The afternoon sun hung lazily over the bustling streets of Crescent City, bathing the towering buildings in a warm golden glow. The roads buzzed with life as office workers hurried toward bus stops, students spilled out of the university gates with cheerful laughter, and street vendors called out to passing pedestrians, tempting them with the aroma of grilled meat, roasted chestnuts, and freshly baked bread.
Among the sea of people, one figure stood out without even trying.
A young man with soft golden hair walked leisurely down the sidewalk, a strawberry lollipop resting between his lips. His emerald-green eyes wandered from one shop window to another with innocent curiosity, taking in the colorful displays as if the world still had countless wonders left to discover.
His name was Benny Miller.
At nineteen years old, Benny wasn't particularly tall, nor did he possess the intimidating aura of a model or celebrity. Instead, he had an irresistibly adorable appearance. His face was slightly round, giving him a youthful charm that made him look younger than his age. Whenever he smiled, two tiny bunny teeth peeked from behind his lips, making strangers instinctively smile back.
He had heard every nickname imaginable because of those teeth.
"Bunny."
"Rabbit."
"Cute boy."
At first, he hated them.
Now...
He simply laughed along.
After all, there were far more important things to worry about than a pair of bunny teeth.
Like rent.
Tuition.
Electricity.
Food.
Bills never cared whether someone had a beautiful smile.
Benny gently removed the lollipop from his mouth before glancing at the time on his old phone.
Three thirty in the afternoon.
His classes had ended nearly an hour ago.
Normally, he would already be on his way to the small café where he worked part-time every weekday, but today was one of the rare days his manager had given him off.
He smiled to himself.
A day off...
Maybe I can actually rest for once.
It had been years since "rest" was a regular part of his life.
Ever since he was a child, Benny had learned that survival wasn't something anyone would hand to him.
His parents had died before he was old enough to remember their faces. He never even owned a family photograph to look back on. Every memory he had was borrowed from paperwork and social workers who spoke about his life as though they were reading a report instead of talking about a little boy.
He spent years moving from one foster home to another before ending up with a couple who saw him as nothing more than another government paycheck.
They never beat him.
But they never loved him either.
Love wasn't found in that house.
Only empty bottles, cigarette smoke, and arguments that echoed through the thin apartment walls almost every night.
By the age of fifteen, Benny had stopped expecting kindness.
At sixteen, he secretly began working after school.
At seventeen, he quietly moved out.
No dramatic goodbye.
No tears.
No one even noticed he was gone until three days later.
He survived by taking every honest job he could find. During the day, he studied. At night, he washed dishes, cleaned tables, delivered groceries, and repaired broken laptops for neighbors.
When work became scarce, he relied on the skill he had taught himself over countless sleepless nights.
Computers.
Programming.
Hacking.
It started as curiosity.
Soon, it became his greatest talent.
Benny never hacked innocent people.
Instead, he accepted anonymous cybersecurity jobs online, helping small businesses recover stolen accounts or patch security flaws. The pay wasn't extraordinary, but it was enough to keep him fed and save toward university.
Every coin mattered.
Every sleepless night had been worth it.
Because now...
He was finally a first-year Computer Science student at Crescent University.
A dream that had once seemed impossible.
"Benny!"
A familiar voice broke him out of his thoughts.
He turned around just in time to see a young woman weaving through the crowd, waving both hands above her head.
A warm smile spread across his face.
"Daisy."
...