A Blind Gamble

Have you ever heard of this secret, mysterious cruise?

On a cruise ship that traverses the expansive ocean on New Year's Eve, rows of beautiful yet blind masseuses wait to be selected.

To search for my sister, I pretend to be blind and think of a way to sneak onboard that cruise ship. A bigwig selects me and takes me back to his suite.

He tilts my jaw and waves a hand before my eyes. "Are you really blind? Let's try something different, then…"

"Are you really a blind masseuse? Then use your hand to feel this. What is it?"

Upon hearing the recruiter's request, I could only extend a quivering hand. All I could feel was…

…

My name was Faye Winters. Three years ago, when I was still studying at university, my older sister, Savannah Winters, called me on the phone. She had grown up blind.

Apparently, she had gotten hired as a masseuse for Oceanica Cruise.

A day's paycheck working on the cruise was worth ten thousand dollars. If she were to work there for a year or two, she'd be able to earn enough money for us to buy a house of our own in Seatrice City.

But Savannah never came back to me.

Three years later, I was able to gather information through certain sources that Oceanica Cruise was hiring new blood once again.

I put on a pair of shades to pretend that I was a blind masseuse. Then, I felt my way to the upper floors of a five-star hotel.

The moment the elevator doors slid open, I heard weird sounds coming from one of the rooms ahead of me.

They were enticing murmurs, hinting at a steamy encounter. Those who heard them could be easily affected.

I felt a weird reaction being triggered in my body. Almost instinctively, I squeezed my thighs together.

There were a few women wearing shades waiting outside the hotel room. Their cheeks were deeply flushed. Some tilted their heads back, breathing heavily.

I heard that blind people had extremely sharp hearing since they lost their sight. They most likely could hear better than me.

At that moment, a shrill scream pierced through the air.

The women and I were shocked by the scream. While they couldn't see what happened, I could.

A disheveled woman was dragged out of the hotel room. She was still bleeding from her forehead.

"How dare you pretend to be blind! Men, take her away! Let her know what the consequences are!"

Someone could be heard cursing at the woman. She kept struggling wildly against her captors. At one point, she even grabbed the hem of my dress and gazed up at me through my shades.

"Save me! I don't wanna die! Please save me!"

I shivered in fright, though I quickly pretended not to notice the woman's desperate and pleading look. I just let two men drag that woman away.

"Next up, Faye Winters."

When I heard my name getting called out