Celebrity Superhero Read online

  Turns out I was wrong about Caleb. All this time I've been watching him from afar, dreaming of meeting him. I imagined this beautiful, mind-blowing experience where we spot each other from across the room and fall in love.

  From all the countless hours I’ve spent on YouTube watching him in interviews and interacting with the rest of SUPER, I thought I understood him. But seeing him in person is a totally different experience. I should have known it was all an act for the cameras. He really is the same kid who bullied me and stole my necklace, and it took me less than half an hour to figure that out. How could I be so disillusioned?

  This is why reality sucks. I hate it because it never lives up to my imagination. If Caleb thinks he can push me around, he's got another thing coming. No one, not even my favorite idol, treats me that way.

  “What?” I say, spitting the word. I cock my hip and rest my hand on it. “I wasn’t thinking anything. Other than the fact that you’re a guest in my house and I’m trying to be a good host. Forget that. You can find your own way around.”

  I march back into the living room and snatch my book off the side table where I left it, and then run upstairs, slamming my door behind me.

  Ugh. This was not how things were supposed to happen. I was going to be the one telling Caleb that I wouldn't be his chaperone. He wasn't supposed to be Sungwook, and I wasn't supposed to already be in love with him.

  It's stupid because he doesn't know he's been my obsession. He just waltzes in here and assumes he's better than me. I won't take it.

  His paper face is staring at me from the poster on my cork board. I take it down and hold my hands at the top, beginning to rip through his perfectly coifed hair. My nails crumple the glossy surface, but I can’t make myself do it.

  As much as I want to totally loathe and reject him for being a jerk, I know that the idol I adore is in there somewhere. As long as I don’t think of Caleb as Sungwook, I can pretend they’re two different people. It’s Caleb I have a beef with, and I’m not going to let him pierce my thick skin.

  Fitting into the Cape

  My heart pounds in my chest as I lean against a brick wall and gasp for air. I’ve been running for so long my thighs feel like jelly, but I can’t quit yet. That thing, whatever it was, is still after me. If I can just make it to the sanctuary around the next corner I’ll be safe.

  I beg my legs to move, to leap across the space and find shelter, but the alleyway stretches longer and longer and my lungs are burning so hard they’re about to light on fire.

  Then Sungwook is there, right between me and the corner that will save me. I reach for him, but he’s too far away. He stands with his legs apart and arms folded, a dry ice-like vapor flowing off his body, glowing lime green in the moonlight.

  “Help me!” I yell to him.

  His eyes narrow, a smirk on his lips. I glance back, knowing that whatever chased me will soon find me, thanks to all the noise.

  “Help you?” he says in his harshest tone. “I’m the thing that’s out to get you.”

  I gulp and back away, hands up in defense. It’s too late. All the running and hiding was in vain.

  Sungwook spreads his arms and flashes open his palms, shooting ice from his hands. A thick, frozen cube incases me so I’m no longer able to move. The sound of Sungwook’s laugh echoes around us, sounding a lot like someone knocking at my door.

  “Anna,” Sungwook says, his voice an octave higher and feminine. “It’s time to come down.”

  I startle, bolting upright in my bed. It was all a dream, but my body doesn’t know that yet. My heart is still pounding, sweat beading on my brow.

  I search for my glasses but they aren’t on my bedside table. I squint at the clock. Crap, it’s already noon. I didn't mean to sleep in that long. It just happened.

  The rapping on my door gets louder. “Anna. Lunch. Now!”

  Seriously? “Just a second, Mom, I'll be right down.”

  I run towards the bathroom, my need to pee trumping all other thought. When I wrench the door open, messy hair and all, there’s a figure standing on the other side. I might be blind, but I can tell my family members from a stranger, and this blurry person is in the shape of Caleb. I’m so used to this bathroom being my own that I hadn’t considered the fact that he’s in the connecting guest room.

  “What are you doing in here?” he asks.

  Oh gosh, can he turn off his ego for, like, five seconds? I spent so much of the previous day trying to avoid him that he must not have known we share a bathroom. At least he spoke to me in English. I guess he did live here for a time so he’s bilingual like me.

  “I need to pee. I thought that’s what bathrooms are for,” I blurt.

  It hurts me that I have to pull out my snark, because part of me is still drooling over him. As much as I thought I could make my feelings for his online persona go away, they haven’t. That’s not going to keep me from being myself, though.

  “Gross,” he mumbles.

  I want to make it to the potty room, but I don’t really want to do it with Caleb still in here. I also feel defenseless without my glasses.

  “Um,” I say, trying not to do the bladder dance but still shifting my feet from side to side. “Have you seen my glasses?”

  “Isn't that them?” Caleb says, pointing at the ground. Or at least I'm pretty sure he's pointing at the ground.

  I have no idea why they’d be there unless he knocked them off the counter.

  “I. Cant. See.” Boy's dense.

  He scoffs. “They're right in front of you. Take two steps forward.”

  Yeah, real helpful, because he can't just pick them up and hand them to me.

  I stride forward and snap. Nooooo! I just stepped on my glasses. They were really cute too.

  “I can't see!” I yell again.

  Caleb is laughing. I don't need my vision to know that.

  He reaches down and picks up my glasses. From the outline, I can tell they're not going to be wearable. I steal them from his grasp anyway. When I put them on, one of the lenses is missing. I can only see out my left eye. The right side is hanging all screwy. It's making my head hurt. I have to close my right eye so I feel like I can see.

  Great, of all the times to run out of contacts. There's an old pair of glasses in my dresser, but they're straight from my middle school years and no one makes good fashion choices at that age.

  Caleb's still laughing. “I'll see you at lunch,” he says, waving to me as he leaves.

  Grr! Who cares about him? I'm not trying to impress him anyway.

  After relieving myself, I go back to my room and pull out my old glasses. I still don’t know what I was thinking when I got them. They’re perfect large circles and green camo. Yep, worst decision ever. They don't make my vision as sharp, but they'll suffice until I can take a shower. I really hope my contact order gets here soon.

  I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror on the back of my door.

  Wow. It's a good thing I've decided I'm not going to impress Caleb. My black hair is all tangled on the side where I slept. Now with my weirdo glasses I look like a genuine sideshow. Caleb's already seen me so I go with it. Maybe it’ll help the pain in my heart over losing my idol crush.

  I strut into the kitchen. That's right, strut. No use in hiding it.

  I look right at Caleb as I sit, running my fingers through my knotted hair with a flourish. I don't lose his eye contact as I adjust my gargantuan glasses so they fit just right.

  “What on Earth, Anna?” Dad says. “We were all waiting for you.”

  Caleb hasn't stopped watching me so I make sure to look at him as I speak. “Thanks to a certain someone, I stepped on my glasses.”

  He flinches, narrowing his eyes. “It was my fault,” he admits. “I should've been more careful. I’m sorry,” he says in formal Korean.

  Who is this person and what did he do with Caleb? I glace at his parents who are beaming at him with pride. Okay, I get it. He’s playing the role of filial son and
all that jazz.

  My eyes flick away. One thing I can say for sure is that he cares about his family. They’re the reason he’s here, and he’s good to them. My cheeks heat up as I think about how embarrassing I’ve been in front of people he cares about. I hate that he’s gotten to me with a single sentence, again.

  I move the food around my plate, stabbing my metal chopsticks into my rice bowl a little harder than necessary. I've zeroed in on a single grain sitting on the edge of my bowl, and I keep poking it, hoping it'll eventually stick to the end of my chopstick.

  “Anna, watch out!” Caleb says.

  I hit my chopstick against the bowl one more time, and the edge of the dish cracks and clatters to the table. My spine goes rigid as I raise my eyes.

  “I tried to warn you,” Caleb says.

  I blink, my throat going dry. He totally saw my bowl was going to crack before I did. “How did you know?”

  Caleb shrugs. “I heard it splitting.”

  Heard it? From across the table? I was sitting right here and I didn't hear a dang thing.

  “Anna,” Mom says, “watch what you’re doing.”

  I can’t believe I just broke Mom’s nice china. She’s about to get really upset, I can tell. But that’s not my first concern. I have to get out of here so I can think.

  “Excuse me,” I say, getting up from my chair. “I don’t feel well.”

  Caleb heard my bowl breaking. Heard it! My breathing speeds up. It can't be true, but I don’t know what else to think. He caught the vase way faster than any human, and now he's hearing sounds better than my dog. Could he...?

  I shake my head. Not possible. People like that don’t exist in the real world.

  Dad wrinkles his eyebrows. “You haven't touched your food.”

  Mom lays her chopsticks to the side of her plate. “Why would she eat if she's not feeling well? Look at her!”

  I push my glasses up my nose, remembering what a hot mess I am.

  “Go get some sleep,” Mom says, waving an exasperated hand.

  I try not to, but I can't help but watch Caleb as I leave. He looks worried. Perhaps he's worried I'll discover his secret?

  This requires research. I bow to my family and the visitors before running upstairs.

  Thank goodness Mom set the wifi back up. I open my laptop and start by watching the newly released MV, searching for any sign that what I’m seeing is real and not made up. It could be. Really. Some of the special effects are obvious, but not all of them. That puts me in the same position I was two seconds ago.

  So the internet wasn't any help, what else is new? I still can't shake the feeling he's otherworldly somehow.

  I spend most of the day watching K-pop vids with my headphones in, thinking about Caleb. Erin texted me once, but I told her I would be busy until our guests leave. I have no idea how to tell her about Sungwook, or the fact that he’s a jerk. I’ve gone downstairs twice, once for leftover food, and once for a soda. Luckily, I wasn’t caught since they all went out to sight-see.

  Now that my stomach is full, and it’s night, the sleepiness is winning. I sludge to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face.

  As soon as I get inside I hear talking coming from Caleb's room. Light seeps through the door to the tile. He’s probably still messed up because of the time change from Korea.

  I shouldn’t, really. I’m not a stalker. But Caleb is right here and he’s talking so loud he’s practically begging me to listen in to his conversation. I hope he’s distracted enough that he doesn’t notice me tip-toeing closer.

  My ear presses to the chilled door. Good thing it's hollow, I can hear right through.

  He's speaking Mandarin, dang! I forgot his K-pop group does Chinese promotions, too. I guess he’s tri-lingual, thanks to his training. I really wanted to know what he was saying.

  I'm about to walk away when I hear him switch to English. “I have to fix the jewelry. It's important.”

  Jewelry? What kind of jewelry?

  “I asked you to have the stuff ready for me. Don't play dumb. I'm speaking English so there's no misunderstanding. Now tell me.”

  Wait, what if Caleb really does have superpowers? If he does, this could be someone like Dark Doom who’s stolen something from him. That would be so exciting.

  “I know what I said,” he continues, “I changed my mind. I tried not to let the past get to me, but it already has. As much as I’ve resisted, I'm weak.”

  The past? Weak? What could that possibly mean? I wonder if his supernatural powers aren't working as well here. Maybe the jewelry is some kind of amulet that restores him to health.

  “Hang on a second,” he says.

  I go stiff. Shoot. Did he hear me? I hold my breath, trying to be as soundless as possible.

  The door swings open from his side and I stumble into his chest. He catches me with an arm around my back and my weight causes us to spin around like we’re dancing. I cower into his rock-hard abs a second before meeting his eyes, embarrassed he caught me listening in.

  He holds my gaze, and I take him in fully. His perfect dark hair is wet like he just got out of the shower, and his shampoo smells like dark chocolate. I can’t help but focus on his Adam’s apple, my gaze tracing the lines up to his masculine chin. I swallow but don’t shift, worried one wrong move will disturb this moment.

  “I'll call you back,” he murmurs, letting the phone drop from his ear.

  He studies my face with dark eyes that sparkle, even though it’s night and I know he's going to say something rude. I don't want to hear it so I straighten my spine and push out of his embrace.

  He speaks anyway. “You weren't supposed to hear that.”

  This time, I don’t feel hurt. Rather, I feel validated knowing I was right. He's for sure hiding something.

  I’m really not in the mood to pick a fight, so I concede. “Sorry about that.”

  He breathes out hard through his nose, his jaw tight. He’s trying to hold his anger together, but why? He had no problem being a jerk to me before.

  “Just,” he says, “don't do it again.”

  I stumble as he pushes me back into the bathroom, shutting the door in my face. Ah, there’s that guy again.

  If anything, I’m resilient. I will figure out what his deal is, but that means I need to spend more time with him. There has to be something I can do to make him like me.

  “I can help you,” I say, opening the door.

  Caleb's back is to me, his shoulders stiffened. He doesn't turn around. This is going to be a long shot, but I have to try.

  I need to convince him that he needs me. “I've lived in Portland most of my life. I know it better than most people. If you need someone to show you around or take you somewhere...”

  I know it's lame, but I'm doing my best.

  He doesn't move, the silence ballooning between us. I guess that's my answer. It was worth a shot anyway.

  “Why should I let you?” he says after a second, tipping his head so I can see the edge of his profile.

  Yeah, I got nothing. I-just-want-to-be-with-you doesn't seem like the right thing to say at the moment.

  “Because,” I whine, scrambling to come up with something. “I'm so adorable.”

  He turns a bit of his shoulder so he can see me better.

  I can't believe I'm going to do this, but I'm pretty desperate.

  My fists go to my cheeks. A little aegyo—or acting cute—can go a long way. His mouth softens, just a touch.

  “Bbuing, bbuing?” I venture.

  That's all it takes—the corners of his mouth turn up, the sparkle in his eyes intensifying. I could look at that face all day.

  He turns around and grips the door so tight his muscles flex.

  “I'll let you go with me on one condition.”

  Bubbles are forming in my stomach, tickling my insides, but I try not to appear too eager. “What's that?”

  He narrows his eyes, his mouth a straight line. “We go tomorrow night, after my pa
rents are in bed.”

  I pretend to fake-punch him. “Don't want to be seen in public with me, eh?”

  He swings the door so it only frames his face. “Exactly.”

  With a click of the lock, he's gone.

  Ice king has returned! I knew he couldn't stay away for too long.

  My eyes naturally close as I sigh. Why do I let myself like him? It just brings me pain.

  ***

  I wasn't going to dress up. It’s not like changing my appearance is going to make Caleb think of me any differently. But the whole time I'm in the shower I keep thinking about the moment he smiled, and how his whole face transformed. I really, really want to see that smile again. Maybe if I attempt to look hot it'll work.

  Yeah, I'm already laughing at myself.

  I take time picking out my outfit anyway. I find a purple short-sleeved blouse, with sheer fabric, that Mom bought me hoping I’d be more girly. She got the color right, even though it’s not usually my style. I throw on some white shorts that make my legs look longer. She would be so proud.

  Rosie is looking up at me with her head tilted like she’s not sure what’s happened to her favorite person. It's been a while since I put on anything other than a t-shirt and jeans.

  Patting Rosie as I walk by, I go back to the bathroom and dig through a box where I used to keep my contacts and find some old unopened ones that work. They’ll probably burn my eyes by the end of the day, but they’ll suffice. I even curl my hair and put lip-gloss on. This deserves a selfie since I never dress up. One with a classic peace sign, and then one that’s just me.

  Mom calls me down for breakfast, and I don’t want to keep anyone waiting today so I stuff my phone in my back pocket and exit my room. Walking down the stairs in my wedge sandals is harder than I remember. I take each step slow, holding onto the railing as I go.

  The first time I look up from my feet, I see Caleb standing in the living room watching me. His chest is puffed out and his mouth is closed like he’s holding his breath. I would say he's mad, but that's not quite the expression I'm sensing. More like...confused? My focus goes back to my feet. I can't handle him staring that way.

  “Breakfast!” Mrs. Choi reminds me when I reach the bottom step where Caleb has stayed, waiting for me.