INHA Chapter 1

Early in the morning, the weather was cool, and students were coming and going across the campus.

In the dormitory, Xu Dongyou’s phone chimed with a message from Hou Mingjun.

Hou Mingjun was studying at the neighboring Drama Academy as a junior. Earlier in the year, he had gotten a bit of a reputation thanks to an introduction by a senior who had already debuted, landing a role as the second male lead in a small production. This show was set to air in the latter half of the year.

Hou Mingjun seemed to have something on his mind but found it inconvenient to discuss over the phone. The two agreed to meet at a nearby noodle shop.

Xu Dongyou put on a jacket, using the large hood to cover most of his face.

His face, as his brother put it, must have been a result of extraordinary luck to turn out so good-looking.

Although Xu Dongyou knew he was attractive, he didn’t think it was as exaggerated as others claimed, saying he was so beautiful he didn’t even look human.

However, this face did cause him some minor troubles from time to time.

Xu Dongyou sighed with a bit of distress.

After walking for about twenty minutes, he arrived at the noodle shop. He hadn’t been seated long when Hou Mingjun also arrived.

Unlike Xu Dongyou’s overly pretty face, Hou Mingjun had a face very suitable for playing villains, yet he harbored a dream of becoming an idol drama actor.

Just then, the owner came over to ask what kind of noodles they wanted.

Hou Mingjun ordered a bowl of clear soup noodles, while Xu Dongyou ordered a bowl of beef noodles.

Ever since Hou Mingjun had aspired to be an idol, he had completely stopped eating meat and greasy foods.

As Hou Mingjun ate his clear soup noodles, he looked at Xu Dongyou’s face which was revealed after he took off his hood and the quiet manner in which he was eating. It made the bowl of beef noodles in front of him seem even more delicious.

The shop owner, who had been engrossed in watching TV, couldn’t help but frequently glance at Xu Dongyou after he took off his hood.

In his lifetime, he had never seen someone so beautiful that they seemed almost ethereal.

Hou Mingjun watched with a heavy heart, deeply envying Xu Dongyou’s exceedingly delicate and otherworldly appearance, which radiated an aura of elegance.

Especially those eyes, pitch-black and pure, making one drop their guard when he looked at you.

Xu Dongyou, unaware, only lifted his head after eating halfway full and asked Hou Mingjun, “What’s the matter?”

Hou Mingjun immediately put down his chopsticks, lowered his voice, and said, “Good brother, can you come stay at my place for a couple of days?”

Xu Dongyou was puzzled, his voice inexplicably pleasant, carrying a note of concern, “Has something happened?”

He and Hou Mingjun were middle school classmates, having known each other for years. He understood Hou Mingjun well, and he rarely invited friends to stay over.

This was because Hou Mingjun’s mother disliked his friends and considered them bad influences. She always treated them coldly.

But Xu Dongyou was an exception.

Hou Mingjun sighed with frustration and said, “I’m out of options. Last month, when I went home, I felt someone was following me.”

Following him?

Xu Dongyou blinked, then sat up straight, listening attentively.

Hou Mingjun continued, “At first, every time I turned around, I saw nothing. But eventually, I started hearing footsteps.”

Those footsteps would stop on the first floor when entering the building.

The next time Hou Mingjun went home and entered the building, he still felt someone was following him. But whenever he turned around, he saw nothing.

But those footsteps followed him closely, finally stopping on the second floor.

The third time he went home, the footsteps stopped on the third floor.

Hou Mingjun tried walking while using a mirror to look behind him. But he still couldn’t see anything.

At first, he thought he was hallucinating. But the sensation was too real, instilling a strong fear of going home.

Even in a well-lit corridor, he felt a chill, as if the path wasn’t leading home but into an abyss where something dreadful would happen.

To prove he wasn’t hearing things, he tried returning to the first floor and then continued upstairs again. This time, the footsteps sounded once more, stopping on the third floor.

It seemed the footsteps always stopped at a certain floor each day.

He suppressed his fear and called his parents, asking them to come down to the first floor and walk back up with him.

The terrifying thing was—

When he asked his parents if they heard the footsteps on the first floor, they looked puzzled and said, “No, we didn’t hear any footsteps. Are you sure you’re not imagining things?”

At that moment, overwhelming fear engulfed Hou Mingjun, making him want to drag his parents away from home.

But no matter how much he insisted he heard the footsteps, his parents believed he was mistaken.

Desperate, he went home and then sought help from the community security guards and even neighbors. But when they accompanied Hou Mingjun upstairs, none of them heard the footsteps.

Hou Mingjun was out of options and had to seek help from someone who didn’t live in the community.

That someone was Xu Dongyou.

Hou Mingjun said, “When we used to play together, you always had a strong intuition about where people were hiding during hide and seek. And when we were kids, if you hadn’t insisted that I not eat that bread, I might have ended up poisoned and in the hospital.”

This could be considered a kind of intuition about danger.

Hou Mingjun continued, “Maybe you can help me. I’m almost driven crazy by these footsteps, and my parents refuse to leave the house. Please help me sense if those footsteps are really dangerous.”

And most importantly, if he went home again, the footsteps would stop on the fourth floor.

And the fourth floor was exactly where his home was.

He had thought about just not going home. But the idea of those footsteps possibly waiting in the corridor, potentially pushing forward to the fourth floor and entering the house, terrified him.

If something bad happened, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Xu Dongyou thought of something and asked, “Mingjun, during this time, haven’t you tried calling the police?”

Hou Mingjun replied, “Of course I did. But the police said they didn’t hear any footsteps either. They even checked the corridor’s surveillance cameras and found nothing unusual, as if it was all just my imagination.”

At this point, Hou Mingjun’s face was filled with undisguised confusion and fear. “But I really feel like someone is following me. It feels so real.”

Xu Dongyou thought for a moment and said, “How about this, let’s go to your house right now and take a look.”

In fact, he had a faint feeling that Hou Mingjun was telling the truth.

From a young age, Xu Dongyou had gradually noticed that he seemed different from ordinary people.

For example, if he listened carefully and focused, after a while, he could hear some extremely faint sounds.

Additionally, his vision was exceptional. Normally, it was fine. But in emergency situations, like when a ball was about to hit him, he could instantly capture the trajectory of the basketball, as if it were in slow motion.

His body would react sharply as well, allowing him to quickly catch the ball.

Apart from such emergencies, he had to focus intensely to achieve this slow-motion visual effect.

As for his so-called intuition, he first became aware of it when he was a child while playing hide and seek.

He could focus and use his intuition to find hidden people. While it wasn’t 100% accurate, he had about a 60% success rate.

Later on, he could even sense changes in the weather through intuition. And if he stared at a test paper long enough, he would get a faint feeling about which multiple-choice answer was correct.

However, Xu Dongyou never used this intuition to cheat on exams. Firstly, his grades were already good. Secondly, whether it was an illusion or not, using this ability for too long and too often made him physically uncomfortable.

For example, he would get minor colds and coughs.

Even when taking medicine and getting injections, these colds and coughs caused by using his abilities wouldn’t heal.

He had to endure them for at least half a month before gradually recovering.

To avoid worrying his parents, he used this ability less and less over time.

However, Hou Mingjun’s situation was serious enough that he had to use this ability to help him.

They quickly took a taxi to Hou Mingjun’s house. As soon as they got out at the entrance of the community, Xu Dongyou felt uncomfortable.

But looking around, he still couldn’t see anything unusual.

Hou Mingjun was nervous and uneasy, “Do you feel anything?”

Xu Dongyou shook his head, not mentioning his discomfort. Instead, he said, “Let’s go to the base of your building first.”

Since the footsteps started on the first floor, maybe they’d discover something new there.

The two arrived at the entrance of the first floor.

Hou Mingjun glanced at Xu Dongyou instinctively, lowering his voice, “As soon as we step on the first stair, the footsteps will start.”

Xu Dongyou nodded to show he understood and focused on listening to the faint sounds around them.

First, there was the chirping of birds on the trees outside and the sound of people playing chess.

They stepped onto the first stair together, then the second.

Immediately, Hou Mingjun heard the footsteps behind them.

Thud—

It sounded like someone had just placed one foot down, while the other was still on the ground, waiting to step when Hou Mingjun took the next step.

Hou Mingjun’s muscles tensed. He instinctively grabbed Xu Dongyou’s arm, but Xu Dongyou spoke first.

“Don’t talk. Keep walking.”

Hou Mingjun closed his mouth and continued up a few more stairs after taking a deep breath.

The footsteps behind him followed closely.

Thud, thud—

When Hou Mingjun stopped, the footsteps ceased as well.

Xu Dongyou felt the uncomfortable sensation intensifying.

The feeling seemed to come more from behind Hou Mingjun.

Xu Dongyou pressed his lips together, closed his eyes, and focused again. After a few seconds, he slowly opened them.

He saw on the stairs behind Hou Mingjun a dark shadow standing silently, shrouded in a gray, foggy mist.

It was impossible to see clearly.

The shadow was almost touching Hou Mingjun.

Even though Xu Dongyou was mentally prepared, seeing this made his scalp tingle. His wide almond-shaped eyes widened even more in fright.

The corridor was silent.

All that could be heard was Hou Mingjun’s labored breathing and Xu Dongyou’s own heartbeat, pounding rapidly.

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Moonlit: I was… scammed? This is my nth time being scammed (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻ From the description, I thought it’d be ⋆｡°✩fluff✩°｡⋆. I didn’t expect this ദ്ദി ꒦ິ꒳꒦ິ )✧ My sleep immediately went on vacation after that Thud— ( ╥ ᴗ ╥) I can’t sleep now ( ╥ ᴗ ╥). And I’m scared of turning the lights off ( ╥ ᴗ ╥). he