As the school year closed, Wonbin found himself at home, surrounded by the understated elegance of his family's house. He often found this place stifling, an echo of expectations and rules that had guided his entire life. His father, a stern and respected businessman, held a particular vision for Wonbin's future-a vision that had felt like an inevitable path until recently.
Sitting in the family study, Wonbin glanced around at the rows of neatly arranged books, a collection curated more for appearance than for love of reading. Everything here was meant to symbolize a certain standard, a controlled image of success and refinement. But for Wonbin, the walls, polished wood, and quiet whispers of the household staff had come to symbolize something else: a lack of freedom.
His mother entered, her gaze soft but assessing as always. She noticed the faint furrow in his brow, a telltale sign he was lost in thought. "Are you alright?" she asked, settling gracefully into the armchair opposite him.
Wonbin hesitated, not wanting to reveal too much. "Just... exams are over," he replied, his tone nonchalant.
His mother's eyes held a hint of concern, though she didn't pry. She had always been the softer presence in his life, the counterweight to his father's intensity. "Your father was talking about arranging a dinner with some family friends," she mentioned casually, "to discuss... plans."
Plans. The word weighed on him like a stone. His father's ambitions for him were nothing new, and the idea of stepping into that role-dutiful, obedient, silently suppressing his own wants and needs-suffocated him.
After his mother left, Wonbin leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. It was in moments like these that Juhee's face drifted into his mind, unbidden and persistent. He thought about her determined gaze, her quiet resilience, the way she had faced her own struggles with an independence he had never quite mastered.
The memory of the beach, the night by the fire, and the kiss they'd shared was a lingering ache, one he hadn't fully understood. She'd been a glimpse into something different, a freedom he'd craved but couldn't reach. And yet, he had pushed her away, told her it was a mistake. He'd watched her walk away, suppressing everything he felt, everything he wanted to say.
He shut his eyes, exhaling heavily. Wonbin had always been adept at restraint, at holding back. But for the first time, he questioned the cost of that control.
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Between the Lines | Riize Wonbin
FanfictionBOOK 1 of the RIIZE series || Between the Lines || Ft. Wonbin of Riize Amidst the relentless pressures of university life, Myung Juhee is trapped under the crushing expectations of her family, determined to become a successful lawyer while drowning...
