〈 jung areum 〉

by hyunieamakusa (hyun)

〈 beautiful ones 〉 
— why do we sacrifice the beautiful ones ?
 

face claim — Kim Dohee
back up — Mint

appearance — Areum stands 162cm (5'3") tall and weighs 47kg. The most noticeable feature about her is her blonde hair paired with red highlights. Her hair color changes regularly, just in case people recognize her. Her eyes are the usual shade of dark brown matched with her pointed nose and pale skin. Although she is very light, she has a rather more prominent tummy compared to other girls but it's never really bothered her. 

style — Areum's style could be described as everyday casual with a hint of maturity. She isn't really that picky when it comes to style. She prefers clothes that are comfortable and easy to wear. She likes clothes that she can easily move around in. At home, she'll just wear a sweater or even pajamas if she had a chance. Another thing she enjoys wearing are t-shirts matched with long sleeve jackets. In terms of color, Areum goes for pastel-colored clothes because she finds them easy on the eyes and fresh. During formal occasions, Areum wears black and white dresses.
 

〈 there's more than meets the eyes 〉
— let me touch the sky and fly away
 

PERSONALITY — 
- honest, innovative, independent, clever, ambitious
- harsh, short-tempered, manipulative, selfish, insensitive 

At first glance, Areum seems to be a despicable fugitive who lives an immoral life of self-interest and thievery. Though she would fail to admit otherwise. She is not exactly proud of her occupation as a con-artist but in her mind, it is her only way to survive.  Areum is a strong-willed and independent girl who could be considered as someone who grew up too quickly. Years of fending for herself has lead Areum to believe that the world won't help you if you are kind to it. As she was exposed to the realities of the world at a very young age, Areum is very cynical and bitter. She believes that the only way to survive is by putting other people down. Naivety is something that she has a low tolerance for, believing that positive people are "blind fools who think the world is full of angels". Because of this, she tends to be very vocal and honest about her thoughts. Areum might come across as selfish because everything she does is done for personal gain and nothing else. Being alone for most of her life, she's not use to helping and caring for other people. It has also made her indifferent to the feelings of those around her. Although not having any actual friends, she is very experienced in manipulating and tricking others to what she wants. She easily loses her temper and can become quite harsh once you push her buttons.  

Behind the strong facade, Areum is actually just a very lonely and lost soul who's searching for a home. She is very innovative as she always finds solutions to difficult problems. After all, she is the type of girl who never depends on anyone and would much rather do things herself than rely on other people's competence. Let me tell you a secret about her. Despite her intimidating exterior, Areum is willing to do anything for the people she loves and would never betray them. Once she trusts you, you'll probably stay on her good side for quite some time. The phrase "a good friend but a bad enemy" is perfect for Areum. As she is unforgiving and has a habit of holding terrible grudges.

〈 THAT'S HOW I AM 〉
— show me how to speak with their voices
 

TRIVIA — 
- Other kids in the foster home call her boneless when she demonstrated her skills in contortion.
- She is a very high-tolerance for pain and would try out any position even if it hurts her. 
- She loves chocolate. She considers it her poison. 
- Although it isn't obvious, Areum has dated before but the relationship didn't seem to last. 
- Areum has an unusual interest for the French Revolution and she herself doesn't know why.
- If she had one wish, it is to see the world in medieval times and maybe even live there. 
- Her way of punishing people is by pulling their ears. 
- She hates children. She thinks they're little monsters.
- Areum has no plans of settling down for marriage.
- You'll know she's unsatisfied with something when she crinkles her nose.
- Has a habit of rolling her eyes at positive people. 
- She once read a Korean-translated Pride and Prejudice novel but didn't have the patience to finish it.
- She believes that British men are probably the most attractive men to even walk the earth,
- Cooking is definitely not for her. She can live on take-out if she has to.
- Her favorite color is pastel pink.
- She likes writing short stories when she has nothing to do. 
- Her parents left her a letter explaining why they left her but she has refused to open it. The letter is hidden in her suitcase and she carries it wherever she goes. 
- She tends to sleep talk... in an alien language. 

〈 past, present & future 〉

— show me the way and i'll try again
 

background — 
Jung Areum has lived in a foster home in Daegu since she was 13. The infant Areum was sent to the foster home when she was scarcely six months old. They were told she was a child outside of marriage from a renown businessman and one of his workers. She had the name "Areum" embroidered along the bottom of the blanket she had when she was first sent there. No one was really there to take her in as her mother had no surviving family members and her father wanted nothing to do with her whatsoever. As an infant, the only people that took care of her were the workers at the foster home. Growing up in the foster care system, Areum bounced from one family to the other. When she was four years old, she was adopted by a set of foster parents who believed that the wife to be barren. However, they were able to conceive their own child and Areum was returned to the foster home only eight months later. Despite this, Areum grew up to be an innocent and kind girl. She didn't have a lot of people to talk to but she has always remained positive. She still believed in her heart that she would eventually find a home. Unfortunately, no one had ever tried to adopt Areum again.

Feeling unwanted, the 13 year old Areum ran away from the foster home with only 20,000won in her pockets. On her way to a convenience store to buy food, a teenage thug threatened her with a pocket knife and demanded for her money. Scared, Areum did as what she was told. She was left broke and starving in the busy streets of Daegu. She slept in one of the abandoned cars in the parking lot of a mall. She contemplated on whether or not to return to the foster home but sees a letter addressed to "Jung Areum" while going through her things. Choosing not to read it, Areum realizes that everyone will abandon her in the end, just like her parents. To feed herself, she started to steal from local convenience stores and malls.

When she turned 16, Areum met a teenager named Taehyung when she tried to steal from him. Learning that he is also a swindler who poses as a street magician, they built a career as a con-artists through different tricks such as fortune-telling, three carde monte, fiddle games etc. That also marked Areum's first romantic relationship. It immediately fell apart when Taehyung was caught for stealing at a local pawn shop and betrays Areum to shorten his jail time. Running away from the police, Areum hops on a bus to Busan where she would hide for the time being. There, she adjourned her life as a thief and began to work for a local flower shop. She was treated kindly by the elderly owner. Her savings were enough for her to rent an apartment near her workplace.

Things were looking good for Areum until her elderly boss grew too old to work and was taken in by her children. They closed the flower shop down leaving Areum jobless at 19 years old. Desperate, she sustained her life of crime and went back to swindling money from others. Two years later, she took a chance and traveled to Seoul to find a new life for herself. There, she stumbled upon a young man with a failing circus. There to deceive him at first, Areum realized that he was as innocent as a lamb and canceled her original plans. Learning that his name was Yeonmin, she had quite a soft spot for him. Yeonmin asked her if she wanted to join his circus... Areum still has no idea why she said yes. 

family — 
Areum no longer cares for her family. They left her, that's all she knew and that was all she needed to know. The only thing they have left Areum is a single letter that she refuses to open. She no longer needs them... atleast that's what she thinks.

FRIENDS — 

Leader ;; Song Yeonmin | 22 | Circus Ringleader | innocent, kind, gullible, caring | Areum doesn't know what she likes about him. He is the absolute definition of what she hates but Yeonmin manages to win her broken heart. Areum believed that the world was full of evil until she met him, a genuine and kind soul. Maybe Areum just sees pieces of her broken childhood in Yeonmin's innocence. Who knows?

rivalS — 

No rivals. Just a whole lot of enemies and people she pissed off from her past life.

〈 welcome to our circus 〉
— "i"ve spent half my life running away from my own shadow. maybe cirque des rêves could be my home.

ALIAS — Bubble Gum (because of her flexible body)
ACT — Contortionist (Areum has been very flexible since she was young and thought that the talent could be put to use if she joined the circus. To further enhance her skills, Yeonmin trains her and the acrobats)
performance outfit — here 
offstage — Her main duty offstage is managing financial situations. It seems a little bit far-fetched because of her past as a thief but Yeonmin said he still believes in her. She is the one who makes sure that the circus can sustain itself and is responsible for the money that goes in and out.  

— please answer the following questions in first person pov
 

what do you think of cirque des rêves ? — I think it's a place for entertainment. I'm sorry I can't be more detailed than that.... /laughs/ I just can't call it a dreamland or a fantasy world. For me, it's a place where people come and go. It's a nice escape from reality, something to make you forget all the hard and depressing things in life. /looks down as voice goes softer/ I understand why people stopped going... sometimes reality gets to ty to escape.

what decided you to join the crew ? — /mumbles incoherently/ I don't know... I thought that maybe I needed to make it up to Yeonmin after attempting to steal the money that he needed to fund for the circus. /clears throat/ Besides, I'm looking for a place to stay cause I've been... erhmmm... moving around a lot lately. 

WHAT did you think of yeonmin the first time you saw him ? — Yeonmin? /looks away/ At first, I thought he was faking the whole "the world is filled with good and kindness" front. But then, I realized that he really knows nothing about human nature and its evil. He's like a little glowing light in a dark dark world. You just want to wrap him in a blanket and hide him from the world. That's not a bad thing though. It makes him seem... different. 

WHAT are your thoughts on the dare ? — I think that little , Sungrok, just wants to waste Yeonmin's time. I know all he wants is an easy way to get rid  of the circus without looking like a ing heartless monster - which he is by the way - to his comrades. Yeonmin thinks it's an act of kindness but it's really not. It's just a ploy of an egocentric businessman. Whether or not we'll win, nobody knows. Miracles happen, right?

WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE / TALENT IN ANYTHING RELATED TO CIRCUS ACTS BEFORE JOINING THE CREW ? — Nothing... /chuckles/ No, I'm serious. Nothing. I did a lot of tricks when I was in the foster home but I've never had any sort of professional training before. Just some bending around and copying different types of positions. I think I'm kinda rough around the edges because I haven't tried it in a while though. 

〈 song yeonmin〉

kim myungsoo

〈 cradled in love 〉
— don't cry for your love, cry tears of joy
 

personality —
Yeonmin was naive enough to trust her into the team despite her criminal past. He was kind enough to let her in and that is why Areum started to slowly fall for him. Because of Yeonmin's innocence, he is unaware of Areum's feelings for her.

HISTORY — 

relationship — 
It all started when Areum was out looking for a place to stay the night. She found an old caravan in the outskirts of the city. She saw the door unlocked and she took the chance to sleep on the bed for the night. A few hours later, she woke up to find a very white young man staring at her. She was panicking while Yeonmin tried to calm her down and asked her who she was. "Jung Areum" was her short answer and he asked if she wanted to see the circus. Reluctantly, she said yes. Showing her around and telling her of the circus' value to him, he tells her about the dare and about all the money Sungrok has given him. When Yeonmin left her alone to attend to some of the circus' needs, Areum immediately came running to the caravan to find the alleged fortune and take it for herself. Fortunately, Yeonmin caught her in the act and asked her what she was doing. She made up a story of how she needed money to buy medicine for her dying mother. Yeonmin - as the kind and naive soul he is - believed her lie and willingly gave her the money saying that she needed it more than him. Overwhelmed with guilt, Areum tells him the whole truth thinking that he will turn her in to the police. Instead, he asked whether or not she wanted to be part of the circus.

After that, Areum kept her eye on the precious angel. She was still confused of why the young man would want a criminal around his premises but she never mentioned it. Yeonmin was the type of person who was kind to everyone so Areum knew she wasn't at all that special. The boy wouldn't talk about things that Areum didn't want to talk about and she was very grateful for that. They began to grow close as she stayed longer in the circus.

One time, Yeonmin held her hand to show her the new sign he bought for the circle's reopening. She immediately flushed red and when Yeonmin saw this, he asked her if he was sick.Confused of her feelings, Areum decided to withdraw herself from the ringleader. Yeonmin was confused why she suddenly shut him off and tries to talk to her a lot. One time, he asked her if he did anything wrong but Areum just insisted that there was nothing wrong. Yeonmin didn't push any further and left.

interactions —
They only seem to talk when Yeon checks up on how the circus is doing financially and if she has questions regarding her act. Yeonmin tries to break her walls down but she always seems to reject his efforts of friendship. He is always the one to start the conversation and she is always the one to end it. Although Areum talks to him a lot when they are with a lot of people, she suddenly becomes increasingly distant when it's just the two of them. 

ending —
Personally, I don't think that Yeonmin feels anything romantic for Areum and the relationship is completely one-sided. But since he's your character, it's up to you if you'll give Areum a happy ending or not. To tell you the truth, I'll stand by Areum's words... She can save a million lives and she still won't deserve him. 

〈 curtain call 〉
— yes, it's the end, finally !
 

questions / comments — Yeah, sorry if she's not that developed but I hope that you do like her. If there are any errors, please don't hesitate to point them out. 

suggestions — Suggestions? Uhmmm can you make it a little bit more creepy? Like more blood. Yeah, it's okay if you don't want to. xD

Scene requestS — 
- A scene of Areum punching Sungrok in the face after he called her an ambitious little criminal and questioned her loyalty to Yeonmin.
- Someone commenting that Areum's flexibility would make her amazing in bed.
- Areum telling Yeonmin that he is not a monster and almost confessing her feelings for him.
- Yeonmin boosting Areum's confidence right before she is going to perform.
- Areum cooking for the members. In which in the end they ended up eating bread with ketchup on it. Yep... she was that bad.
- Areum buying books from the bookstore where she encounters Sungrok.

password —EN AVANT