kim na rae ; the tanuki

» may i know about you?

AFF username: xxkittyoo

AFF profile link: linkkk

What should I call you?: Cilla

How active are you on AFF in scale of 1-10?: 8

 

» one girl, it's you~

Character's name: Kim Na Rae

Nickname(s): Na Rae, Rainie

D.O.B: April 3 (sakura viewing seaon!)  

Birthplace & Hometown: Osaka, Japan 

Language(s): Korean [fluent], Japanese [fluent], English [semi-fluent]

 

» beautiful my girl

Ulzzang/Actress name: kim shin yeong

Back-up Ulzzang/Actress name: park jihyeon

Style: Na Rae loves patterns. She is fan of the Harajuku fasion of bizarre graphics and colours. Her style is whatever she is in the mood for that day. You can almost guarantee she will have a piece of Harajuku on her, whether it's a sweater, or necklace. Her style reflects who she is, a child and a colour lover at heart. Yes, she would be the one to tie pigtails, wear big-framed glasses, and high tops. Kimonos are one of her favourite wears, which she wears on special occasions. Then there are the down times, when she wears what usual girls wear: simple leggings/shorts, a sweater/t-shirt and her hair would be let down naturally. 

 

» your magic has trapped me

Your chosen storyline: the tanuki

Back-up Storyline: the wolf

Brief Personality: Na Rae loves to smile, especially when she gets to make people smile. Quirky and spontaneous, she loves to make new friends and be everywhere, which is why you will see her out in the front of her restaurant talking to people more than cooking in the kitchen. not that she doesn't like the kitchen, in fact she loves it; she literally grew up in one! In Japan, she would follow her mother to the marketplace and then watch as her mother cooked. If you talked to Na Rae's friends, you would learn that she has a habit of talking too much and eating everything she gets her hands on. Childish is also another word to desrcibe her; she whines and jumps around when happy. She is as competitive as a 6 year old but knows when to stop. When sad, Na Rae will just not say anything. She has a habit of murmuring to herself and not look anyone in the eye. If you ask her, of course she'll say it's nothing. And then you ask her for probably the third time and she'll tell you everything with big hand gestures. She'll then feel all better and would want to eat food; a smile will be back on her face. Na Rae is the type of person to hold grudges, but you are in luck, she will forgive you - in due time. When she gets angry, she'll make it obvious that she's angry. You'll be feeling her glare at you behind your back. 

You'd think she's always childish though but in truth she's not always like this. There are times when she will be rational and act like a 23 year old. She choose to be childish and carefree because she knows she can trust her friends to look out for her. She is hard-working and will do everything it takes to achieve her goal. Some will say she is stubborn that way, but she is just passionate about her work. At the same time, she wants to be the most care-free and be the one to brings smiles and nonsense to the group. She knows really well when to be silly and when to be serious. 

Likes: 
一. Na Rae loves anime and manga - she has a collection of manga at home. 
二. Food; Japanese food to be more precise and her favourite dish, which is also one of her specialty is 茶碗蒸し(chawanmushi) or egg cutard. 
三. She loves to window shop; which includes going into a store to just try on clothes. 
四. Japanese fashion of course! Her best friend, Kim Sora keeps her up-to-date with the latest fashion magazines and photobooks. 
五. She loves hamsters. They are the cutest things in the world.
六. Surprises. Who doesn't like surprises? 

Dislikes: 
一. She absoultely hates bugs.
二. She is scared of dogs. 
三. She dislikes smoking. Those things are the smelliest thinga in the world.
四. Ships; getting seasick is a no no for Na Rae.
五. Arrogant people; to Na Rae, you are not that great and important so get over yourself.

Trivia: 
一. Na Rae was sing the English Alphabet backwards.
二. She dislikes かつおぶし or bonito flakes. Though a common ingredient in Japanese cuisine, she finds the smoky flavour unappetizing and is very strong. 
三. When she was 4, Na Rae was in a Japanese CF advertising animal crackers.
四. Na Rae's ambidextrous, which means she can use both hands to eat, write and cook.
五. She loves to run. Her mornings usually consist of a morning run, followed by an Western style breakfast  - cereal and fruits. 

 

» the y.o.u

What's your restaurant's name?: Aki Hanami - Japanese Tastery / Izakaya
(Hanami is the name of a festival in April in Japan for Sakura viewing. Aki is autumn. The name of her restaurant combines both her favourite festival and season together. She named it tastery so that customers can enjoy the taste of Japan and have each meal be a flavourful adventure. Aki Hanami is suppose to be like a izakaya; well half izakaya, half restaurant. Even though it's in Gangnam, Na Rae wanted the restaurant to be lively and fun. Interior is decorated with the help of her mother and is tradition, with some modern twist. Everything is in a little bigger then a tapa size. You can also order then in bigger portions, but what's the fun in that? Oh and her menu? It's written on planks of wood but there are still menus for people.)

What is your best dish?: 
一. 茶碗蒸し (chawanmushi) or egg cutard - each order comes with 4 miniature bowls, all with an egg custard base that is lightly seasoned with chicken stock
and dashi. Each bowl is a different flavour: a) one has conpoy and a shrimp, b) ginko nuts and scallions, c) shiitake mushrooms and pork, and d) sea urchin. A leaf of
parsley and few drops of soy sauce are the final touch.
二. 肉じゃが (nikujaga) - a slow-cooked meat soup that typically has thinnly sliced beef, potatoes and onions. Na Rae's version uses carrots and does not thin cut her meat, but leaves them in small cubes to add more texture. And to give it a more beefy flavour, she adds beef stock and reduces to it is more of a stew then a soup. It is usually served with a bowl of rice. 
三. 和菓子 (wagashi) - traditional Japanese confectionaries. This is only served on Thursdays and Fridays during the afternoons because they take a long time to make. Each order is served with tea, comes in 5 small little dishes on its own. Each week Na Rae makes differenet flavours and she generally makes mochis, each week is different. Her most common ones are 大福餅 (daifuku), which are usually red bean, coffee, and chestnut. She also makes 外郎 (uiro) and 今川焼き (imagawayaki).

What are you afraid of?: [If The Wolf as back-up is choosen] She is scared of the dark. Yes she still uses a night light at home, but no one is suppose to know that. 

 

» dear my family

Family Background: Na Rae was born in Kyoto, Japan. Her father was a pharmacist, her mother an interior designer. She also had a brother, Han Beong Hee, 4 years older than her. Her parents had moved to Kyoto a couple years before Na Rae was born to accomodate her mother's new job at a design magazine were she worked as a writer for home design. Na Rae spent 12 years in Japan before moving back to Seoul with her mother and Beong Hee after her father died in a car crash. Most of her childhood was like any Japanese child; school, maybe extra lessons, and running back home to watch anime. In elementary school, she was part of the school's track and field team. She was even smart enough to skip a grade! Both her parents were fairly good cooks. Her mother loved French food, the fact that the French made their food like a piece of artwork. Her father was very traditional and loved Korean food for it's spicyness and closeness to home. Her mother would shop and cook, Na Rae followed. There would be nights where they ate Italian, other times it would be Japanese and so on. Her uncle was also a French chef in Seoul. So it's obvious to see where so got her love for food and cooking from. 

After high school, Na Rae went to Tokyo to study fashion. She loved Japan, even more when it came to the style, culture, and fashion of different districts. After a year though. she decided to into culinary school for the taste of Japan once again grabbed her heart. At 18, she spent one year at Le Cordon Bleu to get the Cuisine Dipolma. But she didn't want to make European cusine, she wanted authenic Japanese food and being it over to Seoul. So after her dipolma, studied at the Hattori Nutrition College at night  while working at a Japanese restaurant during the day. Itwas at this school where she meet Donghae, another Japanese food devotee. They became really good friends, they would go to small restaurants located inteh nooks and crannies of Tokyo to find authenic home cooked meals. But their friendship was short-lived and was then turned sour, when according to Na Rae, Donghae betrayed her and made her miss an important interview on purpose.

Eventually Donghae got the job that Na Rae wanted to badly. Holding onto that grudge, she furthered herself into improvingher skills. She went into a Tsuji Cooking Academy. After this, she went back to Seoul (by now she's almost 22) in hopes to open a restaurant. But that was near impossible because a store was so costly and she didn't have enough. At first, her mother did not believe her. Was her daughter finally growing up and to have such a big dream! To prove them wrong, she cooked them a meal, using everything she learned from her years in Japan. They loved her food; her mother complimented on how much it reminded her of the time they were in Osaka, her brother wanted more of her chawanmushi. Luckily her family supported her; they all pitched in and became shareholders, co-owners of the restaurant until Na Rae could pay them all off. 

Family members: 
kim soo heon | 45 | food critic / chef&restaurant owner | song seong heon | uncle (father's younger brother) ; During high school, Na Rae would go to his restaurant frequently and help out. Soo Heon is very cheerful and his relation with Na Rae is like good buddies more than uncle-niece. He encouraged her to go after her dreams, whether it wa to become a fashion designer or a chef. 
choi eun ah | 48 | interior designer | do ji won | mother ; Caring and funny. Like Na Rae, her mother had a strange humor, laughing at the weirdest things. If you asked Na Rae, mother was never never strict or scary. 
kim junsu | 27 | nurse | kim junsu 'xiah' | older brother ; Tends to be a bit immature at times. Like almost all older brothers, Jun Su poked fun at Na Rae. He was also caring though. When they were young, he would pick up Na Rae from school and help her with her homework. Now that they are older, her brother has become her harshest critic. He would be the one to try any of Na Rae's new dishes.
byun baekhyun | 20 | student | byun baekhyun | cousin on Na Rae's mother side. THey are not as close and Baekhyun finds Na Rae's childish behaviour annoying at times. She loves him though, everytime they see each other Na Rae would give him a big huge and pinch his cheeks. He's working part-time at a bookstore with her friend, Yoona.

 

» i get you better

Bestfriend(s): 
yoon bora | 24 | fashion magazine intern | bora - sistar  | best friend ; met in a coffee shop. Not even kidding, they both ordered the same drink and dessert. Sounds like something from a kdrama, neh? Well which is why Bo Ra often jokes with her saying she's Na Rae's man. Being an intern Bo Ra has all the juiciest information on the lastest fashion happening everywhere. 
jung byung hee | 27 | businessman | G.O. - mblaq | best friend / her brother's best friend ; as her brother's best friend, Byung Hee often came over to their house. Yes he and Jun Suwent to elementary school in Japan together. He moved back to Korea first and they still kept in contact. Byung Hee is like another older brother. This one however does not as much and often goes along with her childish-ness. 
im yoona | 23 | fellow J-culture fan / sales representative at book store | yoona - snsd | best friend ; met in high school, both love Japan. Though Yoona never went to Japan before, she dreams to - one day that is when she has enough money. She's really into fashion, and loves to look at fashion magazines together with Na Rae and Bo Ra. She would tell the two everything; from crushes to gossip to her restaurant crisis. 

Friend(s):  
lee min yeong 'min' | 23 | master student | min - miss a |  friend ; high school friends. She went off to study to become a lawyer. They used to be close but now they are a bit further apart. Eun Hye still visits Na Rae at her restaurant and they catch up. 
gim yeong un 'kang in' | 25 | waiter at her restaurant | kangin - super junior | friend ; an employee turned friend. Kang In loved working for her and wants to open a restaurant as well. He's the restaurant clown, loves to tell jokes and chats with all the guests. They are really bizarre together.
 

» all my love is for you

Love interest: donghae | Super Junior

Age: 26

Job: Japanese cuisine chef

Relationship with you: You can say they are kind of rivals. They went to the same culinary school in Tokyo. They were good friends and during cold winters, they would eat shabu shabu together. They originally both going for the same position. Na Rae was running late to the interview as she was waiting for the bus and it just so happened the traffic that day was really congested, Donghae happened to drive by. According to Na Rae, she believes that Dongahe purposedly didn't give her a ride so he could make it to the interview and get to job. But Donghae says differently..apparently he didn't see her that day.

 

Back-up ove interest: onew | SHINee

Age: 25

Job: food photographer @ magazine

Relationship with you: Friendly; they know each other but is not too close. They met in Japan and due to common interest in food and their Korean origins, they kept in contact. A couple years later, they are both back in Korea. 

 

» a 'good' bye

Anything more?: She has never had a boyfriend before. She's actually not a big fan of sweets like hard candy and gummies. She does love chocoalte and desserts that are on the less sweet side. 

Comment(s): Love this plot; my favourite thing in the whole world - food + romance. = w = Can't wait to see how the story goes! 

Others: STOP IT! - this song has literally been on repeat; I'm listening to it atm. <3 If my back-up story is selected instead, I do not mind changing her personality and things. (: If you need help with any of the food, I'll be glad to help. OTL I love food; I wanted to go into culinary but couldn't. ; _ ;