Beauty is a curse for a person who seeks genuine love, while ugliness is for someone who cannot be taken seriously.

During the university’s annual college ball—a night when students danced, drank, and drowned themselves in fleeting youth—Valerian Marceau stood out like a star among dim lights. He was someone you knew had a spark: beauty, grace, and elegance in every movement, making him desirable to all genders. Yet, there was one unshakable truth—he was never interested in romance.

He ignored flirtations. He rejected advances. His world revolved around a single goal: to graduate summa laude in Computer Science and prove to his absentee mother that he could succeed without her. She had long since built a new life, a new family, leaving her firstborn behind as though he were an afterthought. Valerian didn’t want her to remember him only when she needed something—he wanted her to know that he never needed her at all.

But then came one reckless night. Forced to attend the ball, he sat at the bar and ordered a single cocktail. He didn’t notice when someone slipped something into his drink. After just a few sips, a heavy dizziness washed over him—too sudden, too strong for one cocktail. Realizing something was wrong, he tried to leave immediately.

Before he could, a man cornered him. Harassment followed, hands that he didn’t want on him, and though his mind screamed no, his body betrayed him—pinned in place, unable to fight back. And you saw it all, how will you help him?