Realistic or Modern The Spring of Our Youth (CS)

[Stardust Galaxy]

 

[Uxie]

the lily

cho yuna.

and maybe i am pinocchio, as i have always been truthful, unselfish but never brave. maybe that is why my strings remain, for if my heart were a little more courageous, i think it would speak a little louder.

basics

full name

cho yuna (조유나)

age

seventeen

d.o.b.

29th june

p.o.b.

south korea

height

1.67m

grades

upper

class

2-A

ex.curriculars

events committee

persona

caring

loyal

diligent

shy

unassertive

secretive

inevitable

OoOo ft. CIKI

background

cho yuna is the only child of one kim jiwon, a woman who spent her childhood in poverty but enjoyed wealth in her adulthood, whether it came from her parents who had miraculously struck gold or the rich husband she had seduced and married. experiencing the upper class at a later stage of life bared every opportunity she had missed out on in her youth, and when her younger sister decided taking off would be better than allowing jiwon to dictate her life, she set her expectations onto the only child she bore from two marriages.

the result is cho yuna, a girl who's life might as well not be her own.

raised to be everything she wasn't able to be, her mother has raised yuna with a careful, watchful eye, and it wouldn't be far off to say that every decision yuna has made thus far has been orchestrated within an environment where her own word holds no weight. her freedom of choice extends to picking one out of three activities her mother had decided she should take up, her own interest nor energy a needless factor in the grander scheme of things.

it didn't quite bother her as much when she was younger, a girl who was more delighted than burdened to be able to try so many things. violin to art to dance, even creative writing classes or early tutoring: yuna did it all, and she did it well, even without the praise her mother seemed so stingy to give. but even she had her limits, and twice she "rebelled".

the first time was in her second year of middle school, when her mother had cancelled her ballet classes on account of her grades. yuna thought she had been doing well— third in the cohort, while her ballet tutor only ever had good things to say about her— but her mother would not take no for an answer. she had snuck to her class anyways only to have been taken back and slapped, though the words that came after stung more than her cheek.

the second time was when her mother had proposed she attend a private high school. an outwardly nice suggestion, except it wasn't a suggestion in the least. and yuna cried, because she was spending every moment out of school at tutoring or some classes; tired of feeling so alone even as she was surrounded by people. as expected, her tears were met with a tirade of accusations of her ungratefulness and laziness. that she was unwilling to work hard, even with all the blessings she'd been given.

work hard was all yuna had ever done.

you'll regret it. don't say i didn't warn you. it was the last words her mother had to say when yuna told her she would be failing the entrance exam on purpose. there was no hitting, no screaming, just a lingering threat that wasn't even a real threat. and she had walked into the exam hall with every intention to stay committed to her goal only to leave knowing she had done the opposite. chickened out when it mattered most, because years of having an iron grip around your wrist, wanted or not, meant she had no idea how to walk.

maybe it was sheer luck that her stepfather had to suddenly relocate the family for work and that the only school in that area was one that was good, but not prestigious. normal, as yuna had wanted so desperately, even if her mother had the same expectations of her.

she entered high school with resolved self-confidence, even if she had no real part in how she got there, with a goal to find herself. and she found something, she supposed; a friend she's come to adore who waltzes through life with a carefreeness she could only dream to have, a crush that seems to understand her, even a little; and perhaps, a few fragments of what she hopes to be.

 

[triples]

the tulip

hong yubi.

time is flying by. all i did, all i wanted was to laugh.
was that not enough? tell me, does being mature mean to be scared of what's to come? because the world has grown so big, and i have no map or navigator.

basics

full name

hong yubi (홍유비)

age

eighteen

d.o.b.

21st march

p.o.b.

south korea

grades

lower

height

165cm (5'5")

ex.curriculars

events committee,
dance club

class

2-A

persona

cheerful

loving

outspoken

impulsive

obtuse

uncertain

loser

cheeze

background

even so, they loved her — if her life had to be summed up in a few simple words, it would be these. winning people over is yubi's defining trait, despite having, on first glance, nothing quite that special about her. a girl who has never excelled or tried to excel at anything in particular, she floats through life, happy but oblivious, yet adored.

far from what you might consider elite, yubi was born into a tight-knit but struggling household, without any of the extra lessons or private tutors that became increasingly common among her peers as she grew up. otherwise, however, she remained unaffected by her family situation for most of her adolescence. an upbeat child, full of laughter and things to say, yubi was doted on to the best of their ability by her parents. despite their finances, they almost never said no to their baby girl, even if it meant a few extra hours at the office or a couple makeshift meals.

luckily for them, she was a simple kid, and the most expensive things she ever asked for were costumes for her school's dance recitals. to a certain extent, yubi was aware that there were certain things she shouldn't demand and couldn't have. concert tickets, for example, or guitar lessons. especially guitar lessons, because, as she quickly began to recognize, learning new things cost a lot of money. but that was fine. it didn't matter, yubi decided, she was content. and giving up on her curiosity became a habit.

fast forward to many years later, where things, well, haven't changed much. in her second year of high school, yubi is still as bright and as carefree as she always was, even if her grades are rather abysmal despite her best efforts and her crush feels kind of impossible. her biggest problem right now might just be her friends teasing her about her lack of a boyfriend (they say it's because she's too loud), her ensuing terrible decision to lie about having one (she said it's a secret, he's too shy), and now her need to find one in time for her cover not to be blown.

or so she thinks. but as even high school inches closer to its end, and her goals after graduation still nowhere to be found, yubi finds herself slowly falling into an internal battle. surrounded by people who seem to have their life together so much more than she ever did, the question she'd been avoiding demands to be answered: what does she really want? what was her dream, and did she have what it takes to chase after it, even despite her circumstance? after so long telling herself that she has to give up, it's an uphill battle to find the answer once again. and the clock keeps on ticking.

 

[triples]

the orchid

im jaewoo.

blood from his gums as he grits his teeth. blood from his skin when they tear from his knuckles. he keeps going, like somehow it would eventually leave a dent. but the wall stays unbothered, and he only breaks himself.

basics

full name

im jaewoo (임재우)

age

seventeen

d.o.b.

30th november

p.o.b.

south korea

grades

upper

height

181cm (6'0")

ex.curriculars

events committee,
track & field

class

2-C

persona

astute

persuasive

confident

defiant

controversial

snide

anti-romantic

txt

background

the son of two judges. that's how jaewoo has always been known to the world; not by his name or by his actions, but by the career choices his parents made. wasn't that ridiculous? he thought so. but there was nothing he could do about it. he knew that, because he'd given his all at any possible way he could think of, and it had never worked out.

first, he tried to be his best self. to be such an amazing person on his own that he would get recognition for at least his efforts, if not his ability. he scored the highest in exams, shined the most in sports, took up all the available leadership positions. he was polite, he was charming, he was compassionate. he stood out among the crowd, a golden child in the truest form. but it didn't take long for him to understand that this wouldn't work out the way he wanted. because when he did well, it was only as expected from a kid raised by mr & mrs im.

with nothing but their baseless assumptions, people decided that his strengths were the result of his background and his successes were, in fact, the successes of his parents. and what about those very parents? jaewoo couldn't remember just how young he must've been when he realized he was never going to be good enough for them, but he can't recall a time before that. his father was strict and his mother was skeptical. they didn't know how to give love or encouragement, only judgement.

and so, just like that, his efforts were dismissed and gone to waste. jaewoo grew angry.

as middle school drew to a close, his second strategy bloomed from his indignation: he decided to instead be the worst version of himself. see how they like that, his childish mind decided. which, to be honest, wasn't even all that terrible, all things considered — he had standards ingrained in him that he couldn't drop, unfortunately. but it was clear to see that he wasn't what he'd been before. he began to skip lessons, got into trouble with teachers, hung out with school bullies, and the list went on. a delinquent, some might call him.

for a while, it worked. his parents started to pay him attention beyond the report cards, asked him what he was up to and why. it become quickly obvious, however, that none of the three parties involved were adept at intimate conversation. they grew frustrated as time went on and, rather than try to understand their son or help him back on the right path, they sought not just to hide him away from public eye but also to avoid him themselves. it was their way of culling the fights in the house, but it only made him all the more distant.

over time, the anger faded and left behind a bitter cynicism, also known as the third and current stage of jaewoo's transformation. sarcastic and seemingly apathetic, he makes for a rather divisive figure in school, for both teachers and students alike. some see his positives, the achievements, the candour, the wit. others get a bad vibe, they find him needlessly sharp and volatile. some find him interesting, others find him intimidating. sometimes, both.

jaewoo, on the other hand, doesn't really care what they think. he's only just become comfortable with who he was, having stopped trying so hard to be either good or bad. perhaps because of that, the people who catch his eye are often the opposite, whether it's his long-time friend who was still stuck at that perfect-boy phase, or that so-called school beauty who seemed to always be hiding behind her timid silence.

 

[Uxie]

the daffodil

yang hojun.

tragedy after tragedy; the road to adulthood is riddled with misfortune with neither time to breathe nor time to grieve. is there a point in chasing dreams if that's all they will ever be?

basics

full name

yang hojun (양호준)

age

seventeen

d.o.b.

14th may

p.o.b.

south korea

height

1.77m

grades

lower-middle

class

2-C

ex.curriculars

events committee, track & field

persona

sincere

dutiful

earnest

stubborn

stoic

judgmental

like me

ph-1

background

hojun was born as the oldest of what would have been too many siblings for most other people. the perfect son and the perfect older brother, who's heart was ruled by the idea that "blood was thicker than water" because he so truly believed it.

his upbringing wasn't quite privileged, but it was comfortable. his father was a retired-athlete-turned-school-coach, once playing on the national team but having long since fallen out of the limelight, and his mother, the nurse he had fallen for when he'd have to get his ankle treated. a cute love story that made their marriage as much of a fairytale you might expect it to be, which is likely why hojun received four more siblings between ages five and eight. it was a dramatic turn of events for a kid who had spent five years being an only child, but he adjusted easily to the situation, because his younger siblings were as endeared with him as he was them.

though his parents made enough to raise one child, five surely tightened their finances a little. it was lucky, of course, that hojun took after his father with an interest in sports— namely running, a hobby that was far from financially demanding at his age— but not all of his siblings did. hojun started his first part-time job at age 12, helping out the local mechanic with whatever little errands he may need to help fund his little sister's art classes.

his parents made him drop the job as soon as they found out, insisting they had enough that he should only do what he wanted to do. stubborn as he was, hojun continued to drop by the old man's place every once in a while for a bit of extra cash, because helping them was what he wanted to do. it wasn't like it affected his practices, anyways.

it was during his last years of middle school that their family became financially stable enough for hojun to put his all into sports, and he excelled. with his father's guidance and his innate talent, he was somewhat of a track star by the time he hit high school; the top sprinter in their area, with several competitions under his belt and rumours that he'd be joining the national youth team.

his dreams were so close he could almost taste it, and then, in a single breath, there was an immeasurable distance between them.

his father collapsed suddenly while at work one day, later diagnosed with an illness that was curable but called for a series of costly surgeries. bedridden and debilitated, his mother became the sole source of income for their family and even amidst his parents' reassurances that they had enough savings, that he should focus on his dreams, there was no way hojun would let them shoulder the burden themselves.

hojun thought he could handle it at the start. he found a part-time job that let him work after his practices, even if he was reprimanded by his supervisor for always being late while his empty stomach growled, even when he returned home near midnight with the excuse that they'd extended practice. he knew he could do it, because it was the least he could do.

but even an athlete runs out of stamina eventually, and a good athlete knows when they've pushed themselves to their limits.

star athlete hojun was now just yang hojun, as much as his coach or his teammates continue to try to convince him. because it's too obvious how fatigued his mother is, and because his dream was just water, even if he craved it like he'd just trekked through the desert. his family remains in the dark to his decision, still believing the reason he returns so late is due to his practices, and he's determined to keep it that way.

 

[Stardust Galaxy]

the sunflower

ha daehyun

Sometimes I wonder who the real me is? The one with the kind smile or the one that hides his own demons. As a hard as I try I can never reach the light and continue being the shadow of someone else.

basics

full name

ha daehyun (하대현)

age

seventeen

d.o.b.

April 14th

p.o.b.

south korea

grades

upper

height

180cm (5'11")

ex.curriculars

events committee, literature club

class

2-B

persona

tolerant

charismatic

reliable

idealistic

cynical

obsessive

Rain Again Tomorrow

Epik High

background

Daehyun was the second and youngest son of Park Eun-Ae and Ha Hyung-Min, two parents that always make sure that their kids had a good life, they taught them values and their mindset was to raise persons that would help others, altruists in a sense and be the supporter for others.

But behind the kind smiles and supporting words, there was more to tell since he can remember Daehyun was always compared to his older brother Daesung. Even if they were 3 years apart both siblings were known for their friendly and charismatic persona, described as what people would call golden boys were the perfect words to attach to Daehyun and Daesung.

But even if in the eyes of everyone else the siblings were equals, and everyone was jealous of their parents for having such wonderful and caring kids, in reality, Daehyun's parents didn't believe the same. For them, their younger son was never enough, even if he was at the top of his class and excelled in all his classes by the time Daesung was his age he already was in more advanced classes in his cram school. While Daesung was the ace in sports and all the teams beg him for him to join them, Daehyun on the other hand while he was one of the key players on the basketball team, his sports career was cut short because he developed asthma and instead spent most of his time in clubs that didn't involve a huge physical demand, but they weren't as impressive as taking your team to regionals something that Daesung did.

The comparisons continued and while Daehyun continued to be the shadow of his older brother Daesung's life shine as bright as the Sun, he was able to make it to one of the top universities in the country, he was destined to be great or that would have happened if he didn't die in that car accident where a driver couldn't stop on a red light and run over him, he died before he made it to the hospital. It was devastating to the family.

After that the accident became the catalyst of everyone comparing Daehyun to his older brother. Things like "You should be more like your brother to make him proud" or "You should do better so you don't worry your parents" became a constant in his life. Was he never doing enough to begin with?

 

[Stardust Galaxy]

the peony

yoo bora.

Dreams are what people desire the most, what really gives them their purpose in life, but what's the difference between following them or following the dreams that others have lined up for you?

basics

full name

yoo bora (유보라)

age

seventeen

d.o.b.

November 3rd

p.o.b.

south korea

grades

high

height

163 cm (5’4’’)

ex.curriculars

events committee, school band (flute)

class

2-B

persona

honest

strong-willed

calm

stubborn

judgmental

shallow

The Long Night

Seori feat GIRIBOY

background

Yoo Bora is the only daughter of Kim Chae-Won and Yoo Byung-Woo a couple that in short words started from the bottom until they found success in life, after a lot of hardships socially and economically.

Bora's childhood wasn't surrounded by luxury, having two working parents didn't allow her to have the memories that her friends and classmates had while growing up, instead, She surrounded herself with romantic mangas ones where she daydreamed day and night of becoming the main character of one of those cheesy but adorable stories, where she would end up with the adorable and caring character instead of the bad boy that was always pushed as the main love interest. But in the eyes of her parents, she was not doing enough with her life even if she was still a child.

That's when music and the flute came to appear in her life at a young age. She still wonders to this day if her parents sent her there because they felt bad they couldn't spend time with their daughter and wanted her to be happy somehow? Or because they wanted to brag about their daughter to their colleagues, she knows the answer, she just doesn't want to accept it.

Something that started as a hobby eventually became her main source of happiness, hearing the applause of everyone after she performed on her music festivals, are her most vivid memories by growing up, Bora loved music more than anything and knew from a young age that she wanted to play the flute for the rest of her life.

It would have been easier if her parents would have allowed her to follow her dreams, they could have been proud of their daughter and helped her accomplish her dreams, instead, they were against it, not because they didn't believe she was talented, but because they knew she could reach the stars if she wanted too, music was just a hobby not something that would allow her to have a good life.

Reaching the stars to her parents meant that instead of following her dreams she should become a doctor, a career that would allow her to be successful and have a stable life, a degree that would make someone rich set her eyes on her and have a proper life after all she had the talents and the brain

With the idea of becoming an ornament to society and to eventually being set on an arranged marriage one that would most likely be an economic proposition. It made her realize that she needs to prove that her dream is worth it, to show that she can be successful and find true love and achieve happiness on her own merits rather than having money buy her way through life.