New York City
New York, the economic capital of the USA, is a city where people come from far and wide to turn their dreams into reality. Some succeed, while others are left with nothing but broken dreams.
One such dreamer is Kevin, who hopes to make this Valentine's Day the most beautiful day of his life. Kevin is an ordinary young man living in New York—fair-skinned, black-eyed, clean-shaven, tall, and with a dashing face, but his simple clothes make it clear that he belongs to the middle class.
Today, Kevin is traveling from Brooklyn to Manhattan by subway. However, New York is experiencing its heaviest rainfall of the season, making it seem as if the clouds are angry with the city. Due to the downpour, traffic on the roads is heavily jammed.
The subway, known as New York's lifeline, is speeding toward its destination. Sitting inside the train, Kevin appears lost in his own world, unaffected by the chaos around him. He keeps asking himself, "Will Karishma accept my love proposal? Will she understand my feelings? Does she love me?"
In his hands, he holds a ring box, spinning it nervously while drowning in thoughts of Karishma.
Just then, he notices that his station has arrived. Like a true New Yorker, he quickly rushes to the train door. Within moments, the crowd pushes him forward, and he finds himself outside the train, as if thrown out by the sea of people.
A victorious smile spreads across Kevin's face—it feels as if he has won a battle. But his thoughts are interrupted when a faint white light begins to shimmer from his chest.
Kevin immediately becomes alert.
Whenever this white glow flickers from his chest, something bad always happens to Kevin.
And just as expected, a stranger suddenly snatches the ring box from Kevin's hand and starts running away.
Kevin feels dizzy, as if someone has stolen Karishma herself and locked her inside the ring box. Realizing what has happened, he yells, "Thief! Thief! Catch him!" Then, without a second thought, he takes off running after the man.
Kevin doesn't have enough money to buy another ring. He had worked tirelessly as a waiter, skipping meals, sacrificing sleep, just to buy this ring and propose to Karishma. Now, this man was about to steal all his hard work, his happiness, and his dreams.
There was no way Kevin would let that happen.
With determination burning inside him, he picks up his pace. But the thief is no amateur—he runs just as fast.
As they race out of the station, Kevin shouts, "Brother, please give me back my ring! Today is my most important day! I'm going to propose to my girlfriend!"
Still running, the thief laughs and replies, "Then go ahead! Why are you chasing me?"
"Give me back the ring! I need it to propose to her!" Kevin yells.
The thief chuckles again, shouting, "Rings aren't necessary! Just give her a rose! If she says yes, great! If not, then move on to the next one! Ha ha ha!"
Hearing this, Kevin's anger boils over. He continues the chase as they dart through narrow alleys.
After a while, the thief finally stops.
Kevin, panting heavily, also comes to a halt. They have reached an isolated road with a small garage nearby.
The thief turns around and glares at Kevin with cold, piercing eyes.
Suddenly, the white light on Kevin's chest begins flickering again. His heart sinks—this meant trouble was about to unfold.
Confirming his fears, the thief whistles, and within moments, four muscular men step out of the garage. Their bodies are covered in tattoos, and they look like professional gangsters.
Seeing them, Kevin's heart pounds with fear. To him, these men look like demons straight out of hell.
The thief smirks, having noticed Kevin's fear, and says, "Listen, bro, you can always buy another ring! But can you buy another life? No, right? So, take my advice—run away while you still can, or else you'll regret it."
For a moment, Kevin thinks about running. His survival instincts scream at him to escape.
But then he remembers Karishma.
He had bought this ring just for her. He had poured his heart and soul into this moment. How could he give up so easily?
Gathering courage, he pleads, "Please, brother, return my ring. I worked really hard to buy it for today. I beg you, don't ruin my special day." His eyes well up with tears, but none of the gangsters feel even a shred of sympathy.
Just then, one of the men steps forward. He seems to be their leader.
Turning to the thief, he asks with a sinister smile, "Mason, did you bring what I asked for?"
Mason grins and replies, "Come on, Logan! If I couldn't get something as simple as this, I'd be ashamed of myself!"
Saying this, Mason tosses the ring box toward Logan and continues, "Catch it carefully! This one's a special $300 ring, just for you!"
Logan catches the box and thanks Mason. The entire gang bursts into laughter like a pack of demons.
Kevin clenches his fists in anger. He knows that he is outnumbered, so he suppresses his rage and politely says, "Please, just return my ring. I'll pay you in cash if you want. Just don't take it away from me."
But his request only amuses them further.
Logan suddenly yells, "You fool! I gave you a chance, and you wasted it. Now, you will die! And after you're dead, your cash will also be ours. Consider yourself lucky that your girlfriend isn't here, or else she would have been ours too! Ha ha ha!"
Hearing this, Kevin's fury explodes. He shouts, "Enough! That's it!" and charges at them.
He is ready to beat them to a pulp.
However, Logan remains unfazed. Instead, he laughs and gestures to one of his men, saying, "Go have some fun, Brandon." Then, he drags his thumb across his throat, signaling the man to finish Kevin off.
The muscular man obeys and charges toward Kevin.
Kevin, refusing to back down, throws a punch with all his might. The thug does the same.
Their fists collide.
A sickening crack echoes through the alley.
A scream follows.
And then—someone crashes to the ground.
It's Kevin.
His face has gone pale. He stares at the thug in shock and curses him in his mind.
The gang erupts in laughter.
Watching Kevin crumble in a single blow, Mason turns to Logan and says, "Brandon is really strong! Even I'd be scared to fight him!"
Logan smirks and replies, "Of course, he is! Brandon was personally trained by Jack Carter himself. While we work under Jack, Brandon is his special man."
Kevin had overheard their conversation. He also heard the name Jack Carter. If he had known earlier that these men worked for Jack Carter, he wouldn't have even stepped foot in this place.
But now, he was trapped. And there was no way out.
Brandon clenched his fist and prepared to strike Kevin again. Seeing this, Kevin closed his eyes in fear.
And the moment he did—he found himself in a completely different place.
It was vast, covered in endless white mist.
Kevin's heart pounded. Where am I? What is happening?
Suddenly, he heard the terrifying hiss of a giant snake.
The sound shattered the mist, sending waves through the air.
Kevin's legs trembled.
And when he finally looked up toward the sky—his heart nearly stopped.
There, in the darkness, stared back at him—two enormous blue eyes, as big as the moon.
---