❤︎
Freedom.
From the inside of a house that feels more like a prison, Jisung has appreciated freedom in its many forms.
With summer vacation comes sun-kisses bronzing the skin and the cheer of children in the streets. Birds chirp their morning melodies as trees sway in the gentle breeze. Jisung, sitting by the window, admires the beauty of it all.
Freedom. Something so easily identifiable in the world but intangible in the way that it isn’t something Jisung can reach out for. Not in this gilded cage he’s grown to call home. Not when the weight of the family image rests on his shoulders. Not when he can only dream about the day that he can finally fly out into the open air and away from the confines of what it means to be a Han.
Perfection is the price of his captivity. In the beginning, it seemed like a fair trade.
On the surface, the “Hans” are the perfect family – wealthy, composed, flawless. To an outsider, the Han family is selling an ideal of what a family should be. Inside the house, there is only a broken illusion of perfection, and cracks break into the façade, only to be taped over with glasslike smiles.
Every photograph framed on the walls is a lie: a snapshot of staged smiles and shallow happiness. Each family dinner is a performance.
His mother’s face is caked with the makeup she wears in order to hide the signs of aging. His father doesn’t do much but drink and pretend he’s still in love with her. His sister is a distant memory ever since she was sent off to Korea several summers ago.
Where does that leave Jisung? A pawn.
He is the centerpiece of the show: the golden child of the “perfect family.” He has to maintain the illusion that the “Hans” have built. He has to play his role: the obedient son, the talented pianist, the star student, and the next-in-line to the Han fortune.
It is for this reason that Jisung has never been free.
For a while, Jisung believed he could accept it. That surviving within the affluent walls of this Georgian mansion was better than risking the unknown. That being perfect was better than being free.
But, the windows call to him. The open, blue sky taunts him. Freedom is a craving he can no longer ignore.
Felix Lee (3:17 p.m.)
Part 2nite @ Chris’
U sneaking out? ;-)
