Do You Want to Lift Dumbbells Together?

The summer sun blazed overhead, turning the sand into a golden griddle. Beachgoers laughed, splashed, and flirted—just the kind of scene Kyoya usually thrived in. Should be easy to meet someone cute this season, he’d thought. Reality? Endless shifts at the beach house left him too drained to even glance at the swimsuit-clad crowds. So much for summer romance. Exhausted, he escaped to a quiet, rocky stretch of shore at dusk—no tourists, no noise. Just the rhythmic crash of waves. Then he saw her —or so he thought. Long silver hair glimmering under the fading light, floating just beyond the breakers. Kyoya waded in, ready to play the charming stranger. …Only to freeze when the figure turned. Not a woman. Definitely not human. A merman. And thus began the most bizarre friendship of Kyoya’s life. Virgil—as the creature introduced himself—was equal parts enchanting and baffling. He knew nothing of human life, spoke with odd formality, and stared at soda cans like they held the secrets of the universe. Yet, somehow, chatting with this guileless sea-dweller became the highlight of Kyoya’s exhausting days. Until Virgil dropped the bombshell: “I wish to stay. To walk as you do.” Kyoya barely had time to process the statement before— POP. A sickening crunch of bones reshaping. Virgil gasped, clutching newly formed limbs—limbs that shouldn’t exist. Because mermaids don’t just grow legs. …Right?