Resilience

자유 True Beauty
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resilience [\ri-ˈzil-yən(t)s\] n. - the ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens

 

 

“Mihyun, wake up.”

“Mihyun, it’s just a dream.”

“Mihyun,” Sehun called out loudly as he shook the sleeping girl’s shoulders. “MIHYUN.”

Mihyun’s eyes snapped open and she jolted up in her bed, nearly slamming the top of her head against Sehun’s. Her chest heaved up and down as her heart beat rapidly against her chest, her hands clenching the sheets tightly below her, “Sehun…”

“Mihyun, it was just a dream,” Sehun reassured her as he cupped her face gently into his hands. He turned her head so he could stare into her eyes, and wiped away the sweat that layered her skin, “You’re okay; it was just a dream.”

It took a few minutes of Sehun her hair for her to completely calm down.

“S-Sorry,” Mihyun finally murmured as she pulled the damp blankets away from her body. “Sorry for waking you.”

“No, don’t apologize,” Sehun shook his head as he pressed a soft kiss against her forehead. He glanced down at the perspiration that layered her body and frowned, “Did you have another nightmare?”

Mihyun remained silent as the images of that night flashed through her head once more, and she gave her head a slow shake.

Sehun stared down at her with disappointment, “You can tell me that you had a dream, Mihyun. I won’t make you tell me about it.”

He let out a sigh when she refused to respond, and the bed creaked as he stepped back onto solid ground. “Do you want to take a shower?”

“Yeah,” Mihyun answered in a soft voice. She pushed her hair behind her shoulders and slid down until her toes touched the cold floor. She glanced up to see Sehun staring at her with an intense gaze of concern, and cocked her head, “Is something wrong?”

Sehun opened his mouth to response, but reluctantly closed it as he glanced away. “Nothing, I’ll go make you some tea.”

Before Mihyun could say her thanks, Sehun had already left the room. She stared at the door to her bedroom that he had left ajar and bit down on her bottom lip. Sehun was frustrated with her, she knew that.

She just wasn’t ready to get everything off her mind.

Mihyun pulled a fresh set of pajamas from her dresser before stepping into the bathroom that lay adjacent to her bedroom. She ran her hand against the wall until her fingers pressed against the light switch, and her eyes immediately squinted to adjust to the sudden brightness. She quickly shed her clothes, tossing them carelessly to the side before stepping into the shower. Her body immediately relaxed as the warm water pattered against her skin, washing away the sticky sweat that had clung to her skin.

She pressed her forehead against the cold tile as the water continued to rinse off her perspiration. “I’m sorry,” Mihyun whispered quietly as Sehun’s face flew into her mind.

Seven days had passed since the Noye rebellion, and the news that headlined the papers every day certainly didn’t reveal anything in their favor. The courts were still in the middle of discussing what was to be done with the rebelling Noyes, and while Yixing had told her to be patient, she knew it must not have been going well. Tens of hundreds of Noyes had been recaptured already, and there were faces she recognized among the photos published: Himchan, Yongguk, Jongup. Sehun had slammed his fist against the wall when they had seen Junhong’s face in yesterday’s paper.

That wasn’t why Sehun was frustrated with her, however. He was frustrated that she hadn’t spoken, not a single word about the anguish she felt or the nightmares that plagued her dreams every night. He was frustrated that she retained her stoic expression etched onto her face, even when all the others shed tears nearly every night. 

“I’m sorry,” Mihyun repeated as she closed her eyes; the water erased any evidence of her tears.

She couldn’t afford to show emotion in front of the others. She couldn’t afford to cry or break down, not now, not at a time as crucial as the one they were going through. If she broke down she wouldn’t be able to pick herself up. If she broke down she wouldn’t be able to continue her façade in front of the public eye, wouldn’t be able to fight for the rights of the Noyes, wouldn’t be able to secure their freedom.

The final trial would be held tomorrow, or really, today, seeing as how she had woken in the dead of night. The final decision would be established today, guaranteeing whether or not the Noyes would be free from their title.

“Just a little longer,” she nodded her head, slowly opening her eyes as she turned the faucet to cut off the stream of water.

After drying off and putting on a new set of clothes, Mihyun stepped into the kitchen where Sehun was waiting for her. To her surprise, both Luhan and Baekhyun were sitting quietly at the counter as well, each with a mug of what Mihyun could only presume to be tea in their hands.

“Sehun told us you couldn’t sleep either,” Baekhyun nodded his head as he gestured to the mug that was sitting next to him.

Mihyun offered him a weak smile as she took the spot, burning her tongue as she immediately took a sip.

“You should know by now not to do that,” Sehun scolded as he took the mug from her hands. Mihyun watched as he blew at the top in an attempt to cool it down, and her heart swelled as she stared at him.

“Today’s the day, isn’t it?” Baekhyun whispered, more to himself than to the others. “Today’s the day.”

“We’ll let you know the news as soon as we find out,” Sehun nodded as he handed the mug back to Mihyun after he deemed it chilled enough.

“Are you going to go too, Luhan?” Baekhyun asked as he glanced over to the elder that sat quietly at his side.

Luhan nodded his head rather than supply a verbal answer. He still wasn’t used to speaking, and tried his best to avoid vocal responses.

“I want to go too.” Their heads turned to the new voice that interrupted the room, and they watched as Jongin stepped out of his bedroom and into the kitchen.

“You know why you can’t,” Sehun responded disapprovingly.

“Yeah, but I still want to,” Jongin shrugged as he stole Mihyun’s tea from her hands to take a sip. He ignored Sehun’s cry of protest, and handed it back to her with a smile.

Sehun swiped it out of his hands before Mihyun could take it back. He grabbed a napkin to wipe the rip of the mug thoroughly, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, “Nobody’s going to have an indirect kiss with Mihyun except for me” under his breath.

Mihyun gave him a small smile before shifting her gaze to the small boy who was sitting one seat away from her. Luhan had his sleeves pulled over his hands that were wrapped around the large mug. He held his tea so close to his face that the steam directly hit his skin, causing it to turn a light shade of pink. His eyes were swollen and red again, just like how they have been for the past seven days.

Luhan caught her gaze and gave her what he hoped was a weak smile, “Is there something wrong?”

Mihyun was mildly taken aback at the sound, still unfamiliar with the soft sound of the elder’s voice. She shook her head and returned the smile before taking another sip of her tea, flinching when the liquid scorched her tongue yet again.

“Do you want to go back to sleep?” Sehun asked as he glanced at the clock that read 5:30 AM in bold numbers.

Mihyun shook her head and placed the mug back onto the table, deeming the tea unable to cool down any time soon. “I’ll just have to wake up again in an hour, so I might as well stay up.”

“Well, I’ll be going back to sleep,” Baekhyun nodded as she pushed himself off of his chair. “Chanyeol’s going to wake up soon and throw a fit if I’m not next to him.” He gave Mihyun a kiss on the top of her head and waved goodbye to the others, rolling his eyes when Sehun shot him a dirty look. He knew Sehun didn’t honestly have a problem with his skinship with Mihyun, however, but Sehun still continued to act as if he was going to murder him just to spite him.

The foursome glanced to the side when the sound of a door clicked open, and Jaesuk paused momentarily taken aback to see all those who had waken before him. He cracked a tired grin and stole the seat Baekhyun had just abandoned, “Looks like nobody can sleep, huh?”

Mihyun hummed in agreement, deciding to give her tea another try.

“You think today will go well?” Jaesuk asked, nodding his thanks to Sehun when the other handed him a cup of coffee.

Mihyun shrugged, flinching once more when the hot liquid burned her tongue yet another time.

“You have to blow on it,” Sehun sighed as he picked up her mug to do it for her.

“I’m going to bed,” Luhan announced as he pushed his tea away from the edge of the counter and into the center. His feet hit the ground with a soft thud, and he bowed his goodbyes to everybody before disappearing back into the room he now shared with Jaesuk; Baekhyun and Chanyeol had taken over his room.

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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 ...