Timorous

자유 True Beauty
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timorous [timərəs] adj. - suffering from nervousness, fear, or a lack of confidence.

 

“She loves me.”

“She doesn’t love me.”

“She loves me.”

“She doesn’t love me.”

“She loves me.”

“She doesn’t— You were an ugly flower anyways,” Sehun muttered as he snapped the stem he was holding before chucking it to the ground.

Sehun sighed as he rested his cheek on his closed fist, staring at all the petals and broken stems that littered the area around his lap.

He leaned over to snatch another flower away from its family before he began mercilessly picking of its petals. He managed to get half way through before he chucking the flower away with exasperation.

“You are a joke, Oh Sehun,” he muttered under his breath as ran his hands over the hundreds of discarded petals. “And Mihyun is going to kill you when she gets back.”

He stood up and stretched his limbs, brushing the petals off of his clothing to hide any evidence that he was the culprit behind the dead flowers. He walked over to Mihyun’s mother’s tomb stone and crouched down beside it.

“Why did you have to kill yourself?” Sehun asked quietly as he ran his fingers over the badly engraved letters. He paused for a few seconds, as if waiting for a response. “Why did you have to leave Mihyun all alone?”

“I ask myself the same thing all the time,” a voice called out, interrupting Sehun’s moment of solitude.

Sehun stretched his neck to look over his shoulder, and he raised an eyebrow at Jaesuk who was standing at the doorway of the green house. “Where’s Luhan?”

“He’s just a few feet away from me, playing in the fountain,” Jaesuk answered as he outstretched his finger into a direction Sehun couldn’t see. “Mihyun’s given you permission to come in here, huh?”

“Yeah,” Sehun answered as he got up from his crouching position to head towards Jaesuk. From the way Jaesuk was standing firmly behind the doorway just outside of the green house, he knew the latter hadn’t been given the same permission as him. “Jaesuk, you knew her mother, didn’t you?”

Jaesuk paused for a few seconds before nodding his head, “Yeah. I came to Mihyun’s side when she was 6 years old, so I knew her mother for a little less than under two years.”

“What was she like?” Sehun asked, hoping that he wasn’t crossing the line of privacy with his questions.

“Weak,” Jaesuk nodded with crossed arms. “She was beautiful, intelligent, and kind, but she was weak.”

Sehun’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“Half the time I saw her she was crying,” Jaesuk murmured. “And it angered me, because often she would be crying to Mihyun. Mihyun was still a child, but despite that she could understand the meaning behind her mother’s tears. I mostly blame her mother for forcing Mihyun to turn out the way she is today – not that I don’t love her as she is.”

“And the… the Noye?” Sehun asked dryly, his words catching themselves in his throat.

Jaesuk stiffened, “I never saw him. He was dead before I had arrived.”

Sehun voice a small “Oh,” before staring down at his shuffling feet.

“Sehun,” Jaesuk spoke suddenly, causing the boy to look up at him with alarm. “I know you love Mihyun, and I know Mihyun returns the feelings to a certain extent.”

Sehun gulped, preparing himself for what was to come next.

“And I want you to know that I’ll protect the two of you.”

Sehun’s eyes widened in alarm; those were words Sehun had certainly not been expecting.

“I’ll protect the both of you with my entire life,” Jaesuk nodded his head as he placed his hand firmly on Sehun’s shoulder. “I’ll never be able to repay Agashi, ever. I could give up ten of my lives and it would still never add up to what she has done for me. Agashi cares for you a lot, you, Luhan, and all of the other boys, so I guess indirectly I care too.”

Sehun continued to stare at him speechlessly, no words coming to mind to respond with.

“This doesn’t mean I like you,” Jaesuk scoffed as he ran his fingers coolly through his hair. “I still think you’re an ignorant brat.” He side eyed Sehun when he flinched, “But you’re not too bad.”

Sehun bit down on his bottom lip as he listened to the elder’s words, “Hyung…”

“Don’t look at me like that,” Jaesuk chuckled as he shuffled the front of Sehun’s hair. “I wouldn’t be able to stay around Agashi any longer if you fell in love with me too.”

“Yah, Hyung!” Sehun exclaimed in protest as he bumped the elder’s shoulder playfully.

“Come on, Luhan! Let’s go back inside before the President comes home!” Jaesuk called out, waving over Luhan who had been happily playing in the fountain.

Luhan nodded his head and jogged over to the pair, shaking his wet hair along the way like a dog.

“Hyung, you’re getting me wet,” Sehun crinkled his nose as he wiped the wet drops away from his face.

Luhan flashed him an apologetic smile before quickly scribbling something across his board to show the other two. When is Mihyun returning?

Jaesuk frowned as he read the words and he scratched the back of his neck, “It’s been two days now, hasn’t it?”

Luhan nodded his head with a sad frown.

Jaesuk let out a sigh before turning to the two with an optimistic smile, “She’ll be back soon, don’t worry. She knows better than to leave you two alone for a long period.”

Silence fell among the three once again as they made their way back up the stairs, all of them silently engulfed in their own thoughts.

“Sehun,” Jaesuk called for the boy once they entered Mihyun’s bedroom.

“Hm?”

“I never asked you this earlier, but what did Mihyun’s father want to say to you?” Jaesuk asked with a raised eyebrow as he settled himself into a leather chair.

Sehun clenched down on his teeth as he sat down on the side of his bed, frowning at the memory of the conversation. “Nothing much,” he muttered as he ran his fingers through his coarse hair.

Jaesuk opened his mouth to continue his questioning, but was interrupted by the sound of the door flying open. All three heads jerked to see the new figure standing underneath the door frame, wondering who would actually dare to enter Mihyun’s bedroom.

Sehun’s eyes widened in brief surprise before crinkling almost immediately in delight. “Mi—” He was cut off when the sudden figure wrapped her arms tightly around Sehun’s torso, resting her head against Sehun’s chest without uttering a single word. “Hyun?

Jaesuk climbed to his feet in alarm, “Agashi, are you okay?”

“She’s just tired,” another voice explained as an unfamiliar man stepped inside the room. He closed the door behind him and rested his back against the wooden frame. “Let her rest.”

Jaesuk glanced at the man and nodded his head, settling back into the chair with relief, “Yixing, you two are back already?”

Yixing nodded his head as he scratched the back of his neck. He turned his gaze to Mihyun who was still resting against Sehun, and let out a small chuckle. “This girl really doesn’t know how to rest. She hasn’

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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 ...