Baekhyun groaned as he drifted back into consciousness, bringing a hand up to shield his eyes from the light coming in through the window. He felt like someone was trying to hammer through his skull, and his right shoulder was stinging. After a moment he moved his hand away, opening his eyes slowly and blinking a few times to adjust to the light. His head gave a few sharp stabs in protest and he sighed, deciding it might be better to just go back to sleep. He brought the covers up over his head to block the light and rolled onto his side, wincing as his shirt was pulled against the scratches. He laid there for a few seconds before his mind finally started to wake up and he sat up abruptly, immediately regretting it when his head started throbbing again.

With his brain finally awake, Baekhyun had noticed a couple of things that were kind of strange. For one, he was pretty out of it but he distinctly remembered passing out on top of the covers last night, not under them. Now, that on its own wasn’t too alarming – it was entirely possible that he had somehow maneuvered himself under them in his sleep. What really got his attention was the fact that there were noises coming from outside of his room and he could smell bacon. Someone was cooking breakfast in his kitchen? He slowly dragged himself out of bed, willing his headache away as he made his way out of the bedroom.

He couldn’t really say he was surprised to see Chanyeol standing at his stove, bacon sizzling in the frying pan in front of him. There were already two plates set out on the table, with toast and two glasses of juice. Hearing the footsteps approaching him, Chanyeol paused in what he was doing, looking up and grinning when he saw Baekhyun. He quickly turned the burner off, moving the bacon onto a layer of paper towels on the counter to drain the grease before turning to greet his boyfriend.

“Good morning, Baekhyun!” Chanyeol said cheerfully, motioning for Baekhyun to sit down. “I uh… made you breakfast.”

“I can see that. Do I want to ask how you got into my apartment?” Baekhyun asked, though he was unable to keep the smile off of his face as he took his seat at the table, watching Chanyeol carefully bring the bacon over to the table and divide it onto their two plates. He was pretty sure he knew exactly how Chanyeol got in; Kyungsoo and Suho both had keys, and he knew at least one of them would have been more than happy to let Chanyeol borrow one. Speaking of Suho… “Actually, aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

“Oh, yeah, I was. I went in to help open the shop, but being a Tuesday morning it wasn’t very busy,” Chanyeol explained, taking the seat across from Baekhyun now that the food was served. “I sort of fell asleep at the checkout counter, and eventually Suho told me I could leave. He um… he said he knew where I would rather be and gave me your key. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all; after the night I had, this is a pretty pleasant way to wake up,” Baekhyun replied, then wanted to kick himself at his slip up. The last thing he wanted to do was make Chanyeol worry, there was no way he was going to tell him about what happened in the shower.

“Did something happen after I left? A nightmare?” Chanyeol  asked, expression instantly turning worried.

“Y-yeah, something like that,” Baekhyun said, feeling a twinge of guilt for lying. “Don’t worry, it wasn’t bad, I don’t even really remember it. Just kept me from getting much sleep, that’s all.”

“Alright, if you say so…” Chanyeol said, a bit unsure but trusting that if it was anything too bad, Baekhyun would tell him. “Anyway, since we’re both off for the morning now, I was thinking we could get some more searching done.”

“Search – oh right, yeah, that would be great,” Baekhyun said, smiling gratefully both for the help and the change in subject. “I think we narrowed it down quite a bit yesterday with the extra information from my mom.”

The pair continued chatting for a few minutes as they finished up their breakfast. Once they were done, Chanyeol offered to take care of the dishes while Baekhyun got dressed. Baekhyun protested of course, feeling guilty having Chanyeol cook and clean for him, but the younger man insisted. After a painful reminder from his head that his headache still hadn’t gone away, Baekhyun gave up on arguing, stretching as he stood up to go back to his room and change. He figured a shower could wait until later – he certainly wasn’t eager to take one after last night. He had almost made it to his bedroom door when he heard a gasp behind him and the clatter of plates being dropped in the sink.

“Oh my god Baekhyun, what the hell happened?” Chanyeol asked, practically running from the kitchen to get to his boyfriend.

“What do you mean?” Baekhyun turned around, confused to see Chanyeol hurrying over to him.

“The back of your shirt…” Chanyeol said, gently grabbing Baekhyun’s shoulder and turning him around again so that he could get a better look. He sounded slightly horrified, and Baekhyun twisted his neck to try and see what had Chanyeol so worked up. “It’s covered in blood.”

Now that he was looking for it, Baekhyun could see the red stains that started at the top of his shoulder and surely continued down the rest of his back on the right side. The wound must have bled worse than he thought. No wonder it had hurt so much when he moved earlier, his shirt had probably been stuck to the wound with dried blood.

“Ahh, that. I… I slipped, in the bathroom last night,” Baekhyun lied, giving Chanyeol what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “I must have cut myself on something without even realizing.”

“How could you not have realized? There’s way too much blood for it to have just been a small cut,” Chanyeol said, starting to fret. He pushed Baekhyun towards the bedroom. “Come on, I’ll take a look at it and we can get it cleaned up in the bathroom.”

“No! No, really, it’s fine. You go back to what you were doing, I can take care of this myself,” Baekhyun said, knowing that if Chanyeol saw the scratches he would know exactly what they were and freak out even more. “I promise you, it’s nothing, it doesn’t even hurt. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Chanyeol sighed, knowing that arguing was pointless. He had the feeling that there was more going on than his boyfriend was telling him, but he didn’t want to push too much and make Baekhyun uncomfortable. Maybe he just wasn’t ready for Chanyeol to see him with his shirt off or something like that. “Go get that cleaned up then, and I’ll be just out here if you need anything.”

“I know. You don’t have to worry about me, Chanyeol, but thank you for caring.” Baekhyun leaned up and kissed Chanyeol’s cheek, hoping to erase the worried expression from the taller man’s face and truly grateful for the concern. He knew that Chanyeol was only looking out for him, he just hated to keep making his boyfriend worry so much. Happy when he saw Chanyeol’s face brighten at the kiss, Baekhyun turned and headed into his room, closing the door behind him.

He went to his dresser first to find something to wear, making sure to pick a black shirt just in case the scratches started bleeding again. Then he went into the bathroom, setting down his clothes and taking off his now ruined white t-shirt, cringing as the fabric that had been stuck to the wounds was pulled away. He turned his back towards the bathroom mirror, trying to get a good look at the scratches. They were worse than he had initially thought in his half-conscious state last night: four angry red lines running down to his lower back, blood smeared on the skin around the wounds. Thankfully most of it had dried, and the scratches didn’t appear to be bleeding anymore. Sighing, Baekhyun opened up his medicine cabinet, digging around for headache medicine and some antiseptic. He took the medicine first with a quick gulp of water from the sink, then got to work on his back. It was a bit difficult to do on his own and he had to move his arm rather awkwardly to reach, but it beat letting Chanyeol see this. He cleaned and disinfected the scratches as best as he could before getting dressed, deciding that the area was far too large to attempt bandaging.

Once Baekhyun was finished, he and Chanyeol got to work on their searching. They had managed to narrow down the pool quite a bit with help from Baekhyun’s mother, and were now just trying to work it down to an even smaller list. Baekhyun’s mother did not have a picture of his grandfather, but she knew what he looked like, so the plan was to bring pictures to her after they got it down to a smaller group and hope that she could tell them who he was from there. Fortunately they were getting closer, and by the time Baekhyun had to leave for work that afternoon, they had it down to ten. They printed out what they had found on each of the men, and Baekhyun called his mother to let her know that he would be dropping by after work. Soon, Baekhyun would finally have him – not that he felt much relief in that; next came the hard part.

It was less than five minutes before Baekhyun’s shift ended when his cell phone rang, Kyungsoo’s name flashing on the screen when he pulled it out of his pocket. Thankfully his boss wasn’t around and there were no customers.

“Hey Kyungsoo, what’s up?” Baekhyun asked, glancing at the clock on the wall and noting that he now had only two minutes left.

“Hey Baekhyun!” Kyungsoo greeted cheerfully. “You’re off work soon, right? Did you have any plans after? Suho wants us all to meet at the office tonight – we’ve got a new case, and that equipment I ordered got delivered today.”

“Oh, did it? Well… I kind of need to go see my mom about something quickly, but I’m free after that?” Baekhyun replied, mentally calculating how long it would take him to drive to his grandmother’s house, talk to his mom, and then make it over to the office.

“How about in an hour?” Kyungsoo asked, then seemed to realize something. “You’re going to see your mom this late? Why, is she okay?”

“Huh? Yeah, she’s fine, I just need to – oh… I didn’t tell you yet, did I?” Baekhyun said, realizing that in all the distraction with Chanyeol (and Heechul), he had never told the others about the pendant.

“Tell me what?” Kyungsoo asked, wondering what he had missed. Baekhyun went on to explain what he had discovered about the pendant, as well as the situation with his grandfather. Kyungsoo was a bit annoyed that Baekhyun hadn’t told him or anyone else besides Chanyeol yet, but happy that he had finally figured out what was going on. Now they could hopefully investigate without the worry that something bad might happen to Baekhyun.

By the time they had finished talking, it was well past the end of Baekhyun’s shift, so he quickly gathered his things and clocked out. He managed to get away with spending only fifteen minutes at his grandmother’s, even though both his mother and grandmother had tried to rope him into staying longer. His mother had been able to point out one of the men as being his grandfather, though she made him promise again to be careful when going to see him. She also asked him about Chanyeol, and was delighted to hear that he and her son were now officially dating. She couldn’t one hundred percent approve until she met him though, and told Baekhyun in no uncertain terms that he would be bringing Chanyeol to dinner within the week, leaving no room for argument.

Deciding he would worry about breaking the news to Chanyeol later, and most definitely not wanting to think about how the meeting with his grandfather would go, Baekhyun focused his mind on the new equipment as he drove over to the office. After his talk with Suho a few weeks ago about possibly trying out some new things, he had met with Kyungsoo and discussed their budget. They decided that if they could find some good deals they could afford to buy a few new pieces of equipment, and so Baekhyun had gone looking for what he had talked about with Suho as well as some other things he thought could be useful. Eventually he found several quality pieces within their price range, and sent the information over to Kyungsoo so he could place the order – after a few mishaps in their early days, it had been decided that Kyungsoo would handle all of their finances in addition to case managing. Baekhyun was very excited to get his hands on the new equipment, and even better that they had a new case to test it out on.

When Baekhyun finally arrived at the office the others were already there. He ran into Kyungsoo and Kai outside of the building, the pair carrying the two boxes containing their new equipment. He held the front door open for them and then followed them up the stairs, Suho, Sehun, and Chanyeol greeting the other three as they entered the room. Kyungsoo and Kai sat the boxes down on the table and Baekhyun headed straight for them, pausing only to smile briefly at Chanyeol. Before he could open them however he was stopped by Kyungsoo, who pointed out that he should probably tell Suho and Sehun about what he had discovered with the pendant (Kai had already been told by Kyungsoo of course). Baekhyun quickly relayed the story to them, their leader and youngest member both looking relieved that he (hopefully) wouldn’t be attracting any more energy-draining spirits. Once the explanations were done, Baekhyun tore open the boxes, grinning as he pulled out the carefully packed devices and set them down on the table. The others watched in amusement at how excited their tech manager was getting over the equipment.

“So, what exactly did you guys buy anyway? Kyungsoo wouldn’t tell me, he just made me carry it,” Kai said curiously, glaring slightly at his boyfriend.

“Hey, I’m not the technology expert here! I figured Baekhyun could explain it better,” Kyungsoo defended, glaring back at Kai.

“Alright guys, calm down,” Suho intervened, rolling his eyes at the pair’s usual bickering. “I see you got the laser grids and geophone we talked about, what else is there?”

“I picked out a couple of things I thought might be useful,” Baekhyun said, pointing out two devices that were sitting on the table. “First we’ve got a REM pod, which couples nicely with the geophone. It emits an electromagnetic field and will light up if anything disturbs that field. So, you sit the geophone and the REM pod on the floor near each other, and if something sets off both of them then it’s more likely that whatever is causing the vibrations is something paranormal. You can also use the REM pod to make contact in the same way that you use the K2 meter. Then, we’ve got an interesting little device called a trigger object proximity sensor. You clip the sensor to a metal tray, then you can put some kind of trigger object on the tray. For example, if you’re dealing with a child entity, you could place a toy that they may be attached to there. Then, if anything tries to manipulate the objects, the sensor will go off.”

“Yeah, and all of that is going to be very useful on the new case I have for us,” Kyungsoo said after Baekhyun finished his explanation, clapping his hands together excitedly. “I think you guys are really going to like this one, and we can go into it full force now that Baekhyun’s problem is taken care of.”

“Well, tell us already!” Kai said, still a little bothered that Kyungsoo hadn’t told him about the equipment or the case. Usually he got to know these things before everyone else, and he couldn’t help feeling a childish annoyance that he was being kept in the dark this time.

“Fort McHenry,” Kyungsoo finally revealed, watching the others to see their reactions. They very rarely got to do forts, and especially one with such historical significance as that. He was personally very excited about it, and he knew the rest of them would be too.

“The Fort McHenry?” Suho asked, a hint of disbelief to his voice. “Like, where the national anthem was written?”

“Yes, that Fort McHenry,” Kyungsoo confirmed, grinning. “They’ve been doing some restoration and renovation there recently and it seems to be kicking up some activity. The regular staff are pretty used to it, but the workers they have coming in are getting frightened and they want someone to come in and check it out. Somehow or another they heard about us, and they’ve invited us in to investigate. There was no way I could turn it down, so I’ve got it set up for this weekend if that’s okay with everyone.”

Everyone agreed that was fine, and after a few more minutes of excited discussion about the upcoming case, they decided to all go out for dinner before heading home. The six of them left the office, Suho calling ahead to reserve a table at one of their favorite local restaurants. Luckily the place wasn’t too busy, so they were seated immediately once they arrived. They were at a round table this time, with six chairs around it, rather than being squished into a booth. The two couples sat next to each other of course, with Suho and Sehun in between (Suho next to Chanyeol and Sehun next to Kai). A waiter who was familiar with the group, Aiden, came over to take their orders, already knowing what most of them wanted from how often they ate there. They chatted amongst themselves as they waited for their food, taking the chance to catch up with each other about more personal things.

“So Kai, when are you and Kyungsoo planning on moving in together?” Suho asked, causing Kyungsoo to start choking on the water he had been sipping.

“You know, he’s got a point,” Sehun chimed in, ignoring the look he got from Kai, who was patting Kyungsoo’s back gently. “It seems like a waste that you even bother paying rent on our apartment, you hardly ever sleep in it.”

“And how would you afford it if I moved out, planning on asking Luhan to move in?” Kai shot back, smirking at the blush that stained Sehun’s cheeks.

“N-no, I just,” Sehun stammered, images of sharing an apartment with Luhan flooding his mind.

“Anyway, what about you two?” Kai continued, looking pointedly at Baekhyun and Chanyeol. “Taemin told me he saw you at the movies the other night Baekhyun, making out in a corner with some tall skinny guy.”

“We weren’t making out!” Baekhyun and Chanyeol protested simultaneously, flushing when they realized that they had given themselves away.

“Oh, it was Chanyeol you were with?” Kai asked, the look on his face making it clear that he had already known who Baekhyun had been seen with.

“You guys were making out in public?” Kyungsoo said, eyes widening slightly. He had gotten the sense that something was going on with the two of them, but he was a bit surprised to hear things were progressing that much.

“We weren’t!” Baekhyun insisted. “We kissed, briefly. It was not ‘making out.’”

“Yeah, and anyway it’s none of your business what we do on our dates,” Chanyeol said, which only caused more teasing from the others.

“So then you admit that you’re dating?” Suho asked, grinning. He figured they were, considering how close they had seemed since his last conversation with Baekhyun, but it was good to see that things were going well. “For how long?”

“A little over a week,” Baekhyun admitted grudgingly. It’s not that he had a problem with the others knowing, he just wasn’t looking forward to being on the receiving end of the teasing Kyungsoo, Kai, Sehun, and Luhan always got. “Will you guys stop looking at us like that?”

“We’re just happy for you, Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo said, giving the older man a less teasing smile. “I was getting pretty worried for a while there, it’s nice to see you smiling more lately.”

“I agree,” Suho said, looking at Chanyeol next to him. “Baekhyun has been much happier lately, more outgoing, and I’m pretty sure we can thank you for that.”

“I guess, I mean… I didn’t really do anything,” Chanyeol replied, grinning sheepishly as he glanced over at his boyfriend, who was pouting slightly.

“You guys make it sound like I was some horribly depressed recluse before,” Baekhyun said, crossing his arms over his chest. “I was not that bad.”

“No, but you have to admit you were being pretty mopey for a while there,” Kai said, and Baekhyun couldn’t deny that he was right. “I think we’re all grateful that’s over.”

“Yeah, yeah… I guess I am too,” Baekhyun admitted, looking over at Chanyeol and smiling. The younger man smiled back, reaching for Baekhyun’s hand under the table and squeezing it lightly.

There was a chorus of ‘aww’s as the rest of the group noticed the display of affection. The rest of the night passed in much the same fashion, the group joking around and teasing each other as they ate. Eventually the conversation turned to Suho, the others prodding their leader for information on his own dating life, which he assured them was nonexistent. He insisted that he was enjoying being single, content watching the rest of them pair off.  The team spent an hour or two at the restaurant before deciding that it was getting pretty late, parting ways to head home sometime after eleven. No one was surprised that Kai and Chanyeol left with Kyungsoo and Baekhyun respectively, leaving Suho to drive Sehun home before going to get some sleep himself. 

Chanyeol stayed over at Baekhyun’s apartment that night, this time not even bothering with the guest room. Now that Baekhyun had an address for his grandfather, the pair decided they would just get it over with and go see him first thing in the morning. Baekhyun found himself lying awake in Chanyeol’s arms for most of the night, worried both about the outcome of tomorrow’s visit and that Heechul would try something while Chanyeol was there. Thankfully nothing out of the ordinary happened during the night, and Baekhyun managed to drift off for a few hours of sleep in the early hours of the morning.

It was around ten in the morning when Baekhyun pulled up outside of his grandfather’s work place, Chanyeol biting his lip nervously in the passenger seat. He really wanted this to go well for Baekhyun, but he had a sinking feeling that he wouldn’t. They hadn’t been able to get the man’s home address, of course, so they were visiting him at work. However, the ‘small business’ Baekhyun had thought he owned was actually a small law firm, making the whole thing that much more intimidating. Baekhyun sat in the car for a moment, steeling his nerves, then got out and headed for the building’s entrance. Chanyeol got out of the car as well, following his boyfriend into the building to offer whatever support he could.

As they walked into the lobby, they were greeted by a kind looking woman with short blonde hair sitting behind the reception desk, wearing a nametag that read ‘Sunny.’

“Good morning gentleman, how can I help you?” She asked, smiling brightly at them.

“Um, hi,” Baekhyun said, approaching the desk nervously. “I was wondering if Mr. Byun was in?”

“He is,” Sunny confirmed. “Do you have an appointment?”

“Not exactly, I just need to ask him about something,” Baekhyun replied, hoping she would let them through.

“Well, he’s not with a client now…” She said quietly, more to herself than them. She frowned slightly, looking them over with judging eyes. She seemed to decide that they weren’t suspicious after a moment, and the smile returned to her face. “Alright, you can go see him. Just go right down that hallway, his office is the last door on the left. I’ll call ahead to let him know.”

“Okay, thank you,” Baekhyun said, smiling at her in thanks. He exchanged a quick look with Chanyeol before they set off down the hallway, a million scenarios of how this could go running through his head. Few of them were good.

They reached the correct door within a minute, and Baekhyun took a deep breath before knocking lightly on the door. He heard a man call for them to enter, so he slowly twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open, entering the room with Chanyeol. The older man sitting behind the desk stared at them questioningly, probably wondering what business a couple of kids had in his office. He looked more tired and worn in person than in the picture they had found, though it was obviously the same man. Seeing him in person, Baekhyun also found traces of his father in the man’s face, and knew that this man definitely had to be his grandfather.

“Can I help you?” Youngsoo asked in the same low, stern voice that had invited them into the office. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m a very busy man.”

“I’m your grandson,” Baekhyun confessed, immediately wishing he hadn’t when he saw the dark look that passed over the man’s face. “Baekhyun Byun.”

“I see. Well, Baekhyun, I don’t know what that woman has told you about me, but as far as I’m concerned my son had no children,” Youngsoo said coldly, making no attempt to hide his hostility now that he knew exactly who was bothering him at his office. “She may be convinced that Kwangsun knocked her up, but I’m not, and I think it would be best if you left.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Baekhyun said, a sudden determination entering his voice. He did not like the way this man was implying that his mother slept around. “Whether you want to admit it or not, he was my father, and he acknowledged that. It doesn’t really matter to me if you acknowledge it or not, but I came here for a reason and I’m not leaving until you at least hear me out.”

“What is it you want then, money? Because I can assure you, you will get none from me,” Youngsoo replied, his voice becoming more venomous at the look in Baekhyun’s eyes. “My son certainly gave enough to that tramp.”

“Wow, you are one bitter old man,” Chanyeol said, placing a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. The older man had looked ready to lunge after the second insult to his mother, and that would solve nothing. Chanyeol wasn’t sure if it was really his place to intervene, but he knew he had to do something or things would turn very bad, very fast.

“And who are you to criticize me?” Youngsoo asked, turning his glare to Chanyeol. Baekhyun also shifted his gaze to his boyfriend, though he made no move to stop him from talking.

“Who I am isn’t important,” Chanyeol said, shaking his head. “What is important is this: your son had a wife and a son that he loved. I know you must have cared about him, and yet you have treated them with nothing but contempt for over twenty years. You all suffered a terrible loss, but instead of being there for them as family should be, you shunned them. Your son wouldn’t be happy with that, would he?”

“And what do you suggest? I compensate for that now with money?” Youngsoo said, though there was a hint of emotion to his voice that hadn’t been there before.

“I don’t want your money,” Baekhyun cut in, wondering why the older man kept assuming that. “I just want to ask you about something.”

“Fine,” Youngsoo finally gave in, sounding as though it pained him to do so. “Ask.”

“This pendant,” Baekhyun said, pulling the silver star out of his pocket. He had brought it with him in case Youngsoo wanted proof of who he was, or tried to deny its existence or something along those lines. “You gave it to my father, right? My mom said that it was passed down through our family, from father to son.”

“I did,” Youngsoo said, eyes widening slightly at the sight of the pendant. It was as though until now, he hadn’t truly believed this was his grandson, but the pendant was proof. “He gave it to you then, before he died. Why do you want to know about it?”

“Actually, he gave it to my uncle, because I was too young at the time. When my uncle died… well, it made its way to me eventually. That’s beside the point,” Baekhyun replied, not missing the way his grandfather’s eyes tightened at the mention of his uncle. He didn’t know if Youngsoo had heard of Yunho’s death before now, but the reaction was interesting. Perhaps he held some respect for his son’s best friend, despite his obvious dislike for the man’s sister. “My mom said that you had books and letters from our ancestors that detailed the history of this pendant. I just want to know more about it, and about my father’s family.”

“You want me to let you read them?” Youngsoo asked, the request taking him by surprise. Somehow, he hadn’t expected Baekhyun to care about their family or its history. Baekhyun nodded in response and Youngsoo sighed, considering it for a moment. He hoped he wouldn’t regret this. “Alright.”

“You’re saying yes?” Baekhyun said, disbelieving. Chanyeol looked shocked as well. Judging by the older man’s attitude when they had first showed up, they had been sure they would have to work harder to convince him.

“I am. Perhaps I’m going soft in my old age, or perhaps I just miss my son, but I can’t help wondering if your friend is right,” Youngsoo said, a strange emotion coming over his face. Regret? “Maybe I do owe you something. If reading those old records is something you want, I don’t have any good reason to say no. Come by this office tomorrow, I’ll have them here for you to pick up.”

“Thank you, sir,” Baekhyun said, relieved that things had gone better than he hoped. He bowed slightly in thanks, then turned to leave with Chanyeol.

“Baekhyun,” Youngsoo said after a few seconds, stopping the pair in the doorway. “I… I’m sorry.”

Baekhyun was a bit startled by the sudden apology, but he nodded his head in acceptance. Then he followed Chanyeol out of the room and the building, not knowing quite how to feel about the whole encounter.

----------------

Just a quick note, I have also written a Halloween one-shot set in this verse (though it takes place prior to the beginning of this fic). If you are interested in reading it, please go check it out! It's the only other story I've posted so it should be easy to find.