Chanyeol wakes up with a shock.

All he remembers doing is his english report before everything went black. Sleep shall kill him silently one day, he’s sure of it.

Chanyeol blinks a couple of times only to find that he is being shaken awake. He can’t see who is doing it because it’s so dark but he’s pretty confident it’s Baekhyun. Just the feeling of the hands ring a bell.

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol croaks out, voice hoarse and mouth dry, he could use a drink.

“Wake up, you need to help me do something,” Baekhyun whispers, making sure that he doesn’t bother the carbon copy of the devil sleeping on the bed opposite of Chanyeol’s.

“Put on something. I’ll wait outside,” and with that Baekhyun carefully steps out of the room, closing the door as silently as possible.

Chanyeol has to really force his eyes open to actually get out of his bed and to successfully walk to his cupboard is another challenge too. He feels through his clothes - smiling when he finds his black jumper.  

He slips it on before walking out, and he makes sure that he closes the door silently.

Baekhyun is leaning next to their door, a sling bag on his shoulder.

There are no words exchanged when Baekhyun grabs Chanyeol’s hand and starts to walk as quietly as possible through the hall of the boy’s dormitories. Only when they walk out of the big wooden door does Baekhyun stop and turn around.

“My uncle’s dying words were to give this to me,” Baekhyun reaches into the pockets of his grey hoodie to reveal the golden apple pendant that Chanyeol saw before Baekhyun went for the funeral.

“When the policemen came he was still able to talk for about 30 seconds, and those were his dying words.”

Chanyeol is still in a blur when Baekhyun pulls him again, through the school halls, “Where exactly are we going?”

Chanyeol thinks it’s funny, because even in his daze, he thinks that the school is rather charming when it’s quiet. It gives off a subtle aura of intelligence, just in the design itself. Excluding the bricks though, definitely not those.

“To his office.”

Before Chanyeol realises, he is being pulled up the flight of steps that lead to the principal’s office. When they get there though, Chanyeol sees another problem.

Police tape taped to each side of the open door.

Baekhyun doesn’t look surprised whatsoever, he just shoots Chanyeol a small smile before saying, “under.”

Within seconds, Baekhyun did some sort of funny limbo to get through under the tape leaving Chanyeol flabbergasted. Baekhyun, from the other side of the tape sighs, “Chanyeol, it isn’t that hard.”

Chanyeol scruffs his hair before going down on all fours, slowly crawling his way in. When he stands up Baekhyun has already taken out a small torchlight from his bag, venturing into the dark room.

Chanyeol watches the smaller boy walk over to the tiny book shelf which is located right next to the only window in the room. His delicate fingers run through the spines of the books, to say the least, the latter looked like he was in complete concentration.

Chanyeol feels rather useless standing in front of the door so he takes a look around, making sure that every step he takes is gentle.

“He had enough time to move about, he must’ve left something,” Baekhyun huffs.

Chanyeol’s brows knit together in straight line. What would his mum tell him at a time like this. And then it hits him.

“When in Rome, do what the Romans do,” Chanyeol mumbles out; Baekhyun raises a brow questioningly, “How does this apply to our situation?”

“Think like how your uncle would.”

There is a sudden change in Baekhyun’s face, like an instant swap of seasons. The latter walks to the wide wooden desk and takes a seat on the chair placed behind it. He scans the table for a moment, only to find a book placed amongst the cluttered up stationery holders.

He makes sure to be careful when he picks it up, scanning the title, his heart pumping with anticipation.

Black Beauty - a classic.

Chanyeol stands behind Baekhyun now, his eyes look like they could pop right out because he notices something very odd on the cover, and he is sure Baekhyun realises this as well.

Each alphabet of the title has been circled and numbered at the top according to sequence. 1, 2, 3 and so on. “Strange,” Chanyeol says above a whisper.

Baekhyun flips to the very first page to find that four letters from different words in the first paragraph were circled and numbered like how the cover was, in a pattern almost. Circled and numbered, to create words.

Baekhyun takes one of his uncle’s pencils, writing the letters that were circled at the top right hand of the page:

y o u r

Baekhyun and Chanyeol look at each other in shock as the smaller boy flips to the next page to see more words being circled and numbered at the top:

f a v o u r i t e

The third page, as predicted had some circled letters too:

g a m e

Your Favourite Game

Chanyeol looks at Baekhyun expectantly because the latter looks absolutely blank, “What is your favourite game?”

Baekhyun shrugs, “I have no idea? Monopoly perhaps.”

Chanyeol can’t control the palm that meets his forehead with a loud smack. Baekhyun couldn’t be serious.  Monopoly, good God.

“But,” Baekhyun abruptly stands up and starts walking to the window. Chanyeol stays still, watching the boy’s every single move.

“If I am correct, when I was a child before my uncle was diagnosed with polio, we used to play a lot of hide and seek with my elder brother,” Baekhyun stops right in front of the window.

“Hide and seek? You think it’s hide and seek?” Chanyeol inquires, moving a step closer to the very still Baekhyun.

“No, not that, it was how we used to communicate while playing the game. He’d give me clues on-” Baekhyun exhales onto the glass in front of him to reveal lines that contrast with the water vapour. The more he exhaled the clearer the lines were getting, forming words:

Be it far, lines hide them,

O, The Rave of his death!

“-the windows.”

Chanyeol’s mind went absolutely blank, he never really thought much of the principal right up till this moment. He now only realises that the man, was somehow a genius.

It's just fascinating that he knew his nephew would actually do all this.

“Excuse me, what on earth are the two of you doing?” A voice from the door makes Chanyeol freeze. Baekhyun doesn't though, he is very quick to rub off the message on the window.

“Both of you, turn around,” the voice is booming with authority, and that somehow makes Chanyeol want to himself but he turns around anyway, Baekhyun following his lead. There are two men; one obviously a police officer and the other, to place it delicately, looks like a 50-year-old, rich bastard.

The funny thing is, it wasn't the police officer who asked them to turn.

“What are both of you doing in my office,” The man's voice has the properties somewhat of a bass guitar; booming, deep, and loud.

Baekhyun's face turns bitter, “Your office? What do you mean YOUR office?”

The man looks somewhat shocked, but his face regains composure seconds after, “I'm the new principal, I actually just arrived from the airport, my flight was delayed hence the weird timing.”

They watch as the man takes his luggage bag, shaking it around in front of his own face, “See, moving into the room next door.”

Baekhyun looks like he wants to punch this guy because his jaw is clenched so hard it's making his face red. Chanyeol, being the good friend he is, takes Baekhyun's hand in his.

“Boys you better get out before I can put both of you in trouble for snooping about,” the police officer instructs this time. Chanyeol has to drag Baekhyun under and out of the tape.

“What were you two doing in there?” the new principal folds his arms over his chest. Chanyeol feels Baekhyun's grip tighten.

“I dropped a contact.”

Chanyeol has never been really good with excuses.

Both of the men in front of them raise their brows but before either of them could say a word, Chanyeol smiles and drags Baekhyun down the stairs.

+

Be it far, lines hide them,

O, The Rave of his death!

What could this possibly mean, Chanyeol brings the paper closer to his eyes, hoping to maybe find some sort of symbol hidden in it. Nothing.

They got back to their room 30 minutes ago but they are still awake, still staring at the paper Baekhyun used to write down the message the principal left. It’s rather odd, but perhaps the principal is trying to indirectly tell them how his death was hidden so well.

“He didn’t leave any direct clues,” Baekhyun mumbles out, leaning against the bed. Chanyeol nods in understanding because he knows exactly what Baekhyun is trying to say:

The reason why he left indirect clues is because he solely wants Baekhyun to understand them.

“Maybe it’s something we can look up on our school computers.”

Baekhyun leans back on the bed, his eyes closed and mouth ajar, “I don’t think it’s as easy as that.”

Chanyeol couldn’t help but hunch, Baekhyun is right, by the seems of it, his uncle looked like the type who liked a bit of challenge. Heck, he was even moving after he got stabbed. Not very easy to do if you think about it.

“Well, we have to start somewhere?” Chanyeol looks expectantly at the unmoving Baekhyun who still has his head propped against the bed.

“I suppose you are right.”