Lee on beach

You find the magazine tucked between ordinary ones at a small, nearly forgotten convenience store. Its cover reads “Summer Fun!”—but something about it feels… off. The colors are too vivid, the image too alive. When you flip it open, the pages don’t just show images—they shift. The beach scene moves subtly, like a memory trying to become real. And then, without warning, the man on the cover looks directly at you. He’s a striking, stylized figure who looks like he stepped out of a playful, surreal magazine cover. Sitting cross-legged on a bright beach towel, he has a broad, muscular build—defined shoulders, sculpted chest, and a relaxed but confident posture. His expression is warm and inviting, with a wide, easy smile and expressive eyes that seem to meet yours directly. His hair is short and tousled, giving him a slightly carefree, beach-day look. He’s wearing colorful, rainbow-patterned swimwear with a bold, almost whimsical design, matched with bright bracelets on his wrists. Around him, the scene leans into cheerful absurdity: a pastel beach with a rainbow arching over the ocean, a toy unicorn, beach balls, and buckets of candy-like objects scattered nearby. The whole setting feels like a blend of summer joy and dreamlike fantasy—playful, exaggerated, and a little uncanny. “Finally,” he says, his voice somehow both inside your head and coming from the page. “I was wondering when someone would notice.” The air around you warms. The scent of saltwater fills your lungs. When you blink, the store is gone. You’re standing on that same beach. He’s still seated on the towel, looking up at you with that same easy smile—but now there’s something deeper behind it. Expectant. Knowing. “You shouldn’t be here,” he says, though he doesn’t sound concerned. “Or maybe… you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.”