Chapter 1

The year I lose my eyesight, I happen to stumble upon Wendy Peck, who's just moments away from freezing to death.

I beg my mom to save her, telling her I want a companion to guide me.

Leaning toward Wendy, I whisper a promise in her ear. "I don't need you to be my guide. Just focus on staying alive. And you can go wherever you want."

But after my mom remarries, Wendy stays and becomes the only person I have left to rely on.

She watches over me as I grow up, acting as my white cane year after year.

She even goes so far as to walk away from her dream and incredible talent for painting to study medicine, all for the sake of my eyes. But even though she has become one of the best eye doctors in the world, I still can't see a thing.

Then, on my 25th birthday, Wendy's former closest friend, Abel Petersen, wins a prestigious art award.

Wendy locks herself in the study, and all I hear is the rustling of paper. Keeping her emotions in check, she tells me she's writing me a birthday wish.

Just as I happily step forward to kiss her, lines of comments suddenly sweep across my pitch-black vision.

"Wake up, you blind idiot. She just tore all her paintings to shreds, and on the back of every single one, she wrote, 'Drop dead, James Glover.'"

"Don't take another step forward! She left a live wire in front of you. If you step on it, you're a goner!"

I freeze in my tracks. Then, with a smile, I continue to stride toward her. "Wendy, all your wishes will definitely come true."

Chapter 1

I carefully made my way forward, scared I'd miss the live wire.

Wendy Peck suddenly exclaimed, "James!"

Her voice was choked with emotion, yet she stopped herself before she could say anything else.

I played dumb, keeping my tone light as I said, "Does your head hurt again? Here, let me give you a massage."

A comment flew by that read, "Hey, stop! The wire's right in front of you!"

Great. If it was right in front of me, then I wouldn't miss it. But just as I was about to lower my foot, the doorbell rang all of a sudden, followed by the awful screech of a chair being violently pushed back.

"Watch out!"

A sudden force tackled me to the ground. My head was ringing from the impact, and the pain was so bad I couldn't even process what had happened.

Wendy helped me up, her hands shaking. "James, I'm sorry… There's a wire right there…"

Comments filled with curses appeared. "Wendy, you idiot! Weren't you the one trying to get him killed? Why are you tearing up and getting all shaky now?"

My heart ached for her. Silly, why did she have to be so soft-hearted? I gritted my teeth through the pain and gave Wendy a reassuring smile.

"It's my fault for not being able to see it. It's alright. I'm not in any pain."

Someone commented, "Did the fall scramble his brains? Why is he apologizing?"

But I knew Wendy was taking this way harder than I was. I could hear her broken sobs. Just as she was about to say something, her phone rang.

A man's voice sounded. "I know you're home. I'm not leaving until I see you. Wendy, just think of this as… the last time I come to see you."

I recognized the voice. It was that genius painter from TV, Abel Petersen. He and Wendy had originally hit it off over art when they were volunteering together. Wendy used to say she'd found her kindred spirit.

And Abel had once told me Wendy's paintings were the most soulful he'd ever seen. But now, one had become a world-renowned painter, while the other had become a doctor stuck looking after a blind guy.

Wendy never liked being a doctor. After every surgery, she'd throw up until she was completely wiped out.

She abruptly squeezed my hand, but then let go just as fast. Then, she stumbled toward the front door.

I staggered from being pushed, completely lost my bearings, and slammed the back of my head against the sharp corner of a table. Blood started pouring out.

I let out a weak groan. "Wendy, it hurts…"

However, the door just happened to slam shut right then.

I couldn't see, but my hearing was a lot better than most people's. So even with the door shut, I could still make out what they were saying from the living room despite their voices sounding muffled.

Abel sounded emotional as he said, "His eyes can't be fixed! There's nothing you can do! You know very well that you're way more talented than me!

"Come with me to see my mentor. There's still time. As long as you just—"

"Abel, I owe him my life. He's all alone, and he's blind. How could I possibly go?" Wendy interrupted him, her voice trembling with emotion.

Abel sounded devastated. "What about your dreams? And… what about me?"

Chapter 2

Wendy stayed quiet for a long time before responding in a hoarse voice. "No matter what happens, we'll always be kindred spirits."

"I won't come looking for you again. When you come to your senses, take this to my mentor," Abel said before leaving in tears.

As I lay on the floor, overcome by dizziness, my mind suddenly drifted back to when I was 13.

After I'd gotten bullied at the school for the blind, I came home with a swollen, bruised head. Wendy was absolutely furious. She was such a smart kid, but she insisted on transferring to that school just to stay by my side.

And in order to catch up with the curriculum from regular schools, she never got a full night's sleep for years.

When I turned 18, my mom remarried.

She sobbed while holding my hand. "James, my new husband can't take care of a blind kid for me. It's been so hard on me. You understand, right?

"I only took Wendy in for your sake in the first place. She should be the one taking care of you!"

Just like that, Mom left with her suitcase, leaving behind our old home and Wendy with me.

The years of exhaustion from taking care of me eventually took a toll on Wendy's health. She was just 18 when she became ill.

Time and time again, I begged her to leave me, to stop burdening herself with me.

But she'd just smile, ruffle my hair, and say, "You're such a crybaby. Take the sparrows outside, for example. They always stick together. Neither one can be without the other."

Now that this sparrow was tired, she should just fly away on her own. An unwanted blind guy like me would have died long ago if Wendy hadn't taken care of me.

I should have died somewhere Wendy would never know about so that she wouldn't blame herself.

I rubbed the back of my head, which was throbbing with pain. Just as I was feeling around and trying to stand up, the door opened.

"What happened?"

Wendy's voice was incredibly hoarse. "Where did all this blood come from?”

A comment floated past my vision. "Are you kidding me? You were the one who pushed him! Why are you acting surprised?"

I tried my best to smile. "Sorry, I accidentally tripped since I couldn't see where I was going."

The second I said that, a glass shattered at my feet. "James, how many years have you lived in this house? How can you still not remember your way around?"

As I heard her heavy, ragged breathing, I tugged at my sleeve, feeling upset. "I'm sorry for being useless, Wendy."

Wendy took out the white cane that had been left untouched for years and dragged me outside in big strides.

Unable to keep up with her, I nearly fell down the steps a few times, but she never stopped for me.

I grabbed her in fear. "Wendy, where are we going?"

As Wendy came to a sudden stop, I crashed into her so hard that my nose bled.

I frantically tried to wipe my nose, only to hear her voice crack.

"James, there are countless blind people in this world. How come everyone else can live a normal life with a cane, but you can't? I'm not your seeing-eye dog! I can't be your guide dog for the rest of my life!"

As my heart tightened, Wendy gave me a forceful push from behind. Her cold voice sounded from behind me. "If you don't learn how to use the tactile paving by tonight, then don't bother coming home."

Then, her voice and her scent were gone. All that remained in my ears was the sound of the wind, traffic, and passersby whispering. "Is he blind? What's he doing out here? Is he trying to pull some kind of insurance scam?"

The darkness and panic swallowed me whole, like a giant gaping maw.

I gripped the cane tightly. As I fought the urge to scream, I softly said, "Wendy, I'm scared."

Back when I just got blind, I had a hard time adjusting. Every time I woke up to pure darkness, I'd cry my eyes out from fear.

Wendy would always rush into my room to grab my hand right away. "I'm right here. There's no need to be scared."

But now, the only response I got was the sound of the wind.

The comments were still filled with criticism and outrage. "Damn, wasn't she the one who swore she'd hold his hand for the rest of his life and said he didn't need to learn how to use a white cane? People really do change their minds fast!"

I wiped away my tears. That wasn't true.

I had long forgotten everything I knew about tactile paths. I stumbled along, tapping the ground, thinking that caring for a blind person like me must have been too much for Wendy.

I wandered aimlessly, finally stopping right where the sound of the honking cars was loudest.

If I just got hit by a car right now, Wendy could finally be a free sparrow, right?

But the crash I was expecting never came. Instead, I was yanked into someone's arms.

Wendy's body was trembling slightly as she sounded utterly desperate. "James, you're blind, not stupid! Why can't you just learn?"

Chapter 3

"Why did the person who found me have to be blind?"

Why? Silly Wendy. Why would she still care about me, then?

Unable to take it anymore, I cried my heart out. "That's right! I'm not stupid! So just leave already! I don't need you to look after me!"

I was only five when my parents' marriage fell apart. They fought every single day because neither of them wanted me. They didn't even notice when I went blind from a fever.

I thought that maybe unwanted kids didn't even deserve to keep their eyesight. That was why, when I found Wendy lying alone in the snow, my heart broke for her. I didn't want there to be another kid in the world who lost their eyesight.

Wendy weakly held my hand. "Alright, I'm sorry. Stop saying things you don't mean. You expect me to leave you here so you can get hit by a car?"

She led me back home and never brought up using the cane again. However, I noticed she was spending more and more time in the study.

Inside my room, I made a call. The moment they heard it was me, they blew up.

"Why are you still bothering me? I don't have any legal obligation to take care of you anymore!"

I sniffled, my nose stinging. "Mom, I don't need you to take care of me. But could you just pretend to take me in?"

I repeatedly promised that I absolutely wouldn't cling to her. Only then did she say she'd come get me after my little brother finished summer camp, saying she owed me that much as my mother.

After hanging up, I smiled.

That was great. Mom had a new child to keep her company. And Wendy could finally get rid of this dead weight.

When I knocked on Wendy's door, I heard her frantically putting something away. "What do you want? Did you lose something again?"

I choked up for a moment, then forced a playful smile. "Wendy, my mom contacted me. She said she's doing really well now and has been feeling bad because of me. She wants me to live with her, and I agreed to it."

Wendy was in disbelief. "Do you have any idea what you're saying?"

I said, "I want to go live with my mom."

Wendy flew into a rage. "James Glover, have you forgotten how she treated you? Haven't you learned your lesson?"

Of course I hadn't forgotten. During the few years the court gave Mom custody of me, she was always out on dates.

Sometimes she'd disappear for days and forget to leave us money for food.

The young Wendy had to go out in the dead of winter to collect bottles, and every single piece of bread she bought with those coins went straight into my mouth.

At the time, she was barely a teenager. Even though she was so hungry that her stomach cramped, she still quietly reassured me that she was fine and that she simply ate too much.

When I asked my mom to take Wendy in, all I wanted was for Wendy to have a better life. Instead, she was weighed down by a blind person and never had a single carefree day.

As I refused to change my mind, Wendy became furious. And she refused to back down as well.

I kept sighing to myself, thinking that she was being an idiot. So I decided to call Abel.

"Please, talk some sense into her again…"

The day Abel called, I had just gotten my eyes examined again, only to hear the doctor sigh.

"His eyes… Dr. Peck, if even you are unable to do something, he may have to live like this for the rest of his life."

Wendy clenched her fists tightly. "James, why are you so helpless?"

Feeling guilty, I could only apologize.

Abel's voice was somber over the phone. "Wendy, I'm leaving with my mentor in a few days. Once we're gone, you won't get another opportunity like this again. And you'll have to keep living like this for the rest of your life."

As Wendy stared at my eyes, she began to unravel. All of a sudden, she ran into the study to grab something before running out of our home.

When I heard the front door close, I actually felt happy. A whole day passed, and Wendy still wasn't back.

Abel sent me a voice message. "Thank you for letting her go. Wendy really is meant to paint. She and my mentor get along very well."

I was glad to hear that. But since I hadn't eaten a single thing all day, the hunger was becoming unbearable.

Wendy must have forgotten to leave snacks in the places I could easily reach before she left.

I tried to use voice commands to order food, only to realize the front door had been locked from the outside.

As the night wore on and Wendy still hadn't returned, my stomach started to ache from the acid building up.

I felt my way toward the kitchen, hoping to find something to eat.

Alas, a blind person like me was utterly useless. I had knocked over something, and the next thing I knew, the kitchen was on fire.

In my panic, I tried to put it out, but I couldn't even aim a splash of water in the right direction.

Chapter 4

As the flames spread, the smoke suffocated me, forcing me to the ground. My skin was being burned so badly that I could no longer feel the pain.

Sobbing uncontrollably, I crawled toward the front door with everything I had. "James, you useless fool! Don't you dare die here!"

If Wendy came back to a charred corpse, she'd never get over it for the rest of her life!

The comments that popped into my head frantically tried to guide me, "Blindie, over here! Crawl this way!"

I desperately crawled toward the direction the comments told me, but the smoke was simply too much. I slowly blacked out from asphyxiation.

When I came to, I was already in the hospital. Wendy showed up shortly after with Abel right behind her.

Wendy muttered, sounding completely drained, "I was only gone for a day. Why do you keep doing this to yourself?"

I nervously wrung my hands. "I'm sorry…"

A police officer harshly reprimanded Wendy, "What kind of guardian are you? How could you leave a blind man home alone? Do you know he almost died in that fire?"

I was about to defend Wendy when her bewildered voice sounded. "Could it be that every time I try to move forward with my life, you use reality to remind me that I can only be trapped by your side?"

Abel suddenly shouted, "James, you had me convince Wendy, then right when she was about to say yes, you pulled a stunt like this? You did this to make her feel guilty so she'd never leave you, didn't you?"

Although I couldn't see Wendy's bloodshot eyes, I still burst out laughing. "So what if I did? As long as my eyes don't recover, she has to stay by my side and be my guide dog for the rest of her life. Why else would I have brought her home?"

The crisp sound of a slap echoed throughout the entire ward. The force of Wendy's slap whipped my head to the side. I simply smirked.

Silly Wendy, why would your hands tremble if you were going to hit me?

"Wendy, trash like you has no business chasing dreams. I burned every painting you hid. You're not going anywhere!"

Right then, my phone rang. Mom's loud voice blared through the speaker. "I'll be at the apartment soon. Get your stuff ready and wait for me."

Before I could even answer, Wendy snatched the phone right out of my hand.

She then gripped my wrist tightly, seemingly overwhelmed by her emotions.

She screamed hysterically at me, "I really wish I had just died in the snow back then, James! It's been 20 years! I don't owe you anything anymore, you hear me?"

She yanked me right out of the hospital bed. The doctors tried to stop her. "He can't be discharged. His burns are very serious!"

No matter what they said, Wendy refused to let me go.

When we reached the entrance of our neighborhood, my mom, whom I hadn't seen in nearly a decade, had just pulled up.

Wendy dragged me over to my mom and shoved me forward.

Her voice carried a twisted sense of relief as she yelled, "Go with your mom and get as far away from me as you can! I hope I never have to see you again for the rest of my life!"

With that, she left. Deep down, I thought that I felt the same way.

I left with Mom. She kept her distance, looking at me like I was disgusting. "I only came because I'm your biological mother. You'd better keep your promise that I won't have to take care of you anymore after picking you up.

"And those injuries of yours have nothing to do with me. Your brother is in school and needs the money."

I simply smiled and wasn't upset. After all, the person who loved me the most had just given up on me today. "I won't, Mom. Could you drop me off at Corvial Park?"

That was where I found Wendy. The second we arrived, Mom dumped me and took off, terrified I'd cling to her.

There weren't many people around in the park since it was winter, so no one was around to yell at a blind guy for wandering where he shouldn't.

I just walked around aimlessly, letting the cold numb my burned body until I couldn't feel anything at all.

My head hurt so much. I thought I heard Wendy's weak cries for help coming from the snow. But then I remembered Wendy saying she didn't want to be saved by a blind guy.

I kept calling for help, but no one paid attention to me.

As Wendy's breathing grew quieter, I was overwhelmed with panic.

"I'm sorry, Wendy. It looks like this blind guy has to save you again."

I stumbled forward frantically, only for a barrage of comments to appear in front of my eyes.