The first thing Baekhyun did once he recovered from the nightmare was call out of work for the night. He needed to go see his mother as soon as possible. He knew Suho would have been fine with him taking time out of evidence review to go talk to her, but until he was sure about what was going on, he didn’t want to say anything to the others. He kept the pendant on for now – he wasn’t sure if it was really safe to wear, but he needed to take it to show to his mother and he didn’t think keeping it in his pocket was much different from having it around his neck. There were still two hours until he was supposed to be meeting the others at the office, but the idea of going back to sleep was not all that appealing, so he ate a quick breakfast and went over early.

Baekhyun was an hour and a half into the mini DV tapes when Chanyeol showed up, looking well-rested and smiling brightly. He immediately took the seat right next to Baekhyun, who paused what he was watching to greet the taller man.

“Good morning, Baekhyun! Did you sleep well?” Chanyeol asked, smile dimming when he saw the dark shadows under Baekhyun’s eyes. “You look tired, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Baekhyun tried to smile reassuringly, hoping it didn’t look too fake. He didn’t like the idea of lying to Chanyeol, but he didn’t want to worry him, especially when he still wasn’t sure what was going on. “It was just a long night, and not all of us are morning people like you.”

“Alright, if you’re sure,” Chanyeol said, not sure if he believed Baekhyun but deciding not to press for now. “Guess I’ll get started on the DVR footage.”

The two were soon joined by Sehun, and the three of them worked well into the afternoon going through the evidence, only taking a short break to order some delivery for lunch. Baekhyun was just grateful that Chanyeol never noticed how much farther ahead he was in the tapes than the other two were. He was eager to go see what his mother might know, and because of that the day seemed to drag by. It felt like they had been there for days by the time it reached a plausible hour for him to leave for work, which was where he was going as far as the other two knew. They had decided to stay for awhile longer, neither of them having to work that night, so Baekhyun bid them farewell and headed for his car.

He pulled up outside of his grandmother’s house about twenty minutes later, not bothering to knock before unlocking the door and going inside. His mother had moved in with her own mother when he was eighteen, shortly after his grandfather passed away, concerned that the older woman would be too lonely. Baekhyun had been glad for the decision, as it also allowed him to move out on his own without having to worry about his mother being alone or not having enough money. When he entered the house, he found his grandmother sitting in the living room. She greeted him with a hug and informed him that his mother was in the kitchen.

“Baekhyun, sweetie, this is a surprise!” His mother said as he walked into the kitchen, ecstatic to see her son. It had been a little over a week since he had last visited, and she hadn’t expected him for another week at least; he came by when he could, but work and EXO kept him pretty busy.

“Hey mom,” Baekhyun smiled, going over to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I’m sorry for not visiting too much lately, I’ve missed you.”

“Oh, it’s fine dear, I know you’re busy working hard,” she said, voice full of pride. She didn’t exactly understand the whole paranormal investigator thing, but she knew that he helped people and that was good enough. “I have a feeling you’re not just here because you missed me though. Go on, sit down.”

“Yeah, sorry,” he replied sheepishly, sitting down at the kitchen table as told. She sat across from him and motioned for him to continue. “There’s something I wanted to ask you about, something I found in the attic a month and a half ago, that time you asked me to help move some things.”

“In the attic?” She repeated, a little confused. Then he pulled the pendant out from under his shirt and she gasped. “You found that in the attic?”

“Yes, do you recognize it? It was in a box of uncle’s things, so I assumed it was his,” Baekhyun explained, taking it off and handing to her so that she could get a better look.

“You found it with Yunho’s things? I always wondered what had happened to it… I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised it ended up with him,” she said, turning it over in her hands a few times. “This, Baekhyun, belonged to your father.”

“It was dad’s?” Baekhyun’s eyes widened slightly. He had been expecting her to tell him she had never seen it before, or possibly confirm it belonged to his uncle; he had not expected to hear that.

“It was, he wore it all the time,” she confirmed, smiling wistfully. “I believe it was a family heirloom, passed down from father to son for generations. He wanted to give it to you as well, but… I suppose he must have given it to Yunho to hold onto until you were older. I’m glad it finally made its way to you.”

“I am too,” Baekhyun said, smiling sadly. He only had vague memories of his father, but Baekhyun knew that he had been a good man, and a loving father. Not for the first time, he wished that he had gotten to spend more time with the man. He tried not to focus on that though, remembering the reason he had come here in the first place. “Do you happen to know exactly how old it is?”

“Not really, why?” She asked, blinking a few times at the odd question. “I would guess a few hundred years at least, I don’t know the exact number. Your father was very into researching his family history, and if I remember correctly he had some old journals and letters from ancestors that traced it back pretty far.”

“A few hundred years?” Baekhyun gaped. Well, that might explain things. “Do you by chance still have those journals?”

“I’m afraid I don’t,” She said, frowning slightly. “Most of those things belonged to your grandfather originally, and were returned to him.”

“Oh.” That was a bit of a problem. Baekhyun had the sinking feeling that he needed to get his hands on those journals to figure this out, but he had never actually met his grandfather on his father’s side, at least while he was old enough to remember. From what he had heard, the man had never approved of his son’s relationship with Baekhyun’s mother, and had not bothered to keep in contact with his daughter-in-law and grandson after his son’s death. “Well, thanks anyway mom.”

“So, are you going to tell me why you’re suddenly so curious about this pendant?” His mother asked, a knowing look in her eyes. “You said you’d had it for more than a month now, right?”

“Yeah… there’s no reason really,” Baekhyun lied. He knew she most likely wouldn’t believe him, but he didn’t want to worry her by telling her the truth. “I just realized that I had never actually seen uncle wear it, so I thought I would ask. And now that I know it was dad’s… well I guess I would just like to know more about him and his family.”

“Somehow I doubt that’s everything, but I’ll let it go for now, I’m sure you have your reasons.” She smiled and reached across the table, placing the pendant back into his hands. “Just promise me you’ll be careful, especially if you’re planning to go see your grandfather like I assume you are.”

“I promise, mom,” Baekhyun replied, shaking his head fondly. His mother knew him better than he knew himself sometimes.

“Good. Now, are you at least going to tell me who it is you’re seeing?” She asked, her smile turning playful.

“Excuse me?” Baekhyun nearly choked on air, not expecting the question. Then again, with her, he really should have.

“Oh, don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about,” she said, giving him a pointed look. “Sweetheart, do you think I haven’t noticed the way you’ve moped around over that friend of yours ever since he moved? I don’t expect you to tell me the details, but I wouldn’t be a very good mother if I didn’t realize something was going on there. You’ve been different lately though, happier. So, who do I have to thank for that? Did you find a nice girl, or should I just give up on any hopes for grandchildren now?”

“Mom!” Baekhyun whined, face instantly turning red at the mention of ‘grandchildren.’ “I’m not dating anyone, not yet anyway.”

“But there is someone you might be dating eventually?” She asked. She was not letting him leave without finding out.

“Yes, okay, there is someone,” Baekhyun said, cheeks getting even redder. “His name is Chanyeol, and no you can’t meet him yet. And we really aren’t dating.”

“Well, when you are dating, I expect you to bring him over for dinner,” she said, making it obvious that it wasn’t a request. Baekhyun didn’t even respond, just covered his face in embarrassment.

Baekhyun stayed for another hour or so, just spending time with his mother and grandmother, making sure they were doing okay. He felt a responsibility to them as the only man in the family, and he tried to make sure they were well provided for, though usually his mother would refuse to take anything from him. He wasn’t broke, but he didn’t make that much, and she knew it. They tried to make him stay for dinner, but he made some excuse about having to get up for work early, not feeling much like eating. He had a lot to think about tonight, and he needed to figure out how to track down his grandfather.

He had barely been home for an hour when someone knocked on his front door. It startled him a little, not having expected anyone. Kai and Sehun didn’t really visit him at his apartment, and Suho and Kyungsoo very rarely stopped by unannounced, nor would they bother knocking. The only other people who knew where he lived aside from his family and his work were in California, so he was at a loss for who it might be. He probably shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was when he opened the door to find Chanyeol staring back at him. They stood there blinking at each other for a few seconds before Baekhyun realized that oh, yeah, he should probably let Chanyeol in.

“I brought you dinner!” Chanyeol announced as he walked through the door, grinning. He offered one of the bags of takeout he was holding to Baekhyun, who just looked between it and Chanyeol with a slight frown.

“Chanyeol, don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you here? Or rather, how did you even know where I live?” Baekhyun asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He appreciated the gesture, but having company over had not been in his plans for the night.

“Oh, right… maybe just showing up wasn’t the best idea,” Chanyeol said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously with his free hand. “I went to visit you at work and thought you might be hungry, but when I got there they told me you called out sick tonight. I wanted to make sure you were okay, so I um… convinced them to give me your address. I probably should have called first, sorry.”

 Baekhyun had no idea how he was supposed to stay annoyed when Chanyeol looked like that. “It’s okay, I was just… not expecting it. Go ahead and sit down, you can set the food on the coffee table for now.”

Chanyeol did as told, taking in the apartment as he sat down on the couch. Baekhyun had gone into the kitchen to get drinks and utensils for them, so Chanyeol was left to sit and look around for a few minutes. The set-up was similar to his own, just a bit bigger and more organized, with two bedrooms and a separate room for the small kitchen. He could see why Baekhyun would feel lonely here, it wasn’t meant for one person. The older man returned after a few minutes, sitting down next to Chanyeol, and the two started in on the food. Baekhyun had to admit he was glad for the food; even if he hadn’t been in the mood to eat, he was pretty hungry.

“So, um, are you feeling any better?” Chanyeol asked as they ate. “I was worried when they told me you called out, I knew you weren’t fine this morning.”

“Chanyeol…” Baekhyun sighed, knowing he would have to tell the truth, at least some of it. He felt bad about lying to the younger man earlier, and now he felt even more guilty hearing that he had made him worry. “I’m not actually sick, I just said that so that I could get out of work. I had to go ask my mom about something, but I didn’t want to say anything to any of you about it until I had talked to her.”

“Oh… I see,” Chanyeol said, slightly hurt that he had been lied to. He figured Baekhyun must have had his reasons though, so he didn’t let it bother him too much. “What did you have to ask her about then, can you tell me now?”

“I think I have an idea of why I’ve been attracting spirits, but I wanted to look into it more before I told anyone,” Baekhyun replied.

“That’s great!” Chanyeol beamed, hurt totally forgotten. Considering how well Kyungsoo’s research was going, he had been worried that they would never figure it out. “What is it?”

“My necklace,” Baekhyun said, pointing to where it was sitting on the corner of the coffee table. He didn’t think it would cause him much harm in his very un-haunted apartment, but he’d decided to be cautious and take it off anyway. “I realized that it was the only thing that had been different on these cases – I got it the day before the first incident, and was wearing it for all fi- uh, four cases where something happened.”

“But I thought that was your uncle’s? How could that be causing it?” Chanyeol asked, confused. He fortunately didn’t notice Baekhyun’s slip-up on the numbers; Baekhyun did not want to have to tell him about that incident in the cell, he didn’t want to tell anyone about that.

“Well, I found it in a box of my uncle’s things in the attic at my mom’s house, so I assumed it was his and took it. But it was the only thing I could come up with that was different, so I asked my mom if she recognized it,” Baekhyun explained. “She did, and apparently it was actually my father’s. She said he must have given it to my uncle to pass on to me when I was older, but well… he never got the chance. She also told me that it was a family heirloom from my dad’s side, possibly hundreds of years old. My theory? This thing has been worn by members of the same family for generations, and with all that emotional attachment there has to be a ton of residual energy stored in it.”

“You think the spirits are being drawn to it as an energy source?” Chanyeol asked. It would explain the sudden fixation on Baekhyun, but something didn’t add up. “But… doesn’t residual energy usually get used up over time, playing out as a residual haunt?”

“Usually, yes,” Baekhyun agreed, nodding. “That would be the part I haven’t figured out yet. For some reason, I don’t think that is happening with this pendant, at the very least it hasn’t happened in the month and a half that I’ve had it. Something is trapping the energy inside, which is why when the spirits try to manipulate it to manifest, they end up taking it straight from me instead.”

“So, as long as you don’t wear it, they should leave you alone?” Chanyeol was relieved to hear that. Even if the last investigation had been fine, he was still wary about Baekhyun going on any more until they had this figured out.

“I think so. I want to try to find out more about it though, to make sure I’m right,” Baekhyun said, smiling a little when he saw the relief in Chanyeol’s eyes. It really was nice that the younger man cared so much. “My mom said that dad had some journals and letters from his ancestors that talked about the pendant, which is how they have an idea of how old it is, and I want to read them to find out if maybe there was paranormal activity associated with it even back then. Unfortunately, all of those journals were returned to my grandfather when my dad died.”

“Why is that a bad thing?” Chanyeol asked, wondering if Baekhyun didn’t get along with his grandfather.

“I’ve never spoken to him in my life, nor do I know how to contact him. I’m told I met him once when I was a baby, but obviously I don’t remember it,” Baekhyun said, shrugging slightly. He wasn’t too bothered by it anymore, after twenty-four years of not knowing the man, but it was quite inconvenient at times like this. “He didn’t approve of my parents’ relationship, and never considered my mother or I as part of his family, so he just didn’t bother with us once my dad was gone.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Chanyeol said, giving Baekhyun a sympathetic look. He was starting to see why Baekhyun had been so affected by Tao and the others leaving, even without the romance aspect. So many people in his life had either left him, or just weren’t there in the first place when they should have been.

“Don’t worry about it, doesn’t bother me any. It’s just annoying that I have to track him down now,” Baekhyun assured, then frowned a little. “I’m also not exactly looking forward to what he’s going to say when I show up at his doorstep and tell him I’m Jihae’s son, but I guess I’ll worry about that when the time comes.”

“I could come with you!” Chanyeol said quickly, blushing slightly. “Um, I mean… it’s private family stuff, so if you want to do it alone I understand, but if it would make you more comfortable to have someone there, I could… yeah.”

Baekhyun blinked a few times at the sudden ramble, but he couldn’t help smiling at the offer. “Actually, I would really like that. I am kind of nervous about it, and I usually feel better with you around. I still have to figure out where to find him though, so it might be awhile.”

“Great! Just tell me when and I’ll be there.” Chanyeol grinned widely, glad that he could help. He also hadn’t missed how Baekhyun had said specifically that Chanyeol made him feel better, and he couldn’t help being a little giddy at that. Things had definitely come a long way from the day they met, when Baekhyun had wanted nothing to do with him. “How much do you know about him? Will it be hard to find him?”

“Uhh… I know his name?” Baekhyun replied, laughing uncertainly. “I think he owns a small business, but I’m not sure what kind of business. That’s pretty much all I know about him. I was searching around on the internet before you got here, but no luck so far.”

“That’s better than nothing, I guess,” Chanyeol said, laughing as well. “Let’s search together then!”

The pair sat there for a few hours, doing just as Chanyeol had suggested once they finished their dinner, though they didn’t manage to find much. There were apparently a lot more people named Byun Youngsoo than one would think. Baekhyun had marked a few men who he thought might be the right person, but it was hard to know for sure when he knew next to nothing about him. He had seen a picture of him once, a very long time ago, but it wasn’t enough to be certain and not everyone he found had pictures posted anyway. It was quite late when they decided to call it quits, which left Chanyeol with the dilemma of how to get home, since there weren’t many buses running at this hour.

“Chanyeol, I really don’t mind driving you home,” Baekhyun said when Chanyeol declined his offer, saying that he didn’t want to be a bother. “Or, if you’re that concerned about me being inconvenienced, you can always just stay here. I promise you, it won’t cause me any trouble to have someone sleeping in the empty bed in the other room for once.”

“If it’s really okay, I guess I could,” Chanyeol agreed, a little shyly. It’s not like they would be sharing a bed or even a room, but it would still be his first time sleeping over with the person he liked. Well, technically not the first time, but he didn’t really count Baekhyun being passed out in a hotel room while he watched over him all night as sleeping.

“Good. I can lend you some clothes if you’d like, though I’m not sure how well they’ll fit a giant,” Baekhyun said, muttering the last part more to himself. He normally wasn’t that bothered by his height, but sometimes it was hard not to feel short when you were standing next to Chanyeol.

“Aww, are you insecure about your height? Don’t worry, I still think you’re cute even though you’re vertically challenged,” Chanyeol laughed, reaching out to ruffle Baekhyun’s hair slightly while the older man batted his hand away, blushing at the compliment. “I think it will be fine, this giant isn’t that picky.”

“I am not ‘vertically challenged’!” Baekhyun huffed, cheeks still red. “And this giant better stop unless he wants to walk home.”

“Alright, alright, no more teasing,” Chanyeol said, holding is hands up defensively. “I think it’s about time for bed, someone is getting grumpy.”

Baekhyun chose not to respond, instead stalking off to his bedroom to get something for Chanyeol to wear, motioning for the taller man to follow. He pulled a shirt and a pair of sleep pants out of one of his dresser drawers and shoved them into Chanyeol’s arms, pointing towards a door on the right side of his bedroom. “That’s the bathroom, there’s stuff in there if you want to shower or whatever before bed.”

“The bathroom is in your room?” Chanyeol asked, staring at the door uncertainly. “Are you sure I won’t be bothering you?”

“It’s fine, I got used to Tao… yeah, it won’t bother me. Just make sure you’re dressed before you come out,” Baekhyun replied, somewhat flustered when it hit him that there would be a very Chanyeol in the next room, with only a door separating them. He didn’t exactly think of Chanyeol that way often, but he couldn’t deny that he found him attractive. “I’m just going to go to bed, I’ll probably be asleep before you’re done. If you need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night or anything, just go ahead, I probably won’t even notice.”

“O-okay then. Well, goodnight!” Chanyeol smiled, then headed into the bathroom to shower, flushing slightly as his thoughts went along the same train as Baekhyun’s.

“’Night,” Baekhyun called after him, waiting until he heard the shower running before changing into his own pajamas and getting into bed. After only getting a few hours of rest the night before, he fell asleep quickly, and was already in the beginnings of a dream when Chanyeol finished in the bathroom and went to sleep in the other bedroom.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. Please…”

Baekhyun watched the two men on the bed in front of him as they tried to cover themselves with sheets, one pleading and apologizing while the other at least had the decency to look ashamed. He felt a myriad of emotions run through him: rage, betrayal, hurt, jealousy, sorrow, and even the smallest shred of love left for the man who was begging him for a second chance. One thing he did not feel, however, was forgiveness.

“How? How could you expect me to forgive you? I trusted you!” Baekhyun yelled, almost shaking with anger, in a voice that was not his own.  He stepped forward, grabbing the other man’s shoulders and shaking him roughly. “You said you loved me, you said there was no one else, you told me forever and I trusted you. How the hell am I supposed to forgive this?”

“Hey, don’t hurt him!” The third man finally spoke, moving forward to try to pry Baekhyun’s hands away. “I know you’re upset, but violence won’t solve anything.”

“Don’t touch me!” Baekhyun said venomously, pushing the man away from him as hard as he could. “Violence won’t solve anything? Are you sure about that? Because your head on a pike would make me feel a hell of a lot better right now.”

There was a dangerous glint in his eyes, promising that he had no qualms with making that happen, and it was enough for the third man to back off for now. Baekhyun turned back to his lover – or rather, ex-lover – who was still trying to plead with him.

“Chullie, please, you know that I love you. I know I ed up okay? But please just –”

“Just what? Forgive you so that you can keep screwing someone else behind my back? Yeah, no, I don’t think so,” Baekhyun replied, not even noticing that he had been called by the wrong name. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the large knife that had been hidden beneath his jacket. He saw their eyes widen in fear, his lover looking at him and shaking his head, begging for him to stop. But none of that mattered; the only thing that he knew at that moment was that he had to make them hurt as much as they had hurt him. “No, Hannie, I’m going to make sure that this never happens again.”

After that, all Baekhyun saw was red. It was everywhere – on the sheets, on the carpet, on his clothes, and most disturbingly all over his hands and arms. He didn’t know how long it was before he dropped the knife, but when he did he felt incredibly empty. Somewhere, deep in the back of his mind, he felt remorse and disgust for what he had done. But his emotions were dulled, a shadow of what they had once been – he had never quite known how to feel without his lover by his side, and now he would never know again. He started to get sick at the thought, sick with the feel of blood on his hands, and quickly he made his way to the hotel room’s bathroom. He the sink and frantically tried to scrub the blood off. He didn’t bother trying to run. He knew someone must have heard the screams and called the police, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. His only focus now was getting himself clean.

When Baekhyun opened his eyes, he found his own face staring back at him from the mirror above his bathroom sink. He could vaguely hear a voice behind him, but it was a few seconds before he was awake enough to actually take in the scene. He looked down and saw the water running in the sink, starting to steam from how hot it was, and a pair of hands holding onto his own to keep him from putting them back under. The skin on his hands and wrists was bright red, both from the temperature of the water and from being rubbed raw at his attempts to wash away blood that wasn’t really there. Seeing it seemed to make his brain realize that something was wrong, because suddenly his hands and arms were on fire, the skin stinging terribly. The other pair of hands and the voice, he realized, belonged to Chanyeol. The taller man was standing behind him, practically pressed against his back, reaching his arms around to keep Baekhyun’s hands away from the water. He looked visibly relieved when he noticed that Baekhyun’s eyes were open.

“Oh thank god, you’re awake,” Chanyeol said, letting go of Baekhyun’s hands so that he could shut off the hot water, turning on the cold water instead. “Are you okay?”

“I’m… yeah, just a nightmare, sorry,” Baekhyun replied, watching as Chanyeol gently took his hands again and brought them under the water to cool the burned skin. “How long was I um… asleep?”

“I don’t know, I woke up to you screaming, then came in here to find you trying to scrub your own skin off it looked like.” Chanyeol did not want to think about what may have happened if he hadn’t been there. After a moment he pulled Baekhyun’s hands out from under the water and grabbed a towel, drying them off as carefully as possible. “I kept calling your name trying to get you to stop or wake up or something, it must have taken at least a minute or two before you did. Fortunately I don’t think you managed to burn yourself too badly.”

“I murdered someone,” Baekhyun said suddenly, stopping what Chanyeol was doing and reaching to take one of his hands instead. The touch hurt a little, since his skin was still raw, but it was worth it for the comfort it provided. Sensing that comfort was what Baekhyun needed now, Chanyeol set down the towel he had been holding with one hand and took hold of Baekhyun’s other hand as well, squeezing both lightly to show he was listening. “Two people actually, in my dream. It was just a nightmare, but it felt so, so real. There was so much blood, all over everything, and I was trying to wash it off but it just wouldn’t go away. I must have started sleep walking or something and tried to actually wash my hands.”

“Do you have nightmares like that often? You scared me half to death,” Chanyeol said, though he could finally feel some of the tension going away now that he knew Baekhyun was (mostly) okay. Without even thinking he pulled the older man into a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around Baekhyun’s waist. “From the way you screamed, I thought something had happened to you.”

“No, thankfully this doesn’t usually happen. I’m sorry for scaring you,” Baekhyun answered softly, surprising both Chanyeol and himself by leaning into the hug, reaching up to wrap his arms around Chanyeol as well. Except for the night at the prison he hadn’t been all that touchy with the younger man, still not completely comfortable with the whole relationship thing. This was nice though, it was safe and comfortable and he felt much less afraid than he had five minutes ago. “I’m really glad you were here though.”

“Yeah, me too.” Chanyeol smiled when Baekhyun laid his head on the taller man’s chest, eyes closed. He found it to be incredibly adorable, and only wished it was happening under better circumstances. “I know you probably don’t want to, but I think you should try to go back to sleep. It’s far too early to be getting up, and you need rest.”

“You’re right, but…” Baekhyun trailed off, pulling back slightly to look at Chanyeol. He bit his lip nervously. “Could you stay here? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but… I really don’t want to sleep alone.”

“Baekhyun, you don’t even have to ask,” Chanyeol replied, shaking his head. “If you want me to stay, I’ll stay. Come on, let’s get back to bed.”

The two climbed into Baekhyun’s bed and got under the covers, Chanyeol immediately taking Baekhyun back into his arms once they were settled. Baekhyun only moved closer to the warmth, and was out like a light in seconds. Chanyeol followed soon after and the pair slept peacefully for the rest of the night, thankfully not interrupted by any more nightmares.