“Are you sure everything is ready?” Baekhyun demands for the millionth time, checking his teeth in the mirror.

Chanyeol, adjusting his tie, rolls his eyes. “Calm down, Baek. You’re practically sweating a river.”

“This is important, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun bites back, his nerves tightly coiled. “We need these investors. Without them, we can’t finish the renovations and all the work we’ve done so far will go down the drain.”

Chanyeol puts his big, warm hands on his lover’s shoulders and massages gently. “It’ll be fine,” he promises. “The investors will love the place and our ideas for it. We’ll get the money we need.”

Baekhyun lowers his voice. “What about the ghosts? What if something happens? The last thing we need is for the investors to get scared away.”

“Taeyeon promised to keep the ghosts in line for the evening,” Chanyeol reminds his partner, still massaging. “She knows how important this is. She’ll come through.”

“I never thought I’d say this, but it’s not Taeyeon I’m worried about,” Baekhyun grumbles, relaxing into Chanyeol’s arms nonetheless. “At least Taeyeon is rational. But what about Sunyoung? She just wonders around aimlessly; I’m pretty sure she doesn’t even remember she’s dead half the time. And she’s not the only one. Most of these ghosts aren’t exactly manageable.”

“Just relax, Baek,” the taller male says again. “We can do this. Okay?”

Baekhyun takes a deep breath and nods. “Okay, sure. We can do this.”

Chanyeol grins and pecks him on the lips briefly. “We should get downstairs so we’re ready when the investors start arriving.”

They’re standing in the lobby, readjusting their ties and suit jackets for the final time, when Luhan appears. He lets out a low whistle. “Don’t you two look handsome,” he teases, a twinkle in his eye.

Baekhyun, who is more than used to seeing Luhan in the hotel lobby these days, doesn’t bat an eyelash. “I thought Taeyeon told everyone to stay out of the way while our guests are here,” he snaps waspishly.

“She did say that,” Luhan admits blithely, rocking back and forth on his heels. “But where’s the fun in that? It’s been so long since I’ve been able to interact with people. I thought maybe I could give you a hand.”

Baekhyun snorts derisively. “How on earth could you help us?”

Luhan straightens himself up, a bit offended. “I’m quite the gentleman, you know. And I’m one of the oldest ghosts. I can greet your guests and show them to the ballroom. It’ll look better for you, you know.”

Baekhyun is not convinced. “And I’m sure they won’t even notice the giant, gaping bullet hole in your head.”

Luhan frowns, pale fingers drifting up to touch the offending area. “Oh yes,” he sighs with a grimace. “That.”

“Yeah, people don’t take too kindly to bullet holes in people,” Baekhyun says sarcastically.

Chanyeol purses his lips thoughtfully. “You know, the wound is pretty high in his forehead,” he points out. “I bet we could hide it with a hat.”

Baekhyun gives him a flat, skeptical look.

“What?” Chanyeol defends himself, shrugging. “It would look good to the investors if we have someone greeting them and showing them to the ballroom. They could get more of the old hotel experience.”

Luhan beams cheekily. “After all, I’m technically part of the old hotel experience. I’ve been around for over a hundred years.”

Baekhyun frowns, arms folded. “Fine,” he finally gives in, glaring at Luhan. “But you can’t let on that you’re dead. They’ll never give us money if they know the hotel is full of dead people.”

Luhan nods solemnly. “You have my word.”

“You’re a cheater and a liar,” Baekhyun grumbles. “Forgive me if I don’t trust you that much.”

He’s still not entirely convinced that Luhan is the right person for the job as he and Chanyeol enter the ballroom. After the kitchen and the lobby, the grand ballroom had been their priority. It is an enormous room with polished wooden floors and velvet on the walls; they’d even managed to salvage some of the original wall. As of now it’s unfurnished save for a single long table they’d brought in to seat the potential investors, but even so it’s easy to see how the grand ballroom could be a hotspot if and when the hotel finally reopens.

“Relax,” Chanyeol says again, steering his partner over to the long table and uncorking the champagne they’d bought for the occasion. “Luhan is a gentlemen. He’ll manage just fine.”

“As long as nobody realizes he’s dead,” Baekhyun grumbles.

“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to continue with the hotel project even after we found out it was full of ghosts,” Chanyeol reminds him sternly. “You can’t freak out on me now.”

Baekhyun sighs, leaning up and kissing his boyfriend lightly. “You’re right, of course,” he agrees. “And honestly, at least Luhan is one of the more sane ghosts. I guess it could be worse.”

“Exactly,” Chanyeol beams.

Baekhyun’s watch beeps eight and Baekhyun smooths down his hair again. “Oh god. It’s time.”

He and Chanyeol seat themselves at the head of the table and wait for the investors to start showing up. It’s not long before they hear Luhan warmly greeting someone in the lobby and welcoming them inside.

“Oh yes, it’s quite extraordinary,” they can hear Luhan saying cheerfully as he comes ever closer to the ballroom. “The foundation for the original hotel was laid in 1853, and, though the hotel has been renovated many times in its long and illustrious career, the décor remains true to the original.”

“How marvelous,” a man’s voice replies. “Those chandeliers are simply to die for!”

Luhan chuckles. “Well, nobody has died for them, but they are quite elegant. Of course, these aren’t the original chandeliers from when the hotel first opened. That was back before electricity, so the originals hung much lower and were lit by candles. There were plans to replace the originals with electric chandeliers in the late eighteen hundreds, but the owner of the hotel died before the project could be started, and the hotel was shut down. When it was reopened as a conservatory in the early nineteen hundreds, these chandeliers were installed.”

“So you’re telling me these chandeliers are from the early twentieth century?” the man exclaims.

“Oh yes, sir, the very same,” Luhan agrees. “Here’s the grand ballroom, sir. Mr. Byun and Mr. Park are waiting inside.”

The man mumbles his thanks and then he’s entering the ballroom, where both Baekhyun and Chanyeol stand to greet him.

“Mr. Smith,” Baekhyun says with a too-big grin on his face, reaching out to shake hands with the potential investor. “It’s so good of you to come.”

“I must say, this hotel is really something,” Mr. Smith says, shaking first Baekhyun’s hand and then Chanyeol’s. “It practically oozes history!”

Baekhyun chuckles a bit awkwardly. “You have no idea, sir.”

But Mr. Smith doesn’t seem to have heard him. “And wherever did you find that charming young man out there?” he demands. “He knows quite a lot about this hotel.”

“He’s very interested in the history of the hotel,” Chanyeol explains quickly, gesturing for Mr. Smith to have a seat and offering him a glass of brandy. “He’s something of a local historian, if you will.”

At that moment, the sound of beautiful jazz music reached them from the lobby. They all three froze, listening to the haunting melody, the notes from a piano echoing through the bottom floor of the hotel.

Mr. Smith perked up at once, fat fingers curled around his brandy glass. “My, what beautiful music! I didn’t see a piano anywhere. Is the hotel wired with speakers? I thought you hadn’t gotten that far in the renovations yet.”

Baekhyun and Chanyeol shared panicked looks.

“It’s…uh…just a CD,” Chanyeol explains lamely. “We asked someone to put it on. The hotel was a conservatory for a few decades in the early twentieth century, you know, so we thought it would add some authenticity.”

Mr. Smith is obviously pleased. “How delightful,” he exclaims, taking a sip of his brandy.

More potential investors arrive then, shown into the ballroom by a beaming Luhan.

Baekhyun grabs Luhan by the arm before he can escape. “Where the hell is that music coming from?” he demands.

“It’s Yixing, of course,” Luhan says, completely unaffected by the ghostly music that somehow seems to be amplified. “He’s always the one playing the piano. Wish he’d get a new repertoire though. I’ve been hearing this same song for over ninety years.”

Baekhyun glowers. “I thought Taeyeon said she was going to keep the ghosts in line! We need these investors to fund us!”

Luhan shrugs. “You know even Mrs. Kim has trouble making the suicides listen to her. They’re off in a world of their own.”

Baekhyun struggles to think of the suicides that had taken place in the hotel. There are so many ghosts running around that sometimes he loses track. “Suicides, you say?” he mutters. “Okay, Yixing won’t do much other than play the piano. While that’s annoying, I guess it can be explained away.”

“Sunyoung will most likely stay in the attic,” Luhan offers helpfully. “You know she doesn’t really like strangers. That just leaves…”

Baekhyun’s face pales. “Oh god,” he mutters. “Victoria…”

Both he and Luhan look up as the ghost in question materializes out of thin air at the far end of the ballroom. She’s dressed in a pink ball gown with a scooped neck, her long, dark hair piled atop her head in a beehive hairdo.

Baekhyun is nearly hyperventilating, though it seems that none of the investors noticed her sudden appearance. Of all the ghosts in the hotel, Victoria is the most unpredictable. Like Sunyoung, most of the time she seems completely unaware of the fact that she’s no longer alive.

Chanyeol glances up from where he’s conversing with one of the investors and catches Baekhyun’s eye. He frowns when he sees how panicked his partner suddenly is, and he followed the curt nod of Baekhyun’s head to where Victoria is walking over to the table, wearing a dreamy expression. Chanyeol’s own countenance pales visibly.

“What do we do?” Baekhyun hisses under his breath.

But Luhan only arches his eyebrow in amusement. “You’re asking me?” he demands. “What do I know? I’ve been dead for a hundred and forty-four years.” And with that he leaves the ballroom.

One of the investors looks up and sees Victoria, who is standing beside the table a bit awkwardly. “Oh, who is this?” the man says, and it’s obvious from the way he looks the young woman up and down that he’s interested in more than just her name.

Chanyeol jumps to his feet, wrapping an arm around Victoria’s waist. “O-oh, this is one of our designers,” he lies smoothly. “She’s been helping us with our designs to make sure they’re authentic.”

“How wonderful,” another of the investors exclaims in delight. “I would love to hear her input on the upcoming hotel renovations.” He pulls out a chair and gestures for Victoria to sit. “Please, join us.”

Chanyeol splutters for a second but he can’t seem to come up with a plausible reason for her not to stay, and then Victoria is sitting in the chair, smoothing down the voluminous skirt of her gown.

Sweating nervously, Baekhyun joins everyone at the long table. With Victoria seated, there isn’t a chair for him, so he stands awkwardly behind Chanyeol. He’d had a whole speech planned out for the investors, but Victoria’s sudden appearance has made everything vanish. His mind is suddenly blank.

“So what can you tell us about your plans for the hotel’s renovations?” one of the investors urges when Baekhyun is silent for an awkward amount of time.

Victoria looks up in some surprise. “Oh, you’re renovating the hotel?” she asks curiously.

A few of the investors chuckle like she’s made a joke, but most of them just look confused.

Baekhyun forces an awkward laugh. “She’s such a laugh,” he explains, but he says it without much conviction.

Chanyeol suddenly addresses Victoria directly. “Tell us about how you think the ballroom should be designed,” he says quickly.

Baekhyun hisses in panic, but Chanyeol gives him a sharp look that begs him to shut up and not say anything.

Victoria looks around the room slowly, as if seeing it for the first time. It’s obvious that she’s just now realizing how different the room is from when she’d died. She gets out of her seat and meanders slowly around the room; the investors follow her every movement eagerly.

“The chandeliers should be lower,” she says finally, looking up at the enormous gold and glass monstrosities hanging overhead.

One of the investors nods in agreement. “I was thinking that too,” she agrees. “The electrical current wasn’t as strong back in the early nineteen hundreds, so the chandeliers would’ve needed to be lower to provide more light.”

Some of the other investors murmur thoughtfully, but Victoria ignores them. “The stage shouldn’t extend quite so far,” she continues. “And the paneling should be brighter, not quite so dull.”

“All good suggestions,” another investor says thoughtfully.

“Yes, our designers are full of fantastic ideas,” Baekhyun says, steering Victoria towards the door. “Unfortunately, Victoria has a previous engagement that she’s late for and so she can’t stay.”

Victoria smiles, cheerful for the first time. “Yes, I’m meeting Kyuhyun here,” she agrees. “Goodbye. It was nice to meet you all.”

When they get out into the lobby, however, Victoria stops and looks around.

“I don’t understand,” she says. “Where is Kyuhyun? I’m supposed to meet him in the ballroom. There’s a big gala, you see.”

Baekhyun hates lying to her, but he doesn’t see that he has a choice at the moment. “He told me to pass on a message,” he says smoothly. “He said he can’t meet you today, so he’ll meet you at the same time tomorrow.”

Her face falls. “Oh, okay then.” And she disappears.

Baekhyun breathes a sigh of relief. As long as they can get through the rest of the presentation without Sunyoung stumbling in, dragging her noose behind her, they might actually have a chance of scoring some investors.

Luckily Chanyeol has picked up the presentation by the time Baekhyun makes it back into the grand ballroom. The investors seem genuinely interested, and by the time the enormous grandfather clock in the lobby is striking nine o’clock, the majority of them seem to have been convinced to back the venture.

“I’m really looking forward to staying here in the hotel once it’s been reopened,” one of the investors says with a wistful sort of smile as Baekhyun and Chanyeol usher everyone through the lobby and towards the front door. “It really does feel like stepping back in time, doesn’t it?”

“That’s our intention,” Baekhyun says with a too-bright smile.

They thank all the potential investors, shaking hands and promising to send official reports over to secretaries first thing in the morning. Then everyone is gone and Baekhyun and Chanyeol are left alone in the lobby.

“Well, that went well.”

Luhan’s voice is loud in the sudden quiet, but not entirely unexpected.

Baekhyun gives him a wry look. “Barely.”

Chanyeol wraps an arm around his partner’s shoulders. “Hey, it’s over and done with, and nobody is any the wiser about this place being haunted. I say we count our lucky stars and get a good night’s sleep.” 

So here we have the introduction of a few more ghosts and a hint of their backstories, as well as a bit more history about the hotel :)