Weiji city was one of the most flourishing cities in M-nation: First of all, it had the famous Sel Academy, though it was only attended by the richest or the luckiest people.

Technology was still prospering ceaselessly, but the advent of Magic a century ago brought about great change. Alas, Magic wasn't something one could learn, it was inherited either genetically or through unspeakable experiments that were banned globally.

Weiji was a metropolis through and through, and the sky-scrapers and cloud-piercing spires dotted in and around it were a testament to that. However, it was also the home of some of the richest and powerful organizations and families in the country.

Be that as it may, Weiji was also had the highest number of so-called abandoned or neglected distrcit, inhabited by homeless people or poverty-stricken families.

One such place was Almond District, situated South-East of Weiji. Not only was it located next to the Industrial Harbor, making the air polluted, but the it was also inhabited by no more than a couple hundred people. The place was practically a ghost town compared to the rest of the city, filled with old building that only the poorest of the poor would live in. In fact, the government didn't even made an effort to fix this place, so much so that, albeit small, a lot of unnoticed crimes tended to happen there. Be it thieves, homeless people, or drug addicts, Almond District was brimming with them.

There, specifically in Sunset Street, lived Bin. He was renting an apartment in an old and decrepit two-story building. Apart from him, only two more people lived in this building, which had a total of 13 aparments, which all had a single room.

Staring at the dusty floor and the creaking stairs, Bin let out a sigh. After standing outside for a bit, he returned inside and properly covered his sister, who was sleeping on the floor. The apartment was empty. There was not a single piece of furniture, only a small and barely-working refrigerator, a broken wooden counter stuck to the wall, and a door that led to an even more cramped bathroom.

This wasn't a place anyone would live in, especially not a girl of Mina's age. She had a couple of toys, but the lack of a bed or basic furniture made this apartment look abandoned.

Bin, who was lost in thought, suddenly started breathing rapidly and letting out soft groans of pain. Fortunately, he pain soon subsided, replaced by a strong dizziness that forced him to laid down. Bin didn't have much time left, that much was clear.

'It's getting worse. Is it that time already?'

Bin's one and only dream was to amass enough money so that Mina could live comfortably, at least until she was old enough to take care of herself. For years, he worked all kinds of physical-tasking jobs to gather money, saving up little by little. He fully embraced frugality, so much so that he, besides the daily necessities, he didn't buy anything else. He took it to the extreme, which, in hindsight, was a bad idea as it led to Mina living a life like this, nevertheless, Bin believed that he had to save up anything and everything.

Mina was suffering right now, but, in the long run, she would make sure of the money he saved up for her to get whatever she wanted. That was his hope.

Both he and Mina were orphans, and though they weren't blood-related, he still considered her his real sister. Up until five years ago, they were living in an orphanage, which got shut-down and demolished. The government didn't help them in anyway so they became homeless soon thereafter.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

That period of time, when they had place to sleep at, was possible the darkest period of Bin's life. Fortunately, he managed to pick himself up and move to this apartment. Moreover, he managed to save up a total of 9500$, which was a decent sum but not nearly enough for Mina.

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Monday

6PM

Bin was working at the Folars Restaurant, a fairly well-known establishment. After washing the dishes for an entire year, he was 'promoted' to being a waiter, which was something he took seriously since the pay was relatively good.

With both hands holding plates filled with food, Bin quickly moved his feet to the balcony to serve the customers; It was then, as he was moving between tables, Bin accidentally stepped on his shoelaces and fell forward. It was an honest mistake, and he wasn't fast enough to save the falling dishes, which splattered on himself and on the floor.

Shocked and panicking, he hastily stood up and looked around, soon registering that one of the customers, a girl, was glaring at him. Some of the food had also fallen on her, staining her dress.

"..."

The girl, with a look of complete disgust, removed some of the food on her dress using a handkerchief, then she abruptly stood u. The look on her face was enough to showcase how livid she was§.

"This is a new dress, you know." She spoke with a calm yet cold voice, her eyes fixated on him.

Bin apolotically bowed his head, "It was an accident. I'm sorry."

"I don't care if it's an accident or not. The dress is ruined. Can you even pay for it?"

'It's stained, not shredded. You can just wash it.' Thought Bin to himself, though on the outside, he kept his head bowed.

"It cost me 5000$." She held up five fingers as if to empathize the price

"..."

Hearing only silence, the girl looked around before asking, "Call your manager."

Bin scratched his head, feeling embarrased and anxious. Uintentional or not, angering a high-profile customer like this girl would definitely get him fired. The manager wasn't the type of person to care for his employees, not least after they 'offended' a customer.

Within seconds, the plump manager dashed towards them, his expression sinking once he saw the girl's stained dress and Bin's bowing head.

"Miss, please forgive this display of incompetence. It was our employee's fault and he will be immediately fired. Your dinner will be on us."

The dark-haired girl, named Jasmine, snorted,

"I don't care about the meal, I want recompensation for this dress."

The manager carefully scrutinized the dress, quickly judging it to be unreasonable expensive and not something that anyone could afford. As a way to vent his frustration, he looked at Bin and screamed,

"Ungraetful fool! Look at what you have done!" He paused for a bit, his face turning red, "And you'll be paying for the Miss' dress!"

"What?" Bin gritted his teeth and, at last, lifted his head. Expecting him to pay 5000$ over a simple mistake was ridiculous. Still, from the looks of it, this Jasmine wasn't going to drop the matter, so he had to earnestly apologize again.

"Miss Jasmine, please forgive me, I really didn't mean to spill the food on you. I can't afford to pay for the dress."

While saying that, he bowed his head again, this time much lower than before.

"I just told you that I don't care about your apology. I can't wear this dress again."

Usually, Bin wasn't a particularly polite person, and more so towards rich snobs like her. His job as a waiter demanded that he treated customers with the utmost respect, but even that had its limits. He was already fired, and even though he did have the money to pay for the dress, he wasn't stupid enough to waste years' worth of saving for it.

Having had enough, Bin stood straight and solemnly looked at Jasmine.

"What the do you want me to do?! Sell my body to you?! I sincerely apologized to you yet you continue being so unreasonable. It's just a dress so... get over it."

just as he finished voicing his thoughts, Bin turned around and swiftly darted out of the restaurant without paying attention to the surprised gazes of the customers and the manager.

As for Jasmine, she sat there, too shocked to react in time. His sudden change in attitude caught her completely off-guard.