The Truth Will Set You Free

Misconception

As the beat blared through the speakers, he could feel it resonate throughout his body. He was given the music, he only had to put words to it. He lightly tapped his fist on the table in front of him in time to the song. His notebook was out as he began to scribble furiously.

Am I supposed to laugh as if nothing’s wrong?
Each day passes by as if nothing’s wrong

He could feel his phone vibrating on the table. Another text message. Ignored. Noone matters enough to interrupt his creative flow at the moment. He felt the vibration again, this time a call, and tried ignoring before quickly looking over to check who it was.

"Little Girl Calling..."

He almost knocked the phone off the table in his rush to answer.

"Yeah?"

He was trying to keep it cool. I mean... who was the one who had messed up here?

"Hey."

Awkward silence.

"Is .. that all you called to say?"

"Of course not."

TOP had begun tapping his foot unconsciously.

A lot had happened since the last time he had seen her, although it had only been a week since the incident. He'd banged Lee Minho's face up pretty bad. It was to the point that filming was delayed a few days and the entire drama schedule was out of wack. They had reported Minho as having caught pneumonia. In Jeju. Right. Needless to say, TOP's character Kim Young Jin was quickly written off the show.

Losing a drama role wasn't as bad as the scolding he got from YG himself. Then came GD and various other YG family members. There was awkwardness between him and In Na, who seemed to have finally taken the hint. TOP took it all in stride. He wouldn't have made it this far in his career if something like a scolding from a dongsaeng or an awkward encounter with an ex-girlfriend was going to bring him down. Plus, everything seemed worth it when he remembered knocking that good for nothing bastard to the ground. He didn't recall much from the short scuffle, since his mind had gone completey blank during his fit of rage. But just thinking about the man's face with a black eye brought a smile to his face.

And then he'd remember Yoona. It had been a long time that he'd felt these kinds of feelings for a girl. A need to protect her and have her by his side, and not just a physical desire. She wasn't the type he went for. But the thing about TOP is that once he had his heart set on something, he took it all the way. All rationality went out the window. Which was why he was tapping his foot uncontrollably and beads of sweat began to form as he waited for Yoona to state her purpose for calling.

The week had been a long one for Yoona as well. Despite having to cover up for Minho's "pneumonia", the drama was doing better than ever. The lead actor's illness had only won him sympathy points with the general public. There were only 2 episodes left to air and it seemed as if the entire country was talking about the finale. The 2 leads had just found out they were... dun dun dun.... brother and sister. Although Park Seunghyun had no idea he was adopted. The viewers were eating up all the classic drama tropes and the advertising money kept rolling in. However, Yoona's mind was preoccupied with a different kind of drama.

"Call him." Yuri looked her roommate straight in the eye and held out a cell phone to her face. All 9 girls sat together in their living room. It was a miracle that they had a few hours to spare that weren't taken up by schedules or workouts. Yoona had decided it was the best time to tell her members about her true feelings.

"But what about... Minho? He has been so nice to me."

"But he's obviously not the one you keep pacing around our room about," Yuri retorted.

"She paces?" asked Tiffany while giggling.

"I was so not pacing!!" Yoona exclaimed, sounding a little too affected by the accusation.

She told the girls just about everything. The van incident where they first bumped heads, the time she was trapped in his bathroom, and the drunken night spent in his guest room. She even told them about their confessions to each other in the boat, although she omitted the details. And most importantly, she told them that she couldn't keep him off her mind no matter how many nice gifts Minho gave her.

"You just have to call him. You haven't even heard his side of the story."

Everyone spun around and stared at the maknae in disbelief.

"If our Seohyun is telling you to call, then you call!" Sooyoung grabbed Yoona's phone out of Yuri's hand and began to search the contacts for TOP's number.

"Here.... it's ringing!"

"What the...?" Yoona was sure Sooyoung hadn't found the number. But she underestimated how well the girls knew her. She had found the number listed under "Byuntae Ahjussi". God, they knew her too well.

"Is .. that all you called to say?"

"Of course not."

Yoona stared at the girls then down to the ground. What had she called to say?

"Let's see each other." TOP had spoken before she could even formulate her thoughts.

Silence.

"Hello?"

"Ok. Let's meet. And talk."

"Now."

Her heart jumped at that suggestion.

"After my filming. Today's the day we wrap. I have to leave in a bit. But later on..."

"At the dooooorm!" Hyoyeon whispered loudly. 

"Somewhere far from my dorm," Yoona continued. Some of the girls pouted.

"Fine. I'll pick you up."

The worked out some of the details and ended the call.

"You've finally stopped living in denial?"

TOP felt his soul jump out of his body for a second. He had NO IDEA someone else had walked in to the room during the conversation.

"Young Bae. How long have you been sitting over there!?"

Taeyang flashed a smile. "Long enough." 

TOP pointed at his dongsaeng. "You're sneaky."

"That's irrelevant. I didn't have to sneak around to know how you feel about SNSD's Yoona. It's just plain obvious."

"Ha. I'm guessing you've still been talking to Yuri."

"Yeah, I have. But she doesn't tell me anything about her members. It's you, TOP. We're not the closest but your face is the easiest to read."

Instead of replying grumpily as he usually would, a smile crept on TOP's face. "I have been acting differently, haven't I?"

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Suddenly the room went silent. The moment they had all been waiting for. Most importantly, it was the moment they both had been waiting for. They had been through it all. Jealous girlfriends, first loves showing up out of nowhere, cancer scares, allegations... and now the truth was all out in the open. All that was left was their happy ending. Choi Hee Jin walked into the room in her gorgeous white wedding gown that was fit for a princess. All eyes were on her and her eyes were only fixed on him. Happily ever after. This was it. She walked up to Park Seunghyun and they gave each other the most romantic kiss, not too sloppy, just enough for the guests to envy their love.

"AAAAAAAAAND.... CUT! That's a wrap, everyone!"

They had already filmed the scenes of Hee Jin and Seunghyun with their children, the actual finale, but the wedding scene was the last one to be filmed.

"I think Korea will be happy with this. Yoona, you look amazing." The director beamed. "Everyone! It's been a pleasure working with you! Drinks on me after you get cleaned up!!"

As Yoona began walking off the stage of the banquet hall set, she felt something pulling her back. Minho had taken her hand and he looked at her with a corny grin on his face.

"Yes?" she smiled, wondering what it is he wanted.

"Can I just stare at this bride for a few seconds longer?"

She put her hand over his. "This dress is really uncomfortable. I have to get changed." She took her hand back and began to walk towards her dressing room. She didn't mean to be so blunt, but she really was feeling uncomfortable. She couldn't wait to get out of this dress, have a few drinks with the crew, and head off to meet her real-life Seunghyun. She opened the door and closed it behind her to find that someone was already in the room waiting for her.

"Oh, Unnie!"

The hair dresser was bent over near the vanity when her back straightened completely with a jerk as she heard Yoona's voice.

"Are you ok?"

The woman stayed glued to her position as Yoona walked closer.

"Unnie...?"

As Yoona approached the woman she looked into the mirror and saw that she was in tears. Yoona put her hands on her shoulders and spun her around slowly. She had a feeling that something serious had gone down.

"What's bothering you, unnie? And whose fault is it? Tell me so I can make it right."

The older girl could not lock eyes with Yoona. Tears continued to fall and her bottom lip trembled. Yoona looked down and saw what appeared to be a medicine bottle.

"I'm... so... sorry..." the woman could barely speak in between her uncontrollable sobbing.

"Please, tell me what's wrong."

The woman set the bottle down on the vanity and wouldn't face Yoona. "I don't think you'll ever forgive me."

Yoona sighed deeply. "Whatever it is, please just say it straight out."

"Minho-ssi..."

Yoona was all ears.

"Minho-ssi... swore... that he liked me. He swore that he wanted to be with me. This was all just for show."

What was she talking about? Lee Minho? Her co-star? That Minho?

She went on. "He told me that if I helped him with this favor that we could be together. And that nothing serious would happen to you."

Yoona's face turned bright red from rage. "What do you mean nothing would happen to me? What were you planning on doing?" She spotted the bottle on the counter as tears began to form in her eyes and her speech turned to banmal. "What's in the bottle?"

"Rohypnol."

Yoona's eyes widened. "The date drug? Why? What were you trying to do?"

"He's going to be knocking on the door in about five minutes."

Yoona's whole body went stiff and she stayed silent. This was not a prank. This was real.

The stylist continued. "That's when you were supposed to be feeling the effects after drinking this bottle of water. You were going to complain about feeling drowsy and nauseous, and he was going to drive you to the hospital, where they'd do blood work and find the rohypnol in your system. As anyone on set could attest to, it couldn't have been Minho since he wasn't anywhere near this dressing room. But due to his quick thinking, you were safe..."

"STOP." Yoona's tears overflowed and she couldn't bear to hear another word. But she needed to hear the truth. All of it.

"The light fixture..." Yoona's voice faltered as she uttered those words.

The stylist unnie finally turned back to face Yoona. "It wasn't me... but I know who they hired..."

Yoona began to breathe heavily as tears continue to race down her cheeks. She wanted to scream at the absurdity of it all. What kind of sick mind would think up something as horrible as this? And for what? But this could all be a lie. She hadn't heard it from Minho's own mouth. She didn't know.... until someone started knocking at the door.

"Yoona! Is everything ok? Hello!"

Lee Minho's voice. It had been about five minutes. She looked straight ahead at the stylist and gave her the death stare. They both stayed silent.

Minho popped as head in and as soon as he witnessed the scene he began to retreat. "Oh.. I'm... sorry for interrupting..."

"Get in here." Yoona was not about to let him get away. "You..", she pointed in the stylist's direction,"Out."

The stylist obliged and the 2 leads of North Star were left in the room. Yoona walked over to the vanity and picked up the bottle of pills. She turned to face Minho and held the bottle up.

"This. What were you planning on doing?"

Minho smirked. "What did she tell you, Yoona? Don't believe any of it."

She flung the bottle at him hard and it bounced off of his forearm as he tried to shield his face.

He laughed. "Fine. You want the truth? I didn't think you could handle it, but I'll tell you straight up. The truth is you should be thanking me right now."

"Excuse me?"

"Thanking me. Yes. There's no doubt that all these dating rumors have brought the ratings up considerably."

Yoona winced. "... you sick bastard."

"And I'm sorry for not letting you in on the game. It was just too cute watching you fall for me," he chuckled. "At any rate, I didn't trust you to keep the facade going, so I had to make it as believable as possible."

"Why would you?"

"You're an SNSD member. Your company has done everything for you from the start. What would you know about struggle in this business?" Minho's expression suddenly turned sour as he continued. "I actually have talent. But do you know how many jobs I've been turned away from because of idols like you that want to pretend they know how to act? Do you want to know how many roles I've played that have received little to no attention? Was it because I was untalented or bad looking? No. It's because I was nobody."

"You can't be seriously justifying your actions to me right now. There's something wrong with you. You're going to pay for this."

Minho laughed maniacally. "First off, who's even going to believe you? Your 'witnesses' will be paid off well. And you're a girl group idol member. No credibility."

Yoona's arms were shaking uncontrollably. She felt helpless and it was the worst feeling. She wanted nothing more than to choke the man to death, but he was right. There was nothing she could do.

Minho began to take a few steps toward her.

"Must hurt not to get everything you want all the time."

As he stood face to face with the SNSD member he whispered, "but don't worry, you can keep the necklace."

Yoona used a secret weapon that could bring any man to his knees. A good old kick to the sack. Lee Minho keeled over in pain and began to utter curse words under his breath.

"You don't know me, . And you never will."

She walked over to the door but stopped before opening, she looked back to see him clutching himself in pain on the ground.

"Oh and... I wasn't falling for you. I was actually trying to find a way to let you down easy. I like someone else. Your little necklace was cute though."

She pulled the necklace out of her pocket and let it drop onto the floor.

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TOP wasn't exactly a fan of cold weather, but he was feeling so anxious he felt like he had to get out of his car and walk around a bit.

What's taking her so long?

He had called about ten minutes ago to confirm he was outside. He didn't want to seem to eager so he showed up even later than he said he would. Yet, she still wasn't ready. He pulled out his phone ready to dial once more, when he saw the figure of a girl walking out of the dorms.

Is it... her?

The figure suddenly began running towards him. None of her features were visible in the darkness, so he could only hope the unknown shadow was Yoona. He saw the figure spread its arms wide. It continued to pick up speed and it got closer and closer. Whoever it was, it was coming in for a bear hug. TOP had nowhere to run. He placed his arms in front of him in order to brace himself for the collision.

"HI!"

No hug. But a loud, obnoxious, little girl voice.

"Are you crazy?"

It was Yoona, of course.

"How are you today?" It was so dark, but he could make out her bright smile. He couldn't help but smile back. He could feel himself blushing. Just a bit.

"Just shut up and get in the car."

"OK!"

No smart answer to that? She must be in a good mood today.

He turned the car on and started driving. He didn't know where he was driving to. It was awkward for a bit, but he spoke up soon. He wanted to get this whole Minho business out of the way.

"About the Jeju incident..."

"It's forgiven."

But... how?

"You won't even let me explain myself?"

He felt her warm hand slide over his and chills went down his spine. His 25 year old self getting butterflies over elementary school level skinship.

"When I called you today, it was to find out the truth. But... I think I know why you did what you did. And I'm grateful. As much as I'm against resorting to violence I... "

He had no idea where he was, but he pulled off to the side of the road. The streets were empty and all of the businesses closed down for the night, save a small 24 hour convenience on the next corner. TOP was running on pure instinct at the moment.

Yoona looked at him with the most adorable puzzled look on her face. "Why are we stopping?"

He looked back at her. It wasn't the nation's ideal type he was looking at, but Im Yoona, a 22 year old girl from Seoul. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and she was dressed in a plain white t-shirt and jeans. Her face was bare. She looked stunning. He couldn't have asked for anything more.

TOP reached out for one of her hands and held it in between both of his.

"Im Yoona... saranghae."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: 18 chapters so far!!! Woo! Just a few things I'd like to note here.

1) I'm terrible at updating. It's not because I'm lazy... (ok maybe a little) but I stress out over what I want to do with the characters. I had a pretty clear idea of where I wanted this to go since the beginning, but some things have been tweaked since then. I know some of the situations I put them in are a bit ridiculous when compared to real life, but I want the characters to be multi-dimensional none the less. Hope I'm doing them justice!

2) Don't hate the real Lee Minho lol he's such a talented guy. I know nothing of his real-life persona actually. I just had to make him the a-hole here. Sorry Lee Minho! :-P

3) To everyone who comments, thank you so much. Special shout-out to my regular commenters -- believe me I'm always waiting for you guys to leave me your 2 cents. It's not the same without you. I have to be better at thanking you for it. me_hehe, meLOVEyou, Alyeezy, Sunshine94, majorandroid, JungHana. If I left you out, yell at me and I'll do it next time ♥

 

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sol-star
Already hard at work on the next chapter. Will this be the last? Haven't decided that yet :P

Comments

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agatha_93 #1
When are you gonna update?
JohnnyNCT #2
Chapter 22: When are you gonna update?
sonemanu #3
Chapter 22: Update please!!!!!:'(
pieceofwings #4
Chapter 22: Update pleeeeaaaaaaseee
deerburning19 #5
Chapter 22: Update please :)
CheriLane #6
Chapter 22: Aww... they are so cute together! I hope they have a happy ending.^^
Looking forward to your update.
mgdxxx #7
Chapter 22: Update please author-nim ~~~
yoonajade #8
Chapter 22: Finally! Yoona oh you girl..i admire you dor your courage
kaiyoonhae #9
Chapter 22: update please.... thank u for this story. I hope u will make another topyoon fan fic... please
mydebbie #10
Chapter 22: yay...FINALLY....been waiting for your update.....miss this story so much.....thank you author :-)