Chapter 1

After graduation, I came to Harbor City for work.

To save on rent, I asked my older brother if I could stay at his place.

He was away on business, but he told me to move straight in.

And look after his dog while I was there.

"Little black dog. Only just got him, so he's nervous around strangers. I've got him tied up at home."

"He's a menace. Give him a smack if he won't behave."

I'd visited the old apartment building a few years earlier, so I had no trouble finding the key beneath the flowerpot.

I unlocked the door. Everything looked the same.

I made a few kissing noises to call the dog.

Something stirred in the bedroom. Smiling, I pushed the door open.

"Who's a naughty little boy? Come here and let me pet you."

The curtains were almost closed. The room felt heavy and airless.

A man stood beside the window in a thin shirt, a monitoring band around his ankle.

He turned a pair of unfocused eyes toward me.

Black hair fell across a pale face. His features were exquisite, his expression remote enough to freeze a person at ten paces.

"Who are you?" he asked hoarsely.

I closed the door.

Then I checked my brother's message again.

New pet.

Black hair.

Tied up.

Everything matched.

It took me thirty seconds to accept that my brother was a lunatic.

He was holding a grown man captive.

A blind, beautiful, terribly fragile grown man.

Chapter 2

But he was still my brother.

And I'd already accepted a job in Harbor City. It wasn't as if I could just leave.

I decided to take care of the poor man on my brother's behalf.

Naturally, I couldn't introduce myself as the kidnapper's sister. I told him I was the new housekeeper.

He told me to get out.

Quite a temper.

Then again, who wouldn't have a temper after being abducted and locked in here?

I called my brother and asked our guest's name, assuring him that I would take good care of him.

"Are you all right in the head? He's a dog. You're talking like he's a person. Just call him 'Dog' and he'll come running, tail wagging. Honestly, Sophie."

I drew a sharp breath.

He'd even stripped the man of his name?

My brother had studied his way out of our small town and into the big city. How had that turned him into this?

Was life here really that soul-crushing?

When he got back, I was arranging a doctor. Someone needed to take him in hand.

"He has dignity," I said, choking up. "How can we call him a dog?"

My brother hung up.

Then he texted me to feed the dog and stop being ridiculous.

I couldn't bring myself to address a human being as "puppy."

Instead, I searched the cupboards and actually found the man's identification.

In the photograph, his eyes were alert and his bearing quietly distinguished.

Julian Sterling.

His registered address was in the capital.

My brother had dragged him all the way to Harbor City? Thousands of kilometers?

That was cold.

Once I'd claimed to be the housekeeper, Julian stopped asking questions.

He simply sat in the bedroom for hours, utterly lifeless.

I wanted to cook, but the refrigerator was empty.

Nothing but red wine.

No wonder he was so thin. His bones showed beneath his shirt, and his cheekbones stood out sharply.

He looked nothing like the confident man in the photograph.

I covered my face and went shopping for supplies, avoiding security cameras the entire way.

Fortunately, the old neighborhood had plenty of blind spots.

When my brother was finally arrested, perhaps I could avoid being dragged down with him.

Back home, I cooked three dishes and a pot of soup, then invited Julian to eat.

His expression darkened. The band on his ankle flashed red.

IRRITABLE.

"Didn't they explain the rules? I didn't ask you to cook. Get out."

"They?"

His unfocused gaze settled on a corner of the room.

He said nothing, apparently unwilling to dignify such a stupid question.

The dishes shook in my hands.

My brother had joined an organization?

Chapter 3

In the dim light, I noticed the marks on Julian's arms.

Some were old bruises from collisions with furniture. Others looked like scratches from sharp objects.

My brother was a monster.

Julian paid me no attention. His eyes stayed fixed on empty space.

Then he seemed to catch the scent of dinner.

One sweep of his hand sent the food flying.

"Are you deaf? I said get out."

Blind or not, he had a presence that made my shoulders jump.

My brother had committed the crime. Apparently, I was doing the penance.

Remembering everything my brother had done for me, I tried to imagine how much good behavior might shave off his sentence.

"Just eat a little," I coaxed. "Otherwise, how will you have the strength to run away?"

Julian's monitor showed his health readings at rock bottom.

The emotional display glowed red.

IRRITATION. DISGUST.

I was out of ideas.

I went outside to call my brother again.

He would be gone for a month. What if I failed to look after his pet and the man died right in front of me?

When I explained that the dog wouldn't eat and seemed frightened of strangers, my brother snapped.

"Open his mouth and feed him! When I'm home, he sits at my feet wagging his tail. Why's he giving you trouble?"

"Little brat knows who he can push around."

"He's a pedigree. Don't let him lose weight, or I'll string the pair of you up!"

Chapter 4

I reheated the food and carried it back to Julian.

He raised his hand to knock it away again.

For the sixth time.

He was already weak with hunger, his complexion tinged an unhealthy gray. He seemed determined to starve himself.

My temper snapped. I caught his wrist and held it firmly.

"Eat, or I'll smack you."

Julian lifted his head. His sightless eyes somehow made him no less intimidating.

He gave a low laugh.

"You dare speak to me like that? Who exactly do you think you are?"

Still holding the bowl, I laughed too, though not because I was amused.

My brother said he was sweet. My brother said he wagged his tail.

So he really did treat people differently.

Locked up in someone else's apartment and still this mouthy?

I took his chin and opened his mouth.

"Naughty puppies get punished."

Apparently nobody had ever handled him so roughly. Julian froze long enough for me to get several spoonfuls into him.

His throat worked.

"You…"

I brought warm water and patted his back.

"See? Eat nicely and I won't have to be mean. I'm not like the others. I'm a good person."

Our struggle had left food and water all down his dark shirt, making it cling to his skin.

He couldn't see the mess.

But his beautiful face wore an expression of absolute, outraged disbelief.

"You're filthy," I pointed out. "Go wash yourself."

With the pet fed, I unpacked in the spare room.

Then I looked over some information about my new employer.

It was a subsidiary of the Sterling Group.

I'd interviewed for a position in one department and made sure I recognized my immediate manager.

Anything about the executives above that level, I skipped.

I wasn't exactly going to run into people that important.

Stretching, I called my brother to report.

"Your naughty dog knocked dinner over. I sent him to take a bath."

My brother shouted.

"Are you insane? He can't bathe himself! He's scared of water!"

"The idiot will drown. Go get him!"

Chapter 5

Only then did I realize how quiet Julian's room had become.

It had an en suite bathroom.

I ran inside and pushed open the bathroom door.

A figure was curled in the tub.

His eyes were closed. His head had slipped beneath the water.

He looked dead.

My job! My future! My brother!

I lunged forward, slipped, stumbled, and more or less launched myself into the bathtub.

Right into his lap.

I grabbed his head and hauled it upward.

"Please don't die!"

Julian sat up, choking on water.

His chest heaved as he coughed, his wet eyes directed straight at me.

Thank goodness. My entire life hadn't collapsed yet.

There was no time to worry about propriety.

I tried to lift him out.

"It's all right. From now on, we're taking showers."

But he was slippery.

Unable to get a grip, I reached blindly beneath the water.

That felt… springy?

Julian shoved me away.

His cheeks burned red.

"Get out," he rasped. "I'm fine."

He'd almost drowned. How was that fine?

I refused to move.

We remained locked in a bathtub standoff until I sneezed.

Julian drew a deep breath. Furious, he found the wall, carefully avoided my hands and legs, and climbed out.

He stood in the middle of the bathroom, breathing deeply in an attempt to regain control.

"I don't know who sent you, but you're leaving immediately…"

Cold air hit his bare skin.

He reached down and apparently remembered that he wasn't wearing anything.

He went rigid.

"…Can you see?"

I looked at him.

"Don't make such a fuss. It's nothing I haven't seen before. You haven't copyrighted yours."

"Be good and finish your bath. I'll supervise."

His ankle monitor began issuing emotional alerts.

Red light flashed furiously.

ANGER.

HUMILIATION.

EMBARRASSMENT.

The words cycled at dizzying speed.

I played innocent.

At last he found a towel and felt his way back to the bedroom.

"I'll have them throw you out," he said, seething.

Unfortunately for him, I'd hidden the telephone.

And disconnected the internet.

My brother was such an idiot.

Keeping someone captive and forgetting to cut off his contact with the outside world?

Good thing I'd noticed.

Better late than never.

Chapter 6

Unable to find the phone and weighed down by all those carbohydrates, Julian sat on the bed looking increasingly sleepy.

He glared into nothing and continued scolding me.

I sang him a lullaby for dogs.

My brother had taught it to me. Apparently his little pet had trouble sleeping.

The song irritated Julian beyond endurance. He pulled the covers over his head and went to sleep.

Then my brother mentioned that the silly dog had nearly suffocated in the night before.

So I quietly settled on the window seat in Julian's room.

I waited until his breathing was steady before letting myself sleep.

The next morning, rushing to get ready for work, I pulled back the curtains.

Sunlight fell across Julian's gloomy face.

He lay staring at the ceiling, the corners of his eyes pink.

At the noise, he turned toward me, frowning in confusion.

"Good morning, sweetheart. Let's get you some sunshine."

Julian stiffened and hurriedly covered the front of his pajama trousers.

"…You've been sleeping in here? Are you deranged?"

He felt around for something sharp to throw.

But I'd already padded the corners of the furniture.

Anything sharp had been removed.

He was a fragile, blind man.

He needed protecting.

After groping around for a while, he found a soft dog toy.

An eggplant.

He squeezed it. His expression grew colder by the second.

"What is this?"

"A toy for you," I said encouragingly. "Do you like it? Whatever affection they haven't given you, I'll make up for."

Julian twisted the toy apart.

His face thunderous, he rose and walked toward me.

"You are leaving my home. Right. Now."

"Our home," I corrected, rubbing his cheeks. "We're both here at someone else's mercy. Neither of us has a place of our own."

My alarm went off. Time for work.

I ducked under his arm.

"I've installed a camera. Behave yourself, and don't pee everywhere. Otherwise, I'll string you up when I get back."

The monitor on Julian's ankle kept flashing red.

He looked as if he might collapse.

Chapter 7

At work, I kept an eye on the surveillance feed.

I'd bought a little rolling camera online for 9.9 yuan.

It could trundle around the apartment.

On-screen, Julian was behaving very well.

All he'd done was punch a pillow a few times.

Soon he ran out of strength and sat in the bedroom, lost in thought.

I steered the little robot into his foot.

"Lunchtime. Heat something up."

"Don't make me come after you."

"Be a good boy. All right? Listen to me."

As I spoke, I kept bumping the robot against his toes.

Eventually, apparently sick of the noise, Julian got up and followed the wall.

He managed, with some stumbling, to prepare lunch.

The moment he took his first bite, I burst into thunderous applause.

"You can feed yourself! Look at you! That's amazing!"

"Could you shut up?" he asked coldly.

Full belly, dirty thoughts.

He felt his way toward the bathroom.

My brother said his pet was newly house-trained and needed encouragement.

So I followed him in with the robot.

"Aim properly. Hold it steady. If you make a mess, I'm kicking you when I get home."

Julian said nothing.

Chapter 8

My brother wouldn't be home for another two weeks.

Thanks to regular meals, Julian's cheeks had begun filling out.

His health readings were improving too.

Unless I was supervising him in the bath or bathroom, his emotional display now usually registered calm.

I couldn't resist boasting to my brother.

"Your pet's much better-tempered now. He was just starving before. I've got him up to seventy kilos."

"What?"

"Sophie, have you turned my dog into a pig? How can he possibly be that fat?"

"If I come home to a pig, you're dead!"

My brother insisted that I put the dog on a diet.

Apparently even pets had to watch their figures.

I dug out the anti-bite muzzle I'd bought and fitted it over Julian's face.

He lifted his head in bewilderment.

It was still the middle of the night.

"Orders from your owner," I told him. "We're going for a walk."

"Whose orders?"

I didn't mention my brother's name. I simply tugged Julian out of the bedroom.

Too embarrassed to take him through the garden, I headed for the stairs.

He was about to lose his temper.

I tugged the lead.

"Don't make me smack you."

The building had eighteen floors. After two trips up and down, we were both gasping.

Back inside, Julian went straight to the bathroom without a word.

He seemed angry.

After two weeks of practice, he'd mastered bathing and using the toilet. I no longer worried that he would drown.

This time, I didn't follow him in.

Exhausted, I fell asleep on the sofa.

Half-awake, I felt something tickle my fingers.

I opened my eyes a fraction.

Fresh from his bath, Julian was crouched beside me.

The tips of his hair were still dripping. His misty, unfocused eyes were directed toward my lap.

He carefully found my hand.

Touched it to his lips.

Then, apparently dissatisfied, gave it a gentle bite.

I forced myself to keep pretending to sleep.

"Why are you angry?" he murmured. "Why didn't you… watch me bathe?"