Closets Are For Ghosts And Gays | Chanbaek, Chansoo

Take Off Your Mask Of Lies

Hallow's Eve; a day Chanyeol would normally spend going on shopping sprees for candy or watching horror movie marathons even when he had school the next day. He usually dragged Kyungsoo, Kai, and Sehun along with him, but this particular Hallow's Eve he decided to meet with them later and spend the day with Baekhyun instead. After all, he would be packing up and moving back to his place after Halloween and the ghost would go back to being dormant, stuck in the closet of his bedroom until another supernatural fanatic with a Oujia board came around to give it a try.

But he didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to think about how he failed Baekhyun and how there was seemingly no way to set his soul free. He didn't want to think about the fact that his killers were dead and he would never get justice. All he wanted to do was enjoy the final days of October before having to leave Baekhyun until next year.

Their main priority was the dance, which Baekhyun took very seriously when it came time to pick a costume. As soon as Chanyeol walked off of the school campus, the ghost was on his case.

"Please tell me you don't have a ton of homework."

"Well, besides my stupid project, I'm completely open."

That's all they needed. Ignoring the project (Chanyeol was used to it by then) they rushed to the mall and entered the costume store for a last minute glow up.

"Okay, the goal here is to impress Kyungsoo." Baekhyun explained as they paced the aisles. Chanyeol followed behind with one earbud in, looking for anything that might catch Kyungsoo's eye. "He still hasn't made a decision about your relationship, so you need to convince him that you are the man he wants. You, Park Chanyeol, are boyfriend material."

"How do I convey that through a Halloween costume? Fake blood and plastic fangs don't really scream boyfriend material."

"It's not about the costume. It's about how you wear it." He stopped in front of a row of vampire costumes, stroking his chin. "I'm not feeling any of this. We need something that stands out. Something extravagant." His eyes moved over every row and every costume on display, but nothing called out to him. It was all too cheap, too predictable. It wasn't interesting or unique. Vampires or zombies or mummies weren't going to get anyone's attention, let alone Kyungsoo's.

"Come on. We need to scour this entire mall. We'll find something eventually."

They walked all over the building, up and down escalators, in and out of outlet stores. Hours spent pressing up against windows and staring at the selection of Halloween assortments on display, grasping for something worth their attention. About two hours in, Chanyeol's feet felt like they were walking over a bed of fiery coal and he damn near collapsed in the foot court.

"It's hopeless, Baekhyun. I'm going to have to wear the generic Dracula costume." He sighed as he kicked off his shoes and slumped in a chair.

"Nonsense." The ghost floated ahead to continue his search. "I will not give up until I find the perfect costume for you. This is Kyungsoo we're talking about; we can't do basic."

"What if he likes basic?"

"Nobody likes basic. That's why it's basic." He threw his hands up in annoyance. "Come on. We can't accept defeat now. This might just be the most important Halloween of your life; let's act like it."

"I don't think it's that deep."

"And I don't think-" He cut himself off with a dramatic gasp, scaring Chanyeol half to death. He shot up in a panic, whipping around to see Baekhyun rushing in the opposite direction while squealing like a little girl. Cursing to himself, he jumped up from his chair and chased after him, finally stopping in front of a comic book shop.