Chapter 3

Jiyong’s POV

“Oppa... I’m Sandara.”

I let go of her and I just stared at her. Sandara. Sandara. How many Koreans had that name?

“I kept my promise. I went back oppa. Did you keep yours?” She asked.

Sandara. Is this really you? But, why am I not crying just like Youngbae said?

Maybe... Youngbae was right. 15 years was a long time—long enough to forget the feelings.

And so, without hesitating, I hugged her.

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Chaerin’s POV

Oh ake. What did I do? I made a lie. Then I made another lie to cover it up. And now, I’m in a big mess.

What would Dara do if she found out? What would Jiyong do if he found out?

Oh...I’m so screwed.

But... I liked it.

I liked how he hugged me. I liked how he held my hands. I liked how he treated me. I liked how he whispered sweet nothings on my ears just to make me blush. I liked everything. Can you blame me for being selfish?

Can you blame me for lying?

All my life, I appreciated every single thing in this world that I took pictures of. But no one appreciated me for me. My parents abused me. Now, this was the first time for someone to appreciate ME.

Can you blame me for being happy?

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Jiyong and I have been dating for almost a month now. I was thinking of what I would give him for our monthsary. Then, I remembered that he likes butterflies. And so, I went to the park and took pictures of butterflies. When I was about to go home, I saw 2 kids playing catch.

The girl was having a hard time catching the ball but the boy was really patient with her. I saw the ball flew passed the guy because the girl threw it harder this time. The girl shouted sorry to the guy and I just smiled at her before getting the ball. The ball landed on the street and since there were no cars or any vehicles passing through, the boy took the ball without hesitation.

The next thing I knew, there was a speeding car and my instincts told me to push the boy away. I saw the boy hit his head on the road while I felt the pain as the car hit me. The next thing I knew...everything else turned black.

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I woke up and it was dark. I felt the pain all over my body and I remembered what happened.

“Rin, are you awake?” I felt someone stirred beside me. Judging from the voice, it was Dara.

“Yes. My head and body hurts though.” I said.

“Rin, I’m beside you. Why aren’t you staring at me?” Dara asked.

“It’s too dark Dara.” I answered her.

“Rin, what are you saying? It’s noon.” Dara worriedly asked.

I instantly panicked. My eyes...no...not my eyes. I’m a photographer for Christ sake.

Is this what they call...karma?

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Dara’s POV

The doctors said that Chaerin damaged her eyes during the accident. I cried for my friend. She couldn’t lose her eyesight. She’s a photographer and taking pictures IS her life.

How could she lose the only thing that made her happy? Life’s really unfair.

I asked the doctor if there was a way to make Chaerin see again. He said that if she took a surgery, she could see again. But then, we should find a donor.

I went back to Chaerin’s room after I talked to the doctor.

“Dara, I have something to say to you.” I heard her speak.

I didn’t respond and I just held her hand.

“I know where Jiyong is.” She stated.

I gasped before I asked her, “Where is he?”

“Dara, I deserve to be blind. I lied...I lied to both of you. He was the guy was I following for a year and after I found out that he was the Jiyong you talked about, my mind just shut. The next thing I knew, I was telling him that I’m you. I’m a bad person Dara. I deserve this punishment. I did it because I love him. I’m so sorry.”

I didn’t know what to say. Rin lied? But as I remembered how happy she was whenever she told me about her date with her boyfriend, my heart softened.

I stood up and went outside of the room.

Jiyong-ah... I’m keeping my promise.

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Jiyong’s POV

(note: Jiyong was fooled. He thought that Chaerin is Dara...please don’t be confused.)

I heard what happened to Dara. I wasn’t informed until she called me earlier and so I rushed to the hospital. I heard that what happened to her was pretty bad and I’m glad that she didn’t die.

She had her eye operation yesterday and even though I’m slightly mad at her for only telling me today, I’m glad that she already found a donor that fast. Since she was still asleep, I decided to walk around the hospital.

I saw a little girl crying. I asked her what’s wrong and she told me that her friend was dying.

And so, I told her about the legend.

Her crying stopped and she looked at me curiously.

“Mister. You know, there was a blind girl who told me the same thing.” She said as she skipped away from me.

Blind girl? That must be Dara.

Sigh... I hope the operation was a successful one.

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Chaerin’s POV

The operation was a success. I could see again. I wanted to look for Dara to say that I could see again.

I saw the door open and Jiyong went inside.

He stared at me, maybe to make sure that I was really able to see again.

“You know, now that I remember it, your new eyes looked like the ones you had before. I could still remember staring at them when we were young.” Jiyong said.

My eyes? Don’t tell me...

I took off all needles and ran outside my room. I looked for my doctor and begged him to tell me who my donor was.

“She told me not to tell you...but...” He said before he pointed at the lone figure sitting on the bench outside.

“Dara...why did you run off like that?” Jiyong said as he tried to catch his breath.

“Ji...there’s something you should know. And I know you’re not going to forgive me.” I said.

And then, I started explaining everything.