The two were spotted having dinner with a group of friends at a restaurant in Gangnam on a tuesday night and Sangmin or more known as “Mint” was seen getting inside the former Miss Korea semi-finalist’s car after they bid the said friends goodbye.

But this isn’t the first time that the pair was spotted together. While this might seem like a normal “sunbae-hoobae” relationship, some fans are not buying it. Fans of both groups are defending both idols from this malicious rumors, but we’ve gotten hold of the said evidence regarding their ‘relationship’. It’s up for you to decide whether to believe this rumor or not.

1. Holding hands during V Live broadcast. During one of Angel’s solo live broadcasts, someone knocked on the door and it turns out to be none other than G-ZER0′s Mint. Fans pointed out that Angel waved at him and he took her hand, holding it right away. While he could’ve let go of her hand to close the door behind him, he didn’t. It seemed as well that the pair held hands for quite a while and even under the desk which could not be seen by the camera. Though some fans were glad to see him on her broadcast, others were not happy at all upon noticing their closeness.

2. Sending secret messages. In the photo below, fans noticed how Sangmin and Haneul were looking at each other. Though it may appear innocent and harmless. Fans are saying that Angel could possibly be sending Mint a secret message while others say it’s simply nothing.

3. Airport madness. Several accounts stated that Mint and Angel stood side by side as they came out of the airport. Additional security had to step in due to the fans crowding in, the small stop allowed some fans to take pictures and videos of their idols. In the small clip below, it can be seen that Angel was looking or checking for something or possibly, someone. Then we can see Mint standing nearby.

A representative from Mirage Media denied the rumor and has stated that the two are simply good friends and both idols are not in any kind of romantic relationship with anyone. 

Could the statement of their company be true or are they actually dating? What do you think?

FAN COMMENTS:

Towards the end of the episode, the group as a whole was asked to speak a few lines to their families back home given their latest uprising of fame with their comeback “YOU NEVER WALK ALONE” and promotions of “Spring Day” earlier in the year. The aspiring solo artist and songwriter was the last person to be asked to speak, to which he curtly responded with, “I have nothing to say to my family back home,” with a brief apology afterward. This has since raised a few speculations on just what happened before Seongkyeo had joined Mirage and G-ZER0.

It was only a last year he had revealed on a V APP LIVE that he had been with the company since before he was even put into his group at the age of seventeen. Most fans found this extremely surprising because of the age he was, but other fans just brushed it off as his will to become something he had always wanted to as a child. He later revealed in another V APP LIVE that he was in the company interning, writing song lyrics and, “never intended to actually be in a group within the company, but after watching everyone use my work and nobody really noticing me, I tried out for a group and got into the big name G-ZER0.” He also states that it was an exciting feeling, but he always refuses to go any further back than that when it comes to his past. It is not even known if he has any siblings.

Upon the comment while on the variety show, he was asked by the hosts, who have known him for hosting on the show before, in fact, why he did not want to give a message to his family. Seongkyeo simply replied that he does not have contact with his family and that he feels that even if he did say anything, nothing good would come out of it. His statement is below:

“I don’t have any contact with my family, so if I wanted to send them a message on air, it’s not like they would see it or even know about it. But even if they did, I don’t really think it would matter, because nothing good would come out of it.”

The host’s attempts to pressure Seongkyeo for more answers were to no avail, as he only replied with saying that his family was now his group mates, and that was all that he cared about in the moment. He also expressed his love for his fans and career, saying that was his message to his family; everyone who had supported him and his group throughout his career.

Ever since the show, many fans have been wondering just what hides behind Seongkyeo and his heavy past. Some fans have asked him to expose the problems between him and his family, but he either declines or flat out ignores them. He eventually addressed it to the public in an instagram post as seen below: 

It is expected that fans will continue to support the group and the leader without hesitation, but there will always be a mystery surrounding Seongkyeo’s past. He has told the public that the company is allowing him to stay quiet about it and any heavy rumors or speculations will be dealt with accordingly.

Despite it all, Seongkyeo seems to have moved on very quickly and happily from the situation, continuing to do all he can to help promote G-ZER0’s comeback and prepare for future projects.

A video of the clip from weekly idol is also available below.

COMMENTS:

It is worth noting that the two of them had been seen hanging around each other before. G-ZER0 recently came out with their comeback single “Spring Day,” but Mint has made time for his new casting of the antagonist of the movie, which is a new jump for the usually sweet idol. Siyeon has recently debut solo with “Don’t Say No” and was casted as a supporting character in the movie. The movie has brought them together once again, but is it for good?

Rumors had surfaced before about the two of them dating because of how much time they had been spending together. Both Mirage and BKB denied all the rumors, but it never really set it to rest. Many fans believe they were dating, even if Mint, Siyeon and both companies denied it. Now they are brought back together again for the Train to Busan movie and it seems they are picking up right where they left off when the rumors died down.

The companies refused to comment with their busy schedules of comebacks and helping with the BKB casting, but netizens are getting even more suspicious seeing them back together again. The two of them were even spotted in the picture below:

Do you think they could be dating? And do you think they were before? Comment below!

COMMENTS:

OOC INFORMATION

Preferred name: Adrian

Pronouns: He/him/his

Timezone: UTC +8

Other muses: nil

IC INFORMATION

Faceclaim: Park Jimin of BTS

Name: Choi Ilwoo

Stage name (if applicable): Ilwoo

Idol concept: Ilwoo began with a charismatic concept, someone who could easily charm the ladies and make men jealous. But as the years progress, Ilwoo began developing a humorous and sassy image. Having clever answers and always making people laugh.

Points Sorting: Singing 6, Dancing 4

Birth date and age: Oct 13 1994, 23

Company name: Mirage

Group Name (if applicable): G-Zero

Group Position (if applicable): Lead Vocalist

Strengths: Ilwoo is a multi talented artist. He feels more confident in his singing, he had been singing since he was little and always knew he had a passion for it.

Weaknesses: He only began dancing half way through his middle school days, joing clubs and learning through there. Although during his final years in High School, Ilwoo had not been practicing his dance, busy with exams and his future, therefore when he joined the company, his dancing seemed to rust a bit. He also lacks the ability to act. He wishes to act, but doesn’t have the confidence to do so.

Positive traits: Optimistic, Entertaining, Hardworking

Negative traits: Perfectionist, Sarcastic, Loud-mouthed

PERSONAL HISTORY

The boy began his journey, seated behind his desktop, the red light blinking from the webcam, his guitar in his hand with a shitty mic he bought at a resale shop. He recently just turned 19, fresh out of high school, with no plans. He drops out of med school in his first sem, having 0 ambition for the life his parents wanted him to have.

Instead, he had worked part time jobs at convinience stores, with an average pay of $6.50 per hour and $7.00 on weekends. He stayed in a one room apartment in a shabby street. He didn’t know what he was doing with his life, but one day, a friend and him fools around, recording a song at 3:30am, having one too many drinks, they filmed it with a shitty webcam and uploaded the video for the shits of it.

The response on the video had blew his mind, at first it was a 100 views, then a 1000, then hundreds of thousands. It was insane. People kept asking for more and kept requesting for him to do songs. Oddly enough, Ilwoo felt determined, he felt like it was his calling. So every week, he’d upload a video of him doing covers, and sometimes even his own original songs.

As the days pass, he became a trending topic on Naver and the agencies were quick to scout him, he was offered contracts from various companies, some bigger than others, but he went with his instinct and picked the one he felt would bring him to greater places.

OOC INFORMATION

Preferred name: Erika

Pronouns: She/her

Timezone: GMT+1

Other muses: None

Skype (this is optional, but if you would like to join the RHYTHMSgc please leave your skype username here): N/A

IC INFORMATION

Faceclaim: Choi Junhong (Zelo)

Name: Yong Hanbyul

Stage name (if applicable): Loki

Idol concept: Just a mere fifteen years old upon his debut and as the youngest member of G-Zero, it had been more or less officially decided that Hanbyul should be portrayed as the most innocent amongst his peers regardless of the situation. His remarks and suggestions were to always be downplayed, his reactions exaggerated and his intelligence almost if not questioned – after all, he was just a kid.

To play the pure and oblivious member in a team of fierce colleagues was a role that Hanbyul had taken without much protest only for the simple fact that, at just fifteen, there was little that he could say against the image that he had been given and needless to say, nor did he think much of it. He would often put a smile on his face and laughed the loudest laughter, filled with genuine happiness as he would often take advantage of the maknae position to spill information regarding the older members and also receive what he wished for. After all, he was to be taken care of by those older around him.

But as he transitioned from a kid that had just entered his teenage years and moved with slow yet sure steps towards adulthood, Hanbyul had steadily become fed up with being brushed off as ‘just the maknae’ and having his words rarely if ever taken into consideration. Taking advantage of the upper hand that he had and namely the public that was on his side, Hanbyul had shed off the ‘innocent’ persona that he had been given and had instead begun showing his true colours – a boy that was growing into a man, who had a mind to speak out, several interests that contradicted his idol life, and a sharp tongue to go with it all.

Points Sorting: +3 singing, +3 dancing, +4 rapping, +0 acting

Birth date and age: 1998.08.01

Company name: Mirage

Group Name (if applicable): G-Zero

Group Position (if applicable): Maknae

Strengths: One would argue that Hanbyul’s strength would be his versatility. The most loyal of fans would even go as far as to say that Hanbyul might as well just be the one maknae in the industry that holds a position in each and every field that exists in a group. While holding the title of the ‘main vocalist’, he himself would tend to argue and attempt to explain that he considers himself much better in the rapping department.

Weaknesses: While Hanbyul could, without a doubt, be named a jack of all trades, he does not excel at any department – none of his talents would be enough to be considered anywhere near amazing. And one would have to consider the fact that while he had managed to keep appearances and stick to the image that he had been given, Hanbyul would not be able to take up professional acting. His versatility and capacity of passing off as decent in the fields required to break into the entertainment industry have also kept Hanbyul from developing his talent – he considers his level as enough and refuses to improve for the simple fact that he is just plain lazy.

Positive traits: Passionate, generous, humourous, warm-hearted

Negative traits: Arrogant, stubborn, self-centered, lazy

PERSONAL HISTORY

1998 – Hanbyul was born as the only child in a family of medical tradition. With the last five generations having occupied some type of position in the field of medicine, the boy’s future had been written from the moment that he had been born – that was what the joyful parents had thought to themselves once they had laid their sight on their newborn son. He was to follow in their steps.

2002 – He is just four years old and already a troublemaker, as he has been called. Just an average child in his beginning years in kindergarten, he is a boy who does not hesitate to take whichever toy he had deemed as his own, to pull on a girl’s hair as a sign of affection that would mistakenly be interpreted as malicious, and to get into fights over whose superhero is better. He is already opinionated and does not hold back from showcasing it.

2008 – Having moved into fourth grade, his parents had deemed it a moment fit of beginning to insert their aspirations for their son into him, to be already more or less implementing the path that he is to take as he grows older. A path that Hanbyul himself refuses without further thought – suffering unbeknownst to his parents of haemophobia, he is quick to deem a career in the medical field as unfit for him. He avoids any further conversation and brushes the topic off much to the dismay of his parents who were rather blatantly disappointed to say the least, not missing an opportunity to voice their displeasure.

2011 – Constantly faced with words of dissatisfaction from the two people he faces first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening each and every single day, Hanbyul finds himself doing the unthinkable – he auditions for an entertainment company, paving his path towards a career opposite to the rational world that he had lost himself in for the last couple of years. And moreso, he does it by auditioning for a company that had just been founded. He does it without any hope of being accepted, he does it only to spite the parents that had not allowed him to build his own dreams. And yet, he receives a call informing him that he had made it and would be formally invited to sign the contract prior to his training. Finding himself in shock yet enjoying the delusion of a future in the spotlight, Hanbyul had done possibly the most selfish deed of his life thus far – he had fooled his parents into signing the contract, having fabricated a story behind the reason.

And, at just thirteen and having just entered the company, Hanbyul is more than just taken aback to be informed of the upcoming survival show. A show that he would be taking part in. He finds himself to be a natural in fields that he had never even thought he could be even at least mediocre at and thus advances through the rounds with the help of the fans that had found a liking to him. He finds refuge in the adoration that they show him and the hope of already making his debut albeit even he himself considering that the events were unfolding at an incredible speed.

And then it comes crashing down on him that he had been cut from the final line-up for Mirage’s first group with no explanation whatsoever much to the dismay of the public. Yet if he were to be honest, he was much less disappointed.

2013 – He is diligent and continues working towards his newfound dream, and the effort that he had put pays off once he steps on the stage as an official member of Mirage’s G-Zero for the first time. His ears perk and bumps appear on his flesh at the sound that engulfs the room – a public who has learnt the words to their debut song by heart and who, in his mind, seems to be screaming his name the loudest. He is just fifteen, yet he often repeats to himself that he has thus yet achieved more than people twice his age with much less effort.

2016 – Three years into his career, Hanbyul is given the type of attention that he considered lacked as a child. He observes the attention that he is given from the company, the way they seem to pamper him with an abundance of lines in their songs and screen time that would possibly amount to more than that of the other six members combined. ‘Maybe their way of making up for it’, he says to himself in reminiscence of how he had been cut from Mystery6 without any explanation whatsoever, and honestly, he does not mind it one bit. In the contrary, he adores the spotlight he is given, but in the same time, he seems to have one complaint.

For three years, he is the maknae of G-Zero. His remarks during variety appearances are not given much thought, he is being cut off mid-sentence every now and then and he is rarely given the opportunity to talk during interviews and speeches. He has to laugh it off, he has to appear as the most innocent among the team consisting of what seems to be six men and one boy. But as his eighteenth birthday approaches, Hanbyul takes a risk. Without consulting his management and with the risk that it might backfire, Hanbyul decides to begin showing more of his true colours.

OOC INFORMATION

Preferred name: rae

Pronouns: she/hers

Timezone: cst

Other muses: n/a

IC INFORMATION

Faceclaim: nakamoto yuta

Name: makiyama hibiki

Stage name (if applicable): echo

Idol concept: there are two parts to echo’s image: part one and the part hibiki hates is generally being considered the foreign one. mirage likes to push the fact he’s from a different country though hibiki himself tries very hard to not play into the “silly foreigner” stereotype because knows it’s a hard image to escape from. the second part and the part that hibiki generally likes is playing up to his skill in dancing. if there’s a dance cover to be done he’s on it, boy or girl group it doesn’t really matter to him. he has no issues being labeled the dancing machine of the group because it’s something that he enjoys doing.

Points Sorting: acting - 00, singing - 01, dancing - 07, rapping - 02, concept - 00

Birth date and age: october 31, 1996 (20)

Company name: mirage

Group Name (if applicable): G-ZER0

Group Position (if applicable): main dancer

Strengths: 01. DANCE/CHOREOGRAPHING - when it comes to dance in any form hibiki is usually the go-to person. he’s usually the one who catches on to the choreography fastest if he’s not the one choreographing. if he is the one behind the choreography he’s known for pushing boundaries with creative and memorable choreography. he is also a patient teacher, someone who’s willing and able to help the other members when they’re struggling with a certain point. 02. COMPOSING - truthfully composing is never something that hibiki thought he’d find himself doing. he was happy just being the main dancer, however, once he started dipping his toes into the composing world he found that it was something he both enjoyed doing and something that he was fairly talented at. 03. RAPPING - while his skill in rapping isn’t quite as developed as it could be he’s passable enough at it. hibiki isn’t going to be taking on the korean underground any time soon but his rapping is acceptable enough for a few bars in a song here and there. truthfully speaking his biggest strength where it comes to rap is lyricism.

Weaknesses: 01. SINGING - hibiki certainly isn’t tone deaf, and he’s capable of singing a line or two here and there, however, his vocal range is rather pitiful and he tends to start sounding unsteady and breathy if he sings too much at once. his voice is more suited for harmonizing than holding down a lead vocal for an extended period of time. 02. PRONOUNCIATION - although he’s fluent in korean he still tends to struggle with pronounciations here and there, which is something that clearly marks him as a foreigner. however his struggles with the language mean that he’s often having to re-record his parts in the studio so that the lyrics actually sound the way that they’re supposed to. 03. VARIETY - most of hibiki’s parts in variety shows consist of him near-perfectly reproducing other idols choreography. and while that talent is certainly entertaining it’s really the only thing he can show off on variety shows because the rest of his parts tend to get cut because he’s extremely resistant to playing into the oblivious foreigner stereotype. hibiki’s reluctance to accept that and play into it sometimes gets him in trouble with the company as well.

Positive traits: affectionate, optimistic, passionate

Negative traits: indecisive, moody, competitive

PERSONAL HISTORY

hibiki watches as okasan dotes on his elder siblings. with them she is kind and gentle. however, whenever hibiki approaches her she is replaced by a cold and cruel woman. if he scratches his knee and comes to her in tears she sneers at him and tells him that boys shouldn’t cry. if he has a nightmare and finds his way to his parents’ bedroom in the middle of the night she tells him to go back to his own room and stop bothering her. then hibiki watches as okasan cares for the smallest of bruises on his brother’s leg or he wakes up only to find that his sister slept in his parent’s room last night. otosan is not much better, he seemingly forgets that hibiki even exists.

when hibiki is nine he overhears an argument between his parents. it is then that he learns the truth. okasan hates him because he is not her child. he walks away from the wall where he had been hiding and goes to his room. the knowledge that okasan is not his real mother sits heavy in his small chest. the next day he goes to his otosan and asks who his real mother is. he gets hit for his trouble.

hibiki learns the answer to his question when he is twelve. his real mother is a porn actress. and she abandoned him on his father’s doorstep almost as soon as he was born. any fantasies he has of his mother loving and caring for him are shattered by cruel callous words from his adoptive mother (by now he no longer calls her okasan, she is not his mother after all). “your mother left you here with us,” she says, “you’re here only by the kindness of our hearts.” the words weigh down on him weeks, months, years after they’ve left his adoptive mother’s lips.

he learns to dance from an older classmate at school. whenever things at home become too much for him hibiki finds himself practicing dancing with his friend. dancing soon becomes an escape from the constant storm that is his home life.

at fourteen hibiki is street-casted by an agent from a company called mirage. and his parents are pushing him to accept the offer. suddenly his parents are interested in him when they never have been before. hibiki accepts the offer purely because it offers an escape from his house. it’s harder than he expects at first. he is the foreigner trainee, the one who makes amusing mispronounciations. but dance is the same in any language and soon enough the other trainees take note of his skill as a dancer.

OOC INFORMATION

Preferred name: Ossy Pronouns: they/them Timezone: EST Other muses: —

IC INFORMATION

Faceclaim: Park Jiwoo aka Jinjin of ASTRO

Name: Yong Seongkyeo Stage name (if applicable): Kyeo

Idol concept: He is regarded as having some of the best raps in the industry, even having earned a few nicknames from fans due to this. There are rumors that he was offered/is currently being offered a solo rap career under Prime. He was a temporary host for television host 2.

…and it is quite true, because Kyeo has been known to have written raps for many other groups as well as himself and his own group. His fans adore this about him and support him every step of the way. Kyeo does enjoy it, though, because it makes him feel better about himself as a songwriter/rapper. He is always desperate to please not only his fans but other groups and his own. He tries to look prideful but Kyeo does not have a big ego. So while he looks like he can do anything to his fans, he actually does struggle a lot on the inside and with himself when it comes to all the work he has to do. His public image is so much more pure than his private life, as he prefers not to worry his fans and even his groupmates. There is nothing worse than having the attention all shifted onto him. This is why Kyeo always works hard for everyone.

Birth date and age: Oct. 26th, 1993; age 23 Company name: Mirage Group Name (if applicable): G-ZER0 Group Position (if applicable): Leader/Lead rapper

Strengths: Kyeo’s strengths include his rapping and songwriting skills. He is also very good at putting forth a lot of energy to keep his group running and overall is a strong support as the leader of his group. Weaknesses: While he does sing and dance, he is not as great as his groupmates, especially when it comes to dancing. He is always one of the last ones to learn all the moves and has to work harder because of this. It is also very easy for Kyeo to become disorganized and overworked.

Positive traits: ambitious, sympathetic, attentive Negative traits: introverted, vulgar, quiet

PERSONAL HISTORY: tw: homophobia

When your family is broke as hell, all you ever want is for them to get by, right? That’s what Kyeo really wanted, but somehow it never really seemed to be enough. With a booming economy and mother out of work, there wasn’t much that him and his older brother could do until they got into high school.

Kyeo was born into a family of three; a mom, dad, and older brother by 3 years. From his birth to when he was about ten years old, things were just great between the family. His mom and dad worked 9 to 5 jobs that had them up in the morning for breakfast and home at night for dinner as well as his brother helping Kyeo with his homework almost every night he had some. They were like a blissful, fairy tail family–

And then his mom lost her job. He was eleven and it seemed that it was the only thing she really cared about. It was also when his father was promoted, but the promotion was anything but good for the family. Kyeo found his father working long hours, spending all his time at home in bed either drinking, watching television, or sleeping away so that he could get up and do the same routine all over again the next day. It was painful to see, that and the fact this his mom did what seemed like a complete 360 degree twist of her life. She was more harsh, more rude, and definitely a lot more strict on her boys.

Upon entering high school at the age of fifteen, Kyeo had a factory job in the city to which he reported to almost every day after school. They were nice to him and they barely let him work past sunset every day in order to send him home to have dinner and do his homework. But it just caused more drama between him and his mom– and not to mention his brother, who was out of high school by then, slaved his way through a job he hated too. It hurt him so much, honestly, seeing his whole family fall apart and he was only fifteen.

But it all changed when he found out he was gay. Being gay is something you don’t like to talk about with your family that often and Kyeo never did, at least, until he brought a boy home from school that he had recently started dating. He was head over heels for the boy; he found peace and heaven in him and the two of them clicked so well despite all the people at school who bullied them to no end. Somehow he felt he could have the shittiest day and wake up remembering he had someone like that in his life and everything would be okay– but that was just a mistake.

The mistake he made was bringing him home. His mom went absolutely nuts. In front of the other fifteen year old’s eyes, his mother beat Kyeo, not with her fists, but with anything she could find - spoons, pans, baking sheets… anything, and it scared the absolute shit out of both of the little kids, so much that Kyeo found himself losing the one boy he felt he could trust and lean on in any situation. He blamed his mom; no, he blamed his whole fucking family for turning into this shitty example of how poverty forces a wedge between the once beautiful relationships they had.

His mom hated his sexuality. His mom hated him and everytime he would make a snide remark about not being interested in a girl that someone showed him, Kyeo found himself being battered, so battered that he became spooked by the littlest brief noises that sounded like the beating of a boy who only wanted his mom to love him. He still gets twitchy hearing things like that, even after he had escaped that life when he was seventeen. He was sick and tired of his mom shitting on his interest in men and and then literally beating him up for it, until he practically bled sometimes. Kyeo had enough.

It was no secret that the boy had a passion for music, and he had used this as an outlet to try and cope with the way his family treated him. With his misfit poems and his desire to do something more, he moved out, and he found himself interning at what was then a small company within his city, RHYTHMS, and as their popularity grew, so did Kyeo’s career in songwriting. He soon grew tired of watching everyone take credit for his work and decided on auditioning himself. It was only to make himself proud and more known to the public. And, to his surprise, he made it into RHYTHMS upcoming group, G-ZER0 at the age of 17.

As a trainee, he pushed himself to every limit every day. He tried to avoid all of his groupmates in G-ZER0 for the simple fact that he didn’t want them to know who he really was, but that was before he found out he was going to be the leader of them all. (Kyeo would never tell anyone how much he cried that night after figuring it out because he was so happy and proud of himself, yet so distraught and unaware of what to make of it all.) From that point on, he lightened up, showing that he could take that responsibility and prove to people he was worth it. There was just one problem– they still didn’t know he was broke and gay.

…and hopefully they would never know. He debuted with the group at the age of 20, shining as their songwriter, leader, and lead rapper. God, he’s so proud of himself but all he can think about sometimes is if his mother knows he’s out here living a dream he never thought he had. He’s so blessed and so thankful that it feels so sinful to think it’s not worth it if his mom doesn’t notice…

So he tries not to, but damn, it still hurts.

OOC INFORMATION

Preferred name: ellen Pronouns: she/her Timezone: pst Other muses: n/a

IC INFORMATION

Faceclaim: lim changkyun (I.M) Name: kwon sangmin Stage name: mint

Idol concept:

when sangmin was given the stage name mint, the company told him it’s a reflection of who he is as a person – cool and impactful. because of this, he often stays quiet to maintain that “cool” presence to him and only spoke up when he had to. his comedic timing, cleverness, and thoughtfulness would often win people’s hearts. as time passes by, he’s becoming more outspoken and willing to be silly.

there’s not much difference between his public persona and his private one. his public persona is really a watered down version of himself. in private, he’s a lot more vulgar and has his fair share of bad habits he has yet to shake off.

Birth date and age: july 19, 1994 (23) Company name: mirage media Group Name: G-Zer0 Group Position: lead rapper

Strengths:

[ RAPPING ] you can take the boy out of the underground, but you can’t take the underground out of the boy. he spent time with an underground hip-hop crew composed of young, aspiring vocalists and rappers. knowing he doesn’t have the voice to be a vocalist, he spent his youth learning the works of having a flow and how to deliver his rhymes. he’s fierce on the mic, able to go on and on without taking a breath.

[ COMPOSING/FREESTYLING ] to survive in the music business, you always need new material. sangmin has years of composing under his belt. whenever he has free time, he’s working on something new. he’s also capable of improvising on the spot, thanks to his time as a battle rapper.

[ STAGE PRESENCE ] while he has no desire to be the center at all, sangmin makes everything count. when his verse comes, sangmin puts his heart and soul into his part. when it comes to variety, he makes sure to get his own screen time even for a short while. growing up with parents who are constantly busy with work, fighting for people’s attention has become second nature. it just happens.

Weaknesses:

[ MOODINESS ] being an idol is not easy and it takes a toll on sangmin. when he’s in a bad mood, it’s hard to ignore it. his professionalism keeps him from telling people what’s wrong, but his moodiness could potentially disrupt the harmony in the room until he cheers up.

[ DANCING ] compared to his groupmates, it takes him a bit longer to get the choreography down. it gets to the point where he spends more time in the practice room than he does in his workroom, which frustrates him. sangmin gets the whole idea, but his body can only do so much.

[ VOCALS ] he studied vocals when he was young, but he knows singing is not for him. despite his knowledge on music, his range as a vocalist is pretty bad. he can sing along quietly. other than that, he’ll just stick to rapping, thank you very much.

Positive traits: clever, curious, ambitious Negative traits: moody, reserved, sensitive

PERSONAL HISTORY

i.

“be who you were created to be and you will set the world on fire.”

ii.

kwon sangmin was born in gwangju, south korea as the youngest son of two aspiring restaurateurs. his parents’ business makes enough to provide for a family of four. they were not rich, but they weren’t poor either. aside from the occasional arguments over finances, his parents love each other very much.

they were happy and that’s all they asked for.

iii.

his parents lose the restaurant.

with two growing boys, the kwon family packs up and leaves gwangju behind for seoul. there are friends and relatives who can help while they recover from their loss. his parents are heartbroken, discouraged, and deep in debt.

and sangmin struggles to adjust to  the city his parents have called home. he enters his new elementary during the school year. his new classmates do not know what to make of him. he is, after all, the new student and everyone has already settled their own friendship circles.

fortunately for sangmin, they are not cruel but being ignored hurts.

iv.

the piano that sits in the corner of their home has been collecting dust for a long time. her mother insists they keep it, even if it was a hassle bringing it in from gwangju. according to his mother, it was her father’s. there’s sentimental value; she remembers, when she was a girl, how her father fills the silence in the house with his beautiful music. it was not until he became old and could barely remember his wife’s name when he finally stopped playing.

sangmin decides he wants to learn how to play the piano.

v.

music becomes the love of his life.

sangmin has always been a curious child. he would wander around his parents’ restaurant, asking guests who are you? where are you from? what do you do? it takes a lot for something to really capture sangmin’s attention, and music has so much to offer, to discover, to learn. music helps him find friends who mean the world to him.

while his parents are busy with work and his brother has no time to spare, sangmin spends his time writing composing and producing his own music. his vocals are, well, not bad but, through his friends’ suggestions, finds his place in rapping. besides, they could use another rapper if they were going to form an underground hip-hop group.

vi.

sangmin doesn’t see himself sitting behind a desktop in a sleek suit or sweating over an stove in a five-star restaurant. being on stage, spitting out verses, and producing music feels right. it feels like he’s right where he’s supposed to be.

he tells his parents he wants to pursue a career in music. though, to his surprise, his parents don’t support him. they know the hardships and struggles it takes to reach a dream with no security behind it. he should be more realistic, they tell him. if he wants to make his mark on the world, he should be a lawyer or a doctor or something more dependable, more secure.

in the end, he is his parents’ child and he will pour blood, sweat, and tears for his dream even if it doesn’t work out.

vii.

being a trainee for mirage media is, well, not really where he thought he would end up. it’s a start, though.

sangmin feels like the new kid in seoul again. he’s alone, he’s tired, and he’s homesick. he spends time to himself, preferring to work on his own songs and only interacting with the others if he has to. but as his trainee days go from months to years, he warms up. his fellow trainees become his home away from home.

viii.

the idol life gives him everything he dreamt about. he’s able to see the world and make music people love with the group who has become his second family. he made it, and his parents are finally happy with him again.