Kristin Kreuk, 'Smallville's' Lana Lang, kisses and tells

By DONNA PETROZZELLO DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Not in Kansas Anymore: Kristin Kreuk's character is in Metropolis along with Clark Kent in 'Smallville's' season opener.

Kissing a cute superhero might seem like a dream for some women, but for "Smallville" co-star Kristin Kreuk, it's another day on the job.

"It isn't as fun as it looks," Kreuk said about on-camera liplocks with Tom Welling, who plays Clark Kent/Superman. "Tom and I get along really well and I trust him a lot and I really like him, so it's easier in that way, but it's technical and professional and in no way romantic."

Still, thousands of women would trade places with Kreuk, well, faster than a speeding bullet.

"Smallville" returns tomorrow at 8 p.m. on the WB with Kreuk, 20, playing Lana Lang.

When the season ended in May, Clark was wearing a mood-altering kryptonite ring that turned him into a clubgoer - and a bank robber.

In tomorrow's episode, Lana goes to Metropolis to retrieve Clark, but he resists her and sets their affair off course.

"Lana and Clark just don't know how to be together properly, even though they love each other a lot," Kreuk said. "He distances himself from [Lana] because he doesn't want to hurt her. So she's sort of pursuing him and he's backing off, which is different than it's usually been."

Despite Clark's personality change, both Lana and her friend Chloe (Allison Mack) have a familiar pattern: each pining in her own way for Clark.

Kreuk's least favorite episodes have revolved around the women quibbling over the same man.

"I think that issue is totally universal for women, as sad as that is," Kreuk said. "But they want to keep that triangle alive."

While Lana and Clark try to sort out their future, Chloe will focus this season on her new reporting job with the Daily Planet and her first assignment from her boss, Lionel Luther (John Glover: to investigate Clark Kent's true identity.

Like her fictional boyfriend, the ordinarily shy Kreuk has changed during her time on the WB series.

"To protect myself, I've always been very reserved, and it takes me a little while to warm up to people," she said.

"In season one of 'Smallville,' I was kind of in a corner, reading a book most of the time. But as time has gone by, [the cast] has become people I feel safe with and trust now, which is really important."