#hs:intro

short tldr;

born in seoul, adopted and raised in vancouver, canada by a very nice but also grieving korean-canadian couple. never set foot outside of vancouver after moving there. decided to yeet to seoul for school (claiming he wants to Get In Touch with his home country). settled on hansung bc it was the easiest to get into. has been here since his first year, flies back during long breaks to see his parents.

personality(ish)

friendly, judgy, semi-guarded. (basically nice but not 100% kind)

he isn’t opposed to doing small favors for you etc but end of the day his priorities lie with him ofc (also had a Horrible people pleaser phase his first year tryna make friends and now he’s kinda like :/ :\ :? about people asking him for things).

will see his own choices out to the bitter end even if it’s the wrong one b/c at least it’s HIS choice yk? for ex he moved to korea alone as a gyopo with Ok korean and limited understanding of the culture (manners, dos and don’ts, hierarchy, scammers on the streets, how the fckn public commute works) so ngl ate SHIT his first year at hansung—but it’s fine or w/e independence is sexy)

probably takes unsolicited advice the wrong way b/c why are you telling him wtd are you his mom

tkm (hanbang) major 

 random.org picked it and it’s not like he hates it/is bad at it and he’s even gotten used to the stench of the herbs and everything - ig what he hates is packing the medicine and his mf bilingual tongue keeps fucking up the names. likely won’t go into being a doctor in this field, highly considering being an acupuncturist instead. currently looking for human pincushion volunteers.

that said hates the stench of the herbs even though he’s gotten used to it (b/c who wants to leave class smelling like class for the rest of the day) so religiously carries a bottle of fabric refresher (clean, soapy, fresh laundry smell) in his bag + wears diptyque perfume bracelet (all this so he doesn’t smell like a 70 y/o man when he’s out of class :/)

volunteering twice a week at a hanbang clinic for extra credit, not allowed to diagnose anyone but he packs meds and sometimes get to poke people with needles so he’s learning Something ig

green sleeve keeners

genuinely like GENUINELY likes cleaning — it’s a good stress reliever and yk how people go on runs to clear their heads, it’s kinda like that (likely won’t clean your room though don’t even ask ?:) + he likes the clean smell (he’s v sensitive to smells ngl)

the green thumb is questionable though and he’s Trying (probably has a couple indoor plants stacked up in his apartment facing the sun), doesn’t like weeding but he likes mowing the grass b/c it smells nice 

rather than picking up after anyone in the cafeteria he’s more so like HEY you forgot your napkin etc

currently helps out at the school pool yk... just picking up here and there for no particular reason + sweeping around the health building

whl 89.4 problematics (?)

works the mixing board with someone else (they take shifts or smth idk), doesn’t always show up for sessions b/c some of his schedules overlap

generally takes more of a behind the scenes role b/c some sunbae told him when he joined in y1 that he “didn’t have the voice for radio”

used to screen calls for callers for respective segments (advice, story time, fuck my ex!!!!) before that happened which wasn’t 100% his fault but he feels kinda ehhh so he’s taking a step back from that

@ him to play your shitty remixes or songs, he’ll do it!!

iso melting pot

has been in iso since y1, generally friendly and more laid back with people here over anything. just finds comfort in having a haven of people who are Also struggling to adjust tbt.

doesn’t.... do anything minus the cultural event, he’s mostly just here to chat with his friends lmasodfsdufhsuh

ok no, does also help with some translating with transfer students, taking them around campus etc

alw count on him to bring poutine and butter tarts @ potlucks

plots

standard friends/classmates/etc req

i think “friends” from canada/us would be neat - tbh doesn’t even have to be friends, maybe they just always seen each other on the flight to/back and they’re kinda each other’s unofficial travel buddy or smth

! first person he ever befriended in hansung who also showed him the ropes/how to adjust better living in a new city by himself — could’ve either fizzled as friends when eunrin started to get more and more settled in and picked up on his own clubs etc or they’re still super tight and get perms tgt idk

still looking for human pincushion volunteers

past flings/exes/etc

whl 89.4′s advice segment is private but he’s got a keen ear for voices and now he’s staring at you like he knows something he shouldn’t

nEIGHBORS @ 108th

FYI: korean shamanism is taken with a grain of salt by certain audiences while some fully believe in the idea of it. what i wrote below about seohwan is 1. roughly based on what’s established for mudangs and 2. based on real + fictional experiences of other people who have young-ahn (soul vision):

he’s from a mudang (korean shaman) family line, his grandma was and is still a mudang and sadly he’s chosen to be one by the spirits as he didn’t get placed in the skip generation (read more about this in the bio!)

basically hates the idea of becoming a mudang, because look at him... can you see this guy wearing some colorful ass hanbok and jingle some bells in spirits’ faces? (yeah, he can’t either)

for those who are too lazy to read his bio and is still reading this (it’s ok bc same), he does see ‘ghosts’ and ‘spirits’ and all that kind of good stuff since he’s born with 6th sense (some just look like regular humans with lower opacity and some are creepier) (or that’s what he says)

his grandma urged him to accept his fate and receive shinnaerim (sort of an acceptance ritual/initiation) but he rejects it because hell if he’s going to let some weirdo deity in him and let him speak through his body? no

so yeah he suffered daily from that point on because if a person who’s meant to become a mudang rejects their fate, they get shinbyeong (illness caused by a god entering their bodies) and he gets all the good stuff like nightmares, sleep paralysis, body pains, etc.

but he’s still adamant about stuffing his ‘fate’ away because he’s just a dude who likes doing regular dude things, plus he met a wise monk some years back who basically told him that if he doesn’t entertain the idea of them (basically ignoring the spirits’ existence) they will be discouraged and leave him alone

it doesn’t quite work that way, but it’s doing something which is better than nothing. he gets less sleep paralysis and ghosts pestering him, but only just enough for him to get by without become a mudang

so if you see him on campus swatting at the air or mumbling something to the air (or well, to you,) it’s just a matter of believe-it-or-not!

POSSIBLE PLOTS: 

would be cool if there’s some sort of “haunted unit” thing going on in 108th avenue (or any other dorm really) and your muse is creeped out/wants help? he does know how to write talismans and do basic rituals (sadly), so he can help anyone out with some heavy air on their back/in their room. only thing about this is that he hasn’t really told anyone @ hansung so far of his 6th sense stuff so we’ll have to figure out how that part works??

jk i thought about it and i’ll say that he did a short part-time gig back in highschool as an anonymous on-the-call ghost fighter or something (based on the show bring it on ghost,) and maybe your muse can recognize him? whether they were the client or if they heard it through the grapevines

past flings/hookups without much room for anything more (he used to hook up quite often in year 2) and are just chill buddies now? or maybe your muse saw the talisman slapped onto his wall while ya’ll were sleeping tgt and you were like wtf is this creepo :\

other than ghosts stuff, probably anything from party friends, drinking buddies, same-major colleagues, someone who wants to recruit him into their club (since he’s lazy and he’s currently in none)

THE VILLAIN ORIGIN STORY

was a surprise baby that his parents didn’t want. his older sister became their golden child, and he was the scapegoat. he was a very soft and quiet child, which was something that immensely bothered his father, who wished that his son was at least “manly”.

by the time he was four they had enough, and dropped him off at his grandmother’s house. he thought they were gonna come back, and it took a few weeks for him to realize that he was staying there permanently. 

his grandmother was extremely loving towards him, but is also a very traditional babushka — she’s seen some shit, she doesn’t talk much, and she shows her love through food. guess who turned out exactly the same way.

at some point through high school, he got back into contact with his sister. they grew closer, but were never all that close because of their vastly different upbringings. once he finished high school, he temporarily cut contact with her again while he completed his russian military service. 

once that was done, ilya didn’t really know what to do with his life. school was never all that important to him, but his grandmother was the one who suggested going to study abroad to see the world. he ended up settling on sk on his sister’s advice, as it was only a two hour plane ride away.

GASLIGHT GATEKEEP GIRLBOSS

his korean is ,,, mediocre, at best. he tries, but he’s more comfortable speaking in russian. will occasionally slip russian words into sentences when he doesn’t know the korean word for things.

he’s actually wicked smart, just lazy as hell. he picked psych as a major because it seemed like it would be “respectable”, but he has a strong interest in fashion. didn’t want to major in it because of some light ✨trauma✨ from his father 

baby boy is also broke as hell. but being broke + being smart = ingenuity, right? that’s how he started “tutoring”, aka writing essays for people. his prices are steep, but he has yet to get anything less than a b on any essay he’s written.

he’s a part of the international student organization, which is the main place you’ll find him on campus. he’s usually in a corner by himself, but he is physically there with other people

001. BACKGROUND

he was brought up by what you’d call “cool parents”, very open-minded and chill people, never believed in grounding or hitting him and were practically like his best friends growing up (but they also fought a lot because boy, do they have fiery personalities)

it probably has to do with the fact that they were teenage parents, fooled around and got pregnant with him at the age of eighteen and went against their parents to keep the baby, even if they had no clue what they were doing (could’ve been terrible, two kids taking care of another kid but it worked out... pretty much)

his parents never went to college but they hustled enough to bring him up without much support from their parents; his relationship with his grandparents are pretty rocky and his parents prefer to keep a distance since they never really approved of their life choices

he was born and bred in seoul, never moved anywhere else, practically lived in this safe little bubble all his life which is why he can be pretty ignorant about things outside of this bubble

his family was never well-off, but they make enough to get by, which is enough for them (explains why he’s the under-achiever that he is, definitely got it from his parents lol)

fast forward to present day, they’re doing better than before now that his parents had opened a bar near hansung university, which is pretty popular with the students

002. HANSUNG

it was a no-brainer that he would end up in hansung since he clearly did not do well enough for the prestigious universities to consider him (not that it ever bothered him since his main priority was to have fun in college and hansung did look like a lot of fun)

naturally gravitated to the communications programs and eventually picked broadcast & entertainment because, well, it looked like a lot of fun too 

he also joined whl 89.4 because he figures it’s something he’ll be good at—and he is good at it, until he made a little mistake last year

he was one of the disc jockeys behind the saga that led to whl 89.4′s downfall; he was doing a pretty good job until a particular advice/comfort segment where he had made fun of someone who called in to share their problem (i did ask the admin if it’s ok for me to make this canon and they gave me the green light!)

naturally, they received backlash for that and the radio station’s reputation went downhill from there

to make up for his mistake and avoid getting kicked off the club, he took on the role of the publicity officer, vowing to turn things around and fix the mess he made (this took his peers by surprise because if you know chanwoo, you’d know that he struggles with commitment and responsibilities lol)

and this is where he is right now, hopefully on his road to redemption!

p.s. he’s also in soccer, which he plays for fun, and is 1/6 of the tenants at the blue house

003. PERSONALITY

troublemaker and class clown in a nutshell

extremely talkative, can either make you laugh a lot or piss you off real bad

frivolous and lackadaisical, pretty much just wants to have fun and knows how to fun

a free bird that fears getting tied down because he’s always been allowed to spread his wings and do whatever he deems fit

also speaks his mind and could come across as a little too straightforward

but really, he’s harmless, kind of like a puppy that yaps a lot but never bites

playful and mischievous, with a little bit of childlike innocence to him, but that could also come off as immature and flippant (which are all true)

definitely makes a strong first impression but that might deter people from wanting to get to know him better as it seems like what he had already shown is all there is to him

likes flirting but is pretty bad at it, he’ll act like he’s still in middle school and tease you 24/7 if he has a big fat crush on you, that or he’ll accidentally blurt out that he kinda wanna kiss you

actually does really well with kids but that might just have to do with the fact that he’s just like a kid himself

004. WANTED CONNECTIONS

for starters, party people, perhaps fellow tenants at the blue house who are also keen on throwing secret parties?

likewise, other tenants who do not like breaking the rules and are fairly different from him

the other disc jockey involved in the whl 89.4 saga, someone he has amazing on-air (and off-air?) chemistry with and could’ve brought the radio station to greater heights together if not for their little fuck-up (does not have to be a present member of whl 89.4, could’ve left after what happened)

members of whl 89.4 when the saga happened, could’ve either blamed him for what happened and want him out of the club or could be working together with him to save the station

and of course, the caller he had made fun of (definitely needs more plotting but i think this would be really fun to flesh out)

crushes, flings, exes, whatever, come roast his flirt game if you must

would also be down for a more than friends, less than lovers plot

people who frequent his parents’ bar near the university (p.s. they’re also hiring servers and bartenders lol)

quick tldr if you’re too lazy to read bio

parents had a shotgun wedding (mom was just some early 20s kid who managed to bag this well off late 20s to early 30s man) > blablah birth of neul and mom having a tough time adjusting with her in-laws b/c they’re snooty rich people yadadada > essentially she placed all her hopes and dreams on neul to Be Something so she can rub it in everybody’s faces > after a couple years of piano/cello/tennis/wtv lessons they finally settle on Chess > neul goes on to ride that dream onto being a national player blahblah > ff to mom being so set on him getting into yonsei she told everybody and considered nothing else so when he didn’t get in he had to settle for hansung n she’s somewhere hiding her face in shame idk > thats it ..,

anyway neul:

quite? sociable? but also comes off as bit prickly depending on the Vibes yk

has a temper, cant stand losing or being bested - idk would rather eat a denim jacket than admit losing in just about anything

mama’s boy... mommy issues... you name it! 

really a jack of all trades but master of none (minus chess) b/c of all the extracurriculars his mom had him take on when he was younger. so can he play you something on the piano? yeah! is it the same five songs? yeah.

essentially this is the first time he’ll be out and about away from home (mom) and making his own decisions so i wanna say he’s kinda acting out in a i’ll-live-on-ddeokbokki-and-malatang-for-a-week-who-cares way not in a euphoria kinda way or w/e 

more so he’s just doing whatever his whims call for (but still toeing the line as a good boy b/c he was raised as one lbr)

academically he does decent enough but doesn’t have much passion for it as his career’s p much already set in stone — meaning he really honestly dgaf about the early child dev of any child (so sorry) ((but what did you expect he’s still a kid himself)) (((the closest he’s ever come to interacting with a child is when hes paid to be a chess tutor))) 

only in yongmaru b/c he knows his mom would like it (generally a selfish kid who doesn’t do that sorta thing lmao like mother like son!!) which means he’s a) not much of a go-getter in terms of stepping up within the club b) tho will do his personal best he will also be complaining the whole way through

re: blue house — very good roommate, picks up after himself in shared spaces, his own room is kinda messy and still unpacked (effort), the assortment of popsicles in the fridge is his!!

lemme just say now he don’t care for the unsolicited comments on how mint chocolate tastes like toothpaste and blahblahblah let him eat what he wants damn

plots

bio - born on may 11, 1999 ; 22 ; taurus - third year at hansung, majoring in architectural design with a full ride scholarship - vice president of yongmaru and captain of the mens swim team - comes from a small town near daegu, so small that it's not even on the maps - all the kids in town attended the same school which consists of barely 30 students altogether - lived with his grandparents, parents, and younger twin sisters in an old farmhouse - his family is fairly poor, only managing to make ends meet to keep the home, everyone clothed and fed - it's after his sisters are born that yeon begins to strive for better and pushes himself as he enters high school, going to the reputable high school in the next town over - he had originally wanted to join basketball but was seen by the coach swimming one day and convinced to join the swim team - he quickly rose as the team's ace alongside keeping his grades up making him one of the top students - however, despite being a great student, because the lack of prestige from the school he graduated with, the top universities in seoul that he applied to continued to reject him one by one - this lead to yeon choosing to enter the military after school instead, hoping to complete his service with plans to figure out college afterwards - it's a little before he finishes his service that he hear about hansung and decides to submit his application and shoot his shot - he gets accepted and honestly, that's all yeon can ask for at this point because he just wants to go to university and get a decent education with a useable degree - many people look down on those who attend hansung and don't take the university or students very seriously but yeon takes immense pride in being the first of his family to attend university with a full ride in hopes of changing his family's poorness

tidbits - cha yeonsu is his full name however that is only ever used and indicated on official papers. no one knows his full name because he exclusively introduces himself as cha yeon only. [please note, unless if plotted OOC, please do not use his full name in any IC interactions] - with his architectural design major, yeon wants to be able to return home and create spaces and environments that will help low-income families and those who need financial support - very much your typical jock attitude and demeanor, except he's got a pretty decent mind - usually treats everyone the same, from strangers to acquaintances to friends, if he doesn't have a reason/beef he doesn't see an issue with being friendly or cool - lives in the y-house despite being on a full ride scholarship - likes to game in his free time or play basketball since he's chosen to continue with swimming instead of pursuing basketball

some traits: considerate, inventive, generous, ambitious, egoistical

connections

study buddies, basketball friends, yongmaru members, swimming team members (men and women), architectural design major friends, people from near daegu who might've heard about his town

you said hi to me one day and since then we've just kept talking to each other but neither of us  remember where we know each other from or why and only know your name because we've heard other people say them but we're in too deep for either of us to stop talking and being friends

i ran into you around the clubs and you mistook me as your friend and made me bring you home. i remember you but you don't remember me or anything that happened that night

you think im someone im not and keep calling me by the wrong name and asking me questions for a class i don't take with you. but since i took it before i just help you anyway.

plots

edit: feel free to check out my plots and connections tags. idk why i did two different tags bec ive been putting them on all the posts so far

campus

library snooze: you're napping in the library and that nap turns into a full sleep session until 2am when the library officially closes. yeon sees you and decides to wake you up. insert some embarrassment, yeon's stuff is underneath your bag, you have drool, you freak out cause you really needed to study and didn't. either way, yeon's kind of roped in now for waking you up. maybe you guys go for a midnight snack at the nearby ramen tteokbokki stand.

dorms/apartments: it's past curfew and the front doors to the dorm are locked and you don't have your keys (whether they were stolen, dropped, lost or forgotten). yeon, in turn, forgot his keys and card in his room. you catch him breaking into a room on the first floor only to find out it's his own room before he let's you in to enter the building and return to your own. OR (for non y-house residents). yeon helps you break into your dorm building/room on the first or second floor.

y-house residents

midnight ramen: it's the middle of the night, very much past curfew and you see a light in the eating hall. whether you're on your way to eat food too or were heading to your room, your curiosity beats you out and you go into the hall just to find yeon sitting in a corner with a bowl of instant ramen.

BACKGROUND:

long story short, was a chess prodigy since young and rolled with it—won a handful of tournaments thus far and keeps his rank steady 

grew up in a pretty mild/affectionate household who supported his passion but never really urged him to do anything in general, hence his bare minimum of hobbies and interests... he does watch some anime though (cries while watching makoto shinkai movies)

kind of sheltered but not really because his parents never intended to, he just buried his face in chessboard or books and all that kind of nerdy stuff lmao, basically sheltered himself (?) without trying to

but yeah he was zoning tf out @ yonsei uni before coming to hansung and like i said, flunked out, deemed that taking it easy at a cc like hansung would be better for his chess career anyway (+ more room to do school activities and find friends etc!!)

PERSONALITY:

pretty much a passive guy that will probably go along with whatever you wanna do, like one of those people who let you choose what you want to eat and where you wanna go when hanging out lol (which can get annoying but really, it’s because he doesn’t know much about hot spots and whatnot LOL)

good listener especially if you’re talkative and energetic, kind of soaks up that energy/spirit that he doesn’t have for himself lol (also it entertains him)

superstitious because he grew up under a superstitious household, stuff like not shaking your legs at the dinner table because it’ll chase your luck away, bad omen if you stab your spoon in a bowl of rice, doesn’t eat seaweed soup on days he has big tournaments/tests, etc etc. basically kind of like an old man with this kind of stuff

pushover who is a very good victim for peer pressure, up to you whether or not you want to take advantage of this 🤠

PLOTS:

tw: mentions of substance abuse 

wait how old is she

okay i checked she’s 24 gna be half-fifty this year, is in her third year studying studio art bc miss girl can’t do much besides paint, but also i mean she’s captain of the women’s soccer team and tbh no one knows how she does it , she’s hardly ever there for team practices whoop 

she lives on 108th ave. in the apartment building (hmu residents <3) 

so skye was born with the name haneul in new york to a mom who was in the best days of her youth.. aka she didn’t know who the father is bc there were too many possible candidates and haneul was a bit of a mistake surprise

money wasn’t a problem because her mom’s career shot off almost the moment she started. her mom was an up and coming painter at that time and the elite were taking notice of her and spending a lot for her pieces

while her mom was pregnant, she started dating a man who was in ny from korea for business and the man was super caring and supportive.. he eventually left for korea again but came back a few years later and these two got married.

the time skye and her mom were alone..  her mom was hardly mom of the year.. she was either busy with her work , or too drunk or high to do anything and skye started to take care of them as much as a little girl could , packing her own school lunches and making sure her mom ate..

anyway , after her mom got married to her now step-father (which her mom told skye was her actual father , yikes ) (read on her bio page how she finds out he wasn’t her real dad yikes pt.2) .. they moved to korea when skye was 11

the marriage kind of spiralled and things were not so good at home , there was constant yelling and arguing which only became worse with time

it was easy to swipe her mom’s weed and after the first time she got high.. skye didn’t stop after that – it helped drown out everything happening at home

drugs and painting became her main escape by the age of 15 and by the start of high school

it still wasn’t as bad though, she was still doing well enough in school and was in clubs and stuff

students might’ve found it hard to approach bc tbh her vibes her a lil mysterious and scary but when you did talk to her , she wasn’t all that bad or anything.. in fact she was fun to talk to and almost a lil… charming

skye grew up lonely and always craving attention and sex became a great way to solve all of those problems, didn’t really care about the other person’s feelings all that much ( or if they were even dating someone else or not )

eventually became really selective of the people she slept with and that only created more.. demand – and she loved every bit of that attention… although sometimes it wasn’t always good

some said she was a wh*re and wasn’t the girlfriend type “a one and done kinda situation” – and even if you wanted a relationship and asked her out on a date.. it wouldn’t end well for you…. so really.. her fault lol

the love to hate and hate to love kinda person , really

BUT it’s after high school and skye’s doing a bit of.. reflecting

she travelled a lot for a year or so, still getting drunk and high but at least wasn’t ruining other people’s lives or anything and she did get inspired to fall in love with painting again..

which is one of the reasons as to why she came back and decided to go to college , also she’s still studying because honestly is a little terrified of the real world and even now in school tries to mind her own business but.. old habits die hard

her reputation followed her to college but it was in.. more of a negative light , the horrible things she’d done and the people she’d used all surfacing , 

started relying on drugs a little more after high school and now is just painting and doing her own thing…