Chapter 11
With one day left until the opening night of the winter carnival, Grace stayed after school to help prep the booths. The entire student council was supposed to pitch in too, but only Mia showed up. So Grace stayed way later than she’d anticipated. Which meant it would be takeout for dinner.
With the recent boom of attention on Korean culture, a bunch of shiny new K-BBQ places had opened around Orlando. But only one had ever been Halmeoni approved. Asia House. Not the most creative name, but it had good food and was the only Korean-owned Asian restaurant in the area.
Ever since Halmeoni died, Dad and Grace had become very regular customers at Asia House.
The building and decor felt like someone threw all East Asian aesthetics in a blender and set it to mix.
Grace passed a replica of a Korean statue to cross the fake Japanese-style bridge over the man-made Chinese koi pond.
To be honest, Grace didn’t mind the term Asian fusion, even though some of her older cousins said it let people think they were all from one giant country.
Grace knew they had a point, but they also grew up in California, where the Asian population was robust enough to give them confidence and support.
There was only a smattering of Asians in Grace’s part of the country, and there was a delicate balance here between being proud of your culture and accepting that others were mostly ignorant about the details of it.
It kind of reminded her of the Koreaboos, whose comments on Sun God were overzealous in an almost uncomfortable way.
How they talked about wanting to fly to Korea just to find boyfriends like Haemosu.
How they said Korean girls were so small and pretty, even though they came in all shapes and sizes just like any other ethnic group.
But Grace kept her discomfort to herself.
She’d once seen a popular webtoon author get doxed for getting into fights with readers online, and Grace definitely didn’t want that happening to her.
When she entered, the hostess immediately said, “Takeout for Bak?”
Grace laughed awkwardly and nodded. Maybe she should take a break ordering from here if she was getting recognized on sight.
Grace waited on one of the battered chairs that was too weathered to be used at the tables anymore.
“Would you like your fortune told?”
Grace smiled at the older woman as she shuffled around the corner. Mrs. Moon walked bent over, making her even shorter than Grace’s five-foot-three frame. She was the mother of the owner and could be anywhere from eighty to one hundred.
“Hello, Mrs. Moon,” Grace said with a respectful head bow.
The old woman peered up at her through thick glasses. “I can see from your facial features that you’re a creator.”
Grace sucked in a sharp breath. She was too science-based to believe in things like physiognomy or fortune-telling. But she knew some liked to have Mrs. Moon read their futures for them while they waited for their takeout.
“You’ve created something that scares you,” Mrs. Moon said with a nod. “But you do not have to be afraid. He will not harm you.” She gestured out the window. Grace almost choked when she recognized faux Haemosu standing outside, studying the restaurant.
“Halmeoni!” the hostess said, coming back with Grace’s food. “Stop bothering the waiting customers.”
“I am not bothering her, am I, agassi?”
“Um, no, not at all.” Grace glanced out the window again. Fake Haemosu was still standing there. Only now he was looking at her.
The moment their eyes met, he cocked his head and gestured for her to come outside.
She wanted to ignore him. To pretend she hadn’t seen him. Only, she could imagine that would just draw him inside. And she didn’t really want an audience for his next wild claim.
By the time she rushed outside again, Hae had moved to the side of the building, grinning at the doglike face of a stone statue.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Grace demanded.
“If I have to keep explaining this whole magnetic-pull thing, it’s going to get tiring,” he said with a sigh.
“I don’t know how else to tell you that I’m not interested in whatever games you’re playing, Hae…mosu,” Grace said, finally using his borrowed name.
“You can just call me Hae.”
“What?”
“I decided I like it, these nicknames you all have in this era. So, you can call me Hae. It means ‘sun,’ after all.”
Grace couldn’t believe he was keeping up the charade. “Okay then, Hae, you need to leave me alone.”
“Fine.”
Grace was kind of surprised that he was giving in so easily.
Then he took a step closer, his gaze lifting to the sky, where the weak sun peeked out from behind thick clouds.
“Wait, what are you doing?”
“I meant ‘Fine, I will show you my powers.’ ” He scowled at his hands. “They’re not functioning the way I’m used to. But today the sun is out, so I can draw on its energy at least.”
He closed his eyes, stepping toward the base of the statue, laying his hands against the clawed feet. It was some kind of Korean creature. Reminded her of a lion mixed with a dog with scales and small wing-pattern whorls on its back.
She should just leave. And maybe actually file a report with the police just in case. The longer she stayed, the more she’d be encouraging him.
Yet she didn’t move, watching as he lowered his head.
He really was gorgeous. His jawline straight and strong. His dark brows knit in concentration as he whispered, “There it is, I can feel your spirit. Wake up.”
Despite herself, Grace searched for any change.
But there was nothing.
A sharp stab of disappointment lanced through her. Surprising and embarrassing her.
It was ridiculous to have wanted something spectacular to happen, right?
But maybe a small part of her had wished for it. The part of her that still believed in the superstitions and legends her halmeoni used to teach her.
Then the sun brightened. Subtly at first, a small slash of light, arrowing down from the sky. It was a coincidence, Grace told herself. It was just the movement of the clouds. Except the beam perfectly spotlighted Hae.
Then another ray descended, and another, until they encircled the small stone statue. Like the fingers of a god reaching down to the earth.
Hae was awash in the light. His skin glowed with it. And when he opened his eyes, they found Grace’s, a vivid gold so brilliant that she gasped.
A grin lifted the corners of his eyes in wicked self-satisfaction.
It’s just the clouds moving, Grace tried to reason. It’s not magic. It can’t be.
With a crack, a large fissure traveled down the center of the statue. Grace watched in horror as small fractures webbed out, like tributaries.
“What the hell?” Grace said just as the statue began to crumble.