A/N: Two chapters today, to speed things up a little, I guess. You might wonder why I'm not posting everything all at once. That's because I wanted to build everything up slowly to myself to ensure that I won't keep the story hanging again just like last time. I'm excited as you all are, so I'm really happy that you're waiting for it. I hope I don't disappoint.

Mediums open their spiritual eyes in many ways, dad once told me. 

It’s true. Our family, the four of us, mom, dad, Jaebum, and me, opened our eyes differently. Mom opened hers with a spell she recited from grandpa’s notebook out of rebellion when she was 10. Dad opened his with a Ouija board when he was in college. Meanwhile, Jaebum and I got ours when we were young. Dad said I got mine naturally; it just opened one day when I was 4. Jaebum opened his eyes at a funeral when he touched a coffin when he was 5.

When you open your “eyes” for the first time, it would feel surreal. Your senses will get sharper; you’ll suddenly see things that are not seen by an average human, hear and smell what others can’t, and feel the spirit world. You’ll feel lighter since opening your eyes means freeing your spirit to mingle with the other world. 

The moment you open your eyes, you become ghost bait too. Regardless of whether one is a medium or a berserker, a spiritist holds so much power that ghosts knowingly or unknowingly desires. A spiritist should then learn to control their powers to defend oneself and anybody from the harm that comes from the spirit world.

There is, however, one way of opening one’s eyes that would probably hurt.

One can open his or her spiritual eyes when one accidentally looks at a desperate ghost’s eyes. How would you suddenly see a spirit even without opening your eyes yet? One can never know. Maybe it’s fate. Maybe it’s sheer desperation. Once you open your eyes this way, however, it would feel the opposite of what I just told you.

Instead of feeling surreal, all you’ll feel is a massive headache and physical, spiritual, and mental heaviness. It’ll be a day or two full of pain and suffering, even in your dreams. All the desperation you’ve seen in the ghost you first saw might even transfer to you. You’ll feel miserable, and your powers would be uncontrollable for a while, making you a ghost bait even if you don’t want to or try not to.

Nayeon has yet to open her eyes, but she hasn’t shown any signs of being a medium at all. Jaebum would often joke around me, calling Nayeon a “stump,” a member of a spiritist family whose connection to the spirit world is cut. I don’t believe that. She’s only 6, still young. She’s playing with anything she sees as I’m writing this journal entry.

Nayeon, if you’re reading this and your eyes are still closed (I hope not), I strongly suggest NOT to open your spiritual eyes this way.

Nayeon stands awkwardly in front of Momo, who’s still staring at her. They’re standing by the abandoned faculty hall near the school garden to avoid prying eyes. She fiddles with her eyeglasses, still feeling the dull headache she has had since yesterday. Momo sighs, clearly impatient with the mute senior.

“Look, Nabongs,” Nayeon lifts her head up, and Momo frowns at the sight. “You’re clearly not okay since yesterday, and you look worse now. I don’t understand why you won’t tell us, or why you won’t get yourself checked if you want us not to know.” Momo pauses with a sigh. “I know you don’t like people worrying about you, but you’ve got to stop doing whatever this is that’s making us worry like this.” Momo’s voice is softer than earlier when she had called her.

Nayeon bows her head and bites her lip. It’s true, she’s not okay. Her entire body feels heavy since yesterday, her mind is always unfocused, and her head feels like it’s about to explode any minute. However, she refuses to admit that, afraid that recognizing her pains would mean that it’s related to her seeing Chaeyoung’s ghost. She doesn’t want to lie, but she doesn’t want to make a fool out of herself in front of Momo, out of all people, either.

(She knows she’s making a fool out of herself to best friend and long-time crush regardless of her telling all these or not.)

“Don’t worry about me, Momo.” She tries. Momo stares back at her, unimpressed. “It’s just … there are things that I should take care of myself.”

“And these things are?” Nayeon shuts . .

“Uhh, j-just petty things, I guess?”

“Petty things shouldn’t cause you to sway in the track oval while running.” Momo crosses her arms, and Nayeon wonders how Momo knew she was swaying during gym class. “You’re hiding something from me. You don’t stutter. You’re a narcissist. It’s taking a toll on you.” Nayeon panics.

She knows I’m hiding something from her! She knows I can’t keep a secret from her, and she’s using it against me! Nayeon shuffles her feet, refusing to say anything any further.

“Well?” Momo sighs, and she drops her hand. “Listen, Nayeon-ah, I’m your best friend. You can tell me anything, and I’ll even help you any way I can. I can’t stand seeing you like this.” Nayeon scoffs at that.

“Well, there’s a concept called privacy and secrecy.” Nayeon stares hard. Momo narrows her eyes. “Besides, you’re the one to talk about keeping things from you.” She spats in defense and frustration.

“I’m not keeping anything from you.”

“Oh, really?” Nayeon raises her eyebrow, suddenly riled up, all her pent-up frustrations pouring out. “How about the times you and Sana would whisper when I’m there like you’re afraid I’ll hear?” 

“That’s not–”

“Or that one time you almost slammed your locker door on my hand when I reached out to get a letter out?”

“Don’t be unreasonable, I–”

“You accuse me of keeping things from you when you are keeping things from me?” Nayeon raises her hand. “If that’s the way you see things, then way to go, best friend.” 

“Look, I’m not here to fight you about petty things.” Momo huffs and crosses her arms back in defense, and Nayeon knows she hit the spot.

“So, you think I’m petty now?” 

“Well, clearly, you are! You’re pushing me away, and I don’t even know why!” That snaps Nayeon’s mouth shut. Momo continues regardless, fists clenched on her sides. “You think I don’t notice? I don’t know when you started it, but you’re distancing yourself more and more from me. You look away most of the time when I look at you. You shy away from me whenever I try touching you. You barely say anything to me these days, and now this. You push me away when I show concern.” Momo’s eyes soften. Nayeon remains silent, her head turned away from Momo.

“I don’t know what you’ve been doing for the past days that made you look like this. But–”

“Don’t start acting like my parents, Hirai.” Nayeon cuts Momo off, head still turned away from her with her fists clenched hard. “You’re not my mom.” She earns an incredulous look from her best friend.

“What’s gotten into you, Nayeon?” Momo strained, obviously shocked with the older girl’s demeanor. She tries again. “This is not you, are you–”

“You heard me!” Nayeon shouts, her head turning to Momo. The latter visibly flinched seeing the older girl’s wide red eyes. “I don’t need you right now or your nagging! You’re not my parent!”

Senior year, her strained relationship with Yoona and her mom, her ever-growing feelings for her best friend who clearly likes somebody else, Chaeyoung’s disappearance and reappearance as a ghost, and her dreams and headaches. All the stress and frustrations Nayeon kept in herself suddenly burst out from her. Momo just had to be unfortunate to be at the receiving end of her anger. After a few minutes of staring a