door right after. They did talk about it the next day after that night and as concerned as Sehun looked, Baekhyun knew he didn’t understand. Sehun didn’t quite believe him, even though he was the one who suggested they check that the window and doors are locked every time. Baekhyun couldn’t quite believe himself, to be truthful.

It never happened again for about a month, and Baekhyun was about to finally relax his shoulders from all the worry and fear when he heard the footsteps again.

He had just tucked Minguk in for bed, kissing his son goodnight on the forehead before turning off the lights and closing the door behind him. Sehun was out of town for a meeting and he was left alone in the house with little Minguk. His husband had been reluctant to leave them but Baekhyun had been assured that nothing was happening, believing that it must have been his imagination, and thus persuading Sehun to go as he knew it was an important meeting. He almost regretted it.

Like before, he followed the footsteps, her giggle an echo in its wake. He knew for sure this time that it wasn’t Minguk – his son was always barefoot at home and he couldn’t run as fast, he thought about this for many nights. As eerie as the giggle sounds, Baekhyun picked up his courage and continued to head towards the flight of stairs. He hesitated, silence filled by only the sound of his breathing. He took a sharp intake of breath when the footsteps came, so loud, running up the stairs.

He shivered not because of the cold, somehow picturing that the phantom might have been standing next to him all along before going up the stairs. He followed, however, and prayed that curiosity won’t kill him. The floorboards creaked underneath his feet and the door to the attic cracked open when his fingers wrapped around the doorknob. He swore he had locked it earlier.

There was a faint sound of a child humming, a tune he recognized to be of a nursery rhyme back when he was searching up songs to sing to Minguk. The humming was so soft, like a dream, and he could hear tinkles of what could be from a music box – he owned many of them to know. He knew he should afraid, and maybe he was, but Baekhyun went further into the attic. The humming grew louder and soon the humming turned into singing, a soft voice singing words to the song ‘My Bony’.

“Bring back… Bring back... Oh bring back my bony to me, to me.”

Baekhyun’s chest rose and fell quickly from his rapid heartbeat, holding his breath when his eyes adjusted to the dark and at the very same window sat the girl from the other night. She was facing him this time, bangs covering her brows and black hair framing her cherubic face. Her legs swung as she continued to sing, her voice so soft and sad and Baekhyun is afraid.

“Who are you?” He asked, finally. The girl ignored his question, standing up onto the ledge, a tiny hand clutching onto the window seal. It was happening again, Baekhyun knew she was going to jump and he was torn between letting her and pulling her back, clueless to whether he would save her.

Her voice when she spoke again was less sad, more angry but soft nevertheless. “He made me do it.”

And then she jumped.

Instinct made Baekhyun surge forward, fingers gripping onto the seal of the windows to stop himself from falling with the girl. Down on the ground below, the figure of the girl lay sprawled, limbs placed all the wrong ways and Baekhyun gasped because those dead, dead eyes stared up at him, almost accusingly so. His stomach churned and for a second or two, his heart stopped beating. Baekhyun staggered backward, clutching onto his stomach at the unexpected sorrow that washed over him.

His vision blurred and his head spun and soon all he could see was black.

Tired was what he felt first when he opened his eyes again. The room wasn’t stable and he was seeing double. He winced, hand going up to rub his temple as he slowly got up to a sitting position. The first thing that came to mind was Minguk, panicked that something might have happened to him. Baekhyun hopped off the bed in rush, his head throbbing a little before he got out of the room. He was just about to run towards Minguk’s room when he saw Mrs. Oh just at the corridor.

“Ma,” He started, catching his mother-in-law’s attention. “Where’s Sehun?”

For the first time in the seven years that he was married to Sehun, Mrs. Oh smiled at him, carrying Minguk in her arms. “Baekhyun, you’re awake. Sehun’s out to get us something to eat.”

Baekhyun frowned, unsettled as he reached out to take Minguk from his mother-in-law. “Did you know what happened?”

“Baekhyun, honey,” Mrs. Oh’s hand reached out to pat Baekhyun’s cheek. “Sehun found you unconscious in the attic and Minguk was beside you crying. Do you remember what happened?”

Minguk was beside me? Baekhyun’s frown deepened, wiping a thumb across Minguk’s cheek. He remembered going to the attic, he remembered the girl jumping, but he couldn’t remember bringing Minguk along. He hesitated, afraid that Mrs. Oh would conclude that he’d gone crazy. “I don’t remember much, Ma. But I remember tucking Minguk to bed before I went to the attic.”

As if she knew what was happening, her face formed one of concern as she stepped closer to him, her words a whisper. “Sehun’s been telling me about what you saw in this house. It’s dangerous, not only for Minguk but you as well. Did something happen last night?”

Baekhyun considered this, running his palm down Minguk’s back as the child leaned against his shoulder. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t will himself to tell her. “It was the same thing, Ma. Just some flashes here and there, some singing. I saw her again last night.”

“Enough to knock you unconscious?” She seemed skeptical and Baekhyun hated it.

“I was scared. She jumped off a window and I saw it. I think you would have fainted as well, Ma.” He shouldn’t have said that, really, but it came and he couldn’t take it back.

His mother-in-law stepped forward one more step and he would have been caught in the middle and forced to answer her questions when, fortunately, the front door opened and Sehun appeared. Baekhyun sighed in relief, going down the stairs to greet his husband. He couldn’t be bothered to check if Mrs. Oh had followed him down when he pecked Sehun’s lips, his husband concerned eyes meeting his for the first time since like an eon ago. Baekhyun swore he could cry.

“Hey, love. Are you feeling better? You were out cold when I came home last night.” Sehun spoke, placing the Chinese takeout he bought on the nearest table.

“Yes, I feel better.” He replied, but Sehun’s looking at him in question about what happened. Baekhyun refused to speak, signaling his husband with his eyes that he didn’t want to talk about it while Sehun’s mother was there. Sehun, reading his eyes clearly, only nodded.

“Ma, why don’t you eat first? Baekhyun and I are going to tuck Minguk in. He’s really tired.”

Mrs. Oh wasn’t too pleased but she nodded anyway, going over to sit on the couch and start on the food. Baekhyun was the one who climbed up the stairs first as Sehun tailed him. In Minguk’s room, he silently placed his son in his crib, pulling his tiny blanket over him before kissing his forehead. Sehun did the same before he settled onto one of the chairs they had decorated Minguk’s room with.

Baekhyun breathed, deep and slow, a little shaky as he began pacing the floor. “I saw her again last night, Sehun. She showed me how she fell. I saw her on the ground, dead. It was so real.” Baekhyun began saying, the memory making his eyes burn. “Someone made her do it. He killed her.”

“Hey,” Sehun interrupted, reaching out to pull Baekhyun by his wrist towards him. “It’s alright, love. We couldn’t do anything about it, right? It already happened. It’s best if we just stay out of it.”

Suddenly angry, Baekhyun snatched his hand back from Sehun’s grasp. “You don’t believe me, do you? You think I’m crazy. How could you suggest we stay out of it when she’s clearly determined to let me know? She’s bringing Minguk into this, Sehun. Don’t you care?!” He really shouldn’t have raised his voice at Sehun, because he never did before and guilt was quick to engulf him but his anger was making him tearful, fingers shaking from his yelling.

He lowered his voice, however, remembering that his son was asleep and he’s practically making noise in the room. “I know he’s adopted and you think you shouldn’t care about him too much but I do. I know you want a child, our own child, but I cannot give you that and you should know it the moment you decided you love me. Minguk is our son, Sehun. I don’t care if he isn’t mine but he is our son. We took care of him since he was a baby. I’ll do whatever I have to, to protect him.”

By then Sehun had seemed offended, the softness in his eyes gone. “I do care about him. More than my own life and I need you to believe me. There’s nothing we can do about the girl. We’ll seek help from outside; we’ll protect Minguk because you’re not the only one who loves him, Baekhyun. I love him too, even though he isn’t mine, isn’t ours. And I know, I know that you couldn’t give me a child but I chose you, didn’t I? I love you.”

Baekhyun’s head was beginning to throb again by the time Sehun stopped speaking and without him knowing it, his cheeks were streaked with stubborn tears and he sobbed once Sehun’s arms wrapped around him. “I don’t know what to do, Sehun. I’m scared for him.”

“I am, too, Baek. But we’ll do this together, alright? I’m here for you and I’ll protect us from any harm. I’ll do my best, I promise.”

That night after sending his mother home, Sehun came back and brought Baekhyun to bed, arms secured around his husband’s small frame as they both fell into slumber.

Sehun had to go out of town again for another meeting, around a week after the previous incident. He was reluctant to leave Baekhyun and Minguk home but Baekhyun had assured him that everything would be fine. Baekhyun wasn’t sure himself but he’d like to believe so. After bidding Sehun goodbye, he called for pizza as he was lazy to cook, preparing only some sandwiches for Minguk to eat. The house was quiet save for the sound of Robocar Polli on TV. He had placed Minguk on the couch, the plastic plate of sandwich on his lap before he went to get the door.

He returned with a box of pizza, grinning at his son who clapped because apparently he was aware that Baekhyun had brought food along. He placed the box on the table before crawling over to where Minguk is, using his thumb to wipe away the scrambled egg that got all over Minguk’s mouth from the sandwich he was munching on. Minguk giggled in that adorable way of his, letting his body fall back onto the couch, half eaten sandwich in one hand. Baekhyun chuckled, decided that he wanted to play with Minguk as he playfully attacked Minguk’s tummy with soft blows.

Minguk’s giggles were uncontrollable and for a brief second, he was reminded of how much in love he is with the son he had taken care of. For another three minutes, he played with Minguk until he decided that it was time to stop before Minguk starts crying. “You stay right here, alright? Appa’s going to get you something to drink and then we can eat pizza!”

Minguk clapped, nodding his head repeatedly. “Palli, appa!”

Baekhyun chuckled as he made his way to the kitchen. Minguk continued to giggle, surely from watching Robocar Polli out front as Baekhyun began to stir up milk for Minguk to drink. The action alone only took Baekhyun less than five minutes but when he walked back into the living room, Minguk wasn’t on the couch, half-eaten sandwich abandoned on the plate. Panicked, Baekhyun quickly placed the bottle of milk on the table before going ahead to find Minguk. The door was closed and locked, the windows the same. Robocar Polli still playing on TV. But Minguk was gone.

His first instinct was to go up to the attic. He was sure he had locked the door to the attic and there was no way Minguk could have climbed up the stairs so fast, but his feet brought him running up towards the attic, a heavy weight on his chest. Fear crept up at his spine once he reached and found that the door was still locked but he could hear Minguk clearly inside. Minguk’s crying and Baekhyun’s heart cracked with every sob that his son released.

He knocked at the door, loud and deafening. “Leave my son alone, you little !” He was crying himself, using all of his strength to break the door open. “Don’t worry, Minguk. Appa’s coming!” He tried and tried again, kicking and pushing at the door but to no avail.

There was another giggle from inside the room, eerie and evil, belonging to none other than the phantom girl he had been seeing. He hated her; he hated her existence in her after life, not even after knowing that she didn’t deserve to die so young. His hatred and anger allowed him the strength to finally kick the door open, at the same time the deafening sound of a body falling to the ground hit his eardrums. He remembered it clearly, from the night he watched her jump.

That very same girl stood before the window, looking down at the ground below where she used to lay. She turned back to look at Baekhyun, a frown on her lips as her finger pointed down at something that had fallen. Baekhyun couldn’t find Minguk anywhere and he prayed with all of him that Minguk was safe, that this was probably his hallucination. The girl began crying, getting down to sit on the floor and hugging her knees to her chest. “My friend jumped off the window. He jumped.”

Baekhyun’s whole world came crushing down as he left the girl behind, his feet taking him down the flight of stairs and out the door, towards the backyard the window in the attic would face. He halted to a stop once he saw the small figure on the ground, breathing ragged and hard as his vision blurred. It obviously wasn’t the girl, as she was bigger and was wearing a red dress. The still body that lay wore something white, the only red tainting it being the blood that began to pool around it.

Baekhyun’s lips quivered, fingers trembling and knees weak. He barely made it to the body, before he fell onto his knees and cradled Minguk in his arms, not bothered to mind the blood that got all over his shirt. It seemed that he had lost his voice in the tears that he was drowning in, kissing Minguk’s still warm forehead over and over, almost as if he was pleading the boy to wake up.

Her giggles were all that he could hear, not his sobs or Sehun’s voice that came out of nowhere, not the siren of the ambulance or his mother-in-law’s tearful screams.

He could only hear her.

It’s only another series of whisper, a set of giggles, luring him back to the attic although they had long moved out. If he takes one more step, there could only be two things; he could break a leg and burden Sehun or he would break his skull and hold Minguk once again.

She’s standing right there, next to him. She’s telling him Minguk is waiting.

He thought about Sehun.

Sehun. Sehun. Sehun.

I love you.

Baekhyun jumped. 

A/N: Yes the ending is rushed and I am ashamed