⟪ PERSONALITY ⟫ 

Good: Nurturing, Optimistic, Tenderhearted

Neutral: Selfless, Sarcastic

Bad: Stubborn, Blunt, Cold

Since she is an only child, she doesn't know how to properly open up to other people, which is why the first impression she usually gets from people is that she's cold. She doesn't mean to be, but with her resting face on most of the time it can't be helped. She's just naturally quiet and timid But once you break through her shyness and get to really know her she's one of those friends that will always be there for you. She's the type of person to always have the back of her friends and help them out whenever they needed her. When her friends get out of line, she's not afriad to speak the truth and call them out no matter how hurtful it is. She'll be the one to always cheer someone up when they're sad. She's also very playful and sarcastic because of her cousin's influence on her. During her school days, if one of her friends would forget their lunch she'd share the one her father would pack her. She is like the mother of her group by making sure that her friends were properly eating and excelling in school. This is also a con of her personality due to the fact that she gets attached and cares too quickly. It makes her easy to be taken advantage of since she sticks to her motto of always being there for the people in her life. She can't say no to when people ask her for favors. But at the end of the day, she likes to look at the brighter side of things because that's her way of staying motivated. By always staying optimistic, it tends to relieve her whenever she's stress. When she's motivated, she'll also become stubborn. She'll want to work herself to her limits and doesn't know when to stop. She'll insist that what she's doing is okay and know what she's doing when she perfectly knows that she's reaching her limits. She doesn't cry usually and tends to keep everything to herself since she doesn't want to be a burden to the people around her. But when she does cry, she shows how sensitive she can get. 

⟪ BACKGROUND ⟫ 

Growing up, dance had always been a part of her. It was something that came natural to her since her mother was a prima ballerina for the National Ballet of Japan and had a cultural dance background. Since her father was a five-star restaurant chef, both of her parents agreed that it'd be best if she tagged along with her mother to work. When her parents both settled down in Hongdae, her mother opened up her own dance studio in order to keep her passion close to her side while she took care of her family. Maru would watch in fascination as the dancers did their pas de deux across the floor and her mother would be instructing them. When she laid eyes on her mother dancing in front of the class with her pointe shoes on, that was when Maru knew she wanted to be a dancer. There was something that just called out to her when she watched all of the dancers move with grace. The way that mother seemed to float around the dance floor was something Maru wished she could do as well. Her mother was surprised when Maru had approached her at the age of five, saying that she wanted to become a ballerina. Knowing how intense ballet can get, her mother never wanted to enforce the idea of her daughter following in her footsteps. As much as she wished her daughter to become just like her, she left it up to Maru to decide what she would want to be. She knew her daughter was shy due to the fact that she never really interacted with kids her age since Maru always tagged along with her. The daily schedule of her mother would always consist of being surrounded by adults. It didn't help that she would be stuck playing by herself as well since she couldn't have another child. 

After a few days of telling her mother of wanting to become a ballerina, at the age of five she began her ballet training. Everyday after classes, her mother would do one-on-one lessons with her and on the weekends she'd join the ballet classes for her age. There in that studio was where she made her first friends and began slowly open up. Maru had enjoyed ballet at first but as she got older, her mother put more pressure on her since she was the head director and saw how much potential she had in order to audition and be a part of the National Ballet of Korea. Her cousin noticed how the pressure was getting to her and he convinced her to ditch practice one day to visit him at the company he was currently training at. She was in awe at the different atmosphere and the number of trainees that were the samge age (14) as her were present. He took her to one of the practice rooms where his future group members were in and walked in on them having a freestyle circle. They all welcomed her immediately and asked her to join them. At first she immediately declined since she felt awkward with them. But as a couple songs had passed and her cousins multiple attempts of getting her to dance, she finally gave in when he kept teasing her saying, "Simba, the ballerina." As she began to do ballet, the guys groaned and immediately stopped her. Maru was confused at first but then they explained to her that the type of dancing that they did was hip-hop. They told her how much more fun it was and the freedom she'd get to feel if she tried it. Since ballerinas are very stiff, the boys had to teach her the basic grooves before letting her go wild with what she learned. It was in that moment where she fell in love with the way her body moved to the crazy beats. She didn't have to worry about raising her leg high enought or completely turning out her foot with pointed toes. She was free to do whatever her body wanted to express. She was a natural and her cousin knew it. Once it was time for her to go home, he accompanied her to the subway and told her to take into consideration of looking into some hip-hop classes. 

She followed his advice and searched for classes to take. For a while, she had gone behind her mother's back to take hip-hop classes in Seoul by lying to her. She'd skip out on her ballet lessons saying that she'd be staying at school late in order to work on assignments and projects. Maru didn't want to lie but she didn't know how her mother would react when she would say that she preferred hip-hop over ballet. This continued on for a while until her favorite dance instructor, Jang Girin, invited her to be a part of the studio's dance crew called CupCakes. Her instructor was proud of how much she had improved in six months and said that she could get better if she trained with the crew. She saw the potential in her of becoming an amazing, versatile dancer. After receiving that kind of opportunity, she knew that she couldn't lie to her mother anymore. The night after her talk with Girin, she approached her mother in her room and came clean. At first her mother was disappointed, but finally hearing the truth about how her daughter felt, she allowed her to follow her heart. She knew that her daughter was losing that spark she had when she did ballet during their one-on-one lessons. Whenever she looked in her eyes, it was distant and her mind wasn't present. The fire she first saw in her daughter had diminished and now that she knew why, she couldn't be the one to hold Maru back. After that long talk with her mother and a deal to take ballet once in a while, Maru immediately called Girin to tell her that she would join. 

⟪ TRIVIA ⟫  

- loves coffee and bubble tea 
- knows how to longboard
- street food is her guilty pleasure
- eats a lot and never seems to gain a lot of weight (e.g. can eat five bowls of ramen in one sitting)
- can't fall asleep unless she's hugging something
- knows how to cook because of her father teaching her whenever they were home
- the beach is her favorite place to go
- favorite colors are black and red
- taught at her dance studio as a part time job once she graduated high school
- she's one hell of a romantic even though her face tells otherwise
- loves to read books
- knows how to play the ukulele
- wishes to travel around the world
- talks to herself when she's stressed out
- 60% introverted, 40% extroverted 
- opened up her own YT Channel called MaruMaru (pun play off of HaruHaru) where she'd post dance videos and ukulele covers as a way to get over her shyness
- favorite artists are BigBang, Sistar, Lee Hi, Epik High, Block B, B2ST, and Ailee
- obssessed with cats
- DJs as a hobbie (e.g. makes her own remixes to famous songs or mashups)
- doesn't watch that much TV, but if she does, she loves to watch Running Man and The Return of Superman
- bites her bottom lip when she's nervous or anxious
- always carries around a first aid kit and salonpas for when her body gets worn out from time to time
- scared of thunderstorms

⟪ FAMILY ⟫

→ Mother, (Kwon) Kinomoto Megumi ⋮ 54 ⋮ Head Director of Elite Star Ballet Academy ⋮ open-minded, supportive, wise ⋮ Her mother is her number one supporter and role model. Since she spent most of her time with her mom, it's natural for her to always lean on her whenever she needed to. Although she was always strict whenever it came to ballet, her mother would always support her daughter's decisions. 
→ Father, Kwon Jaehyun ⋮ 58 ⋮ Head Chef/Owner of Fusion Bay ⋮ carefree, light-hearted, funny ⋮ He's her ray of sunshine. Whenever he's at home, both of them joke around in front of the TV or he'd bug her to show him whatever new routine she learned that day. He's her number one fan and is protective of her. He tries his best to make time for her if he's not busy at the restaurant and teaches her valuable life lessons whenever she visits him at work and she rants about her day.
→ Cousin, Kwon Jiyong ⋮ 28 ⋮ Leader of BigBang ⋮ overprotective, annoying, blunt ⋮ Jiyong is the brother she's always wanted. He's always looked after her whenever he could before he became a trainee at YG. Even if he was busy with his schedules, Jiyong would always check up on Maru, making sure that she was alright. He is her best friend and her confidant with things she deemed uncomfortable to talk to her parents about. Without him in her life, she wouldn't have found what she loved to do. He's not afraid to call her out on her mistakes and teaches her the right way to handle things. 

⟪ FRIENDS ⟫

→ Best Friend, Choi Seunghyun ⋮ 28 ⋮ T.O.P of BigBang ⋮ dorky, big brother⋮ If Jiyong was busy, he would be the one to take his place. She enjoys his company because he's not as hyper as the other members but knows how to joke around nontheless. He's just as protective of her as Jiyong and both deemed her as their child. 
→ Best Friend, Gong Minji ⋮ 22 ⋮ Minzy of 2NE1 ⋮ mature, optimistic, outgoing ⋮ Maru met Minji when she bumped into her on the way to visit Jiyong. She told Maru that they were currently finishing up practice and asked if she wanted to join her in the practice room next door. Her and Kwon Youngdeuk (dancer at YG) were practicing a routine they learned from ShtKngz who's a famous dance crew from Japan. Maru knew who they were and immediately asked if she could learn the routine too. Minzy agreed and since then they had always been close.
→ Best friend, Shin Soobin ⋮ 22 ⋮ CupCakes Member ⋮ hyper, childish, happy ⋮ She's the happy pill of her dance crew and they easily clicked during her first training session with the crew. Since they were the same age, they've always stuck together and are known as the twins of the team. 
 

⟪ OTHERS ⟫

→ Founder of CupCakes, Jang Girin ⋮ 25 ⋮ Choreographer/Dancer ⋮ caring, sweet, responsible : Maru's director and mentor at Soul Dance in Seoul, Korea. She looks after her like an older sister and pushes her to grow. If Maru falls behind in school, then she doesn't allow her to come to practice until her grades are up. 
→ Member of CupCakes, Ala ⋮ 24 ⋮ Choreographer/Dancer ⋮ shy, timid ⋮ She's acts like she's younger than everyone due to her shyness, but Maru can relate to how she is and that's how they became close.
→ Member of CupCakes, Bada ⋮ 24 ⋮ Choreographer/Dancer ⋮ loud, careless ⋮ She was the first one to approach Maru once Girin introduced her to the others. Maru was taken aback of her loudness as Bada squealed and immediately hugged her. She told Maru not to be afraid to ask her for anything since everyone on the crew is like family. In the end, Maru always took care of Bada since she'd always forget her things in the studio after practice. 
→ Member of CupCakes, Sori ⋮ 23 ⋮ Choreographer/Dancer ⋮ funny, outgoing ⋮ She loves to joke around and tease Maru. During practice she'd always make comments here and there then poke Maru's stomach in order to get her to open up to everyone. Eventually it had worked and with Sori's help, Maru began opening up to the members of her crew. 
 

⟪ CHOSEN PLOTLINE ⟫ Main dancer, sub-vocallist

⟪ HOW DID THEY GET INTO CUBE ⟫ 

Since she had been doing workshops with CupCakes and updating her Youtube Channel constantly during her high school years, she began to get attention on social media. Girin had already established a name for herself and the dance crwe, but with the constant video uploads on their studio's main channel, people began to recognize her as well. They searched her up on Youtube and underneath the studio's channel would be her personal channel where she'd post videos of her and the members appearing in her concept videos. There would also be the occasional ukulele cover since she took it up as a hobbie. A talent scout had visited their dance studio where Girin hosted a summer dance workshop. He had heard of the place when one of his colleagues mentioned that this studio was getting a lot of attention overseas for having great dancers. Maru had caught his eye during the select group because she had the charisma and presence he was looking for. When the event was over, he approached Girin and asked questions about Maru. Once he got all the information he needed, he approached her and asked her for her information so they can stay in touch about auditions. 

Maru was caught off-guard with the fact that she had just caught the attention of a talent scout during the workshop. Girin even encouraged him to talk to her and get her to be a trainee because of the amazing talent she possesses. She and the CupCake members pushed her to go talk to him and take into consideration this once in a lifetime chance. They told her that whatever decision she makes, they'll be right behind her. Once he pulled her off to the side after the workshops, he explained to her how CUBE was looking for new trainees for a group they were planning on debuting and he saw the potential in her. While waiting for her to gather her things, Girin showed him a couple of her Youtube videos and he knew he made the right choice. Maru had thougt about becoming an idol here and there, but with the content of being a choreographer at Soul Dance, she never really followed throught. Now that the opportunity was presented in front of her, she knew this was going to lead her to bigger and better things. She now had the chance to share with the world her passion for performing. 

A month later she found herself sitting nervously in the waiting room for CUBE auditions. Her parents were supportive of her decision and wished her the best of luck as they dropped her off at CUBE. She sat herself in her own corner refusing to look at all the other trainees. When she walked in, she felt intimidated because of how talented the other auditionees are. With her eyes closed, she plugged in her headphones to block out her surroundings and mentally went through her audition pieces. It was her way to calming down and reassuring herself that she'll do fine. She's performed all her life and auditioning for something should be nothing new to her. Once her number was called, she went in and gave it her all. She auditioned with a dance piece she choreographed her own and did her singing audition with her ukulele. The judges were surpised by that but liked it either way. It showed her talents in musicality by adapting B2ST's song, Beautiful to the ukulele. At the end of her audition they thanked her and told her that they would keep in touch of her within a week or so. As she left CUBE, Maru told herself that no matter what happens, she should be proud of herself for getting out of her shell and doing something out of her box. She knew that she gave it her all and that's what should matter at the end of the day. A couple of days later, she received a call from the man that scouted her, saying that she got in as a trainee. Maru couldn't believe it and was in the middle of CupCakes practice. She had put him on speaker and once he said that she was in, everyone crowded around her and celebrated her next step on her journey. She was to report to the entertainment later that day to talk about her contract. 

⟪ TRAINEE LIFE ⟫ 

Maru worked just as hard as all the other trainees and some even recognized her from her Youtube Channel. She did get some hate from those that thought she got favoritsim due to her career she built outside of CUBE, but she ignored them and focused on her main goal: to debut. She wanted to make CupCakes and her family proud of her by trying to debut as soon as possible. No one knew that she was cousins with G-Dragon and she'd rather keep it that way until she debuted. It was only the head of the agency that knew about her family relations and agreed to keep it a secret. She got along with everyone for the most part and engaged herself as much as she could. Maru didn't want to let down Girin for how much she has done for her by giving her this opportunity and recruiting her onto CupCakes. She'd practice any chance she'd get and tried her hardest to practice her singing so it could be just as good as her dancing. The other trainees would always try to start drama around to get other's out but she knew better than to get involved with those kind of happenings. Most of the time she'd stay aloof and neutral when they'd ask for her opinion and go off on her own to practice. 

⟪ RELATIONSHIP ⟫

Maru is very shy and it's her first relationship so she is very awkward with everything. She wants to do so much with Junhyung, but doesn't know how to properly explain herself without getting so flustered with herself. She loves to do skinship with him since he's the only one she's very comfortable with besides her small social circle. Junhyung on the other hand is very patient with her and takes the time to explain how relationships work. He finds it adorable how she wants to be the perfect girlfriend for him. But in his eyes, she doesn't need to try because she's all that he needs. 

⟪ HISTORY ⟫

They met during her trainee days and he had come in to the practice room she was practicing alone in. Everyone was already getting ready to go home, but she decided to stay a little longer to get the dance routine they had just learned into her muscle memory. Once he stepped in, he was mesmerized with the way she danced. She didn't even notice him until he started clapping. She jumped, turning to look at him and he apologized for barging in. His first impression of her was that she was pretty cute with that flustered expression on her face and a great dancer. On the other hand, she was freaking out inside because her bias was standing right in front of her. She bowed immediately and offered him the room since he was her sunbae after all. He brushed it off and let her stay a little longer since he was just waiting on s to arrive. They sat against the mirrors together and Junhyung asked how training was going for her. She told him how she was struggling with singing and how she'd want to improve He offered her some tips off of the top of his head and asked if they could switch numbers so he could tell her what Yoseob would say in terms of singing. He also promised her a meal if she debuted. Ever since then, they had been keeping in contact with each other.

⟪ STATUS ⟫

Not yet going out