A Beautiful Stranger

Chapter 1: Moving In

**A/N This story is a slow burn, please don't expect the spicy things right away! I like to build it up! Thank you for sticking with me xoxo**

Nalia Anderson looked out the window of the cab as it slowly crawled up the steep, narrow street. A few people walked by fanning themselves in the heat. A lone black cat darted out from behind a parked car, but quickly jumped backwards when the taxi cab got closer. The area looked okay, if somewhat far away from everything else.

But, it was close to her university campus, and that was all that mattered. Ever since she'd been accepted to study in Seoul, she had been enthralled. She'd always wanted to visit Korea, and a scholarship through the East Asian Studies program at her university in Chicago was the ideal ticket. She was going to be in Seoul for a year on a full ride exchange program. It was perfect. It was a dream. It was...

Not starting out very well.

After arriving in Seoul, she stayed in a hotel while the school figured out her accommodations. She was supposed to stay in the dormitories, but the school had overbooked them by accident. The school kept her in a hotel for another week, but told her that she'd have to find her own accommodation for a while, until the new wing of the residence was complete. After she moved into the dorms, she would be reimbursed.

The problem was, Nalia was there on a scholarship. She had expected her accommodation to be taken care of, and hadn't budgeted for paying for her living space. Even though she'd be reimbursed, the school said it could be a few months before the residences were done. Nalia's family's money situation was pretty tight too. Nobody could help her out, so she was forced to dip into her savings.

She had to be careful though, so she had scoured the listings online for apartments and rooms in the areas surrounding the school (and even places further away). Everything was 250,000 won per month or more, and when she factored in utilities and food, it was just too much. She needed something cheaper, and fast, because the school had said they'd only pay 2 more days in the hotel.

"Is here ma'am?" the taxi driver asked, in broken English. He pointed to a decrepit building at the top of the hill.

"Umm... ne?" [Yes] she replied in her equally bad Korean. She had studied before arriving, but actually using the language was going to take some getting used to.

The driver stopped the car and then turned to face her in the back seat, squinting slightly. "Are... you sure ma'am?"

His tone was one of concern. Nalia shrugged and double-checked the picture of the building she'd seen on the housing website. "Ne, Eden Goshiwon?" [Yes, Eden Residence?]

"Ne," the driver replied. He turned the car off completely and exited, then opened Nalia's door for her. She followed him to the trunk, where he retrieved her two pink suitcases. He helped her carry them up the stairs to the door, and she thanked him with a tip.