The sky gradually darkened, the orange hues slowly replaced by a deepening purplish-blue. Neir remained fixated on the horizon, savoring every second of the sky's mesmerizing color shift.
However, the tranquility was instantly shattered by the rough roar of an old exhaust pipe heard from a distance, followed by a familiar shout ringing in Dani's ear.
"Eyyy! What were you doing running off like that?! We looked everywhere for you, and turns out you're here!"
Dani turned quickly and was immediately startled. A man with a somewhat thin frame and a slightly hunched posture got off his Astrea Grand motorcycle with an expression mixed between annoyance and confusion.
Mr. Rudi.
Instantly, Dani's stomach churned. He had almost forgotten—no, he had completely forgotten—that he was still on work hours. His heart pounded hard as Mr. Rudi continued his scolding.
"This is pretty far out, you know! Why did you run off like that, huh?! You looked like you were possessed!"
Dani fell silent for a moment, his brain scrambling for a plausible excuse. Mr. Rudi's sharp stare made him even more nervous. Neir, standing behind him, also looked tense, staring at the man with a puzzled expression.
"Um, Mr...." Dani finally opened his mouth, his voice slightly trembling. "Back in the stockroom... I got startled, there was a snake. A ground viper."
Mr. Rudi frowned. "A ground viper?"
"Yeah, Mr.! I accidentally stepped near it, then panicked, ended up bumping into the metal rack!" Dani began to get carried away with his dramatization. "Then I was rolling around, and the snake even slithered into my pant leg!"
Mr. Rudi immediately took half a step back with a horrified expression. "Whoa! That's scary! I almost got bitten by a snake in the back bathroom a few months ago too! That area really does have a lot of snakes roaming around."
Dani held his breath. He didn't expect Mr. Rudi to believe his story so easily. However, instead of relief, worry began to spread through his body. He remembered there was CCTV in the stockroom. If Mr. Karyo checked the footage, he could be in trouble.
But for now, he chose to enjoy this moment—at least Mr. Rudi wasn't suspicious of him.
Slowly, Dani took a step closer to the man, then whispered slightly, "We'll continue this later."
Neir only gave a small nod, though her expression still showed confusion. She had been listening to their conversation without fully understanding everything.
Dani started to move, but suddenly remembered something. He whispered seriously to Neir.
"Oh yeah, if you're going to take a bath later, don't forget to close your left eye."
Neir tilted her head. "Why?"
Dani rubbed his face in resignation. Was this girl truly innocent or just pretending not to understand?
Mr. Rudi, still waiting by the motorcycle, grew restless. "Come on, Dan! It's getting dark!"
Dani nodded, then quickly whispered to Neir, "Because your left eye is my eye now, so if you look at your own body, I'll see it too."
Instantly, Neir's face flushed bright red. She hurriedly curled up on her bed, pulling a pillow to hide her face in embarrassment.
Dani slapped his own forehead and let out a long sigh.
Mr. Rudi, seeing his odd behavior, was also confused. "Why are you slapping your forehead?"
"Ah... lots of mosquitoes, Mr.," Dani answered quickly, before hurriedly running to the motorcycle and climbing on behind Mr. Rudi.
They sped off, the roar of the old motorcycle echoing in the dark streets. Dani tried to focus on the conversation with Mr. Rudi, but his mind kept drifting to one thing:
—That girl is really strange.
With a slight frown, he stared ahead, letting the night wind hit his face.
---
Dani arrived back at the store with Mr. Rudi. As soon as he passed through the door, Rizal was already waiting for him with his arms crossed, his face full of suspicion.
"Hey, you think you can just run off like that?" Rizal narrowed his eyes. "I saw everything on the CCTV. You ran out of the stockroom like a man possessed."
Dani held his breath for a moment, then tried to remain calm. "I already explained to Mr. Rudi earlier. There was a ground viper under the cardboard rack. I panicked, fell, then reflexively ran."
"A snake, huh?" Rizal snorted, clearly not buying it. "Funny, there's no sign of a snake on the CCTV."
Dani cursed inwardly. Damn, of course nothing was visible. But I can't back down now. "Well, obviously you can't see it. What snake would wait in front of a camera? It'd slither away immediately."
Mr. Rudi nodded, half-convinced. "Could be. A few months back, I almost got bitten by a snake near the bathroom."
Dani almost smiled in relief. However, Rizal still wasn't satisfied.
"Then why did you run so far away instead of reporting it right away?"
Dani thought fast. "Because the snake slithered into my pants for a second."
Rizal fell silent for a moment, as if digesting those words. Then he grimaced. "Ugh... Okay, forget it. I don't even want to imagine that."
Before the argument could drag on, Mr. Karyo approached them. "That's enough," he said firmly. "I've been listening from afar. No need to prolong this."
Dani sighed in relief.
Mr. Karyo looked at him for a moment before continuing, "Coincidentally, today is payday."
Dani immediately snapped to attention. Ah, right.
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
Neir let out a slow sigh and finally got up from her bed. She had been curled up for quite a while, but now the embarrassment that had enveloped her was slowly fading.
The voices of Dani and the people in his place were still clear in her ear. Not only that—she could see them too.
Not with her own eyes, but… from Dani's point of view.
Neir realized Dani was standing near the checkout counter, facing a man who looked suspicious. Even without hearing their conversation clearly, she could feel Dani's anxiety.
'He's hiding something.'
But before she could think further, her mother's voice called from outside the room.
"Neir! What's taking so long?"
Neir jolted. She had been in her room too long, and it was already night. Without waiting any longer, she stepped toward the door.
Dani, still at his store, saw it too.
Instantly, his mind split.
'Is she going to bathe? With her mother?'
He remembered his warning clearly.
"If you're going to bathe, close your left eye."
Did Neir still remember?
Dani bit his lip. Damn. I can't control this.
Neir paused for a moment in front of the door, her Mr.w furrowing. She felt something was strange.
Meanwhile, Dani could only watch her from afar, from a different world.
'Does she realize I can see her?'
---
Neir stood in front of the door, still for a moment. Then, slowly, she closed one eye—her left eye.
Dani, still at work, noticed the change. Earlier, he could still see Neir's room from her perspective. But now, everything was dark on the left side.
'Ah… she closed it.'
For some reason, he felt a slight relief.
In her place, Neir stepped out of the room and followed her mother to the bathing area, leaving Dani with his own thoughts.
However, before he could feel completely at ease, Mr. Karyo's voice redirected his attention.
"Dani," the man called. "Come here, take your pay."
Dani quickly approached, pushing all thoughts of Neir aside for a moment. Mr. Karyo handed him a small Mr.wn envelope. Dani accepted it carefully, feeling the weight of the envelope in his hand.
His wages.
For the first time in a long while, he felt a little more capable.
Rizal, still standing near the counter, snorted. "Huh, you finally got it. Don't go wasting it on nonsense right away."
Dani ignored him.
Mr. Rudi patted his shoulder with a chuckle. "If there's another snake tomorrow, don't let your wages end up paying for hospital bills, okay?"
Dani gave a small smile, though anxiety still lingered in his heart.
Not about the snake. Not about the lie he had just told.
But about Neir.
Because even though his eye was back to being his own…
It still felt like something had been left behind in that girl's world.
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