Between the Lines | Riize Wonbin

Chapter 17: Calm before the storm

The quiet hum of the party faded into the background as Wonbin leaned against the wall, watching Juhee sleep on the couch. Her face was peaceful now, her lips slightly parted as she breathed steadily, completely lost to the effects of alcohol and exhaustion. The blanket he'd draped over her rose and fell with each breath, and for a brief moment, he allowed himself to simply observe her, unguarded.

It was odd. The way she had smiled at him earlier-drunk and incoherent-had stirred something unfamiliar inside him. She'd been so different from her usual self, all soft edges and playful nonsense. Nothing like the determined, occasionally sharp Juhee he had come to know. He shook his head slightly, dismissing the thought. It was just the alcohol talking, nothing more.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, breaking the silence. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen. A message from Jaehyun: I'll be there in ten.

Wonbin's eyes flicked toward Juhee's sleeping form again. Ten minutes. That wasn't long, but it was enough time for him to think. Too much time, maybe.

As he sat in the corner of the room, his mind wandered back to the last few weeks-how everything had shifted since that night outside the café. The tension between him and Juhee had been subtle at first, building slowly, and then it had hit all at once. He didn't know what to make of it. Part of him wanted to keep his distance, to maintain the careful walls he'd constructed around himself. It was easier that way, safer. He didn't owe anyone anything, least of all his emotions.

But Juhee was different. She had a way of making him feel... exposed, in a way no one else did. Like she saw right through the indifferent mask he wore. It unsettled him. She asked questions he wasn't ready to answer, poked at things he kept buried, and no matter how much he tried to shut her out, she kept coming back.

Tonight had been no different. Even in her drunken state, she had pulled him into her orbit, rambling about nonsense and poking fun at things he normally wouldn't tolerate. Yet he hadn't pushed her away.

He sighed, tilting his head back to rest against the wall, eyes closing briefly. The room felt smaller with her here, quieter in a way that made him restless. What was it about her that made everything feel so... uncertain?

He opened his eyes and glanced at her again. Juhee shifted in her sleep, her brow furrowing slightly as if she were dreaming. He wondered what kind of dream could make her so peaceful, what kind of world she was escaping into right now.

He knew he shouldn't have let her drink so much. She was too vulnerable like this, too unaware of the world around her. He wasn't used to caring about things like that, but here he was, making sure she was okay.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. It was Jaehyun.

Wonbin stood up, walking to the door and opening it to find Jaehyun standing there, his face tight with concern. Jaehyun's eyes flicked over Wonbin before moving to the couch where Juhee lay. He sighed, running a hand through his hair, and for a split second, his mask slipped.

There was a deeper emotion hidden beneath the surface, one that Wonbin hadn't expected to see. Anger? Frustration? Or... guilt?

"She always does this," Jaehyun muttered, stepping inside. "Thinks she can handle more than she can."

Wonbin said nothing, simply stepping aside to let him pass.

Jaehyun crouched by the couch, brushing a strand of hair from Juhee's face. His expression softened, but there was a tension in his movements, like he wasn't sure how to bridge the distance between them, even now.

Watching Jaehyun now, Wonbin could see it clearly-the conflict, the weight of whatever had driven a wedge between them. Jaehyun wasn't indifferent to Juhee; far from it. If anything, his silence and distance were the result of something deeper, something that had wounded him in a way Wonbin didn't fully understand.

"She's out cold," Jaehyun said, glancing over his shoulder at Wonbin. "Thanks for calling me."

Wonbin nodded, his face impassive. "She needed someone to take her home."

Jaehyun stared at him for a moment, as if trying to gauge his intentions, but then he looked back at his sister, his shoulders slumping slightly. There was an unspoken tension in the air, as if Jaehyun was on the edge of saying something but couldn't bring himself to.

He gently lifted Juhee into his arms, cradling her against his chest. Despite the ease of the motion, there was a heaviness in it, as though Jaehyun was carrying more than just her physical weight. There was pain there, buried beneath his careful movements-pain he hadn't let surface in front of anyone else. Not even her.

"She doesn't know when to stop," Jaehyun muttered softly, more to himself than to Wonbin. "Always pushing herself, always taking on too much. She's going to burn out."

Wonbin's gaze lingered on Jaehyun, and for the first time, he could see past the anger and resentment Jaehyun usually directed at Juhee. It wasn't that he didn't care about her-it was that he cared too much. His distance was a shield, a defense mechanism to protect himself from getting hurt again. Whatever had happened between them, it had scarred Jaehyun deeply, leaving him torn between the desire to protect his sister and the overwhelming fear of getting too close.

"You're not really angry at her," Wonbin said quietly, his voice low but steady. "You're angry at yourself."

Jaehyun froze, his grip on Juhee tightening for just a second before he straightened, his face hardening. "You don't know anything about us."

"No," Wonbin agreed. "But I know that walking away won't fix anything. If you keep pushing her away, she's going to keep falling, and you won't be there to catch her."

Jaehyun's jaw clenched, the conflict in his eyes flickering for a brief moment before he turned his attention back to Juhee. His expression softened as he looked down at her, his shoulders sagging as if the weight of the world had settled on them.

"You think I don't know that?" he muttered, more to himself than to Wonbin. "I'm not good for her. I've always messed things up, and now... now it feels like it's too late to fix anything."

Wonbin said nothing, watching the raw emotion flicker across Jaehyun's face. He had never seen him like this before-so vulnerable, so unsure. Jaehyun had always been the one who kept his distance, who held his anger close to his chest like a shield. But now, in the quiet of the night, that shield was cracking.

"You're her brother," Wonbin said after a moment. "She needs you. You need to stop punishing yourself and talk to her."

Jaehyun glanced at him, the conflict still evident in his eyes. There was a long pause before he spoke again, his voice low and strained. "Maybe I don't know how anymore."

There was nothing left to say after that. Jaehyun carried Juhee toward the door, his steps heavy with the weight of everything left unsaid. Wonbin opened the door for him, watching as he disappeared into the night with Juhee in his arms.

And just like that, the night was quiet again. But for Wonbin, the echoes of Jaehyun's words lingered. There was more to the Myung family than he had realized, more to their fractures than met the eye. And though he didn't fully understand it yet, one thing was clear-whatever came next, Juhee and Jaehyun's bond had been wounded deeply. It would take more than words to heal it.