EYES SEE YOU
Chapter 4
"Dr. Braille"
Dr. Braille never looked this worried before.
“This horn is from a demon.”
Juni was speechless. How did a doctor learn about the realm of demons?
The doctor brought out a box—
Its material resembles stone but is entirely opaque, concealing its contents from view.
“This is a dybbuk box. We use it to secure horn specimens, shielding individuals from exposure. You can place that one inside.”
Dr. Braille quickly wrapped a tourniquet around his arm and extracted some of his own blood with a syringe.
“I wish I could tell you everything right now but we don’t have much time. Your friend is in danger. When you see these types of horns, it marks you. Except for the one who saw it first— have immunity to it. And in this case, it’s you.”
Juni absorbed this revelation with a mixture of surprise and apprehension, attentively listening as Dr. Braille continued.
“It’s like an infection, progressing through degrees.
First degree, PARANOIA. You may experience heightened senses, perceiving their presence in your surroundings. You hear, smell, feel things…
Second degree, DOMINATION. Both your physical and mental well-being are compromised, leading to sleep disturbances, nightmares, and potential illness or depression.
Third degree, MANIA. Overwhelmed by guilt and plagued by intrusive thoughts, including those of self-harm or worse— driven by demonic commands.”
Labeling the collected blood sample with his own name, Dr. Braille turned his gaze toward Juni.
“I saw it, and you mentioned someone else did too, right?”
Juni was stunned and overwhelmed with new information.
He remembered the time when Red was asking him about it when he just went down the attic.
“Is that a horn?”
Red definitely saw it.
“When demons perish or are banished, they leave behind their horns, which act as anchors in our realm. We call them, ‘footholds’. We must destroy these to prevent them from causing more damage.”
Dr. Braille firmly grasped Juni’s shoulders while showing him the vial of blood.
“But before we do that, we must find its witnesses. That means all the people who saw it must be cleansed. The blood unbinds you from the horn’s influence and then we could burn this horn. You must bring your friend here, the one who saw it so that I can get his blood.
“How do you know all this, Doctor Braille?”
“I haven’t always been an eye doctor. I once worked at an institute that dealt with various illnesses, including those of a supernatural nature. As a physician, my oath is to preserve life, even when it is beyond the scope of scientific understanding.”
Eager to take action, Juni reached for the box, but Dr. Braille halted him.
“Juni, it’s dangerous to keep this with you. Horns attract evil forces too. Leave it here and just look for him.”
“What happens if we don’t do any of this?”
Dr. Braille’s expression darkened.
“The last and fourth degree, DOOM. They suffer from the demonic entity that infested them. They show themselves to the person— and kill them.”
Juni’s face became blank.
“How much time do I have?”
“I need to take a closer look at him so that I can tell. But It’s not the same for everyone. You need to find him now before it’s too late.”
Juni rose from his chair.
“Doctor… I have questions when I get back.”
SCHOOL GYM
Red had just finished his tough practice session.
Sweaty and tired, he made his way to the locker room, eager for a hot shower.
As he turned on the hot water, steam filled the room, and Red enjoyed the comforting warmth as it washed over him.
Closing his eyes, he let the tension drain away.
While soaping up, Red felt a strange sensation on his neck, like someone was watching him. He dismissed it as just his imagination, telling himself it had never happened before.
But then he noticed a rhythmic dripping sound, even though he had turned off his shower.
The sound was coming from the cubicle next to his, but Red was too uncomfortable to investigate.
As he rinsed off, the lights flickered, casting eerie shadows.
Red’s heart raced as he looked around, feeling on edge. Then, he heard a whisper, calling out a name.
“Alfred…”
Red called out, but there was no reply, just the pounding of his own heart.
“Who’s there?”
Grabbing his towel, Red turned to leave but glimpsed a shadowy figure in the darkness.
He bolted towards the exit and encountered another athlete, Tyler.
“Why are you running, Red?”
Red felt relieved not to be alone, but he didn’t want to show fear, so he just gave Tyler a look and walked away.
AT REMNANT UNIVERSITY
Juni arrived at Remnant University, but the guard stopped him at the entrance. With no classes scheduled, only athletes and faculty were permitted inside.
Fortunately, Mr. Clean happened to pass by and spotted Juni. He told the guard that it was okay to let Juni in.
“Juni? What brings you here today?”
“Mr. Clean, I need to find Red immediately.”
Mr. Clean teased Juni.
“Already missing him after just last night?”
Despite the jest, Juni’s worried expression didn’t leave his face.
Mr. Clean noticed this and stopped joking.
“I’ll help you search for him.”
Juni headed straight to the field in search of Red, but he was not there. Despite asking some athletes, no one had seen him.
However, to Juni’s surprise, he stumbled upon the bully who had slapped his hand when he was holding the dumpling, accompanied by his gang from the soccer team.
“Small Eyes.”
This time, the bully exuded more confidence, knowing no one would intervene.
“What’s in that bag? More dumplings? Hand it over.”
Juni hesitated to give it up because the bag contained the horn.
Disregarding Dr. Braille’s advice to leave it behind, Juni didn’t want to put anyone else in danger by leaving it. Especially not Dr. Braille who’s been there for him since he was young.
The bully persisted, fueled by the desire to get back on Juni after their previous encounter.
“You got lucky last time, but now, you’re on your own!”
He threw a punch, but Juni managed to evade it. The soccer team mocked the bully’s feeble attempt, goading him to try again.
Another punch was thrown, this time hitting the bag Juni was clutching, causing it to fall to the ground.
Acting swiftly, Juni scrambled to retrieve it.
However, while he was down, the bully delivered a series of kicks.
Juni didn’t defend himself but shielded the bag, knowing the repercussions if the horn was discovered.
Despite the relentless assault, Juni remained curled on the ground, the soccer team’s laughter ringing in his ears.
In that moment, Dr. Braille’s words echoed in his mind.
“They show themselves to the person— and kill them.”
The bully continued his assault as the others looked on. Until a voice cut through the chaos.
“Goalie!”
The entire soccer team fell silent and straightened up as a figure they respected approached and intervened.
“It’s the ball you kick, not a person.”
The bully backed off.
Juni slowly rose to his feet, his face marked with bruises. His eye was hit badly, hindering his ability to see the face of the person who had stopped the gang. But to try his luck, he asked him.
“H-have… Y-you seen Red?”
“Why are you looking for him?”
He noticed that Juni was clutching a bag he had protected during the altercation. He assumed it was a delivery for Red.
“He left for his part-time job. He’s around Dahlia doing his rounds. You should be able to find him there.”
Juni, still reeling from the beating, left to find Red.
MAILMAN
Red was doing his part-time job as a mailman. He chose this because walking is a good warm-up for his running and a good source of extra cash.
Because he frequently roamed around, Red knew every street, every corner, and every house like the back of his hand.
As he walked, he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched when he was at the gym. Brushing it off as mere paranoia, he continued his rounds.
He found a decrepit house, its windows boarded up and ivy creeping up the walls.
He looked at the mail he needed to deliver and matched the house’s address. He tried to knock on the big gate.
No one answered. He tried again, but still nothing.
Just as he was about to drop off the mail at the doorstep, he heard a faint whisper.
“Help me.”
Startled, Red looked around, but there was no one in sight.
Thinking it was his imagination playing tricks on him again, he made his knock even louder to break the eerie feeling. Then he saw someone peek through the window.
Red raised his voice to reach the window from the gate.
“Hi! There’s a letter for you and you need to sign here.”
Creepily, the person just stood there, appearing to watch Red and not move.
Red was a little annoyed. He needs a signature for it because that means the letter needs to be brought back to the post office if no one receives it. Hence, he’ll keep coming back to re-deliver it.
He tried shouting at the person one last time.
“Hey! I said there’s a letter—”
Suddenly a voice called Red from behind.
“Red…”
It was Juni, and he passed out.
.
.
.
As he opened his eyes, he saw Dr. Braille beside him.
“Juni! I told you it’s dangerous!”
The doctor intended to express his frustration but instead released a sigh of relief.
“Please, do not do that again, Juni.”
Juni blinked a few times, trying to clear his head and make sense of his surroundings. He made it to Dr. Braille’s clinic. But Red–
“H-how did I get here? Doctor, where is Red?”
Just in time, Red entered the room.
“Hey Junn. You gave us quite a scare there. How are you feeling?”
Juni nodded slowly, still feeling a bit disoriented.
“I…I’m not sure. What happened?”
“You passed out in front of me. Since I don’t know where you live, I tried to check what you’re carrying. I saw your prescriptions, and the address of this clinic is there. You’re in bad shape. Where did you get all those bruises, anyway?”
“I…fell and I hit my head. It must be why I passed out…”
Red pulled out a bag. Offering it to Juni without looking at him.
“Uh—I got you some dumplings.”
Although Red always looked like he didn’t care about anything, the dumplings show otherwise.
Dr. Braille pulled up a chair beside him.
“I told your friend that you were looking for him because you wanted to share about the free tests here at the clinic. Since he’s an athlete, he needed that. So I took some of his blood and he could get the result whenever he needs it.”
Red was nodding to agree with the doctor.
“I missed our free medical check for the upcoming intramurals. This came in clutch. Thanks, Doc.”
Red stood up.
“Now that you’re up, I’ll go. Thank you for sharing the free tests. Go eat your dumplings. I ran and made it before the shop closed, so that should be hot…”
“Thank you, Red…”
Red walked out the door and paused for a while. A thought pierced his mind. When he made it out, there was Mr. Clean.
“How is Juni, Alfred?”
“He’s awake now. And he told me he fell, that’s where he got those injuries and he passed out.”
Red put his hands in his pockets, tensing his back.
“I’m an athlete and I fall all the time. No kind of fall does that to you.”
Mr. Clean adjusted his glasses snugly on the bridge of his nose.
“It’s the soccer guys. I could see them from the top floor. They were…kicking him. When I got to where they were, it was too late. He already left.”
Red clenched his fist. His brows met.
“He went to our school?”
“Yes. He was looking for you. He didn’t say why, but I knew what he was about to say was something important. I saw him holding something when he got here. I was able to follow him, and found you both together.”
Red was starting to figure out that Juni’s reason was far more than medical tests.
“Why didn’t you go up, Mr. Clean?”
“I…honestly just don’t like hospitals.”
Red smirked a little.
“Maybe if you liked hospitals, you’d be cleaning for one instead of a school.”
Mr. Clean smiled but his eyes weren’t following.
“Also, maybe because I couldn’t do anything for Juni. I felt so useless…”
Red sensed guilt in Mr. Clean’s voice.
“Well… You carried him here.”
Mr. Clean looked down and pursed his lips together. A moment—
“Alfred, do you happen to know why Juni has a horn?”
Red jokingly sneered.
“Why? He said a demon gave it to him, right?”
***Meanwhile, Dr. Braille was holding a matchstick, lighting up a pile of wood, along with the horn and blood.***
“Well, if a demon really had horns, that’s not far from looking like it.”
***As the fire crackled when the fire touched the blood, the once smooth surface of the horn began to burn away, filling the air with the distinct smell of sulfur.***
“He showed you?”
***The flames consumed the horn until nothing was left but a broken vial, ashes and embers.***
“I opened his bag and I saw it…”