Chapter 1 : Heartbreak
Nolan Drake stood in front of the girls' dormitory building, the cold night air brushing against his face. Dark rain clouds gathered above the campus sky, distant thunder rumbling softly in the distance.
In his hand was a small velvet box.
Inside it lay a cheap silver ring.
It wasn't expensive. But it had cost him two months of savings from his part-time job at a convenience store.
He imagined his girlfriend, 'Lila Voss', receiving the gift—hugging him tightly and saying with a smile, "You don't have to buy this… You idiot."
The thought made Nolan smile to himself.
'Maybe I can't give her expensive things right now,' he thought. 'But one day… I'll work hard and give her everything she deserves'.
A few drops of rain began to fall.
Quickly, he hid the velvet box inside his shirt and stepped into the dormitory building.
At their university, boys entering the girls' dorm wasn't unusual, even at night.
As he walked down the hallway, Nolan opened the box one last time to look at the ring before closing it again carefully.
He already knew Lila's room number.
He had been here many times before—bringing her medicine when she was sick, or food whenever she needed it.
The hallway was quiet. Only the distant laughter of a few girls echoed from somewhere further down the corridor.
Remembering Lila's laughter, Nolan unconsciously quickened his pace.
Soon, he reached her door.
He raised his hand to knock.
Then he froze.
A strange sound came from inside the room.
A soft laugh.
Nolan paused.
'Maybe she has friends over,' he thought. 'Maybe I should come back later.'
He was about to turn around when another sound came from inside.
The bed creaked loudly.
Once.
Then again.
Nolan's body went still.
Then he heard it.
A man's voice.
The hallway suddenly felt cold.
His heartbeat began to race, pounding loudly in his ears.
His breathing quickened as a terrible thought formed in his mind.
"No… no… no…" he whispered to himself. "Anything but that."
Without realizing it, Nolan slowly pushed the door open just enough to create a small gap.
His heart pounded violently in his chest.
A strange, suffocating fear gripped him.
Then he looked inside.
The room lights were dim.
Clothes were scattered across the floor. A jacket lay crumpled beside the bed.
The bed shifted again.
Two figures moved on top of it.
Then Nolan saw her face.
Lila.
The same girl who had once shyly confessed to him… the same girl who had smiled and held his hand.
Now she lay on the bed beneath another man, her face flushed with pleasure.
Between her legs was a broad-shouldered figure Nolan recognized instantly.
'Chad Harlon.'
The same Chad who had bullied him since freshman year.
Now that same Chad moved over Lila's body, his hands gripping her hips.
"Chad… ah… harder…" Lila gasped breathlessly.
Hearing that, the air seemed to vanish from Nolan's lungs.
He stood there, frozen, unable to breathe.
His fingers trembled, and the velvet box slipped slightly in his hand.
From the hallway, he could hear their voices clearly now.
Chad chuckled softly.
"How does it feel, Lila?"
"So good," she moaned. "You're so much better than that useless loser."
Chad smirked.
"You mean Nolan? That broke orphan who works at the convenience store?"
"Mmm… yeah," Lila replied between breaths. "He keeps buying me those cheap gifts like I'm supposed to be impressed. It's pathetic. I'm tired of pretending."
"Stick with me," Chad said arrogantly. "I'll show you what a real man feels like."
Something inside Nolan snapped.
His eyes burned red with rage.
With a loud bang, the door slammed open.
Both of them turned toward him.
The velvet box fell from Nolan's hand, hitting the floor. The lid popped open, and the ring rolled across the ground with a faint metallic sound.
Before Chad could even react, Nolan rushed forward and grabbed him.
His fist shot forward.
Punch.
Chad's head jerked slightly to the side as the blow landed.
For a moment, he looked confused.
Then his expression twisted with anger.
"Who the hell—"
He stopped when he saw Nolan.
Then a slow, mocking smile spread across his face.
"Oh… Mr. Nolan Drake," Chad said lazily. "What's the matter?"
On the bed, Lila hurriedly pulled the blanket over herself.
Seeing that, Nolan felt something twist painfully inside his chest. ' I'm her boyfriend…Yet she hides her body from me… while showing it to him.'
"Nolan! What are you doing here?" Lila shouted, her voice filled with annoyance rather than guilt.
Nolan's voice was dry. "Why?" he asked quietly. "Did I interrupt your happy ending?"
Lila's face flushed red with embarrassment and irritation.
Chad raised his hands casually.
"Whoa, whoa, Nolan," he said mockingly. "Relax. We were just… studying together." He glanced at Lila and grinned. "Right?"
Nolan didn't answer. He can sense the mockery in his tone.
Instead, he swung his fist again.
But this time Chad caught it easily.
"Haha," Chad laughed. "Look at you. With that pathetic body, you still dare to hit me?"
His expression suddenly hardened.
Chad's fist slammed into Nolan's stomach.
The impact knocked the air from his lungs.
Nolan collapsed to the floor instantly.
He fell right beside the ring.
Chad noticed it and stepped on it deliberately, grinding it beneath his foot.
"Look at this, Lila," he sneered. "Your useless boyfriend bought you another cheap gift."
Lila said nothing.
Nolan suddenly grabbed Chad's ankle and bit down hard, his teeth digging into Chad's ankle.
Chad shouted in pain. " AARRHHHH.....You fucking bastard!"
He lifted his other foot and stomped on Nolan's face. "Let go!"
After several blows, Chad finally escapes from his teeth.
Blood dripped from Nolan's mouth.
Furious, Chad began kicking him repeatedly until his anger cooled.
"Chad… stop," Lila said from the bed.
Chad glanced at her. "What? Are you siding with this loser?"
"No," she replied quickly, slightly embarrassed. "Just leave him. Let's… continue what we were doing."
Nolan went completely still.
Even through the pain, those words echoed inside his head.
Chad laughed, "Hahaha!"
Then he looked down at Nolan.
"Listen, Mr. Orphan," he said mockingly. "This is what happens when a real man shows up."
He grabbed Nolan by the collar and dragged him into the hallway.
Several girls had gathered outside after hearing the commotion.
Seeing Chad naked and Nolan covered in blood, some girls gasped while others looked away in shock.
Without caring, Chad shoved Nolan onto the floor.
Then he turned around and slammed the door shut.
For a moment, Nolan lay there silently.
Then he slowly stood up.
Ignoring the stares and whispers around him, he walked out of the dormitory building.
Outside, the rain was falling heavily now.
He walked through the campus without knowing where he was going.
Eventually, he stopped near a small park.
Tears streamed down his face, mixing with the rain.
He couldn't tell which was which.
Only when the liquid reached his lips did he taste the salt.
He looked up at the sky, rain falling directly into his open eyes.
Images replayed endlessly in his mind.
Lila is beneath Chad.
Her voice.
Her words.
"Continue what we were doing."
Nolan screamed into the night.
"AARRRGHHHHHH!"
People nearby stared.
"Kids these days…tsk...tsk....." someone muttered.
A young boy pointed at him. "Mom, look at him."
His mother quickly pulled him away. "Don't stare at people like that."
Nolan collapsed to his knees, crying.
"WHY?" he shouted at the sky.
"Why am I an orphan? Why am I weak? Why am I so pathetic? JUST WHY?!"
At that moment—
A bolt of lightning tore through the sky.
BOOM.
The lightning struck Nolan directly.
Pain exploded through his body.
His vision blurred.
His body collapsed to the ground with a loud splash in the rainwater.
'Guess I'm dying…'
His thoughts grew distant.
'Maybe… in the next life… let me be born with everything.'
His eyes slowly closed.
Just before darkness swallowed his vision completely—
He saw something.
A faint glowing message.
[Initializing…]