Chapter 1

I just moved in, and the college girl across the hall reported me to the police, claiming I was stalking her out of twisted obsession and peeping on her while she showered.

When the police showed up at my door, she was crying her eyes out, pointing her finger right at my nose and screaming:

"Pervert! You've been using binoculars to spy on me every night! You even posted my photos online!"

"I saw you! Those disgusting, leering eyes of yours make me sick!"

The neighbors around us started pointing and whispering. Some even shoved me, calling me the scum of society.

"This creep should be chemically castrated!"

"He looks so normal on the outside, but he's actually a peeping tom!"

Facing their accusations, I removed the sunglasses from my face, revealing two deeply sunken, empty eye sockets.

"Officer, tell me—how exactly does a blind man peep on anyone?"

My voice wasn't loud, but it pierced through the chaotic air in that room like an awl.

The neighbors who had just been shoving and cursing at me froze mid-motion.

The middle-aged woman who'd been leading the charge stood there with her hand still raised in midair, forgetting to lower it.

Every pair of eyes in the room locked onto my face.

Or more precisely, onto the two hollow, eyeball-less cavities where my eyes should have been.

These were the permanent marks left on me three years ago, in a fire.

The lead officer was experienced. His name was William.

He froze for a moment, then furrowed his brow, his tone thick with impatience.

"Don't lie to us!"

"Whether you're really blind or not, we'll find out at the hospital!"

The girl across the hall—Mia Li—paused her crying for a beat, then burst into even shriller sobs.

"He's lying! He's just trying to get away with it!"

"There's no way he can't see! He stands by his window watching me every night! Those eyes... those eyes..."

She seemed to want to describe my eyes, but the sight of my empty sockets scared her speechless. She just pointed at me, trembling all over.

"Disgusting! This is so disgusting!"

Her outburst stirred up the neighbors again.

"Right! He must be faking it!"

"These days, criminals will do anything! He'd even claim to be blind just to escape punishment!"

A young man even stepped forward indignantly, trying to grab me by the collar.

"You scum! I'm going to teach you a lesson today!"

The police officer blocked him.

"What are you doing? Everyone stay back! The police will handle this!"

He turned to me, his eyes still full of suspicion and disgust.

"You're coming with us."

I didn't resist. I calmly held out both hands.

Cold metal touched my wrists.

Two younger officers flanked me on either side and led me toward the elevator.

Behind me, Mia's crying mixed with the neighbors' curses into a chaotic din.

"Scum of society!"

"Get out of our community!"

"Hope you rot in prison!"

I could "see" the righteous expressions on their faces.

I could also "hear" the pleasure in their voices as they trampled me into the mud.

I stepped into the elevator. The metal doors slowly closed, cutting off the noise from outside.

One of the younger officers, probably new to the job, couldn't help but ask me quietly.

"Are you... are you really blind?"

I tugged at the corner of my mouth but didn't answer.

The other officer patted his shoulder, signaling him to keep quiet.

But I knew that in their minds, the scales had already tipped completely in favor of that tearful young girl.

After all, it was a young, pretty, pitiful college student on one side.

And on the other, a suspicious man living alone, wearing sunglasses.

In their eyes, it was crystal clear who was the victim and who was the perpetrator.

What they didn't know was this:

Sometimes, what the eyes see is the biggest lie of all.

And I—a blind man—had "seen" something that none of them had.

For instance, when Mia accused me, her heartbeat was steady, without a single ripple of genuine emotion.