Gratification

자유 True Beauty
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gratification [gra-tə-fə-ˈkā-shən] n. - a source of satisfaction or pleasure.

“Are you sure this is my good side? Are you absolutely positive?” Baekhyun persisted as he continued to examine himself in the hand held mirror Mihyun had gifted him with.

“For god’s sake, Baekhyun, every side is your good side, so will you please just stay still so we can take the damn picture?” Chanyeol scolded as he smacked the boy on the back of his head.

He immediately regretted his decision when Baekhyun slowly lowered the mirror to glower angrily at the taller male. “What did you just do?”

“I-I, I w-was petting your hair b-because it’s so beautiful and I couldn’t resist myself,” Chanyeol fibbed on the spot, hoping to soothe the boy over with his words of praise.

Mihyun giggled at the exchange between the two, snapping a cameo shot of the couple without them noticing. She then continued to snap another one of Kyungsoo who had dozed off against the wall while waiting for the others to get ready for the group photo.

Luhan tugged on her sleeve and pointed a finger at himself and Mihyun before gesturing to the camera that she held in her hands.

“You want a picture of the two of us?” Mihyun asked as she held up the said camera.

Luhan nodded his head in confirmation, his eyes crinkling into crescents as he smiled. He took a step closer to the girl and held a peace sign up to his face as Mihyun stretched out her arm to snap the photo. Luhan grinned in satisfaction once he heard the click of the camera, and quickly snatched the device from Mihyun’s hands. He then shoved the girl over to Sehun, gesturing that he would take a photo of the two of them.

“Come on Luhan, let’s just get this group photo over with,” Sehun protested as he reached forward to grab the camera from his Hyung.

Luhan dodged the arm and wagged his finger before bringing the camera up to his eyes.

“Come on, Sehun,” Mihyun smiled as she tugged the boy to her side, oblivious to the bright red blush that quickly captured Sehun’s cheeks.

Luhan snapped a photo, but frowned at the lack of skin ship between the two. He quickly stepped forward and wrapped Sehun’s arm around Mihyun’s shoulders. Sehun’s face now turned three shades brighter, and even Baekhyun and Chanyeol had stopped their squabbling to stare at the boy in amusement.

A wide grin spread across Luhan’s face and he held a thumb up before pressing his finger against the shutter button several times.

Sehun retracted his arm from Mihyun’s shoulders almost immediately after Luhan pulled the camera away from his face. “Doing such pointless things,” Sehun muttered under his breath as he quickly turned his head away from Mihyun to hide his burning cheeks. He smacked both Baekhyun and Chanyeol on the backs of their heads when they doubled over in laughter, completely amused by the younger’s display.

“Yah, we’re your hyungs, Oh Sehun!” Baekhyun exclaimed as he pulled Sehun in for a head lock. “Treat us with respect!”

Kyungsoo jolted awake at the loud sounds, and his head darted left to right in confusion. “A-are w-we tak-taking the ph-photo now? D-did I m-mi-miss it?”

“You’re just in time, Soo,” Jongin chuckled as he patted the elder on the head.

A relieved smile spread across Kyungsoo’s face as he wiped the imaginary sweat off of his forehead, “G-Good.”

“Alright, come on, I’ve set up the timer,” Mihyun called out as she set up the camera on the tripod she had brought. She pulled Sehun and Luhan to her sides and gestured for the rest to quickly join in. “It’ll flash green for a second before it snaps the photo, so smile!”

“YAH! PARK CHANYEOL!” Baekhyun screeched a split second after the photo was taken. “You , how dare you mess up my hair!”

“Oh god, now Baekhyun Hyung’s going to spend another 10 minutes fixing it,” Jongin groaned as he smacked his hand over his forehead.

Chanyeol’s eyes widened in realization, and he quickly attempted to pat down Baekhyun’s hair. “There, there, good as new.”

“You’re an idiot,” Baekhyun scoffed as he flicked off the other’s hand. He picked up the mirror he had previously discarded and proceeded to examine and fix every strand that lied on his scalp.

“Why did you bring a camera today anyways, Mihyun?” Jongin asked as he leaned against the wall. “Is there a special occasion coming up, or something?”

Mihyun tensed at the boy’s question and gave him a small smile, “I wanted all of your photos to decorate my room.”

“D-Deco-corate?” Kyungsoo asked with a cocked head.

Mihyun nodded absent mindedly as she ran her hand through her hair, “Yeah, decorate.”

Sehun frowned as he noticed the girl’s obvious attempt to hide something, but spoke nothing of it. If Mihyun wanted them all to know what was bothering her, then she would have said something herself. He watched as she bit down on her bottom lip, obviously disturbed by something, and quickly tried to come up with an idea to distract her from her problems.

“Mihyun,” Sehun called out quietly when the others were distracted by making fun of Baekhyun.

“Hm?”

Sehun shyly scooted over to her and pointed at the camera that was in her hands. “Can we take another photo together?”

Mihyun’s eyes widen slightly in brief surprise before her lips stretch into a genuine smile. “You want to take a picture with me?” Mihyun repeated teasingly with a playful expression.

“Yeah,” Sehun responded almost immediately. He averted his eyes from hers and tucked his hands into the pockets of his pants as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. “S-so, can we?”

Mihyun wrapped her small hand around Sehun’s wrist and pulled him forward to decrease the space between the two of them. Sehun’s head darted up in surprise, and a shy smile formed on his face when he met eyes with Mihyun.

The moment was quickly ruined when Baekhyun let out a loud chortle of, “Sehun’s acting like a high school boy with a crush again!”

Sehun’s eyes immediately narrowed at his hyung’s eyes, frustrated to have been embarrassed in front of Mihyun. He let out a smile growl and took a step forward in Baekhyun’s direction, but was held back by the small hand on his wrist. He glanced back at Mihyun who had her head tilted innocently to the side, “Didn’t you want a picture”?”

Sehun’s anger immediately vanished at her words, and he shot Baekhyun a quick dirty look before stepping closer to Mihyun. He took a deep gulp and summed up the confidence to wrap his arm around the girl’s shoulders, hoping she wouldn’t reject his action. He ignored the obnoxious sniggers of the other occupants of the room and smiled shyly down at her, “Yeah.”

She handed the camera off to Sehun and he stared down at it with confusion. “You should hold up the camera to take the picture since you’re taller,” Mihyun explained as she placed the device into his hand.

Sehun nodded and held the camera up in the air, angling the screen at the pair. He pulled his lips up into a forced smile, and glanced nervously at the girl at his side. His gaze remained transfixed on her face for a few seconds as he absorbed the girl’s facial features, trying to imprint them into his memory forever. A genuine smile almost immediately formed on his face as he examined the girl’s pale complexion, bright smile, and crescent eyes.

“I’m taking it now,” he stated as he trained his eyes back onto the camera once more, this time having no problem to plaster a smile across his face.

“Okay, I’m ready for another group photo!” Baekhyun announced, snatching the camera from Sehun’s hand once the photo was taken.

Sehun opened his mouth to protest, hoping that he could ha

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Aishmin
I have a huge project in the works for True Beauty that I am excited to share with you all soon. In the mean time, keep up with me by following me on Instagram @prisssyla!

Comments

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Zndjcjaj #1
❤️❤️
Beloved_1230 #2
I remember buying this book years ago when I was in middle school….And how I couldn’t stop crying about Haru. I suddenly remembered his character and sad death at work. Your book, I’ll always carry the memories.
Ekale_erie
#3
Chapter 70: Amazing story !
Loves reading it.
There are some issues, not exactly like 'Noyes' but still familiar in our society. I don't understand why this society doesn't consider humanity above all these stupid titles. You wrote an amazing book author. I hope more and more people could read it and understand that humanity is above all.
Thank you author !
❤️
Ekale_erie
#4
Chapter 62: This is really horrible. But she has to save the lives of the others too. My prayers are with those girls. I hope they'll find their own 'Mihyun' too.
Ekale_erie
#5
Chapter 59: So cute ! 🥰😘
Ekale_erie
#6
Chapter 56: She likes him ❤️
Ekale_erie
#7
Chapter 53: I... I.. I'm at loss of words
Ekale_erie
#8
Chapter 52: This girl is on fire 🔥
Ekale_erie
#9
Chapter 49: I hate that old bastard !!
Go to hell you dumb ing old haggard !! 😡
Ekale_erie
#10
Chapter 48: That was so emotional.

Han Miyhun... It's really hard to understand the character. She's wise, good natured, polite, strong, charming and everything. But there's still something about the girl that I can't pinpoint. I guess if the story was from her view point then I would have been. But, on the otherhand, what essence of story would be left if there was no mystery ...