The hallway was too quiet—quiet in a way that seemed intentional, like the building itself was holding its breath.
Lynn Xu stepped inside with her last moving box pressed against her chest. The fluorescent light above her flickered weakly. Every few seconds, it buzzed, as though struggling to stay alive. She looked up at it, then down at the long, dim corridor stretching ahead.
Her new apartment was at the very end.
Of course it was.
Her footsteps echoed softly as she walked, the old wooden flooring responding with weary creaks. She paused halfway down the hallway. A cool draft slipped past her, brushing her hair.
But all the windows were closed. She made sure of it.
"…Hello?" she whispered, though she wasn't sure why she said it. Maybe to fill the void. Maybe to convince herself she wasn't imagining the soft tapping behind her.
She held her breath, turning slowly.
No one was there.
Just peeling wallpaper, a dusty ceiling, and a shadow that felt slightly… wrong. Too tall. Too close.
Lynn shut her eyes for a second, inhaling sharply.
It's just nerves. A new place. An old building. Stop scaring yourself.
She unlocked her apartment and stepped inside.
But as she pushed the door closed, she heard it clearly this time—
Footsteps in the hallway. Slow. Approaching.
When she checked through the peephole, expecting someone—
There was nothing.
Only the flickering light, buzzing in the silence.
And yet… she couldn't shake the feeling that something was waiting just beyond sight. Watching her.
Breathing with the building.