Cinderella Meets Prince Charming

It was the college's annual orientation day for new students. In the group of less than ten new students, Lee Jieun was trying to memorise everything in sight. The grandness of the school amazed her.

When Jieun first found out that she had gotten a full scholarship to Exo Performing Arts College, she was overjoyed. Overjoyed didn't even begin to describe the happiness she felt at that time. Not having enough money to afford even the cheapest of college fees, getting a scholarship to Exo Performing Arts College (one of the top performing arts institutes in Seoul) was better than winning the lottery to Jieun.

Jieun took her time to absorb her surroundings. She still couldn't believe she would be a student here starting tomorrow. The thought of going through EPAC's special trainings excited her.

The teacher showing the new students around said something along the lines of "This is where the students have their academic lessons." However, Jieun was too far back to hear a word she said.

A row of of science labs on her left caught Jieun's eye. Curiousity got the best of her and Jieun poked her head into one of the labs. She gaped a bit at the modernness of it. *What kind of performing arts school is this? It has better facilities than an academic school.*

When Jieun came out of the science lab, the group of new students and the teacher were no longer in sight. She had lost them. And now she was all alone in a ginormous school she was not familiar with.

Jieun started to freak out a little. Getting lost wasn't exactly the most enjoyable thing. However, she managed to keep her composure. "It's okay, Jieun, you can find your way around this place. You're going to have to starting tomorrow anyway," she mumbled to herself.

After some thinking, Jieun decided that she should go back to the reception, where the new students first assembled. They were probably going to end up there before dispersing.

Jieun started walking in the opposite direction, trying to find her way back to the reception. But even before this, she wasn't paying attention and was just following the crowd. In other words, she was now just walking around aimlessly.

Pretty soon, the fact that she was lost was pushed aside in Jieun's mind. Right now, she was too busy admiring her new school.

Jieun was walking along a narrow corridor. Dance studios and choir rooms lined either sides of it. She suddenly remembered that she was lost. But before she could try to find her way back to the reception, music spilling out from one of the rooms made her stop in her tracks.

The beat of the music was strong, and the upbeat rhythm made her want to dance along to it—she wasn't much of a dancer though. Jieun found herself drawn to the music. Without realising it, Jieun's legs were bringing her closer and closer to the source of the music.

It came from one of the dance studios.

It was a Saturday so she didn't expect anyone to be in school but there was a boy here.

And the boy was dancing. Greatly, at that.

His movements were fluid, yet sharp. The way he moved across the room with so much precision and effortlessness was amazing. Not to mention hypnotising. Jieun found herself unable to tear her eyes away from him.

Surely, he wasn't just a student. With his abilities, he had a be a pro.

When the music stopped, so did the boy's dancing. Standing in the centre of the room, he panted loudly, trying to catch his breath. The sound of his heavy breathing filled the almost-completely empty room.

Suddenly, he turned to face the door—where Jieun was standing when she was watching him.

Jieun's jaw dropped a bit when she saw the dancer's face.

If she had to describe him in one word, it would have to be gorgeous.

Was he a professional dancer or a supermodel? He met the requirements to be either.

Jieun realised that she had been staring at the boy for quite some time now. She quickly looked away and a blush crept onto her rosy cheeks. *I must look like some idiot to him.*

"Are you a new student?"

Jieun directed her attention back to the boy. *Did he say something just then?* "P-pardon?" she stammered nervously.

"I asked," the boy began, "are you a student? I haven't seen you around before" His voice was clear and pleasant to the ear.

Jieun nodded in response. "Are you a student here?" she asked back.

The boy raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"

"It's just that your dancing was so great, you can't possibly be a student here. You have to be a professional dancer or something," Jieun thought aloud.

Out of the blue, the boy started laughing.

Jieun was confused—and frankly, a bit annoyed—at first. She hadn't said anything humorous, so why was he laughing?

But he had a nice laugh.

The boy stopped laughing and looked Jieun straight in the eye, surprising her a bit with his boldness. And then he smiles. The most perfect smile she has ever seen.

Jieun swore her heart skipped a beat at that moment.

How was it possible for anyone to be so absolutely gorgeous?

"I'm flattered you think so highly of me, beautiful stranger," the boy said.

Jieun felt herself turn crimson again, which only caused the boy to erupt into another string of beautiful laughter.

When he stopped laughing, the boy looked into Jieun's eyes again, his mesmerising brown eyes piercing into her, and spoke, "What's your name?"

"Lee Jieun," Jieun replied calmly.

The boy's gorgeous plump lips curved upwards into the smallest smile and he nodded.

"What's yours?" Jieun couldn't help but ask.

"I can't tell you," he stated simply.

Jieun's eyebrows furrowed in mild frustration. *Didn't he just ask for my name? I told it to him, so why can't he tell me his? Aish, this guy...*

The boy laughed again. His laughter was music to Jieun's ears. She would never get sick of hearing such a beautiful sound.

"Sorry," the boy said suddenly, "I know I asked you for your name and then refused to give mine out. You see, I just have this policy of not giving my name out to strangers," he explained, and slyly added, "No matter how beautiful that stranger is."

*Is he flirting with me now? I don't understand this guy at all.* "Oh," was the only thing that Jieun managed to say.

The boy smirked. "Are you on a school tour?"

"Omo, I completely forgot about the tour!"

"You should get back. They're probably looking for you," he pointed out.

"You're right." Jieun was now busy thinking of what she would tell the teacher. I got left behind and I was trying to find my way back to the reception but somehow ended up watching a handsome stranger dance? *Nah, I'll just tell her I had to use the restroom or something.*

Jieun turned in her heels and started to walk away, but then remembered that she still had no idea how to get back to the reception. She started walking backwards back to the doorway of the dance studio. "Um, can you tell me the directions to the reception from here?" she asked sheepishly.

Once again, the boy broke into an amused smile.