k-dramedy
While the three (four, if we're being pedantic) "stories" of K-Dramedy are generally standalone, there is some overlap as far as characters and aquaintences because they all happen in the same South Korea. It's hard not to run into each other in some way, some time. Same universe, no divergence. So, there may be times where a non-celebrity character will see news of 2nd gen idol Shin Jiyoung having a long awaited new tv appearance. Or, maybe heiress Kwon Jiyu will go viral for looking just like her! Quyen and Camila are friends, having met on a show. But, that doesn't mean Quyen knows Sora or Jiyu personally. English teacher Jinjoo, who lives in Jeju now, is aquainted with multilingual Stella. Stella, Anri, and Kevin frequent the Sun Room, owned by Sunny. Anri, who is typically a Paul stan also looks forward to the activities of Miso and Taeyang. Sometimes she wonders why Sunny never got to debut and basically disappeared from idoldom all those years ago. She also idolizes fashionista Quyen. etc. etc. These connections and more will be referenced in various writings, whether it be directly meeting characters or mentioning them in scenery/background descriptions–like two girls laughing in a cafe or an advertisement with someone's face on it.
tradian
Much like K-Dramedy, the characters of "Tradian" all exist together in this history-inspired, imagination-driven high fantasy mishmash of time periods. The Kingdom of Tradian is ruled by the royal family. The distant province of Villeport, Aalis's domain, is a part of Tradian and she is one of the king's trusted allies. The town of Alryn, where Angelina (somewhat) and Khayr reside, is a major settlement near the heart of the Tradian mainland. Perhaps Aalis's journey will bring her to a stop in the bustling little town.
america is weird
America is a huge huge huge country. So, "America is Weird" is even easier to explain without having to have any sort of real connection between stories. I lumped these together because they all take place in the same country, in the same universe but, honestly, that (and the presence of fae/magic/etc) is where the connection stops. Mourning takes place in the south. Marlowe's Menagerie is located in New England. The town of Limen is in the midwest. Fables is, of course, in New York. Weird things happen to weird folks, but none of them know each other and none of their cases are related.
tv-inspired
Dawson, Agasshi, and Inferno Inc have literally nothing to with each other or any of the other stories/universes. They are simply what it says on the tin! Dawson takes place in a Bridgerton/Dickinson/The Great-inspired Regency England setting. Agasshi takes place in a Sageuk-inspired setting that blends elements of the Baekje, Silla, Parhae, and Goryeo dynasties. Neither of these are meant to be historically accurate, so much as they're a means to tell a couple of stories with some real historical references. InfernInc is set in an urbanized hell and a resources and logistics office in its metropolitan area, taking inspiration from things like The Good Place, Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell, Lore Olympus, The Office, Parks and Rec, Superstore, etc. It is the most humor-oriented of all of my universes, though all of them have at least a little humor because I can't not be a clown.
aalis
gauthier
For generations, the Gauthier family have run the Villeport province in the name, and as representatives, of the King of Tradian. They've always ruled justly but fiercely while sticking to the King's expectations and that is no different with the current viceroy, Lady Aalis Gauthier. However, Aalis's rise to power isn't one that she's happy to regale.
Aalis was born on a chilly winter morning as the second child to her parents. Her five-years older brother was already being groomed to take over their father's title, so Aalias was simply taught the ins and outs of being a proper lady. She was taught how to run a household along with various artistic skills like piano, calligraphy, and tapestry, but those never sated her. Aalias was always interested in what her fascinating older brother was doing and she convinced him to teach her some of the things he was learning as well. Weak-willed when it comes to his precious little sister, the young lord secretly tutored the girl in military strategy and fencing.
Things were not always smooth sailing for the young girl though. By the time that she was 12-years-old, Aalias's mother fell ill. With the physician unable to diagnose her in time, the woman succumbed to her sickness within the year. Months following the untimely death of Lady Gauthier, the Duke fell ill as well—supposedly due to pre-existing heart complications. It was all very taxing for the children they left in their wake, but at 18, her brother was fully educated and ready to take on his role.
For Aalis, adjusting to life without her parents was rather difficult, but she never let these difficulties show on the surface. She simply did all that a 13-year-old could to be strong and help her brother with his rule. The young viceroy often went on diplomatic visits from province to province, town to town, so it never bothered Aalis when she didn't see him for weeks at a time. He always wrote, so she always knew he was okay. But one day, the letters stopped coming. The young duke had fallen from a cliff in an opressive fog, his guards had said. However, couldn't find him when they managed the slow decent themselves. The courtiers decided it best to keep Giraud's disappearance a secret while they worked to prepare Aalis for the role of Duchesss/Viceroy suo jure. This spread a great deal of worry and gossip throughout Villeport. Many assumed the viceroy to be an abandoner, others assumed he met his untimely death like his parents. Aalis didn't believe either, but someone had to run the province in her brother's stead. Not wanting her home to fall into the hands of an outsider and somewhat versed in her brother's duties as Duke and Viceroy, a then 16-year-old Aalis stepped up to the lesser throne.
As a child, Aalis was always told to hold her emotions tight, lest they be used to bring about her downfall. Today, she takes this advice to heart and runs Villeport in the same way that her father and brother would have wanted it to be run: justly, fiercely, and with a heart of gold.
Aalis was born on a chilly winter morning as the second child to her parents. Her five-years older brother was already being groomed to take over their father's title, so Aalias was simply taught the ins and outs of being a proper lady. She was taught how to run a household along with various artistic skills like piano, calligraphy, and tapestry, but those never sated her. Aalias was always interested in what her fascinating older brother was doing and she convinced him to teach her some of the things he was learning as well. Weak-willed when it comes to his precious little sister, the young lord secretly tutored the girl in military strategy and fencing.
Things were not always smooth sailing for the young girl though. By the time that she was 12-years-old, Aalias's mother fell ill. With the physician unable to diagnose her in time, the woman succumbed to her sickness within the year. Months following the untimely death of Lady Gauthier, the Duke fell ill as well—supposedly due to pre-existing heart complications. It was all very taxing for the children they left in their wake, but at 18, her brother was fully educated and ready to take on his role.
For Aalis, adjusting to life without her parents was rather difficult, but she never let these difficulties show on the surface. She simply did all that a 13-year-old could to be strong and help her brother with his rule. The young viceroy often went on diplomatic visits from province to province, town to town, so it never bothered Aalis when she didn't see him for weeks at a time. He always wrote, so she always knew he was okay. But one day, the letters stopped coming. The young duke had fallen from a cliff in an opressive fog, his guards had said. However, couldn't find him when they managed the slow decent themselves. The courtiers decided it best to keep Giraud's disappearance a secret while they worked to prepare Aalis for the role of Duchesss/Viceroy suo jure. This spread a great deal of worry and gossip throughout Villeport. Many assumed the viceroy to be an abandoner, others assumed he met his untimely death like his parents. Aalis didn't believe either, but someone had to run the province in her brother's stead. Not wanting her home to fall into the hands of an outsider and somewhat versed in her brother's duties as Duke and Viceroy, a then 16-year-old Aalis stepped up to the lesser throne.
As a child, Aalis was always told to hold her emotions tight, lest they be used to bring about her downfall. Today, she takes this advice to heart and runs Villeport in the same way that her father and brother would have wanted it to be run: justly, fiercely, and with a heart of gold.
adeline
Long ago, in 16th century Germany, the country of Vólkerling sat amongst the mountains—lorded by a Duke with no spine. He sat atop his throne, a mere figurehead; a puppet controlled by his courtiers. That is, of course, until he brought fresh blood, fresh thought, fresh personality into his palace walls by marrying an unassuming 17-year-old young woman named Adeline. Quite literally born to be a nobleman's wife, Adeline was beautiful, she was intelligent; though kind, she was cunning.
Within the first year of her new life in Vólkerling, she made allies and staged a coup against her husband—winning his throne and demoting the courtiers who only had their own interests at heart, rather than those of the country and, more broadly, the kingdom which they served. She spared her husband in a gesture of good will to the people who loved him - they would eventually grow to love each other in a platonic sense - and implemented her own plans for her new home.
Vólkerling saw a three-year golden age under Adeline's rule: the people were happy, they were fed, and the duchy's relationship with the king was better than ever. Adeline and her husband were on the cusp of promotion to Grand Duke and Duchess when loyalists to the original way attacked and murdered them on their way to a neighboring ally territory. It was an abrupt and violent end to her young life that left her spirit unable to rest.
Instead, it manifested a new physical form as an energy and flesh devouring Nachzehrer. The life of a Nachzehrer proved to be a lonely one; unlike their vampiric cousins, Nachzehrerism is not communicable and Adeline herself was slow to trust in the face of her untimely end. With only a few distant acquaintances and allies, Adeline spent the next nine centuries traveling the world and sating her hunger. Merely existing put a target on her back and she was hunted on and off by hunters in many of the places she went.
The last time was the closest call with a hunter finding and digging up her temporary grave, even paralyzing her, but being stopped and killed by an unexpected ally before he could cut out her heart. She woke up in the artists' tents with no sign of the paralysis-inducing silver coin placed under her tongue. Be it for the safety behind its walls or the odd sense of companionship, she doesn't particularly feel the need to leave the circus. All that's out in the real world are solitude and hunters seeking to cut her heart in two.
Within the first year of her new life in Vólkerling, she made allies and staged a coup against her husband—winning his throne and demoting the courtiers who only had their own interests at heart, rather than those of the country and, more broadly, the kingdom which they served. She spared her husband in a gesture of good will to the people who loved him - they would eventually grow to love each other in a platonic sense - and implemented her own plans for her new home.
Vólkerling saw a three-year golden age under Adeline's rule: the people were happy, they were fed, and the duchy's relationship with the king was better than ever. Adeline and her husband were on the cusp of promotion to Grand Duke and Duchess when loyalists to the original way attacked and murdered them on their way to a neighboring ally territory. It was an abrupt and violent end to her young life that left her spirit unable to rest.
Instead, it manifested a new physical form as an energy and flesh devouring Nachzehrer. The life of a Nachzehrer proved to be a lonely one; unlike their vampiric cousins, Nachzehrerism is not communicable and Adeline herself was slow to trust in the face of her untimely end. With only a few distant acquaintances and allies, Adeline spent the next nine centuries traveling the world and sating her hunger. Merely existing put a target on her back and she was hunted on and off by hunters in many of the places she went.
The last time was the closest call with a hunter finding and digging up her temporary grave, even paralyzing her, but being stopped and killed by an unexpected ally before he could cut out her heart. She woke up in the artists' tents with no sign of the paralysis-inducing silver coin placed under her tongue. Be it for the safety behind its walls or the odd sense of companionship, she doesn't particularly feel the need to leave the circus. All that's out in the real world are solitude and hunters seeking to cut her heart in two.
angelina
Angelina was orphaned before she could even utter her first words, her parents having perished in a bandit ambush with mere moments to tuck her tiny form away in a crowding of bushes. She was found, barely clinging to life, days later by the apothecary that lived in the same woods. The man raised her alongside another stray child; he loved her as if she were his own and he taught her everything he knew.
Alongside her sister, she was trained in the ways of herbal medicine and horticulture along with learning to walk, read, write, and speak. And she showed a special proclivity for it—taking to the skill like breathing when her sister seemed more reluctant. Unlike most folk who were shielded away from the world of the fae that lie on the other side of the ancient stone wall that splits Blackwood Forest, Angelina was practically thrust into interacting with them in the everyday when the inhuman beings would pass by or come to the Apothecary for the cure to their ailments.
For her entire youth, it was just Angelina, her sister, and their father. Sometimes, a traveler would find shelter in their home—for a few days, for a few months; it varied. But, it was always just them at the end of it all.
Over the years, she came to understand why the Apothecary, and their home, remained tucked away deep in the forests surrounding the kingdom—why they never moved away from the cottage by the wall. Human man is cowardly and unkind towards that which they don't understand but, from an early age, it was instilled in her to be one of the few that existed as a warm presence for human- and fae-kind alike. They had to stay put, deep in the Blackwood Forest, in the name of being available to all walks of life.
It was a very quiet, simplistic youth, made precious by seeing fleeting friends' faces light up when their ailments eased or as they laughed at stories over warming bowls of stew. If a guest skilled in the art of the sword, or embroidery, or anything else felt like sharing, young Angelina was eager to learn in the name of a little fun. She was happy and that's all that could be said through her adolescence until she experienced loss in a way she never had.
When Angelina was on the cusp of her twenties, her father fell ill. It was sudden and steadily progressive with the herbalists doing everything they could to find a cure. They researched, they experimented, and they consulted other professionals who might know what they didn't. In the end, however, it was all fruitless. Angelina's mentor and father grew sicker and sicker until he was confined to his deathbed, leaving her and her sister to continue the search for a cause and cure on her own.
Ultimately, there was no use and he ended up dying just a few years after the first symptoms appeared. Sure, Angelina had witnessed death before. Clients died from their own incurable diseases or due to waiting just a bit too long to venture to the Apothecary. They killed fresh game regularly to prepare for the daily meals, too. But having the only parent she'd ever truly known be gone suddenly was a heavy blow that knocked Lina off of her usually steady feet. She closed shop and mourned her father for as long as she could, with no intentions of carrying on. But clients unaware of his passing would drop by after days and weeks on the road just to seek help and she could never find it in her broken heart to turn them away.
After less than a month, she reopened the Apothecary and took over the business as she'd been raised to do while dealing with the emptiness of the cottage after an explosive fight sent her already distant elder sister packing. She's been going nonstop ever since, so both the common folk and fae could continue having someone to go to at their own times of need.
Alongside her sister, she was trained in the ways of herbal medicine and horticulture along with learning to walk, read, write, and speak. And she showed a special proclivity for it—taking to the skill like breathing when her sister seemed more reluctant. Unlike most folk who were shielded away from the world of the fae that lie on the other side of the ancient stone wall that splits Blackwood Forest, Angelina was practically thrust into interacting with them in the everyday when the inhuman beings would pass by or come to the Apothecary for the cure to their ailments.
For her entire youth, it was just Angelina, her sister, and their father. Sometimes, a traveler would find shelter in their home—for a few days, for a few months; it varied. But, it was always just them at the end of it all.
Over the years, she came to understand why the Apothecary, and their home, remained tucked away deep in the forests surrounding the kingdom—why they never moved away from the cottage by the wall. Human man is cowardly and unkind towards that which they don't understand but, from an early age, it was instilled in her to be one of the few that existed as a warm presence for human- and fae-kind alike. They had to stay put, deep in the Blackwood Forest, in the name of being available to all walks of life.
It was a very quiet, simplistic youth, made precious by seeing fleeting friends' faces light up when their ailments eased or as they laughed at stories over warming bowls of stew. If a guest skilled in the art of the sword, or embroidery, or anything else felt like sharing, young Angelina was eager to learn in the name of a little fun. She was happy and that's all that could be said through her adolescence until she experienced loss in a way she never had.
When Angelina was on the cusp of her twenties, her father fell ill. It was sudden and steadily progressive with the herbalists doing everything they could to find a cure. They researched, they experimented, and they consulted other professionals who might know what they didn't. In the end, however, it was all fruitless. Angelina's mentor and father grew sicker and sicker until he was confined to his deathbed, leaving her and her sister to continue the search for a cause and cure on her own.
Ultimately, there was no use and he ended up dying just a few years after the first symptoms appeared. Sure, Angelina had witnessed death before. Clients died from their own incurable diseases or due to waiting just a bit too long to venture to the Apothecary. They killed fresh game regularly to prepare for the daily meals, too. But having the only parent she'd ever truly known be gone suddenly was a heavy blow that knocked Lina off of her usually steady feet. She closed shop and mourned her father for as long as she could, with no intentions of carrying on. But clients unaware of his passing would drop by after days and weeks on the road just to seek help and she could never find it in her broken heart to turn them away.
After less than a month, she reopened the Apothecary and took over the business as she'd been raised to do while dealing with the emptiness of the cottage after an explosive fight sent her already distant elder sister packing. She's been going nonstop ever since, so both the common folk and fae could continue having someone to go to at their own times of need.
camila
figueroa
Camila grew up in a well-off family as the youngest child of a retired model and a photographer. Because her parents preferred to gift their children experiences, rather than a multitude of material possessions, she traveled and tried things even grown adults wouldn't get to from a very early age.
Camila was obsessed with the Irwin family and she wanted to be a zoo keeper. Then, she wanted to be an architect. Then a mechanic. Then a comedian. Then a doctor. Philantropist. Singer. Actress. Safe to say: Camila wanted to be anything and everything.
Her interests and aspirations were always changing and, by the time that it was time for her to decide on what to do after graduating, she just had no idea. She loved adventure and experiencing new cultures so she knew she wanted to keep traveling—that's one thing that stuck—but she was still unsure by the time high school graduation rolled around.
She started her first year of undergrad as a general studies major and met an exchange student from South Korea in one of her classes. They became fast friends and then something more, so she happily accepted when the girl eventually asked her out in their second semester. Around this same time, Camila was beginning to feel suffocated in her studies and the two of them often discussed plans after the school year was through—her girlfriend going back to her school in Seoul and her...well, she didn't know. And it brought her unimaginable stress.
The suggestion for them to go to Seoul together, for Camila drop everything and move with her to Seoul was an abrupt one during one of these 2 am talks. Maybe she could find something to do there and they would get to stay together without all of the difficulties of long distance. Often spontaneous, Camila agreed and after spending a month of summer break with her parents and getting together her documents, they moved.
Camila started herself off with web content during that time, maintaining an active Spanish-languge blog and YouTube channel chronicling her big life leap and then Seoul life in general. Within the next year, she was casted to be on one of the many foreigner-centric talk shows as a Spain representative and gained a bit of fleeting recognition from there.
However, she took a lot of connections and experience from those few weeks of filming and, when someone suggested she try acting or modeling somewhere, she decided why not. This was an entire movement in her life—made for trying new, crazy things—and her mom modeled, so she could give it a try too!
Since then, Camila's been slowly building up an image and reputation as an entertainer in South Korea—doing modeling, more talk variety and in-home reality shows, and auditioning for acting roles. Though she and her girlfriend eventually broke up about a year and a half post-move, they still remain good friends and she owes her a lot.
Camila was obsessed with the Irwin family and she wanted to be a zoo keeper. Then, she wanted to be an architect. Then a mechanic. Then a comedian. Then a doctor. Philantropist. Singer. Actress. Safe to say: Camila wanted to be anything and everything.
Her interests and aspirations were always changing and, by the time that it was time for her to decide on what to do after graduating, she just had no idea. She loved adventure and experiencing new cultures so she knew she wanted to keep traveling—that's one thing that stuck—but she was still unsure by the time high school graduation rolled around.
She started her first year of undergrad as a general studies major and met an exchange student from South Korea in one of her classes. They became fast friends and then something more, so she happily accepted when the girl eventually asked her out in their second semester. Around this same time, Camila was beginning to feel suffocated in her studies and the two of them often discussed plans after the school year was through—her girlfriend going back to her school in Seoul and her...well, she didn't know. And it brought her unimaginable stress.
The suggestion for them to go to Seoul together, for Camila drop everything and move with her to Seoul was an abrupt one during one of these 2 am talks. Maybe she could find something to do there and they would get to stay together without all of the difficulties of long distance. Often spontaneous, Camila agreed and after spending a month of summer break with her parents and getting together her documents, they moved.
Camila started herself off with web content during that time, maintaining an active Spanish-languge blog and YouTube channel chronicling her big life leap and then Seoul life in general. Within the next year, she was casted to be on one of the many foreigner-centric talk shows as a Spain representative and gained a bit of fleeting recognition from there.
However, she took a lot of connections and experience from those few weeks of filming and, when someone suggested she try acting or modeling somewhere, she decided why not. This was an entire movement in her life—made for trying new, crazy things—and her mom modeled, so she could give it a try too!
Since then, Camila's been slowly building up an image and reputation as an entertainer in South Korea—doing modeling, more talk variety and in-home reality shows, and auditioning for acting roles. Though she and her girlfriend eventually broke up about a year and a half post-move, they still remain good friends and she owes her a lot.
charlotte
smythe
Starting out, Charlotte was the new girl in town. Her family—mom, dad, a little brother, a grandmother—moved to town, and the country, in her junior year because of her dad's job. Unlike most cliche new kids, it didn't take Jess long to fit in and find friends; in fact, she was popular within the first month. The face, the twinkling laughter, the "exotic" English accent that drew people in were only bolstered by the friendly personality, the intelligence, and the artistic skill—she would happily draw portrait sketches of those who asked. Char was happy upon the big move, but she had big city—big world—dreams and wanted nothing more than to travel and soak up its many cultures as soon as the opportunity presented itself post-graduation. Only, she didn't make it that far—no one did.
Charlotte wasn't invited to the party, obviously. No, of course not, but she was there. She crashed it, her right hand by her side, on a mission to confront Leigh who had been making her life a living hell since they first crossed paths. Leigh didn't like Jess. Jess was more popular than her, and it happened much quicker, too. What Leigh didn't seem to realize was that Charlotte was something she never would be: pleasant. So pleasant, in fact, that she wanted to end their silly rivalry before they (or, at least she) got too busy with graduation prep and college tours, etc. Then the bells came; then she was out like a light, only to wake up completely despondent—a shell of her real self. Bubbly, bright, artsy Charlotte Smythe was silent. She was bleak, only spending time where her family wasn't trying to get her to eat or sleep staring at walls or erratically scribbling dark figures made of deep scratchy lines in her prized sketchbook—the one she'd reserved only for the best, most detailed pieces.
She'd been crushed when she discovered it upon "waking up," all covered in charcoal smudges with pages and pages—some torn—of the eerie drawings. She was also crushed to find that she couldn't leave town to escape her demons—the nightmares and weird fuzzy, color-varied outlines around people that regularly plague her—or go to her dream college across the ocean. She and Leigh were always at odds, which meant she was a prime suspect. So, to avoid being accused of flight and, by association, guilt, Charlotte is stuck in this little town while the investigation goes on.
Charlotte wasn't invited to the party, obviously. No, of course not, but she was there. She crashed it, her right hand by her side, on a mission to confront Leigh who had been making her life a living hell since they first crossed paths. Leigh didn't like Jess. Jess was more popular than her, and it happened much quicker, too. What Leigh didn't seem to realize was that Charlotte was something she never would be: pleasant. So pleasant, in fact, that she wanted to end their silly rivalry before they (or, at least she) got too busy with graduation prep and college tours, etc. Then the bells came; then she was out like a light, only to wake up completely despondent—a shell of her real self. Bubbly, bright, artsy Charlotte Smythe was silent. She was bleak, only spending time where her family wasn't trying to get her to eat or sleep staring at walls or erratically scribbling dark figures made of deep scratchy lines in her prized sketchbook—the one she'd reserved only for the best, most detailed pieces.
She'd been crushed when she discovered it upon "waking up," all covered in charcoal smudges with pages and pages—some torn—of the eerie drawings. She was also crushed to find that she couldn't leave town to escape her demons—the nightmares and weird fuzzy, color-varied outlines around people that regularly plague her—or go to her dream college across the ocean. She and Leigh were always at odds, which meant she was a prime suspect. So, to avoid being accused of flight and, by association, guilt, Charlotte is stuck in this little town while the investigation goes on.
emaline
dawson
Emaline is a rebellious young woman with a penchant for the arts. She is the child of a line of Viscounts presiding in Wales, though her mother entertained the idea of sending her to the much more vibrant London for her season debut since she was young. Emaline always hated the idea of being paraded around and tied down to a man. She'd much more prefer to be free—free to paint, free to sculpt, free to mingle with whoever she wished. With both parents passed in a carriage accident and a fairly lenient brother now in charge, Emaline often cross-dresses and enjoys the city's nightlife in the company of her brothers; especially when she follows them on business trips to London where things are much more interesting. She's happy to offer her best friend her surname if it means her being free to run amok in man's shoes and, more importantly, the other finding security in her own situation.
goldilocks
Despite the bad rep it's always given her among Storybook and Fabletown's oldest and most uptight population, Goldilocks has always been a girl who knows what she wants.
The most comment object of her attention?
Money.
As a child, she grew up poor and as the only caregiver for both herself and her ailing grandmother; so, she would venture out into the woods surrounding their crumbling cottage home to find food, clothing, or money—through any means she could. Be it begging or outright theft, she could always count on her cute face to distract or convince unaware victims so she could return home with enough to be proud of and hold her little family over for the week. When her grandmother eventually died, 12-year-old Goldie was taken in by a pitying, but well-off, passersby.
Her survivalist behavior turned more into the thrill-seeking sort as she poorly handled the grief. And, as she grew into a teenager, this behavior was swiftly backed by the wrong crowds. Her biggest "heist" to date—the "breaking and entering" of the home of the three bears, a well-respected family of werebears to whom she had an unlikely connection—resulted in her being sent to the much harsher real world by her adoptive parents as punishment.
In truth, the famous tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a huge departure from what actually occured. Despite repeated warnings to stay away from each other, a 19-year-old Goldie'd been hanging out with "little bear," her boyfriend at the time, while his parents were supposed to be out for the day. When they returned earlier than expected, he was quick to throw Goldie under the bus so as to not ruin his standing with his respectable parents. It was more believable for the known thief (and, in turn, harlot) to be breaking and entering—a psycho making herself at home in another's—than it was for the well-mannered, upstanding heir of a growing business empire to be breaking rules with the likes of her. The betrayal left her stunned, but she didn't fight being sent away because how could she knowingly stay in the town that seemed hell-bent on hating her?
Now, 4 years on, "Jane 'Goldie' Goldstein" has fully embraced the real world while striving to maintain the wealthy lifestyle her adolescent years had given her a taste of. She never wants to go back to living like her childhood. She's barely found within the safety of the actual Fabletown barriers, preferring to live life as a true New Yorker—day or night. After dating the right people and schmoozing others, she's slowly weaseling her way into the high-profile, paid-to-be-pretty socialite life of D-list celebrity. All the money and glamor without nearly as much of the public scrutiny as top stars.
Despite slight kleptomaniac tendencies (that she's greatly improved on since starting to make her own money. Give her her credit due, thank you very much!), Jane is a social—albiet closed off—person. She loves to be around people and has been known to share what she has with those less fortunate because she knows what it was like being one bad day or tragedy away from starving.
She can be very untrusting of people; especially strangers, but she doesn't care much about what people think about her at the end of the day. She feels like she's earned her keep since being sent out of Storybook and so, she shouldn't be held to the same standard as the kid who was just doing what she needed to survive.
Everything Jane has now, she's gained through her own cunning and hard work. And don't let anyone convince you being a socialite isn't hard work. Nearly every second spent outside of Fabletown is time spent constantly being "on" and pandering to what other people want and enjoy; especially since story-starved papzz are recently obsessed with figuring out where the "mysterious" Jane Goldstein goes when she isn't spotted around her Manhattan haunts.
The most comment object of her attention?
Money.
As a child, she grew up poor and as the only caregiver for both herself and her ailing grandmother; so, she would venture out into the woods surrounding their crumbling cottage home to find food, clothing, or money—through any means she could. Be it begging or outright theft, she could always count on her cute face to distract or convince unaware victims so she could return home with enough to be proud of and hold her little family over for the week. When her grandmother eventually died, 12-year-old Goldie was taken in by a pitying, but well-off, passersby.
Her survivalist behavior turned more into the thrill-seeking sort as she poorly handled the grief. And, as she grew into a teenager, this behavior was swiftly backed by the wrong crowds. Her biggest "heist" to date—the "breaking and entering" of the home of the three bears, a well-respected family of werebears to whom she had an unlikely connection—resulted in her being sent to the much harsher real world by her adoptive parents as punishment.
In truth, the famous tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a huge departure from what actually occured. Despite repeated warnings to stay away from each other, a 19-year-old Goldie'd been hanging out with "little bear," her boyfriend at the time, while his parents were supposed to be out for the day. When they returned earlier than expected, he was quick to throw Goldie under the bus so as to not ruin his standing with his respectable parents. It was more believable for the known thief (and, in turn, harlot) to be breaking and entering—a psycho making herself at home in another's—than it was for the well-mannered, upstanding heir of a growing business empire to be breaking rules with the likes of her. The betrayal left her stunned, but she didn't fight being sent away because how could she knowingly stay in the town that seemed hell-bent on hating her?
Now, 4 years on, "Jane 'Goldie' Goldstein" has fully embraced the real world while striving to maintain the wealthy lifestyle her adolescent years had given her a taste of. She never wants to go back to living like her childhood. She's barely found within the safety of the actual Fabletown barriers, preferring to live life as a true New Yorker—day or night. After dating the right people and schmoozing others, she's slowly weaseling her way into the high-profile, paid-to-be-pretty socialite life of D-list celebrity. All the money and glamor without nearly as much of the public scrutiny as top stars.
Despite slight kleptomaniac tendencies (that she's greatly improved on since starting to make her own money. Give her her credit due, thank you very much!), Jane is a social—albiet closed off—person. She loves to be around people and has been known to share what she has with those less fortunate because she knows what it was like being one bad day or tragedy away from starving.
She can be very untrusting of people; especially strangers, but she doesn't care much about what people think about her at the end of the day. She feels like she's earned her keep since being sent out of Storybook and so, she shouldn't be held to the same standard as the kid who was just doing what she needed to survive.
Everything Jane has now, she's gained through her own cunning and hard work. And don't let anyone convince you being a socialite isn't hard work. Nearly every second spent outside of Fabletown is time spent constantly being "on" and pandering to what other people want and enjoy; especially since story-starved papzz are recently obsessed with figuring out where the "mysterious" Jane Goldstein goes when she isn't spotted around her Manhattan haunts.
gu
haneol
Gu Haneol was born and raised under less than favorable circumstances.
Unaware that she was with child, and fearing worse repercussions, Haneol's mother made no attempts to clear her name when she was accused of the attempted murder of a noble. As such, the little girl would spend the formative years of her life in prison for a crime that her mother, and certainly she, didn't commit. The girl, playfully dubbed the prison's daughter, lived sheltered and unaware of the misfortunes of her life until many years later. Leading up to then was the arrival of the waeji-bu. Seeking to provide her mother with the freedom she rightfully deserved, the waeji-bu, a private litigation system working to liberate the wrongfully accused, started visiting their cell regularly. Unfortunately, Haneol's mother fell ill before her name could be cleared and she died in her cell, never to see the sun again.
Haneol was six-years-old at this time and unable to fend for herself so, one of the waeji-bu agents, Gu Chin-Hae, took her in as his own. She was too young at the time to realize the gravity of the situation, only knowing that her mother was dead and that she was now under Teacher Gu's care. She only found out that her mother had been imprisoned, and wrongfully so, when she was 9 years old. Since then, Haneol has been trained to become a waeji-bu member herself. She has yet to get out there and officially liberate anybody from legitimate accusations, but she spends her days getting plenty of practice by intervening whenever she spots everyday injustices around the village.
Due to living almost her entire childhood in prison as the lowest of the low, Haneol has no idea what class she truly belongs to. At such a young age, she never had to mind to ask her mother and the woman never freely volunteered the information either. So, as long as she's been old enough to understand caste systems, it's always bothered her. Teacher Gu regularly tells her to stop obsessing over such trivial things, but Haneol's place in society is always on her mind. Aside from liberating the poor from unfair upperclass law, Haneol spends her time trying to understand herorigins.
Unaware that she was with child, and fearing worse repercussions, Haneol's mother made no attempts to clear her name when she was accused of the attempted murder of a noble. As such, the little girl would spend the formative years of her life in prison for a crime that her mother, and certainly she, didn't commit. The girl, playfully dubbed the prison's daughter, lived sheltered and unaware of the misfortunes of her life until many years later. Leading up to then was the arrival of the waeji-bu. Seeking to provide her mother with the freedom she rightfully deserved, the waeji-bu, a private litigation system working to liberate the wrongfully accused, started visiting their cell regularly. Unfortunately, Haneol's mother fell ill before her name could be cleared and she died in her cell, never to see the sun again.
Haneol was six-years-old at this time and unable to fend for herself so, one of the waeji-bu agents, Gu Chin-Hae, took her in as his own. She was too young at the time to realize the gravity of the situation, only knowing that her mother was dead and that she was now under Teacher Gu's care. She only found out that her mother had been imprisoned, and wrongfully so, when she was 9 years old. Since then, Haneol has been trained to become a waeji-bu member herself. She has yet to get out there and officially liberate anybody from legitimate accusations, but she spends her days getting plenty of practice by intervening whenever she spots everyday injustices around the village.
Due to living almost her entire childhood in prison as the lowest of the low, Haneol has no idea what class she truly belongs to. At such a young age, she never had to mind to ask her mother and the woman never freely volunteered the information either. So, as long as she's been old enough to understand caste systems, it's always bothered her. Teacher Gu regularly tells her to stop obsessing over such trivial things, but Haneol's place in society is always on her mind. Aside from liberating the poor from unfair upperclass law, Haneol spends her time trying to understand herorigins.
ha
sora
Ha Sora was born in Yeosu-si, Busan as the second daughter to traditional etiquette teacher, Ha Beom-su, and classical pianist, Heo Dambi. She grew up on a family farm/etiquette school that helped employ a few of the village's residents so it was always a warm, community-oriented upbringing for her.
In the mornings, she and her sister, Soeun, would recieve lessons from their father in etiquette before heading to the local school that taught only half the day. This allowed for children to go home and help with their family farms and/or businesses. For Sora and Soeun, this meant any combination of sitting in on classes to encourage shy or nervous younger kids, tending to easier-to-handle crops, harvesting, or attending pansoori lessons. It was certainly a busy upbringing but Sora always looks back on it fondly because it was a simple life.
Her dive into the musical niche started with one of these simple pastimes. By the time that they were 12 and 10, the girls had begun performing in their village, and surrounding ones, as a pansori duo with both of them as vocals while Soeun played the buk and Sora played the gayageum. The girls were well recieved and as videos began to make their way around the internet, there was high praise as the South Korean government considers many pansori singers to be "living national treasures." Dubbed the Ha Sisters, they played together at festivals all around the country and even on a major talk/variety show.
As with any duo, though, there was the possibility of one overshadowing the other. Soeun was talented, definitely, but media had a tendency to focus on how the younger Sora could freestyle like a seasoned pro, how she had perfect pitch, and how powerful her voice was despite her age. A mere year and a half after they got their start, Soeun stopped doing traditional music to focus more on her other hobbies. Always feeling guilty for her sister's departure, Sora, eventually stopped doing pansoori professionally.
By the time she graduated high school, Sora was just your average kid that only Yoesu locals reckoned as a celebrity. She had gotten into other musical pursuits and wanted to study music in university. She started with applied music but gayageum just wasn't an option out of loyalty to Soeun, so she turned to the next massive instrument USKB had: the double bass. And, just like with gayageum, Sora was a natural—a prodigy.
She gained a lot of popularity for, not only her skill, but also the often embarrassing sensationalism that surrounded how small she was compared to the instrument. She ended up all over the news—locally and viral among the internet's classical music corners—lwhich has opened the door to a lot of opportunities for Sora; especially after graduation.
For a couple of years, Sora spent time building her brand and making connections. She took on gigs at various functions like galas, weddings, fundraisers, etc. which became her stepping stones into being a full-time freelance musician. After that "break," she re-enrolled in USKB to get another bachelor's in composition and, immediately after, she starter her master's in classical music before graduating in December 2022. No longer a student, Sora spends most of her time preparing for the next job or honing her skills. She also does composition—both song and musical scores—as a way to pay rent and other expenses.
In the mornings, she and her sister, Soeun, would recieve lessons from their father in etiquette before heading to the local school that taught only half the day. This allowed for children to go home and help with their family farms and/or businesses. For Sora and Soeun, this meant any combination of sitting in on classes to encourage shy or nervous younger kids, tending to easier-to-handle crops, harvesting, or attending pansoori lessons. It was certainly a busy upbringing but Sora always looks back on it fondly because it was a simple life.
Her dive into the musical niche started with one of these simple pastimes. By the time that they were 12 and 10, the girls had begun performing in their village, and surrounding ones, as a pansori duo with both of them as vocals while Soeun played the buk and Sora played the gayageum. The girls were well recieved and as videos began to make their way around the internet, there was high praise as the South Korean government considers many pansori singers to be "living national treasures." Dubbed the Ha Sisters, they played together at festivals all around the country and even on a major talk/variety show.
As with any duo, though, there was the possibility of one overshadowing the other. Soeun was talented, definitely, but media had a tendency to focus on how the younger Sora could freestyle like a seasoned pro, how she had perfect pitch, and how powerful her voice was despite her age. A mere year and a half after they got their start, Soeun stopped doing traditional music to focus more on her other hobbies. Always feeling guilty for her sister's departure, Sora, eventually stopped doing pansoori professionally.
By the time she graduated high school, Sora was just your average kid that only Yoesu locals reckoned as a celebrity. She had gotten into other musical pursuits and wanted to study music in university. She started with applied music but gayageum just wasn't an option out of loyalty to Soeun, so she turned to the next massive instrument USKB had: the double bass. And, just like with gayageum, Sora was a natural—a prodigy.
She gained a lot of popularity for, not only her skill, but also the often embarrassing sensationalism that surrounded how small she was compared to the instrument. She ended up all over the news—locally and viral among the internet's classical music corners—lwhich has opened the door to a lot of opportunities for Sora; especially after graduation.
For a couple of years, Sora spent time building her brand and making connections. She took on gigs at various functions like galas, weddings, fundraisers, etc. which became her stepping stones into being a full-time freelance musician. After that "break," she re-enrolled in USKB to get another bachelor's in composition and, immediately after, she starter her master's in classical music before graduating in December 2022. No longer a student, Sora spends most of her time preparing for the next job or honing her skills. She also does composition—both song and musical scores—as a way to pay rent and other expenses.
hong
jinjoo
tw: mentions of teen pregnancy, postpartum depression, abortion, substance abuse. no explicit detail!
In late 1993, an unfortunate girl named Hong Haerim was only 16 when she got pregnant with her first child. The few days after the news broke were a tumultuous time. Her, then, boyfriend was just as young and just as in over his head as she was so he walked out on her and she was left to face her parents alone. After the news broke out, she was kicked out and disowned by her family, forcing her to live on her own between goshiwon and hostels.
Though she grew up very quickly and felt the gravity of the situation, Haerim was steadfast in keeping her baby. She refused abortion and she didn't even entertain the idea of giving the child up for adoption. She'd also had it in her mind from the start that she would have to go about everything alone. The following summer, she gave birth to a little girl that she named Jinjoo.
Taking care of herself and her child proved to be much more difficult than already anticipated between long nights and severe postpartum depression. As her daughter got older, Haerim struggled to provide regular meals and reliable shelter on a daily basis. They often ate just one meal a day or, more often than not, Haerim would even forgo eating altogether so Jinjoo could. The nights when her little girl would cry out of hunger were often the worst and Haerim turned to substance use to numb her feelings and get through the day.
This decision would alter the course of her life and her relationship with her daughter for the worse. By the time that she was 6, Jinjoo grew up fairly quickly as a young girl who often had to take care of herself when her mother was absent or just incapacitated. The young woman would often have violet outbursts and generally made the living situation undesirable. Jinjoo did whatever she could to avoid going home at the end of the day; including spending hours and hours at the local playground—rain or shine.
Even as the she and the kids that lived in the rundown apartment complex aged out of playing on it, this playground acted as an oasis for Jinjoo. It was a place for her to go and be in complete solitude when she was struggling at home or with something at school or anything else that bothered her. And, one day, she wasn't alone. She was shocked to find an unfamiliar boy sitting on her swing. Never one to shy away from strangers, Jinjoo plopped into the swing next to him and initiated conversation.
He was 13, like her. He was new; his mother had moved her and her son out to the more affordable neighborhood after suddenly losing her job but not wanting to relinquish him to his father who lived in Jeju.
The boy was angry, angsty.
And Jinjoo felt like she understood that more than anyone.
The two of them became fast friends and, over the years, something more; even though neither of them really acted on it until after graduation. It was him who confessed first—just before he left to get his military service out of the way. Jinjoo always made sure to visit whenever she could. With a once-in-a-lifetime scholarship to uphold, the visits were less often than she would have liked but they always made up for lost time during his vacations and with lengthy letters detailing the events one another had missed up until the point of sending.
They dated this way for the next two years and they both proposed as soon as he was out, creating a memory that was just as funny years later as it was in the moment. Military connections got him a stable, well-paying job that allowed Jinjoo to focus on finished university; rather than worrying about how they'd get by and she graduated with dual-degrees in English Education and English Language and Literature. And, boosted by a loan, she started a language exchange cafe that they both worked at with the help of volunteer expats. After so many years, things were looking up for the two poor kids that met in the slums.
tw: mentions of pcos, driving under the influence, sudden/accidental death. no explicit detail!
They continued building up a life together and even started family planning when their pets just weren't enough to fill their home. But pregnancy was harder to achieve than anticipated. They tried and tried and tried, but to no avail.
The day that Jinjoo got her PCOS diagnosis is one she would never forget.
While trying to get a hold of her husband who was due home that night, she received a phone call instead. There had been an accident at a nearby bridge.
A hit and run driver. Her family car careening past the guard rails. He was gone.
And Jinjoo felt the Earth open up beneath her feet.
Despite meeting up with her paternal in-laws for the funeral, Jinjoo more or less kept to herself. Some irrational part of her felt like she was destined to be alone and she held onto that belief like her life depended on it because having no one meant there was
no one to lose. Her mother was long gone with the bridge between them burnt ages ago. She didn't know her mother's family; nor did she know her father, let alone his family. And there was no way her in-laws wanted her; she couldn't even give them a grandchild. What loyalty did she deserve from them?
It wasn't until her mother-in-law, fiercely stubborn and accompanied by a couple people to do the heavier lifting, made the journey all the way back to Seoul after months of failed attempts to convince Jihyun to live with them in Yeongwon. They'd begun packing Jihyun's things without much of a word; besides "shut up and eat" after setting up an array of side dishes at her table.
Now, Jihyun's one of the newer faces in Yeongwon—having never had the chance to visit when her husband was alive.
In late 1993, an unfortunate girl named Hong Haerim was only 16 when she got pregnant with her first child. The few days after the news broke were a tumultuous time. Her, then, boyfriend was just as young and just as in over his head as she was so he walked out on her and she was left to face her parents alone. After the news broke out, she was kicked out and disowned by her family, forcing her to live on her own between goshiwon and hostels.
Though she grew up very quickly and felt the gravity of the situation, Haerim was steadfast in keeping her baby. She refused abortion and she didn't even entertain the idea of giving the child up for adoption. She'd also had it in her mind from the start that she would have to go about everything alone. The following summer, she gave birth to a little girl that she named Jinjoo.
Taking care of herself and her child proved to be much more difficult than already anticipated between long nights and severe postpartum depression. As her daughter got older, Haerim struggled to provide regular meals and reliable shelter on a daily basis. They often ate just one meal a day or, more often than not, Haerim would even forgo eating altogether so Jinjoo could. The nights when her little girl would cry out of hunger were often the worst and Haerim turned to substance use to numb her feelings and get through the day.
This decision would alter the course of her life and her relationship with her daughter for the worse. By the time that she was 6, Jinjoo grew up fairly quickly as a young girl who often had to take care of herself when her mother was absent or just incapacitated. The young woman would often have violet outbursts and generally made the living situation undesirable. Jinjoo did whatever she could to avoid going home at the end of the day; including spending hours and hours at the local playground—rain or shine.
Even as the she and the kids that lived in the rundown apartment complex aged out of playing on it, this playground acted as an oasis for Jinjoo. It was a place for her to go and be in complete solitude when she was struggling at home or with something at school or anything else that bothered her. And, one day, she wasn't alone. She was shocked to find an unfamiliar boy sitting on her swing. Never one to shy away from strangers, Jinjoo plopped into the swing next to him and initiated conversation.
He was 13, like her. He was new; his mother had moved her and her son out to the more affordable neighborhood after suddenly losing her job but not wanting to relinquish him to his father who lived in Jeju.
The boy was angry, angsty.
And Jinjoo felt like she understood that more than anyone.
The two of them became fast friends and, over the years, something more; even though neither of them really acted on it until after graduation. It was him who confessed first—just before he left to get his military service out of the way. Jinjoo always made sure to visit whenever she could. With a once-in-a-lifetime scholarship to uphold, the visits were less often than she would have liked but they always made up for lost time during his vacations and with lengthy letters detailing the events one another had missed up until the point of sending.
They dated this way for the next two years and they both proposed as soon as he was out, creating a memory that was just as funny years later as it was in the moment. Military connections got him a stable, well-paying job that allowed Jinjoo to focus on finished university; rather than worrying about how they'd get by and she graduated with dual-degrees in English Education and English Language and Literature. And, boosted by a loan, she started a language exchange cafe that they both worked at with the help of volunteer expats. After so many years, things were looking up for the two poor kids that met in the slums.
tw: mentions of pcos, driving under the influence, sudden/accidental death. no explicit detail!
They continued building up a life together and even started family planning when their pets just weren't enough to fill their home. But pregnancy was harder to achieve than anticipated. They tried and tried and tried, but to no avail.
The day that Jinjoo got her PCOS diagnosis is one she would never forget.
While trying to get a hold of her husband who was due home that night, she received a phone call instead. There had been an accident at a nearby bridge.
A hit and run driver. Her family car careening past the guard rails. He was gone.
And Jinjoo felt the Earth open up beneath her feet.
Despite meeting up with her paternal in-laws for the funeral, Jinjoo more or less kept to herself. Some irrational part of her felt like she was destined to be alone and she held onto that belief like her life depended on it because having no one meant there was
no one to lose. Her mother was long gone with the bridge between them burnt ages ago. She didn't know her mother's family; nor did she know her father, let alone his family. And there was no way her in-laws wanted her; she couldn't even give them a grandchild. What loyalty did she deserve from them?
It wasn't until her mother-in-law, fiercely stubborn and accompanied by a couple people to do the heavier lifting, made the journey all the way back to Seoul after months of failed attempts to convince Jihyun to live with them in Yeongwon. They'd begun packing Jihyun's things without much of a word; besides "shut up and eat" after setting up an array of side dishes at her table.
Now, Jihyun's one of the newer faces in Yeongwon—having never had the chance to visit when her husband was alive.
hyunjae
lee
On April 2nd, 2001, the Lees gave birth to a healthy baby boy and they couldn't have asked for more. Things were going swimmingly for the little family until around the 8 month mark. At that point, their baby that had never been sick became horribly ill. After months of struggling with their little boy's health, the Lees realized that his failing health was connected to an allergy to iron and steel. Without question, the two new parents made sure to get rid of all of the iron and steel they owned. The things that couldn't be disposed of were simply kept out of the little Hyunjae's reach.
Hyunjae's allergy wasn't the only odd thing about him. He had strangely pale skin, but doctors assured his parents that there was nothing wrong. His eyes were a bright green, despite the fact that he'd been born with brown ones. The doctors cited it as a minor mutation. Every oddity that the boy boasted was debunked in some way or the other and his parents simply accepted them, loving their son too much to notice the red flags.
Had they known a thing or two about faeries, the Lees would have realized the possiblity of their baby being a changeling: a faerie replacement for their stolen son. But, they were none the wiser and went on to raise the faerie boy as their own. Typically, changeling babies die rather soon after being swapped, but Hyunjae was unusually strong. Perhaps it was the unconditional love of his parents that defied the odds and saw him into a strong young man.
Growing up, Hyunjae had a tough time in human world—especially in school. In his younger years, he was often made fun of for his sickly appearance. Throughout his entire school career, most subjects proved to be extremely hard for his brain that's wired to read fae languages. He eventually dropped out of high school in 10th grade without telling his parents. He would make up stories and fashion report cards himself to keep up appearances. And, during the day, he would make the walk from his house to the bus stop and take a detour into the woods. He often hung out there, playing on his nintendo ds, napping, snacking on his packed lunch, and interacting with the creatures that would occasionally come out to greet him until it was time to return home.
Eventually though, he got sloppy and was caught by his dad. The man was livid but mostly because he hadn't consulted them before making such a huge decision. After a lengthy discussion, the Lees decided to let their son stay out of school as long as he found a job. Hyunjae ended up working in the mines. It was grueling work, but he found an unlikely friend in a strange-looking creature with a extra-long finger that always pointed him in the direction of good digging spots.
Today, Hyunjae still works in the mines, but he's not exactly sure if that's what he wants to be doing for the rest of his life. He's not sure about anything, honestly; including who he is as a person. He'd always felt a bit strange around other people, typically finding comfort among nature and the weird creatures that he's sure are his diseased imagination. He knows he's not the smartest guy out there, so he chalks up all fae sightings to some sort of mental issues that he's better off not disclosing.
Hyunjae's allergy wasn't the only odd thing about him. He had strangely pale skin, but doctors assured his parents that there was nothing wrong. His eyes were a bright green, despite the fact that he'd been born with brown ones. The doctors cited it as a minor mutation. Every oddity that the boy boasted was debunked in some way or the other and his parents simply accepted them, loving their son too much to notice the red flags.
Had they known a thing or two about faeries, the Lees would have realized the possiblity of their baby being a changeling: a faerie replacement for their stolen son. But, they were none the wiser and went on to raise the faerie boy as their own. Typically, changeling babies die rather soon after being swapped, but Hyunjae was unusually strong. Perhaps it was the unconditional love of his parents that defied the odds and saw him into a strong young man.
Growing up, Hyunjae had a tough time in human world—especially in school. In his younger years, he was often made fun of for his sickly appearance. Throughout his entire school career, most subjects proved to be extremely hard for his brain that's wired to read fae languages. He eventually dropped out of high school in 10th grade without telling his parents. He would make up stories and fashion report cards himself to keep up appearances. And, during the day, he would make the walk from his house to the bus stop and take a detour into the woods. He often hung out there, playing on his nintendo ds, napping, snacking on his packed lunch, and interacting with the creatures that would occasionally come out to greet him until it was time to return home.
Eventually though, he got sloppy and was caught by his dad. The man was livid but mostly because he hadn't consulted them before making such a huge decision. After a lengthy discussion, the Lees decided to let their son stay out of school as long as he found a job. Hyunjae ended up working in the mines. It was grueling work, but he found an unlikely friend in a strange-looking creature with a extra-long finger that always pointed him in the direction of good digging spots.
Today, Hyunjae still works in the mines, but he's not exactly sure if that's what he wants to be doing for the rest of his life. He's not sure about anything, honestly; including who he is as a person. He'd always felt a bit strange around other people, typically finding comfort among nature and the weird creatures that he's sure are his diseased imagination. He knows he's not the smartest guy out there, so he chalks up all fae sightings to some sort of mental issues that he's better off not disclosing.
ira
She wasn't always a princess of the Underworld.
No, the relatively young princess Wrath was once a human, living over a millenium ago until she met her early, wrongful end.
Some time in the 1880s, Ira was 17-year-old Rang: a sangmin class girl who was taken from her family to be apart of the crown prince's harem. Headstrong and discontent with the treatment she recieved from both the other girls and some higher-status servants, Rang resolved to work her way through the ranks and become the crown princess. And she was successful. After a week's worth of nights with the crown prince, the two of them fell in love and it was enough to boost her to the 1st rank concubine—kickstarting her mission and giving her a more certain space in the harem. She had her ups and downs and her brushes with death as jealous concubines and others seeking their own high-ranks tried to bring her down. Being in her beloved's good graces and her own stubborn ways and tactfulness kept her alive long enough to have a son and see him to his 5th year. Then came the winter after her 23rd birthday. It was both a frigid and uncertain time as the kingdom faced war with another dynasty and treacherous officials who sought out their own rise to power took advantage of the chaos and staged a coup. It was ultimately unsuccessful, with allies intervening before any detrimental harm could be done, but Rang witnessed the death of several beloved imperial family members and equally loved palace staff and court members. She was hurt. She was angry—unimaginably so—but she had the clarity of mind to throw herself in the path of a blade to save the grand heir.
At the same time, the former prince Wrath was dying in concurrent war raging in the underworld; and there was no reset or afterlife for a dying sin. The spot needed to be filled quickly and, of the countless humans dying at the time, Rang's dying anger put her in the perfect condition to take over as Wrath. Within months, she was born as the newest child of the king and queen of the Hell and named Ira—a rapidly-growing little girl with memories of her past life presenting themselves as beautiful dreams and soul-wrenching nightmares.
No, the relatively young princess Wrath was once a human, living over a millenium ago until she met her early, wrongful end.
Some time in the 1880s, Ira was 17-year-old Rang: a sangmin class girl who was taken from her family to be apart of the crown prince's harem. Headstrong and discontent with the treatment she recieved from both the other girls and some higher-status servants, Rang resolved to work her way through the ranks and become the crown princess. And she was successful. After a week's worth of nights with the crown prince, the two of them fell in love and it was enough to boost her to the 1st rank concubine—kickstarting her mission and giving her a more certain space in the harem. She had her ups and downs and her brushes with death as jealous concubines and others seeking their own high-ranks tried to bring her down. Being in her beloved's good graces and her own stubborn ways and tactfulness kept her alive long enough to have a son and see him to his 5th year. Then came the winter after her 23rd birthday. It was both a frigid and uncertain time as the kingdom faced war with another dynasty and treacherous officials who sought out their own rise to power took advantage of the chaos and staged a coup. It was ultimately unsuccessful, with allies intervening before any detrimental harm could be done, but Rang witnessed the death of several beloved imperial family members and equally loved palace staff and court members. She was hurt. She was angry—unimaginably so—but she had the clarity of mind to throw herself in the path of a blade to save the grand heir.
At the same time, the former prince Wrath was dying in concurrent war raging in the underworld; and there was no reset or afterlife for a dying sin. The spot needed to be filled quickly and, of the countless humans dying at the time, Rang's dying anger put her in the perfect condition to take over as Wrath. Within months, she was born as the newest child of the king and queen of the Hell and named Ira—a rapidly-growing little girl with memories of her past life presenting themselves as beautiful dreams and soul-wrenching nightmares.
isabella
singer
9-year-old Isabella, granddaughter to the author of the unpublished "Guide to Limen Fae", Rowan Fine, went missing while spending her summer vacation at her grandparents' house.
On the day of her disappearance, her grandparents and a small search party of neighbors searched for her frantically. Her parents would join in on the search the next day when they got into town and it continued in the months following. Her Grandfather, died about a year later, having never found his dear granddaughter, but he didn't die without hope.
Isa's parents gave up the active search after two years, but they're still hopeful and currently live in Fine Manor 13 years later in hopes of their daughter returning one day. At the same time, Isabella has enjoyed the past few days among benevolent and mystifying creatures—especially the Erkling who's been so kind to her. And nobody needs to worry because she left a note!
Isabella only realizes how startlingly wrong she is when she stumbles back into the real world and finds herself much older than the day she stepped away.
On the day of her disappearance, her grandparents and a small search party of neighbors searched for her frantically. Her parents would join in on the search the next day when they got into town and it continued in the months following. Her Grandfather, died about a year later, having never found his dear granddaughter, but he didn't die without hope.
Isa's parents gave up the active search after two years, but they're still hopeful and currently live in Fine Manor 13 years later in hopes of their daughter returning one day. At the same time, Isabella has enjoyed the past few days among benevolent and mystifying creatures—especially the Erkling who's been so kind to her. And nobody needs to worry because she left a note!
Isabella only realizes how startlingly wrong she is when she stumbles back into the real world and finds herself much older than the day she stepped away.
ito
anri
Anri was born in Kyoto, Japan, to a seemingly happy family. With both parents and a couple of dogs, Anri was happy with her situation and she assumed her parents were too. The occasional, but massive, arguments they would have were just thought of as normal - something everyone's parents did until the day they announced their divorce. Anri had always heard about how much a parental divorce would impact her life from friends in similar situations, so during the entire process, she was anxious and even went as far as to beg her parents to try and stay together. However, this was all in vain and once the divorce was finalized, Anri and her father moved back to his hometown in the countryside.
Initially, the move proved to be very hard on Anri. She missed her friends and her dad began drinking himself into nightly comas. She always counted her blessings for the latter though, since he could have been a violent drunk. Still, it affected her negatively. She felt herself growing very withdrawn and was just going through the daily motions until her counselor suggested she join a club. After looking through her options, she decided to join the school's track and field team. At first, she didn't expect much from it - it was just a way to leave the house earlier in the morning and arrive later, but it ended up having a huge impact on her. Anri ended up being the star runner of the team, winning them countless races over the next few seasons. In high school, her coach saw her high potential for being a professional athlete after she got her team a triathlon win and suggested that Anri begin to get legitimate training.
As such, she began being groomed to debut as an Olympian. However, before all of this could come into fruition, Anri got injured. On an bonding trip with her pre-debut team, a few of them decided to have a race through the mountainous area surrounding their camp. She lost her footing on uneven ground and ended up at the bottom of a hill. Along with various scrapes and bruises from the way down, she broke her leg which put her out of commission for months. At that time, she relied on a lot of medications: pain-killers, anti-depressants, and antibiotics to fight osteomyelitis. Luckily, the break had been clean and it was able to heal nicely; however, news of her medications was construed and twisted to make it seem like she'd developed a drug addiction. Things spiraled out of control and before she could blink, Anri's career was over. Bye bye sponsors and bye bye Olympics.
Always optimistic, or trying to be, Anri didn't let this put her down too much. She was only 19, so she decided to just take the route she'd originally planned before her head was filled with Olympic dreams. She applied for various universities, focusing mostly in Seoul as a hallyu fan and so she could escape the constant stares and whispers in Japan. She eventually got into Yonsei University's Human Ecology department to study Clothing and Textiles. She's finished up her final year and hopes to start her own fashion line but, for now, she works as a junior stylist for a small entertainment compant.
Online, she's most well known as a member of ROA (Representatives of Asia) performance crew and as a major fansite for Yuichi—a former member of major boy group X.Mpire. Even after the group disbanded, she continued to follow his activities until he got into a major scandal that not even the biggest stan could support him through. She closed the fansite promptly and took about half a year hiatus from social media to focus more on her job and ROA. She's since returned to social media, but hasn't opened another fansite yet.
Initially, the move proved to be very hard on Anri. She missed her friends and her dad began drinking himself into nightly comas. She always counted her blessings for the latter though, since he could have been a violent drunk. Still, it affected her negatively. She felt herself growing very withdrawn and was just going through the daily motions until her counselor suggested she join a club. After looking through her options, she decided to join the school's track and field team. At first, she didn't expect much from it - it was just a way to leave the house earlier in the morning and arrive later, but it ended up having a huge impact on her. Anri ended up being the star runner of the team, winning them countless races over the next few seasons. In high school, her coach saw her high potential for being a professional athlete after she got her team a triathlon win and suggested that Anri begin to get legitimate training.
As such, she began being groomed to debut as an Olympian. However, before all of this could come into fruition, Anri got injured. On an bonding trip with her pre-debut team, a few of them decided to have a race through the mountainous area surrounding their camp. She lost her footing on uneven ground and ended up at the bottom of a hill. Along with various scrapes and bruises from the way down, she broke her leg which put her out of commission for months. At that time, she relied on a lot of medications: pain-killers, anti-depressants, and antibiotics to fight osteomyelitis. Luckily, the break had been clean and it was able to heal nicely; however, news of her medications was construed and twisted to make it seem like she'd developed a drug addiction. Things spiraled out of control and before she could blink, Anri's career was over. Bye bye sponsors and bye bye Olympics.
Always optimistic, or trying to be, Anri didn't let this put her down too much. She was only 19, so she decided to just take the route she'd originally planned before her head was filled with Olympic dreams. She applied for various universities, focusing mostly in Seoul as a hallyu fan and so she could escape the constant stares and whispers in Japan. She eventually got into Yonsei University's Human Ecology department to study Clothing and Textiles. She's finished up her final year and hopes to start her own fashion line but, for now, she works as a junior stylist for a small entertainment compant.
Online, she's most well known as a member of ROA (Representatives of Asia) performance crew and as a major fansite for Yuichi—a former member of major boy group X.Mpire. Even after the group disbanded, she continued to follow his activities until he got into a major scandal that not even the biggest stan could support him through. She closed the fansite promptly and took about half a year hiatus from social media to focus more on her job and ROA. She's since returned to social media, but hasn't opened another fansite yet.
jang
sungeun
Sung Eun never had a very stable home life. Her biological parents had been gone from the day she was born since they barely had enough money to support themselves and she spent her formative years in foster care, moving from house to house to house. When she was 7 years old, she was officially adopted by a couple in Lyon, France, the Donadieus, and renamed Stella. With her new mother an opera singer and her dad a composer (following in his own father's footsteps), Stella found a doorway into what would be her lifelong passion.
Despite being busy with their careers, her loving parents were willing to give her anything she wanted, so when she asked for guitar and piano lessons, they readily paid the fees. She also practiced singing and writing short pieces on her own, even though they weren't very good. Stella would go on to write her first and second real songs in middle school when the grandfather she'd come to adore was diagnosed with cancer and, subsequently, died.
In the aftermath of this very difficult year, Stella threw herself fully into music to better herself and hopefully live up to the legacy the man left. She went to a all girls' catholic boarding school that, admittedly, stiffled her a bit. But, she survived it and graduated as the 3rd best of her year. She got into university where she studied Composition. After graduating with her bachelor's, she took a year off to find a much needed break and mental refresh. She did a great deal of traveling in this time, staying weeks or months at a time in London, Hong Kong, Belgium, Switzerland, and Costa Rica.
Towards the end of the break, she moved back to France—to Paris, this time—where she worked in a cafe during the day and played music on the streets at night. After this "year" that grew into closer to a year and a half, she decided to try her hand and playing music professionally and put herself out there before several labels. She got lucky in auditioning for Indigo, a company that was looking to replace the keyboardist they'd put into dual-company band ReNu. While training that year with Indigo, Stella also began working towards her master's in Music Education at Conservatoire de Paris.
Eventually, Stella officially debuted with ReNu after standing as a major presence on their joint unofficial YouTube channel. When the leader eventually left the group, Stella was appointed his successor. Over time, however, ReNu ended up on a constant hiatus and struggling with differing levels of enthusiasm for the group. Members left one by one until it was just Stella and Young K. Essentially musical soulmates, the two left Onyx together to pursue a passion project they'd been working on in their down time. After touring locally as an unsigned/unnamed duo (unofficially going by Youngsung), with Stella releasing a few independent singles in between, they were shown interest from SL Entertainment. Though wary of another pop forward label, Stella agreed to sign. Now Youngsung go by Rêver and are preparing for their debut but, in the meantime, Stella continues to work on music and her online presence with the fans that have stuck around despite everything.
Despite being busy with their careers, her loving parents were willing to give her anything she wanted, so when she asked for guitar and piano lessons, they readily paid the fees. She also practiced singing and writing short pieces on her own, even though they weren't very good. Stella would go on to write her first and second real songs in middle school when the grandfather she'd come to adore was diagnosed with cancer and, subsequently, died.
In the aftermath of this very difficult year, Stella threw herself fully into music to better herself and hopefully live up to the legacy the man left. She went to a all girls' catholic boarding school that, admittedly, stiffled her a bit. But, she survived it and graduated as the 3rd best of her year. She got into university where she studied Composition. After graduating with her bachelor's, she took a year off to find a much needed break and mental refresh. She did a great deal of traveling in this time, staying weeks or months at a time in London, Hong Kong, Belgium, Switzerland, and Costa Rica.
Towards the end of the break, she moved back to France—to Paris, this time—where she worked in a cafe during the day and played music on the streets at night. After this "year" that grew into closer to a year and a half, she decided to try her hand and playing music professionally and put herself out there before several labels. She got lucky in auditioning for Indigo, a company that was looking to replace the keyboardist they'd put into dual-company band ReNu. While training that year with Indigo, Stella also began working towards her master's in Music Education at Conservatoire de Paris.
Eventually, Stella officially debuted with ReNu after standing as a major presence on their joint unofficial YouTube channel. When the leader eventually left the group, Stella was appointed his successor. Over time, however, ReNu ended up on a constant hiatus and struggling with differing levels of enthusiasm for the group. Members left one by one until it was just Stella and Young K. Essentially musical soulmates, the two left Onyx together to pursue a passion project they'd been working on in their down time. After touring locally as an unsigned/unnamed duo (unofficially going by Youngsung), with Stella releasing a few independent singles in between, they were shown interest from SL Entertainment. Though wary of another pop forward label, Stella agreed to sign. Now Youngsung go by Rêver and are preparing for their debut but, in the meantime, Stella continues to work on music and her online presence with the fans that have stuck around despite everything.
jung
inkyu
tw: brief mentions of suggested abortion, drug use
Jung Inkyu comes from a very affluent family in Hannam-dong, but he never had the chance to know of, or experience, that lifestyle. Inkyu's parents were a classic case of star-crossed lovers in that his mother came from riches while his dad was living tiny paycheck to tiny paycheck in Itaewon-dong. The two of them met at one of the latter district's famous Halloween parties, fell in love, and found themselves with a child on the way at only 18 and 22. To say that the breaking of the news to Inkyu's maternal grandparents went badly would be a gross understatement. They told his mother to abort the unborn baby, but she refused, choosing to live with her boyfriend instead.
The couple never did get married—it was too expensive, and they were only living on one paycheck. And it may be considered fortunate because they got a true taste of one another while living under the same roof, argued endlessly, and split before the baby boy was even two years old. Inkyu's father was left on his own with a toddler while his mother ran back to her family. The man worked two part-time jobs but also found himself involved with drugs in an effort to cope with the stresses in his life. Then, things fell apart completely out of his favor when he was arrested on drug charges; that left Inkyu to live on his own starting at 10 since no one knew he existed. He became a kid of the streets, often breaking into his old, otherwise abandoned apartment for a place to sleep and scamming people out of their money to be able to afford one meal every day.
Even after he was discovered on the streets and put into an orphanage, Inkyu continued this lifestyle because it was all he knew and it was where he was comfortable. He didn't like getting help from others, nor did he trust them enough to touch them with a 10-foot pole. By the time that Inkyu was in middle school, he'd started to get involved with some really unsavory company and, by the time he was in high school, he was a full-fledged member of one of the area's top gangs. Inkyu lived like this for years, well into his twenties, until their HQ was bombed at the height of a major turf war. This led to the death of more than half of his crew—including their leader—and to him spending months recovering in a hospital bed.
Then, once he was deemed healthy and rehabilitated enough to be discharged, he was thrown into jail and served five years—a shortened sentence granted on good behavior. Once he was discharged, Inkyu got out of that life, even as the crew rebuilt itself and continued on in the shadows. Seeking a new avenue for himself as a new man, he went to various one-day classes and the one he found the greatest interest in was cooking. He took to it naturally and sought out more.
After a few, more-structured courses and earned certificates, Inkyu decided that he would open a hand-cut noodle shop named after the goddess of the hearth, or the center of the home: Jowangshin. Fully dedicated to the idea, he worked like a dog for a couple of years to save money and build his credit to be able to afford the venture because no one would give a loan to a former criminal.
The restaurant's name suggests that it would be more than just a passion project; more than just some random noodle shop on some random street corner. It would be a home and a place for rehabilitation for other ex-criminals and kids down on their luck trying to set their lives straight. So, in a world that isn't too kind to those living in the underworld, Inkyu decided he would be and even funds the move to Yeongwon for employees that need it.
The decision to ultimately set up shop in Yeongwon wasn't a random one; instead, it was born from the combination of distant memories of sparse visits to his paternal grandparents' house and a deep-seeded need to get away from Seoul. It's been so long since he's been in Yeongwon, however, so everything is simultaneously familiar and entirely new. With Jowangshin officially opening its doors in May (and Inkyu being a permanent resident since March), things are still fresh but he's hoping the restaurant's mission will reach all the troubled ones who need it.
Jung Inkyu comes from a very affluent family in Hannam-dong, but he never had the chance to know of, or experience, that lifestyle. Inkyu's parents were a classic case of star-crossed lovers in that his mother came from riches while his dad was living tiny paycheck to tiny paycheck in Itaewon-dong. The two of them met at one of the latter district's famous Halloween parties, fell in love, and found themselves with a child on the way at only 18 and 22. To say that the breaking of the news to Inkyu's maternal grandparents went badly would be a gross understatement. They told his mother to abort the unborn baby, but she refused, choosing to live with her boyfriend instead.
The couple never did get married—it was too expensive, and they were only living on one paycheck. And it may be considered fortunate because they got a true taste of one another while living under the same roof, argued endlessly, and split before the baby boy was even two years old. Inkyu's father was left on his own with a toddler while his mother ran back to her family. The man worked two part-time jobs but also found himself involved with drugs in an effort to cope with the stresses in his life. Then, things fell apart completely out of his favor when he was arrested on drug charges; that left Inkyu to live on his own starting at 10 since no one knew he existed. He became a kid of the streets, often breaking into his old, otherwise abandoned apartment for a place to sleep and scamming people out of their money to be able to afford one meal every day.
Even after he was discovered on the streets and put into an orphanage, Inkyu continued this lifestyle because it was all he knew and it was where he was comfortable. He didn't like getting help from others, nor did he trust them enough to touch them with a 10-foot pole. By the time that Inkyu was in middle school, he'd started to get involved with some really unsavory company and, by the time he was in high school, he was a full-fledged member of one of the area's top gangs. Inkyu lived like this for years, well into his twenties, until their HQ was bombed at the height of a major turf war. This led to the death of more than half of his crew—including their leader—and to him spending months recovering in a hospital bed.
Then, once he was deemed healthy and rehabilitated enough to be discharged, he was thrown into jail and served five years—a shortened sentence granted on good behavior. Once he was discharged, Inkyu got out of that life, even as the crew rebuilt itself and continued on in the shadows. Seeking a new avenue for himself as a new man, he went to various one-day classes and the one he found the greatest interest in was cooking. He took to it naturally and sought out more.
After a few, more-structured courses and earned certificates, Inkyu decided that he would open a hand-cut noodle shop named after the goddess of the hearth, or the center of the home: Jowangshin. Fully dedicated to the idea, he worked like a dog for a couple of years to save money and build his credit to be able to afford the venture because no one would give a loan to a former criminal.
The restaurant's name suggests that it would be more than just a passion project; more than just some random noodle shop on some random street corner. It would be a home and a place for rehabilitation for other ex-criminals and kids down on their luck trying to set their lives straight. So, in a world that isn't too kind to those living in the underworld, Inkyu decided he would be and even funds the move to Yeongwon for employees that need it.
The decision to ultimately set up shop in Yeongwon wasn't a random one; instead, it was born from the combination of distant memories of sparse visits to his paternal grandparents' house and a deep-seeded need to get away from Seoul. It's been so long since he's been in Yeongwon, however, so everything is simultaneously familiar and entirely new. With Jowangshin officially opening its doors in May (and Inkyu being a permanent resident since March), things are still fresh but he's hoping the restaurant's mission will reach all the troubled ones who need it.
kevin
koo
Kevin Koo was born in the summer of 1990 in the suburbs of New York city in your run-of-the-mill nuclear family: two parents, an older brother, a dog. By the time that he was in middle school, his parents' dream restaurant was wildly successful so they had little time to spend with their kids. With his parents focused on their own dreams, Kevin and his brother were left to their own devices more often than not.
Needing some sort of outlet, Kevin turned to music. Even to this day, he can vividly describe the day he bought his first guitar from the second-hand shop in his neighborhood. It was completely unplanned and he only had 15 bucks in his pocket, but the old Gibson in the window called to him. He managed to talk the familiar old man down from $30.
From that day, Kevin taught himself how to play and from there, a love was sparked. Kevin would spend hours upon hours of his free time holed up in his family's attic writing, practicing, and trying to get his name out there. Whether it was through grainy YouTube videos or playing the streets in the city on Friday nights, he was hard at work. But he never caught that big break. It was a little disheartening, but he sucked it up and demoted music to just a hobby. Everything happens for a reason, after all.
Instead of doing music full time after high school, Kevin decided to focus on something a little more practical for his future. He got his Bachelor's in finance, in just three years thanks to dual enrollment, and found a job in investment banking as an analyst. It was an okay job that sated him for five or so years, but he grew antsy and eventually quit. Then, he took it one step further and, without much of a plan, he moved to South Korea. It was an effort to get in touch with his roots, be around family that he rarely saw, but he also figured that the American music scene just wasn't for him.
In Seoul, Kevin did pretty much everything that didn't involve being signed: lowkey cafe sets, busking, the occasional event gig. It was great! The most fun he'd had in years, but it didn't pay enough, even combined with the English tutoring he did. He was living pretty low for three years before he decided to get realistic for the second time in his life. He bit the proverbial bullet and decided to get a more secure income source as a manager.
Music-making is back to a hobby, but he doesn't mind it so much. He's still involved in the industry and the managerial job gives him more connections than ever. The way he sees it, he's still fairly young. It's not like he's trying to be a dancing, fan-servicing idol. He just wants to make music! The first time he gave up, his brother told him he'd make it big one day. Eventually, while building his connections and funds as a manager, he started a band called Saoirse with a few friends.
When Stella and Young K, two of the artists he found himself really close to while working together, decided to leave the company they'd been with, he went with them. He supported them during their independent stint, also using the opportunity to promote underground alongside them with Saoirse. When they decided to re-sign with a company, it was only natural that he also followed them to SL.
Needing some sort of outlet, Kevin turned to music. Even to this day, he can vividly describe the day he bought his first guitar from the second-hand shop in his neighborhood. It was completely unplanned and he only had 15 bucks in his pocket, but the old Gibson in the window called to him. He managed to talk the familiar old man down from $30.
From that day, Kevin taught himself how to play and from there, a love was sparked. Kevin would spend hours upon hours of his free time holed up in his family's attic writing, practicing, and trying to get his name out there. Whether it was through grainy YouTube videos or playing the streets in the city on Friday nights, he was hard at work. But he never caught that big break. It was a little disheartening, but he sucked it up and demoted music to just a hobby. Everything happens for a reason, after all.
Instead of doing music full time after high school, Kevin decided to focus on something a little more practical for his future. He got his Bachelor's in finance, in just three years thanks to dual enrollment, and found a job in investment banking as an analyst. It was an okay job that sated him for five or so years, but he grew antsy and eventually quit. Then, he took it one step further and, without much of a plan, he moved to South Korea. It was an effort to get in touch with his roots, be around family that he rarely saw, but he also figured that the American music scene just wasn't for him.
In Seoul, Kevin did pretty much everything that didn't involve being signed: lowkey cafe sets, busking, the occasional event gig. It was great! The most fun he'd had in years, but it didn't pay enough, even combined with the English tutoring he did. He was living pretty low for three years before he decided to get realistic for the second time in his life. He bit the proverbial bullet and decided to get a more secure income source as a manager.
Music-making is back to a hobby, but he doesn't mind it so much. He's still involved in the industry and the managerial job gives him more connections than ever. The way he sees it, he's still fairly young. It's not like he's trying to be a dancing, fan-servicing idol. He just wants to make music! The first time he gave up, his brother told him he'd make it big one day. Eventually, while building his connections and funds as a manager, he started a band called Saoirse with a few friends.
When Stella and Young K, two of the artists he found himself really close to while working together, decided to leave the company they'd been with, he went with them. He supported them during their independent stint, also using the opportunity to promote underground alongside them with Saoirse. When they decided to re-sign with a company, it was only natural that he also followed them to SL.
khayr
lheesa
Kylie Wainwright was born Khayr Lesha Beketaten, the youngest daughter of 7 children, to the King and Queen of the island kingdom of Sénati. With 4 older brothers and 3 older sisters, it was unspoken that her role in the family would simply be to maintain their image—not that it was an impossible task. The Sénati ruling family were kind, benevolent, and always ruled with their peoples' best interests at heart. Despite having a trained army, they were a peaceful people by default.
Then came the war. A nearby kingdom, seeking to expand its rule, came for Sénati with all they had, but the kingdoms were evenly matched. There was equal loss on both sides and the war continued as a stalemate for upwards of 7 years until they had a peace summit on neutral land that lie between the two kingdoms. After 5 days, the summit came to a peaceful conclusion, with the two kingdoms deciding to set aside their differences and be allies. To ensure this peace and the strength of the alliance, there was a trading of envoys—sending an important figure from each family to live and act as a diplomatic representative. At just 17, and with no promising marriage prospects because of her own vehement sabotage, Khayr would be the envoy from Sénati.
[tw: mentions of loss of pregnancy, kidnapping, abuse]
Khayr took her position as envoy seriously, but she struggled to adjust to her new home of Fallrath. After some months, though, she found a good friend in her handmaiden, as well as the 2nd prince. The latter relationship soon blossomed into more and they were wed by the time that she was 19. With Khayr Lesha being a bit more difficult to pronounce with unfamiliar tongues, she had long since adopted the nickname of "Kylie" and, upon marriage, donned the surname Wainwright. Kylie and her husband were fortunate enough that a quick relationship didn't mean poor dynamic. They were happy and soon welcoming their first child.
Then, disaster struck—seemingly all at once. A band of scorned pirates lay siege on Fallrath during a gathering that marked the royal family and its courtiers as sitting ducks. They killed and kidnapped as many as they could, including Kylie. For months and months, the young woman sat a prisoner in the ship's brig—enduring harsh interrogation and surviving on little more than bread and water, despite eating for two. A strike to the head during the siege had left her without memory of much of her life. Besides her nickname and a few lesser important things, she knew one thing: she was to be a mother and she should do everything in her power to keep her child safe. Kylie prayed to the deity Bes every single night to ensure a healthy child. But, her prayers fell on deaf ears as she lost the babe before being able to make it to full term. When she was no longer pregnant and slow, the pirate captain was quick to force her into performing manual labor around the ship and, if she was tired or too emotionally burdened, she would be lashed.
She was only saved when a vigilante pirate ship happened to attack for their own vendettas against the brutish captain. She and the only other surviving prisoner were onboarded despite their hesitance, but they soon realized that they were in good hands. On this ship, Kylie learned to swordfight, she learned to smile and laugh again, and she had a home for the first time in years. She stuck with the vigilantes until her 24th year, after nearly 5 summers of traveling the world and soaking up other cultures in a way she'd never been able to in her entire life. It was a natural parting and the vigilante captain agreed to get her set up with a life in Alryn where he'd made a few great comrades. She was given a healthy sum of gold and an empty building to do whatever she wanted. Over the next handful of years, she used it to fashion and run the inn and tavern that lies at the heart of Alryn.
Then came the war. A nearby kingdom, seeking to expand its rule, came for Sénati with all they had, but the kingdoms were evenly matched. There was equal loss on both sides and the war continued as a stalemate for upwards of 7 years until they had a peace summit on neutral land that lie between the two kingdoms. After 5 days, the summit came to a peaceful conclusion, with the two kingdoms deciding to set aside their differences and be allies. To ensure this peace and the strength of the alliance, there was a trading of envoys—sending an important figure from each family to live and act as a diplomatic representative. At just 17, and with no promising marriage prospects because of her own vehement sabotage, Khayr would be the envoy from Sénati.
[tw: mentions of loss of pregnancy, kidnapping, abuse]
Khayr took her position as envoy seriously, but she struggled to adjust to her new home of Fallrath. After some months, though, she found a good friend in her handmaiden, as well as the 2nd prince. The latter relationship soon blossomed into more and they were wed by the time that she was 19. With Khayr Lesha being a bit more difficult to pronounce with unfamiliar tongues, she had long since adopted the nickname of "Kylie" and, upon marriage, donned the surname Wainwright. Kylie and her husband were fortunate enough that a quick relationship didn't mean poor dynamic. They were happy and soon welcoming their first child.
Then, disaster struck—seemingly all at once. A band of scorned pirates lay siege on Fallrath during a gathering that marked the royal family and its courtiers as sitting ducks. They killed and kidnapped as many as they could, including Kylie. For months and months, the young woman sat a prisoner in the ship's brig—enduring harsh interrogation and surviving on little more than bread and water, despite eating for two. A strike to the head during the siege had left her without memory of much of her life. Besides her nickname and a few lesser important things, she knew one thing: she was to be a mother and she should do everything in her power to keep her child safe. Kylie prayed to the deity Bes every single night to ensure a healthy child. But, her prayers fell on deaf ears as she lost the babe before being able to make it to full term. When she was no longer pregnant and slow, the pirate captain was quick to force her into performing manual labor around the ship and, if she was tired or too emotionally burdened, she would be lashed.
She was only saved when a vigilante pirate ship happened to attack for their own vendettas against the brutish captain. She and the only other surviving prisoner were onboarded despite their hesitance, but they soon realized that they were in good hands. On this ship, Kylie learned to swordfight, she learned to smile and laugh again, and she had a home for the first time in years. She stuck with the vigilantes until her 24th year, after nearly 5 summers of traveling the world and soaking up other cultures in a way she'd never been able to in her entire life. It was a natural parting and the vigilante captain agreed to get her set up with a life in Alryn where he'd made a few great comrades. She was given a healthy sum of gold and an empty building to do whatever she wanted. Over the next handful of years, she used it to fashion and run the inn and tavern that lies at the heart of Alryn.
kim
miso
trigger warning: mentions of substance abuse with light detail; very briefly implied child abuse (both in first paragraph only)
Life is never easy and nothing in this world is free.
That's a lesson that Miso learned, even without realizing it, from the very early age of two. Born in Seoul, she was briefly in the care of both parents before her father, a man who worked multiple manual labor jobs to scrape by with his little family, died in a work accident when she was barely three. That left her with her mother who, to cope with the death of her second half, turned to substance abuse and misdirected anger.
Eventually, the woman grew tired of her daughter as she found more and more solace in her substances and the partners that would come and go through their little apartment's door regularly. She dropped Miso off at a local police station and made herself scarse. So, the little girl was sent to Yeongdo-gu, Busan to live with her paternal grandparents. At 5, Miso was legally adopted by the couple and she grew up as the very middle child between four other adoptees, with only deeply suppressed memories of her mother. And she had absolutely none of her father—as far as she was concerned, she only had this one set of grandparents and an aunt.
Things were happy for a while; a long while, in fact. Miso enjoyed half days at school which allowed the small town's children the time to help around family farms, fisheries, and other businesses. Miso and her siblings worked around the farm and general store that their family owned and it was always an unspoken plan that at least a couple of the Kim kids would step up and take over everything when it was time. No one really had qualms with this...except for Miso.
Miso always had big city dreams and she wanted more than what their sleepy little farm-fishing town had to offer. Her admitting this when she was 17 caused a bit of a tiff among the family with some people in full support and others quite apprehensive given the fates her parents suffered after moving to the city. Eventually, though, she was let go and she started her first semester at Ewha Womans Univeristy.
At Ewha, Miso was working toward a degree in Agriculture, paired with a minor in dance. For her, the plan had always been to become a choreographer and Agriculture was just a backup plan with the idea that she'd do her best by her grandparents' if she ever had to return to Yeongdo with her tail between her legs.
Life in Seoul was hard—much harder than Miso had anticipated and, without the money or a huge scholarship—most of her tuition being paid out of pocket—she ended up living in a dingy studio with a roomate, worked part time, and busked on weekends. This sort of grind was the only way she could feed herself and keep up with tuition, but she always dreamed of buying herself a real apartment one day.
An apartment is how I know I've made it, she decided in the midst of a particularly rough night where the central heaters were broken and she was keeping warm with layers of clothes and a cup ramen. One near all the hot spots and excitement.
It was a very grueling period in Miso's life and she almost dropped out a few times, but she was determined to graduate so she could make something of herself and not dissappoint the family members that believed in her—particularly her older brother and her grandmother. Plans changed, however, when Miso was scouted after one of her busking sessions. She was 19 then and she dropped her uni program to part-time (and eventually dropped altogether) after signing, given confidence by Dallae Entertainment's promises of big things. It was a very small company that had apparently been promising and homey in the beginning, but it was standing on its last legs by the time she got there.
The next two years were spent in even poorer conditions than she had left. It was bug infested, the trainees paid for their own meals and, sometimes bills. They even had to drive themselves from festival to festival due to short-staffing. Yes, she refined her singing voice. Yes she learned to rap because none of the other girls seemed to get it. But it ultimately felt not worth it when Morgen (the boy group) debuted and plunged the company into debt with the failure to make up the costs of debut. So, Stiorra, the girl group, never had their shot and the company shut down.
The Dallae fiasco left Miso with nothing, save for a few lifelong friends. She went back to her shitty apartment, appreciating it much more because she wasn't existing on top of a bunch of other people, and she found a soul-crushing department store job to pay bills when busking didn't give much while picking up the pieces of her shattered spirit. Later that year, she found another part-time assistant job at a dance studio called Audrey & Marilyn.
Audrey & Marilyn was perhaps the best thing to happen to Miso. When she rose up rather quickly through the ranks to instructor, she was able to quit her other job and stop spending every single weekend dancing in the streets for little pay. Though it wasn't paying a ton, it was enough for her to live somewhat comfortably. She became a staple in the studio and on its social media channels. It's through A&M that she was scouted by Diamond Soul Factory and she continued building a popular name through their YouTube channel up until debut.
After training with the company for a little over 7 months, Miso debuted as a late member of Aurora. Aurora's comeback was successful enough that, along with money she'd been saving from A&M, she was able to buy her first true, good-quality apartment. Then, between their 1st and 2nd comeback, their leader graduated and memebers left and joined and Miso was appointed to the title.
This constant moving wasn't just with Aurora, either. Executives, staff, fellow artists, and trainees were constantly changing and it was hard to see more than two or three familiar faces in a day. Amid the company's constantly changing roster, she even found herself in an odd in-between phase where she was supposed to eventually be graduating from Aurora to join their sunbae group, DIA. With a mounting resurgance of anxiety around her career's many false starts and restarts, she decided to break contract and leave DSF. She joined Mama under the promise of redebuting as a soloist and nothing else. And, for once, she feels like she can actually trust her higher ups. When she isn't in the vocal practice room or dance studio, she's the host of Simply K-Pop and the Miso's Lullabam web talk show.
Life is never easy and nothing in this world is free.
That's a lesson that Miso learned, even without realizing it, from the very early age of two. Born in Seoul, she was briefly in the care of both parents before her father, a man who worked multiple manual labor jobs to scrape by with his little family, died in a work accident when she was barely three. That left her with her mother who, to cope with the death of her second half, turned to substance abuse and misdirected anger.
Eventually, the woman grew tired of her daughter as she found more and more solace in her substances and the partners that would come and go through their little apartment's door regularly. She dropped Miso off at a local police station and made herself scarse. So, the little girl was sent to Yeongdo-gu, Busan to live with her paternal grandparents. At 5, Miso was legally adopted by the couple and she grew up as the very middle child between four other adoptees, with only deeply suppressed memories of her mother. And she had absolutely none of her father—as far as she was concerned, she only had this one set of grandparents and an aunt.
Things were happy for a while; a long while, in fact. Miso enjoyed half days at school which allowed the small town's children the time to help around family farms, fisheries, and other businesses. Miso and her siblings worked around the farm and general store that their family owned and it was always an unspoken plan that at least a couple of the Kim kids would step up and take over everything when it was time. No one really had qualms with this...except for Miso.
Miso always had big city dreams and she wanted more than what their sleepy little farm-fishing town had to offer. Her admitting this when she was 17 caused a bit of a tiff among the family with some people in full support and others quite apprehensive given the fates her parents suffered after moving to the city. Eventually, though, she was let go and she started her first semester at Ewha Womans Univeristy.
At Ewha, Miso was working toward a degree in Agriculture, paired with a minor in dance. For her, the plan had always been to become a choreographer and Agriculture was just a backup plan with the idea that she'd do her best by her grandparents' if she ever had to return to Yeongdo with her tail between her legs.
Life in Seoul was hard—much harder than Miso had anticipated and, without the money or a huge scholarship—most of her tuition being paid out of pocket—she ended up living in a dingy studio with a roomate, worked part time, and busked on weekends. This sort of grind was the only way she could feed herself and keep up with tuition, but she always dreamed of buying herself a real apartment one day.
An apartment is how I know I've made it, she decided in the midst of a particularly rough night where the central heaters were broken and she was keeping warm with layers of clothes and a cup ramen. One near all the hot spots and excitement.
It was a very grueling period in Miso's life and she almost dropped out a few times, but she was determined to graduate so she could make something of herself and not dissappoint the family members that believed in her—particularly her older brother and her grandmother. Plans changed, however, when Miso was scouted after one of her busking sessions. She was 19 then and she dropped her uni program to part-time (and eventually dropped altogether) after signing, given confidence by Dallae Entertainment's promises of big things. It was a very small company that had apparently been promising and homey in the beginning, but it was standing on its last legs by the time she got there.
The next two years were spent in even poorer conditions than she had left. It was bug infested, the trainees paid for their own meals and, sometimes bills. They even had to drive themselves from festival to festival due to short-staffing. Yes, she refined her singing voice. Yes she learned to rap because none of the other girls seemed to get it. But it ultimately felt not worth it when Morgen (the boy group) debuted and plunged the company into debt with the failure to make up the costs of debut. So, Stiorra, the girl group, never had their shot and the company shut down.
The Dallae fiasco left Miso with nothing, save for a few lifelong friends. She went back to her shitty apartment, appreciating it much more because she wasn't existing on top of a bunch of other people, and she found a soul-crushing department store job to pay bills when busking didn't give much while picking up the pieces of her shattered spirit. Later that year, she found another part-time assistant job at a dance studio called Audrey & Marilyn.
Audrey & Marilyn was perhaps the best thing to happen to Miso. When she rose up rather quickly through the ranks to instructor, she was able to quit her other job and stop spending every single weekend dancing in the streets for little pay. Though it wasn't paying a ton, it was enough for her to live somewhat comfortably. She became a staple in the studio and on its social media channels. It's through A&M that she was scouted by Diamond Soul Factory and she continued building a popular name through their YouTube channel up until debut.
After training with the company for a little over 7 months, Miso debuted as a late member of Aurora. Aurora's comeback was successful enough that, along with money she'd been saving from A&M, she was able to buy her first true, good-quality apartment. Then, between their 1st and 2nd comeback, their leader graduated and memebers left and joined and Miso was appointed to the title.
This constant moving wasn't just with Aurora, either. Executives, staff, fellow artists, and trainees were constantly changing and it was hard to see more than two or three familiar faces in a day. Amid the company's constantly changing roster, she even found herself in an odd in-between phase where she was supposed to eventually be graduating from Aurora to join their sunbae group, DIA. With a mounting resurgance of anxiety around her career's many false starts and restarts, she decided to break contract and leave DSF. She joined Mama under the promise of redebuting as a soloist and nothing else. And, for once, she feels like she can actually trust her higher ups. When she isn't in the vocal practice room or dance studio, she's the host of Simply K-Pop and the Miso's Lullabam web talk show.
kim
sinae
tw: mentions of near drowning and substance abuse. no explicit detail!
Sinae was born and raised in Yeongwon to parents born and raised in Yeongwon. The quaint little town is essentially all she knows. Always a bit of a tomboy, young Sinae loved to swim, fish, and help out in the fields of whatever farm would have her that day. She was always a bright presence around the neighborhood; even when she was getting into trouble that earned her all sorts of punishments from her strict parents. For the most part, it was trouble in the name of good—talking back to adults and fighting bullies in the defense of kids less strong-willed than she was.
With this tendency to "act out," her parents decided it was best to act early and nip things in the bud. That's why, at 11, Sinae was put under the mentorship of the chief haenyeo to learn discipline through the intensive diver training.
It wasn't all that bad for Sinae because of her love for the water, but the tough times certainly existed alongside the good. After a chest weight malfunction nearly drowned her, the then 15-year-old began to be apprehensive about diving. After developing a passion for the job, she still wanted to be haenyeo, but there were times where her fear made her anxious to the point of tears. Some days were good, others were very very bad.
At this point, Sinae began to skip out on training sessions here and there. She would instead hang out with an older group of friends who frequented the mainland and—sometimes—Seoul. It was through these friends that she got into drinking, drugs, and partying. Over time, Sinae would go to less and less training days until she stopped training altogether.
Years wore on with Sinae seemingly turning into the exact person her parents were trying to prevent. Though she never got hooked on drugs, she developed an alcohol problem by 17 and was drunk or hungover more often than not. By 18, she met the boyfriend that would eventually get her pregnant on the cusp of 21.
They were young, stupid, and unmarried at the time and decided to get married before she began showing to save face in the eyes of their conservative parents. It was a mistake, but neither of them would know it until years down the line.
In the meantime, being pregnant forced Sinae to reel in her party girl behavior and stop drinking cold turkey. She struggled a lot with the withdrawals for a while but support from her relieved family and new husband helped her through it all. She eventually gave birth to a premature, but strong girl that she named Mindeulle because she always wanted to use a three-character name whenever she had kids.
Having a baby gave Sinae a new lease on life and, as she spent her days only raising Min, she had time to think about what she wanted for her future. She missed diving and the unique sense of freedom that it afforded, so she knelt before her reasonably miffed former-mentor and begged forgiveness and to be let back in.
The elder woman certainly made her squirm but welcomed her with open arms on the conditions that she waited a bit longer for her body to fully recover from birth. The next few years would be spent raising Min and completing her diver training, until she was fully realized at 25.
And so, the next seven or so years passed just like that: being Mindeulle's mother, working to be a better daughter, and spending hours and hours working between the diving posts and the seafood stall at the market. It's a life that many would consider boring, but Sinae feels as though she's had enough over-excitement for the rest of her life after her tumultuous teens.
Now, Sinae enjoys her simple life but she's been dealing with rising tensions and separation from her husband. Despite there being no awful malice between the two, it's abundantly clear that their rushed and immature relationship has finally started to boil over.
Sinae is torn between working things out or just divorcing because even though she resents him, 11 years together makes it hard not to love someone, even if it's in the most unromantic sense. She doesn't want to lose the man that's become a close friend and confidant, despite their rising thoughts on what could have been. Ultimately, she just wants what's best for Min.
Sinae was born and raised in Yeongwon to parents born and raised in Yeongwon. The quaint little town is essentially all she knows. Always a bit of a tomboy, young Sinae loved to swim, fish, and help out in the fields of whatever farm would have her that day. She was always a bright presence around the neighborhood; even when she was getting into trouble that earned her all sorts of punishments from her strict parents. For the most part, it was trouble in the name of good—talking back to adults and fighting bullies in the defense of kids less strong-willed than she was.
With this tendency to "act out," her parents decided it was best to act early and nip things in the bud. That's why, at 11, Sinae was put under the mentorship of the chief haenyeo to learn discipline through the intensive diver training.
It wasn't all that bad for Sinae because of her love for the water, but the tough times certainly existed alongside the good. After a chest weight malfunction nearly drowned her, the then 15-year-old began to be apprehensive about diving. After developing a passion for the job, she still wanted to be haenyeo, but there were times where her fear made her anxious to the point of tears. Some days were good, others were very very bad.
At this point, Sinae began to skip out on training sessions here and there. She would instead hang out with an older group of friends who frequented the mainland and—sometimes—Seoul. It was through these friends that she got into drinking, drugs, and partying. Over time, Sinae would go to less and less training days until she stopped training altogether.
Years wore on with Sinae seemingly turning into the exact person her parents were trying to prevent. Though she never got hooked on drugs, she developed an alcohol problem by 17 and was drunk or hungover more often than not. By 18, she met the boyfriend that would eventually get her pregnant on the cusp of 21.
They were young, stupid, and unmarried at the time and decided to get married before she began showing to save face in the eyes of their conservative parents. It was a mistake, but neither of them would know it until years down the line.
In the meantime, being pregnant forced Sinae to reel in her party girl behavior and stop drinking cold turkey. She struggled a lot with the withdrawals for a while but support from her relieved family and new husband helped her through it all. She eventually gave birth to a premature, but strong girl that she named Mindeulle because she always wanted to use a three-character name whenever she had kids.
Having a baby gave Sinae a new lease on life and, as she spent her days only raising Min, she had time to think about what she wanted for her future. She missed diving and the unique sense of freedom that it afforded, so she knelt before her reasonably miffed former-mentor and begged forgiveness and to be let back in.
The elder woman certainly made her squirm but welcomed her with open arms on the conditions that she waited a bit longer for her body to fully recover from birth. The next few years would be spent raising Min and completing her diver training, until she was fully realized at 25.
And so, the next seven or so years passed just like that: being Mindeulle's mother, working to be a better daughter, and spending hours and hours working between the diving posts and the seafood stall at the market. It's a life that many would consider boring, but Sinae feels as though she's had enough over-excitement for the rest of her life after her tumultuous teens.
Now, Sinae enjoys her simple life but she's been dealing with rising tensions and separation from her husband. Despite there being no awful malice between the two, it's abundantly clear that their rushed and immature relationship has finally started to boil over.
Sinae is torn between working things out or just divorcing because even though she resents him, 11 years together makes it hard not to love someone, even if it's in the most unromantic sense. She doesn't want to lose the man that's become a close friend and confidant, despite their rising thoughts on what could have been. Ultimately, she just wants what's best for Min.
kwon
jiyu
Kwon Jiyu was born in the springtime, cherry blossoms in perfect view of her mother's luxury hospital room window. Wealthy-born children are often described as having a silver spoon in their mouths, but Jiyu's was gold. While her father made an honest living as an opera singer and musical actor, beloved and well-known even before she was conceived, her mother sat powerful as a budding executive of one of the many ventures under her family's conglomerate, Geummoran Group.
Jiyu grew up a carefree child in her formative years. She got everything she asked for, and then some. She had constant playmates in her household employees and their children. She learned to play violin at her mother's insistence and, barely 5 years old, she did so happily. It was fun! How would she know that it was a red flag—the beginning of what would come to be years of unrelenting pressure to be the best.
While her father is a fairly relaxed person, or as some would say, the "fun parent," Jiyu's mom puts a generation's worth of pressure on her. Neither parent went to university, so Jiyu had to. She had to go to the best one, and she had to stay on top.
To say that Jiyu's home life was (and still is) strained would be an understatement. Her mother is hell personified and her father has always been too much of a coward to stand up to the woman, only offering their daughter temporary comforts in gifts and meaningful glances that say I'm sorry, my girl. I'm sorry, you'll get through this. They helped in the moment, yes, but they didn't magically get rid of the ongoing abuses she faced.
Her one and only goal during her last year of high school was to keep up pretenses, graduate in the top of her class, pass her entrance exams, and then go to a school as far away from her childhood home as possible. But, things happen and plans change. Her father was diagnosed with gastric cancer months before graduation and she couldn't find it in herself just leave home while he went through treatments or worse, when there was a possibility of him not making it. Though he's been in remission for years, she just hasn't found the timing again as she's always been busy.
Jiyu went to a SKY university, like her mother always wanted, and studied business administration and marketing even though she'd have liked to get into floriculture and visual art. When she graduated, she was stuck straight into a position at Gemmoran group. Unfortunately, Assistant Director of Marketing with GM Telenix is more of a figurehead position where she doesn't get much say in anything that goes on. She's just supposed to be nice, be neat, be primp, be perfect, and never ever make her family look bad.
Jiyu's tense home life growing up shows through her behavior around her peers—whether at work or in relaxed environments. She's quiet one moment and she's a chatty people-pleasure the next. She's skittish and anxious and she's acts as if her mother will turn any corner to reprimand her every move. She often seeks the approval of people that she barely knows, but she can't help it. She's an only child with, somehow, only a quarter of her parents' love and praises.
Though she's gotten better as masking emotion around her reactive mother, Jiyu often has anxiety attacks. If she feels one coming on, she excuses herself to breakdown in private. With few places to turn, she has developed a nasty habit of biting her lip when anxious and, in severe cases, smoking. Fortunately, she's not nearly as alone as she used to be. A couple of solid uni-found friendships and an unexpected connection with her business-marriage husband have started to fill her life with a warmth she didn't know she needed...and countless jokes that she looks just like actress Shin Jiyoung.
Jiyu grew up a carefree child in her formative years. She got everything she asked for, and then some. She had constant playmates in her household employees and their children. She learned to play violin at her mother's insistence and, barely 5 years old, she did so happily. It was fun! How would she know that it was a red flag—the beginning of what would come to be years of unrelenting pressure to be the best.
While her father is a fairly relaxed person, or as some would say, the "fun parent," Jiyu's mom puts a generation's worth of pressure on her. Neither parent went to university, so Jiyu had to. She had to go to the best one, and she had to stay on top.
To say that Jiyu's home life was (and still is) strained would be an understatement. Her mother is hell personified and her father has always been too much of a coward to stand up to the woman, only offering their daughter temporary comforts in gifts and meaningful glances that say I'm sorry, my girl. I'm sorry, you'll get through this. They helped in the moment, yes, but they didn't magically get rid of the ongoing abuses she faced.
Her one and only goal during her last year of high school was to keep up pretenses, graduate in the top of her class, pass her entrance exams, and then go to a school as far away from her childhood home as possible. But, things happen and plans change. Her father was diagnosed with gastric cancer months before graduation and she couldn't find it in herself just leave home while he went through treatments or worse, when there was a possibility of him not making it. Though he's been in remission for years, she just hasn't found the timing again as she's always been busy.
Jiyu went to a SKY university, like her mother always wanted, and studied business administration and marketing even though she'd have liked to get into floriculture and visual art. When she graduated, she was stuck straight into a position at Gemmoran group. Unfortunately, Assistant Director of Marketing with GM Telenix is more of a figurehead position where she doesn't get much say in anything that goes on. She's just supposed to be nice, be neat, be primp, be perfect, and never ever make her family look bad.
Jiyu's tense home life growing up shows through her behavior around her peers—whether at work or in relaxed environments. She's quiet one moment and she's a chatty people-pleasure the next. She's skittish and anxious and she's acts as if her mother will turn any corner to reprimand her every move. She often seeks the approval of people that she barely knows, but she can't help it. She's an only child with, somehow, only a quarter of her parents' love and praises.
Though she's gotten better as masking emotion around her reactive mother, Jiyu often has anxiety attacks. If she feels one coming on, she excuses herself to breakdown in private. With few places to turn, she has developed a nasty habit of biting her lip when anxious and, in severe cases, smoking. Fortunately, she's not nearly as alone as she used to be. A couple of solid uni-found friendships and an unexpected connection with her business-marriage husband have started to fill her life with a warmth she didn't know she needed...and countless jokes that she looks just like actress Shin Jiyoung.
lavinia
pritchardt
Lavinia is an idealistic, passionate young woman with a serious sense of romanticism and, in turn, dreams of a fairytale romance. She comes from a well-off middle class family of lawyers, but the death of her father and absence of any other eligible men has left them without a proper head of household and struggling for assets. Her father's death was months before her season debut. Lavinia has a love for music, though her mother's wariness about her pursuing it professionally isn't unnoticed. She used to play and compose for hours a day, until the death of her father, her only genuine supporter. Since then, she hasn't touched the piano. Despite dreaming of a love match, she jumps on the chance to debut in her reluctant best friend's place, with her eyes set on anyone (tolerable) that would suit her mother and younger siblings' dire needs.
lilt c.
rojjanasukchai
That's not your real dad, you know? No one knows your real daddy but your mom certainly did...poor thing. Whether delivered via hushed whispers or loudly, condescendingly, this and many variations of it were the mean-spirited headlines of "news" relayed to Lilt since she was young. Her dad isn't really her dad. If she hadn't known it from the jump, the neighborhood ladies sure made it their mission for her to know. It's not something her father really likes to speak of and so, it's not something she likes to speak of, but it's an unfortunate prologue in her life: a story that starts with an unruly teen and his older sister with a penchant for bad decisions.
In the late 90's, Pem Rojjanasukchai and Turk Rojjanasukchai were the only children in very conservative household. Their parents were strict and no-nonsense, meaning the pair had to find their outlets outside of their home life. The youngest, very introverted and self-contained, music. Turk would listen to his favorites as much as possible, spend the time he gained by skipping tutoring at record shops and the occassional shows, and doing his own music. Pem, the oldest, was a social butterfly. She needed to be around people and, most importantly, she needed to be around people that understood her, or at least those that would pretend they did.
Pem's social, people-pleasing personality eventually led her to involvement with a particular group that stood as the exact opposite of her family. They partied often, drank, did drugs and other illegal things just for the thrill. It was scary at first but her mother's mouth-foaming reaction was enough to shake the nerves and get her to dive headfirst into the lifestyle. When she ended up pregnant at 20 with no sign of the man who she'd been involved with, the arguing had been louder and angrier than it'd ever been, according to Turk who just wanted to focus on learning his most recent musical obsession.
Pem ended up keeping the baby and, by some miracle, she wasn't kicked out. Instead, her parents decided the only way she could properly raise little Chirapon, nicknamed Lilt, was with their guidance and a guaranteed roof over her head. This lasted for about a year and, oddly, relations within the Rojjanasukchai household began to get better as everyone set aside their differences and actually spoke to reach agreements for the sake of the little girl. With everyone else working, Turk agreed to help with raising the child because he was unemployed, "focusing on his dream"
The young man was doing a good job, juggling his music and babysitting, occasionally going out for gigs with his band when someone else could be home, until the night of his 19th birthday. A schedule conflict meant that Pem was busy wrapping up work when he needed to go meet his friends for a surprise hangout they organized. It'd only be 10 minutes of the baby being alone before her mom got home and he decided to go for it. Not even an hour later, he would find out that his older sister had been killed in an argument with who was later reveal to be her ex.
Blood cold and pumping violently in his ears, he ran the entire way home and, thankfully, found the baby unharmed but he had to deal with the grief of a dead sister, the guilt of a million "what-ifs," and still be there for Lilt. He decided to officially adopt her during that sleepless night and from that moment forward, Lilt grew up as Turk Rojjanasukchai's daughter. He also decided that she would never grow up in the environment he and his sister did because the late woman never would have rebelled and she never would have met her psycho ex had their parents not had such a tight grip on them.
So, Lilt grew up in a very open, fun, and free household. Her dad continued to focus on his music—ultimately deciding to be a songwriter, rather than a performer—while raising her with the help of his girlfriend (eventually wife) and shielding her from the lashing tongues of his parent's judgmental friends and neighbors. From the time that she could walk on her own, Lilt would occasionally go with him to friends' shows (there's tons of photos of her with her massive noise-cancelling headphones on tucked away in his belongings even today). This close involvement with music planted a seed in Lilt's soul from the start and learned to play guitar when she was 6. She picked up piano shortly after and began singing seriously at the cusp of 11.
Still, music was always a hobby for her—especially as a way to bond with her dad. Her primary interest was in astronomy, space travel, and the pursuit of finding more of what's out there. Lilt grew up constantly being praised as "such a smart girl" so it was no suprise to anyone when she graduated high school at the top of her class and then, when it came to applying for universities, she got into them all. She was even invited to be an exchange student at a school in Seoul and, wanting to see the world outside of Thailand, she readily accepted the offer.
Lilt packed up and moved to Seoul at 18 and she continued studying at her school even when the exchange program period ended. She's currently working towards a Master's in Aerospace Engineering and, in her free time, she does music with a band started by her and three of her uni friends. Music has recently started to become a major part of her life because of it and she's started enjoying it more and more compared to what she knows would be a secure job. So, constantly bouncing between seeing her studies through or dropping them to risk doing music full time.
In the late 90's, Pem Rojjanasukchai and Turk Rojjanasukchai were the only children in very conservative household. Their parents were strict and no-nonsense, meaning the pair had to find their outlets outside of their home life. The youngest, very introverted and self-contained, music. Turk would listen to his favorites as much as possible, spend the time he gained by skipping tutoring at record shops and the occassional shows, and doing his own music. Pem, the oldest, was a social butterfly. She needed to be around people and, most importantly, she needed to be around people that understood her, or at least those that would pretend they did.
Pem's social, people-pleasing personality eventually led her to involvement with a particular group that stood as the exact opposite of her family. They partied often, drank, did drugs and other illegal things just for the thrill. It was scary at first but her mother's mouth-foaming reaction was enough to shake the nerves and get her to dive headfirst into the lifestyle. When she ended up pregnant at 20 with no sign of the man who she'd been involved with, the arguing had been louder and angrier than it'd ever been, according to Turk who just wanted to focus on learning his most recent musical obsession.
Pem ended up keeping the baby and, by some miracle, she wasn't kicked out. Instead, her parents decided the only way she could properly raise little Chirapon, nicknamed Lilt, was with their guidance and a guaranteed roof over her head. This lasted for about a year and, oddly, relations within the Rojjanasukchai household began to get better as everyone set aside their differences and actually spoke to reach agreements for the sake of the little girl. With everyone else working, Turk agreed to help with raising the child because he was unemployed, "focusing on his dream"
The young man was doing a good job, juggling his music and babysitting, occasionally going out for gigs with his band when someone else could be home, until the night of his 19th birthday. A schedule conflict meant that Pem was busy wrapping up work when he needed to go meet his friends for a surprise hangout they organized. It'd only be 10 minutes of the baby being alone before her mom got home and he decided to go for it. Not even an hour later, he would find out that his older sister had been killed in an argument with who was later reveal to be her ex.
Blood cold and pumping violently in his ears, he ran the entire way home and, thankfully, found the baby unharmed but he had to deal with the grief of a dead sister, the guilt of a million "what-ifs," and still be there for Lilt. He decided to officially adopt her during that sleepless night and from that moment forward, Lilt grew up as Turk Rojjanasukchai's daughter. He also decided that she would never grow up in the environment he and his sister did because the late woman never would have rebelled and she never would have met her psycho ex had their parents not had such a tight grip on them.
So, Lilt grew up in a very open, fun, and free household. Her dad continued to focus on his music—ultimately deciding to be a songwriter, rather than a performer—while raising her with the help of his girlfriend (eventually wife) and shielding her from the lashing tongues of his parent's judgmental friends and neighbors. From the time that she could walk on her own, Lilt would occasionally go with him to friends' shows (there's tons of photos of her with her massive noise-cancelling headphones on tucked away in his belongings even today). This close involvement with music planted a seed in Lilt's soul from the start and learned to play guitar when she was 6. She picked up piano shortly after and began singing seriously at the cusp of 11.
Still, music was always a hobby for her—especially as a way to bond with her dad. Her primary interest was in astronomy, space travel, and the pursuit of finding more of what's out there. Lilt grew up constantly being praised as "such a smart girl" so it was no suprise to anyone when she graduated high school at the top of her class and then, when it came to applying for universities, she got into them all. She was even invited to be an exchange student at a school in Seoul and, wanting to see the world outside of Thailand, she readily accepted the offer.
Lilt packed up and moved to Seoul at 18 and she continued studying at her school even when the exchange program period ended. She's currently working towards a Master's in Aerospace Engineering and, in her free time, she does music with a band started by her and three of her uni friends. Music has recently started to become a major part of her life because of it and she's started enjoying it more and more compared to what she knows would be a secure job. So, constantly bouncing between seeing her studies through or dropping them to risk doing music full time.
luc
quyen
Queen grew up in a lower middle class family, her parents living paycheck to paycheck occasionally, but being fairly comfortable for the most part. as the middle child of three, she was able to fly relatively under the radar. with her older sister making waves as an entertainment recruiter and her little brother preparing to enter high school, Queen was able to forge her own path. she got into makeup initially through beauty magazines and a pinterest board swelling with fashion and makeup pins.
She made an active hobby out of it, posting contents online just for fun and she didn't expect things to get as big as they did. soon enough, however, she found things falling into place—starting with her stuck in the midst of an unhappy first year of uni. Deciding to drop out to pursue cosmetology school and a fresh start instead, Queen applied to a number of cosmetology schools before being accepted to a small one in Seoul.
In the middle of shopping for necessities a couple weeks after moving, she was scouted for a foreigner panel talk show about beauty and fashion where she garnered quite a bit of attention for her looks, variety sense, and, of course, makeup skills. Deciding to drop out once again and learn through experiences, she remained as a regular member on the show for its duration.
Now staying permanently in SK, Quyen began to dip her toes into other aspects of the South Korean TV personality scene while working an apprenticeship under an industry leader. Through the apprenticeship, she began a journey in professional beauty and sfx makeup. For the past few years, she has worked as a makeup artist, occasionally landing talk/variety and very minor acting roles, as well as a fair share of cf/sponsorship opportunities.
She made an active hobby out of it, posting contents online just for fun and she didn't expect things to get as big as they did. soon enough, however, she found things falling into place—starting with her stuck in the midst of an unhappy first year of uni. Deciding to drop out to pursue cosmetology school and a fresh start instead, Queen applied to a number of cosmetology schools before being accepted to a small one in Seoul.
In the middle of shopping for necessities a couple weeks after moving, she was scouted for a foreigner panel talk show about beauty and fashion where she garnered quite a bit of attention for her looks, variety sense, and, of course, makeup skills. Deciding to drop out once again and learn through experiences, she remained as a regular member on the show for its duration.
Now staying permanently in SK, Quyen began to dip her toes into other aspects of the South Korean TV personality scene while working an apprenticeship under an industry leader. Through the apprenticeship, she began a journey in professional beauty and sfx makeup. For the past few years, she has worked as a makeup artist, occasionally landing talk/variety and very minor acting roles, as well as a fair share of cf/sponsorship opportunities.
lucky
jin
Jin Hyeonju was born in Davao City in the Philippines as the youngest child of a former pinoy actress and former Korean baseball player. Performance has always been a major part of Hyeonju's life as she started out singing as a member of the church choir. With the stage name Honey Joo, Lucky started her professional career very young with urging from a family friend. Initially, her mother had been very against it, claiming she was too young.
That had been when she was 5 and, not even a full year later, her mind had been changed by the wealth of opportunities (and money and noteriety) her daughter could bring the family. Hyeonju released her first children's album at 6 years old. She went on to release a couple more in the years after and she became the host of a daytime children's tv show. Through her work, she earned quite a few nominations for both performing and hosting and won one for her hosting role.
"Honey Joo" stopped her career when she was 10 years old, very soon after the death of her parents who were killed in an incident with a robber seeking out the famous couple's riches. A little later that year, the oldest sibling decided to move to their father's hometown in Seoul. Raised by her adult brother, Hyeonju spent years just being a normal kid while also focusing on school. While people still recognized them and sought to question their tragedy while in Davao, only a handful of people would even bat an eyelash at them in Seoul. It was an unexpected relief and she continued living simply for a while until the urge to perform came back again.
Living in Seoul certainly worked to her advantage at this point. She was easily able to audition for companies that were just short drives from her little family's city apartment. However, she never wanted to go for major companies with their names all over Korea because she was afraid of rejection after being out of professional practice for so long; so she stayed small.
That meant being rejected by companies who either didn't have use for her image or vocal color at the time being, or weren't looking for new trainees at all because of their lacking budgets. Hyeonju finally caught her luck with the seventh company she auditioned for: Lotus Entertainment. She signed a contract with them and chose the stage name Lucky so she'd always remember how lucky number 7 reopened that door for her.
A little after joining the company, she was put into the competition show Limitless for its second season, alongside seasoned seniors from Indigo and Lotus. Though she had a rocky start in the form of an ankle sprain, she managed to come out on top as one of the seven to make it into the final lineup for Delilah. After Delilah, she debuted as a member of Pixies during their Allegro Cantabile comeback. This was it for her activity with Pixies, however, as the group soon fell inactive due to poor management and ultimately disbanded.
When Lucky was slated to join another group within the company, she decided to leave as she foresaw the same thing occurring and—truthfully—wasn't as in love with the idea of being an idol anymore. It was too stressful with all of its expectations for how she should look, act, perform, etc. And she'd had enough entitled fans in her notifications to last a lifetime. So, she simply quit. It's been over a year since then and she's enjoying a simpler life, opting instead to continue hosting her podcast Lucky No.7 and building her name as a choreographer and dancer for Seo Lucky Ent.
That had been when she was 5 and, not even a full year later, her mind had been changed by the wealth of opportunities (and money and noteriety) her daughter could bring the family. Hyeonju released her first children's album at 6 years old. She went on to release a couple more in the years after and she became the host of a daytime children's tv show. Through her work, she earned quite a few nominations for both performing and hosting and won one for her hosting role.
"Honey Joo" stopped her career when she was 10 years old, very soon after the death of her parents who were killed in an incident with a robber seeking out the famous couple's riches. A little later that year, the oldest sibling decided to move to their father's hometown in Seoul. Raised by her adult brother, Hyeonju spent years just being a normal kid while also focusing on school. While people still recognized them and sought to question their tragedy while in Davao, only a handful of people would even bat an eyelash at them in Seoul. It was an unexpected relief and she continued living simply for a while until the urge to perform came back again.
Living in Seoul certainly worked to her advantage at this point. She was easily able to audition for companies that were just short drives from her little family's city apartment. However, she never wanted to go for major companies with their names all over Korea because she was afraid of rejection after being out of professional practice for so long; so she stayed small.
That meant being rejected by companies who either didn't have use for her image or vocal color at the time being, or weren't looking for new trainees at all because of their lacking budgets. Hyeonju finally caught her luck with the seventh company she auditioned for: Lotus Entertainment. She signed a contract with them and chose the stage name Lucky so she'd always remember how lucky number 7 reopened that door for her.
A little after joining the company, she was put into the competition show Limitless for its second season, alongside seasoned seniors from Indigo and Lotus. Though she had a rocky start in the form of an ankle sprain, she managed to come out on top as one of the seven to make it into the final lineup for Delilah. After Delilah, she debuted as a member of Pixies during their Allegro Cantabile comeback. This was it for her activity with Pixies, however, as the group soon fell inactive due to poor management and ultimately disbanded.
When Lucky was slated to join another group within the company, she decided to leave as she foresaw the same thing occurring and—truthfully—wasn't as in love with the idea of being an idol anymore. It was too stressful with all of its expectations for how she should look, act, perform, etc. And she'd had enough entitled fans in her notifications to last a lifetime. So, she simply quit. It's been over a year since then and she's enjoying a simpler life, opting instead to continue hosting her podcast Lucky No.7 and building her name as a choreographer and dancer for Seo Lucky Ent.
marchosias
Marchosias hails from a large family of Demonic Nobility, composed of a father with many wives, numerous siblings, and a distant Hellborn relative. At nearly 600,000 years old, she's fought in many wars and won them all. "When Marchosias goes to war, they bring therr enemies to ruin," afterall. At one point, she was a member of the angelic order Domnion. The order consisted of four: Zadakiel, Muriel, Paimon, and the strong, truthful Marchosias. The order was tasked with maintaining the divine order, but things fell apart. Along with Paimon, Marchosias was damned, sent straight to Earth as punishment along with a few other in what is widely known by humans as the Fall. The fallen angel swore to return to Heaven after 1,200 years, but in the meantime, Marchosias found herself the lowly slave of a despicable king, serving the human wine and performing a myriad of other demeaning tasks. This began to plant a seed of hatred in the demon for humans in positions of power.
This state of servitude went on for decades until Marchosias was freed and promptly fed one of Solomon's mythical rings, returning to demon to it's original form. A chimeric wolf with breath of flames, Marchosias got her vengeance on her master and his fellow tormentors. She caused a mass raucous that caught the attention of the King of Hell and Marchosias was granted access to a lavish life in Hell. In the Underworld, Marchosias was given the position as a Great and Mighty Marquis of Hell, the 35th of the 72 Spirits of Solomon, commanding 30 Legions of Spirits. She ruled at the top of her own world for centuries until she, hot tempered and unable to lie, made the mistake of insulting the equally hot-tempered prince Wrath. The hot-headed royal promptly punished the wolf demon by stripping her of her prestigious title and settling her with a desk job in the newly established Inferno Inc. Great Marchosias was demoted to a mere Demon Resources representative and now she's had to deal with her "mortal enemy"'s latest reincarnation constantly trying to be her friend. It's a cruddy, annoying job, but the pay is good so she isn't complaining. Much.
This state of servitude went on for decades until Marchosias was freed and promptly fed one of Solomon's mythical rings, returning to demon to it's original form. A chimeric wolf with breath of flames, Marchosias got her vengeance on her master and his fellow tormentors. She caused a mass raucous that caught the attention of the King of Hell and Marchosias was granted access to a lavish life in Hell. In the Underworld, Marchosias was given the position as a Great and Mighty Marquis of Hell, the 35th of the 72 Spirits of Solomon, commanding 30 Legions of Spirits. She ruled at the top of her own world for centuries until she, hot tempered and unable to lie, made the mistake of insulting the equally hot-tempered prince Wrath. The hot-headed royal promptly punished the wolf demon by stripping her of her prestigious title and settling her with a desk job in the newly established Inferno Inc. Great Marchosias was demoted to a mere Demon Resources representative and now she's had to deal with her "mortal enemy"'s latest reincarnation constantly trying to be her friend. It's a cruddy, annoying job, but the pay is good so she isn't complaining. Much.
matthew
el-sayed
Matthew has lived in Mourning on and off his whole life, spending school seasons there with his mom and summers with his dad in Egypt. The little family used to live together, enjoying a relatively simple life in the North African country. They were happy, or so little Matthew thought. In truth, his mother suffered a myriad of mental and emotional abuses that she was smart enough to escape from before things turned physical. So, they went back to her little home town—just her and 10-year-old Mattie. He was never popular in school, or actively social at all. The friends he had were friends of the friends that weaseled their way into his social circle—never taking no or annoyed silence for an answer. Charlotte Ritter was one of those persistent people and, though he managed to shake many of them off since dropping out, she's seemingly stuck to him even more.
At a certain point in high school, he'd grown tired—of everything, really. He was tired of traveling back and forth, he was tired of each parent expecting him to choose sides (obviously he was on his mom's), and he was tired of the struggling in school due to whatever undiagnosed disorder he has—the one that was only made so much better by the touch of dyslexia. So, he put an end to it all the summer before junior year. He proclaimed that he'd never get on another damn plane to Aswan. His father had words to say, but it was easy to ignore a phonecall or twenty. Then, he dropped out and his mother didn't object, as long as he made a way for himself.
To avoid a soul-crushing job in an office or a mind-numbing customer service gig, he started to sell dope to anyone who was buying; and an inside man with the local cops made sure his trail was never followed, as long as his fix was discounted. His mother was none the wiser, of course.
Matt didn't know Leigh well at all, only seeing her and her deeds in passing in the St. Ab halls or when she sat passenger seat in his pickup for an exchange. He isn't much of a crowds guy, so he didn't go to the party despite an extended invitation from one of his friend friends. Not much has changed personally for Matt in the two years since the incident, though his shitty apartment is much emptier after his mom's passing about a year ago. Not that it matters—he insists whenever Charlotte tries to get him to "feel his feelings"—he's never particularly needed anyone to be around.
At a certain point in high school, he'd grown tired—of everything, really. He was tired of traveling back and forth, he was tired of each parent expecting him to choose sides (obviously he was on his mom's), and he was tired of the struggling in school due to whatever undiagnosed disorder he has—the one that was only made so much better by the touch of dyslexia. So, he put an end to it all the summer before junior year. He proclaimed that he'd never get on another damn plane to Aswan. His father had words to say, but it was easy to ignore a phonecall or twenty. Then, he dropped out and his mother didn't object, as long as he made a way for himself.
To avoid a soul-crushing job in an office or a mind-numbing customer service gig, he started to sell dope to anyone who was buying; and an inside man with the local cops made sure his trail was never followed, as long as his fix was discounted. His mother was none the wiser, of course.
Matt didn't know Leigh well at all, only seeing her and her deeds in passing in the St. Ab halls or when she sat passenger seat in his pickup for an exchange. He isn't much of a crowds guy, so he didn't go to the party despite an extended invitation from one of his friend friends. Not much has changed personally for Matt in the two years since the incident, though his shitty apartment is much emptier after his mom's passing about a year ago. Not that it matters—he insists whenever Charlotte tries to get him to "feel his feelings"—he's never particularly needed anyone to be around.
park
shin-hee
Shinhee grew up in Tongyeong as the second child to a couple of teachers—her mother teaching kindergarten and her father teaching high school. She led a very simple childhood, a very simple adolescence, and only took the leap to move to Seoul to follow her high school sweetheart, turned finance, who wanted to start life in a new place once he was discharged from his immediate voluntary enlistment. It was a risky decision with neither of them yet having a university education or stable jobs but the two twenty-somethings were tenacious and just made the leap.
Though she didn’t really have plans for her future before then, Shinhee didn’t want to just be a housewife and spent the first few months post-move deciding exactly what she wanted to do while her fiance pursued his own acting dreams. After extensive discussion and brainstorming over many late night dinners and movies, she decided to eventually open a business of her own once they found their footing. A kids cafe, she decided, and in the meantime, she enrolled in university to study business to really bolster her credibility when the time came.
When it was finally opened 4 years later, Shin’s Home (named to really push the casual, family atmosphere she was going for), had a slow start. It took a few months before the cafe saw regular busy days, but it happened. With Shinhee and her husband both finally on solid ground in their new lives, things were rose-colored. They lived happily, despite their busy work lives and enjoyed one another’s company just the same. She didn't mind the fact that he wasn't open with their relationship, considering he had a career to worry about. So, things were smooth sailing.
Real difficulties came about when the two finally decided to try having children. It took about a year of many failed attempts and false pregnancies before they received a genuine positive. Baram was finally born on a windy spring day thus earning his name. For the past year and some change, Shinhee raised Baram as a working mom, along with help from her husband, neighbors, and the occasional visiting parent.
She joined in on the establishment of SL Entertainment to help Seojoon, a uni classmate and long-standing friend. It didn’t take much convincing and she readily jumped on the idea. Most recently, Shinhee and her husband started the process for divorce. Their busy fast-paced careers the catalyst to realization. As his popularity and her responsibilities grew, the time they were able to spend together dwindled more and more and so did their romantic affection. They realized that trying to make it alone together in the city was what kept them together in their 20s; now that they were both in a good way, the couple decided to split. Though bittersweet, things were amicable and they remain friends and co-parents of Baram.
Though she didn’t really have plans for her future before then, Shinhee didn’t want to just be a housewife and spent the first few months post-move deciding exactly what she wanted to do while her fiance pursued his own acting dreams. After extensive discussion and brainstorming over many late night dinners and movies, she decided to eventually open a business of her own once they found their footing. A kids cafe, she decided, and in the meantime, she enrolled in university to study business to really bolster her credibility when the time came.
When it was finally opened 4 years later, Shin’s Home (named to really push the casual, family atmosphere she was going for), had a slow start. It took a few months before the cafe saw regular busy days, but it happened. With Shinhee and her husband both finally on solid ground in their new lives, things were rose-colored. They lived happily, despite their busy work lives and enjoyed one another’s company just the same. She didn't mind the fact that he wasn't open with their relationship, considering he had a career to worry about. So, things were smooth sailing.
Real difficulties came about when the two finally decided to try having children. It took about a year of many failed attempts and false pregnancies before they received a genuine positive. Baram was finally born on a windy spring day thus earning his name. For the past year and some change, Shinhee raised Baram as a working mom, along with help from her husband, neighbors, and the occasional visiting parent.
She joined in on the establishment of SL Entertainment to help Seojoon, a uni classmate and long-standing friend. It didn’t take much convincing and she readily jumped on the idea. Most recently, Shinhee and her husband started the process for divorce. Their busy fast-paced careers the catalyst to realization. As his popularity and her responsibilities grew, the time they were able to spend together dwindled more and more and so did their romantic affection. They realized that trying to make it alone together in the city was what kept them together in their 20s; now that they were both in a good way, the couple decided to split. Though bittersweet, things were amicable and they remain friends and co-parents of Baram.
paul
ahn
Hyoseop was born in a small neighborhood in Seoul as the youngest of three kids. However, he never had much of a chance to establish any roots there as his family moved to Spain when he was 5 so his older sister could go to a prestigious guitar academy. In order to pay for the academy and living expenses, Hyoseop's parents started a music and guitar repair shop in the neighborhood that they and his older brother spent most of their days. A lot of Hyoseop's time outside of school was spent either at the shop or watching his sister practice.
Looking back on it today, growing up in Spain was really good for Hyoseop. The city was always relaxed, with hardly any drama and he was able to do pretty much anything he wanted within reason. When he wanted to play soccer, his parents readily found him a team. When he dropped that and wanted to try taekwondo, his parents paid for classes. When he moved on and decided he wanted to be like his sister at around 11, his parents put him in guitar classes. Music proved to be his biggest love and he actually stuck with it, unlike his other hobbies, even picking up piano as well. It's easy to say that things were peechy keen for Hyoseop until the accident.
With his parents on a monthly date night, Hyoseop's brother was in charge of the house and Hyoseop had been fast asleep when a loud knocking on their front door woke him up. Knowing he'd get scolded for being awake, he hid and listened in as a couple of police officers told his brother and sister that their parents had gotten into a car wreck. Following this came a few very hard months for the Ahn children. With the eldest well into adulthood at 22, they were all able to stick together, but running the shop became hard. Paying for guitar academy became hard. Paying rent became hard. And their rose-colored life in Spain had simply grown painful because everything reminded them of their parents; so, they packed up and moved back to Seoul when Hyoseop was 12.
The eldest two opened a guitar shop named after their parents to honor them and the home they'd created in Spain: ChulHye's Guitars. While his siblings ran the business, Hyoseop was busy trying to navigate the unfamiliar school environment of South Korea. He was at a different place, curriculum-wise, he had to get used to different customs and norms, and it was just an overall difficult adjustment for the first few months as the death of his parents weighed down on him like a 100-ton block. But he managed. He managed to catch up. He managed make a couple of friends. And he managed to get back into his hobbies, even developing a love for acting after being in a school production.
He got through school, even passing his KSATs (on the second try) and getting accepted into university. He studied acting and started working full-time at his family's shop upon graduating. In addition to spending most of his time in the back, sanding down guitars and fixing strings, was always on the lookout for acting opportunities, whether it be minor CFs or extra work. His biggest dream would be being in a musical as a way to combine his two loves, but he was unexpectedly scouted to be an idol during work by a recruiter who'd been taken by his looks.
It was one of ChulHye's busiest days in weeks, a surprise as the siblings had been in the talks of possibly closing down to cut their losses after a major down period. With both of his siblings off doing other business, Hyoseop was working hard to take orders and work on existing ones all the while wondering what brought in this sudden influx of people. Even stranger, it was mostly women. Once things slowed down a bit and Hyoseop found time to breathe, he was approached by a lady who presented her business card. She was a recruiter for Lotus Entertainment, a company that sounded familiar but he couldn't quite place why. She explained briefly that she'd found out about him through a picture circulating on social media (that also explained the sudden increase in customers) and she wanted him to join the company. With acting not working out as well as he'd hoped, Hyoseop accepted the offer after thinking it over for the night. If anything, it would be anice way to get his face out there.
After training for a couple of years, Paul eventually debuted as the leader of X.MPIRE. This group became like family to him, but after numerous lineup changes and far too many slowdowns inactivity, Paul made the decision to step down from the group and position so he could renew his pursuit in acting. This second attempt was a rousing success and he rose into the spotlight as an actor and model, eventually becoming known as the Nation's Boyfriend for his sweet, puppy-dog-like personality and roles. Paul debuted on the silver screen with RomCom hit "Oh! My Manager" as the male lead but that was it. Any other work he got through Lotus would be CFs, music video features, and modeling gigs for the next couple of years. Eventually, dissatisfaction with his company's management and opportunity blocking led to him leaving. For a while, he just enjoyed some time off. He traveled, he visited his brothers family back in Spain, and he honed his acting skills on his own. When he returned to work, he did more modeling and brand ambassador work, as well as joining a fun project ballad group with a few actor friends. Just after SL opened its doors, he was scooped up by a former Lotus staff member who'd he'd been in regular contact with.
Looking back on it today, growing up in Spain was really good for Hyoseop. The city was always relaxed, with hardly any drama and he was able to do pretty much anything he wanted within reason. When he wanted to play soccer, his parents readily found him a team. When he dropped that and wanted to try taekwondo, his parents paid for classes. When he moved on and decided he wanted to be like his sister at around 11, his parents put him in guitar classes. Music proved to be his biggest love and he actually stuck with it, unlike his other hobbies, even picking up piano as well. It's easy to say that things were peechy keen for Hyoseop until the accident.
With his parents on a monthly date night, Hyoseop's brother was in charge of the house and Hyoseop had been fast asleep when a loud knocking on their front door woke him up. Knowing he'd get scolded for being awake, he hid and listened in as a couple of police officers told his brother and sister that their parents had gotten into a car wreck. Following this came a few very hard months for the Ahn children. With the eldest well into adulthood at 22, they were all able to stick together, but running the shop became hard. Paying for guitar academy became hard. Paying rent became hard. And their rose-colored life in Spain had simply grown painful because everything reminded them of their parents; so, they packed up and moved back to Seoul when Hyoseop was 12.
The eldest two opened a guitar shop named after their parents to honor them and the home they'd created in Spain: ChulHye's Guitars. While his siblings ran the business, Hyoseop was busy trying to navigate the unfamiliar school environment of South Korea. He was at a different place, curriculum-wise, he had to get used to different customs and norms, and it was just an overall difficult adjustment for the first few months as the death of his parents weighed down on him like a 100-ton block. But he managed. He managed to catch up. He managed make a couple of friends. And he managed to get back into his hobbies, even developing a love for acting after being in a school production.
He got through school, even passing his KSATs (on the second try) and getting accepted into university. He studied acting and started working full-time at his family's shop upon graduating. In addition to spending most of his time in the back, sanding down guitars and fixing strings, was always on the lookout for acting opportunities, whether it be minor CFs or extra work. His biggest dream would be being in a musical as a way to combine his two loves, but he was unexpectedly scouted to be an idol during work by a recruiter who'd been taken by his looks.
It was one of ChulHye's busiest days in weeks, a surprise as the siblings had been in the talks of possibly closing down to cut their losses after a major down period. With both of his siblings off doing other business, Hyoseop was working hard to take orders and work on existing ones all the while wondering what brought in this sudden influx of people. Even stranger, it was mostly women. Once things slowed down a bit and Hyoseop found time to breathe, he was approached by a lady who presented her business card. She was a recruiter for Lotus Entertainment, a company that sounded familiar but he couldn't quite place why. She explained briefly that she'd found out about him through a picture circulating on social media (that also explained the sudden increase in customers) and she wanted him to join the company. With acting not working out as well as he'd hoped, Hyoseop accepted the offer after thinking it over for the night. If anything, it would be anice way to get his face out there.
After training for a couple of years, Paul eventually debuted as the leader of X.MPIRE. This group became like family to him, but after numerous lineup changes and far too many slowdowns inactivity, Paul made the decision to step down from the group and position so he could renew his pursuit in acting. This second attempt was a rousing success and he rose into the spotlight as an actor and model, eventually becoming known as the Nation's Boyfriend for his sweet, puppy-dog-like personality and roles. Paul debuted on the silver screen with RomCom hit "Oh! My Manager" as the male lead but that was it. Any other work he got through Lotus would be CFs, music video features, and modeling gigs for the next couple of years. Eventually, dissatisfaction with his company's management and opportunity blocking led to him leaving. For a while, he just enjoyed some time off. He traveled, he visited his brothers family back in Spain, and he honed his acting skills on his own. When he returned to work, he did more modeling and brand ambassador work, as well as joining a fun project ballad group with a few actor friends. Just after SL opened its doors, he was scooped up by a former Lotus staff member who'd he'd been in regular contact with.
shin
arang
In the midst of the Joseon era Shin Suk-ju, high-ranking government minister and the lead scholar to work with King Sejong in the development of Hangul, and his wife had four children.
Shin Arang is the audacious and inquisitive middle child—the eldest daughter of this high-ranking scholar—with ideals that far exceed the norm. Most scandalously, she's unmarried well into her twenties. It isn't that she has unmarriable flaws. No, quite the opposite, in fact. She's beautiful, intelligent, and generally enjoyable to be around (her "moments of madness," as her brother calls them do put a damper on things), but she's so staunchly against the institution of marriage—for anyone!
To Arang, no man, woman—and especially no child—should be married to someone they don't love. And she, particularly, is certain she doesn't even have the capacity to meet those minimum requirements. So, she's dead set on being an old maid that's free to learn, create, and live far away from all the trappings of married life.
She's much more interested in reading, the arts, and tending the private garden she strong-armed her father into implementing. When she wants the company of others, it's largely her younger brother and sister and her two friends—either hosting theatrical parties where they write, paint, or enact their favorite stories and poems, or sneaking into the lectures her older brother has the privledge of sitting in on. Much to the chagrin of their handmaidens and eunuchs.
Arang has absolutely no problem breaking a few rules if its in the name of getting what she wants, or in the interest of bringing justice to those less advantaged than her. Her biggest dream is to be a scholar official like he father and prodigial brother. Though society would never see that happen, she's absolutely certain she can turn the tide and she's vocal about that. Even when her mother pleads for her to behave and play nice with suitors and her father insists she's wasting her time, none of them have ever actually stopped her; so, she plans to see things through.
To Arang, no man, woman—and especially no child—should be married to someone they don't love. And she, particularly, is certain she doesn't even have the capacity to meet those minimum requirements. So, she's dead set on being an old maid that's free to learn, create, and live far away from all the trappings of married life.
She's much more interested in reading, the arts, and tending the private garden she strong-armed her father into implementing. When she wants the company of others, it's largely her younger brother and sister and her two friends—either hosting theatrical parties where they write, paint, or enact their favorite stories and poems, or sneaking into the lectures her older brother has the privledge of sitting in on. Much to the chagrin of their handmaidens and eunuchs.
Arang has absolutely no problem breaking a few rules if its in the name of getting what she wants, or in the interest of bringing justice to those less advantaged than her. Her biggest dream is to be a scholar official like he father and prodigial brother. Though society would never see that happen, she's absolutely certain she can turn the tide and she's vocal about that. Even when her mother pleads for her to behave and play nice with suitors and her father insists she's wasting her time, none of them have ever actually stopped her; so, she plans to see things through.
shin
jiyoung
Growing up as the eldest child of three to a couple of teachers in a satellite city nestled between Incheon and Seoul, Jiyoung had a relatively unremarkable childhood. It was a healthy, happy home and, save for everyday bumps in the road, nothing notable happened until she was in her teens.
Jiyoung had always been regarded as pretty—by neighbors, other family members, and whatnot—but it hadn't really mattered much until the day a recruiter approached her and her friends during an after-school outing. The woman had praised her looks, saying she had the makings of a star, and 13-year-old Jiyoung ate it all up. She went home with a business card and a newfound dream of joining a talent agency and becoming famous. Her audition was that following Monday and she was asked to perform a series of talents to assess where she'd fit best: being an idol, an actress, or a model.
Ultimately, she trained for two or so years and was marketed to the world as D&E Entertainment's newest multi-talented darling. She initially debuted as an actress, lending her sweet voice to the OSTs of the dramas she played side roles in. Then, after a couple of years of easy exposure, she made her debut as an idol singer at 17.
By no means was Jiyoung at the lofty ranks of the nation's first loves or groups heralded as national darlings, but she'd built up a fair fanbase for herself—made of people who praised not only her visuals, but her singing, dancing, and likable personality. She had the potential for a lot, but her company didn't really use her as much as they should have. They were actor-focused and so, Jiyoung had only seen one mini album and a handful of OSTs over the next three years. And the only main character roles she ever got since her acting debut were through a few web dramas that didn't get the same kind of viewership that television dramas did.
Within that time, Jiyoung had also met Shon Minho. Minho was a couple years older, a rookie actor of only a year or so that had broken contract with his poorly-funded company and joined D&E. The two started as friends, but their instant connection was obvious. They became official after a few years of friendship and, unfortunately or fortunately—depending on who you ask, Jiyoung was pregnant by 21. D&E was thankfully an open-minded company. They didn't mind the relationship, and they didn't mind the pregnancy. In fact, they were keen to help Jiyoung and Minho navigate the mine field that was the media and public scrutiny, but Jiyoung wasn't particularly attached to the idea of resuming activities once she was able to. She'd had her fill of the limelight—with its constant scrutiny and idol-heightened expectations. She felt comfortable enough with her support system and in her place in the world to bow out
Jiyoung willingly removed herself from the limelight to allow herself a quiet pregnancy and then found continued work as an OST singer, guide singer, and talent mentor for the company. She also started on a degree program at Seokyung University. When the company eventually shut down after a much larger scandal from the CEO, she began to work for Diamond Soul Factory, but soon left within the year after seeing how they managed their artists. The only time she's been fully in the spotlight since her scandal was a couple of years spent as an occasionally featuring parent on The Return of Superman when little Mirinae was 2 and 3 years old. Since then, Mirinae has grown to a lively 6-year-old and earned the title of big sister with the arrival of, now, 2-year-old Hyeseong.
Jiyoung had always been regarded as pretty—by neighbors, other family members, and whatnot—but it hadn't really mattered much until the day a recruiter approached her and her friends during an after-school outing. The woman had praised her looks, saying she had the makings of a star, and 13-year-old Jiyoung ate it all up. She went home with a business card and a newfound dream of joining a talent agency and becoming famous. Her audition was that following Monday and she was asked to perform a series of talents to assess where she'd fit best: being an idol, an actress, or a model.
Ultimately, she trained for two or so years and was marketed to the world as D&E Entertainment's newest multi-talented darling. She initially debuted as an actress, lending her sweet voice to the OSTs of the dramas she played side roles in. Then, after a couple of years of easy exposure, she made her debut as an idol singer at 17.
By no means was Jiyoung at the lofty ranks of the nation's first loves or groups heralded as national darlings, but she'd built up a fair fanbase for herself—made of people who praised not only her visuals, but her singing, dancing, and likable personality. She had the potential for a lot, but her company didn't really use her as much as they should have. They were actor-focused and so, Jiyoung had only seen one mini album and a handful of OSTs over the next three years. And the only main character roles she ever got since her acting debut were through a few web dramas that didn't get the same kind of viewership that television dramas did.
Within that time, Jiyoung had also met Shon Minho. Minho was a couple years older, a rookie actor of only a year or so that had broken contract with his poorly-funded company and joined D&E. The two started as friends, but their instant connection was obvious. They became official after a few years of friendship and, unfortunately or fortunately—depending on who you ask, Jiyoung was pregnant by 21. D&E was thankfully an open-minded company. They didn't mind the relationship, and they didn't mind the pregnancy. In fact, they were keen to help Jiyoung and Minho navigate the mine field that was the media and public scrutiny, but Jiyoung wasn't particularly attached to the idea of resuming activities once she was able to. She'd had her fill of the limelight—with its constant scrutiny and idol-heightened expectations. She felt comfortable enough with her support system and in her place in the world to bow out
Jiyoung willingly removed herself from the limelight to allow herself a quiet pregnancy and then found continued work as an OST singer, guide singer, and talent mentor for the company. She also started on a degree program at Seokyung University. When the company eventually shut down after a much larger scandal from the CEO, she began to work for Diamond Soul Factory, but soon left within the year after seeing how they managed their artists. The only time she's been fully in the spotlight since her scandal was a couple of years spent as an occasionally featuring parent on The Return of Superman when little Mirinae was 2 and 3 years old. Since then, Mirinae has grown to a lively 6-year-old and earned the title of big sister with the arrival of, now, 2-year-old Hyeseong.
sunny
lee
Born in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, to a music teacher mother and a drummer father, Sunhee has always had exposure to and a love for music and the performance arts. As a result, she's sung pretty much all of her life. During the summers, she and her brothers would travel with their dad to wherever his band took him so, she's been to a number of countries.
When Sunhee was 13, her family moved to the States for the kids' schooling. There, she picked up the name Sunny after numerous failed attempts at her real name and when a bunch of her peers remarked on how similar it was to her personality. In high school, she was the lead singer of an okay cover band and her dad, unfortunately, died of cancer towards the end of her senior year. Rather than staying in America, she continued her musical pursuits at SeoulArts so she could follow her homesick mother and brothers during this rough time. She got a BA in Composition with a violin and piano focus and picked up bass along the way in an (unfortunate) attempt to impress a guy. A good thing came out of it thought when she formed a band called 'Radiant' with three total strangers from her school; all of which would become her absolute best friends.
In her final semester at SeoulArts, Sunny had no idea what she really wanted to do for a living. In addition to playing gigs at clubs and school events and trying to sell compositions, she decided to try out for a few entertainment companies since everyone in Radiant agreed that they should find jobs outside of the band. She didn't actually expect to get into a company, but when she did, she saw it as her chance to pursue music professionally.
With the help of Petal Entertainment, Sunny was ready to show everyone what she worked so hard for. But that all proved to be in vain when she was set to debut in a group called Diamond Divas as the leader. They had numerous false starts, a line up change, and 2 different album recordings and never released a single song to debut, so Sunny decided to leave. Though she holds absolutely no malice to her former CEO, she's bit jaded from the trainee life and decided to find someone that needed a composer's skills.
She began freelance work soonafter and works as a songwriter and producer under the pen names sdLight and Miya. The time wasted was not all bad, though, because she met some of the most important people in her life through Petal—including her partner of 5 years, Ong Shiwoo. She puts her newfound abundance of personal time into Radiant, her relationships, and her recently opened business: a public creative space called the Sun Room.
When Sunhee was 13, her family moved to the States for the kids' schooling. There, she picked up the name Sunny after numerous failed attempts at her real name and when a bunch of her peers remarked on how similar it was to her personality. In high school, she was the lead singer of an okay cover band and her dad, unfortunately, died of cancer towards the end of her senior year. Rather than staying in America, she continued her musical pursuits at SeoulArts so she could follow her homesick mother and brothers during this rough time. She got a BA in Composition with a violin and piano focus and picked up bass along the way in an (unfortunate) attempt to impress a guy. A good thing came out of it thought when she formed a band called 'Radiant' with three total strangers from her school; all of which would become her absolute best friends.
In her final semester at SeoulArts, Sunny had no idea what she really wanted to do for a living. In addition to playing gigs at clubs and school events and trying to sell compositions, she decided to try out for a few entertainment companies since everyone in Radiant agreed that they should find jobs outside of the band. She didn't actually expect to get into a company, but when she did, she saw it as her chance to pursue music professionally.
With the help of Petal Entertainment, Sunny was ready to show everyone what she worked so hard for. But that all proved to be in vain when she was set to debut in a group called Diamond Divas as the leader. They had numerous false starts, a line up change, and 2 different album recordings and never released a single song to debut, so Sunny decided to leave. Though she holds absolutely no malice to her former CEO, she's bit jaded from the trainee life and decided to find someone that needed a composer's skills.
She began freelance work soonafter and works as a songwriter and producer under the pen names sdLight and Miya. The time wasted was not all bad, though, because she met some of the most important people in her life through Petal—including her partner of 5 years, Ong Shiwoo. She puts her newfound abundance of personal time into Radiant, her relationships, and her recently opened business: a public creative space called the Sun Room.
the
devil
Know your place, or lose it all.
This is the lesson that the fable formerly known as Lucifer learned very swiftly and harshly when he dared to challenge an unbalanced system.
Hêlêl, "the Shining One," he was called. He was the perfect specimen of creation—beautiful, wise, talented, and eminent. Sitting at the prominent position of "the anointed cherub who covers," his glorious wings proverbially stretched over the King of Heaven's throne while he sat nearby as the head royal guard. Hêlêl was well-liked, much loved, and may as well have been a prince with the luxurious life he led.
But, the archangel always believed in equality. He always believed in justice. And it never quite sat right with him that the monarch was all powerful, with everyone else just being expected to bend to the king's every single whim at the drop of a hat. So, he spoke up.
It was a valiant effort on the archangel's part. Months spent planning and organizing with his fellow servants all culminated to the day, the hour, the minute, the very second that he stood up and confronted the King for change, but nobody else stood with him. His peers, the cowards that they were, had all quietly backed out amid their own fears of dire consequences. And dire they were.
The King took a very no-tolerance approach to his guard's punishment. There would be no chances, there would be no discussion. Lucifer Morningstar was stripped of his title and his name—he was to be called Satan from then on—"adversary." He had his wings ripped from his back and he was banished from Heaven to reside wherever he landed. The next closest realm? Storybook.
In the beginning, life in Storybook was a major downgrade for the freshly-minted devil. On orders from his King, Storybook's highest authorities kept a trained eye on Satan and he was forced to live in the shadows of the underworld. He spent a millennia as the lowest of the low, still forced to answer to his King and complete missions in both the human and fable worlds.
But, he still had his beliefs. He held onto them tightly, as if they were the only thing he had because, in a way, they were. And, when he'd built up enough strength and enough supporters, he decided that he would no longer answer to the King, or any other authorities.
Instead, he built his own kingdom from the ground up underneath the surface where he'd made his home. The next several millennia were spent as a king of the underworld, one of many but certainly one of the best.
If his former King saw him as an adversary, he would be just that. He ruled with an strict hand and a silver tongue, spreading temptation, trickery, and misery to all deserving humans and fables. Only the deserving ones. That was something he made sure of. He never wanted the innocent to suffer and he always gave those straddling the line the free will to make their own good or bad decisions before ultimately executing his punishment.
After 15 billion years of living, though, one gets bored with the same life, day in and day out. So, the devil decided that he would walk among man permanently; at least for a little while. He left Storybook within the past year or so to experience life as your average, perhaps abnormal human. Going by the alias Victor, he's been enjoying a lowkey life that's occasionally spiced up with the odd trickery and deceit for those who deserve it.
This is the lesson that the fable formerly known as Lucifer learned very swiftly and harshly when he dared to challenge an unbalanced system.
Hêlêl, "the Shining One," he was called. He was the perfect specimen of creation—beautiful, wise, talented, and eminent. Sitting at the prominent position of "the anointed cherub who covers," his glorious wings proverbially stretched over the King of Heaven's throne while he sat nearby as the head royal guard. Hêlêl was well-liked, much loved, and may as well have been a prince with the luxurious life he led.
But, the archangel always believed in equality. He always believed in justice. And it never quite sat right with him that the monarch was all powerful, with everyone else just being expected to bend to the king's every single whim at the drop of a hat. So, he spoke up.
It was a valiant effort on the archangel's part. Months spent planning and organizing with his fellow servants all culminated to the day, the hour, the minute, the very second that he stood up and confronted the King for change, but nobody else stood with him. His peers, the cowards that they were, had all quietly backed out amid their own fears of dire consequences. And dire they were.
The King took a very no-tolerance approach to his guard's punishment. There would be no chances, there would be no discussion. Lucifer Morningstar was stripped of his title and his name—he was to be called Satan from then on—"adversary." He had his wings ripped from his back and he was banished from Heaven to reside wherever he landed. The next closest realm? Storybook.
In the beginning, life in Storybook was a major downgrade for the freshly-minted devil. On orders from his King, Storybook's highest authorities kept a trained eye on Satan and he was forced to live in the shadows of the underworld. He spent a millennia as the lowest of the low, still forced to answer to his King and complete missions in both the human and fable worlds.
But, he still had his beliefs. He held onto them tightly, as if they were the only thing he had because, in a way, they were. And, when he'd built up enough strength and enough supporters, he decided that he would no longer answer to the King, or any other authorities.
Instead, he built his own kingdom from the ground up underneath the surface where he'd made his home. The next several millennia were spent as a king of the underworld, one of many but certainly one of the best.
If his former King saw him as an adversary, he would be just that. He ruled with an strict hand and a silver tongue, spreading temptation, trickery, and misery to all deserving humans and fables. Only the deserving ones. That was something he made sure of. He never wanted the innocent to suffer and he always gave those straddling the line the free will to make their own good or bad decisions before ultimately executing his punishment.
After 15 billion years of living, though, one gets bored with the same life, day in and day out. So, the devil decided that he would walk among man permanently; at least for a little while. He left Storybook within the past year or so to experience life as your average, perhaps abnormal human. Going by the alias Victor, he's been enjoying a lowkey life that's occasionally spiced up with the odd trickery and deceit for those who deserve it.
yoo
taeyang
Growing up in the coastal city of Tongyeong, Taeyang and his brother, Taegeun, never felt any academic pressure from their parents. Unlike some peers, they were allowed to be kids and to enjoy their chosen hobbies, rather than being forced into a handful of resume boosters when the time came. As long as they were maintaining fairly good grades and better behavior, their parents didn't fret much and gave both boys the choice on whether or not they'd go to university.
While Taegeun actually decided to go, choosing a school in Seoul, 16-year-old Taeyang saw this as his chance to move out of their small town to experience the bigger city and a much-needed change of pace while he figured out what he wanted to do with himself. He was very certain of the seeemingly abrupt decision, even coordinating with their aunt who lived there to arrange his living and school situation on his own. She was all too happy to have him, too. As long as he helped out around the apartment and at the florist shop/cafe she owned on the ground floor, the spare room was his for as long as he wanted.
The little shop is actually where Taeyang was scouted for the first time. He'd been setting up the outdoor flower display when a woman suddenly approached him. She said she was from a small entertainment company with big potential and preached about how his unique looks were exactly what they needed to be the last piece of their trainee lineup. Taeyang liked singing and he liked dancing, but it'd never been enough for him to consider pursuing a career. But, he was in his rudderless era and figured he was young enough to give it a try without losing too much if things fell through.
By the end of that week, Taeyang had signed a contract and was to start as a trainee on the coming Monday. The next 5 or so years were a whirlwind of bad and good experiences; though, the bad far outweighed the good. The company that Taeyang signed to was incredibly well-meaning; he could tell that much by the way they hired professional coaches and booked a lot of pre-debut gigs but, the CEO and her handful of staff were inexperienced and financially unprepared.
Things started off well enough in the first year. Sure, the dorms were a little cramped; sure, an occasional roach would find its way in, but they were learning a lot and Taeyang had begun to see himself as pursuing an idol career for real. But, over time, things began to slide downhill. Eventually, the trainees had to get themselves to the gigs they were booked at and get jobs to pay for meals and anything else they wanted. Every now and then, the CEO would apologetically ask them to pay a utility or two. They'd all become a sort of family, so no one minded initially, but things became too drawn out and financial favors had become to frequent.
In the company's last couple of years, many people broke their contracts while others were signed to fill the void. It was a cycle that repeated amid promises of one boy group (Morgen) and one girl group (Stiorra) debuting, but debuts were expensive. After the boy group finally debuted with a good song, but a low-budget mv and only non-show promotions, the company was forced into bankruptcy to compensate the loss of their commercial failure.
Disappointment would be an understatement in describing how Taeyang left things, but he remained optimistic about his future. He wasn't going to seek out another company, but he didn't feel like his teens had been wasted because of the things he learned and the connections he made. He's even still in contact with most of the company's personnel who have moved onto other, better managed, ventures—the poor CEO included.
After the company went under, he simply returned to working at his aunt's shop part-time, started doing small modeling gigs for photographer and designer friends, and enrolled in Hongik University's musical theater program, minoring in traditional dance. He only decided to return to the idol industry at the urging of Miso, who'd been lowkey pestering the old company peers groupchat (affectionately titled Roach Kid Society) to audition for her new, good company because she, quote, "want[s] everyone to get their win." After training for a little less than half a year, he decided to step down from the trainee program because of growing anxieties about debuting again and become the company's behind the scene renaissance man, doing vocal training, guides, and video directing and producing. It was a nice gig (thought Taeyang's sure the CEOs were just playing nice with him because of his looks), but as soon as his old friend was scorned and left, he decided to leave in solidarity.
While Taegeun actually decided to go, choosing a school in Seoul, 16-year-old Taeyang saw this as his chance to move out of their small town to experience the bigger city and a much-needed change of pace while he figured out what he wanted to do with himself. He was very certain of the seeemingly abrupt decision, even coordinating with their aunt who lived there to arrange his living and school situation on his own. She was all too happy to have him, too. As long as he helped out around the apartment and at the florist shop/cafe she owned on the ground floor, the spare room was his for as long as he wanted.
The little shop is actually where Taeyang was scouted for the first time. He'd been setting up the outdoor flower display when a woman suddenly approached him. She said she was from a small entertainment company with big potential and preached about how his unique looks were exactly what they needed to be the last piece of their trainee lineup. Taeyang liked singing and he liked dancing, but it'd never been enough for him to consider pursuing a career. But, he was in his rudderless era and figured he was young enough to give it a try without losing too much if things fell through.
By the end of that week, Taeyang had signed a contract and was to start as a trainee on the coming Monday. The next 5 or so years were a whirlwind of bad and good experiences; though, the bad far outweighed the good. The company that Taeyang signed to was incredibly well-meaning; he could tell that much by the way they hired professional coaches and booked a lot of pre-debut gigs but, the CEO and her handful of staff were inexperienced and financially unprepared.
Things started off well enough in the first year. Sure, the dorms were a little cramped; sure, an occasional roach would find its way in, but they were learning a lot and Taeyang had begun to see himself as pursuing an idol career for real. But, over time, things began to slide downhill. Eventually, the trainees had to get themselves to the gigs they were booked at and get jobs to pay for meals and anything else they wanted. Every now and then, the CEO would apologetically ask them to pay a utility or two. They'd all become a sort of family, so no one minded initially, but things became too drawn out and financial favors had become to frequent.
In the company's last couple of years, many people broke their contracts while others were signed to fill the void. It was a cycle that repeated amid promises of one boy group (Morgen) and one girl group (Stiorra) debuting, but debuts were expensive. After the boy group finally debuted with a good song, but a low-budget mv and only non-show promotions, the company was forced into bankruptcy to compensate the loss of their commercial failure.
Disappointment would be an understatement in describing how Taeyang left things, but he remained optimistic about his future. He wasn't going to seek out another company, but he didn't feel like his teens had been wasted because of the things he learned and the connections he made. He's even still in contact with most of the company's personnel who have moved onto other, better managed, ventures—the poor CEO included.
After the company went under, he simply returned to working at his aunt's shop part-time, started doing small modeling gigs for photographer and designer friends, and enrolled in Hongik University's musical theater program, minoring in traditional dance. He only decided to return to the idol industry at the urging of Miso, who'd been lowkey pestering the old company peers groupchat (affectionately titled Roach Kid Society) to audition for her new, good company because she, quote, "want[s] everyone to get their win." After training for a little less than half a year, he decided to step down from the trainee program because of growing anxieties about debuting again and become the company's behind the scene renaissance man, doing vocal training, guides, and video directing and producing. It was a nice gig (thought Taeyang's sure the CEOs were just playing nice with him because of his looks), but as soon as his old friend was scorned and left, he decided to leave in solidarity.
yue
qian
Foxes have always been solitary animals, so Yue Qian was on her own from a very early point in her longevous life.
As an adolescent fox fairy, merely a húli jīng—not yet granted a human form—Yue Qian always found a way to get into trouble. If she wasn't being chased away by farmers and merchants in the human realm, she was dodging irate greater spirits in her home realm. When she wasn't causing a fuss across the realms, Yue Qian worked as an assistant to a lesser knowledge spirit, collecting tomes, codices, scrolls, manuscripts, and any other sources of information from everywhere. It was a rare opportunity, only given to a select few foxes, so she was always sure to work hard and not lose the opportunity.
Over time, while cultivating her mind and spirituality, Yue Qian earned her second and third tails. And finally, on her 100th birthday, she was granted her human form. The combination of hard work and mischievous play only continued, taking on different forms as she was able to source additional knowledge through conversations and trick humans in entirely different ways.
Far more mature than her childhood days, the fox fairy also used her new form, and other shape shifting abilities, to do a lot of good. It was never anything major—helping a lost child find their way home or rescuing a youngling animal swept away in a flood—but one such act of kindness pushed her into an entirely new role.
It was on one of her usual ventures, the journey back to her master's library, when she came across an ailing white deer with 4 antlers: the Fuzhu, an omen for ravaging floods. The deer spirit had been injured, struck down by ignorant hunters. After accompanying the cervine spirit in its final moments, Yue Qian took it upon herself to warn the nearby village of the impending disaster.
The entire village was able to evacute, along with the animal residents of the surrounding forest, and Yue Qian was rewarded for her good deed with designation as the forest's resident guardian deity.
In this new role, Yue Qian continued to grow as a fox—going from a young húli jīng to a laohu to an immortal húxiān as the decades wore on. She never saw the appeal in harming humans to build herself up the quick way and was happy to spend the centuries it took to earn her fourth, fifth, and sixth tails.
Then Yue Qian fell in love. In 700+ years, she'd certainly found herself infatuated with various humans and spirits alike, but it'd never been like this. She was perfect—a high-ranking general's daughter with just as much beauty as she had brains—and she understood Yue Qian like no other. It all seemed far too good to last. And it didn't.
The general was slain, a punishment for treason, and so his family was to die with him. Forbidden from interfering with their destiny by greater deities, Yue Qian was helpless as she witnessed the massacre. She was distraught and vulnerable when she ran into the wrong people and a peculiar circus, suddenly sitting proudly in her woods. The Ringmaster welcomed her with open arms. And the decades have blurred together since then.
As an adolescent fox fairy, merely a húli jīng—not yet granted a human form—Yue Qian always found a way to get into trouble. If she wasn't being chased away by farmers and merchants in the human realm, she was dodging irate greater spirits in her home realm. When she wasn't causing a fuss across the realms, Yue Qian worked as an assistant to a lesser knowledge spirit, collecting tomes, codices, scrolls, manuscripts, and any other sources of information from everywhere. It was a rare opportunity, only given to a select few foxes, so she was always sure to work hard and not lose the opportunity.
Over time, while cultivating her mind and spirituality, Yue Qian earned her second and third tails. And finally, on her 100th birthday, she was granted her human form. The combination of hard work and mischievous play only continued, taking on different forms as she was able to source additional knowledge through conversations and trick humans in entirely different ways.
Far more mature than her childhood days, the fox fairy also used her new form, and other shape shifting abilities, to do a lot of good. It was never anything major—helping a lost child find their way home or rescuing a youngling animal swept away in a flood—but one such act of kindness pushed her into an entirely new role.
It was on one of her usual ventures, the journey back to her master's library, when she came across an ailing white deer with 4 antlers: the Fuzhu, an omen for ravaging floods. The deer spirit had been injured, struck down by ignorant hunters. After accompanying the cervine spirit in its final moments, Yue Qian took it upon herself to warn the nearby village of the impending disaster.
The entire village was able to evacute, along with the animal residents of the surrounding forest, and Yue Qian was rewarded for her good deed with designation as the forest's resident guardian deity.
In this new role, Yue Qian continued to grow as a fox—going from a young húli jīng to a laohu to an immortal húxiān as the decades wore on. She never saw the appeal in harming humans to build herself up the quick way and was happy to spend the centuries it took to earn her fourth, fifth, and sixth tails.
Then Yue Qian fell in love. In 700+ years, she'd certainly found herself infatuated with various humans and spirits alike, but it'd never been like this. She was perfect—a high-ranking general's daughter with just as much beauty as she had brains—and she understood Yue Qian like no other. It all seemed far too good to last. And it didn't.
The general was slain, a punishment for treason, and so his family was to die with him. Forbidden from interfering with their destiny by greater deities, Yue Qian was helpless as she witnessed the massacre. She was distraught and vulnerable when she ran into the wrong people and a peculiar circus, suddenly sitting proudly in her woods. The Ringmaster welcomed her with open arms. And the decades have blurred together since then.
zar
hawthorne
Zahara is a manic gothic murder girl inspired by Lisa Frankenstein, Jennifer's Body, Poor Thing, and Starkid's Hatchetfield series. She's technically a hatchetfield OC, but I'd put them in any fucked up town/supernatural universe. BIO TBA
