basic profile.

me, me, and me. 

style and appearance — Kyuri, like most of her family, is fairly tall. She stands at 167cm and weighs 49kg, as she's always been tall and slender. She's also used to comments on how nice her skin is: she's quite pale and puts a lot of effort into making sure her skin is in the best shape it can be; she definitely spends much more money on skincare than makeup. When it comes to her makeup, then, she likes to keep it as simple as possible, preferring a good primer, a high-quality BB cream and well-styled eyebrows over a lot of different products being layered on her face. Her hair, too, is rather simple: she dyed it brown as a trainee and prefers to wear it down, framing her face. Her style, then, is also quite simple: she purchases a lot of "basic" pieces that can be mixed and matched, keeping her entire closet in one particular color palette of blues, pinks, whites, blacks, and greys so everything can go together depending on how she feels. Her favorite pieces tend to be skirts and dresses, though she also likes the sweater-shorts pairing with ankle boots. She considers her style clean and feminine: she has a nicely shaped body, so she likes to dress it well so she can feel confident. As for accessories, she keeps to her favorite pair of earrings and a few other small, gold pieces or a thin watch that she got as a gift for her 16th birthday. 
photos —
  

personality —
(+) just, intelligent, hard-working, honest, loyal, self-sufficient
Cho Kyuri's greatest strength is her morals. She has a very strong sense of what's right and wrong, then chooses to live the "right" way by being honest and kind to herself and other people. She falthers, sometimes, just like anyone else would, but she is one of the most consistent people in terms of honesty, kindness, and fairness that the people who know her can name. She finds lying difficult, and would rather be wrong or reprimanded than betray someone else's trust, even if they never found out. This also makes her a very loyal person, as others' trust in her is one of the most important virtues that she likes to keep. Ideally, when other people think of her, she would want them to say "Cho Kyuri? She's someone that we can all depend on."

Also integral to her personality is her intelligence. This is not just book-smarts; Kyuri truly has a love of learning and bettering herself, fearing the unknown more than anything else. So, to not be afraid, all she thinks that she has to do is turn the unknown into something familiar by learning about it. Thus, she does her best, when approaching any new situation, to be patient and allow herself the time to figure out what she needs to know or do before working very hard to learn or accomplish that. The fact that she is a hard-worker isn't an innate part of her personality, but something she learned through self-discipline. Kyuri does not stop or declare success until she feels that nothing more can be done to make herself any prouder of something she's done, and she feels most fulfilled when she can accomplish this on her own. From her childhood, Kyuri had to be able to take care of herself, so she's very good at handling any problem or hurdle she has to overcome as an adult.

(-) vain, anxious, competitive, snippy, confrontational, blunt
Kyuri's most obvious flaws come from some of her best traits. While she is honest, she is also blunt. She prefers to get to the point than to sugar-coat or dance around a subject, giving and expecting brutal honesty so everyone can move on and overcome whatever the problem is together. She rarely has hard feelings for things that might upset other people; harshness doesn't really bother her, but this makes her a bit harsh when speaking to or about others. She can come off as snippy, then, because her ability to let others down gently is not very strong. If she notices something wrong, she'll bring it up quickly, sometimes catching others off guard and running the risk of upsetting them. Some may call her confrontational because of this, because she doesn't avoid confrontation, and because she would rather argue a problem out than let it simmer and get worse over time. So, she can be a bit quick to argue.

These superficial flaws begin to make sense once someone understands Kyuri's deeper flaws. First, and most and most troublesome, Kyuri is highly competitive. This was ingrained in her personality because of how she was raised, so she is never satisfied with second place, thus having difficulty being realistic with herself and with others. She gets anxious about her own expectations because of this dissonance: she understands that certain things are hard and, often, second place is excellent for some circumstances, but she still feels heavy disappointment when the medal isn't gold or the ribbon isn't blue. This also makes her quite vain, as she's horribly concerned with outward appearances, becoming anxious all over again if she doesn't appear perfect to other people. Thus, she is very unforgiving with herself, especially in what she expects herself to be able to do. Winning all the time can drain a person, and she's felt that drain, but she can't help feeling anxious when she tries to force herself to be okay with second place.

likes 
— Loud music, especially hip-hop and edm (read: club music)
— Dancing (read: jumping around and flailing because god she's a bad dancer)
— Going to dance clubs, for the above two reasons
— Cardio exercise; running is this girl's best friend
— Fruits. Like, all the fruits, ever
— Short shorts. Insert something about "having free legs and making her look nice" here
— When Kangjoon rolls of the sleeves on his dress shirts
— Super fun, catchy dance concepts

dislikes
— Other people doing her nails (hair/makeup took a lot of getting used to)
— Cursing, though she's learned not to care when others do it
— People with drastically different public and private personas
— Eggs. She doesn't know why; she's just never liked them
— Any food that still has eyes; she's a little squeamish
— Midnight snacking, even though she finds herself doing it sometimes
— Staying up really late. New Year's Eve is almost hard for her

funfacts
— It took her a while to get used to the stylists doing her hair and makeup. In the beginning, she'd have to psych herself up to have others touching her face; she'd usually let them start her after at least one of the other girls was finished. Now that they're debuting, she understands time constraints and lets them start her along with everyone else, but she still gets stiff and uncomfortable in the styling chair
— She's a pretty early riser; 6-ish is her ideal time because she likes going for jogs (or, used to like going for jogs, since now she just does a workout in the company gym or practice room)
— She's excellent at math, able to do complex arithmatic in her head with ease
— She's also pretty excellent at playing piano, but doesn't really have interest in composing like some other idols do. She just wants to sing
— She can beatbox, as she learned it while performing acapella
— She finds comfort in solitude. Quiet evenings alone are rare, but the most calming thing in the world for her is turning the lights off, throwing on some music (her boyfriend's favorite genre, since her favoites are way too loud for this), and staring out the window at the lights of Seoul
— She says "oh my god" and "like" a lot. Think typical teenager talk; her father hates it
— One time, she had the thought of performing a duet with her cousin, and she kind of hated herself for like an hour after that
— Her go to snacks are prawn crackers or apple slices
— Her favorite color is gold, and she has a minor affinite for metallic things (read: not sparkles)
— When asked, she'll say that her ideal type is Lee Jongsuk. When this starts happening on camera or in interviews, she'll start teasing her boyfriend about it because Kyuri why did you pick a more popular actor than him you jerk

home is where the heart is. 

background — 

Kyuri is the only child of Cho Boseok, a mathematics professor at Korea University, and Cho Daeun, an accountant. From the beginning, it was epected that their daughter would be intelligent; she came from a very bright line, after all. She was always a very social child that wanted to befriend everyone, exceedingly curious to the point that her mother half-jokingly worried about her being taken away by a stranger. Because her parents were so busy, though, they supported numerous au pairs to care for her year after year. This was a great opportunity for said au pairs, getting a year of cultural exposure and living in Korea after graduating and before starting their careers, but Kyuri found herself not really connected to any of them. They'd play together, of course, and the au pairs would teach her English or bits and pieces of other languages (all of which she forgot, naturally), but none of them felt like a mom to her. In fact, her own mom didn't feel like much of a mom to her, leaving her feeling very distant from her parents when she was a little girl.

True to her parents' wishes, Kyuri was a very intelligent child. Her teachers adored the little girl who talked like an old woman, and the constant As Kyuri got on homeworks and tests convinced her parents to enroll her in after-school lessons to teach her advanced math and further her study in English beyond what her classmates were doing. While she was doing extra schooling with private tutors, however, her classmates were on sports teams or taking music classes. This left her alienated from her peers; she was the very smart girl that no one really knew anything about, and everyone already had friends from sports and the elementary school band, anyway. There weren't many friends to be made in after-school lessons; the other children there weren't friendly with Kyuri, or anyone at all. Some of them took their studies so seriously that Kyuri became used to watching other students have melt-downs over 90s instead of 100s, so she learned quickly how to conceal her own frustrations because she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of other people like the other students often did.

By the end of elementary school at ten, Kyuri was known in her school as a prodigy in mathematics. Her father, when he was home, expressed how proud of her he was by buying her new toys and books often; she received Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on the day of its release on a trip to the biggest bookstore in Seoul, after which her father bought her ice cream and they read together. Her mother, when she was home, would take "her smart little angel" out to see musicals and ballets, the singers and dancers absolutely captivating the young girl. Her parents' pride was something like a drug to Kyuri; she loved it, craved it, and felt her happiest when she received it. But, that feeling was gone too soon from her. Boseok's family played a very large part in Kyuri's childhood, as all of her aunts, uncles, and cousins would gather at her grandparents' house every other Sunday to spend the whole day together. Her father's realtionship with her grandparents, unbeknownst to her, played a very large part in her upbringing.

Boseok's sisters daughters are a year and four years older than Kyuri, and his brother's children are six and eight years older than her. She grew up close to her next-youngest cousin, but her only male cousin, named Kyuhyun, became a figure that was the source of countless negative feelings for Kyuri. Kyuhyun was always praised by her grandparents for being so smart, so well-rounded, so good at music and at math. As a child, Kyuri thought that being smart was her special thing; having to share that with her older cousin hurt, because he was older and better than her for reasons that she couldn't control. Kyuhyun won math competitions and played clarinet in his middle school and high school bands, so their grandparents showered him with praise. Kyuri, as the littlest, often got in trouble for "bothering" the older children, and found herself ignored in favor of praise for Kyuhyun. Back then, she didn't notice this in Boseok's eyes, but looking back, she understands this now: every time Kyuhyun was praised for something Kyuri did well, too, Boseok grew more and more disappointed in both himself and his daughter.

So, Boseok enrolled his middle schooler in music and art classes to make her as well-rounded as her cousin, and her grandparents' favorite grandchild.Art fell through very quickly; as it turned out, Kyuri was horrible at anything involving making something with her hands. Music, however, seemed to be a calling left untapped until she turned eleven. Piano classes allowed her to forget about everything academic, and at least Kyuhyun played dumb clarinet instead of the pretty piano that Kyuri loved so much. Even Kyuhyun's sister played violin, and that sounded whiny and grating compared to the gentle plunking of the soft keys Kyuri grew so attatched to. By the tme she was thirteen, she was asked to be the student pianist to accompany the school's musical. Of this, Kyuri's mother was exceedingly proud, as she loved music, but never found herself talented enough to make it like her daughter was. Even her father was proud; of all the students who could play piano, his daughter was the one playing for the musical. But, that was the year that Kyuhyun won a singing competition. In her family's eyes, winning an official competition was better than being asked to play in a musical, and Kyuri was second-best yet again.

Kyuri abandoned piano for a year after that, hating the sight of it in the family living room as much as she hated doing math. Music and math belonged to Kyuhyun, then, because he was so good at them. So, in high school, Kyuri joined random clubs to try and find something that made her unique from her cousin. Inadvertently, this is when she started making real friends by getting involved in something. One of those "somethings" that stuck was the track team, which she joined because she never heard a word of Kyuhyun doing sports, like, ever. She wasn't naturally great at track, though, and that sort of challenge was refreshing to her. On the team, she did a little bit of everything before deciding on the relay, finding that she loved working on a team with three other girls to all succeed at a goal together. It was one of those girls who encouraged her to branch out even more after she learned that Kyuri was talented in music, too: this girl, Park Hyorim, was auditioning for the school's acapella team and was adament about bringing Kyuri with her.

Before practice one day, a reluctant Kyuri followed Hyorim to the auditions. She found herself filling out an application, grabbing apiece of sheet music to sight-read, and deciding that her part was probably soprano or something (spoiler alert: she was right). She knew singing was Kyuhyun's thing. He was a trainee at the country's best entertainment group by now--a real-life, actual trainee at SM Entertainment. But, something about auditioning with Hyorim made it better, and made it feel like this could be her thing, too. Both girls got in, and the acapella team became the unconditionally loving family that Kyuri realized she lacked in her childhood. They didn't love each other any less when they lost competitions, which they did, and they always went out to eat at the same restaurant and ordered the same huge amounts of food, win or lose. The only difference was the presence of ice cream after the competitions that they won.

By her senior year, Kyuri wound up surrounded by a team of singers and a team of runners, all of which supported each other like family. Singers were attending track meets, and runners were attending concerts because of both Hyorim and Kyuri. Kyuhyun had debuted in Super Junior, but Kyuri couldn't really bring herself to be callous about it. So much was going right for her and she hadn't seen Kyuhyun in a few years, anyway. She was planning to attend Seoul National University, sepcifically not her father's university, for biochemistry, planning to do track and acapella there as well. It was that summer, though, that one of the other seniors in her acapella group, Kim Joohyuk, convinced her to do something a little crazy: audition for an entertainment company. Both of them were the main vocalists in the acapella group, getting most of the solos and duets, Kyuri taking most of the hardest vocal parts. "You're absolutely getting in," he told her a hundred times, all the way to dragging her to the doors of Starship Entertainment's open audition.

All of it felt insane. Her parents didn't really approve; her father gave her a hard "no" and her mother seconded his motion, but Kyuri could see a little bit of hope and encouragement in her mother's eyes. Something was unspoken between them: her mother was encouraging her to at least try her best, something that felt understood between them, but was never spoken. Kyuri did that, twice, because she was called back for a second round before being accepted, officially, as a Starship trainee. Her father was angry, but it felt half-hearted and misplaced. His daughter disobeyed him, but she was talented enough to get into an entertainment company, but her cousin got into a better one, but his daughter still deserved a chance, didn't she? This caused her relationship with her father to grow tense, as neither wanted to talk about her training--which took up all of her life--but she grew closer to her mother. They talked about music, about perseverance, about balancing passion and love and work and family. Kyuri told her mother first when she met her first boyfriend, when he first kissed her, and when they started dating. Her father didn't know about that for a full year.

Joohyuk got into the company with her. Hyorim wound up going to college for music education, so the three of them wound up maintaining a close relationship through all of them having lives revolving around music and performing. Kyuri was placed into the best vocal classes, as was Joohyuk, and both of them dabbled in rap because they knew at least a little about it from being in acapella. Joohyuk picked up rap and dance relatively quickly, but Kyuri focused all of her efforts into being the best singer she could be. She was already talented at singing, so she figured that working hard to be better, to be the best would ensure that she would debut with a Starship girl group. Years passed, and Kyuri started talking to her father again, but he was getting impatient, reminding her that she could be in her master's degree program by now, but she hasn't even been picked for an idol group yet. Joohyuk was getting impatient, too; he wound up frustrated with being passed over for No Mercy, let alone Monsta X, and quit Starship entirely.

This was 2015, and it shook Kyuri to the core. She realized that she'd been relying on Joohyuk too much, and that she didn't have very many friends in the company outside of him. She felt alone, again, just like she had in elementary and middle school, when she was just "good at something" and didn't have anyone to share that with. She missed her track and acapella "families" in spite of texting many of them, and Joohyuk, frequently. Talking to her mome didn't help much, either, since she couldn't understand the lonliness and futility that brewed deep in Kyuri's heart. Her mother then suggested something that sounded completely foriegn (and a little terrifying) to Kyuri: try and get in touch with her cousin. If anyone in her family would understand her pain, it had to be him, right?

She played with that thought for months. As 2016 began, she truly felt like giving up; she had plenty of friendly relationships, but she found herself to be the cause preventing any of the others from becoming friends. In her devotion to her singing and her lonliness, she became a self-fulfilling prophecy by pushing others away to wallow in her own self-pity. It was a few days after Kyuhyun's birthday that she called him. "I wanted to wish you a happy birthday," she lied, and he caught it; he laughed and wanted to know why she was really calling. When she tried to defend herself, he stopped her and asked her if she felt like quitting. Unable to bring herself to lie about that, she told him how scared and lonely she felt, comparing herself to him: he debuted after a year, and she'd been there for four. He jokingly told her that she should have auditioned for SM, which actually made her openly sob on the phone with him, but he quickly tried to make it better (probably out of fear because, well, let's be honest, no one wants to make their little cousin cry). He told her that he knows she's talened; that runs in the family. But, she's hard-working, and that's all her. That her being so dedicated made her that much more unique, because some trainees fail because they weren't up to the challenge of training.

Kyuri hates to admit this, but Kyuhyun's encouragement pushed her forward for months. Months. That perfect jerk who she hated, turly loathed, for a majority of her childhood, was the one who wound up understanding her enough to console her over the phone and convince her to keep pushing forward. If Mr. Perfect thought that she was hard-working, that must have been true, so she kept pushing forward. It wasn't just her hard work, though; that encouragement put her in a happier state, and she began turning some of those friendly relationships into real friends, most of which would end up being her own future group members. Still, though, she refuses to tell anyone that Kyuhyun is her cousin. She's starting to come around to maybe liking him, sure, but she's deathly afraid of people comparing her to him or, even worse, thinking that he somehow got her into the industry and that she, in turn, doesn't actually deserve to be an idol. This, then, is her biggest (second biggest?) secret.

family — 

▪ Cho Boseok | Father

Boseok and Kyuri have similar personalities, but in the worst ways. Kyuri and her father are both pretty vain, always seeking others' approval in everything they do and having a hard time validating their own work or accomplishments by themselves. How they differ, however, is that Kyuri is beginning to matura beyond this point, where Boseok hasn't changed since Kyuri was little. Boseok isn't home very often, devoting most of his time to his students and his research at the university, so he tends to compensate for the lack of attention and affection he gives his daughter by buying her nice things; her expensive clothes and jewelry came from him, and she's incredibly thankful for what he provided for her, but she doesn't feel very close to him because things do not equal emotions. They had a falling out in the early years of Kyuri's training, not speaking, and communicating through her mother. Only recently has he started to speak with her again, and it's so awkward that Kyuri feels heartbroken just thinking about talking to him. Anything he knows about Kyuri's life now, for the most part, he heard from her mom.

▪ Cho Daeun | Mother

Kyuri wasn't very close to Daeun when she was little because Daeun would work very long hours and quietly agree with almost anything that her husband said. Now, however, Kyuri realizes that they really should have been closer: when she was little, Kyuri's mother took her to musicals, concerts, and ballets often, thus exposing her to performing arts and planting a little seed in her mind. This little seed obviously blossomed into Kyuri's choice in career, which her mother is very interested in. They call each other often, Kyuri telling her mom about singing lessons and competitions, her friends and people she's frustrated with, and even sharing that she'd started seeing a guy when she and her now-boyfriend went on their first few dates. Daeun, now, is much more open about her own emotions and support of her daughter: she wishes that she had done more music when she was younger, so she's very proud of Kyuri doing something that she really enjoys doing instead of something her parents (read: father) chose for her instead.

▪ Cho Kyuhyun | Cousin (father's brother's son)

Yes, Super Junior's Kyuhyun. Just the name makes Kyuri's muscles tense. She hates that she has a little (or a lot of) resentment for him because, well, she shouldn't. Kyuhyun has done nothing wrong to her, save the standard bullying that A) older boy cousins always do to their younger girl cousins and B) he does to literally everyone else anyway. Yet, a sense of competition between has always been a part of her life, so much so that it's part of her personality now. Her father admires her uncle deeply, in spite of (or perhaps because of?) their great age difference: nine years. So, growing up, Kyuri was always told to be more like Kyuhyun; be as good at math as Kyuhyun, be as good of a talker as Kyuhyun, be as attractive as Kyuhyun. When she fell in love with singing, she thought she had something he didn't--until he went and auditioned for the best damned company in the country and got in. 

Kyuhyun and Kyuri are actually very similar: very intelligent, very charismatic, and very talented singers. Their differences, then, are small: Kyuhyun is well-liked because he's naturally outgoing, while Kyuri is liked because she's naturally benevolent. Kyuri feels like Kyuhyun gets everything he wants without much effort, whereas she works harder than anyone to make sure people only see the best of her. She grew up never being as impressive as Kyuhyun because she did everything Kyuhyun did after he did it. He makes her want to scream without trying, really, even though they don't even talk that much. Because they're living such similar lives, however, she finds herself turning to him reluctantly. She needs him more and more, and he's willing to help; he might even say that he's proud of her for trying to let out all of the feelings she kept hidden from him for so long. Their contact is still infrequent, but Kyuri doesn't turn Kyuhyun's affection and help away anymore, which is progress.

friends — 

▪ Park Hyorim | Best Friend
Hyorim was the first real friend Kyuri ever made. To Kyuri, Hyorim is one of the most selfless people on Earth; being mean to her is like kicking a puppy. Where Kyuri is rather cool, Hyorim is very emotional, so they balance each other out very well. Hyorim has the easiest time out of anyone when it comes to getting Kyuri to talk about her worries instead of pretending that A) it's fine or B) trainees are supposed to be this anxious all the time. Hyorim just graduated with her master's in music education, so she's teaching at one of the best high schools in Seoul and Kyuri couldn't be prouder of her. Because Kyuri grew up as an only child, she considers Hyorim a sister. Each other's parents love the other girls, and there are very, very few people who understand Kyuri's life on this intimate of a level. Before she started dating her boyfriend, even Kyuri sought Hyorim's advice on the relationship--and she still does to this very day. There's a running joke that Hyorim has first dibs on being the godmother of Kyuri's first child.

▪ Kim Joohyuk | Best Friend 
Joohyuk has created a lot of changes in Kyuri's life: he was the one that got her to audition, and then he was also the one to make her question whether or not she really wanted ot train and become an idol. They've known each other for about nine years now, and they've always been unconditionally supportive of each other. In spite of the fact that Joohyuk hates sports, he still showed up to the important track meets at the end of the year to cheer Kyuri on. In spite of Kyuri not needing to, she still went to the trainee dance showcases to cheer Joohyuk on. Their relationship has always been a fair trade of love and support, neither one doubting that the other person deeply loves the other. Both are more confident knowing the other has their back, so Kyuri truly believes that she could never have done all she has at Starship without him being there either physically or through a lot of video chatting. After leaving Starship, he was accepted into JYP, but nothing's been said of a debut for him yet. Kyuri's still rooting for him, and their text message history is honestly just a bunch of venting and encouragement.

▪ Jackson Wang | Friend & Boyfriend's Best Friend
Got7's Jackson is actually one of Kangjoon's best friends, since they got really close by sharing a room on season 2 of on Roommate. Kyuri met him at New Year's Eve 2015, after hearing about him literally nonstop for months because Kangjoon, Kyuri, and Jackson were never free at the same time to actually meet up. But, once they finally met in person, they were both (basically) like "oh my god, Seunghwan never stops talking about you". In a perfectly acceptable fashion, Kyuri and Jackson third-wheeled Kangjoon while they got to know each other that night, finding out that they have about nothing in common, thus making them the most interesting people ever to each other. Since then, they mostly just text to chat about life, trade stories about Kangjoon, or send each other memes, since Jackson is definitely more of Kangjoon's friend than Kyuri's, but if Kyuri had to pick one of Kangjoon's friends that she likes the best, it's Jackson. Besides, she always liked Got7, anyway.

the one and only.

background — 

That boyfriend that Kyuri got early on in her training? Her first boyfriend? Yeah, this is him.

Kangjoon is a year older than her, so they met when she was 19 and he was 20. She thought he was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen and knew that she wanted him immediately because of how gentle and shy he came off. She thought there was something interesting about his quiet persona, something special and sweet hiding behind his soft eyes. It was actually at a New Years' Eve party when they met; his friends were all wasted, he was starting to get a certain flush on his face, and she'd lost count of how many glasses of wine she'd had in her hand, not to mention finished or forgot about on some counter somewhere. She wasn't quite drunk, but she was definitely tipsy enough to forget a few details about the party itself. This is the part of the story that she didn't tell her mother, and will never share with the poor woman, so help her soul.

Kyuri is far more outgoing than Kangjoon, so it's no surprise to anyone that she introduced herself to him, not the other way around. At that party, she slotted herself in an empty space between him and some other guy who was too busy theorizing about aliens to notice her, so she had the beautiful, tall boy all to herself for just this moment. So, she did the only natural thing: she introduced herself. As Cho Kyuri, Starship trainee.

"You sound like you're trying to network with me," Kangjoon snorted.

He snorts when he laughs, sometimes, and Kyuri thought that was one of the most endearing this ever after she got over the fact that he totally just called her out for being the awkward, formerly-friendless child that she was. She made it more awkward, then, by literally apologizing to him, which he for some reason found hilarious, tossing his head back in definitely-drunken laughter. Kyuri got a pretty great view of his jawline, which, now that they're dating, she still compliments just to .

"Oh my god, Seunghwan, your jawline, your cheekbones; your bone structure is just so y."

When he introduced himself to her, he stumbled right over his name. As it turned out, he was a trainee, too, and introduced himself the way that his company taught him: as Seo Kangjoon. He corrected himself quickly, effectively confusing Kyuri in her buzzed state, a la "So which is it? Kangjoon or Seunghwan?" Seunghwan, he assured her. Definitely Seunghwan. Kyuri doesn't remember much of what they talked about, and she certainly doesn't remember the part of the story that Kangjoon likes to tell--that he grabbed her by the waist and kissed her at midnight because, no way, Seunghwan is not that suave. Kangjoon, maybe, but my boyfriend's name is Seunghwan and he's not cool enough for that.

She also ended up with his name in her phone as "Seunghwan Kangjoon❤❤❤", since she hasn't changed it since she got his number. That number was a blessing the next morning, since she woke up feeling fine and texted him almost immediately, at 8:33 A.M., just to make sure he liked her as much sober as he seemed to like her when he'd been drinking. He didn't text her back until 12:49 P.M., however, the first thing he ever sent to her being "oh god. hangovers", the second thing being "can we get brunch or something?". She loves to about both of these because A) that was quite a hangover and B) he asked her out for brunch; what is he, sixty? Nevertheless, she agreed to go out with him, throwing on the most effortless casual outfit she'd ever put an hour's worth of effort into. Sober, they figured out that they liked each other even more than they did the night before, and they texted nonstop ever since.

The brunch date is the part that Kyuri leads with when telling her mom about Kangjoon. He bought them both belgian waffles, she bought them both fancy lattes with little leaves drawn in milk, and they spent a solid three hours talking about music, movies, and being trainees. Kangjoon, the more romantic of the two, keeps insisting that he fell in love with her that day; Kyuri says she thinks that's ridiculous, but him saying that makes her feel so warm and fuzzy inside every time.

So, they started "seeing each other" on January 1st, 2013. They both agreed that, since he was debuting in just a few months, it wasn't worth it to be exclusive and expect a ton out of each other in the beginning. Going on nice dates, spending time together, and kissing in his car or dorm room was enough for them in the beginning of their relationship. They kept it casual for years; two years, actually, passed before either of them considered making anything official and really committing to a physical and emotional relationship with the other person long-term. They both agree, without really talking about it much, that Kyuri's downward spiral at the end of 2015 scared them both into wanting to be together. Kangjoon always checks in on Kyuri, finding it ridiculous that other, non-idol, guys can't be bothered to text their girlfriends a few times a day. Being who he is, he picked up on her consistant melancholy, finding a little bit of time (time that he would have used to study a script, honestly), to call her.

To Kangjoon, Kyuri had always felt so stable and strong, fun-loving and passionate. When he heard her whisper his name into the phone and bite back tears (of relief, she assured him when she felt better), he felt his heart swelling in his chest. Now, he jokes that he thought he was dying--then totally ruins the joke and makes it sappy by saying that, when someone you love is hurting, a little part of you feels like dying. He hated that he couldn't be with her at that one moment, holding his phone so tightly that he thought it might break while she poured her feelings out to him, wishing he could comfort her instead. But, being an idol, sneaking out was and is pretty impossible, not to mention the fact that Kangjoon likes to do things "the right way" and play by the rules. Sneaking out to see each other is too Romeo & Juliet for either of them to really justify doing, anyway.

A small part of him wanted to run away from all of the feelings Kyuri was sharing with him, and all of the feelings he was beginning to have for her. Were things going too well? What would happen to his and her careers if they dated openly, anyway? Would his fans leave him? Would she not be allowed to debut because of some drama associated with her? And, not to forget the potential for anti-fans, Kangjoon was really, truly, scared. But, he wasn't scared for himself so much as he was scared for her. Something kicked in inside him that wanted to both protect her and shower her with the love and encouragement that she deserved. He knew that he didn't have any right to do that if she wasn't his girlfriend, so 2016 began with Kangjoon between a rock and a hard place, Kyuri thinking about abandoning the idol life (and him, he feared), and another New Year's Eve party.

Instead of kissing at midnight, Kangjoon, (mostly) sober, said "I love you". Then Kyuri, more drunk than Kangjoon was, kissed him. And cried about it.

"He kissed me and it made me cry." "That-- That sounds so bad when you say it like that, why would you say it like that?" "Because it's true!"

The next day, they had brunch again, because that became one of their first traditions as a couple. They did french toast that time, because that's Kangjoon's idea of "changing things up". Their conversation wasn't as lighthearted as it always was every time they talked, though; this time, they had to talk about the I love you and the kiss, and probably also the tears too, and so many other things, that they actually had to go on a walk after they finished brunch. It was odd: Kangjoon was in a dark hoodie and sunglasses in spite of it being cloudy and he refused to hold Kyuri's hand, which broke her heart a little bit. The conversation was short, though, after Kyuri just started talking. All of their hard conversations start with Kyuri and he feelings before Kangjoon gets comfortable enough to say anything. She led with a very straightforward "I kind of want to date you," which she wound up omitting the "kind of" from after Kangjoon questioned it. He wanted to date her, too, so badly, but he worried about her career. If anyone believed in Kyuri's debut, it was Kangjoon; he didn't want to do anything to put her success (or his own, honestly) in danger.

It was Kyuri's idea to date in secret from the public. Kangjoon agreed, reluctantly, but only because he knew that was common for idols. He knew idols that were married without anyone knowing; if they could pull it off, why couldn't he and Kyuri?

So, Kyuri considers January 1st, 2016 to be their anniversary. Their relationship is a lot about sneaking around and making amazing date nights out of next to nothing. Because she's still a trainee, all they have to do is throw Kangjoon in a hoodie and sunglasses or a chin mask and they're fine, but Kangjoon's started to insist that Kyuri start dressing "in-cognito" to protect her identity should anyone dig up pre-debut photos of her with a mystery man. It's stressful for both of them, and they've had their first fight over this very recently. Kangjoon is incredibly careful with both of their identities, but this feels stiffling to Kyuri. She desperately wants to date him and be in love with her boyfriend, but she also just as desperately wants to be an idol and protect Kangjoon's career. Logically, she knows this is what they have to do, but emotionally she just wants one normal date once in a while. Kangjoon wishes this wasn't so hard; he wishes he could treat her like his characters treat girls in dramas.

But, in the end, they couldn't break up with each other. It's so much easier to learn how to make this work than to end it and deal with all of the pain that comes with that, isn't it? If they have to settle for drives to nowhere in Kangjoon's car or kicking out someone's roommate to be together, that's what has to happen. Both are still worried, however: Starship and Fantiago can only do so much to help them keep it away from the media, and if their relationship leaks for some reason, the couple doesn't have a plan for what happens if it gets out. That, and they've only been "together" for a year and a half; though this feels like a long time, they still have a lot to learn about each other's demons, pasts, secrets, and limits. They're committed to working everything out together, but the pressure from every angle (each other, families, companies, friends, the fear of the media) has them on a very rocky road.

That one fight isn't really over yet, simply because they haven't decided on a compromise or resolution. It just... Is what it is, really, and both of them kind of hate that, but it has to be that way for their careers, mostly for Kyuri's career. To make up for it, though, and to prove in a new way that he really does love Kyuri, want what's best for her, and mean it when he says he's not giving up, he bought her a relatively simple pair of gold earrings that she can wear discretely, but still feel like they're from him, for Valentine's Day in 2017. In return, she got him a watch with Christmas money from her family (because, honestly, trainees don't have enough money to be doing this kind of thing, but she really wanted to; Kangjoon knows that at least some of the money she paid for his gift with had to be a gift to her, but he doesn't bring it up because that gift exchange meant so much to her). These two are either really naive or really committed, and they know that. They just do their best to make sure it's the latter.
 

likes
— Old movies

— Winter sports, especially skiing
— Going out with his friends, especially dancing and drinking
— Acoustig music
— Western food
— When Kyuri wears high waisted jeans. It makes her legs look so long and he loves that
— The first snow of winter

dislikes
— Surprises

— Arguing or needing to raise his voice (as he usually speaks very softly)
— Talking about his feelings
— Feelings in general; those things are scary
— Overly cute concepts. He's seen Kyuri sing Gee and it was terrifying

funfacts
— He tends to spend weeks preparing for every new role he takes, asking for the script early so he can stay up late memorizing it and reading his lines in different tones and with different expressions

— He's been working on getting better at piano for a long time, and there's a piano in 5urprise's practice room that Kyuri thinks is really gorgeous (and keeps trying to force him to let her take photos of him in front of). Kyuri also wants him to let her help, but he's too shy to take lessons from her
— Kyuri's name in his phone started out as "PrettyKyuri FromNewYears", then it was "Kyuri Cho", but now it's "My Kyuri❤" because he's kind of a romantic like that
— Kyuri calls him Seunghwan, just like all of his close friends and family members do
— Their most common dates include: brunch, long car rides, and being the bonus member of each other's group because they spend so much time at each other's dorm
— Most of their jokes involve Kyuri complimenting him about weird things (e.g. his bone structure) to make him blush and push her off his lap or something
— When they fight, Kangjoon is the one that ends it by being rational: "Let's just not, okay? We'll take a walk, get some water, and come back to this, I promise."
— Neither yells when they fight, either; they're both just bull-headed when it comes to what they think is best for them and each other
— They have a rule that, in spite of Kangjoon liking Super Junior a little bit, they're not allowed to be played in his car when Kyuri's with him
— That includes all solos and subgroups of Super Junior
— Sometimes, Kangjoon practices lines on Kyuri. This is especially fun for both when they're romantic scenes, and she insists that they practice the kiss over and over and over again
— Kangjoon kind of hates gender roles and secretly wishes that Kyuri would get him flowers for a special occasion, becaues he kind of thinks flowers are cool, but he's too shy to tell her that

last messages.

comments/suggestions — So Taylor said Super Junior in the cheatsheet and I was S.O.L.D., meet Cho Kyuri, my baby, my queen, my love ❤ I hope you two like her as much as I do tbh. Also I'm SO SORRY that this is so much reading! Her background just happened, and I actually had to write that thing twice because AFF refreshed and I hadn't saved aahhhhh. Then the relationship part happened and goodness I'm sorry; I hope you enjoy reading???

scene request 
— Backstage antics like these!

— Someone in Kyuri's personal life leaks that she's related to Kyuhyun, which only the people closest to her (including Kangjoon) knows. The group members find out through the leak and react accordingly. Kyuri would honestly explain her relationship with him to the girls if one of them confronts her: that they're competitive with each other and she doesn't really like to talk to him or about him. In interviews, then, she gets asked about Kyuhyun now, which she hates, but she brushes it off with a smile and a "Oh, we don't really talk much because we're both so busy and he's so much older than me!" If she's ever asked why she never revealed it before, she'd be honest: "I wanted to make my own way as a singer without his help."

— This could also lead to some drama about oh my god who told the media about this when she worked so hard to keep it quiet? This could lead to a falling out with one of her friends if you want all kinds of drama everywhere.
— Similarly, Kyuri and Kangjoon's relationship could totally leak right before he starts promoting a new drama. They'll probably fight about it; "Who do you know who could have told someone?" "I don't know, it was probably one of your friends." "My friends would never-" "And mine would?"
— And then they'll be cute and make up, pulling another Valentine's Day 2017 and buying each other cute gifts. This time, it'd be explicit couple stuff because they'd be like "well it's out, guess we'd better roll with it". But, them rolling with it would be super subtle, like matching bracelets or something.
— She'd be so apologetic toward the other girls in the group, though. "I'm so sorry I ruined all of this after we worked so hard."

password — Hello Venus - Mysterious

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