Limit

자유 True Beauty

limit [lim-it] n. a point or level beyond which something or someone cannot surpass.  

 

“Hello President Cho, President Lu, it’s very nice to see you again,” Mihyun smiled brightly as she bowed her greeting. “I heard Mrs. Cho gave birth not too long ago, I hope your baby girl grows up into a lovely woman.”

“It would be great if she became just half the woman you are, Miss Han,” President Cho laughed merrily in response. He paused for a moment and leaned in with the side of his hand against his mouth, “I heard you and your father are going through a temporary feud right now?”

“Oh it isn’t temporary,” Mihyun responded with a gentle laugh. “I think my father is losing his touch in his control, and it would be such a waste to see a company as great as Han corp self destruct. It’s really painful to have to fight against my father, but I have to be selfless and place my family ties aside to do what is best for the people.”

“Yes, yes, such dedication. I will certainly be voting in your favor when the time comes,” Presiden Cho agreed, with President Lu nodding along side him.

“Will your father be attending?” President Lu asked as he glanced around.

“I have to admit that I’m not sure. He hasn’t been taking my proposal all too well, and has refused to have any connection with me,” Mihyun sighed regrettably. “It’s heartbreaking, really.”

“How childish of him,” President Lu frowned as he clapped the girl gently on the shoulder. “Everything will be fine in time.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it very much,” Mihyun bowed once more before the small group split up to mingle with others. Her face dropped the second the others had turned their back, and she shot Jaesuk a dirty look when he stifled a laugh beside her.

“Was this always so tiring?” Mihyun murmured under her breath as she sent Jaesuk a look of desperation.

“Maybe you’re just losing your touch,” Jaesuk chuckled as he carefully pulled Mihyun aside so she would evade the spilling water.

“I apologize, I apologize!” the waiter bowed repetitively as he quickly cleaned up the mess.

Mihyun held up a hand to tell him that it was alright before moving to the corner to take a quick rest as well as check in with the others. She held her hand up to her eyes as she pretended to fix the charms on her bracelet, actually speaking into the pendant shaped microphone that dangled from her wrist.

“How is it going, Yixing?”

She winced at the static that sounded through her ear piece before a voice finally crackled through. “All is well; Sehun and Jongin are working the quickest and have already managed to install one.”

“And the others?” Mihyun asked, her nerves calming momentarily at the news.

“Fine as well. Luhan and Baekhyun almost ran into some trouble, but it went smoothly,” Yixing answered. “Calm down, Mihyun. I’ve only seen two guards wandering around so far, so they shouldn’t be running into any trouble.”

“The fact that you guys are so calm is what’s making me nervous,” Mihyun muttered under her breath. “The unexpected always happens, Yixing, always.”

“Well since you expect it, it shouldn’t be happening now, should it?” Yixing laughed cheerfully in return.

“I will hit you, I swear to god I will,” Mihyun grumbled as she folded her arms to sulk against the wall.

“Are you pouting?” Yixing asked with amusement.

“No,” Mihyun muttered.

“Don’t lie, I can clearly see you through the camera,” Yixing’s laughter crackled into her ear.

Mihyun’s eyes narrowed before wandering around the room, finally discovering the camera overhead that was faced in her direction. Yixing laughed again when Mihyun stalked to the side to avoid being caught on film.

“You’re a lot more immature than I thought you were, Zhang Yixing,” Mihyun sighed as she accepted the drink Jaesuk had gone off to get her.

“I could say the same about you,” Yixing remarked. There was a brief pause of silence before Yixing’s voice drifted in once again. “Thank you, Mihyun, for trusting me enough to ask for this favor.”

“Shouldn’t I be the one thanking you, Yixing?” Mihyun smiled, shaking her head when Jaesuk glanced at her questioningly.

“Could you guys, I don’t know, stop talking?” a sudden voice intercepted their conversation. “I don’t know why, but we can hear everything you guys are saying, and Sehun looks like he’s about to strangle somebody.”

“Jongin? That’s strange, your transmit signals shouldn’t be blending with others. I’ll see if I can get that fixed,” Yixing replied as he fumbled around with the keyboard to find a solution.

“No, leave it,” Sehun’s voice grumbled. “I want to know what you have to say, pretty boy.”

“Don’t you think the jealousy act is getting a little old?” Jongin asked. There was a brief thump and a short yelp before he continued with, “Okay, fine, fine.”

Mihyun chuckled quietly to herself breath, finding Sehun’s moments of jealousy rather cute than irritating. “Alright, I’m going back to the party so you can all argue amongst yourselves.”

“Just a heads up, Mihyun, but your father just walked in,” Yixing informed her.

Mihyun froze for a split second before relaxing her body. She pressed her lips into a smile, and walked back into the center of the room to rejoin the guests. She almost immediately bumped into her father, cursing quietly under her breath once the pair made eye contact. Jaesuk, who was at her side, tensed noticeably, and she placed a gentle hand on his arm to calm him down.

Chando had planned to avoid the girl, and continued to walk forward as if he hadn’t even noticed her, but Mihyun would allow no such thing.

“Hello father,” Mihyun bowed deeply as she forced a pleasant smile onto her face. She spoke rather loudly, purposely attracting the attention of those around. “It’s nice to see you again.”

Chando scoffed incredulously, obviously showing no attempt to return the polite mannerisms – exactly the thing Mihyun had been hoping for. “You have some nerve.”

“I can see that you still haven’t forgiven me,” Mihyun sighed as she slowly reached forward to place a hand on her father’s chest, knowing full well he would allow no such thing.

“Don’t touch me, you filthy betrayer,” Chando snapped as he slapped her arm away with an audible smack. The noise echoed even louder against the hollow walls, and all eyes blatantly trained themselves on the father daughter pair, not even attempting to be discreet any longer.

“Do not lay your hands on Agashi like that,” Jaesuk growled as he took a threatening step forward.

Mihyun held out a hand to stop him in place, and she turned to her father with a saddened expression. “It’s fine, Jaesuk, he has every right to be angry.” She turned to her father and bowed deeply once more. “I hope one day you will realize why I had to do this, father.”

“Such a day will never come,” Chando responded with narrowed eyes and barred teeth.

“Now, President Han, you can’t speak in such a way to your daughter,” President Park smiled awkwardly as he stepped forward to defend Mihyun.

“No matter what, blood is thicker than water,” President Myun spoke up in agreement.

Chando let out a low growl as he gazed at the expressions of disdain that were trained on him. He let out a loud scoff, “It looks like you have all these people wrapped around your little finger, haven’t you?”

He took a step forward to come closer to Mihyun. “I didn’t know you could be this despicable, Mihyun,” Chando growled under his breath in a volume inaudible to foreign ears.

“I think you’ve forgotten who raised me, father,” Mihyun responded quietly without skipping a beat.

Chando curled his upper lip into a small snarl before spinning sharply on his feet to disappear into the crowd of people.

“I must say that I was hesitant to vote against Chando at first, but he really has lost it, hasn’t he?”

“How disgraceful, he should be ashamed of his actions.”

Mihyun forced down the victorious smile that was threatening to spread across her lips, and accepted the pity and sympathy of the other presidents. After all, every piteous expression was another vote in her favor.

“I have to applaud your acting skills, Mihyun,” Yixing’s amused voice entered her ears. “The ending line was the perfect touch.”

The corner of her lips twitched upward at the words. She raised her wrist to her lips to respond, but was interrupted by the sudden voice that boomed across the air.

“Ah, it’s starting,” Jaesuk nodded as the lights around the room began to dim. A single spot light lit up the center of the room, attracting the eyes and attention of the audience.

“Come on, let’s go,” Mihyun spoke quietly as she tugged at Jaesuk’s wrist. He glanced down hesitantly at her but decided to obey her wishes and leave the center room.

“They’ll notice if you leave, you know,” Jaesuk spoke up once they had left the voices and applause behind them.

“They won’t,” Mihyun shook her head as she rested her back against the wall, feeling the nice breeze of the wind hit her skin. “All their attention will be focused on those poor girls.”

“It’s not your fault, Mihyun,” Jaesuk stated firmly as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not your responsibility, so you shouldn’t feel at guilt.”

“I know,” Mihyun sighed as she ran her thin fingers through the front of her hair. “But I still…”

“You can only do so much, Mihyun,” Jaesuk responded simply as he folded his arms. “This is none of your concern.”

“I… yeah,” Mihyun gave in, knowing there was no point in arguing with Jaesuk. The Cheonyeos were a whole new level of social injustice, but it was one that was out of her control. She knew better than to bite off more than she could chew, and as horrible as it sounded, she valued the Noyes much more than the Cheonyeos. Where else would she find another Sehun? Another Luhan? Another Baekhyun, or Chanyeol, or Jongin, or all of the other sweet, kind hearted boys she had met?

“This is really disgusting,” Yixing’s low voice entered her ears.

“I’m sorry you have to watch, Yixing,” Mihyun sighed as she closed her eyes, recalling her past memories of such browsing events. “I never made it through one whole show myself whenever my father used to bring me to these.”

“Our world is disgusting, isn’t it?” Yixing murmured sadly as he watched the repulsive actions of reality through the monitor screens.

“No,” Mihyun’s eyes fluttered open at his words. “Just the people living on it.”

“The showcase presentation is finally over, Mihyun,” Yixing informed her. “You might want to return before the browsing actually begins or they’ll notice your disappearance.”

“But that’s the worst part,” Mihyun murmured quietly under her breath. She exchanged looks with Jaeuk before finally taking a deep breath to re-enter the hall. Her breath got stuck in and her hands tighten into small fists, clenching the cloth of her skirt at the sight. Now that the showcase presentation was over, the official browsing began. The main hall would be split into different areas, each one putting a very poorly clothed Cheonyeo up for display. Men would be allowed to poke and prod the girls, to touch them in places that should never be up for display to the public eyes, to speak to them in a manner fouler than if they were the dirt beneath their shoes, before placing their offer. The offers would all be totaled up, and in the end the girls would be sold to the highest bidder.

It was all disgusting.

Absolutely revolting.

“Will you be making a bid of your own, Miss Han?” President Youn chuckled as he came to Mihyun’s side. His eyes zeroed in on one of the Cheonyeos from across the room, and he his lips, eyeing her as if she was prey to be devoured.

“I don’t believe so,” Mihyun responded, hiding her clenched fists behind her back. Her eyes narrowed down at the wedding ring on his chubby finger, and she forced a smile up at him. “Mrs. Youn is quite a saint to allow you to make a bid. You’re certainly talented in finding the best women out there, Preisdent Youn.”

“Oh, she doesn’t know about this. The thing I buy today will be placed in the vacation house, so the two will never cross one another’s path,” Preisdent Youn laughed loudly. He glanced at Mihyun and gave her a wink. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right?” He laughed once again before waddling off into the direction he had been eyeing.

“Loosen your fists, Agashi, or your nails will pierce your skin,” Jaesuk spoke up as he gently pried her fists open. He clucked his tongue against the top of his mouth when he saw that her palms had already turned an irritated color of red, and gently caressed the areas with the pads of his fingers. “Just bare with it, Agashi. We’ll be able to leave soon.”

“I’m trying,” Mihyun bit down on her lip, turning her head when her eyes had met the sight of a man slipping his hand up the thin lingerie of a Cheonyeo. “I’m trying really hard.”

“Hey Yixing, I think we have a problem,” Jongin’s voice crackled through the speaker, the sound of quiet whimpers humming in the background. “Sehun sort of… he’s sort of bleeding.”

“What do you mean he’s bleeding?” Mihyun demanded immediately, ignoring the looks of confusion that was cast her way.

Jaesuk gave them  all a smile before guiding Mihyun to the side, away from prying eyes.

“He cut himself on some broken glass that was lying out, except it’s a really big cut and he’s, I… he’s kind of bleeding, like a lot,” Jongin stammered frantically.

“He’s over exaggerating, I’m fine,” Sehun’s soft voice sounded.

“Sehun I don’t think this is over exaggerating, I don’t think… holy , holy Sehun what do I do?”

“Calm down Jongin, being frantic won’t do anything to help Sehun’s wound. First, get some cloth, clean cloth, and press it against Sehun’s wound to stop the bleeding,” Yixing instructed.

“We already did but he’s bleeding through it,” Jongin exclaimed “I don’t kn—”

Mihyun turned rigid when Jongin’s voice suddenly cut off, and her eyes widened in alarm. “Jongin? Jongin what’s wrong? Kim Jongin you answer me right now.”

“Somebody’s coming,” Jongin’s quiet voice hissed.

Mihyun sharply inhaled her breath, holding it in as if it would be audible to the other line. A few more minutes of dead silence passed by, and the anticipated continued to build heavily within Mihyun’s heart.

“He’s gone,” Jongin breathed out in relief. “And so is Sehun if he doesn’t get any help.”

“Where are you, I’ll go down right now,” Mihyun nodded her head as she began to head towards the exit.

“You can’t Mihyun, all eyes are on you right now,” Yixing argued. “Send Jaesuk. Tell him to bring Sehun to me and I’ll take care of him.”

“But I…” Mihyun bit down on her bottom lip before releasing a reluctant sigh. She turned to the male who was standing curiously as her side, and spoke in a hushed tone, “Jaesuk, go find Sehun and Jongin in the chemical storage and take Sehun to Yixing. Quickly, go.”

Jaesuk opened his mouth to question Mihyun’s orders, but closed it, giving her a firm nod before departing to fulfill her wishes.

“Hold in there, Sehun,” Mihyun whispered as she clenched down on the fabric of her dress.

“Mihyun, pull yourself together, some people are headed towards you,” Yixing’s spoke up suddenly. “Be calm, don’t give yourself away.”

“I don’t think you understand, Yixing,” Mihyun murmured as she took a deep breath. A bright smile immediately spread across her face as she made eye contact with the group of Presidents. “Pretending is one of my best qualities.”

“Good evening President Ko, President Young, President Jay, it’s nice to see you all,” Mihyun greeted with a 90 degree bow. The group proceeded to engage in light mingling, and although Mihyun didn’t fail to participate, she could still feel the tugging of her heart. Was Sehun going to be alright? Had Yixing already taken care of his wounds?

After around ten minutes or so, she felt a light presence creep back to her side. A gentle tap on her hip reassured her of who it was.

“How is he?” Mihyun asked immediately, glancing at Jaesuk from the corner of her eye.

“He’s fine,” Jaesuk nodded his head. “That brat Jongin was just exaggerating. Sehun must have snagged his arm against a piece of glass or something, but Yixing easily fixed it up with a couple of stitches.”

Instant relief flooded over Mihyun’s chest, and she let out the breath of air she had been holding. “That’s good.”

“The event should be ending soon, Agashi,” Jaesuk informed her after glancing down at his watch. “Would you like to depart early?”

Mihyun bit down on her lip and eyed the crowd that remained as large as it had before. It would look bad if she was the first to leave, but she didn’t want to remain there for even a second longer.

“Let’s go,” Mihyun nodded firmly, her eyebrows furrowed in as worries of Sehun filled her mind.

Jaesuk glanced down at her with momentary shock – never before had Mihyun allowed her feelings to get in front of her business. His lips slipped into a small smile, and he nodded his head without questioning the girl’s command. She was growing up now.

“It’s a success, the last pair of Himchan and Jongup are making their way back to the cage now,” Yixing announced in a satisfactory tone. “All of them are unharmed.”

“That’s good,” Mihyun nodded as she released a breath of relief. “Can you go get Luhan, Jaesuk?”

Jaesuk nodded his head, immediately heading down the stairs to the underground cages the Noyes resided in.

Mihyun’s whole body instantly relaxed the second she stepped back out into the fresh air. She closed her eyes peacefully, enjoying the warm rays of the sun and the soft breeze of the wind. If only people didn’t exist. If only the beautiful world was untainted by such selfish and disgusting human beings. The corners of her lips lifted at the thought – if only she could live in a world with only Jaesuk, Sehun, Luhan, and only the other three boys at her side. It was a selfish thought, sure, but that didn’t make it untrue.

She cringed when a sudden yelp interrupted her brief moment of bliss, and her eyes remained closed. She contemplated for a few seconds – just for a few seconds – to not do anything. To remain completely still and ignore the cries that reminded her of the society she lived in.

She let out a slow breath and reluctantly parted her eyes, turning her head to the source of the noise. A frown slipped onto her face as she observed a man dragging away a Cheonyeo he must have just purchased, the girl putting up a fierce fight of refusal.

Mihyun stood there in surprise for a few seconds; it was certainly rare to see a Cheonyeo who still possessed the will to fight – the will to live. She winced when the Cheonyeo was struck down, her face hitting the concrete ground below her to leave a fresh wound – the bright red blood contrasted against her snowy pale cheeks.

“Is it really that necessary?” Mihyun spoke up suddenly, her voice interrupting the shouts and demands of the pair. Both heads turned to look at her, each of them reflecting a different emotion across their face. “She’s a human being just like the rest of us, isn’t she?”

“Don’t joke around,” the man spat angrily, not sparing another glance at Mihyun as he focused his gaze back onto his purchase. “Now get up you useless !”

Mihyun clenched down hard on her teeth, and she stepped forward with the intent of reprimanding the man until a hand clasped firmly onto her shoulder. She glanced back to see Jaesuk staring at her with hard eyes. He shook his head once, and Mihyun opened to protest but was cut off when Jaesuk continued with, “Let it go, there’s nothing you can do for her.”

Mihyun knows he’s right, so she gives up.

She stares at the girl for a final time, her eyes meeting with the Cheonyeo. Mihyun mouths that she’s sorry, and the Cheonyeo shakes her head. She gives her a small smile and a light bow before climbing onto her feet, brushing off the dirt that clung to her dress. Mihyun watches as the Cheonyeo follows the man without further protest, and Mihyun swallows hard and blinks her tears away.

“Come on,” Jaesuk steers her away from the sight and towards their car he had parked nearby. Luhan slips his hand silently into Mihyun’s, and Mihyun knows that even if Luhan could speak he would have nothing to say.

Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
Pxnellyxq #1
Chapter 39: NOT ME CRYING LIKE A BABY
ackerwoman
#2
Chapter 30: Jongin with his famous smirk at the end, my god
ackerwoman
#3
Chapter 28: Aww cute, he's playing with the flower haha
ackerwoman
#4
Chapter 27: Yes fight for her!
ackerwoman
#5
Chapter 26: No, I'm not crying. You are.
ackerwoman
#6
Chapter 23: dont tell me. oh my god. He never got treated right, at least give me something not to cry over. Whyyyyyyy
ackerwoman
#7
Chapter 21: wuu the story is thickening its plot!
ackerwoman
#8
Chapter 17: That's sweet talk but I wonder about the kiss. I mean I would be embarrassed? I can't run around kissing guys' forehead all the time haha
ackerwoman
#9
Chapter 15: I can't help myself but ship Mihyun and every guy she encounters. And how kyungsoo be able to refrain himself from falling in love with her? She literally gave him everything, supports and also secure attachment.