A/N: An inexplicably long chapter. Enjoy :) 

Jiyeon gaped in awe at the towering building in front of her. She did a final check on her make-up and hair, using her phone as a mirror.

I seriously hope I’m appropriately dressed, she thought. She looked down at her cream blouse, pencil skirt and peep-toe heels and sighed. Her phone buzzed insider her clutch purse. She d for her phone and unlocked it.

1 New Message from Her Royal Highness:

All the best, Jiyeon! Fighting! ^^

Jiyeon smiled at Ha Eun’s text.

Thanks my love. I’ll try my best! <3

Jiyeon typed a quick reply to Ha Eun, took a deep breath and walked into the building. The reception hall was filled with posters of Hallyu celebrities. Super Junior, TVXQ, SNSD and SHINee were all pretty familiar terms she was sure she’d heard before. She just did not know who the members were. For someone who had spent her school life on studies and dance entirely, Hallyu was nearly foreign to her.

This must be the Hall of Fame, Jiyeon thought, as she examined the unbelievably pristine features of each unfamiliar face she bypassed. Overwhelmed by the numerous posters of celebrities on the wall, she did not notice two figures approaching her direction.

“Ah! I’m sorry!” One of the persons exclaimed when Jiyeon collided into them, the contents of the envelope in her hand scattering all over the marble floor.

What a low voice for a lady – wait, what? Jiyeon stared at the beautiful person in bewilderment as he and the other young man with auburn curly locks bent down to pick up the papers for her.

What the-? I never knew boys could be this pretty!  Jiyeon furrowed her eyebrows, perturbed by the fact that she nearly mistook a boy for a girl.

“Here you go, be careful and watch where you’re going next time!” Pretty boy smiled warmly, and handed Jiyeon her papers, still pretty much in a state of shock. He caught a glance of the first page with her photo ID. His eyes widened.

“Hey, miss, are you alright there?” The man with auburn hair waved his hands in front of Jiyeon’s stunned face.

“Ah, oh, yeah, I’m fine! Sorry about that, and thank you!” Jiyeon received the papers from the longhaired boy and bowed a few times. The boys waved and turned to leave, chuckling as they walked.

“Did you see her face, Taemin ah! I bet she thought you were a girl or something!” The man with auburn hair sniggered at his friend.

“Yah Minho hyung! I can’t believe she did not know who we were!” Taemin pouted, fiddling with his sweater.

Taemin swore that he caught a glimpse of that clumsy girl’s name on one of the papers he retrieved earlier. Hmm. Song Jiyeon, that name sounds vaguely familiar. Impossible, it can’t be the same person, right?

(A/N: No offence to SHINee fans! I love Taemin too! ^^)

Jiyeon found the reception at long last. She fixed her hair and sighed in relief as she scurried over, hoping she was still on time after that little ‘incident’ she had earlier.

“Miss. May I assist you?” A pale-faced woman with high cheekbones wearing thick eye makeup and red lipstick looked up from her desk at Jiyeon.

“I-I’m here for an appointment with your CEO, Mr. Kim Young Min,” Jiyeon stammered, feeling rather intimidated by the woman who had a cold, careless expression on her face.

“May I have your papers and ID please.” Jiyeon handed the envelope and her ID to the woman, who raised her eyebrows while scanning through Jiyeon’s information.

Shucks, maybe she thinks I’m a sasaeng fan or something, a thought flashed past Jiyeon’s mind. She bit her lip, praying for everything to be okay and she would not end up being thrown out onto the street by bouncers.

“Seonsaengnim! Song Seonsaengnim!” A familiar voice reverberated through the narrow passageway to the reception area. Both the lady and Jiyeon looked up to see who the owner of the voice was. A flustered Jinsoo ran to Jiyeon’s side, panting. His face was moist with perspiration.

Thank God for Jinsoo. A sigh of relief escaped Jiyeon’s lips.

“Director Kang. You know this lady?” The pale-faced receptionist nodded slightly to acknowledge Jinsoo. Jiyeon inhaled sharply upon hearing the term director. Who are you, Kang Jinsoo?

“Yes, yes. I do know her and she’s someone I hold much respect for, Miss Lee. Would you kindly leave her matters to me?” Jinsoo flashed a charming smile at the receptionist, who blushed almost instantly. Jiyeon stifled a laugh. Oh my, what monstrous powers does Kang Jinsoo possess to charm this Ice Queen here?

Jiyeon’s POV

Jinsoo chatted with the unapproachable receptionist, for a short while before returning to my side. She was flushing pink ever since he grinned at her. Oooooh. I tried my best not to laugh, lest I get on her bad books.

“Seonsaengnim, let’s go!” Jinsoo skipped over and linked arms with me. I felt the receptionist’s piercing stare and quickly removed my arms from his.

“Don’t call me seonsaengnim, Director Kang. How old are you exactly?” I frowned slightly at Jinsoo.

“I’m sorry for not telling you earlier, seonsaengnim,” Jinsoo sighed and scratched the back of his neck.

“Jiyeon.”

“Jiyeon. I guessed you would not believe I’m an executive here if I told you earlier. I’ve been told I look totally opposite outside work before. And yeah, I’m older than you. I’m 25.” Jinsoo smiled at me.

I gasped in disbelief. My student is seven years older than I am. How bizarre.

“Okay... So, where are we heading?”

“My boss’s office is on the top floor of this building,” Jinsoo answered, swiping his card for lift access.

“Here’s your security pass, Jiyeon. Don’t lose it, or you’ll be in big big trouble!” Jinsoo grinned boyishly. Seriously, someone tell me this guy is NOT 25!

The lift doors opened.

Jinsoo directed me into the lift. There was an exceptionally tall and good-looking man in the lift. I looked him up and down, from head to toe. Was he an idol? His clothes were way too casual for an ordinary staff. The man and Jinsoo nodded at each other.

He caught me staring at him and shot me a puzzled look.

“Jinsoo-hyung, this is?” the tall man nodded slightly and Jinsoo and continued giving me quizzical looks.

“Ah, Changmin. This is Miss Song Jiyeon, an acquaintance of mine. Jiyeon, this is Shim Changmin of TVXQ,” Jinsoo introduced. I bowed at Shim Changmin, who bowed back, and gave me a small smile. Oh, an idol.

(A/N: Changmin's appearance is completely random ;D)

“I can’t believe you did not know who that was, Jiyeon. Do you follow K-pop at all?” Jinsoo laughed after we left the lift.

“No, I’m afraid not. I’m sorry,” I blushed, feeling terribly embarrassed and small. I couldn’t even believe my own ignorance. We came face to face with two huge frosted glass doors.

“Well, looks like you will have lots of research and memory work to do soon! Oh, here we are. Wait here, Jiyeon, I’ll be back!” Jinsoo straightened his tie and knocked politely on the glass door before entering.

Oh no, butterflies! Since young, I’ve been terrified of oral examinations, interviews and the like. The thought of older people staring at me and analyzing every single move I made, how I enunciated my words and what I wore truly frightened me. I gulped, reminding myself to breathe slowly in and out and calm down.

The doors opened. I gasped. Jinsoo smiled at me and led me into the office, where two middle-aged men were seated. The younger looking one nodded and beckoned for me to sit opposite them, while the older motioned Jinsoo to sit beside him.

“Ah! You must be the esteemed Song Jiyeon ssi our Director Kang told us about!” The older man smiled and stood up to shake my hand.

“Yes, yes I am,” I reached out and shook his hand.

“Miss Song, this is Mr. Lee Soo Man, SM Entertainment’s founding chairman, and I am Kim Young Min, the CEO of SM,” the younger (still middle-aged) man announced.

“It’s great to meet you, Mr. Lee and Mr. Kim,” I bowed at both the men. Lee Soo Man laughed and gestured for me to sit down. I glanced at Kim Young Min, who nodded at me. I could tell he was sizing me up by the look in his eyes. Shifty.

“Tell us more about yourself, Miss Song.”

After a couple of questions, the two men seemed satisfied and Lee Soo Man signaled Jinsoo to hand him the contract. He leaned forward and presented me with the contract.

“Miss Song, we are very pleased with you and your level of caliber at such a young age. Here are the terms and conditions of our two-year contract with you as mainly our choreographer. You may be given other tasks when necessary,” Lee Soo Man explained.

“Your pay is stated in clause 3.1.4, and there are certain rules you have to abide by, or else your contract will be terminated immediately,” Kim Young Min said firmly, searching for my eyes to make sure I was paying attention.

“The most important I will highlight to you now. You are to keep all intellectual material confidential, including your own choreography, musical arrangements, and the like as they are all copyrighted under SM Entertainment.

We expect you to maintain the confidentiality of the contract, and disclosure of sensitive material such as celebrities’ private contact numbers, schedules and future plans is strictly prohibited. This means you do not spread unhealthy rumors as well, as some of our previous staff did in the past, resulting in their expulsion from the company.

Also, all company assignments take absolute precedence over your private life. I heard of your dance studio matters. You will be permitted to return once or twice a week for lessons.”

I nodded hesitantly. Gah, how am I going to tell the rest about this?

“Last but not least, you are not allowed to, in any way, have special engagements with our celebrities that evade platonic boundaries. That is, you are not allowed to date our celebrities,” Kim Young Min finished, his eyes meeting mine for an answer.

“Well, about that, just make sure us and the public don’t find out. Or let us know before the public does so we can do some damage control,” Lee Soo Man added, grinning. I could not tell if that man was joking or being serious.

“Chairman! She’s new and young here! How could you?” Kim Young Min retorted defensively.

“Young Min ah, we can’t control the forces of nature. Miss Song, just let this old ahjussi here know when the time comes, alright?” Lee Soo Man smiled knowingly. (A/N: Don’t worry, no one knows about Jiyeon’s past ^^ LSM is just being kind)

I nodded again. Kim Young Min sighed and leaned back onto his chair in defeat.

I read through the contract terms briefly again before picking up the pen to sign it.

For Jihyun and Umma. For Hyunjoon.

For me, Song Jiyeon.

I closed my eyes in resolve, and signed on the dotted line at the right hand corner of the page.

“Welcome to SM Entertainment, Miss Song Jiyeon. Please begin work today.” Kim Young Min smiled at me for the first time.

Okay, maybe he’s not so unapproachable after all.

Jinsoo led me out of the office after thanking the two higher-ups.

“So, now you’re no longer my seonsaengnim, dongsaeng!” Jinsoo patted my head.

“What? Okay, sunbae,” I rolled my eyes at Jinsoo.

“Nah, it’s okay. Jinsoo is fine! I owe you anyway, ex-seonsaengnim. Are you up for lunch? After that I’ll bring you around to meet the groups you’ll be working with. Oh, and you have to memorise this,” Jinsoo threw me a thick file full of celebrity portfolios.

“Jinsoo ah, isn’t Big Bang from YG? Why do I have to know their profiles? Don’t pull my leg!” I gasped at the sheer number of Hallyu stars’ profiles in the folder.

“It’ll come in handy one day, Jiyeon,” Jinsoo smirked as he opened the car door for me.

Ha Eun’s POV

Woojin, Hyunjoon and I were having late lunch at a nearby café when my phone suddenly rang.

>>>Incoming call: Her Majesty the Queen<<<

I felt a wide smile spread across my face as I answered Jiyeon’s call. Good news, bestie, please!

“Hello my queen!”

“Eun ah! I got the job!!!!!!!!” I jerked my hand away from my ear after hearing Jiyeon’s deafening squeals of joy.

“Really!!!!!! Omo that’s fantastic! We should have a celebration tonight Yeonnie!” I screeched back into the phone on purpose. Hyunjoon and Woojin stopped eating and turned to look at me. Whoops.

“Ow ow ow my ear Jung Ha Eun! Are you trying to make me deaf?” Her Majesty the Queen yelped. I laughed maniacally.

“Have a taste of your own medicine! I wonder who was screaming into the phone a couple of seconds ago!” I noticed Woojin and Hyunjoon staring at me, puzzled.

“I’ll talk to you later during crew dinner tonight, Jiyeon. Woojin and Hyunjoon oppa are with me right now.”

“Okay, see you!” I hung up.

“Ha Eun, what’s going on here?” Hyunjoon glared at me. I gulped as Woojin and Hyunjoon stared at me expectantly, waiting for an explanation. 

Jiyeon’s POV

After a sumptuous meal at a restaurant near the office, Jinsoo took me on a tour around the building. We met a couple of celebrities along the way, and surprisingly, I could recognize some of them this time round!

And I figured the first two guys I bumped into earlier were Minho and Taemin from SHINee.

“Looks like you’re doing well, Jiyeon. Would you like to meet one of the bands you’re assigned to?” Jinsoo asked, making sure my fatigue level was not beyond threshold. No good killing me on the first day of work.

“Yeah! I would love to! Are they busy right now?” I suddenly felt energized again.

“I think they would be having a break from their dance practice right now, I’ll take you to them!”

“Wait, who are they?”

“Ah, you should have read about them in the file just now. They are a twelve membered group about to debut in a matter of weeks. EXO,” Jinsoo unceremoniously rattled off, scrolling through his e-mail on his phone.

I searched the ‘celebrity database’ in my brain. EXO.... Oh yeah. It had two sub-groups – EXO-M and EXO-K.

“Kris, Lay, Luhan, Tao, Xiumin, Chen,” I regurgitated what I had mugged previously.

“Uh-huh, that’s EXO-M. You’ll be working more closely with EXO-K,” Jinsoo nodded.

“Suho, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, D.O., Sehun...”

I froze when I remembered who the sixth EXO member was. 

“One more person!”

“Jong – I mean, Kai.”

“Bravo! You’re ready now, Jiyeon. You’ll be teaching them the new choreography for MAMA. The original choreographer had to fly off urgently, you see, so that’s your first task!” Jinsoo clapped his hands and grinned at me.

Oh sweet mother of pearl. Of all groups under SM, Jongin’s band... 

We alighted the elevator at the seventh floor and headed toward a room near the end of the corridor. I suppose this was the dance studio EXO was practicing in. My heart was hammering against my ribs as Jinsoo pushed the door open. All twelve or thirteen of the guys inside turned to look at us.

I saw him almost right away. He was right in front of the whole lot, speaking with Taemin, whom I had met earlier. They stopped conversing and turned to look at me. I quickly avoided eye contact with him and expressed a sudden interest in my pumps.

“Director Kang.” All the members gathered and bowed.

“This is your new dance instructor, Miss Song Jiyeon. Would you like to introduce yourselves?” Jinsoo asked. I looked up and immediately Jongin’s eyes locked with mine.

“We are ONE! EXO!” The twelve members chorused. Taemin stood at the side and chuckled.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Song Jiyeon, you can call me Jiyeon!” I gave the boys my brightest and friendliest smile, and bowed. The EXO members came up one by one to introduce themselves and shake my hand.

“I’m Kris, leader of EXO-M.” The tall, fierce-looking (yet charming) one said.

“I’m Suho, leader of EXO-K.” Another charismatic-looking one took my hand.

“I’m Tao, the panda.”

“I’m Chen. You can call me Jongdae.”

“I’m Sehun.”

"I'm Taemin, I'm from SHINee. We met earlier, clumsy girl!" (A/N: HAHAHAHA)

“I’m Lay. My real name is Yixing.”

“Xiumin. They call me bao zi.”

“D.O. Do Kyungsoo’s my name.”

“I’m Luhan, nice to meet you.”

“Chanyeol.”

“I’m Baekhyun, can I call you noona?” Baekhyun stepped forward and shook my hand, giving me the widest smile I’d ever seen. Awwww.

“Hyung, she’s younger than you,” the last member unfolded his hands and walked toward me. Taking my hand, he gazed straight into my eyes. I was transfixed.

“Kai. Kim Jongin. Nice to meet you, Song Jiyeon... ssi.” 

A/N: And..... our starcrossed lovers finally meet again! Apologies for the super long chapter, it was actually one and a half chapters merged into one. I kinda wanted Jiyeon and Kai to meet sooner :> Or else they'd have to meet in the next chapter! 

And apologies to the confusion caused by the huge spam of OCs in this fic. They're mostly from the dance crew in any case. 

Feel free to comment/subscribe/read :) I appreciate your feedback and support a lot, really! ^^