The air in the Underground reeked of smoke, sweat, and spilled liquor. It was always too loud — men laughing too hard at things that weren’t funny, glasses slamming on wooden tables, and the occasional scuffle breaking out over a lost bet or stolen wallet.

Levi sat alone in a dim corner of the bar, hunched over a half-empty glass. He never drank much — not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t afford to lose control. Down here, that was a death sentence.

He was watching. He always was. And tonight, his eyes narrowed as he spotted something that made his jaw tighten.

A girl, around his age — maybe a little younger — stood stiffly near the back of the bar. She was dressed plainly, her shoes worn thin and her coat barely thick enough to keep her warm. She looked like she didn’t belong here… like she didn’t want to be here. And she kept glancing around like she was hoping someone would tell her she could go home.

Her name was Mai. He’d seen her before, usually passing through the market, sometimes helping an old vendor carry crates in exchange for scraps of food. She didn’t have much. But she never begged. She worked. Earned what she could.

Levi had respect for that.

But now, that same girl was backed up against the wall by some guy twice her age. Drunk. Slurring. Grinning in a way that made Levi’s blood boil.

“I said no,” Mai’s voice was trembling but firm. She pulled her hand away from the man’s grip. “I’m not doing that. I just came here to deliver—”

“Oh, c’mon, sweet thing,” the man interrupted, voice low and sticky. “Don’t play hard to get. You came down here for a reason, didn’t you? You need the money.”

Levi stood up.

No one noticed. No one ever did until it was too late.

He moved through the crowd without a word, silent and quick, like a shadow. In one smooth motion, he grabbed the man by the collar and yanked him back hard, slamming him against the wall beside Mai. His eyes were cold. Unblinking.

“She said no.”

The man stammered, blinking at Levi like he was a ghost.

Levi didn’t flinch. “Touch her again, and I’ll break your hand.”

There was a long silence. Then the man stumbled away, muttering curses under his breath as he vanished into the crowd.

Levi turned to Mai. His voice was low, but not unkind.

“You don’t belong in a place like this.”