The doors to the chapel slammed shut. Hearing the noise from central command, which was a small room just off of the entrance hall outside of the chapel, Suho, Sehun, and Luhan came running out to see what had happened. Jongdae, Minseok, and Yixing were up the stairs in less than a minute, having heard the noise as well.

“What the heck was that?” Minseok asked, looking to Suho for answers.

“We didn’t see what happened, but I think those doors slammed,” Suho replied, gesturing towards the chapel.

Luhan nodded in agreement. “That’s definitely what it sounded like. I thought you three were in there though?”

“No…” Jongdae said, staring at the doors worriedly. “We switched areas with Baekhyun and Chanyeol.”

Noticing Jongdae’s expression, Sehun frowned. “You don’t think…?”

“I don’t like this,” Suho said, making his way over towards the doors. He tried to open them, but they wouldn’t budge. Yixing and Minseok came over to help him, but even together they couldn’t pull the doors open. It was like some invisible force was holding them closed. He called out for Baekhyun and Chanyeol but there was no response, worrying him even more. “Someone try calling them on the walkies.”

Jongdae did just that, but again there was no response. Suho bit his lip, trying to think of what to do next. “Tell Kris and the others to get over here. Is there any other way to get into the chapel?”

“Not that I know of,” Luhan replied. Jongdae called the others as instructed, letting them know what had happened, and Kris responded saying they’d be over right away.

“What are we supposed to do now?” Minseok asked, starting to get panicky. “What if something happened to them?”

“I’m sure they’re fine, don’t overreact,” Suho assured. Really, he wasn’t sure of that at all, but he didn’t want anyone freaking out. Kyungsoo and Tao burst through the front door a second later, panting heavily, with Kris and Kai following behind.

“Is Baekhyun okay?” Tao asked immediately, running over to Suho. “What’s going on?”

“We don’t know,” Suho replied, shaking his head. “We all just heard the doors slam, and as far as we know Baekhyun and Chanyeol are in there. We can’t get the doors open, and they’re not responding to us.”

“Oh, I never should have left them,” Tao said, looking ready to cry. Kris walked over to him, putting an arm around his shoulder.

“Don’t blame yourself,” he said, kissing Tao’s forehead comfortingly. “They’ll be okay.”

“I really, really hope so,” Kyungsoo said, watching the doors with wide eyes. What could be happening in there?

Inside the chapel, Chanyeol moved to stand in front of Baekhyun protectively the second the doors slammed, glaring at Heechul. “What do you want? He hasn’t done anything!”

“Of course you think that,” Heechul spat, glaring right back. “You think he’s so innocent, but you’re wrong. He’s just like that filthy bastard who cheated on me. He thinks he can have everything, and he doesn’t care who gets hurt from it.”

“I don’t…” Baekhyun started, but one look from Heechul stopped him.

“No, you don’t get to talk. It’s my turn now.” Heechul stepped closer to them, pacing in front of them. Chanyeol pushed Baekhyun further behind him, watching Heechul’s every move. “I’ve waited so long for this, hanging around you pathetic humans to gather energy. Now I’m finally strong enough, now I can put an end to this.”

“I won’t let you!” Chanyeol shouted. “Baekhyun is nothing like Hangeng, and I won’t let you hurt him.”

“Don’t you dare speak that name in front of me,” Heechul hissed, stopping his pacing. “Do you actually think you can stop me? How sad. You are nothing compared to me.”

Heechul waved his hand, and just like that Chanyeol was tossed through the air. He hit the wall, crumpling to heap on the floor, and didn’t move. Baekhyun let out a strangled cry, staring in disbelief. “Chanyeol!”

“Oh, don’t worry your pretty little head, I have no interest in killing him,” Heechul said, rolling his eyes. “He was just getting in the way.”

“You son of a !” Baekhyun yelled, feeling angrier than he had ever been in his life. Tears prickled at the back of his eyes, and he didn’t bother holding them back. “He has nothing to do with this! Neither of us have done anything to you, so why?”

“God, you don’t even realize… you make me sick,” Heechul said. There was a quiet moan from the other side of the room, Chanyeol starting to come to. Baekhyun made to run to his side, but Heechul was faster. Baekhyun was sent flying, pain exploding throughout his body has he crashed into the podium at the altar, air completely knocked out of his lungs. Hearing the noise, Chanyeol pushed himself up off the floor, screaming when he saw what happened. He tried to get up but found that he couldn’t, some kind of force holding him down. Chanyeol’s heart clenched in his chest when he heard Baekhyun whimper in pain, and he struggled to get free from Heechul’s hold. His own head was throbbing from hitting the wall, but he ignored it, far more worried about his boyfriend.

The wooden podium had splintered on impact, the sharp edges cutting Baekhyun’s arms and back in various places. The cuts barely compared with the pain he felt in his arm, however; Baekhyun was worried that it might be broken. His vision swam, and he could do nothing but lay there for a few moments, closing his eyes and trying to will the pain away. When he opened them again, Heechul was standing over him, smirking.

“Not so tough now, are you?” Heechul taunted, laughing. Baekhyun gathered his strength, trying to push himself up with his good arm.

“I don’t… understand,” Baekhyun said, gritting his teeth against the pain as he managed to sit up. “Why are you doing this? How are you even here?”

“Well, that’s easy. I attached myself to that handy little trinket of yours, and slipped it into your hoodie before you left. You saw the drawer open, but you didn’t even realize the pendant was missing,” Heechul sighed, shaking his head. “As for your other question…even with daddy’s sad little letter, you still don’t get it? Greed doesn’t have to mean money, you know.”

“Then what?” Baekhyun asked. He tried to think of something, but nothing made sense. “If… if you’re going to kill me, at least tell me why.”

“Hmph. There’s no ‘if’ about it, boy, I hate to tell you.” As if to illustrate his point, Heechul snapped his fingers, the candles behind the altar flaring to life…including the one that had been knocked to the floor by the vibrations from Baekhyun’s crash. “But fine, I’ll give you hint. It’s love.”

Baekhyun frowned at that, not understanding. He was greedy in love…? And then it clicked. “Tao.”

“Bravo! He finally got it,” Heechul said, clapping mockingly. “That’s right. At first I almost felt bad for you. You seemed so heartbroken over that Tao fellow, and I could certainly sympathize with that. But then I noticed the way you looked at Chanyeol, and I knew. You were in love with them both.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Chanyeol asked, stumbling over to them. He was a bit unsteady on his feet, but otherwise okay. The conversation had distracted Heechul, allowing Chanyeol to move again. “You’re saying that you did all of this, because he was in love?”

“Yes!” Heechul said, almost exasperated. “Will you stop trying to fight me? I know you love him, or whatever, but he’s going to hurt you in the end. I’m trying to help you.”

“You’re trying to help me, by hurting the person that I love? That’s twisted,” Chanyeol replied, snorting. His face softened when he saw Baekhyun, still sitting on the ground and obviously in pain. He wanted to run to him, but he didn’t know what Heechul would do. “I’m so, so sorry Baekhyun. Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah,” Baekhyun said. He wasn’t sure that was true, but he didn’t to worry Chanyeol even more. That wouldn’t help anything right now. His eyes flitted over to the lit candle on the floor, trying to tell Chanyeol without alerting Heechul. Chanyeol got the message, noticing how the flame was dancing dangerously close to the carpet.

“Baekhyun? Chanyeol?” Jongdae’s voice suddenly called, coming from the radio clipped to Baekhyun’s waist. Baekhyun grabbed it, trying to press the button to talk back, but it disappeared from his hand before he could. Heechul threw it against the wall, the radio smashing into little pieces.

“Almost forgot about those friends of yours,” Heechul murmured. “No matter, they’re not getting in here. At least not until it’s too late.”

“Leave them out of this,” Baekhyun said, finally struggling to his feet. His whole body was sore, but thankfully his legs weren’t really injured, his upper body having taken the brunt of the impact.

“Don’t get your in a bunch; I could care less about them – I just don’t want them interfering,” Heechul said, laughing. “It was really kind of cute, how determined they all were to save you. Like they could actually do something.”

“You say that like it’s too late, but I’m still here,” Chanyeol said, hoping to draw attention to himself. Whatever Heechul’s problem was, he would rather the spirit take it out on him than Baekhyun. “You’re crazier than I thought if you believe I’ll just let you kill him.”

“Ugh, you just don’t get it, do you?” Heechul turned to glare at Chanyeol. “You think that you have something special, that he chose you? He hasn’t. He still has feelings for both of you, and he’s going to turn around and stab you in the back, just like Han… just like that did to me. I’m trying to save you the trouble.”

“You’re wrong,” Chanyeol said, shaking his head. “Baekhyun would never do that to me. He might still feel something for Tao, and that’s fine. But he’s trying to move on, and he wanted to be with me. Baekhyun is not Hangeng, and you can’t punish him for something he hasn’t done yet.”

“You’re so naïve, it’s pitiful,” Heechul said. He paused for a moment, seeming to remember something, and smirked. “I bet he has cheated on you already. Didn’t you hear him earlier? He and Tao were hiding something from you, something Tao wanted him to tell you. They’ve been awfully close since you got here, haven’t they? Am I wrong, Baekhyun?”

“Yes, you are! It’s nothing like that, Chanyeol, please believe me,” Baekhyun pleaded. “Please, don’t listen to him.”

“Never, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol assured, seeing the fear in Baekhyun’s eyes.  Baekhyun was afraid of losing him… if he had any doubts, that wiped them away completely. He started to move towards Baekhyun again, not caring about Heechul anymore, but Heechul wouldn’t have it.

“No! He’s a greedy, cheating liar, just like Hangeng!” Heechul screamed. The candle on the floor flared, the flame finally making contact with the carpet. It ignited immediately, flames starting to spread behind Baekhyun. “I didn’t get to be happy, so why do you? It isn’t fair, and I won’t allow it.”

Frightened when he started to feel the heat, Baekhyun tried to run to Chanyeol instead, but was cut off by flames. It appeared that Heechul was controlling them, a wall of fire shooting up between Baekhyun and Chanyeol. They surrounded Baekhyun, forming a circle, cutting him off from Chanyeol completely.

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol yelled, getting as close as he safely could. He tried to see through the smoke but it was impossible, and his worry grew. “Are you okay?”

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun called back, starting to panic. He moved back a bit, towards the center of the circle, trying to escape the cloying heat that was building around him.

Outside, the others watched the scene in horror. After admitting defeat in getting the door open, they had decided to come around to the other side of the building where there were windows into the chapel, so they could at least see what was going on. They had guessed Heechul’s identity by now, and were all alarmed at the fact that Chanyeol and Baekhyun both looked injured, though thankfully not seriously. Realizing they needed to do something to help, they had immediately tried breaking the windows, but just like the door they seemed to be held together by a force – which they knew now was likely Heechul.

Now, watching the flames surround Baekhyun, they had no idea what to do. Tears were streaming down Tao’s face, and Kyungsoo wasn’t much better, the pair of them facing the reality that they might not be able to save their best friend. Kris had his fists clenched so tightly that his nails had cut into his palms, leaving trails of blood. He had never felt so helpless in is life, and he started pounding at the windows again, even though he knew it was useless. He heard Tao sobbing behind him, and he couldn’t bring himself to stop trying. Suho didn’t bother trying to stop him, even when Kris’s hands started bleeding more. He felt just as frustrated and helpless, and he felt that he had failed them as a leader. He wanted so desperately to help Baekhyun and Chanyeol, but he had no idea what else they could do. Heechul had the room sealed up, and it didn’t look like those two could stop him on their own. How had this night gone so wrong?

Heechul laughed as he watched Chanyeol looking around the room, trying to find something to put out the fire, or some way to get Baekhyun out. He knew it was futile – he wasn’t letting that boy leave this place alive, and eventually Chanyeol would thank him for it.

Chanyeol groaned in frustration when his search turned up nothing useful. Not a drop of water, or a blanket, or even a fire extinguisher anywhere in the room. Desperate, he turned to Heechul. “Please stop this. I know you were hurt in the past, but you don’t have to do this. You remember what it’s like to love, don’t you?”

“Love? Hardly,” Heechul scoffed. “I wouldn’t call what I had love. If it had been, he wouldn’t have slept with someone else. Love isn’t worth the pain, you’ll see soon enough.”

Listening to them talk, Baekhyun opened his mouth to say something, but took in a lungful of smoke. He choked on the air, falling to his knees in a coughing fit.

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol called, worry growing when he heard the coughing. He had almost forgotten about the smoke… even if the flames never reached him, Baekhyun still wasn’t safe. “Heechul, I’m begging you. I’ll do anything if you just stop this!”

Baekhyun continued to cough, finding it more and more difficult to breathe as the air around him filled with more smoke. His heart broke when he heard Chanyeol’s pleas, wanting so badly to take the worry and pain in his voice away. He didn’t care what happened to him, but he couldn’t stand doing this to Chanyeol.

Baekhyun…

When Baekhyun first heard the voice in his head, he thought the smoke was finally getting to his brain, causing him to hallucinate. But then it said his name again, and he felt that same comforting sensation that he had gotten earlier in the night, when he remembered the rest of his dream. He knew that voice. Yunho?

Yes. Baekhyun, I’m so sorry… I never wanted it to get this far, but Heechul has been storing energy for decades. He’s much stronger than me.

I know, it’s okay. Baekhyun certainly didn’t blame his uncle; if anything, he was just grateful to hear the man’s voice again.

It isn’t hopeless though. There is a way that I could overpower him, but it’s up to you.

What do you mean? Baekhyun asked. He was glad this was a mental conversation, because he doubted he could actually speak at the moment. He could hardly stop coughing, and his throat was starting to get sore.

You weren’t wrong before, in thinking that the pendant was trapping energy. It’s part of the curse. It has gathered and retained energy over the years, specifically so that it would attract vengeful spirits, to punish the greedy. If you break the curse, it would release all of that energy, and I could harness it against him.

But how? I don’t understand. He could hear voices other than Yunho’s, probably Chanyeol still trying to convince Heechul. It was hard to make them out at this point.

You read the letter, right? To some degree, Heechul was right. The ‘greed’ he latched onto was about love, and the fact that on some level you are in love with two people. I know you love Chanyeol, but you’ve never truly admitted it, and deep down you’re not totally over Tao either. In order to break the curse, you have to make a choice. You can’t hold on to your feelings for both of them – you have to choose, and be resolute about it. If you can do that, you can stop Heechul. I believe in you, Baekhyun.

Baekhyun didn’t have to think about that choice. I can save Chanyeol?

Yes.

That was all he needed to hear. Baekhyun focused his energy, knowing this would all be over if he could just say a few words. He managed to calm his breathing a bit, stopping the coughing long enough to clear his throat. His first attempt at speaking came out hoarse, barely louder than a whisper, but he didn’t give up. Determined, he tried again.

“Heechul!” Baekhyun called, his voice raspy but more audible this time. “You’re wrong about me. I’ve made my choice.”

“What?” Heechul asked, glancing in the direction of the flames. He expected the kid to be passed out by now, not spouting nonsense. Chanyeol looked just as confused, though he was relieved to hear Baekhyun speaking.

“I’m not in love with two people,” Baekhyun clarified, and deep down he felt the words rang true. All he felt in this moment was love for, and a need to save, one person. Pausing to cough a few times, Baekhyun struggled to continue.  “Whatever I felt for Tao, it doesn’t matter anymore. I want Chanyeol, and only him. I love him, more than anything. I love you Chanyeol!”

“You… love me?” Chanyeol asked. He didn’t quite get why Baekhyun was saying it now, but his heart swelled at the words. They had to make it out of here now; he wanted to hear Baekhyun say those words a thousand, a million more times.

“Like you mean that! Do you really think you can make up for your greed now?” Heechul sneered, but his expression quickly turned to horror as he felt the energy in the room change. “No, no!”

A bright, white light exploded from the middle of the room, forcing Chanyeol to cover his eyes. He remembered vaguely that it was coming from where he had dropped the pendant earlier, when Heechul first snuck up on them. The light began to funnel towards Baekhyun, extinguishing the flames as it swept past. Heechul was screaming profanities, but it was too late. After a few moments, the remaining smoke from the fire cleared, revealing Baekhyun still kneeling on the floor. Behind him, a glowing figure stood protectively, at full power now with the energy from the pendant. Yunho.

Yunho stepped in front of Baekhyun, glancing briefly at Chanyeol and nodding. Chanyeol was at Baekhyun’s side in a second, hugging him tightly. “I love you Baekhyun, I love you so much.”

Despite the happiness he felt at the words, and his immense relief at seeing Chanyeol again, Baekhyun couldn’t help but cringe in pain when Chanyeol hugged him. “I love you too, Chanyeol. But um… ouch.”

“What? Oh!” Chanyeol jumped away, looking horrified. “I’m so sorry! Are you hurt?”

“It’s okay, it’s just my arm,” Baekhyun explained, pointing to his left arm. “I can’t tell if it’s broken, but it hurts a lot.”

“,” Chanyeol cursed, raking his eyes over Baekhyun’s body to assess the injuries. He saw a few tears in Baekhyun’s clothing, revealing sluggishly bleeding cuts, but nothing else that looked too bad. “Does anything else hurt? Did you hit your head?”

“I might have, it’s hard to tell,” Baekhyun replied. “I have a nasty headache, but that could be from any number of things.”

“Yeah… mind if I check?” Chanyeol asked, worried. Baekhyun nodded, so Chanyeol began to gently feel around his hair, checking for any wounds. It didn’t take long for him to feel something wet, and when he pulled his hand back, there was red on his fingers. “Dammit. I’m going to kill him.”

“I don’t think you can kill a ghost,” Baekhyun said, offering a weak smile. “Anyway, I think my uncle has that covered.”

Yunho smiled at them, having been watching to make sure that Baekhyun was relatively okay, before turning to face Heechul again. His face changed completely, fixing the spirit who had hurt his nephew with a stone cold glare. “This ends here, Heechul.”

“You,” Heechul said, like the word left a bad taste in his mouth. He glared right back. “I’ve felt you before, trying to interfere with what I was doing. But you were much, much weaker than this.”

“I was, unfortunately,” Yunho conceded. “But things are different now; I wouldn’t bother trying to take me on, if I were you. You won’t touch another hair on Baekhyun’s head, ever.”

“Oh, and what are you going to do? Kill me?” Heechul laughed. “I think not.”

“No, I’m going to help you move on,” Yunho replied, some of the harshness draining from his face. “You’ve been stuck here far too long, and it’s turned you into a monster that you never were when you were alive. Even when you killed those two, you felt guilt for it. But you stayed here instead of moving on to the afterlife, and that guilt consumed you. You have to face it now, so that you can go where you’re supposed to be.”

“Face my guilt?” Heechul questioned, eyebrow raised. “How exactly to you plan on making me do that?”

“Like this,” Yunho said simply. He waved his hand, and another figure appeared beside him. “I’ve found someone that you’re long overdue for a conversation with.”

Heechul was rendered speechless by the appearance of his old lover, staring at the face he never thought he would see again.

“Heechul,” Hangeng said softly. His voice had an ethereal quality to it, something that wasn’t at all hindered by his slight accent. “It’s been a long time.”

“Han… Hangeng, how? Why are you here?” Heechul asked, still not quite sure how to react. For so many years he had thought of what he might say to Hangeng if he saw him again, dwelled on the anger he felt towards the man. But now… it was just gone. He wasn’t angry; he didn’t want to yell, or scream, or curse the man who had broken his heart. He just wanted… “Hannie… Hannie, I’m so sorry.”

Hangeng shook his head, walking forward until he was standing in front of Heechul. He placed a hand on Heechul’s cheek. “No, love, I’m sorry. What I did was unforgivable… maybe what you did was too, but I understand. You acted out of anger and grief, and even if it was wrong I can’t blame you for that. I’m only sorry that someone else had to suffer for it. But it’s been a long time, Heechul, and the past is the past. I’m just sad to see what you’ve become… to know that I did this to you. If I had known that you were still on earth, suffering… it breaks my heart to know that. Still, this has to stop. Hurting that poor boy isn’t going to make anything better. It isn’t right to make him suffer for our mistakes, Heechul, and deep down you know that.”

“I know, I know, but… it hurts, Hangeng,” Heechul choked on a sob, all of his pent up emotions releasing themselves through his tears. “I loved you so much. I still love you. Why did you do it?”

“It was a moment of weakness,” Hangeng replied. He wrapped his arms around Heechul, holding the crying man to his chest. “I have never regretted anything more in my life. I love you too, more than anything. I’ve waited so many years to tell you that, to tell you how sorry I am for hurting you. I wish I could go back in time, or do something, anything to change what happened… I never wanted things to turn out the way they did. I never wanted to hurt you, Heechul.”

“But you did… you stabbed me right through the chest and tore out my heart, Geng,” Heechul said quietly. He didn’t pull away from Hangeng, but his arms stayed at his sides. “I was so angry, but even so… what I did, it doesn’t even compare. I killed you, Geng. How could you ever forgive me for that, how could I ever forgive myself? And now look… I haven’t learned anything. I tried to kill someone else… I’m a murderer, that’s all there is to it. You can’t love someone like me.”

“Chul… listen to yourself. You regret what you’ve done, don’t you? You aren’t some cold-blooded, emotionless killer. Hell, you…” Hangeng paused, his own tears starting to fall. “You felt so guilty you committed suicide. And instead of getting to move on, and finally rest… you’ve had to stay here, drowning in those emotions for so many years. Lashing out at Baekhyun was wrong, but you weren’t yourself. I know that the real you would never have done that. If anything, it’s my fault… I’m the reason you turned into this. I’m can’t say enough how sorry I am.”

 “Will you stop saying that? You made a mistake, but so did I… I made those choices, not you.” Heechul finally returned the embrace, clinging to Hangeng tightly. “But I guess… maybe we can call it even. If you can somehow find a way to forgive me, then I can forgive you. It doesn’t matter who was wrong anymore, okay? I’m just… glad you’re here.”

“I forgive you, Heechul,” Hangeng said. He closed his eyes, resting his head lightly against Heechul’s. “I forgave you a long time ago. And whether you think you deserve it or not, I love you. If you let me, I’ll spend the rest of our existence proving that to you.”

Heechul was silent for a moment, except for a few sniffling noises. “…love you too, stupid. Even in the afterlife, you’ve managed to make me cry like some silly girl.”

“Shhh, I know,” Hangeng said, rubbing Heechul’s back soothingly. “Give me one more chance, and I won’t ever make you cry again. Will you come with me, love?”

“Yes… I still don’t know why you would want me to, but yes. Just one thing first,” Heechul answered. He stepped away from Hangeng for a moment, towards were Baekhyun and Chanyeol were still sitting on the floor. Chanyeol instinctively moved in front of Baekhyun, but Baekhyun placed a hand on his shoulder to signal that it was okay. Heechul stopped when he was in front of them, and bowed as deeply as he could. “Baekhyun, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me before, or why I feel so differently now, but I did terrible things to you. I was wrong… about you, about Hangeng, about everything. I just… after so many years, all I felt was anger. It took this for me to see how wrong that was. I know it would be far too much to ask you to forgive me, but the least I can do is apologize.”

“It’s love,” Baekhyun said, smiling. “You went through a lot, of course you were hurt and angry. And the curse directed you to take that anger out on me… I don’t think it’s really your fault. Now that it’s broken, you’re free to move on, to be with Hangeng if that makes you happy. I don’t blame you for anything.”

“Then, you’re a far better person than me,” Heechul said, offering a tentative smile back. Bowing one last time, he walked back over to Hangeng. “Time to go?”

“Yeah,” Hangeng smiled fondly at him, hardly able to believe they were together again. And just like that, the two of them faded away, presumably off to a better place.

“He’s right, you know. I don’t think I could forgive him,” Yunho said, walking over to the pair. He glanced up at the windows, noticing they were no longer full of faces peering in. “I think you’ve got some very worried friends on their way over here.”

Just as he said that, the others came bursting through the chapel doors, Tao leading the pack. Baekhyun grinned, and stood to greet them, but was hit by a sudden wave of exhaustion. As the adrenaline of the night started to die down, the full effect of his injuries came over him. His head spun from standing up too fast, and black spots started to fill his vision. He vaguely heard someone calling his name, probably Chanyeol, but it was hard to tell, and soon everything went dark.