After working late, Naeun came home, dried her wet hair with a towel, and turned on her computer again. Rubbing her tired eyes, she began reviewing newly uploaded web novels when her mother, Mrs. Kang, entered the room with a tray of warm milk.

“Drink this before bed. Don’t rely on sleeping pills tonight.”

“I’m so tired, I think I’ll be able to sleep right away.”

“Then go to bed, why are you staring at the computer again? You spend all day at the office looking at one.”

“It’s not just me. That’s how it is at all companies.”

Mrs. Kang looked at her daughter with pity and sat on the bed.

“Have you seen Woojin again?”

“Not yet.”

“Do you still like Woojin?”

“Yes.”

“I wish you wouldn’t meet him.”

It was the same conversation they had every time Naeun came home. She replied nonchalantly, not taking her eyes off the computer.

“Because he’s blind? You used to like Woojin, saying he was handsome and from a wealthy family.”

Mrs. Kang had no response to her daughter’s words. She had indeed liked Woojin back then. He was the promising grandson of Seonghagi Enterprise, perfect in every way.

But now, the situation was different. The thought of her daughter caring for a blind man for the rest of her life made her feel like her heart was breaking, even in her sleep.

When Naeun had wanted to study abroad in the U.S., Mrs. Kang had supported it, hoping it would distance her from Woojin.

But upon returning to Korea, Naeun immediately sought out Ji-hyun and Woojin again, desperately entangling herself with that family.

Mrs. Kang couldn’t understand why her daughter was willingly walking a path of hardship. Woojin wasn’t the only man in the world…

“I understand how you feel, Mom. If I were you, I’d feel the same.”

Mrs. Kang felt even worse hearing her daughter’s words. Naeun understood her, yet she still wouldn’t give up on Woojin.

“If you understand, then stop seeing Woojin.”

“I can’t. I had a boyfriend in the U.S. who even proposed to me. But I couldn’t forget Woojin. What should I do? I need to be near him.”

“Why do you like him so much when all you do is fight and cry?”

“I don’t know. Being with him feels like being pricked by thorns… But you don’t throw away a rose because of its thorns, right? You just accept it as part of the rose. To me, Woojin is like that.”

Mrs. Kang left the room with a heavy heart, thinking she needed to pray again for her daughter’s sake.

Naeun watched her mother leave, sighed lightly, and turned off her computer.

“Continuing to stay in your room, what will you do? There’s an activity support worker who can help. Why don’t you apply…”

“Who asked you to look into that for me? Get out!”

Woojin, who had become unrecognizably thin, had eyes that were shining brightly, despite their lack of function.

“Woojin! It’s been over a year! How long will you be stubborn?”

Naeun drank her milk and lay in bed, but she couldn’t sleep, her mind filled with memories of Woojin.

I did it all for you. For your sake.

She bit her lower lip. Even if her methods were wrong, Naeun believed she had done her best for Woojin.

Despite being from a wealthy family with numerous people willing to help, Woojin chose to shut himself in his room, which Naeun couldn’t understand.

She saw it as mere excuses driven by fear. But the Woojin she saw a few days ago had changed, gaining weight and looking more mature than he did in high school.
Initially, they exchanged pleasantries and the atmosphere was pleasant. The conflict began when she presented Woojin with a new type of cane that folded in three sections, not the usual type that slid into itself.

She had thought he was now using a cane and going outside. After all, he was writing and publishing under a pseudonym, so it seemed natural he would be engaging in social activities.

But that wasn’t the case. Woojin was still living in fear, not giving Naeun even a slight chance to help him.

“Stupid Woojin. I’m ready to devote my life to him… and he doesn’t even know it…”

Naeun took out a pill from her drawer and swallowed it. It was a prescription for severe insomnia she had developed since going to the US.

Previously, half a pill would suffice for her to sleep, but lately, that wasn’t enough. Though she had taken her medication, it seemed unlikely she’d easily fall asleep tonight.

Seeing Woojin’s hand bandaged, Sooyoung gasped in shock. Last time, it was his arm; now his hand was wrapped.

“Did I leave something out of place again? I thought I put everything back where it belonged…”

Woojin remained silent as Sooyoung fumbled with her words. After all, he was hurt because of her.

In the end, Dr. Kang Hyung-min came to the house with his tools and stitched up Woojin’s hand.

Despite Sooyoung’s insistence that she hadn’t left anything out of place, Woojin’s hand was tightly wrapped in bandages, prompting her to ask repeatedly.

“Did I leave something wrong? Did you trip over something again? Huh?”

“Everything’s wrong. Everything.”