Bang, Haneul / IS TRAVELING THE DISTANCE!

Bang,

HANEUL

APlusBabyInsipirit : Katie

ACT 1, SCENE 1.

NAME : Bang, Haneul ( 방하늘 )

NICKNAMES :

Boyfriend ( 남자 친구 ) -- Starting as a joke, Haneul adopted the nickname after suggesting Hyoyoung use it in her phone as Haneul's contact name. Then, should she ever meet any creeps, Hyoyoung could use her "boyfriend" as an excuse. Though they've never had to use the strategy, the nickname has become a permanent thing between the two and remains Haneul's contact name (followed by a disgustingly excessive number of hearts).

BIRTHDAY (AGE) : 02/21 (22)

GRADE : Yongsei University Senior || Major: Psychology -- While her peers beat their heads against brick walls--mostly metaphorically but occasionally literally--and struggle to crawl this last stretch of university, Haneul is taking things surprisingly easy. Cramming classes into a schedule that allowed for two hours of sleep some nights for three years has finally given this university senior the chance to sit back, relax, and fully enjoy this final bout of freedom before entering the inevitable struggle and monotony of true adulthood.

BIRTHPLACE / HOMETOWN : Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea

FACE CLAIM & BACKUP : Park Shin Hye & Yoon Eun Hye

APPEARANCE : Haneul has made it a habit to cut and donate her hair every few months (it grows ridiculously fast). She actually prefers shorter hair but figures she can live with the hassle of long locks for a while if it means helping someone else out.

DISTANCE OF : T I M E

DISTINCTIVE TRAITS : INFJ

positive Compassionate, Selfless, Intuitive, Humorous, Warm, Principled

negative Escapist, Secretive/Reserved, Idealistic, Intense, Know-It-All

neutral Complex, Sarcastic

PERSONALITY :

For Haneul, the hardest question has always been "Describe yourself." While she understands the basics of her personality, there are often times when she simply can't get across how she is feeling or what she is thinking. Most times, she just goes with the flow. Undying optimism, she calls it. The belief that things will work themselves out, no matter how bad they might seem. It's a bit childish and very idealistic, and can often be frustrating. When you're as tightly wound as Haneul, though, you need to believe that things will work out. An extremely intense person, Haneul feels very strongly about basically everything but, rather than expressing herself, will keep it bottled up. She can go months without showing the slightest bit of negativity, but when she snaps it can get very ugly.

Patient, devoted, and protective, she's a natural nurturer and highly compassionate. Though a bit reserved when it comes to her own thoughts and feelings, Haneul is surprisingly intuitive when it comes to others. She can read a room just by walking into it and is quick to pick up on the subtle cues others might miss. As such, she has little tolerance for people who are unable or unwilling to read between the lines and blunder their way through the highly complex world of daily social interaction. What your average person may be oblivious to seems painfully obvious to Haneul. She tries to be gentle with others, though, and hates to be the cause of hurt or conflict. As unhealthy as it may be, she feels it is best to keep your true feelings and thoughts bottled up for the sake of propriety and ease of life.

Stress is a near-constant in Haneul's life, and as such she is often escaping into day dreams and fantasies. Rather than making her real life as near-perfect as she can get it, Haneul wishes that things were better and creates fantasies in her mind that she can live out instead. She's a bit of a know-it-all and enjoys being right, and while she isn't a fan of arguing she occasionaly can't help but point out that someone is wrong. She's not the most adventurous person and prefers living a quiet, regular life.

IMPORTANT FIGURES :

Son, NAEUN -- 22 -- Yongsei University Student (Business Administration) + Starbucks Barista -- Gentle, Quiet, Adventurous, Honest, People-Pleaser

Naeun and Haneul have known one another since high school, when they became fast friends early in their senior year. The two are best friends, soul mates, and self-proclaimed "lovers". Whenever possible they will spoil the other silly and are rarely out of contact for more than a few days. Naeun was the one to introduce Haneul to "the cute guy in [her] Honors History class," and also may have deliberately given them bad directions--though she'll deny it until she is blue in the face. Though shy, Naeun is surprisingly adventurous and is the reason behind many of Haneul's more interesting life stories.

Jung, EUNJI -- 22 -- Webtoon Artist + Colonize Sales Associate -- Bubbly, Creative, Flexible, Confident, Frivolous

Inititally a Social Welfare major, Eunji met Naeun and Haneul their freshman year and became fast friends with the girls. She only lasted a semester at university, however, as she ended up starting a comedy/slice-of-life webtoon. While the webtoon--Weekly Seoul Girl--technically belongs solely to Eunji, the amount of inspiration and suggestions her friends provide make it very nearly a group effort amongst all of them. As the only non-student amongst them, Eunji will sometimes find herself on the outskirts of the group and unable to relate as much to the others as she once could.

Ryu, HYOYOUNG -- 22 -- Yonsei University Student (Nursing) -- Innocent, Sweet, Romantic, Bookish, "Princess-Complex"

A scholarship student with no need for a job and an only child, Hyoyoung has been sheltered throughout her life--though she claims to be the most wordly of the group. She initially met Naeun in gen-ed math class study group and from there gradually became a member of the larger group. The oldest of the bunch, she often tries to use her age to get her way--and is completely ignored by the others. She tends to cause the most drama in the group and seems to thrive off it, but despite this she's still close friends with everyone.

Park, JIMIN -- 20 -- Yongsei University Student (Biotechnology) + Starbucks Barista -- Flirt, Jokester, Intelligent, Resourceful, Emotionally Distant

When Jimin was invited by his cute co-worker to join her and some friends for a night out, he thought he had hit the jackpot. Not many freshmen could boast being the only guy in a group of sophmore girls, after all. The dream didn't last long, though, as within two months he was shot down by all but Hyoyoung, who only went on one date with him. Once his pride had recovered, however, Jimin decided to stick around as just a friend. Intelligent and mature for his age, Jimin is still treated like the baby of the group, leading to a lot of back and forth teasing. Unlike the others, he's slow to respond to emotional needs and can come across as cold and overly logical sometimes.

Lee, HONGBIN -- 22 -- Yongsei University Student (Law) + Hotel ShinShin Front Desk Receptionist -- Outgoing, Thoughtful, Persuasive, Friendly, Defensive

Initially just the friend of a friend, Haneul and Hongbin really started hitting it off when they got stuck together in the same car for four hours after getting bad directions. From there it didn't take long for the two to start dating, and seven months later things seem to be going just fine. Far more outgoing than Haneul, Hongbin can come across as a bit too bold sometimes, but there's no doubt his heart is always in the right place (regardless of how he may tease). A young man with a strong sense of justice, Hongbin went into law shortly after entering university and plans on becoming a prosecutor.

ACT 3, SCENE 2.

NICKNAMES :

Golden Boy ( 골든 보이 ) -- While Haneul uses it to tease Eric, she does genuinely admire his dedication and hard work. Not just anyone starts their own medical business with the goal of providing affordable medical equipment to help treat some of the world's worst epidemics and still ends up filthy rich.

BIRTHDAY (AGE) : 11/17 (25)

PERSONALITY : ENTP

positive Enthusiastic, Motivational, Upright, Ambitious, Affectionate

negative Reluctant to rely on others, Jealous, Fussy, Grudge-Holder

HOW THEY MET : They met two years ago at the Starbucks Naeun/Jimin work at when Haneul offered to pay for his drink (he'd forgotten his wallet).

"I've got him, Naeun." It wasn't the first time Haneul had seen someone desperately patting down their pockets in search of a forgotten credit card, but it was the first time the man in question was so darn attractive. Single but a little too shy to mingle, she mostly ignored Eric's stammered excuses--something about rushing out while on a business call--and quickly paid for the drink he'd ordered, all while being painfully aware of Naeun's knowing grin as she watched the interaction. She had hoped that would be the end of it, but Eric insisted on calling his girlfriend and having her bring over some cash he could use to pay Haneul back. To put it lightly, Haneul was disappointed that such a perfect opportunity had been wasted on a taken man. Still, despite having to work really hard at not flirting with Eric, Haneul found the conversation enjoyable and only felt a little bit bitter when he pecked his girlfriend of the time on the lips.

RELATIONSHIP : They're acquaintances who just so happen to spend quite a bit of time together. They meet weekly for coffee (when Eric is in town) and have come to be very comfortable around one another. He's not a part of her friend group--to be honest, they know next to nothing about the guy--but he does occasionally get invited along to replace last-minute ditchers in laser tag games and ticketed plays, among other things.

RELATIONSHIP TRIVIA :

a ruler's length away -- Neither Haneul nor Eric are willing to admit that they may be developing feelings for one another, not even to themselves, but the tension is undeniably there. While they may view themselves as strictly acquiantances, neither can deny they've thought of the potential for more. Haneul is not a single woman, however, and she's definitely not unhappy in her relationship, so they keep a strict, unspoken emotional distance between themselves.

text me when you're safe -- Though they rarely interact outside of their weekly get-togethers, Eric's gotten into the habit of texting Haneul every night while he's traveling overseas for business to tell her the plane didn't crash or that he's back at his hotel. Just quick assurances that he's doing all right. In return, Haneul will occasionally text back how she successfully avoided dying of an ordinary life--usually, however, the time zone differences mean she's sleeping.

gdi woman let me pay -- From day one, Haneul has made a point of refusing to let Eric pay for her coffee during their weekly meet-ups, despite his multiple attempts to explain that he has plenty of money for it. Even more furstrating, however, is that she's memorized his favorite drinks and will sometimes buy him one while she waits for him to arrive.

I swear you're following me -- After their initial meeting, Haneul thought she would never see Eric again but somehow they just kept bumping into one another. Whether it was at the coffee shop or just on the streets, they couldn't seem to avoid one another even if they tried. So they just let things develop naturally, then eventually began making plans to see one another when Eric was in town.

ACT 4, SCENE 2.

THANKS FOR AGREEING TO THE INTERVIEW! TO START US OFF, CAN YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF? : "M'kay, let's see... My name is Bang Haneul, twenty-two years old and a senior at Yongsei University. I'm majoring in Psychology and plan on getting into psychotherapy when I graduate. Who knows, maybe I'll learn more about you from this interview than you will about me." She smiles teasingly and leans back in the seat. "Don't worry about it, though. Patient/Doctor confidentiality and all that." As she speaks, her shoulders tremble for half a second-- a silent giggle?

WHAT DOES LOVE AND DISTANCE IN LOVE MEAN TO YOU? : "Unconditional affection for another person. A lot of people mistakenly label passion or lust as love, but love is a lot more subtle. It's when you feel absolute contentment around someone--not all the time, naturally, but most of it. Whenever you're around them, you get this warm feeling at the back of your heart and it just kind of sits there and makes everything better. It's..." She frowns and goes quiet for a moment, as if thinking about something else. "Well, it's... it's love. And it's not just romantic! You can have completely platonic love, too. Like... friends. Just friends. Acquaintances, really." By this point, she seems to be talking more to herself than anyone else. "Um... what was the rest of your question? Distance in love? I guess you're not talking strictly long distance relationships, huh? I suppose a distance in love would be when two people love one another but for whatever reason aren't connecting properly. Like...like faulty wiring. There are sparks there, but nothing is actually happening. I imagine it's quite common-- love is hard, after all. Worth it, in the end, but hard all the same."

DO YOU HAVE A LOVER OR SOMEONE YOU LIKE? IF SO, DESCRIBE YOUR DISTANCE. : "Well, I mean, I've got a boyfriend and we're not exactly distant. He's in the apartment complex next door, even!" She giggles. "All relationships need work--anyone who says otherwise is a dirty liar-- but I'd say we're pretty solid. I'm sorry if that's not very helpful for your sister's project."

THEY SAY YOU CAN LEARN A LOT ABOUT SOMEONE THROUGH THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA. CAN WE SEE YOUR INSTAGRAM? :

Post Count: 517
Followers: 37
Following: 203
Username: FaeRee
Bio: "Days turn into weeks turn into months turn into God knows how long" ~LDL;Roomie
Current Icon: 💕

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU SO MUCH! : "Thank you for having me! And wish your sister good luck for me! Tell her she can give me a call anytime if she has more questions or just needs something--always happy to help."

ACT 5, SCENE 5.

COMMENTS? CONCERNS? QUESTIONS? : Don't really have anything to say ^^''

SCENE REQUESTS : At some point, Haneul is going to need to explain to Hongbin how she wants to break things off with him despite still loving him and being perfectly happy with him because she feels there might be a chance for greater happiness with someone else. Not to mention she isn't truly giving him her 100% and he deserves better. ((Not exactly a request because it's kind of inevitable, hehe))

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Bang, Haneul / IS TRAVELING THE DISTANCE!

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