Anguish

자유 True Beauty
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anguish [ˈaŋ-gwish] n. - Agonizing physical or mental pain

 

“Are you still pouting, Baekhyun?” Mihyun chuckled as she entered the cage to see Baekhyun sulking in the corner. “It’s been two days since Kris has left.”

“How could Hyung not say goodbye to me?” Baekhyun whined childishly as he flailed his limbs in the air. “That is such a mean thing to do! I would have said bye to him if I was leaving.”

Mihyun sighed and turned to Chanyeol who was sulking in the corner adjacent to Baekhyun’s. “And you, Chanyeol? Why are you pouting?”

“Because all Baekhyun cares about is Kris!” Chanyeol growled as he pointed an accusatory finger at the said boy. “I don’t get what’s so great about Kris anyways! I’m just as tall as him, and I’m just as handsome and my voice is just as deep!”

“It’s not the same, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun snapped with narrowed eyes.

“Yeah it is,” Chanyeol shot back, crossing his arms as he did so. “You’re just being dumb.”

“They’ve been like this the entire day,” Jongin sighed as he entered the cage with Kyungsoo at his side. The smaller boy quickly made his way over to Mihyun before latching himself onto her side, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist as he buried his face into the side of her neck.

“It’s nice to see you too, Kyungsoo,” Mihyun chuckled as she patted the boy’s head lightly. She glanced around the room to look for the other two boys, and frowned at their absence.

“Sehun and Luhan were called out to do something but they’ll be back soon,” Jongin explained as he patted her reassuringly on the back.

“Has Jaemin interfered with anything?” Mihyun asked with narrowed eyes.

Much to Mihyun’s relief, Jongin shook his head. He curved his lips into a slight frown as he recalled the events that had occurred earlier that day. “Actually, it was the exact opposite.”

Mihyun arched an eyebrow of confusion.

“There were these guards that were trying to pick on Kyungsoo,” Jongin explained, a dark shadow casting over his eyes as he recalled the memory. “But Jaemin came in and told them to knock it off. He even asked Hyung if he was alright, afterwards. It was… strange.”

Mihyun frowned at the information she had been relayed. It was rather strange indeed. What exactly was Jaemin trying to play at? She knew people couldn’t change that easily over night, so what was he trying to achieve by expressing his sudden kindness. “Be cautious around him until we know what he is after,” Mihyun warned Jongin in a low tone.

Jongin nodded his head immediately, “You don’t have to tell me that.”

She was about to respond with further words, but was interrupted by the sudden entrance of Sehun and Luhan. She turned at the sound of a squeal of delight, and smiled when Luhan quickly engulfed her into his arms.

“It's rather comforting to know that you are so excited to see me, Luhan,” Mihyun chuckled softly as she gently ran her fingers through the other’s blond locks.

Luhan nuzzled his head affectionately into the crook of her neck before pulling away with a broad smile. He jerked his head over to Sehun who was standing awkwardly near the entrance of the cage, and plopped down happily next to Kyungsoo.

Mihyun turned to the taller with a small smile etched into her face, and was about to speak until she was interrupted by a quiet knock. She and the other Noyes turned to the front door to see half of a face staring back at them, the rest of his body hidden behind the door.

“H-Hi,” the male spoke quietly, his visible eye darting around the room to gauge the reactions of the others. He ducked from sight when Sehun let out a low growl, unhappy to have had his reunion with the girl cut extremely short. He jutted out his bottom lip into a pout when Mihyun shot him a warning glare, and sighed dramatically before he moved over to sit next to Luhan.

“Hello to you as well,” Mihyun smiled warmly as she stepped towards the stranger. “What brings you here?”

“I… I wanted to help you,” the boy murmured in a voice so soft Mihyun had to strain her ears to hear.

Mihyun arched an eyebrow at those words, wondering exactly what the male had come to propose. “Help with what?”

“Your plans,” he answered as he slowly stepped into the room to reveal his entire appearance. He glanced bashfully down at the ground as he kicked the dirt at his feet. “I wanted to help you with the rebellion.”

Mihyun, as well as the other Noyes were surprised at the words the other spoke. Plans of the rebellion had drifted into the ears of many Noyes by now, but not a single one of them had stepped up to help. They hadn’t expected any of them to, to be quite frank, so it was rather surprising that somebody had stepped forward – especially somebody as tiny and meek as this male was.

“Why would you?” Baekhyun asked with an arched eyebrow of suspicion. He wasn’t too open to accepting new helpers, especially when their plans had already developed so much. “Who are you, anyways?”

“My… my name is Minseok,” the boy responded bashfully as he rubbed his arm. He glanced up at them with round, hopeful eyes. “I live in the cage next door, and… and I’ve heard some of your plans.”

“You mean you’ve been eavesdropping?” Chanyeol scoffed with crossed arms.

“Oh get off it,” Jongin rolled his eyes as he nudged Chanyeol with his elbow. “The walls are gaping bars, for heaven’s sake. He would hear us even if he didn’t want to.”

Minseok glanced gratefully at Jongin for coming to his rescue. “Would… would you mind an extra helping hand?”

“You know what will happen to you if you get caught, right?” Sehun asked with narrowed eyebrows. He wanted to be completely sure that the new comer knew exactly what he was getting into rather than chickening out mid way through.

Minseok nodded his head enthusiastically. “I know, I’ve heard everything you all have said!”

“Maybe we should be a little more discreet,” Baekhyun murmured as he scratched the back of his head.

 “You don’t need to worry, we don’t have any neighbors until you move a few cages down. It’s just me in mine,” Minseok reassured him.

“Just you? Why haven’t we ever noticed you?” Jongin asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I… I keep to myself, most of the time,” Minseok murmured quietly as he fiddled with his thumbs. “I don’t… I don’t really like interacting with other people.”

“Then why are you choosing to talk to us now?” Baekhyun asked suspiciously, his arms folded for good measure.

“I… From what I’ve heard you are all very good people,” Minseok smiled shyly, sneaking peeks at each of their expressions. “I want you guys to succeed.”

Chanyeol glanced at Baekhyun at those words, who then glanced at Kyungsoo, who glanced at Jongin, and so on and so forth until Mihyun finally trained her gaze on the new male.

“We’d be happy to have you, Minseok,” Mihyun smiled warmly as she placed a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulders.

Minseok’s eyes lit up at her words and a small squeak of excitement escaped his lips. He flushed a bright red from embarrassment at the sound, and gave them all a shy, thankful smile for accepting him.

Luhan shoves the grumbling Sehun over and pats the ground besides him to signal Minseok to sit down. The other male eagerly does so, cowering under the glare Sehun shoots over at him. Luhan carves a few words into the dirt ground before nudging Minseok gently to read them. Just ignore him, he’s very friendly once you get to know him.

Minseok gives Luhan a small smile, but it’s rather obvious that he doesn’t believe that just yet.

How old are you?

“I… I’m not sure,” Minseok admits as he scratches the back of his head. “I’ve lost track of the days.”

Luhan nods his head understandingly, for many Noyes eventually forget meager details such as dates and hours when stuck in a place for so long. How long have you been a Noye?

“Only… maybe two months, now?” Minseok murmured as he scratched his head. “It wasn’t very long ago.”

“Only two months and you’ve already lost track of the days?” Chanyeol asked with furrowed eyebrows. “Man, you must have an even worse memory than me!”

“Ah… it’s not really that,” Minseok murmured with flushed cheeks as he pulled his knees up to his chest. “I haven’t… I haven’t really been keeping track of the days for a long time now.”

The cage fell silent at his words, some because of sympathy, others because of confusion.

“Why not?” Chanyeol asked as he scratched his head. “How do you not keep track of the days? Don’t you need to live?”

Minseok flushed an even darker red at his words, and he clamped his lips together with no sign of continuing.

“Great job, idiot,” Baekhyun muttered under his breath as he smacked Chanyeol on the ba

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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 ...