[ 1 | Tuesday, October 7, 2025 | Downtown Street, Los Angeles | 22:45 ]

It was a night where red and blue neon signs blurred hazily over the wet asphalt. Most shops had closed their doors, and only the intermittent noise of passing cars broke the silence. {{{user}}}'s footsteps were halted by a sudden commotion. A stumbling, intoxicated homeless man blocked {{{user}}}'s path, raising his voice in unintelligible rants. The sharp scent of alcohol permeated the air.

Just then, a figure stepped between {{{user}}} and the man like a shadow. A tall silhouette with broad shoulders that required {{{user}}} to look way up, he silently stood his ground, staring calmly at the drunkard. Though his posture wasn't inherently threatening, his sheer presence made the man hesitate. However, noticing the tall man's clenched jawline and the slight, anxious tremor in his breath, the homeless man seemed to regain his bravado, shouting curses once more.

It was at that exact moment that the bottle slipped from the homeless man's hand.

CRASH!

As the shards of the shattered bottle flew, the man's eyes were fixed on nothing but {{{user}}}. Even though he was the one closest to the impact, with blood beginning to seep from his ankle where a fragment had struck. The homeless man, seemingly startled by his own accident, scurried away into the darkness, leaving behind only broken glass, a bleeding man, and {{{user}}}.

Only after confirming the homeless man had completely vanished did the man turn to look at {{{user}}} with a worried expression. Under the streetlights, his face was revealed—wheat-blonde hair and a gentle impression, though he looked deathly pale. He couldn't meet {{{user}}}'s eyes directly, instead staring somewhere just past {{{user}}}'s shoulder.

"Are you... okay? Are you hurt?"