Jongdae gaped at his laptop screen, unsure how to feel about his new discovery. He was not even halfway done with scanning through five years worth of archived weekly newsletters from Baekhyun’s overfunded, atrociously affluent high school when he stumbled across something worth noting tucked away at the bottom corner of one of the pages under an article about the school swimming carnival six years ago. If he squinted hard enough, he could just about make out a young, bored looking Baekhyun watching the swimmers with someone who seemed vaguely familiar sitting next to him. Was he the missing link that Jongdae had been looking for? Before he could even begin to form an idea of what that link could possibly be, he heard the front door opening and picked up his laptop to greet and simultaneously question the person who just walked in, instinctively knowing who it was.

“Explain this,” Jongdae said as he headed to the front door, holding his laptop out like an offering.

“Explain what?” Baekhyun asked, barely sparing the laptop a glance.

Jongdae pointed to the person in the photo. “Don’t you think all this kid needs is a faux hippie look?”

Baekhyun looked at the photo, but didn’t seem to find it particularly interesting. “Just what exactly have you been doing?”

“Unearthing the truth and discovering more than I bargained for.”

“Then just pretend like you didn't see that picture.”

“What are you not telling me?”

Baekhyun gave a slight shrug and walked towards the old couch in the living room to plop himself down on it. “Nothing that I’m obligated to.”

“Who is he?” Jongdae asked, snapping his laptop lid shut and sitting himself down beside Baekhyun.

“You know him.”

“As the druggie you had a fling with in first year, not your schoolmate.”

“What difference does it make?”

“Why did you lie to me about him?”

“I didn’t lie. You never asked. But again, what difference does it make?”

“It gives me another point to work with. Who is he to you?”

“Just someone I know.”

“Did you date him when you were in high school?”

“Kind of.”

“What do you mean ‘kind of’?”

“We were never really a thing.”

“Is he the first guy you dated?”

“We never really dated.”

“Is he the first guy you kind of dated then?”

“Yeah.”

“Is he your first love?”

There was a flicker of hesitation on Baekhyun’s face. “Why does it matter?”

“Is he that ex that nobody can ever match up to?”

“Huh?”

“Nothing,” Jongdae said, waving aside his own question. “Wait, were you still with him when you started dating me?”

“No. I didn’t even know he goes to uni here until I ran into him on campus.”

“But you went to high school together.”

“We lost touch.”

“After graduation?”

“No, when he transferred before senior year.”

“Is it one of those stories?” Jongdae said, fitting the pieces together. “Lovers separated by circumstances reuniting and discovering that the spark is still there?”

Baekhyun shook his head but didn’t elaborate.

“But why did it seem like you were just dating him for drugs?”

“Because I was.”

“But you said you like him.”

“I do.”

“I have a feeling he plays an important role somehow,” Jongdae said, undeterred by Baekhyun’s curt answers. “How much does he know about you?”

Baekhyun seemed to consider that question for a brief moment before answering, “Everything.”

“He knows about your non-existent parents?”

“He’s met my parents.”

“During a drugged stupor?”

Baekhyun frowned. “No, on parent-teacher interview days.”

“You mean he met Sister Mary.”

“No, both my parents.”

“I thought the last time you saw your dad was in kindy or primary?”

“I forgot about parent-teacher interviews. Big deal. I thought we’ve established that you’re the one with issues anyway.”

“No, we haven’t. Weren’t we going to check with Chanyeol?”

“If we can reach him,” Baekhyun said, reaching into his pocket for his phone. “I haven’t been able to all day.”

“Isn’t that because I used up all your credit this morning?”

“What are you talking about? I’m on postpaid.”

“No, you’re not. I got a text saying you didn’t have enough credit when I was trying to unsubscribe you from all that crap this morning.”

“I’m pretty sure I know what I’m forking out money for every month.”

“Check your texts. I know for a fact that-” Jongdae halted when Baekhyun’s phone rang. “Who is it this time?”

Paying him no heed, Baekhyun answered the call. “Hello?” Hearing the voice on the other end, an expression of quizzical surprise registered on his face. He glanced at Jongdae before taking hasty steps towards his room. Curious, Jongdae followed after him, but Baekhyun shut the door before he could enter. Pressing his ear against the door, Jongdae heard a muffled “I’m sorry, I didn’t think it would.” Baekhyun sounded so uncharacteristically acquiescent that Jongdae was tempted to simply turn the doorknob and enter the unlocked room to see for himself what it was all about.

“I don’t know. I really don’t,” Baekhyun continued. “I didn’t mean for it to-” There was a momentary pause as Baekhyun listened to what the person on the other end had to say. “I know, dad. I’m sorry.”

Jongdae pushed the door open straightaway, that one word acting as an urgent prompt. Baekhyun didn’t seem to notice, too engrossed in whatever he was listening to with his back turned to the door. Jongdae could only imagine who was on the other end. Another telemarketer, a prank caller, or maybe someone else completely. But if Baekhyun’s druggie ex had met his parents then maybe they did exist. Jongdae quickly dismissed that thought. It didn’t add up. Nothing added up. He only knew Baekhyun’s version of the story anyway. For all he knew the kid in the photo was just a lookalike and the real druggie ex didn’t even know Baekhyun all that well.

“But I got her Christmas card,” Baekhyun insisted. “The one from St. Joseph’s.”

If the last time had taught Jongdae anything, it was that any mention of Mary wouldn’t end well. He snatched the phone out of Baekhyun’s hand just in time to hear a man telling him that he “took her away from that satanic den years ago. She was becoming just as sick as you, swayed by blasphemies and dishonouring the Lord Jesus Christ.” Baekhyun grabbed the phone back but Jongdae didn’t fight him for it, too baffled by the sudden sermon.

“That’s good. I’m glad she did,” Baekhyun said when the other person was apparently done preaching.

Jongdae would bet his arm--pillow that whatever ‘she did’ wasn’t ‘good’ judging from the underlying tone of that conversation, but that little snippet he heard had the cogs turning in his head. If that was really Baekhyun’s dad, then what was that call from Telstra? Why were his parents completely untraceable? What the hell was that drugged up confession about presumably his ‘real’ mother?

“I will, dad. Someday.”

And what was up with Baekhyun not remembering his mother’s name? Unless Joseph and Mary didn’t come as a set. Jongdae tried to explore that option but it was immediately squashed by that two-second sermon he had just heard.

“Soon,” Baekhyun continued. “I know, I remember it all.”

Memory gaps too, Jongdae reminded himself, ignoring the frown and wave that Baekhyun was directing at him, obviously wanting him to leave the room. There were way too many questions left, and probably way more that he hadn’t even thought of yet.

Baekhyun turned away from him before adding, “I miss you, dad. Can I-” but the person on the other end apparently hung up on him. Baekhyun sighed and shoved the phone back in his pocket.

“Who was that?” Jongdae asked, following as Baekhyun headed back out to the living room.

“You heard him. You know who it is.”

“Is he the same prank caller as last time?” Seeing the frown on Baekhyun’s face, Jongdae quickly changed tack. “You’re not depressed all of a sudden, are you?”

Baekhyun shook his head. “He was nice to me.”

“He was all hellfire and brimstone from what I heard. What was that call about? Your mum didn’t die or anything, did she?”

“No, she’s still in hospital.”

“After eight months?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought she was so close to dying that he was planning her funeral?”

“She’s a fighter. Always has been.”

“Did he call just to give you an update? That’s nice of him.”

Baekhyun sat himself back down on the couch, looking tired. “Someone told him about that YouTube video.”

“What YouTube video?” Jongdae asked, positioning himself on the arm of the couch.

“The one where you announced my name to the world and made me out to be a heartless mega.”

“My bad,” Jongdae mumbled. “That doesn’t sound too far fetched though. What was that about Christmas cards and satanic dens?”

“Huh?”

“What did he say about the Christmas cards?”

“Oh. Apparently they’re not from her.”

“So they were actually generic cards the care home sends out to past residents or something?”

Baekhyun gave a slight shrug. “I guess.”

“So all these years you’ve been getting excited for nothing.”

“Keep rubbing it in, why don’t you,” Baekhyun said, frowning.

“I thought you said she has a Christmas card list and you’re on it?”

“I thought I was. I used to help her address those cards.”

“So you’re worse off than the bikie she dated forty years ago.”

“I was being sarcastic when I told you to keep rubbing it in.”

Jongdae chuckled. “Sorry.”

“I think I’ve had enough for one day,” Baekhyun said, pushing himself off the couch. “Where’s Luhan anyway?”

“He went out,” Jongdae said, watching as Baekhyun headed to one of the bedrooms. “Why are you going to my room?”

“Your bed’s bigger.”

“You’re not going to sleep for a whole week, are you?”

“No.” Baekhyun paused at the door before turning around. “And I never did.”

“You wouldn’t know. You were drugged up and sleeping,” Jongdae pointed out. “But that reminds me. Give me your phone.”

Baekhyun tossed the phone over before stepping into Jongdae’s room with a dismissive, “Give it back when you’re done snooping.”

Jongdae proceeded to look through the text messages on the phone but there was none. Either there was none to begin with or they were all deleted. Possibly the latter, Jongdae safely concluded. Testing his luck, he scrolled through Baekhyun’s list of contacts and tapped on Chanyeol’s name.

‘Your call couldn’t be connected. Please check the number and try again.’

Mildly confused, Jongdae returned to Baekhyun’s list of contacts and scrolled through it until he found another name, one that they never actually use, preferring to refer to him as a ‘hippie’ or ‘druggie’ or a variation of sorts. After listening to the beeping of the ringback tone for what seemed like ages, the call was answered with a brusque “I told you not to call me” and ended before Jongdae could fit a word in. That called forth more questions than he was ready to think about.

More than mildly confused now, Jongdae headed to his bedroom, where Baekhyun had made himself comfortable in his bed. Jongdae sat himself down next to him. “Did you recharge your phone when you went to Kyungsoo’s?”

“Why would I? I told you I’m on postpaid.”

Jongdae chewed that over for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t get it.”

“Get what?”

“This doesn’t make sense. You don’t make sense at all.”

“Didn’t I tell you to psychoanalyse yourself instead of me?”

“That call was way too convenient. Is this all meant to be a hidden camera prank of some sort?”

“Now you’re paranoid on top of being schizophrenic?”

“No, let me think about this,” Jongdae said, shifting to lie on the bed. “That call from Telstra-”

“Never happened,” Baekhyun cut in.

“It did. I know it did because I took it.”

“Exactly. You took it.”

“But that call could have nothing to do with everything else. What about what you told me?”

“What did I tell you?”

“If Mary really is your real mother, then who was the one who dug you out with scissors?”

“Nobody, because that never happened.”

“You told me that yourself. I heard you loud and clear.”

“Exactly. You heard me.”

“I know what I heard.”

“The same way you know that I somehow ran out of credit on postpaid?”

“Yeah. You did recharge your phone, right? You’re just pulling my leg, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Of course you are." If his unhinged friend wasn't all that unhinged and nothing was as it seemed then what did that mean? Jongdae chuckled, amused by his thoughts. “I’ll figure everything out eventually.”

Baekhyun stared at him for a moment, before shaking his head in resignation. “Good luck with that.”

a/n: I'm alive 0_0 I'll finish this if it's the last thing I do. Obviously it's been a while since I wrote this so if I missed anything, by all means do let me know. I'm leaving some things open to interpretation, but I'll be happy to answer any questions. Hopefully the remaining 3 chapters will be out a bit faster...