Chanyeol and Kyungsoo met at the lamppost outside his house. They decided to visit all the old people in the area first, thinking they might've been around long enough to know the truth. The first place they went was Ms. Bae's house across the street, who was a good friend of Mr. Kim's.
"Do you think she'll tell us if she knows?" Kyungsoo asked while they waited for someone to answer the door.
"Hopefully."
A second later, a young nurse poked her head out to glare at them. "Can I help you?"
"Hi. It's Park Chanyeol, Ms. Bae's neighbor. Can we talk to her?"
"One moment." The door shut quickly. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol exchanged a look, shrugging to themselves.
Then, the nurse returned and stepped aside to allow them in. She led them to the bedroom on the first floor, where Ms. Bae sat watching TV and hooked up to an IV.
"Hello Chanyeol. Long time no see." She said in a raspy voice. "What brings you and your friend here?"
"Ms. Bae, you've been living here for a long time, right?"
"Well, of course. I witnessed this place first built all the way back in the sixties I know every nook and cranny of this humble neighborhood."
"Then, you must know what happened in the house across the street back in the sixties. Someone died there and I'd like to know what happened."
Her face dropped. Her soft yet wrinkled features darkened. She stared them down, the kindness in her eyes vanishing. "Why do you need to know?"
"Well...long story short, I have a ghost problem, and I can't get rid of him until I know how he died. Mr. Kim didn't tell me, so I was hoping you would."
"Oh no. I will not speak of that house or that boy haunting it. You won't get anything out of me." She snarled.
"Why not? We're just trying to help a poor ghost finally be laid to rest." Kyungsoo said.
"I will take this to my grave, and so will everyone in this neighborhood who knows the truth. You will never get any of us to talk. Ever."
"Did you do something wrong? Are you guilty of his death?" Chanyeol prodded, taking a step closer.
"Are you accusing me of murder?"
"Maybe I am. What do you know, Ms. Bae?"
"Nothing. My lips are sealed."
"If you did nothing wrong, why are you keeping secrets? Why is everyone keeping secrets? What did you all do to that poor ghost?"
"Nurse! Get these hooligans out of my house!"
The nurse barged in with a broom in her hand, ready to whack them in the head. Kyungsoo grabbed Chanyeol by the wrist and yanked him towards the front door. The nurse chased them all the way to the sidewalk, before backing off and stalking back to the house.
"What the hell?" Kyungsoo said, panting. "That was...weird."
"Clearly, there's some foul play going on here. Why else would the entire thing be covered up like this?"
"So, what? Every old person in this entire neighborhood ganged up on one guy and killed him in his own house? It's weird."
They walked back to his house and went upstairs where Baekhyun sat by the window with his feet up on the desk. "What were you guys doing?"
"Visiting with Ms. Bae. Just wanted to see how she was doing."
"Man, she still lives here? I remember her from way back in the day. Her mom used to invite me and my roommate over for barbecues."
"Roommate?" Chanyeol muttered to himself.
"Have you tried her mom's pecan pie yet? I remember it being delicious."
"Uh, yeah. I'll be right back." Chanyeol grabbed Kyungsoo and pulled him into the guest room.
"What did he say?"
"He said he used to go over to Ms. Bae's house for barbecues."
"That's all?"
"He also mentioned he used to have a roommate."
"Seriously?" Kyungsoo looked around the room. "Do you think his roommate is a ghost here too?"
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Baekhyun was tampering with Chanyeol's Bluetooth speaker when he and Kyungsoo entered the room with suspicion written all over their faces.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked, setting the speaker aside.
"I was just thinking; you mentioned how you were glad you finally had someone to talk to when I summoned you, meaning you were alone before."
"Yeah..."
"So, I was wondering...what ever happened to your roommate?"
His eyes darkened and his mouth stretched into a thin line. "It's none of your business."
"Can I at least know their name?"
"No."
"Are they still alive?"
"Still none of your business."
"Did they, by any chance...have something to do with your death?"
Baekhyun's eyes went completely white. The speaker beside him launched into the air, striking Kyungsoo in the corner of his eye. A book followed, then pens and pencils, a stapler, scissors, anything stored in his drawers until the entire desk charged at them.
"Baekhyun!" Chanyeol shouted when his desk slammed into the wall. "Are you crazy?! You almost killed us!"
"Don't ask me those kinds of questions then. I don't appreciate them." He floated back to his closet, phasing through the door to have a moment to himself.
Chanyeol reached for Kyungsoo's hand to help him to his feet. "Are you alright?" He examined the bruise forming beside his eye. It was already a dark purple.
"I'm fine, it's just a bruise...you can let go of my hand now."
"Oh." Chanyeol pulled away, chuckling awkwardly. "Sorry."
"So, what was that all about?"
"Ghosts don't like talking about their deaths and I guess I got a little too nosy."
"Maybe you should apologize."
Chanyeol looked back at the closet with a sigh. "I guess."
"Well, I should leave you to it. See you at school." Kyungsoo caught him off guard by giving him a hug, before grabbing his backpack and heading out the door.
When it shut behind him, Chanyeol made his way over to the closet and pried the door open a little. Through the small crack, he saw Baekhyun sitting crisscrossed with his back to him and his head in his hands. He cleared his throat to announce his presence, but the ghost didn't move.
"Hey. I'm sorry if I said anything that...bothered you, I guess."
Baekhyun turned ever so slightly to look over his shoulder. "I know what you're doing, Chanyeol. I saw the paper Mr. Kim gave you. I get that you want me gone, but you aren't going to find the answers you're looking for. No one in this damn neighborhood is going to confess, so you're stuck with me until November."
"I don't understand. What did they do?"
"Nothing, Chanyeol. They did absolutely nothing."
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Baekhyun wasn't as talkative as before, and it was both a blessing and a curse. At first, Chanyeol loved the peace and quiet without that annoying insect buzzing around him all the time. However, by the end of the week the silence drove him more crazy than Baekhyun's voice.
"Okay, you little shit." He threw the closet door open, coming face to face with Baekhyun's scowl. "Are you still pissed at me for what I said days ago? Because I think you're being too petty now."
Baekhyun rolled his eyes. "I haven't been bothering you because you don't like me. It's called being polite."
"Ha! What do you know about being polite?"
Baekhyun stood up and stuck his finger in Chanyeol's face. He tried swatting him away, but his hand phased through his wrist.
"You're one to talk, Park Chanyeol."
"Okay, you know what? I feel we got off on the wrong foot. We're stuck together for the entire month of October, so we might as well try and get along."
"And how do you suggest we do that?"
He smiled, putting his hands on his hips. "I'm going to take you on a date."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Sorry to make your homophobic ass uncomfortable, but we need time to get to know each other and learn to get along. It's a Friday night, so let's go out to the mall."
Baekhyun chuckled, tucking his hair behind his ear. "Gosh Park, it's been so long since I've been asked on a date. What do I say? What should I wear? Are you going to buy me flowers?"
"Just shut up and let's go."
The mall wasn't very far from his house, so Chanyeol walked the entire way with Baekhyun hovering beside him. It was decked out in Halloween decorations and sold costumes and candy at every corner. Baekhyun cackled when he saw the plastic ghosts with white sheets over their heads and black circles for eyes.
"What, is this supposed to be me?" He posed beside one hanging near the sliding automatic doors. "Do you see a resemblance?"
"Looks just like you. Now, let's go look around for something to do."
They walked further into the mall where all the outlet stores and escalators came into view. Baekhyun floated ahead to take in the vastness of their options, his mouth hanging open.
"Wow, this is way bigger than it was in my day! Look at all of these stores! And the stairs - they move!" He rushed forward with Chanyeol running to keep up. "Oh my God! Look!"
"What?"
"There's the candy store I used to work at! Well, not this one. I worked at a different location, but it's the same store!" He flew through the doors of Delight Candy. Chanyeol barged in behind him, completely out of breath and turning the heads of the customers.
"That used to be me behind the counter. I was great at making lollipops." Baekhyun sat down on the counter to watch the employees and their handy work.
"You know, my roommate used to come visit me after work and buy chocolate. I always offered him discounts, but he insisted he pay in full to support me. And he'd tell me all the time that the sweetest thing in the store was me."
His smile grew brighter, but the light in his eyes dimmed. "I loved the chocolate. It was always the perfect blend of sweet and savory. And my roommate always bought the same thing - one bar of dark chocolate and nothing more."
Chanyeol went up to the counter with three dollars in his hand. Baekhyun looked to his side and watched as Chanyeol ordered a bar of dark chocolate. He unwrapped it and broke off half of it to give to the ghost. "If you wanted some, all you had to do was ask."
They sat outside the food court and indulged in their candy. Baekhyun sat atop the railing of the escalators while Chanyeol pulled up a seat from the cafe to sit beside him. They ate in silence and people watched - something Chanyeol found rather boring, but Baekhyun absolutely adored. He looked so ready to jump up and start a conversation with everyone that passed by, but they wouldn't have known of his presence.
"Hey, isn't that Kyungsoo?" He said after almost twenty minutes of staring at people. Chanyeol's head snapped up and, low and behold, Do Kyungsoo was sitting at the cafe with a book and his big glasses on.
"Hardly recognized him with those nerdy glasses."
"Yeah. He usually wears contacts, but he likes reading with them and I think they look really good on him."
"Um, okay." Baekhyun leaned forward to see the dazed look in his eyes. "What's up with you? Are you checking him out or something?"
Chanyeol quickly sat up and turned away. "N-no."
"Holy shit, do you like him?!" He threw his head back and hollered, slapping his hands against his thighs.
"No. And if I did, I would never tell you, you homophobe."
"I don't know why you think I hate gay people."
"You're from the sixties, of course you don't support gay people."
"I'm tolerant." He scooted closer, swinging his legs back and forth. "So...do you like him?"
Chanyeol sighed, and then groaned, and threw his hands up and buried his face in his palms. "I'm not saying I'm gay...I just, like Kyungsoo a little more than most people."
"Park Chanyeol, you have a crush on your best friend?!" He jumped down from the escalator to do a little dance. "You must tell me more."
"What else is there to say? I kinda have a crush, but I don't want to make things awkward between us. I mean, he's been my friend for so long, it would be weird."
"Nonsense. I'll have you know that I was a huge flirt back in my day. When I liked someone, I made it known. There's nothing more attractive than confidence. Now, go over there and talk to him."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"I'll dump coffee on his head if you don't go over there in five, four, three-"
"Fine." He groaned, before throwing his candy wrapper away and slowly walking up to Kyungsoo's table. He didn't look up from his book until Baekhyun sent a chilling breeze towards him to rustle his hair.
"Chanyeol?" He closed his book with a smile. "Hey, what's up?"
"Oh...nothing." He shot Baekhyun a panicked look.
"Come on, flirt a little."
"So, how ya doing?"
"Ew, dial it back a bit."
"I'm good." Kyungsoo said. "How are you? Is Baekhyun still giving you a hard time?"
"Uh..." In the corner of his eye, he saw Baekhyun glaring at him. "He's been an absolute Saint actually."
"So, you still haven't cracked the case about him?"
"Nope. He's...a mystery."
"I just can't wrap my mind around this. Why is everyone so adamant about keeping things under wraps? How were they involved?"
"Are you two digging up stuff on me?" Baekhyun growled. The cup of coffee sitting beside Kyungsoo's book began to rattle. "Didn't I tell you that's none of your business?"
"Wait, is he here with you?"
"Um...maybe. Look, I have to go. We'll talk about this later." He rushed out of the cafe and ducked into a clothing store. Of course, Baekhyun was already running his mouth before they were even out of earshot.
"You little snake. We were supposed to be getting along, and now you're going behind my back to dig into my business."
"I'm just trying to help, okay? Don't you want your soul to be carried over?"
"Don't talk to me about that." The racks of clothing around them rose a few inches off of the floor. "I don't want to think about my life or my death or whatever the hell you're so interested in, okay?" Tears welled in his eyes, but he was quick to blink them back. "I don't want you to bring it up. Please." He floated away without another word, going back to the escalator to continue people watching.