OH, SWEET GOD.

trigger warning: none of these topics will be discussed in detail, but mentions of death and car accident will be present. please consider this your tw before reading the contents below!

letchugooo! alrighty, lemme give a brief rundown on rohan and his family past/dynamics before jumping into how he got his foot into the entertainment industry. :]

mama yi (never got married, didn’t believe in that shit) and (deadbeat) papa cha were former highschool sweethearts that rekindled their flame exactly a year after graduating. they met, were by their lonesome for some years, before rohan is born into their world. they live fairly mundane lives - mama yi has been saving up to finally study to become a nurse by juggling two jobs and papa cha had decided to finish college (he dropped out of community college midway). the neighbors all dote on baby rohan and a village really raises him. while his parents are busy, the neighbors offer to keep him for the day or sometimes take him on adventures. whether it be daytime seaside trips or going to the markets for a day, rohan is extremely well-taken care of and loved by the people around him. wanting some sort of structure for her son, he joins a dance academy at the age of three after playing baduk and learning to swim are a no-go. he’s good, and it’s evident as he slowly starts to blossom into an ace.

on his sixth birthday, papa cha leaves under the guise of grabbing cake candles for rohan and never returns. three suddenly became two, and sometimes the number would bump back up whenever his mother’s boyfriends would stick around for an extra couple of months. it’s not until she finds “the one” - a friend of a close senior at her medical school. he’s young but solidified in his career as a researcher turned medical expert, and provides a lot of gentleness and stability to rohan and mama yi’s lives. after graduating, he takes a pause of his career when rohan’s little sister is born, and the new found family decided to move to a beach town in new zealand. 

rohan moves to another dance academy, one in the next city over, and their lives are smooth. it’s slow but steady. his sister grows up well, his parents enjoy their newfound freedom, and it couldn’t get any better for rohan. they stay in akaroa for years until his father gets a job offer - a teaching job at snu’s college of medicine, and the family decide to move back to south korea. new zealand has, and ends up always being, rohan’s home. but something felt different, and he knew it the minute the plane landed. the family continues to thrive - he returns back to his former dance academy, his mother finally finishes her residency and becomes a nurse at a nearby hospital, his father’s teaching job goes hand in hand with his expertise, and his little sister continues to grow well. the same neighbors that doted on rohan growing up turn to take care of her, and it’s still smooth. life was really, really good. at the academy, rohan begins receving dozens and dozens of lovecalls early on. he throws all of them out though, being a public figure is not something he cares for (yet).

( trigger warning start ) on her way back from home one night, his mom ends up in a freak car accident. the fact it was an accident is the only thing that really saves rohan - but it made him turn away from the world, a lot. his father does his best to make sure both kids are taken care of, that he doesn’t lose nurturing them over his own grief. the family heals together, but it’s not a pain that goes away. rohan’s mother was the central role in the home, an irreplaceable glue that held them all together and steady. her loss was greatly felt, and all the neighbors pulled in their weight in taking care of the kids. ( trigger warning end )

so, rohan puts everything into dance. literally everything. every emotion he couldn’t understand or say out loud he put it into his movements, opting for songs that were eerily heartbreaking and choreo that was earth-shattering and, well, sad. it’s his way to cope and an outlet for everything he kept in his head to escape. every time he finishes a routine, rohan can breathe. his father gently urges him to continue what he loves to do, and rohan decides to accept the next offer he receives from a company. a scout from yuseong entertainment approaches rohan while he’s out with his little sister at the mall, and he joins as a trainee some time later.

he joins the company in the spring of 2010 and begins to make a name for himself soon enough. his skillsets are almost second to none, rohan ranks number one (rap, vocal, dance) time and time again for the monthly evals. he earns himself the nickname ‘yuseong’s legendary trainee’, and the eight years he stays within the company finally seem to amount to something: their next boy group. when talks of the survival show start swarming among the trainees, it felt like a no brainer rohan would be included in their lineup. he pictures himself on stage with stranger and familiar faces in a group and the prospect of his dream coming true is too good to be true. but as the names get picked out, rohan’s never does. the loss is so devastating - too devastating - and rohan feels overwhelmed, to say the least. eight years. eight years of his youth. eight years of missing his sister’s birthday and not being able to come home for dinner and watching his friends grow up. eight years of blood, sweat, and tears, in the desperate hope he can be like his mother - that he can chase the things he wanted as ferociously as she did. eight years of hoping to make her proud, down the drain. eight years of life, gone in a flash. he leaves yuseong entertainment after the show comes to an end.

so what the heck does rohan do now??? open a soundcloud, of course! he started creating music through lessons as a trainee and finally completed some projects he had lying around. he grows a following and his departure, as well as his sound, catches wishbone’s attention. they’re soon at his door, offering an exclusive contract. another hurdle: rohan trained to be a part of group. his position could be debated, but it was always part of a group. he was shaped to be a part of something and not be alone, so he takes some time on the offer. wishbone assures him he’s got what it takes, and he debuts in the spring of 2019 with “bonnie and clyde” (aka one of the best solo debuts ever 😮‍💨). and as always, mama yi was right. she always said things would work out and life was never that bad. it’s like she knew rohan needed those words all along, and he became living proof of her words.

if you’re a rohan stan, you’re a ‘hannie’ or a ‘roro’. i don’t make the rules. as an artist, he’s definitely already made a statement through his sound of having the ability to be versatile and diverse. retains the all-rounded nature he formed as a trainee. most of his songs are vocal-centered or rap-centered, and he’s able to move through concepts extremely well while still retaining the ‘rohan sound’ fans of his have grown to love. definitely slow and meticulous as fuck with his process - very frank ocean, dean and lorde like in that aspect. (rohan stans can still be found crying for an ep and album as we speak) a perfectionist with his craft because he cherishes and loves music so much - so it’s important he loves what he creates to translate that to his fans. that’s why he’s only released singles so far, slowly, and always teasing that an album is always in the works. he just doesn’t know when it will be done. as his songs have little to no choreo, dancing has once become a hobby for rohan again. which he enjoys, honestly. he typically releases dance covers through social media or has dance jams on vlive/insta live. he has a handful of interviews and prefers radio shows if he has to do any of them - mainly because he doesn’t care for variety shows and the likes that most idols do. pretty glad he doesn’t have to do aegyo or do a cartwheel or whatever the fuck! huge fan of magazine shoots and cfs, however. hopes to start producing and songwriting for other groups/soloists soon. plans to make his acting debut as well.

˚ ｡ ° ˖ *  who are rohan’s parents?

                his birth mother is yi nabi and his birth father is cha romin. rohan’s parents met in high school and were involved with each other ever since - with a few breaks in between their relationship, they’ve basically been together since they were teenagers. they were in the same home classroom and met through mutual friends before dating. after a few uneventful relationships, nabi met her future husband sohn carter during school. he was a friend of a close sunbae of hers, and eventually went on a blind date where they were attached at the hip since. sohn carter is korean-american (with a korean father/white mother). yi nabi highly resembles actress/model honey lee and cha romin highly resembles actor lee sangyoon.

˚ ｡ ° ˖ *  what did rohan’s parents do?

              his maternal grandmother was a nurse for the korean armed forces - and the idea of working in medicine/health and becoming a nurse was something yi nabi always planned to accomplish. her journey through academics in receiving her degrees and certifications until her completion in becoming a nurse was difficult than others - she had little to no financial support from her family, she had a child young, and juggled multiple jobs to save up for school. his father worked odd jobs here and there, holding some for solid years and others for a handful of months. romin never had any major plans - but did end up pursuing college and enrolled into a community college. he dropped out briefly before enrolling and completing his education. sohn carter is a highly dignified member of the medical health community. he is currently a senior professor at the college of medicine (seoul national university) and specializes in neurology and neuroscience. he is a sought out after expert in his field and is often serving as an expert during criminal/civil court cases and travels around for work often during his teaching gaps.

˚ ｡ ° ˖ *  does rohan have any siblings?

                after marrying carter, the family moved to akaroa (new zealand). rohan’s younger sister was less than a year old during this transition, when his stepfather took a break from work to live a more relaxing life with his children and wife. sohn stela was born in seoul on july 18th, 2005. she’s named after her paternal aunt, rohan’s stepfather’s youngest sister. she is the only child between carter and nabi, and nabi’s second child after rohan. stela has always been the apple of the family’s eye - typically stealing the center of attention and always being the reason behind their laughter. as of now, she is a high school student at yongsan international school of seoul, a private school. she is a cheerleader and dubbed ‘the popular girl’ of her school. she has been casted outside of her school but declined to move further in the idol process as she’s not interested in music as a career. stela ults dandelion and blue.m, and is an avid watcher of select!. some notable physical characteristics about stela is her ginger hair (from her paternal grandmother) and the same hazel eyes her father has. 

˚ ｡ ° ˖ *  what’s rohan’s favorite memory of/with his family?

˚ ｡ ° ˖ *  the words spoken from his management settle into the air, filling up the small spaces of the preoccupied wishbone room. two weeks ago, staff from the higher ups booked a meeting with the artist and his team. rohan doesn’t think too much of it - perhaps a gentle push on the progress of his album, or even getting into talks about auditioning for roles now. cha rohan thinks of absolutely everything but this. and as soon as it settles into the air, he feels the weight on his shoulders increase. “there’s an offer of you appearing as a vocal mentor on the newest select season, if you want it,” they begin. rohan hears a little bit of what they say - that another wishbone artist might appear, that filming will start in the coming months, that this will help boost his popularity and steer his career in a fresh direction.

            all cha rohan thinks about is that he’s been here before. many, many moons ago at this point, but he’s been here. except, he was on the other side. one of many contenders to snag a spot on the survival show that produced phoenix - and the thought of it sends a chill down his spine. rohan becomes still as the conversation drags on, with light nods and brief words of agreement. he’s given a chance - the ability to say no, but he does something he never thought of: rohan agrees. it happens instantly and stems from his time at yuseong, he knows this. the meeting ends not very long after, and rohan excuses himself back to the studio instead of joining them for dinner.

              instead, he walks out the door and down random streets. the roads lead him this way and that way, eventually to a small park that looked abandoned for the night. warmth brushes him as each breeze pushes onto his skin - and rohan sinks into an empty bench. his back relaxes into the cold metal, legs sprawled out in front of him, arms crossed over his broad chest as he simply gazes into the night sky. a handful of stars twinkled but most of them died out. cha rohan can’t help but wonder if he looked like one of those stars to yuseong’s mentors - too bright he looks dim far away. perhaps that’s why he’s not chosen, a topic that forever nitpicks at his mind (despite him moving on from it. sort of.) as he chews the inside of his cheek. 

                how was he supposed to do this? a scoff emits from his mouth. rohan is good at working with others - he knows what to say and what to do and when to do it. but mentoring trainees? on a survival show? broadcasted on national television? rohan lets a groan out, shutting his eyes for a second. he can’t help but think of his own trainee years, and all of the people who helped him. vocal teachers that gave him detailed feedback, staff sneaking in snacks after high praise with evals, the pure hope and encouragement in their eyes that they can see cha rohan bloom under yuseong ent. though it doesn’t work out for him - there is no bitterness. there would be no ‘yuseong’s legendary trainee’ without them.

˚ ｡ ° ˖ *  rohan moved into his own space a few months in debuting under wishbone - a penthouse apartment nestled in the small suburban area of gangbuk-gu that is surrounded by mountainous bukhansan. it’s a gift from his father for accomplishing his dreams, and a formal entrance into adulthood. his home is about an hour or so drive away from his studio at wishbone records, and the commute tends to be relaxing until he hits the inner parts of the city. 

           to play on the greenery that surrounds him, upon entrance, rohan’s home is filled with all sorts of green plants. some hang from the ceiling or sides of the walls, while others are potted on stunted plant chairs or directly on the ground. some are clumped together in mini forest bouquets while others are sparse and fall to the side like hair. most of his home is is centered around these colors - notably off cream, with an earth and neutral toned palette. the color of the walls tend to be warmer, with a few taking on a cooler tone. 

           his room is rather simple - still filled with plants, but considerably minimalistic and tidy. it’s almost like he’s never home, but there’s an ambiance of coziness that’s hard to miss and it’s easy to tell he’s lived into the room (with a half empty cup of juice on the nightstand, a stack of unread books on the edge of his vanity, and a bowl of cherry seeds next to a monstera) for some time now. there were originally small futons for podo and sagwa, but it’s been since removed as they just climb into bed with him at some point in the night. 

           rohan prefers the waters from the ocean, so he converted the small jacuzzi on the end on his balcony into a pond. the balcony itself is covered with greenery - full of arches that were paired together to mimic pergolas / azuyama gazebo covered with ivies. it oversees the more city bits of the town. they over hang a space with loveseats and a small portable fire pit in the middle, and large greens that provide privacy from the corners (despite his apartment being on one of the higher levels) surround them from the behind and sides. the pond itself is home to a few creatures (although rohan wants more, he’ll have to resist for the sake of how long it takes to clean) notably a turtle and three young koi. 

trigger warning: none of these topics will be discussed in detail, moreso abstractly and vaguely referred to, but mentions of death will be present. please consider this your tw before reading the contents below!

˚ ｡ ° ˖ *  it’s something he’s been expecting to do since his debut. it doesn’t come right away - and it’s not something rohan plans to release later on his career either. a homage to his mother was readily going to occur, but it’s a process that starts off on rocky roads. at first, he simply writes away whatever is in his head. as usual, he scraps away and rewrites lines here and there, only leaving bits of the original work behind after his pen rests down next to the paper. rohan is never too happy with what he works on right away - and this was something that had to be something he’s proud of. not necessarily perfect, a stark difference from his usual expectation when he’s working, but anything he’d be happy while writing. this, however, was not working out in his favor.

           it’s midnight and the wishbone building is almost empty - with a few artists preoccupying the practice rooms or tucked in away at the ends of the corridors, in the comfort of their own studios. the familiar faces of the cleanup crew that rohan has become so familiar with trickle in, and the night slips into a new day. cha rohan sighs, sinking into his chair and stretching out his back. a yawn follows suit after - and he tries his best to rub away the tiredness sticking to his eyes. the lights are all turned off and the ambiance of the studio is relaxing, with a few mint candles lit up and the neon sign buzzing above his computer screens. a single framed photo rests next to the main screen. rohan hasn’t looked at it in a while. 

            delicate fingers pluck it up and he holds it carefully in the palm of his hands, as if it is the most fragile thing in existence. a thumb gently runs across his mothers face, a rush of cold from the glass kissing against his warm finger. the summer of 2003 came so quickly. cha rohan was on the verge of turning five, and his mother had recently broken up with number four. it was a spontaneous trip - but she decides the two of them would take a trip over to the seaside, back in her hometown of jeju. the air felt different there, so light and tainted with a salty scent. it’s a time that’s just between the two of them - before his mother met his stepfather and before the birth of his little sister. the moments are easily able to be counted on a hand, but they’re the ones rohan misses the most.