Closets Are For Ghosts And Gays | Chanbaek, Chansoo

Till Death Do Us Part

Yixing sunk into the couch with a tea cup in his hand. He was quiet. Chanyeol was quiet. They sat in silence for a while, giving Chanyeol a chance to soak in everything the old man shared with him. After all this time, he finally knew the truth. The entire truth. What to do with that information was still a mystery to him.

"He told me you were his roommate, nothing more." Chanyeol commented after a long pause. "Now that I know what really happened, it all feels so...obvious."

"Of course he wouldn't tell you. He was paranoid. I can't imagine that would change after being murdered." Yixing stood up to wash his teacup in the sink. The frown lines on his face deepened as he stared into the soapy water for a while. "I told you everything you wanted to know." He eventually said. "You can leave now."

Chanyeol hesitated to stand, but there was no point in bothering Yixing anymore and he had places to be. He walked up to the front door, slowly reaching for the knob. "Thank you for telling me the truth, Mr. Zhang." he mumbled. The old man responded with a nod. Nothing more.

He walked down the street with the moon casted over his head. Halloween had officially begun; kids were running around in costumes and carrying buckets of candy, neighbors shuffled onto each other's lawns for activities, lights and music and decorations invaded the usually quiet street. The school dance had already started. Chanyeol was beyond late, but he continued to walk at a steady pace, in no rush to get home.

He was still thinking about Baekhyun and Yixing. The old man told him everything, but what now? He still couldn't set the ghost's soul free. His killers were still dead; he still couldn't get justice for him. Even if they were alive, it probably wouldn't make a difference. The police brushed it off then; they would do the same now. This was his last night to set things right; to take all of the information he collected and use that to finally put Baekhyun to rest. It was his last night, and he had no idea where to start.

He sat down on the curb and leaned back against a streetlight, watching the party across the street. Through the window, he saw people dancing, holding their partners close, some kissing. Kyungsoo; he was probably waiting for him at the dance, thinking his date stood him up. Chanyeol felt horrible for not reaching out to him, saying he would be late or reassuring him he would be there eventually. He was probably at the dance all by himself, hoping he'd show up, willing to wait even after the dance ended because he had no idea what was going on or if Chanyeol would ever come for him...

Wait. He shot up. A thought popped into his head. A ghost couldn't carry over until they got closure, and Mr. Kim said that murder victims needed justice, but what if their grudge against the killers was never the reason they were trapped in the first place? Baekhyun said it himself that he didn't hold grudges, meaning he let go of the resentment he held for his murderers. So if he wasn't holding onto his desire for justice, then he must've been holding onto something else. Someone else.

"Yixing!" He ran back to his house and banged on the door once again. "Look, I know I literally just told you five minutes ago that I was done with you, but I take that back."

The old man cracked the door open a little, peering through the gap. "You've got some nerve showing up here again."

"I know, I know. You're sick of me, but I think I've finally figured it out."

"Figured what out?"

"How to set Baekhyun's soul free."

Yixing stared at him with his mouth slightly hanging open. "Are you serious right now?"

"Yes! Mr. Zhang, I don't think it was ever about getting justice or punishing those responsible. I think this is about you."

He narrowed his eyes. "What?"