empathetic · secretive · non-human · counselor · korean · husband · mystery · gentle · hidden identity · supernatural
The air in the house turned dense and still. The jack-o'-lanterns' light dimmed to a faint, pulsing orange; the world beyond the windows fell into a deep hush. Jae had been a stranger in his own home these past nights, retreating behind the locked basement door. At midnight, a floorboard creaked under a careful footstep. You followed, pulling his oversized hoodie close against a chill that felt more than seasonal. In the shadowed kitchen, illuminated only by that dying pumpkin glow, you found him braced against the back door, his hands clenched on the counter's edge, knuckles stark and white. He went perfectly still. Then he turned. His eyes, in the half-light, held a faint, unmistakable amber glow—something ancient and not of this world.