Sorry, Not A Fan

Nia wouldn’t stop talking about the performance. “Dae killed it.” Maya hadn’t stayed for one-third of the performance, so she couldn’t tell whether her sister was exaggerating or not. When she thought of Dae, it was merely as somebody she would never willingly approach in person. Did that make her a bit fascist? Perhaps, but no one had any right to judge her.

The week that followed, she and Anna had gone to enroll in one of the better high schools in the neighborhood. It was smaller than her former school, and they were about the only half-mixed population in the entire school. That warranted the staring and whispers every time they walked into a room. Maya had just one session left and then she could go to any college of her choice. She might just leave Korea altogether if it continued like this.

“Annyeong.” The first person to talk to her all day was a slightly chubby girl, pale and far too nervous. Maya told her that she couldn’t speak Korean quite yet, and she was at least happy to know that most of the students here had little knowledge of English. Some were very good at it, like the incredibly skinny girl at the front who was the definition of a stereotypical high school popular girl. She’d told Maya to piss off when she’d mistakenly brushed her in the halls.

“Is that seat taken?”

“No, you can sit if you want.”

“Okay.” The chubby girl sat down rather stiffly. Her choice of a seat had caused some stir in class. Some stared at her in both confusion and amazement—it was like she had done something great by being able to sit next to the caramel-skinned American newbie. Maya wasn’t the best at socializing—it had only been a day—but Nia had made some friends already. Maya wasn’t jealous, just impressed.

“Um, are you from America?”

“A small town in New York. You probably haven’t heard of it.”

“Oh, you are very beautiful.”

“Thank you, you too.”

“Oh.” Miss Chubby chose to overlook the compliment. “My name is Najim-Seon. You can call me Naji.”

“I’m Maya. It’s nice to meet you.”

And just as easy as that, Maya made her first friend in Seoul too. At lunchtime, Naji took her to the cafeteria to eat together. Then she spewed her entire life story to Maya within minutes. As Maya had suspected, Naji was ostracized and bullied in school due to her weight, and her bullying was led by none other than popular girl Jisu, who surprisingly was her half-sister too. It was a whole Cinderella story taking place.

While narrating the story, Jisu’s boyfriend, sexy bad boy Minho, had come to join her with his own clique. Maya had noted how devastated Naji looked when the couple kissed. It was a very brief kiss—a peck, even—nothing like the full-blown make-out sessions Maya had witnessed in her former school. So she concluded the whole plot of the drama in one look. Naji was the older daughter in her family, loved and pampered, but everything had changed when her father married a new wife and brought in a younger, prettier daughter. Now it seemed Jisu had snatched everything from her—her dad’s attention, care, and even her crush too. It was a villain-awakening story. How fun.

School ended for the day, and Maya made her way to the parking lot to wait for Nia in the car. She dug through her bag for her keys, only briefly noticing the red Maybach parked next to her. She discovered, to her irritation, that her door was jammed. She had no idea how that had happened. No matter how hard she pulled, the stupid thing just wouldn’t budge.

A pale hand came from behind her to rest on the handle, brushing her skin in the process. Maya jumped back in startlement. There had been no shadow, no body heat, no indication whatsoever that there had been somebody behind her—which meant whoever it was wasn’t human.

The young man was draped in a scarf, his eyes shielded by large ugly sunglasses, and the beanie covered up his hair, but she saw a few strands of black peeping out. “Mianhaeyo.”

Maya took a few steps back. Even if she hadn’t recognized him on sight, she’d heard way too much of his music from Nia to not pick out the voice. Well, no wonder he was dressed so strangely, but is this really considered a disguise?

“It’s you?”

The idol unlocked the car with a simple pop. “You recognize me?”

“Only an idiot wouldn’t.” Maya paused. She considered whether her words had come off as a bit too harsh. Not liking the guy didn’t mean she could act rudely to him—he’d done her no wrong. Her mother wouldn’t approve of the attitude. “I mean… it’s not that good of a cover.”

“It’s worked perfectly so far.” She could feel him staring behind those ugly shades. His English was perfect—barely an accent to be picked.

Maya turned her gaze away. Her sister was still nowhere in sight, so she couldn’t simply get in the car and drive away to avoid conversation. “Thank you—for the door, I mean.”

“Don’t mention it.”

He was saying that now, but he still wasn’t moving away from her car, goddammit. She didn’t want to get close—her skin was getting all itchy just at the thought of closing even that little bit of distance. Sharp teeth, red eyes, and the smell of blood—the scenes were playing back in her head. They became vivid the longer she stood in front of this man with his gaze boring into her.

“Um…” Please, step away from me.

“Hmm?”

“Could you… like… go away?” She saw him arch a perfectly styled brow at her request. But he was polite enough to step away from her car.

“Thank you.”

“You’re not a fan.”

“No.” Nice observation skills there, buddy. You deserve a flower. “My sister is, though. She thinks you’re wonderful.”

“I see.”

What exactly did he see? Maya was about to ask what he meant, but she saw him walking away. He stepped into his expensive car and was soon zooming out of the space. Nia made an appearance a few minutes after her idol had left.

“Who was that guy you were talking to just now?” She’d caught a brief glimpse of his figure before he had driven away. He seemed a bit… familiar?

“No one important. Just asking for directions.”

The next day, Nia had chosen to take a ride back home with her new friend who happened to live in their neighborhood. So Maya drove home alone. She found her sister unboxing a small package when she walked in. There was a gift box and a lavish bouquet.

“OMGs!! I can’t believe it!”

“What’s the problem?”

“I got a package from LYNX. I’ve got an invite to meet Dae in person—he’s at the Jianpi Hotel. Can you believe it?”

“No, I truly can’t.” Maya made to walk away, but Nia hadn’t concluded yet.

“Oddly, though, it says I have to bring a plus one.”

“What’s odd about that? Just take Anna.”

“It has to be a family member.”

“Mom is—”

“A sibling.”

Now that’s just suspicious. “How very specific.”