PART 02: GLITTER IN OUR VEINS
PERSONALITY TRAITS
she's half-human. logical, sincere, committed, humble
short-tempered, unambitious, hostile, mildly morbid, withdrawn. and half-monster
PERSONALITY
they say that life molds who a person becomes, that’s just what happened to han eunhwan. her eleven years of living were honestly a blur, all those years dedicated to figure skating, everything that occupied her mind was mostly that. there were no sleepovers with friends, no childish fights in school, she didn’t even have time to grow close to family. she was conditioned to treat the iceskating rink as her home, even to the extent of being homeschooled just so she could focus more on the sport. there were two critical parts: pre-injury and post-injury.
pre-injury eunhwan was a lot more naive. sincere and committed— when she says something, she will do her best to accomplish it, not letting the trust given to her be wasted. everything she dedicates herself to is made with sincerity and hard work. and most of all, she is humble, from the start until the end, she never threw her achievements at anyone’s face, even to the extent of not talking about it at all. if anyone were to look carefully in all her past interviews, all she had always said was she was thankful for everything she received and was hopeful that she would get better than her old self every time she showed herself on the rink, as a result of her unwavering commitment to the sport.
imagine living your life like that, then suddenly, your thrown away from your sanctuary, being forced to take shelter and adapt to a world you weren’t used to living. having her dreams taken away from her, post-injury eunhwan is left unambitious, with no exact plans for the future, she’s just breathing through days, months, and years without motivation. in a survey provided by the school talking about ‘what you want to be in the future’, she once answered, “i don’t see a future,” which leads us into her mildly morbid personality, if anyone in school were asked about her, some would say that she was a bit frightening, talking about death as if it didn’t faze her, someone even once said they saw scribbles on her notebook talking about oblivion and death, a scary drawing of huge flames reflecting on someone’s eyes while that same someone smiled maniacally, and under it were the words, “…and the world burns.”
she is evidently hostile and short-tempered, this being shown through her words and actions as she had the tendency to say anything she wanted, uncaring of the people around her when her temper gets ahead of her. sometimes she even smiles maliciously, her eyes glinting with the promise of showing them just how wrong they were of even thinking of crossing her. although otherwise, she doesn’t meddle with anyone’s business as long as they don’t try to stick their noses in to hers, too. despite this judgment built by her colleagues, eunhwan is also logical— yes, maybe a bit twisted with the way her mind works, but she’s not one to do things recklessly nor act without reason. she proceeds through life in a logical manner, swallowing regrets and not wallowing in what-ifs. she often persuades herself that there’s no reason to hold onto the past, and if you can’t hold on to something, you must let go. the only thing she can’t swallow down was the fact that she can’t skate anymore, but then again, every person has their faults. and she’s good at hiding this fault, acting as if didn't matter to her anymore, especially when she doesn’t allow anyone to get closer to her, both physically and emotionally—except for one. when she said she dedicated her whole life to iceskating, she meant it. she didn’t really allot time for friends or family, that’s why she’s withdrawn, with no intention to get closer to anyone, always seeming distant even in the eyes of strangers. what good would friends do anyway? it’s apparent just how her setbacks overshadowed her good traits—not that it particularly mattered to her. but they often forget or miss that she wasn't always this bitter or angry, she had once been innocent and carefree like most. but then again, people tend to overlook all the good things in a person, if they see just one little flaw.
THE STORYBOOK everything started in changsha, with parents who were never really in love and an unplanned daughter on the way, everything was bound to crash and burn. even with the money or eunhwan herself, her parents were a pair who were more destined to live separately than together. it wasn’t noticeable at first, but as she grew, the cracks slowly but steadily showed. at three, her parents’ arguments would keep her up at night, even when she didn’t know why they shouted, she would cover her ears, her eyes void of emotion, not wondering why they were shouting, but instead, when they would stop shouting. as a result to her parents’ relationship and life themselves, she didn’t really grow close to them as a normal child would. after all, if they weren’t arguing, her father would be at the hospital— since he was a reknown surgeon, and her mother would be gone for days on end—because she was a famous model, eunhwan was always alone with maids or butlers, along with a kid who lived next door named yixing, who was relentless in befriending her. when she grew older, she realized acknowledging them as parents felt more like an obligation than a privilege. before she turns four, her mother walks out the door, suitcase on her hand, and eunhwan realizes the woman would probably never come back, she watches as her mother rides a car, the man on the driver’s seat kissing her on the lips—it wasn’t her father, but she watches anyway, she follows the car with her eyes when they drive away until they were gone from her sight, never to be seen by her again until years later.
at four, her father carries her by his large hands to the airport, telling her they were moving to beijing, the flight wasn’t long, she easily settles in and continues with her life. she also starts figure skating at four, feet surprisingly able to glide smoothly through the surface and body able to move elegantly like she was attuned to the wind—it was supposed to be that one day out with her father, an attempt to get closer, but she was surprisingly better than he will ever be at skating, and little did they know, it’s the one thing that will truly drive them apart—everything starts then, that han eunhwan begins to make her world revolve around figure skating. she debuts at 6— at a large mall in beijing, everyone watches carefully, scrutinizing, trying to find little mistakes, but are awestruck by the time she finishes her last twirl and bows. the day after, she’s featured in the sports newspaper, a perfect capture of her last twirl as the image, headlines saying “han xuehua, 6: figure skating prodigy”—she doesn’t wallow over the fact her father didn’t watch her at all that day, instead, she continues forward. everything continues on through the years, she was homeschooled to focus on her skating, she spent more time skating than studying actually. that didn’t matter at all, because she was the apple of everyone’s eyes—eunhwan doesn’t miss the fact that her father liked gloating about her everywhere he went despite not attending any single event, and she thinks it’s probably because he wants to prove to her mother that he was the better parent and he raised a perfect child—she shrugs it away. at 10, she’s recognized worldwide, having been able to compete in different countries at least two times every month, always being flocked by journalists even in the morning, cameras flashing left and right, and all she does is smile a little before continuing to practice the whole day. she works harder and harder every day, always testing her limits, always surpassing her own records. she starts feeling the pain at 13, having collapsed during practice due to a pain on her hip, her doctor and coach says she needs to rest for a week—she rests for a day, and continues on. at 15, three months before a big competition, she’s offered a scholarship abroad to train professionally, enough to get her to compete in the olympics in the future. two months before the competition, her doctor tells her she needs to stop overworking herself and tells her it might end her career if she does, but she wanted to win, she needed to win. she works and works and works. so at the day of the competition, at 15, she loses everything to a permanent injury to the hip.
stricken with loss— her whole life stolen right under her feet, her father doesn’t know what to do with her, not with her withdrawal from everything, the stars in her eyes were nowhere to be seen, and she seemed to live, only because she had to. everybody believes she had to go, stop seeing the things that reminded her of everything she used to be. so he sends her to her mother in south korea, who gives her the penthouse she owned in gangnam-gu, not wanting to have to deal with her when she already had her own family. though in her parents’ defense, they did contact her occasionally and even hired a maid and driver for her, even then, she was left all alone. at 16, she swallows down everything and persuades herself to bury everything in the back of her mind. enrolled in an actual school—seongnam high school—after so many years of homeschooling, she starts to live life the only way she knows, by swallowing everything and just trying to live in the present.
EFF IT, I'M GONNA WRITE MY OWN STORYBOOK eunhwan lives in a penthouse by herself, with the maid going to her house to clean once a week while she’s at school, although technically, she spends more time at yixing’s than her own, so she can’t say she really ‘lives’ in her penthouse, having stained her bestfriend’s living quarters with her own things more than she did her own house. she’s used to living a routine life, waking up at an early hour, doing the same thing every single day, she’s done it her whole life, only a few years ago, it was a bit different. in the present, eunhwan usually wakes up before the sun rises and goes on a routine jog around the district for at least two hours, then she goes to her penthouse to wash up to go to school with yixing—who was always waiting by his car in front of the penthouse building she lived in, an hour before her classes start (despite already studying in university). often times, they go for take-outs because he knows she doesn’t eat breakfast if he didn’t insist. then she would go to classes, quietly complying and going through the day if no one ticks her off. sometimes she stays in the library until the librarian herself has to kick her out, her driver would be in the parking lot, knowing yixing had varying schedules of dismissal in university.
she didn’t really like parties, deeming it too loud and destructive for her taste, it risks the chance of her losing her temper around people. but she wasn’t so uptight that she didn’t go to ones, sometimes she does, sometimes she doesn’t, it was always based on her mood. unlike other wealthy kids, she didn’t really have much of an obligation to go to formal parties due to the fact that the family she came from weren’t really in the business scene. eunhwan doesn’t really like socializing with people and often chooses not to meddle with affairs of other people.
HIGH SCHOOL ISN'T FOR LITTLE KIDS with nothing to do other than study, eunhwan pretty much excelled in every subject she took, being included as one of the top students in school. she spent most of her time in the library not for the desire of getting good grades, but instead, to put her mind into something that wasn’t her past. she especially excels in literature, having taken interest in reading books extending from novels to reference books themselves, she writes prose in her free time although only treated it as her hobby despite getting praises from the teachers and getting an invite by the publication club. she didn’t partake in clubs and is often seen in the library, she’s like every other student out there except for the fact she exuded an air that kind of frightened everybody. especially since she isn’t afraid to show her feelings of disgust and ridicule at the students who dare disturb her sense of peace—even if it doesn’t directly concern her, or just plain out think they’re all that, standing as if they had crowns on their heads. she believed that when you’re at the top, the only place you could go was down. and she knew one day, they will fall.
STALKERS KNOW ABOUT ME
— she's terrified of amusement parks, attempting to even make her step into one would trigger a panic attack
— you would never get her to drink coffee as it makes her anxious and paranoid throughout the day
— she comes from a family of doctors (father's side), owning hospital chains around the world, her father was the owner of hospital chains around the world, but he was based in beijing, featured in TIME's 100 most influential people
— she hates pizzas, sodas, and strawberries and can't bear to eat nor drink them; otherwise, she'll just vomit them out
— her favorite dishes come from the western cuisine, she also loves chocolates
— she dislikes children because she has a hard time getting along with them, but don't really dislike them to the extent of hating them
— she goes on a routine jog every day before the sun rises at least two hours since she was 12
— she goes to a dinner with her mother and her new family at least twice a month, she has two stepbrothers who are twins and are younger by 5 years— pretty much the only kids who like her
— she once attended her mother's fashion show after-party and got stuck with rich, snotty women who talked about nothing but clothes and make-up that she swore to herself never to go to an event like it again
— she loathes the act of smoking and feels like she's being suffocated whenever she smells it on someone
— she knows how to play drums a little bit, something she learned from her former coach who treated her as a daughter
— she likes and dislikes snow because it reminds her of everything she had and lost
— she goes to an ice skating rink by herself at least thrice a week, randomly gliding through ice by herself late at night, it was a little secret she owned with her mother's new husband— who was close friends with the owner of the rink; she has her own key, now, although unsure why the owner trusted her so easily despite not meeting— she wants to believe she can go back to her old self, even when she sometimes still feel the apparent pain on her hips
— once in a blue moon aka twice a year, her family hosts a charity ball that she's obliged to go to, everyone who's rich or famous is invited; when that time of the year comes, everyone is talking about it, the event being one of the most remembered formal parties of the year
— she can write exceptional prose when she wants to, her mind often swimming with words
— she automatically converts to speaking chinese whenever she's extremely angry, often sprouting words nobody really understands, but they're sure it's not good things she's saying
— she usually doesn't eat breakfast, her tastebuds not working properly and everything tasting bland until it's 9 am in the morning; she usually doesn't get away if yixing's there
PART 03: ALL AROUND THE WORLD
FAMILY MAY OR MAY NOT BE A PAIN IN THE
— father ; han xi zhao ; 43 ; owner of han hospital chains, based mainly in beijing ; hardworking, loyal, intelligent, impassive, greedy, short-tempered // he tries, believe him, he does want to— to some extent, get closer and get to know his daughter better. he's willing to give her all that she wants, if she just said so, but he’s not really good at being a father or even acting like one. he thinks that if he just lets her be and not control her decisions like his parents did, she’d be happy. he let her prioritize skating over school, go decide on her own, grow up on her own, and for years, he believed he’s done a good job, he saw stars in her eyes whenever he sees her pictures in magazines, he finds a smile on her face whenever he comes home from work to bid her goodnight even when she’s asleep. and then it all comes crashing down when she loses it, at first, he thinks that she’ll eventually cope, so he continues living like he used to, but she doesn’t get better. so he sends her away, hoping she’d be happier if she wasn’t reminded of everything, although eunhwan mistook it for throwing her away and became even distant than before. he was supposed to be the happiest man in the world, being one of the wealthiest and most influential, this was all that he wanted even back when he was a child. that’s why he never stopped to work and work even to the extent of his former wife leaving him and his daughter growing up without a father figure. he was on top of the world, but why wasn’t he happy?
— mother ; kim mina ; 41 ; former model, now co-owner of a famous fashion label ; selfish, ambitious, passionate, sophisticated, deceitful // kim mina is called eunhwan's mother only out of obligation, they don't really have a relationship past the obligatory phonecalls or the invites to fashion shows just to show off her former figure skater daughter, after all, to adults in the world, she was still someone who made a mark in the world, even for just a short time. if eunhwan were to decide, she wouldn't want to associate herself with her mother at all. but she swallows that down and in front of each other, they act civilized and pretend they care for each other. but when they're on their own, they were nothing but strangers whose obligations are dictated by fate and paper.
— stepfather ; kim eunwoo ; 44 ; reknown juridicial lawyer ; friendly, fun-loving, discontented, controlling // so far, eunwoo has been a nice person to her. she doesn't have an exact opinion of him and doesn't really think of him all that much, but she's thankful that he keeps their secret to just the both of them,. she doesn't exactly trust him, but respect him, in some way.
— stepbrothers ; kim kangjoon, kim haejoon ; 12 ; middle school students ; boisterous, creative, fun-loving, slightly arrogant, intelligent // eunhwan had easily gotten along with the boys, although she's unsure how. they often address her hannie noona and calls her at least once a week to talk to her about school or their new games, everything that happens in their life in general and she patiently listens. she isn't overly sweet to them, but is usually more easygoing around them, smiling and laughing naturally. she usually treats them to icecream after dinner when she visits their home.
— (second) cousin ; yoo seunghee ; 17 ; student at seongnam high ; charming, extraversion, daring, loyal, unpredicatable // both of their fathers are cousins and are very close to each other, meeting seunghee was inevitable. especially since the latter's father found it a good idea that he invited eunhwan to formal events he hosted, often persuading seunghee to accompany eunhwan. they weren't exactly friends, nor were they rivals, they were more like acquaintances who greeted each other with a subtle nod of the head and often started and ended the conversations with 'how are you' and 'i'm fine, thanks for asking', since eunhwan wasn't really one to socialize, it was expected that her cousin would find someone who was more willing to talk than just stand beside her. but all in all, she doesn't think too bad of seunghee and doesn't really have an exact opinion because she didn't know her all that well.
FRIENDS MAY OR MAY NOT BE A PAIN IN THE NECK
— eunhwan's former coach ; huang lei ; 34 ; ice skating coach ; hardworking, narcissistic, overimaginative, passionate // one of the few people she trusted was huang lei, from when she was four to when she was fifteen, he was there to guide and train her to the star that she was becoming. huang lei treated her like a younger sister and often treated her out to eat or just go to a park to breathe, he even brought her out to see the first snow and ice skate on a frozen lake. when she gave up her career, she also shut him out, never talking to him even until she boarded the plane to south korea. currently, he's based in beijing, still training people who wanted to become figure skaters, but coincidentally, a former student of his who now owns an iceskating rink in seongnam informs him of han eunhwan skating every week.
*open for collaborations?? (eunhwan is a friendless and rival-less lil )
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