exomeme | part two hundred and twenty one

part two hundred and twenty one

chiyu chiyu

Please do not post pictures using table codes!
Please use <img src=""> for phone anons!
(and label links!)

• ip logging is off
• anon is on
• stay anon
• do not spam

links post
glossary/wiki
mod alert post

meme • sncj • fyeahs

world cup: exomeme edition: prelims | round one | round two | round three | finals

congratulations team lay !

last page | flat view | themes | games

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

theme: supernatural
tw: doppar's a ghost etc

will link parts 1+2 later sry

collapse

Baekhyun can't stop thinking about how lonely Kyungsoo looks. He follows up with the manila folder Minseok gave him all those weeks ago, the one with Kyungsoo's information. The murder case is still ongoing, but his family's been cleared and apparently they've got a suspect. Kyungsoo's reaction doesn't betray a thing when Baekhyun tells him.

I probably won't remember who it was, anyway. It was a long time ago.

"I found more. In the papers. While I was checking into things. I—uh. I found where your family's living."

Oh. Kyungsoo doesn't look up from what he's doing, reading all the titles on the spines of the books on Baekhyun's book shelf. He seems more engrossed in that than what Baekhyun's saying to him. Baekhyun tries again.

"I could take you to go see them if you want. They're actually not far from the old place. And, uh, I wasn't sure if you wanted to know, but they're burying you," Baekhyun says. "This weekend. Would you like to go?"

Kyungsoo frowns. Go? Why would I go to my funeral? My body's already there, what else do you need me to do?

"I don't know," Baekhyun says, rolling onto his back to stare up at the ceiling. "Just seems like the right thing to do. Go and pay respects to you."

I'm right here.

"The other parts of you. The parts that aren't here anymore."

I'll think about it, Kyungsoo says, sounding like he won't, and then he cannonballs onto the bed and leaps straight into Baekhyun's chest. Baekhyun lies there, feeling the uncomfortable way Kyungsoo's phantom elbows dig into his internal organs, suddenly overcome with a stricken sort of panic that can only be Kyungsoo's. So he's scared to leave, too.

Baekhyun thinks about what it might be like to have a ghost boyfriend for the rest of his life. It could work. He would make it work. But then he feels the echo of a sob somewhere in the back of his throat and realizes Kyungsoo's never really going to be happy unless he finally finishes his business and moves on from this life.

"Dammit," he whispers.

I know, comes the reply.

—

They don't go that weekend. Or the following one. Every time Baekhyun tries to bring it up with Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo seems suddenly preoccupied with inhabiting the same space as Baekhyun, forcing himself underneath Baekhyun's skin and hiding the same way a cat might retreat under a couch at the sound of a vacuum cleaner. Baekhyun's never had so many hand jobs in his life in the name of changing the subject. He can gauge how frantic Kyungsoo is by the way he shoves his fingers up his ass, cooing in his ear, something soft and unintelligible until Baekhyun comes so hard he has trouble catching the breath to speak, let alone talk about Kyungsoo's grave.

Finally, though, Baekhyun manages to convince him.

And by convincing him, he lies, really. He says he wants Kyungsoo to go with him to the dig back at SNU so Kyungsoo can keep him company, and then brings him to the cemetery instead. Kyungsoo nearly bolts when he sees the outcropping of tombstones stretched out in front of them but Baekhyun wraps his arms around himself, hugging the bouquet of roses to his chest, and whispers quietly to himself until Kyungsoo settles down.

There's someone waiting at the grave when they approach. Kyungsoo jerks wildly inside Baekhyun, dragging him behind a tree to hide.

That's her. That's my mother.

Even if Kyungsoo hadn't told him, Baekhyun would have recognized her anywhere. The family resemblance was uncanny—same long face, soft eyes fringed with thick lashes. Heart-shaped mouth with full, pink lips. Long delicate limbs. Surprisingly tall, though, especially in the heels she's wearing, considering how diminutive Kyungsoo is.

"She's pretty," Baekhyun says, and she is. Her hair's streaked with grey and her face is lined, heavy with grief as she looks down at the stone at her feet, but she's still beautiful.

Mmm. I always thought she was the prettiest woman in the world.

She kneels in front of the grave.

Do you want to meet her? Kyungsoo asks.

Baekhyun tilts his head, hesitating. The idea of seeing a part of Kyungsoo living on in real time is tempting, but he can't bring himself to do it. It feels wrong, like he's intruding on a life he was never supposed to be a part of in the first place.

"I can't," he whispers. "I wouldn't know what to say."

You could tell her I say I'm doing fine. You could tell her you knew me, Kyungsoo jokes, but doesn't push him to move any further. He knows it'd be awkward. There'd be no good way to explain that Baekhyun was the one who found Kyungsoo's body, that he's now housing Kyungsoo's ghost—sleeping with him, even. It's all too weird for Baekhyun to wrap his head around, let alone try to explain it to someone else.

Instead, they wait, hidden behind a line of nearby trees, and watch her as she tends to his grave, tugging at the bits of stubborn grass already poking their way around the edges. She lingers for what feels like hours, her hand smoothing over the arc of the polished headstone over and over. Baekhyun wonders if she'll wear it clean away. Even though he's looking through Baekhyun, Kyungsoo never takes his eyes off of her. Baekhyun feels his cheeks get damp but he doesn't bother mentioning it to Kyungsoo. He wipes the tears away with an edge of his sleeve when he thinks Kyungsoo's not paying attention.

Thanks.

"Don't mention it."

—

"So this is it," Baekhyun says later, when they're finally alone at the grave site. He gestures grandly around the field of stones, the cellophane around the bouquet of roses crinkling in his hand. "Nice digs you've got here. Not too crowded. Your family must have some money."

You didn't need to go through all this trouble, Kyungsoo says flatly, nose wrinkled. He watches Baekhyun put his flowers down across Kyungsoo's headstone, covering the part that reads son and brother so it just reads beloved. Baekhyun thinks he sees the trace of a smile when he stands and brushes his hands off on the thighs of his jeans, but it's hard to be sure with Kyungsoo.

"I think it looks nice," Baekhyun says.

It does. Something in Kyungsoo's tone is different. Baekhyun glances up and sees it too: the door, heavy and wooden. Suspended in the middle of the cemetery looking all the world like it belongs there, except Baekhyun knows it's only there because of Kyungsoo.

"No," he whispers. "No, don't go. I don't want you to. Not yet."

Kyungsoo looks at him and his face softens with pity. Hey, he says. You don't know where I'm going to go after this. Nobody does. So don't—don't worry so much about me. You might see me again.

Baekhyun struggles to breathe through his tears. "Don't be stupid, Kyungsoo. Nobody comes back. Once you're gone, you're—" He chokes.

Dead? I've always been dead, Baekhyun. Ever since you've known me. Kyungsoo looks like he wants to creep inside Baekhyun's chest and stay there, permanently—and Baekhyun would let him, if only he would ask…

But he doesn't.You don't know that, Kyungsoo says firmly, like he's reading Baekhyun's mind. He probably is. He's always been very good at it. Maybe we'll be okay, he doesn't say.

He turns. Opens the door. Baekhyun thinks he sees a moment of hesitation, his neck turn a fraction, almost as though he wants to look back. Baekhyun's glad he doesn't, though. He doesn't know what he would have done. Kyungsoo steps through the doorway and disappears.

The door clicks shut and ripples away into nothing. It's just Baekhyun in the middle of the cemetery, fists clenched, staring down at Do Kyungsoo—Beloved. The tears on his face dry, cheeks stiff with salt. But he feels—relieved, all of a sudden. Like the world has exhaled, settled back into itself.

He stays for a little while longer, running his hands along the same places Kyungsoo's mother had, hoping the rock is a little smoother because of him. "I'll miss you," he says out loud, even though it's stupid. He knows Kyungsoo's not here anymore.

Still, there's a tiny part of him that's open to the idea now. That Kyungsoo might be somewhere close by, listening. So he speaks out loud anyway, hoping that he can hear him. That he misses him too.

epilogue.

When Baekhyun returns for the semester, Minseok's waiting for him in his office. He's officially Lee's TA now and has an entire room to himself. It's only slightly larger than a closet, but still, the recognition's the thing. Minseok busted his ass over the summer. He deserves it.

"Sit," Minseok says. He's smiling. He's still golden brown from the entire summer spent underneath the sun and there's a tiny patch of skin on his nose that still hasn't quite peeled off. "You did a really great job this summer. With that body we found."

"Kyungsoo."

"Yeah, him. Did they ever find out what happened to him?"

Baekhyun shrugs. He's been doing an investigation of his own, based on the few memories Kyungsoo has of the days leading up to his death, but it's slow-going, and nothing's really panned out just yet. "Not that I know of," he says. "Twenty years ago... witnesses forget or go missing or die, it's really hard to solve a cold case like this."

"They thought he was a runaway."

"Yeah," Baekhyun laughs. The thought of Kyungsoo being labeled a runaway makes him laugh. There's no way anyone who knew him would ever suspect him of being so dissatisfied with his life that he'd leave without saying goodbye. The amount of love he'd felt when they were watching Kyungsoo's mother in the cemetery... Kyungsoo cared for his family far too deeply to leave them hanging for twenty years.

"Anyway. That's not really the point. I've got something for you." Minseok pushes an envelope over the table to Baekhyun, unsealed. "Professor Lee wrote you the recommendation you asked for. He also wrote you another one."

"Hm? Another one?" Baekhyun puts his hand over the flap but doesn't empty the envelope of its contents yet. "What—I don't understand."

"Lee was really impressed with the amount of legwork you did for Kyungsoo's case on your own time. He just thought you might like to switch to the forensic department. He's recommending you for another internship. If you're interested, of course. No pressure."

Baekhyun's eyes widen. He'd never really thought about it. But an internship would help pay for his schooling and get him a job after graduation. "Of course I'm interested."

"It's not with him," Minseok cautions, holding his hand up. "He thought—watching the way you worked on that case. You really dedicated yourself to finding that kid's family, even though it wasn't really your job anymore. So he just thought you might like to try working with a forensic archaeologist instead. See if you like that as much as you liked what you were doing this summer."

Baekhyun hesitates, wondering if liked was the word he really wants to use when he describes this past summer. He appreciates it, especially when he wakes up in the mornings and lies there, eyes still closed, thinking about how happy Kyungsoo had been.

And how lonely he'd been since then.

What if this ghost thing was a one-time deal? What if he couldn't see any others?

Minseok sits back in his chair and taps his fingertips together under his chin. "You seemed pretty bored for the first part of the summer," he says. "I mean, you had a shitty quadrant, you were digging up garbage. But you kept coming back, so maybe you are interested in this kind of thing."

"This means I'd be dealing with more bodies?" Baekhyun asks carefully. "More murdered people?" He's not sure he can handle getting attached to another Kyungsoo knowing he'd have to let this one go, too.

"I don't think they'll all be murder victims," Minseok says. "This isn't a television show. You'll just help determine how bodies have died. It's basically what you're doing now, except you're not just specializing in a certain time period."

Baekhyun holds the envelope up to his mouth. "I'm not sure," he hedges.

"Why don't you give it a try?" Minseok suggests. "I'm sure the department would give you some hands-on time as a trial period before you make any sort of decision."

Baekhyun thinks. Kyungsoo'd tell him to go for it.

So he does.

—

Weeks later, Baekhyun's settled in nicely at the morgue. The coroner knows his name and he's finally got his own pass so he can swipe in to examine remains on his own time without a chaperone.

He's here now after-hours. A bundle had been discovered in the marshes outside the city early this morning. He'd gotten a text from his supervisor to go check it out. Good field experience, etcetera. Really, he's just excited to get to work. He wants to see if it really was just a fluke with Kyungsoo, once and for all.

He swipes his keycard with a loud shkkk noise and enters the room. It's sterile with cold, gleaming stainless steel surfaces everywhere. The temperature's down, too. In the middle of the room, a table. A sheet covering a familiarly-shaped object, although this one's much smaller than Kyungsoo.

He sees it out of the corner of his eye before he processes it. In the corner of the room, familiarly bluish and trembling: a little girl. She cowers as he comes closer and covers her face.

No, no, don't hurt me, she wails, and Baekhyun's heart breaks a little bit. What could have possibly happened to her?

He crouches and puts his hands out like he's asking for a hug. He knows it isn't possible. She'd pass right through him first. But it's a comforting gesture, and the best he can do under the circumstances. At least until she trusts him. "Hi," he says. "I'm Baekhyun. What's your name?"

The little girl blinks at him, mouth wide. She looks more frightened than Baekhyun had been when Kyungsoo had first appeared to him.

"I can see you. You're safe, don't worry," he says. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help you find your way home."

You're not going to keep her here for an entire summer first?

A familiar voice. He looks up. A familiar face. His heart leaps up into his throat at the sight of Kyungsoo. He hasn't changed a bit—still in the same outfit, the same necklace dangling around his neck. Baekhyun wants to grab him and kiss him.

Hey, Kyungsoo greets. I see you can't get enough of the undead. You need to get some real friends.

"Help," Baekhyun says, even though he wants to say so much more—questions like Where have you been? and Are you okay? and Are you safe? but all that comes out is, "I have no idea what I'm doing."

I know. That's why I'm here, Kyungsoo says. Consider me the intermediary. He puts his arms out for the little girl, much like Baekhyun had done, except she runs to him and leaps into his arms. Baekhyun's throat aches, suddenly, watching Kyungsoo smile at her the way he never, ever smiled at Baekhyun, even when he was happiest.

Kyungsoo leans in and whispers something to her and she giggles. Baekhyun looks away and scrubs at his eyes with the heel of his hand, feeling suddenly bereft. He hadn't realized how much his body had missed Kyungsoo until he was back standing in front of him, an arm's length away, and just like before—Baekhyun can't touch him.

Don't cry, Kyungsoo says. I'm here now.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

part two hundred and twenty one

wcau - team lay - baeksoo ghost au - part 3 (fin) 2652w

Re: wcau - team lay - baeksoo ghost au - part 3 (fin) 2652w

Re: wcau - team lay - baeksoo ghost au - part 3 (fin) 2652w