"Unnie, I'm gonna just head upstairs and change for the ball, okay?" 

Hannah hugs Chae Min once more before running out of the ballroom. Chae Min sighs. She is back in here again. Well, at least the room is now full of young teenagers. They must have built up quite the appetite after the garden party. Chae Min is surprised at the amount of youngsters drinking, wondering if they are even legal to do so. Everyone is wearing expensive clothes, looking like they just walked of fashion magazines and runways. Chae Min has perfect sense of style but sometimes she still doubts herself. She crosses her arms self consciously and scrunches up her shoulders.

"Hi there, beautiful." a voice she does not recognize says behind her. Chae Min smiles. She may not be best dressed in here but she is still charming.

'Time to meet new guys!!' she thinks, excited like a normal teenager would be when a guy approaches her. She whirls around, as prettily as she can manage, secretly hoping its someone hot.

Chae Min is shocked to see such a handsome young man looking right into her eyes. He has flawless complexion. The cheeky smile playing on his lips makes her swallows nervously. Chae Min is caught off guard, but not for long. Almost immediately, she flashes a cute little smile. 

"Where did you pop out of, lil princess?" he asks. "I've never seen you around."

"Out of a fairytale." she replies. They both laugh. Chae Min notices that he's got a nice laugh, really genuine and pleasant.

"Pretty and funny, must be my lucky day."

"Maybe its time to start counting your blessings?"

"And quick as well, I'm impressed." he chuckles then pauses for a moment to study Chae Min's face. "Hey, you know what, I take back what I said, you actually look extremely familiar. Have we met before?"

"You're corny as hell," Chae Min scoffs. "Its not even that flattering."

"But I haven't even introduced myself yet," the man extends his right hand. "Jo Myung Soo, heir of Victory Law Firm."

"Lee Chae Min." she reaches out for the handshake. Instead, Myung Soo grasps her hand and leans down for a hand kiss. Chae Min inhales sharply, taken by surprise. Myung Soo looks up and makes eye contact while his lips are still on the back of her palm.

"Alright, that's about enough now." A hand grabs Myung Soo's back collar and pulls him away. Myung Soo laughs playfully, obvious that the boys know each other very well. Chae Min rolls her eyes. This can not be a coincidence.  A random hot guy flirts with her at a party where she only knows few. Must be a someone trying to make a fool out of her. Who else other than..

"Choi Young Do." Chae Min narrows her eyes in annoyance. 

❋   ❋   ❋   ❋   ❋   ❋   ❋   ❋

"Hi again." Young Do gives a small wave.

"Why are you obsessed with me?" Chae Min says, crossing her arms and tilting her head to one side.

"He always had an eye on the good stuff." Myung Soo butts in, giving Chae Min a once over. He whistles lowly. "Always."

"Okay how about you get lost now, honey?" Young Do tries to dismiss his friend. Chae Min sticks her tongue out to show her disgust. She is gaping at them as if they are pigs.

"Yeah sure, I will soon." Myung Soo grins. "But seriously though, doesn't she kind of look like someone we know?"

Young Do shifts uncomfortably. He senses the slightest foreboding of what might enfold next.

"Yes, actually, Choi Young Do did mention I resemble someone." Chae Min says. "Perhaps a mutual friend of you two?"

Myung Soo blinks, suddenly frowning. He seems to be trying to recall an old memory. He glares at Young Do. A look of disappointment and frustration.

"It can't be." Myung Soo says. "Are you for real? I thought you said you're done with that !"

"Look, I'll explain everything to you later okay?" Young Do's voice deep and low, as if sending a warning to his friend to not make a scene. 

"What is there to explain?" Chae Min says, looking more confused than ever. "Alright, I've got a common face, I don't stand out, great, stop rubbing that in!"

"What?" the boys say at the same time. Young Do thanks god for how clueless this girl is. He hopes Myung Soo will not bring up anything about the past. He is actually concerned about what Chae Min might think of him. Probably more of a freak than she already thinks he is. 

"You know, you two are funny people." Chae Min giggles. She turns serious and looks pointedly at Young Do, adding, "But if you'd please excuse me, I'm going to grab some food. I'm absolutely starving. Thanks to someone, I got a long tour around the mansion."

Young Do shrugs. She shakes her head and walks off. He starts to follow but Myung Soo grabs his arm.

"Hey, I'm not done with you yet." 

Young Do shuts his eyes for a moment and sighs. He pulls away roughly. 

"What do you want?"

"Young Do, I thought you're over this. When was your last one? A year ago? Two years?" Myung Soo softens his voice. "C'mon man, you need to let your memories go." 

"Its not the same this time." Young Do states.

"Don't you get it? These girls are not Cha Eun Sang!" Myung Soo says. "You need to get a grip on reality. You can't live your whole life continuing this madness."

"I know what I'm doing, okay?" Young Do replies. "Alright, I admit, I noticed Lee Chae Min because of her looks, but I can tell that she is everything Cha Eun Sang wasn't."

"You don't even know that girl." Myung Soo begins, raising his voice. He sounds really worried about his best friend. There really isn't anyone who knows Young Do the way he does. Close like brothers, Myung Soo's seen how disturbed he is beneath that cool surface he tries to put on.

"Well, I am trying to. She's.." Young Do confesses. "Different."

❋   ❋   ❋   ❋   ❋   ❋   ❋   ❋

The music in the room stops abruptly. A voice booms through the speakers.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Miss Hannah Kim's sweet 16 birthday bash! Hope everyone's having a good time so far. Now, may the birthday ball begin. Put your hands together for our little princess, Hannah!!"

The lights goes dim and dramatic music starts playing. A spotlight finds it way to the main entrance of the ballroom. There stands the birthday girl, in a sparkly gold and black tulle ball gown. The dusty gold sequins and crystals glitter like stars against the dark black fabric of the gown. 

Chae Min claps her hands along with everyone else in the room, stunned by Hannah's beauty. Hannah walks down on the already laid out red carpet and make her way to the center stage. Her father joins her. They each give a short speech of formalities to thank the guests for coming. The ball officially begins with Hannah starting off the first dance of the night with her father. Then, people begin filling up the dance floor in pairs, dancing away romantically.

Chae Min and Hannah meets up later on. Chae Min notices that she keeps glancing at a certain direction. She turns to check, only to see Choi Young Do. For some reason, her heart sinks. Maybe Hannah is having a crush on him or they might have had history together or she might even be his girlfriend or... She starts to imagine all kinds of situation.

"Who are you staring at?" Chae Min asks, finally. She does not like playing guessing games.

"Oh, you realized?" Hannah blushes. "Its the boy in the red blazer. Isn't he the cutest person in this room??"

Chae Min sees several young boys standing in front of Young Do, chatting away loudly. She heaves a sigh of relief. She bites her lips. How can she only have eyes for Young Do? There are so many other hot boys in here. Besides, Young Do looks old, at least a good 5 years older than her.

'That's just weird.' she thinks.

"Oh my gosh, he's walking over here!" Hannah suddenly squeals, "He's so damn hot, oh dear god, what do I do?!"

The boy in red blazer and another friend is walking towards their direction. Chae Min laughs, amused at Hannah's reaction.

"Breathe, sweetheart," she says softly. "Play it cool, you've got this."

"Hi Hannah!" the boy in red blazer greets. He asks her for a dance in the adorable old fashioned way, half bowing and extends one hand. Hannah does a surprisingly good job of hiding her excitement, coolly grabs his hand and they sway their way to the dance floor. 

"Good evening," the other boy says. Chae Min turns her attention away from the couple.

"Hello!" she says cheerfully, happy that things are going well for Hannah.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Yoon Hyun."

"Right, same to you! Call me Chae Min." she smiles.

"Would you like to dance?" he invites, with the same gesture as his friend did just now. Chae Min hesitates. She's an awfully awkward dancer. She glances up and sees Young Do staring at them. His eyes cold and piercing, as if to say, 'Don't you dare.'

Chae Min smirks. 'The hell with it.' she thinks, slipping her hand into Yoon Hyun's. 

"Sure."

As she has expected, dancing is definitely not her forte. She focuses hard to avoid stepping on her partner's foot. Thank goodness its a moderately slow song, she calculates every move before taking them. Halfway through the song, a man approaches them. He taps Yoon Hyun's shoulders, halting their dance.

"Excuse me," Young Do says, "Do you mind if I interrupt?"

❋   ❋   ❋   ❋   ❋   ❋   ❋   ❋

"You are indeed," Chae Min hisses. "ing crazy."

"Why do you always seem so sweet and nice around everyone, but swears like an Italian old man in front of me?" Young Do asks playfully. Chae Min rolls her eyes again. She has one hand on his shoulder and he gently places his hand on her bared back. Chae Min feels a jot of electricity coursing through her body but tries hard to hide it. She unwilling grasps his other hand, holding it to shoulder level.

"Well, at least I'm not as rude as someone who would interrupt a dance!"

Young Do promptly pulls her closer, lowering his arm and wraps around her waist. Chae Min stops breathing for a moment, their bodies are touching each other. The tremor in the pit of her stomach is strangely pleasuring. Her heart is pounding so fast and hard she is sure that Young Do can feel it. 

"You call that dancing?" Young Do locks eyes with her. "You're lucky because I'm about to show you what real dancing is."

With that, he takes the lead, guiding Chae Min as they glide across the room flowingly and smoothly. Young Do does not understand why he is affected by this girl so much. Holding her so tight, having her body pressing close to him, everything just feels so unimaginably right. Dancing with Chae Min is so hypnotic and sweet that he wants to hold her hand forever, never to ever let go. 

The song ends, everyone separates themselves from their partner. The boys bow while the girls curtsy. Chae Min is about to do the same but Young Do holds on to her. She is beyond flustered by this man. Somehow he makes dancing so easy, following his lead is simple and fun. 

'So is this what they call two becomes one?' she thinks to herself.

"How's that for your first dance?" Young Do asks, leaning his chin on her head. She hops lightly, bumping her head on his chin.

"Technically, you did not have my first dance, it was Yoo-" she begins.

She never finishes her sentence because as soon as the quartet starts playing the next song, Young Do begins dancing again. This round, its a classical waltz with a fast tempo. Young Do and Chae Min completely take away the dance floor. They are graceful and elegant, y and fierce, sweet and sharp all at the same time. With the right twists and turns, their undeniable chemistry catches everyone's attention.

Feeling all eyes on her, Chae Min feels confidence surging from inside out. Dancing never was her thing but right at that moment, nothing has ever felt more perfect. 

And so they dance on and on and on.. 

Finally a slow song comes on again. Young Do lets go of Chae Min's hand and wraps both of his arms around her waist. Chae Min steals a glimpse at Young Do. He is gazing at her quietly. She quickly lowers her vision. Chae Min decides to sling her arms around his neck, rather than awkwardly hanging in the air. This is the first time she has ever done something like this with a boy. Well, a man. Maybe it will be a little more romantic if she can stop avoiding eye contact. They sway slowly to the music.

"Did I mention you look stunningly gorgeous tonight?" Young Do says softly.

"Erm," Chae Min stammers. "Thanks. You too."

Young Do laughs at her reply. Chae Min cringes at her stupidity.

"I would really love to get to know you better."

"Oh," she did not see this one coming. "That actually sounds creepy."

Another round of laughter. Chae Min can feel the rumbling of his stomach against hers. She sneaks another peek at him. This time Young Do does not give her a chance to look away. He leans downs slowly and presses his lips on hers. 

Hi! Sorry it took so long to update. Been busy for the past couple of weeks. And yes, the "out of a fairytale" is to serve as a trivia to the drama lol. Lame but oh well hahahahaha. Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! Loads of love for my fellow subscribers and readers, thank you! :)