I sighed, brushing back my now dark locks. Lately, everything has been so hard. It’s because of the people I love that I’m able to go on and do what I do perform. I tapped my fingers against my book, thinking. What did I want to write about? What was bothering me? A lot was, actually.

What a great life, Krystal. It really was good, but it would be so much better if the rumors just stopped. But the rumors were just in the package with being an 'Idol'. I jumped a bit as my phone rang, 'Tik Tok' playing. I reached over and tapped answer button and brought the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

"Soojung! She did it again!" I inwardly groaned. I knew who the 'she' is. I just didn’t know what the 'it' was. 

"What is it this time?" I asked, somewhat nervous. I scrapped off the chipped black nail polish on my fingers as my best friend, Suzy, went on.

"Ugh! The nerve of her!"She groaned on the other line. "Okay, so you know how I’ve got some people at a few news?"

"Yeah . . .?" I asked hesitantly.

"Well," She continued, "Apparently, Naeun called them all up and told them you were drinking because you couldn’t handle the stress of fame!" My jaw fell open, shocked. Anger bubbled in the pit of my stomach like a hot white flame. "Soojung?" Suzy asked in a hushed tone.

"Yeah, I'm here. I can't believe her. . . You know I don't drink" I frowned. "How is she going to prove this?" Suzy sighed.

"I know you don’t, but Naeun got popular these days. People are going to listen to her because she’s your 'friend'." I could hear her walk across the room. "Well, she's going to use some pictures from her birthday party. The people from the news said that it really did look like soju." I frowned, the anger bubbling once again.

"But those were soda!" I exclaimed, obviously hurt that Naeun would even try to do this.

"I believe you, Soojung. The question is, will everyone else?"

"I hope so." I sighed, biting my lower lip. "Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? It’s kind of late."

"Alright, SOojung. Love ya." I smiled. At least I knew there was one person on my side.

"I love you too, Suzy"

"Goodnight, Doongguie"

"Goodnight" We waited a moment longer before I said, "Hey, Suzy"

"Thank you." I could feel her smile.
"Anytime. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." I smiled faintly and hung up, looking around my room. Even with stardom, my room was still the same as it was. Sighing, I shuffled my way over to my bed and collapsed.

 

I woke up the next morning to a phone call. "Hello?" I asked groggily.

"Soojung! Turn the TV on to channel KBS!” Suzy cried franticly. This worried me, so I got out of bed, faster than I ever had and still in the clothes from the day before, and bounded down the stairs.

"Soojung" My mother scolded. "Don’t run down the stairs!" I ignored her and ran into the living room. Thankfully, no one was watching anything. I looked around for the remote, and when I found it, I clicked the TV on. I switched it to channel two as I sat on the couch. My mother came in to join me as a reporter stood in front of a screen.

"And last night, our photographers took a closer look at the photos from Apink Naeun’s birthday bash and found something interesting. In the photo you see behind me now is none other than f(x) Krystal. If you look closer to the zoomed image, you can see bottle of soju,” the reporter stated, pointing at the photo.

"Oh my gosh" I whispered, my hand against my lips, eyes watering.

"Soojung... What is this?" My mother asked, turning to me with worry etched on her face.

"A lie" I responded, gulping. "It's a rumor, mom" The reporter continued.

"Our specialist believes that the young starlet is under too much pressure and is finding a way to relieve herself of the pain. We got a very special comment from the singer/actress‘s friend, Apink Naeun's. She said, "I'm really worried for Krystal. She's very talented and young, but she's gotta find a better way to deal with it. She’s gotta do it for the fans" I stared at the TV, stunned. I could barely feel the hot tears that rolled down my cheeks. My mother sat beside me and pulled me into a tight hug.

"They were just soda" I whispered. My mother took the control from me and clicked the TV off.

"Soojung, it shouldn't matter what they say" But I didn't hear her. I was too shocked. How would I go out in public? How could Naeun do this?! After the many string of lies and rumors she started about me, how could she do this? Wasn’t it enough that she was 'Miss Innocent?'

 

The days blurred by. Cameras flashed, reporters repeated the same, ‘Are you a drinker’ question, and I got yelled at from every direction.

But what did help me get out of the house every day was the fans.

I did it all for the fans.

Then something strange happened.

Rumors about Naeun started popping up like crazy. ‘NAEUN’S PREGNANT!’, ‘NAEN JUST GOT ENGAGED!’, ‘NAEUN USING THOSE AROUND HER!’

Well, the last one wasn’t a rumor. It was totally true. But it didn’t matter, because all of it was driving her insane.

I logged in to my YouTube account and checked Apink’s channel to see she had just posted a video. I clicked on it and allowed it to load before playing it.

“Okay guys,” Naeun said, pushing her hair out of her face, looking bad. There were bags under her eyes and she seemed to be breaking out. “All the rumors going around are soooo not true! I mean, c’mon, you’re all going to believe that stuff? Whoever is saying these mean things about me, please come clean. This is so not nice. Thanks guys. Love you.” She blew a kiss at the camera and shut it off, ending the video.

Finally, she was getting what she deserved. Karma, it’s a .

 

It was probably a week later from when the rumors were all over the papers and TV, when I got a phone call. Without looking at the caller ID, I warily answered. “What?” I asked, no longer wanting to deal with drama.

“Whoa, I didn’t know best friends got that kind of treatment,” came a soft voice.

“I’m sorry, Taemin. I thought you were someone else,” I apologized.

“Ah, well, that’s okay. How are you?” He asked, concerned. I shrugged, though I knew he couldn’t see me.

“I’m taking it one day at a time.”

“Naeun did it again, didn’t she?” He asked, a bit of bitterness in his tone. This brought a faint smile to my lips.

“Yup. The ‘Miss Innocent’ is at it again.” The line was quiet for a bit before Taemin cleared his throat.

“Well, I’m not going to let you just sit back and be quiet this time. I’m flying my brothers and me out to Seoul tonight. We’ll be there in time for your concert tomorrow. I’ll explain everything when we get there.”

“Uh, okay?” What was Taemin up to?

“Oh yeah, and Soojung?”

“Hm?”

“I love and support you one-hundred percent.” I blushed and smiled brightly.

“Thanks Taemin! I need all the support I can get right now.”

“Don’t worry, you will.” I could hear him smile as he said it. We talked for a few more minutes before we hung up. I went upstairs and fell asleep somewhere in the middle and had a nightmare.

 

I was sleeping in my bed and my door creaked open, causing me to wake up. There stood Naeun with Suzy, Taemin, Jonghyun, and Jessica.

“What are you guys doing here?” I asked, rubbing my eyes. Naeun had a dark smirk, eyes glistening with evil.

“They’re all mine and you can’t have any of them.” She lifted her hand to reveal a kitchen knife. My eyes widened and she ran at me, knife raised above her head.

I woke up in a cold sweat. The sun permeated my room and I untangled my feet from my blankets and walked to the bathroom. I took a long, warm needed shower. When I got out of the shower, I dressed in grey sweatpants, a white tank top and a black sweatshirt over it. I grabbed my phone to see there was a text from Taemin. I grabbed my keys and headed downstairs as I read it.

‘Hey Soojung, we just got here. We’ll meet you at the arena. -Love Your Oppa’

That was an hour ago. ‘Crap,’ I thought. “I’m heading off now, mom!” She came out of the kitchen and nodded.

“Okay. We’ll meet you there, later tonight.” I nodded and bid her goodbye.

 

When I arrived at the arena, I  ran inside. Once I got into my dressing room, my face lit up. “Guys! I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long,” I said, running over to them. They smiled and stood up from the couch in the room and we hugged.

“Nah, we just got here,” Jonghyun said, giving my hand a light squeeze. I smiled at him and squeezed his hand in return.

“You okay?” Key asked. I smiled and shrugged.

“Yeah, better, I guess.” Taemin smiled and slipped his hand over mine, giving it a squeeze. I turned to him and returned the smile.

“Well, don’t you want to hear our wonderful plan?”

30 minutes later, it was time to sing. I made my way to the small ‘chair’ that would take me up to the center of the stage. I was dressed in sleeveless two tone polka dot dress with leggings underneath. I hopped onto the mini chair and sat down. Above, I heard screaming fans as the music for the song I was going to sing began. Of course, I wasn’t too happy that the song wasn’t mine, but it was necessary.

The guitar and piano started out slowly the elevator slowly began to rise as I sang into the mic,

“Everybody needs inspiration,
Everybody needs a song
A beautiful melody
When the nights so long

Cause there is no guarantee
That this life is easy...”

The crowd screamed in acceptance to the song. The floor evened out and I stepped off the square and turned to face the fans.

“Yea when my world is falling apart
When there's no light to break up the dark
That's when I, I...
I look at you.
When the waves
Are flooding the shore and I can't
Find my way home anymore
That's when I, I...
I look at you.”

I made my way over to the pianist and sang to him. He stood up and grabbed the mic from the portable stand above the piano and someone else took his place. I laced my fingers with his, the camera zooming in on us and putting us on the big screen. Everyone freaked out when they saw Shinee Taemin. I smirked and we both began to sing,

“You appear just like a dream to me
Just like Kaleidoscope colors that
Cover Me, All I need every
Breath that I breathe don't you know
You're beautiful...

Yea Yea Yea!”

Taemin and I walked down the catwalk, hands laced together. We turned to each other, grinning. Hell, I know I was singing the song better than Naeun herself, and that didn’t make me feel bad. What was better was that the concert was streaming live all over the world! All thanks to Taemin and his brilliant mind.

“When the waves
Are flooding the shore and I can't
Find my way home anymore
That's when I, I...
I look at you
I look at you

Yea Yea Oh OH OH

And you appear Just like a dream
To me. . .”

The crowd exploded into a fit of cheering, whistling, stomping and other noises to show their admiration and appreciation. From the front row, I heard someone shout, “I LOVE YOU KRYSTAL!” I smiled and waved to them. I turned to Taemin as he brought the mic to his lips.

“Naeun, if you’re watching, my brothers and I aren’t standing behind you anymore. You hurt Krystal, and I can’t be friends with a jerk. Sorry, but our friendship has to say ‘Goodbye’.” My jaw fell a bit, smiling. He was dissing Naeun for me! On TV! “I support Krystal, two-hundred percent,” he said into the mic and the crowd began cheering my name. My eyes watered and I hugged Taemin tightly.

“Thank you so much,” I said, pulling back. He smiled brightly and I could feel the cameras on us. But nothing in the world could have prepared me for this.

Taemin leaned in and pressed his lips to my own. My heart pounded against my ribs and I wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss as he placed his arms around my waist. Around us, in voices that sounded far away, I heard the crowd go nuts.

The tables had turned. Everything was going to be okay, I just had a feeling.

Smiling timidly, I pulled from the kiss and pecked Taemin’s lips once more. He blushed and smiled, holding my hand tightly. “Remember this Naeun,” I said into the mic. “Everything always comes back around.” I winked at the camera and the concert continued.

I was on the road to my Happily Ever After with my Prince Charming at my side.