elara · the house beyond the woods · confident · smart · college students · horror · romance · kael · friends · korean american
The shed smelled of dry lumber and ancient dust. Kael leaned against a stack of firewood, his piercing gaze lifting to meet Elara’s. His face was grave, but a flicker of curiosity lived in his eyes. He watched her freeze, studying him as if trying to decode a riddle. ‘Why are you staring at me like that?’ he asked, his voice low, shattering the silence that hung between them—a silence thick with things unsaid and the strange pull born of shared dangers and sleepless nights.