| Fan Fiction |
by Ephemeral Euphoria
I interpreted the song as one that Ri In's character would be able to relate to. She's finally going to do what she wants to do for the first time in her life, and although she's uncertain about what her future will bring her, she's going to accept it.
Where she falls is where she lands.
As for the chocolate...that was just to make it sort of 'fluffy' and more fun to read. But on a deeper level, it symbolizes Ri In taking control of her life.
The part in the letter where Junsu tells her that he is just a boy and she is just a girl is supposed to explain that no matter how much people age, deep inside, they're still uncertain children with their self-doubts. It's meant to contrast with how Ri In sees a beautiful young woman when she looks in the mirror, but how beneath all that makeup, she's just a frightened little girl who still has much to learn about life. No matter how old people grow, there's always so much more to life than what they already know.
The reason I didn't use Ri In's name until much later into the story was to convey how she felt as though she had no sense of identity. She was never really Ri In until she realized that it was her life and not her family's. Prior to that, she remained the obedient little Ri In who wanted nothing more to her life than to please her family.
I made the mother seem stern and uncaring towards her daughter and I should have put more explanation about Ri In's parents' relationship, but the reason her mother is so cold is because she's worn out from trying to obtain the affection of her husband. She raised Ri In to be the perfect housewife in the hopes of her daughter being able to receive the love from her husband that Ri In's mother herself had never received from her own husband. She truly does care for Ri In, but she also is so adjusted to being in a marriage void of love that she doesn't deem it as being that important, but merely a desirable and preferred option that a bride may also do without.
The love between Ri In and Junsu was rather subtle and I didn't have them kissing or marrying in the end because that would be too soon, but as you can see, Ri In does share the same feelings for him. It wasn't something she realized only after reading his letter, but if you read between the lines, she also kind of mentioned how deeply she cared for him while she was reminiscing, and the part where she mentioned that he was one of the rules she broke is intended to be somewhat of a 'foreshadowing' of how he'll later lead her to break all of the rules she's been forced to live under.