**AMBYS 2022 WINNER** He'll never play piano again. That's what virtuoso pianist Zephyr has vowed to himself after escaping Sigma, the sprawling criminal organisation that once held him--and still holds his friends--captive in California's mega-city...
Hi, for those of you asking who the model on the cover of this story is. It's Lee Gi-kwang, a Korean singer and actor.
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This image is from a Korean magazine photoshoot, where they typically recolour images to give Korean models very pale skin tone. If you're interested, go to Gi-kwang's Instagram for images showing his real skin tone, no photoshoot make-up etc.
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"Zeph?" Knocks on my bedroom door pulled me out of deep sleep. Will was silhouetted in the open doorway.
"Shibal." I sat up and grabbed my head. It was too early. "What do you want, Will?"
"It's six a.m. We need to go train."
I blinked up at him like he was insane. Then I remembered. "Oh yeah. Shit. I'm coming."
I threw on my clothes and dragged myself toward the garage after Will, still half-asleep, Chuck Taylor laces trailing behind me. At the last moment, Will swerved past the garage and jogged out toward the back yard. I watched him in a daze for a few seconds, and then scrambled after him to the beach.
"We're gonna run to Arenosa Rocks and back to warm up, then today you're gonna do legs, and I'm gonna do arms and back."
Legs, arms and back? It sounded more like massage therapy than weight-lifting, but I trusted that Will had some kinda program in mind for me.
"Glad that someone knows what I'm meant to be doing." I was already a little out of breath despite only having run past the first group of houses on Seapoint Avenue.
Gulls and petrels careened around above our heads before flying west toward the open water. The tide seemed further away than usual, huge breakers crashing on the islets out to sea. Will was holding himself back for me as I puffed along, but seemed content with his new training partner.
Back at the garage, Will led me through squats and deadlifts, patiently hovering around me to make sure that I didn't drop the bar on my foot.
