Seojun staggered back, his empty stomach churning with nausea. The room spun around him as he grabbed for the heavy curtain, desperate to steady himself. Unfortunately, the old fabric couldn’t handle the weight of a grown man, even a slender one. It tore from the wall with a rip, tangling around his legs as he stumbled.
“I’m not sure if malice tastes sweet or salty. Never tried it.” Johan said, his face giving nothing away. “But at my house, stuff that questionable wouldn’t even make it onto the menu.”
Madison’s anger seemed illogical. Yes, Johan had spouted some half-baked, maybe offensive nonsense, but she was the one who tried to stab him in the head first. Details.
“I still don’t get it. Madison, honestly, what’s going on?”
Johan awkwardly turned the stiletto heel over in his hand. He had no idea how to use a shoe as a weapon. He wondered if he’d said something wrong about that video on her phone. But no, he liked it. Even complimented it. The more he thought about it, the more wronged he felt.
Not even the most intense thriller movie could match this moment. Johan crouched, eyes fixed on the small screen, his heart pounding wildly. When his worst fear didn’t happen, he exhaled slowly, momentary relief washing over him. It didn’t last.
“Took you long enough, Camry.”
Leimia stood with her arms crossed as Camry finally entered the room. Sunlight streamed through the doorway, illuminating swirling dust particles as Camry pushed a strand of hair from her face, her smile brightening the musty space.
The fact that the address for this house just happened to be Wraithwood Road only added to the strangeness of the situation.
“Oh my god, this has to be fate,” Camry gasped, slapping her hand over her mouth like she’d just heard the juiciest gossip ever.
Camry nudged Seojun gently, prompting him to brush his fingers against his throat. He hadn’t really noticed until she mentioned it, but now he realized he was actually pretty thirsty. He appreciated her thoughtfulness.
Madison’s mind spun with confusion and suspicion. Leimia had vanished in an instant, there one second and gone the next.
She rounded on Johan, eyes flashing. “Leimia was literally right here when I went to the bathroom. She wouldn’t just leave without a word. What did you do to her?”
Water trickled down bare skin, turning light hair several shades darker. Wet strands stuck to their shoulders and back, outlining a figure that could’ve been mistaken for female at first glance. But the angular pale hips and sinewy thighs made it clear this was a man.
Johan’s eyes sparkled with a mix of excitement and reverence as he gazed up at the haunted house looming before him. It was an ominous sight, but one that filled him with anticipation—a fitting response, considering the long, incredible journey that had brought him to this moment.
Knock, knock, knock...
Barely a sound, that knock. More nervous than anything else. Seojun held his hand flat against the wood, but a shiver of apprehension started working its way down his back.