Trigger Warning
This chapter contains content about self-harm.
EYES SEE YOU
Chapter 5
"Friend or Foe"
Yesterday was quite eventful for Juni, but today brings a new beginning.
Juni rose earlier than usual. He prepared for school and put on his lenses before heading to the kitchen for some water, where he saw his mother Narra.
“Good morning, Juni! I’ve prepared some dumplings for you. Have some green tea before you head out.”
Juni didn’t expect her to be home. “Um, sure… Mom.”
Narra forgot that Juni doesn’t drink tea; she tends to switch things up. When this happens, he drinks it anyway but it takes him time to finish a cup.
“I didn’t go to the market early today. A kind young man bought all my dumplings to share with his sick friend. It touched my heart, so I added extra dipping sauce, but he mentioned his friend doesn’t like dipping sauce, just like you… so I just gave him extra pieces.”
Juni recalled that Red mentioned buying dumplings at the market before it closed. The flavor was unmistakably his mother’s. Juni knows it well, as he eats them daily.
“I’ve been thinking, maybe I should stay home more often to take care of you. What would you like for breakfast?”
This is a rare occurrence. Could she know about what happened to Juni last night? He explicitly instructed Dr. Braille not to inform her, so she wouldn’t worry. Or perhaps it’s because of his bruises…
“Mom, I just had a little accident—”
“An accident?”
“Yes, that’s why I have these bruises.”
“Bruises? Where?”
Juni felt confused; when he returned home last night, his eye was swollen, and his body bore dark bruises. If only his mother had been awake to see it.
“I… I’ll just go to the bathroom.”
Juni entered the bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror, only to find his bruises completely vanished!
“How…?”
Could this be related to the horn too?
Juni tried to recall what Dr. Braille had mentioned about demon horns.
Flashback…
.
.
.
Dr. Braille sits on a chair in front of Juni while he sits on the clinic bed.
“When I was a little boy, my father fell ill and passed away. It inspired me to become a doctor to save lives. After medical school, my mother fell ill too. She urged me to help as many people as I could. On her deathbed, she made me promise that whenever someone needed my help, I would not hesitate nor look the other way.
When I finally became a doctor, my first patient was a woman named Ana. She suffered a lot. She had a lot of unexplained boils; no painkiller could help. We couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her. After a few days, she was talking about ‘something’ that was out to kill her. My colleagues dismissed it and said she was just hallucinating, but it didn’t make sense because she was not mentally ill. One night, she had visitors. They called themselves, ‘The Institution’.”
A glimpse of guilt is seen in the eyes of the doctor.
“Did they manage to save her?”
Dr. Braille has a somber look on his face.
“They couldn’t.”
Juni’s heart sinks, Dr. Braille continues.
“That failure drove me to join the institute. However, our role was to aid the infected and eliminate the source of infection- the horns, but not to combat demons directly. So I’ve never really seen a demon in my life.”
The doctor holds up the dybbuk box.
“I still don’t understand how you acquired this horn, Juni. Can you explain?”
Juni knows that it is time to reveal his ability to see the supernatural. He opens up to Dr. Braille.
“I’ve seen demons my whole life. They’re everywhere.”
Dr. Braille presses his lips together and remains attentive. He can’t imagine the pain and fear Juni might have felt growing up.
“Juni, I wish I had known sooner. I could have supported you…”
“It’s not your fault, Doctor. I hid it from everyone to try and have a peaceful life. If I revealed it, I would’ve risked attracting them to you, to mom, or everyone around me. And now, even to Red…”
Dr. Braille holds Juni’s shoulders to comfort him.
“Now that I have his blood, you shouldn’t worry anymore. And if there’s one thing I learned well from the institute, it was to know how to secure this location. You can talk freely about anything in this building, as they cannot pass through the walls.”
Juni feels relieved. He continues the story of how he gets the horn.
“There was a demon in the attic. It wanted to take me. I didn’t know what to do but I noticed something written on its neck. I read it and it suddenly disappeared. No— it didn’t just go away… it was stabbed in the back by that horn.”
“Stabbed? From behind?” Dr. Braille questions.
“Yes… and it fully disappeared.”
“Thank you for confiding in me, Juni. I may not have all the answers, but all I know is that what you have is a gift… and gifts are meant to be used for good. And you did good. You saved Red.”
Juni feels relieved to hear Dr. Braille’s assurance.
“Doctor, please don’t tell my mother. I don’t want to put her through more pain.”
Dr. Braille understands.
“I’ll investigate the demon that attacked you and analyze the horn’s remnants. I can still study its ashes, but it will take time. For now, we should burn this horn. My lips are sealed and this will be between us. But you have to promise too that you won’t keep this to yourself anymore. You’re not alone, because I’m here.”
Juni nods in agreement.
That’s all they talked about. So what could have healed Juni?
AT THE SOCCER FIELD
The soccer team was chatting on the bleachers when suddenly, a soccer ball came flying and hit the back of someone’s head. It was the bully who had picked on Juni the day before. He was about to complain when he turned around and saw— Red. He threw that ball at him.
“Red?! I-I’m sorry! I don’t know what came over me! I was so angry at him, I couldn’t control myself!”
Red grabbed the bully by the collar and pulled him up. His fist tightened, ready to strike, but a ball zoomed past, stopping him just in time.
“What are you doing here, Red? You’re in the wrong place.”
Red let go of the bully, who fell to the ground. He turned to face the newcomer.
“You should teach these kids some manners.”
“Kids? Heh— and that kid is yours? Last I checked, he’s not in any sports club.”
Red scoffed as he realized he knew about Juni.
“Since when did Red care about anyone?”
“Don’t push it, Indie.”
Indie— a member of the Rainbow Gang, and the star player of R.U. in soccer. Known for his exceptional skills and leadership on the field, he possessed remarkable athleticism and strategic thinking.
“Are you mad that your messenger messed up delivering a package? Maybe next time, tell him where you’ll be so that I don’t have to…”
“A package?” —
Red pondered to himself, as he realized Juni got in trouble for something he wanted to give him.
“He was like a mother, holding it like a baby.”
Red’s anger boiled over when he found out that Indie had just watched Juni get beaten. He sprinted and kicked the ball back at Indie, almost hitting his face.
“Next time… I won’t miss.”
Red warned him and walked away from the field, leaving Indie behind.
SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENT
All the students gathered in the hall for the school announcement, which mainly focused on the upcoming annual Remnant Fair.
“Attention!!!
Every student of Remnant University will receive two tickets to share with anyone. You can invite a fellow student from outside our campus. Additionally, all school clubs are required to have a booth featuring their products or items for sale. If you have further questions, come see me at the faculty room…”
After the announcement, students lined up to receive their two tickets. Everybody seemed very excited for this event. When it was Juni’s turn to receive the tickets, Juni’s adviser told him to come see Secretary Oswald at the faculty room.
In the hallway, Juni and Red encountered each other as they were both heading towards the door.
“Junn?”
“Red…”
“Your doctor was so good…you’re back to normal already.”
Juni just nodded back and scratched his head.
Next!!!
Meanwhile, Secretary Oswald’s voice could be heard ringing from behind the door, calling for the next club in line for orientation.
INSIDE THE FACULTY ROOM
“According to your records, your club lacks one more member.”
Secretary Oswald informed the two. Red was taken aback by the news.
“What?! I thought we only needed three members?”
Secretary Oswald adjusted his tie with a composed demeanor.
“Did you not read the student handbook? You’re required three student members. While I appreciate Mr. Clean, he’s not a student— but a staff member. However, I could permit him to oversee your club.”
Red was obviously upset and Secretary Oswald hugged his potted plant on his desk.
Though infuriated by the rules, Red knew he had to abide by them once more- or he wouldn’t be able to join the intramurals this year.
They left Secretary Oswald’s office and headed to the maintenance room to inform Mr. Clean.
When they reached the maintenance room, it was locked and dark. Juni tried to turn the door knob.
“I guess Mr. Clean left early today.”
Red turned to Juni to ask him about what happened previously.
“Hey Junn, about yesterday. Some people said you were looking for me and had a package…”
Juni, not wanting to alarm Red or make him uncomfortable, quickly improvised.
“Oh, I just wanted to remind you about… needing another member for our club, and that they have to be a student.”
Red accepted the explanation, realizing it was a club he had initiated. Plus, he hadn’t noticed anything unusual about the package Juni was carrying, assuming it contained only prescriptions and the horn from a ‘demon’.
“Right. Ugh. Why is Mr. Clean not around anyway? Are janitors even allowed to leave before the students? Now we have to figure out how to recruit a new member.”
AT THE ANIMAL SHELTER
Juni paid a visit to Jane at the shelter, where she greeted him warmly at the entrance.
“Juni! What brings you here?”
“I came to say hello. Also, I wanted to give you these…”
Juni handed her two tickets.
“Remnant Fair? Hmm… Don’t think you can sway me with favors after what I asked you to do!”
Jane was referring to the task of checking out the spooky house on Dahlia Street.
“Fair enough…”
“Of course, you will! You promised! But this event? I wouldn’t miss it for anything!”
Suddenly, a loud bark and growl can be heard coming from inside the shelter. Juni and Jane bid each other goodbye as Jane returned inside to check what was happening.
“Down, boy! Calm down!”
A new girl at the shelter was struggling to tame an agitated dog. Seeing this, Jane stepped in to help. She tried to soothe the dog, and the new girl smiled gratefully.
“T-thank you…”
“We could walk them together if you’d like… Rachel.”
“Oh—how did you know my name?”
Jane pointed to Rachel’s nametag with a smile.
“I just read your nametag.”
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Rachel chuckled softly.
“Oh—I forgot I was wearing that. Yes, I’m Rachel. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice meeting you too! I’m Jane!”
Rachel and Jane were both holding each dog leashes. Jane noticed that there were scars on Rachel’s wrists. She wanted to ask her, but she felt that she might get uncomfortable if she pried- especially since they were just new to each other. Rachel was constantly trying to hide her scars with her sleeves.
“Hey Rachel, I was wondering if you’d be interested in coming with me to the Remnant Fair? You can be my plus one…”
Rachel smiled, unsure how to respond to Jane’s friendliness.
“Thank you. You’re too nice. But you don’t even know me…”
“I think I do, actually. Aren’t we from the same school?”
“Serene High—?”
“Yes! Women are our fate…”
“…let them be great!” —they chanted in unison.
Both smiled at each other for the newfound friendship. But something broke Jane’s smile off, it’s the house at the end of Dahlia Chapter. The house she told Juni about. She asked Rachel to just take a turn to avoid that street for now.
When they got back at the shelter, Rachel said goodbye and hugged Jane. Jane was surprised.
“Thank you for being friends with me, Jane.”
Rachel had tears in her eyes. But she quickly ran outside before Jane could comfort or ask her why. Jane was touched and thought she might be going through something behind her smile. But Jane was sure that whatever she might be in pain for is what caused her to have those scars on her wrist.
“I’ll help you, Rachel.”
Jane whispered in the wind.