Chanyeol held the large garbage bag open as Kyungsoo slowly folded another of the many shirts hung in the large wardrobe in the main bedroom. That was the most he could do since Kyungsoo had insisted on going through everything himself. At the pace that he was going, it would probably take them the whole day just to clear out the wardrobe, but Chanyeol wasn’t going to say anything to disturb Kyungsoo’s reflective gloominess.

“Do you think I have siblings?” Kyungsoo asked, finally breaking his silence as he carefully placed the shirt in the garbage bag.

“Do you think you do?” Chanyeol asked.

“I don’t know,” Kyungsoo said, removing another shirt from a hanger. “The only thing he took was the car, so doesn’t that mean that he has a house somewhere with another set of clothes and a wife and kids who he actually cares about?”

“Maybe he wasn’t planning on leaving. Maybe he went out for something and then something else happened.”

“He’s been wanting to leave for years,” Kyungsoo muttered, crumpling up the shirt he was holding and throwing it into the garbage bag before practically ripping off the shirt from the next hanger. “But he couldn’t simply go without leaving something just to with my head. That’s the kind of parent that he is- was, I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I hate not having a sense of closure.”

“This will give you closure,” Chanyeol said, lifting the garbage bag.

Kyungsoo paused what he was doing, seemingly to think that through, before giving Chanyeol a slight smile. “I hope so,” he said and resumed folding more of his father’s clothes.

“What do you want for lunch?” Chanyeol asked, catching sight of the time displayed on the small clock on the bedside table. He couldn’t help noticing the stained coffee mug, open packet of chewing gum, pair of thin reading glasses, and cigar box on the bedside table too. He doubted those were Kyungsoo’s, which made him wonder how long it had been since anybody stepped foot inside this room.

“We can order take out.”

“No, let me whip something up. What do you have in the fridge?”

“Nothing,” Kyungsoo said, removing the stack of folded trousers from the shelves at the side of the wardrobe and dumping them on the bed to sort through them. “I live on takeout.”

“That can’t be good for your wallet. How about I make a quick run to that grocery store down the road?”

Kyungsoo looked up from the pile of trousers he was dealing with. “Okay.”

“I’ll leave this here,” Chanyeol mumbled to himself, placing the garbage bag on the floor. “I’ll be right back.”

“The shopping bags are in the larder if you need them. They’re on the lowest shelf.”

“Okay,” Chanyeol said, heading out to leave the room before pausing at the door and turning around to look at Kyungsoo. “I still can’t get it in my head that we’re living together.”

“We’re taking each day as it comes, right?” Kyungsoo said with a smile.

“Right. I’ll get going,” Chanyeol said, turning to leave but did a 360° instead. “Wait, maybe I should give you a kiss just for the sake of it.”

“You’re being weird.” Kyungsoo set the trousers he was holding down on the bed and walked over to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol gave him a chaste peck on the lips. “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo said but grabbed onto Chanyeol’s arm when he turned to leave. “You’ll come back, right?”

“Of course I will. Call me if you need anything.”

“But you never answer your phone.”

“I didn’t answer once and that was when my phone died. But if I don’t, I’ll be just down the road. Don’t call the police. I’m kidding,” Chanyeol added when Kyungsoo frowned at him. “No, I mean I’m not. Really, don’t call the police to report me missing. I’ll try to be as quick as I can.”

Kyungsoo nodded. “Be safe.”

“I’m just going to the grocery store. Nothing’s going to happen.”

“Famous last words.”

“Well, if something happens, then it happens. Don’t think too much about it.”

“Okay.”

“Alright,” Chanyeol said, turning around to head to the front door but quickly came to a halt. “Shopping bags,” he mumbled, walking over to the kitchen larder to get a cloth shopping bag from the bottom shelf. He walked back towards the front door before remembering something. “I don’t have the keys.”

“I’ll lock the door,” Kyungsoo said, following Chanyeol to the front door. “Let’s go to the hardware store on the weekend. We’ll get the house key duplicated and then we can get whatever else we might need.”

“Alrighty.” Chanyeol hesitated before giving Kyungsoo another quick kiss. Who knew that leaving the house could be so awkward? “It feels like I’m about to go on a lifelong trip but I’ll be back soon.”

Kyungsoo frowned. “Don’t say that, you’ll jinx it.”

“Touch wood,” Chanyeol said, placing a hand on the doorframe.

“That’s not wood.”

“Technicalities,” Chanyeol said dismissively. “I’ll be back in no time.”

“Okay.”

Chanyeol took a few steps backwards before turning to leave.

“Wait, do you have your wallet?” Kyungsoo asked.

“Oh, right.” Chanyeol waited as Kyungsoo went into his, or rather their bedroom to retrieve the wallet that he had left on the small bookshelf beside the bed. “What would I do without you.”

Kyungsoo gave the wallet to him. “Maybe I should go with you.”

“Whoa, I didn’t mean it that way.”

“No, let’s go to the grocery store together. I need to get something too.”

“What do you need? I can get it for you.”

“I’ll get it myself,” Kyungsoo said, stepping out of the house and locking the door before walking past Chanyeol towards the street.

“Okay,” Chanyeol said, falling into step beside him. “We shouldn’t make a habit out of this though.”

“You don’t want me to go with you?” Kyungsoo asked, halting.

Chanyeol placed a hand on his back to gently get him to start walking again. “It’s fine once in a while but we shouldn’t be joined at the hip 24/7.” Kyungsoo nodded, the distant look in his eyes telling Chanyeol that his brain was working overtime again. “What’s on your mind?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“It’s just that- I want to make moments like these last.”

“There’s no reason for them not to,” Chanyeol said, shifting the hand he had on Kyungsoo’s back to his waist. The last thing Kyungsoo needed was one of his ‘take things a day at a time’ talks, especially at this point in their relationship when Kyungsoo was obviously trying hard to practice it himself.

“But I know they won’t,” Kyungsoo continued.

“Because one of us will die during a quick trip to the grocery store? You’re a pessimistic psychic.”

Kyungsoo hesitated before apparently deciding to drop it and stretching his lips into a smile. “It’s nothing.”

“Don’t brood on it. What’s bothering you?”

Kyungsoo shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

“Okay,” Chanyeol yielded. “Just don’t throw me a curveball like you did last time.”

“I won't be the one who’ll want to break up this time.”

“Now you’re being cryptically prophetic,” Chanyeol said, moving his hand to give Kyungsoo’s arm a rub.

“It’s the elephant,” Kyungsoo blurted out.

Chanyeol halted mid-step. “Huh?”

“It’s everywhere and I can’t get rid of it,” Kyungsoo said, turning to face Chanyeol.

“What elephant?”

“The one under the cloak.”

“You’re hallucinating about an elephant?” Chanyeol carefully hazarded a guess.

Kyungsoo shook his head. “I can’t tell you.”

“You can’t tell me about the elephant that you just told me about.”

Kyungsoo nodded. “It’s too soon.”

“Did somebody give you something last night?”

Kyungsoo looked at him, puzzled. “I was with you last night.”

“Yeah, you were,” Chanyeol said, putting an arm back around Kyungsoo’s waist to urge him towards the grocery store again. He didn’t remotely trust Baekhyun to ward off any eager ‘sharing is caring’ junkies from Kyungsoo while he went to deal with Jongdae and later when he went to the bathroom to clean up. He wouldn’t even put it past Baekhyun to give Kyungsoo something himself. Whatever it was, it must have been some bizarre new drug with delayed psychedelic effects. “You can tell me about the elephant when you’re ready.”