KAMON BOONMEE ( POOM PHURIPAN SAPSANGSAWAT )ย is aย THIRTYย year-oldย VOLUNTEER MANAGERย inย BROOKLYN, NYC. They were brought under Richardโs care when they were onlyย ELEVEN. They are known asย THEย TORMENTEDย because they areย COMPASSIONATEย but alsoย SELF-CRITICAL.ย Letโs see what choice they make regarding the fate of Woodrow House.
BASIC INFORMATION
full name:ย kamon boonmee
nickname(s):ย mon, monnie
date of birth:ย june 26th, 1975
age:ย thirty
occupation:ย volunteer manager
current residence:ย a studio flat in brooklyn, scarcely decorated since he moved in two weeks ago. his belongings are scattered between his room in woodrow and his new flat.
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
hair:ย dark brown, almost black, usually styled away from his forehead, with a strand or two falling down to his eyes. if it's a particularly long day, by evening, it usually falls back into its natural shape due to how much he runs his hands through it. during the mornings or when he is feeling particularly down, he doesn't bother styling it.
eyes:ย dark brown. he wears his heart on his sleeve most of the time, and it's easy to figure out what he's feeling from the way his eyes go wide or tearful.
height:ย 1.78cm / 5'10"
notable features:ย there are a few beauty marks on his face, one near the tip of his nose, one on his chin, and a lot of other ones around his neck. there's a scar near his hairline, above his right eyebrow where he fell from a tree when he was a kid.
PERSONALITY & BEHAVIOR:
strengths:ย compassionate, empathetic, kind.
weaknesses:ย self-critical, non-confrontational, overthinker.
quirks:ย when he's nervous, it's easy to figure out from his mannerisms; cracking of his knuckles, moving his leg up and down. cannot stop moving in one way or another, picks at his nails, and bites his lips. if there is a paper cup in front of him, as time flows, it will be torn into little shreds. on the other end of the spectrum, when he is excited and happy about a particular thing, he also cannot stop moving, but it's less erratic, more so wanting to share that joy. he is a tactile person, and likes reaching out, a hand on a friend's shoulder, tapping his fingers on a nearby surface, talking with his hands more.
vices:ย he does have a sweet tooth, though has learned how to curb it in the woodrow household, and usually settles with the fruit. every once in a while, he used to steal from richard's secret candy stash. a worse habit is that he smokes sometimes. usually not around the house, and not where richard could see, for he did not want to disappoint him. his nicotine addiction gets worse under stress, and after richard's death, he has been smoking more and more, not particularly caring he will get caught during it.
INTEREST & HOBBIES:
interests:ย music, art (german romanticism), loves watching dramas, and can be found crying at them every, even though he will swear he was not.
hobbies:ย cooking, trying out new recipes, reading old books, visiting museums, sightseeing, going to concerts.
special skills/talents:ย kamon is particularly talented at playing the violin. that's also how he has met richard, and while he did not pursue a professional career in it, he always kept it up as a hobby. every couple of months, when his friend's orchestra is a violinist too short, he agrees to show up for a few performances.
BECOMING A WARD โ illness, death tw
kamon is born as the only child to a working mother. he becomes all she has, and in turn, she is his entire family. when she realizes she is pregnant, she is young; only in her early twenties, recently moved into a livable place for her name, a rental with one bedroom, and a job where she makes a little more than a livable wage. she is alone, she always has been, having run away from her home to follow her own dreams. a baby is not in her plans, and the father makes it clear he does not want to be in the picture. she finds herself at a crossroads, and decides to accept kamon as a gift from a higher being. luck's been on her side on her journey alone out in nyc, and believes that she can make this work too. money's tight, raising a kid on a teacher's salary is near impossible, though she does her best. her friends help now and then, and despite the financial problems here and there, kamon grows up in a household filled with love. yes, sometimes he has to do more chores around the house than a boy his age should, or walk himself home when she cannot leave school just yet, but they do make it work. a close friend of her mother's being a music teacher, he takes up playing the violin when he is quite young, and they realize he is very talented with the instrument. despite not having the money to hire tutors or the best equipment, his talent shines through. slowly, he participates in various shows here and there, and it's one of those charity performances that kamon catches richard's eye. an eight-year-old, sitting near the corner of the stage, playing the violin with a type of maturity and emotion that's rare to see. that's when kamon first falls under richard's radar. though it takes a few years of seeing each other at a performance and then another, for him to actually take part in his life. although it's hard to wrap his head around as a child, kamon realizes that something is wrong. her mother needs more help around the house now, and starts to disappear, leaving him in the care of her friends. at first, he thinks it's a one-time ordeal, though with how often it happens, he realizes that there is more that he does not know. then there is the fact that she looks sickly, coughing into her palm when she thinks he cannot see, and he realizes there are also some days in which she takes time off from work. all of these add up, and he knows he is right about his suspicions. it's a difficult conversation, not one that kamon can fully grasp. there are a lot of words about how she is sick, and that she is getting worse, despite how much the doctors are doing their best. they both cry, and she tries to reassure him, his face pressing into her chest, small hands clinging onto the back of her shirt. he sees richard next at the hospital. she is still alive when kamon sits by her bedside, feet curled under himself, a children's book on his lap, eyes looking but not seeing. the man sits down next to him and tells him that he will take care of him for a bit until his mother gets better. she doesn't get better. they lose her a few months later.
LIFE AS A WARD
the time between richard taking him under his wing and his mother's passing goes quickly. kamon is both there and not at the same time, going through the motions, doing what he's told, and trying to understand everything that's going on. in simple terms, his entire life is turned upside down. when he is shown his new room in the estate, he can swear it's as big as the entirety of his old home. living in the woodrow house is the polar opposite of the one-bedroom flat he and his mother lived in back in the city. there are no chores, no grocery runs, no laundry or dishes. the spaces feel too much, too big, too quiet, and he usually likes to spend his time anywhere but in the empty room. in the first couple of months, he is quiet, stuck within his shell, trying to come to terms with jarring concepts such as death, and the fact he will never see his mother again. she was all he had, and kamon suddenly feels alone in the entire world. it is richard's who brings him out of that shell. grief is never-ending, though, under his care in the woodrow house, kamon slowly unravels to become the kind and compassionate young man he was destined to be. in turn, he latches onto richard, blooms under his attention, and strives to make him proud through the years. his aim becomes to help others just as richard has helped him. kamon does his best to be a picture-perfect child, and whenever he can, he joins richard in his meetings regarding the foundation. it comes like second nature to him, to talk to people in need, to get to know them, to figure out what they can do to make their lives a bit easier. he is gentle and agreeable, which is why most people find it easy to talk to him. after graduating, richard slowly begins to give him higher roles within the organization, even if all kamon wants to do is to continue doing groundwork, talk with the actual people in need, not join meetings and get buried in paperwork.
AESTHETIC
kamon prefers neutral colors, browns, beiges, softer whites. he is somewhat inspired by richard's fashion, but slightly more younger and a hip version. a lot of sweaters of neutral colors, and white shirts tucked into his slacks. he wears a thin golden necklace around his neck with a small star pendant that used to belong to his mother. kamon never takes it off, even when he sleeps. there are also a few piercings on his left ear, though he goes for small, unnoticeable studs that are also gold. these he used to rotate often, though since richard's passing, he has only been wearing one that was gifted by him, and has never taken it off since.
EDUCATION
kamon chose to continue receiving schooling on woodrow grounds. it made everything much easier, to continue staying at home, and to learn and do as much work as possible regarding the foundation. when it comes to tertiary education, he went to kingsbury college to major in social work. it seemed like the perfect choice, to learn more about charity work, to make himself more suitable to help those through the woodrow foundation. after his graduation, he received a more official title in the foundation.
EXTRACURRICULARSย
his favorite extracurricular is, unsurprisingly, music. besides the violin, he can also play the piano and knows his way around a guitar. he also composes from time to time. when it comes to sports, none of the traditional ones ever really stuck, but he enjoys hiking quite a lot. it's often that he can be found walking around the grounds to clear his mind, no matter the time. it can be at five am one morning, or at midnight, it depends on whenever the urge hits. he knows his way around the gardens quite well now, and sometimes wanders off grounds when he feels like he needs a longer hike.
THEIR LIFE NOW
even before richard's passing and after their fight, kamon felt an emptiness he had not felt for so long. his entire life was woodrow, and leaving felt like a rug has been pulled underneath his feet. he moved into a new space, a studio flat in brooklyn, very similar to one of his mother's, though completely alone for the first time in years. it was his own doing, this much he knew. the fight had been messy, even if his intention was anything but. all kamon wanted was to convince richard he was more suitable for a smaller role, despite what the man clearly wanted for him. kamon had climbed the stairs of management in the foundation in the last couple of years, and he knew richard was preparing him to take a bigger role. it was not what he wanted, nor what he thought he could do. cruel words were thrown, and kamon cannot forget one of his last words to the man. he had yelled at him, told him that he was making kamon out to be someone he wasn't, an idealized version of him that was not true at all. he left, and he regrets everything that he had done that night. even if he knows he had to tell richard all of those things, and that he had to come clean at one point, kamon wishes he had done it all differently. if he had just stayed- for a couple of weeks more, maybe he would have been there to help. now, their last memory is stained, and he feels like he has failed the man he loved like a father, the man who saved him over and over again through the years. to him, his last words were filled with cruelty and anger, and there is nothing he can do to change that.
